#there's a whole backstory here that we're never going to get more than this single crumb of and frankly that makes it better
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Wait, did you put a photo of Vil and Neige as kids in Eric’s office??
oh good, I was afraid that wasn't going to read properly and people would just be like "what is this supposed to be". :') but yeah! I like to think Eric was pretty fond of Neige as a kid! single dad sees orphan child approximately the same age as his own son and goes "hmm. okay, you guys are going to be friends now." (this did not go as well as he'd hoped.)
(also I do love how it's kind of a running joke that everyone loves Neige except for Vil, who's standing over in the corner and just seething with furious irrational hatred. someday maybe he'll find someone who doesn't think Neige is the best thing since cinnamon rolls.)
#art#twisted wonderland#vil: am i massively projecting my own hangups and insecurities onto someone who i would otherwise find only mildly annoying#vil: no it must be neige who is wrong#idk i just like neige a lot! he's sweet and i find him fascinating honestly#there's ONE offhanded comment about how oh yeah he's been orphaned since a young age and just never talks about it#he lives with a bunch of dwarves and cooks and cleans for them and this has been going on since he was like eight#like. hello?!#there's a whole backstory here that we're never going to get more than this single crumb of and frankly that makes it better#man if i had a nickel for every fandom about fairytale characters in high school#where i instantly fell in love with the snow white character#i'd have two nickels et cetera you know the rest
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May I propose: ex boyfriends au. Neil and Andrew go back in time per usual, but they arrive together at the beginning of Neil's recruitment to palmetto. They agree that for now, they should keep it low key and not change much in fear of making the future worse. But, they come to find out that repeating your life exactly the same way is BORING. So, they decide to spice it up a bit. In order to explain their familiarity to the foxes, they create this awfully dramatic backstory full of twists and betrayals, where neil met Andrew while he was with Cass and then Andrew did something to land them both in Juvie, and maybe in juvie they betrayed each other or smthn. All of its fake but the foxes eat it up. Neil and Andrew even incorporate song lyrics that haven't been made into fake arguments that they have for fun (strawberry ice cream in Malibu don't act like we didn't do that shit too) and the foxes fully believe that they're ex boyfriends. But even they can't fully hide the affection they have for each other and when that bleeds through the fixes think they're witnessing the best second chance trope when in reality they're just fucking around
This is such a funny concept.
I am going to add one thing though. In this AU Neil and Andrew made it all the way to their 90s. They went to sleep in their bed old, in love, and happy together. They've both been getting more and more tired lately, they know what's coming. They've seen it with their friends. It's fine, whatever the next step is they're going to go together. If one leaves a little early, well they've had years to get patient while waiting for the other to catch up.
They pass together and their great grand nephew (Kevin's) finds them the next morning (he'd been staying with them to help with a few things. They're holding hands.
They find themselves in the immediate aftermath of Andrew having driven an Exy racquet into Neil's stomach. There's a moment where Andrew truly panics because "OH FUCK, WHAT IF I RUPTURED HIS COLOSTOMY BAG?" and then oh he never really forgot how Neil looked (Neil had been the one that needed the reminders about things) but seeing his husband at 18 with brown hair, wire thin frame, and brown eyes? It throws him off even if he'd know Neil no matter what hair color or eye color.
Kevin comes up and it's been almost 10 years since he'd died but he's there young, no liver spots, and with a 2 on his face again.
They have long been able to talk to one another without a single word. Now that Andrew's face has full range of motion again (partial stroke 3 years before) it's even easier.
"So this is where you ran off to?" Andrew demands.
"Oh, like I had a choice after what you pulled!" Neil shoots back.
Cue two old fucks who are now in the prime of their life bodies and when they lost a lot of their mobility with age the thing they had most loved to do was fuck with their numerous grand nieces and nephews (I am stating right here that every fox who has a kid FULLY views Andreil as uncles so it does not matter if there is a blood relation).
Neil and Andrew rarely need to lie about the shit they've gotten up to, it just hasn't happened yet. They only make it like 2 weeks MAX pretending like they're mad at one another. They've slept in the same bed holding hands for 70 years. They don't do well when they're separated and Andrew is on that god awful medication but this time they know the medical expert who can argue about how BAD this whole shit show is and they know the lawyer to hire. Neil might dip heavily into his stash money but they know more than enough to make that cash back.
Andrew off his meds almost a whole year early via an outpatient treatment.
Still they keep referencing some insane past. "I'll say sorry for getting us thrown in Juvie when YOU apologize for lighting the car on fire in the first place!" he huffs.
"Then I guess we're at a standstill."
These arguments are had while they are absolutely all over one another because a bunch of parts of theirs just WORK again and that's super fun for both of them. They seem like Seth & Allison 2.0 with 8x the history but Neil makes Andrew act like a human and not a monster so they're all very invested in the relationship working out.
This past is also NEVER elaborated on but they never fuck up the fabrication of it either. Andrew because his perfect memory and Neil because even decades later he is a super tier liar.
They're having fun, it's sort of like being back with all their grand nieces and nephews except it's all of their friends (+Seth). The Original Foxes were long used to Neil & Andrew's shit so it was impossible to mess with them like this.
They're going to have a blast.
Edit: Thanks @the-inner-musings-of-a-worm for the fun idea once again!
#Old Flames AU#Lol don't know if I'd do more of this but figured I'd give it a title#Anon I wish I knew who you were so I could shake your digital hand#this was a fun thought#sorry if it's not more of what you wanted though#I just love old farts Andreil fucking with all the young versions of their friends#AFTG#AFTG AU#Andreil
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Making of Monday: Can't Stop the Suns Part 1
(I am thinking SO positively rn that I am calling this part 1, like I will remember to actually write more. YMMV; we'll see how I do.)
I'm hard at work on the concluding chapters of Pick Up the Pieces right now, and working on Pick Up the Pieces means I also need to do a fair bit of rereading An Uncivil War, so it's very much on the forefront of my brain, and also I have yet to participate in a single MoM, so: here's some backstory on An Uncivil War.
Okay I actually need to back up even farther than that, all the way to Solsbury Hill and February 2020. I started Solsbury Hill - it wasn't called that, then; it didn't have a name, just 'weird doc file/outline I'll probably never finish because I don't have a track record of finishing creative writing projects, ever' - and then the very next month I started working from home AND season 7 of Clone Wars premiered.
To get ready for season 7 - and because I was home a lot more during the day, now, and didn't have to commute to work - we decided to do a rewatch of Clone Wars season 1 through 6. And you know how we joke about plot bunnies, and why they're called that? That the hardest idea is your first one and once you have that the ideas just keep multiplying? So, I'm sitting on an outline for what would become Solsbury Hill, and we're watching Clone Wars, and we get to season 5, and the episode with Ahsoka's trial, and I think to myself, huh. That's weird. Why is Obi-Wan acting like that? Why is he not sticking up for our Padawan? If he had, I bet things would have turned out differently. Ahsoka might not have left the Order. Anakin might not have turned to the Dark Side. Clone Wars is full of all these little things that individually might not be enough to push Anakin over the edge, but they start stacking up, collectively...
From there, it was a pretty easy leap to, 'what if Obi-Wan left the Order instead of Ahsoka', and that created this whole domino effect because Anakin would obviously leave with him, right, and Ahsoka was getting kicked out anyway, and now I've got this scenario with three Jedi on the run in the middle of a war.
And that was fascinating to me. Once I started thinking about it I couldn't stop. But I was also getting really into Solsbury Hill, at that point, so this new story needed to take a backseat. I dumped a bunch of notes into a Word doc and went back to my AU.
It turns out, though - and this was the first time I'd learned this about myself - that I liked having both an AU and a canon project going at the same time. Solsbury Hill and An Uncivil War both used such different parts of my brain and required a different skillset and researching vastly different things, and if I got bogged down in one it was nice to be able to switch to the other one and hack away at that one for a while. So I ended up, from early 2020 until August 2022 when I posted the first chapter of Solsbury Hill on AO3, working on both projects nearly simultaneously, although obviously Solsbury Hill (despite being three times longer) got to the finish line first.
For a long time - almost three years - An Uncivil War was just called, An Uncivil War. And it had this expansive outline that I just kept cracking away at, and whenever I came across something cool in another piece of Star Wars media or another show premiered or I read another book I'd think 'Ooh, that's neat! That's going in the fic!' and I'd add it to my to-do list. And at some point I looked at my word count and realized I was pushing 100k and not anywhere close to the end of the story I wanted to tell.
So, I started thinking about sequels, and series. I had (still have) this outline, fortunately, and there was one pretty obvious stopping point at what was then the mid-point of the plot. (I say, 'then' because it has since, of course, expanded. It turns out I'm very bad at guessing word counts.) So I took half my outline, dumped into a brand-new doc, called that one Pick Up the Pieces, and wrote the 'ending' of An Uncivil War, as much as possible, as if it were the ending, just in case I for some reason never got around to writing Pick Up the Pieces.
Because it was important to me that An Uncivil War be able to stand on its own. It's got a beginning, a middle, and an end, and the end calls back to the beginning, and the main threat to the characters is resolved, and they talk about what they're going to do next but even if that was the only story you had, it should still be a satisfying conclusion (or, at least, I hope it is).
But it isn't the entirety of the story I wanted to tell. Because they originally were one big story, I actually had maybe half of Pick Up the Pieces already written by the time I started posting An Uncivil War, so while the first part took me three years to write, the second has technically only taken me a year, but I was definitely not starting from scratch.
I also - and this should shock absolutely no one - was once again wildly off in my word count estimate. Pick Up the Pieces is, right now, already as long as An Uncivil War (120k), and I've still got three chapters left to go...plus a bunch more things in my outline I haven't gotten to yet.
So, in true Star Wars tradition, I'm now plotting a part three! Pick Up the Pieces, like An Uncivil War before it, has a logical ending point, so it will wrap up there, but the plot will move merrily along to the next thing on my to-do list, which is in fact the same to-do list I've had since March 2020. (It's a good thing I love this story so much or I would have quit long ago.) Part Three, at the moment, is tentatively titled Sometimes Fate Steps In, and I'm really, really sorry to have to admit that that's where all the smut is going to be. (I know. It's Solsbury Hill all over again.)
(I do love it, though. I feel like I should...apologize, to my fics, somehow, for having a favorite? I do have a favorite, though. It's this series. I love it so damn much. This is the one thing I write where, if you told me right now that I would never get a single comment or kudos on it, I would still write it anyway, because I just get so much enjoyment out of researching and writing it and re-reading it.)
(Which is not to say you shouldn't comment on it. Please, please do! You will absolutely make my day, week, month, year! But I love it enough to do it anyway.)
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🧠✏️
I'm obsessed with Sae I would ask every question if I coule I lov themn
AAAA this means so much to me bc IM OBSESSED WITH HIM TOO i am very very glad people like her ............................... 😁
oc ask game! (plus some art at the bottom lol)
🧠 - what do you like most about the oc?
answered HERE but alsoooooo i can definitely think of something else :)
i LOVE writing her dialogue LMAOO. her whole gimmick is that she acts wayyyyy older than she actually is, and when i say that i mean she truly acts like an old man. she is a very slow talker a mover and figuring out how to write for her has been lots and lots of fun !!!!
she uses a lot of ellipses... and always drags on a sentence if it is possible. she never uses exclamation points if she can help it... because she tries not to raise her voice... and typically doesn't get excited or emotive about many things. she trails off a lot, either on a tangent about a sailing story or simply because she has lost focus... and includes a quote from her afi or from a writer that can shed wisdom on the situation. everything is a lesson to be learned, you see... she also tends to repeat herself at the end of the sentence, she does. it's either "you see" or some variation of "i do/i am", depending on what was said... and of course she always refers to her boats and the ocean using she/her. laughs like an old man too, eheheh... always keeps the mood light
but, uh, when she gets flustered she uses "um" and "uh" a lot. especially when backed into a corner. sounds a lot less wise. her sentences get shorter when she's upset. real short. she tends-- you see, she tends to stutter a lot more when she is stressed, or in a tense mood. corrects herself, or-- sometimes, she cuts herself off before she says anything too harsh. her tone grows a lot more "childish", and she wants to sound like she knows what she is doing. won't raise her tone. just gets rather blunt with you.
unless she gets very irritated. because then she starts to emphasize certain words to you in an almost condescending manner, and-- and she still might stutter over her words because she is thinking less about them, but they are all flowing out of her mouth at this point. and if you push her too far she'll start yelling! exclamation point! it is rare to get an exclamation point from her! if you push her hard enough she'll scream! she'll fucking yell!!
but yea anyways she's been fun GHFDJKG
✏️ - how often do you draw/write about the oc?
grins. the grinner
SOOOOOOOOO sae as of right now is being used in a killing game rp which means i get to write for her pretty oftennnnn :) she gets to hang out with a whole cast of awesome characters that are both amazing and stressing her out so badly. as hell. it is chapter 2 currently (we're at the motive!!) and literally every single thing is going wrong (the motive concerns her family and of course her afi was threatened bc thats all shes got, her plan to escape failed miserably and shes starting to resent people with very little reason, somebody in the killing game knows JUST WHAT TO SAY to seriously push her buttons) but she'll persevere 😍 she'll persevere and get so much worse
i loveee the rp server bc the people there love to write fics and draw art of their own AND each others characters and i eat it up every single time. me included i love creating for these rps :) which MEANS i actually do draw and write for her a bit often!! now a lot of it is practice and/or doesn't get sent to the server lmfaooo i think the last fic i wrote for her (and finished-- i keep starting things and stopping 😔) was a backstory fic for her about that one bad memory i mentioned in the last ask :) a single person has read it and that is the person running the rp in the first place ghfdjkg
UM UM here's some old art that i sent to the server and didnt post here !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and here's a chart of literally ALL of her siblings LMFAOOOO
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hehehehe, ask and you shall receive >:D
so! winry!!! is another persona oc!!!!! i actually came up with her concept before asuka's, about two years ago
around then, me, my bf, and our buddies came up with self-inserts of ourselves to fit into a persona universe, except it's entirely its own thing unrelated to the actual games' storylines. we do take more world concepts from p2 than any other game, though, with philemon and nyarlathotep being the bitches they are. my character ended up being winry :D
winry's a normal and innocent college-going gal, or was until she got falsely accused of assaulting a certified creep. it was self defense, but noooo, she's a woman in the year of our lord and savior 1999, nobody caaaares
putting the less important part of her backstory aside though, she's very silly. loves pirating anime, and i'm talking the physical shit. how she gets it? nobody knows...but she can and will force you to watch all of evangelion in a single night. she's very normal about that show.
ofc she's also a persona user! her persona's alice, straight-up the design from SMT and everything. there is a reason for that. and her arcana's death. there's also a reason for that. she likes to fight with a plain-old sword hehe
eventually the concept turned into that of generally just ocs that we'd all rp the storyline for. buuut since we're all busy people that never happened, so the deal's moreso something me and my bf talk about now and again, since winry and niko (their oc) were ofc together...kinda
see, winry's stuck in a time loop. in the first timeline, she and niko were very close friends, perhaps more...until all of a sudden, niko dies soon after a very heated argument. logically, she's convinced it's her fault. so logically, she agrees to turn back the hands of time to find a way to save him. and again. and again...it's an endless loop where her most treasured person dies, over and over...
after that first timeline, she lost her original persona and gains alice instead, forfeiting her fool arcana for death. quite the edgy backstory, but i do like it.
so basically the story's about winry finding a way to save niko, and making other friends along the way! i think about it v much
here's a sketch of her in the omori style <3 this was the last time i've drawn her....literally a whole-ass year ago
#ask#mewotheblackcat#ty for the ask ariaaaa#tbh i've thought about writing winry's story as like maybe a novel#but i'll have to get ideas and an OK from my friends first#my ocs#oc: winry#misty doodles
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SaL anon here friend, thinking about how not only (as pointed out) that this season of OG is mediocre but LS has also been pretty Meh and remarkably for similar reasons. So because I have too much time on my hands today and too little willpower to be productive, here I give you my vaguely thought out character parallels between the two shows this season, and how they've made the season frustrating.
Eddie and Nancy: Both of these characters have had no plot or arc all season. Basically they're moral support and comedic relief.
Maddie and TK: Both have had a sort of half plot to themselves but ultimately are there to be supportive, be sad when their loved ones are in danger, and generally remind us Madney and Tarlos exist.
Bobby and Mateo: Both had exactly one plotline to themselves, both those plots came out of nowhere, and both were centered around another character that was mentioned maybe once before.
Athena and Paul: Both had a single plot centered on their past that was actually interesting and believably important for the character (though in LS at least it didn't require its own episode away from the group). The problem was that there was little to no follow up or any sense of closure, we're just kinds left to assume some sort of conversation happened.
Chim and Tommy: Both have been fairly visible this season (definitely Tommy more so than Chim except for the last few OG episodes) and had some pretty good best friend moments. But both had had incredibly frustrating plots that just didn't make sense or serve a purpose (Chim forgiving his parents and Tommy - a Mom - trying to one up an actual child).
Hen+Karen and Judd+Grace: Both were strong points for the their shows season (I'm firmly of the belief Tomorrow was the best episode of either show this season). Only a relatively minor complaint for both, namely the WTF did this come from of the Denny plot and that Grace's recent storyline has the 5th crime investigation on what's supposed to be a weewoo show.
The 911 Guest Cast and Owen: Basically these always seem to drag the show out of the firehouse and into some bullshit no one asked for. The exception is Ravi, who is the equivalent of Owen when the focus is on him being a captain to his team.
Buck and Carlos: Frankly both their plotlines have been a mess (though Buck has twice as many as Carlos), didn't go anywhere, and are full of missed opportunities for character development, especially in the realm of having an honest conversation with their parents.
If you've been keeping score I have left out of the list Marjan. This is because between the shows I feel like Marjan's character has been handled the best, even almost perfectly. We got backstory, character building, and even a cute dating plot.
Anyway hope you enjoy my afternoon musings!! This is also in part me trying to pretend this season is over (for OG at least) and I can draw these parallels instead of facing the fact we have 2 more episodes to slog through.
Bestie, were is the lie????
This is so spot on though and I laughed so hard when I read this! I've been...not necessarily avoiding but certainly not reading any LS spec because I'm just to tired to do that and OG but whooo boy am I side eying some of the stuff I've seen floating around. LS pulling the old RNM line of Tarlos having to "earn" their wedding like 🙄🙄🙄 Plus there was something about "tragedy" striking and WHY would they need more new drama when they had a whole unexpected WIFE that got sort of brushed off and the resolution for that happened off screen, and Carlos DIED and then it was just like, never mentioned again, and TK is going into his wedding without his mom. There's already so much there, why on earth would they need to invent something else?!
And don't get me started on OG doing the same thing but also packing the guest cast with a thousand people to wrap up Buck's 700 arcs he's got started that they just did nothing with until the last couple episodes apparently. I am...so tired.
Agreed though that the Marjan stuff has been good this season when she had stuff going on! I honestly don't know WHO was in charge of OG seasons 1-3 and the arc planning and pacing because Timmy is over on LS and it's having the same messy issues as OG in that regard when OG had like, the PERFECT formula those first few seasons. What was going on over there?! And more importantly, how do we get it BACK?!
#my sweet nonnie friends#sleeping at last anon#911#911 spoilers#911 lone star#lone star spoilers#this honestly made me laugh out loud reading it#no lies detected
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Some OPLA Thoughts: Episode 7
This one was really interesting. There were some definite changes made to Nami's backstory that I honestly haven't decided yet whether I like or not. (Or maybe 'accept' is a better word than 'like'...)
I think it's a shame that live action-only viewers won't get as complete a view of Bellemere. Of how she used to be a troublemaker just like Nami... only to straighten herself out in the Navy... and then surprise everyone by giving that life up to raise two orphans she'd found when she was still so young... There was this palpable sense of pride in the town regarding Bellemere in the anime that I just didn't get here. But there may still be time for more flashbacks in the denouement, once Arlong's taken care of.
What we're not going to get back is that Nojiko definitely has... maybe not less of a personality, but I feel like there's less purpose to her presence here.
This is where I'm a little torn, because I think Nami's backstory as the live action depicts it does still work. The one where she offers herself to Arlong willingly and genuinely doesn't let on to anybody that she's doing it to try and save the town and not out of greed or a more selfish sort of survival.
But the anime's version was just so powerful. That Nojiko knew her sister's true intentions... that she was the only person Nami could rely on (or so she thought) whenever she returned home... It just gave a whole different kind of depth to their relationship. And a different kind of strength to Nojiko for being in on it, her sister's confidant.
I think the emotion behind the scene where Nami tells her everything is still really great. I don't think the live action's version is a bad portrayal. And I understand that it was likely tweaked because the nuances of the original would have taken more time to get across than they had.
...Like I said, I'm just a little torn. Mourning the things we lost a bit. (But it's nowhere near how I felt about them leaving out some fundamental things about Kuina so...)
I've gotta say, shoutout to Lily Fisher, who played young Nami. It's not like I've had any complaints about the acting/casting so far, but she really killed it. There are big name adult actors who don't achieve the kind of emotion she poured into her lines here.
They did not skimp at all on Arlong's crew and Arlong Park, and it's been really great. (Though I have to say, I haven't noticed Hachi anywhere in the crowd yet... I'm hoping to see him show up in the battle.)
There's been so much included in every single episode... This one was almost entirely spent in Nami's village, exploring her background and motivations... but it still feels so dense. I'm really glad they were prepared to dedicate so much time to it.
(Though I really loved the scene at the Baratie this episode. Helmeppo and Koby getting shit done while Zeff and Garp are on their date...
Koby actually brought up an angle I've never considered before-- that Helmeppo might be able to relate to Luffy... just a bit? for growing up on the reign of Axe-Hand Morgan, maybe wanting some freedom? I'd like to see that explored.)
And you know what? I'd actually already seen the scene where Nami finally breaks down and asks for Luffy's help, and I wasn't all that impressed by it. It felt kind of awkward in the live action. But seeing it again, as part of the whole episode, right after Arlong's speech, preparing his crew to destroy the village... Seeing it as part of the whole episode, it evoked all the emotions it was meant to.
I am just a little bit worried about the last episode maybe feeling rushed? I've seen the screenshot of that iconic scene where they all formally announce their dreams as they're heading into the Grand Line and... There's just no way they can get there with only one episode to go, right? Loguetown can't happen in season one, if we haven't dealt with Arlong yet. They must move that scene up, because there just isn't time.
But this adaptation has made me so eager to see this crew reach the site of Roger's execution... I haven't even finished it yet, and I'm already impatient for season two!
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Maybe I just don't like Zack Snyder movies?
So I'm pretty far into Rebel Moon, and, at the moment, it has failed to really wow me with anything it has to offer.
Is it just me? Am I the problem here?
It's not like I wasn't giving this movie a chance–I was very excited to see a film he had complete and total creative control over... that wasn't Army of the Dead.
I understand that Zack Snyder movies have a lot of themes and metatextual messages. I know this mainly because he very openly talks about it, like a comedian explaining a joke when the audience remains silent after the punchline. And if that fails, he has a veritable army of people–most of whom I'm fairly certain are not astroturf accounts–who will sing from the highest rooftops that yes, indeed, this thing means a thing.
How clever.
This is an issue that I've been noticing with every single one of his movies post 300; they're all saying something meaningful, but in a way that makes it totally meaningless.
300 was a lot like that (to the point that people as still debating whether it can be interpreted as propaganda or not), but it had this raw, over-the-top machismo that gave it a crucial campy edge that made it seem like it was more self-aware than it probably was intended to be.
Pretty much every movie after that–this one included–is trying so hard to be multi-layered that it handicaps itself, turning everything into thematic white noise.
To it's credit, this film does have a surface-level story–The Seven Samurai with the cast of Star Wars–but it's completely smothered under the weight of the subtext. Can this even be called subtext? Having a long horizontal spaceship come out of wormhole in the shape of a vagina doesn't exactly scream "subtle" to me. Maybe we should make up a new term for this–what's the opposite of subtext that isn't just text? Astrotext? Supertext?
I know that Netflix has dreams of this becoming a lucrative franchise, and to that I say three things: "Good. Fucking. Luck."
It's not awful, it's just... not very interesting. There are these flash-in-the-pan moments that work and seriously threaten keep my attention, but they don't gel together into anything that keeps the crucial flow going.
And every character expressing themselves in these awkward, lengthy exposition-dumps also doesn't help. Maybe it's trying to keep within the style of Akira Kurosawa–I wouldn't know, I've never seen The Seven Samurai, and I most likely never will.
Rebel Moon, like most of Snyder's filmography–is either going to really fucking speak to you, or completely leave you cold; it'll all depend on whether you personally relate to the characters or world he's building like an over-excited dungeon master who spent 4 whole days hyper-focusing on this project and just wants one person to say they liked it to make it seem like all the effort was worth it.
"Bitch, we're here to fucking role-play! Not be your fantasy sounding-board!"
The movie didn't start out well for me either. We get a lengthy backstory narrated by Sir Anthony Hopkins (who seems to be willing to be in any movie, these days), and then it shifts to a woman plowing a field with an alien horse before having to dig a large rock out of the ground. And that was precisely the moment where the film lost me: I just couldn't believe that this girl would need to dig that rock out of clearly loose and freshly turned earth.
This is an an edited version, so maybe the director's cut is better. And on that subject I have to ask "did we learn nothing from Batman v Superman or Justice League?" You either let Zack Snyder make the movie exactly how he wants to make it or you get a shit movie. I mean you'd probably still get a shit movie, but at least it would have integrity.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad if the film didn't have this subtle off-putting feeling of indulgence that permeates every single fucking frame. I understand you're making the movie you want to make, Mr. Snyder, but if this movie were to be even 1% more self-gratifying there would've been a 40-foot statue of your dick that pisses fire while Rock Me Like A Hurricane plays in the background and F-16s do barrel-rolls overhead.
Maybe 300 was just the one good movie he had in him? It happens. One day you're directing The Sixth Sense, next you're directing The Lady In Water.
According to a recent post in his safespace blog he's sworn off making movies for the "main stream," which is for the best, I suppose. The mainstream has not been particularly kind to him.
I'm certainly not wishing he'd stop making movies–you make all the weird films you possibly got in you, you mad bastard, but I think you're done surprising me.
And, in case you're wondering, no, I probably wouldn't say all of this to his face.
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2 and 36 pleaaaase !! <3
Long answer under the cut <3
2: Talk about your first kiss.
Ahh, the first. It's not exactly a...happy story, but it's not all bad either.
So, a little backstory is needed here. When I was eight, I moved across down and started at a new school. I joined a class of around 12 students who had all known each other since primary or earlier, so being the new kid was hard. Especially so once the 'cool new kid mystique' wore off and they realized I was acutally a total loser who was really only good for kicking around. I had friends, don't get me wrong, but the bullying was...certainly a hurdle to overcome.
Then, around half-way through the year, the unthinkable happens: a new, new kid shows up. And he's much more interesting. This kid--we'll call him Jack--has just moved from the UK. Jack took a lot of the heat off of me and for that I was very greatful. For that alone, I already liked him. And the longer I knew him, the more I liked him. He was cute and funny, and he could run really fast--these, as we know are the most desirable traits in an elementary-school crush--so obviously baby Fox was smitten.
Flip forward a few years, and we're now in seventh grade. If my math is right (it's probably not), I was twelve and he was thirteen. Middle school is a whole different beast. Social butterlies like Jack are thriving in bigger classes and making more friends, while wallflowers like me are mostly keeping our heads down and trying not to get stuffed inside of lockers.
But for the first time in my life, I am part of a fairly large group of friends; a rowdy mix of boys and girls who are all romantically invovled one way or another. I'm, as memory serves, the only exception to this rule: flitting about on the fringes of the group and staying out of the romantic entanglement entirely. Until Jack breaks up with his current girlfriend over some stupid thing or another, and completely out of the blue, asks me out.
It's almost Christmas, which means our school is throwing the biggest event of the year: the semi-formal. It's a big pre-winter break dance that happens the night before the last day of school. It all seems so silly now, but it was a massive deal to have a date to this dance. I'd never had a date before, and he was more than just a date, he was a boyfriend. Needless to say, I was very, very nervous.
Now, at these dances, they of course used to play some slow songs for couples, and well...when it came time for the first one, I was so nervous I genuinely thought I was going to throw up all over his shoes. We'd known each other for years, we'd squeezed in close for class pictures and wrestled over stupid things on the playground, but I'd never been close to him like this before. This was my chance to be with the guy I'd been pretty well in love with for the past four years, and I was going to completely fuck it up.
But I didn't! I can't remember the song that played, but I can still see the room: awash in blue light, white balloons and tulle on the walls. He wrapped his arms around my waist and spun me around when it was over--and that made me laugh. I'm kinda tall, so no one had ever really done that before. The singles in the friend-group (who had all been watching from the walls) swooped in when the song ended, and someone suggested he should kiss me. That was something that was really common in the group--someone asking somsone else to kiss their partner. It's something I'd seen him both ask and be asked a hundred times before. My heart started beating so fast, all over again as he turned back to me. He was flushed and smiling, and at the time, the most beautiful person I'd ever seen. He needed to be quick, because if the teachers caught us, we'd be marched down to the office and made to call our parents to explain why we'd been kicked out. Yikes.
But I let him kiss me, leaning into him like I'd seen my friends do a hundred times. I felt him smile against my lips, and when he pulled back, I swear to god, there were stars in my eyes.
My friends all thought it was great, and so did I, until a little while later, when Jack and I stepped out fo the room to get some water. Almost as soon as we were alone, this really detached look came over his face as he said, "That felt really...false."
I said, "What?"
And he looked me dead in the eyes and said, "Kissing you. It. Felt. False."
I didn't understand. He'd looked so happy when he'd done it, and he hadn't seemed any different after either. Why now? I didn't know what else to do, so just I said, "Oh. I'm sorry. I'll...try to do better."
He just shrugged and walked back into the room, leaving me alone at the fountain wondering what I had done wrong.
At the time, when he'd asked me out, I genuinely thought it was because he liked me. In hindsight, it's a little more clear what happened. Back then, I would have been content to sit on my little (MASSIVE) crush until I died never having acted on it, or even told anyone about it. In reality, it was probably fairly obvious. And Jack...well, he was chronically incapable of being single at the time. He was, for all his posturing, increadibly insecure and he needed someone in his life to feel validated. He'd dated through pretty much everyone in the friend group (some more than once). By that time, there was no one else left. And so, he came to me. It's not really that big of a deal, I was happy to provide that validation at the time, though the reality stings a little, even now.
What's really funny to me, though, is this: all this happened...what, like 13 years ago now? But sometimes, in my dreams someone will kiss me and it feels exactly like that one did. Soft and kind and warm. It's like my lips don't remember it when I'm awake, but sometimes, when I'm asleep, they do. They don't remember what he said or how it hurt me. They just remember how good it felt to be loved, even for one, glorious moment.
36: Talk about your guilty pleasures.
I am a total food cenobite. I love trying things that absolutely should not go together, just because I want to know what it tastes like. I'm talking horseradish on ice cream (it's gross don't try it) or dill pickle popcorn spice on cool ranch doritos (that one is actually good, would reccommend). Sometimes I know it will be gross, but my brain suggested it and now I'm curious :(((
I also love to turn my music up really loud and pretent to host a concert in my bedroom! I have a whole imaginary band who plays with me! They all have names and I love them very much, we're like family <333
Also!! Bear in the Big Blue House is a show that still slaps and I'm all about that shit when I'm feeling anxious. Great calm down background noise.
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ive never watched any indiana jones movie
but since theres a new one coming out i thought about binging them all to see if i like the saga enough to go to the theater
these are some of my disjointed thoughts as i watch them. there was a lot of oooh so thats where thats quote/meme is from
lost ark.
its set in the 30s?? if youd ask me id have guessed 60/70s. wait he steals artifacts from other cultures to sell to museums???? i thought he was like a big hero jgdfjhggjh. marion started lowkey as a badass but by the end she was like all over the place,,, was it the trauma. she couldnt catch a breath and kept screaming all the while. man shallam was right, not a single brain between all these nazis. indiana's little grunts are so funny. locations are cool but theres like a million extras, this must have been kinda hell to film. id seen a total of three scenes from this movie: the idol and boulder, the ark lightning up, and this man just shooting sword guy because the actor was tired or something. also interesting way to end the movie lmao
temple of doom.
a lot of screaming. again. dont drink from that cup what if its poison. it was poison. stop flexing just get on with the job and go!! hubris is gonna kill this guy the moment his luck runs out. dude you bring your women to like the worst(best) places. i dont recognize like anything from this one, other than the hat under the sliding door scene which i hadnt seen the og before. oh dear theres. more torture and gore and stuff that i would have thought, this one is raw. shorty makes the whole thing worthy tbh. not taking the shit to the museum CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT??
last crusade.
oohhh backstory time. daddy issues,,,,, should have known. ah theres the 'woman' character for this movie. she also screams quite a bit but this time shes a baddie. obviously sus looking guy: dont trust anyone. jones: bet * forgets this immediately*. not nazis agan jeez. the scene with the fire in the castle is hilarious tho. so far this is the funniest one, henry jones is a hoot and a half. oh thats. thats just petra lol. the cup scene i do remember somehow must have seen it back in the day when i had a tv. theres a solid ghost there its cool
now that i think about it i feel there wasnt really a resolution to the 'we never talked' issue. not really
crystal skull.
heard theres aliens in this one. still being kicked around i see, whens this man gonna retire. is that cate blanchett with an accent. i like the time period we're in, nice aes. interesting we get a boy companion now, hope he doesnt scream too much. 'i got stung by a huge scorpion!!' me: 'youll be fine the bigger the better'. indy 2 seconds later: 'the bigger the better' me: :D!! oh shit marion is here. mutt is HIS SON??? indy: 'all these women had something in common' me: '...they werent you?' indy: 'they werent you' me: :D!! oh man these action sequences are so ridiculous and go on forever lmao. what. what were these people doing inside the walls and columns, just waiting for intruders?? oh shit alien corpses. anyway this mac dude gonna get killed so hard. gurl all the knowledge ever is like, too much, its gonna kill you. aaaaaaaand it just did. i can excuse an alien ship being buried underground for millenia but i draw the line at these two dumbasses marrying after all, like whats the point of getting married sigh (im bias). i do like that there being aliens was never questioned too much by the characters. i appreciate this a lot
it just dawned on me that one of the boxes in area 51 broke and showed the ark from movie 1 and it was never acknoweleged in the rest of the film. huh
wilhelm scream count: 5 minimum
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Baby Brothers - Faro's Telling
Warnings and Information: Uh… oops? Out of my 18+ Clone OCs, Faro was supposed to be my *ONE* OC who did not have a proper/creative backstory for his name out of everyone who appeared in the NTMYB story that has since spiraled into a series. But I had an idea. This takes place before NTMYB, so rather than break the in-house rule of using their names before they actually get them, or make up CT designations that will just get confusing (and I’ll forget later), everyone's dialogue gets color-coded. Apologies, and warning, for eyestrain. This will not be a regular story-telling method. Star Wars and real-world swearing. No Mando'a here. Narrative and stylistic use of italics.
Word-count: 2,633
Key: Faro, Gunnar, Cryfar, Fluke, Canvas
By Kamino's three moons, why did he have to get pulled out of the cloning tanks first? Now he feels like he's supposed to shoulder all blame and fault for his brothers until their training is completed. It's lousy. He never asked for this! And what's worse, is he has some of the most patience-testing batchmates possible out of this whole Growth Cycle…
The whole of the Growth Cycle gets shipped out next year. Perhaps several hundred healthy adult men within a single Cycle (he doesn't keep track of the numbers) all fit and ready to fight for the Republic. Hundreds of batches of brothers.
Batches of brothers made up of fives.
"All four of you are going to make me gray before we're even shipped out…" he finds himself muttering as he tasks himself with taking care of them out of a sense of obligation. Of responsibility. Brotherhood. "Kriffing hells, stop it. We're supposed to be practicing for our weapons disassembly, would you quit messing with the other two?"
"I'm helping them! One of their parts got lost. Help me find it before the trainer sees!"
One of them is cocky and impulsive sometimes, another underwent a massive personality shift in the last two years that does not seem related to developing a unique identity, and the youngest two are so kriffing hard to separate. Second youngest can be easily distracted and just as unlucky as the third. The youngest… constantly breathing down his neck and inventing excuses to stay close.
They get shipped out next year. They're all almost fully-grown, and none of them have Names.
He's just the oldest out of choice. So he feels he has to be mature and steadfast and a teacher for his baby brothers… He takes the worst of it from the Trainers. Either because he thinks he has to as the oldest, and therefore the example, or because he’s made the scapegoat. For some reason it’s his fault that one brother keeps getting a DC-17 hand blaster and a DC-15S mixed up when they do drills on each model. It's his fault when the oldest brother after him loses his cool. It's his fault that the youngest are distractible and shy and never feel like socializing with their other Clone-brothers outside of their batch.
It's his fault because he's the oldest. He's only trying to be a good example. He's only trying to take care of them. But he's got four baby brothers and only two hands to take care of them all… he tries so, so hard to, anyways.
Two hands that have been trained to do so much damage can only be so soft sometimes.
But Maker, he's trying. He's been trying so hard ever since they were little and when "babying" was more acceptable. Well just because they're nearly men, it doesn't mean they stop being his little brothers. Because he was pulled out of the Cloning tube first, these four are his baby brothers; now, forever, always.
They annoy him, yes. But he loves them… and he loves them by protecting them before they ever set foot off of Kamino, when it will become impossible to do so. When he understands the risks that he will lose them - or they lose him - to war against the Separatists and all those who would oppose the Republic. Risks he is prepared for, but selfishly does not want to accept.
These are his brothers. Come stormy seas or blaster fire, that will not change. Not even men like Jaccynn will change this.
And Jaccynn is in a mood today. A particularly nasty one. "That was sloppy, CT-xxxx! Again!"
"S-sorry, Sir! Yessir!" his middle batchmate pants, daubing his brow on the edge of his sleeve. His training uniform is soaked with sweat new and old. The training center stinks of musk and petrichor from hundreds of brothers engaged in hand sparring. He snaps all his limbs in starting position, but his knees soon begin to wobble. He's too tired to keep this up for much longer. "I-I'm upping keep as best as I can! I mean I'm keeping up!"
That's been happening a lot more lately; the word confusion. But it's just subtle enough that the Kaminoans haven't caught on, or don't have enough of a reason to look into these reports.
Words from the smuggled datapad from their classrooms come back to him.
Possible brain injuries. Minor aphasia.
His middle brother is likely suffering with minor aphasia, and there's nothing he can do about it. Except exercise yet more patience… patience that would not be shown by the Trainers. So he has to be creative and crafty with his words and his excuses when Jaccynn oversees their combat readiness.
"Wait. It's been ten minutes since your last sip of water," he warns his brother, grabbing his bottle from the stack and bravely crossing into the combat mat's boundaries to take it to him, "And our brothers in the medical center keep reminding you that the reason you passed out last time was because you were dehydrated, CT-xxxx." Ordinarily he would not let another brother lean on him like this, having to fully support the tugging weight that threatens to take him to the floor like a bored child hanging off a parent's wrist who's too old for such behavior. But he makes exceptions for his batchmates. He has to. He sees his brother is not as fine as he claims between long, drawn-out pulls from the bottle.
"I'll be fi-fine!" comes the unconvincing insistence after a particularly violent sway, "I'll begot this!"
There's a loud snickering behind the two of them. "You'll kriffing what now?"
"What did I say?" He doesn't get what's so funny about what he said, as usual. That is also a more recent problem. One that he just has to hope doesn't get any worse, or they might take his brother away from him and never be seen again. He can't let that happen. "What'd he say I said?"
"Ignore him. Focus, brother. You're almost done, c'mon. Be ready as soon as I get off the mat." His brother has to focus. And the second oldest needs to get a hold of himself too, he can't just make these unfiltered comments out in the open. Not in front of this trainer who oversees the instruction of this Growth Cycle.
The trainer who calls himself Jaccynn just sneers with disgust. He knows the water break was a clever tactic to stall his instruction, but he cannot delve into supplying punishments for interruptions the way he would like. So he goes about it a different way: giving the losing combatant no time to prepare himself. "Okay, now that you've had your cute little pep talk it's time to get serious… Ready. Set. Begin!"
He's hardly had the time to brace himself to be laid out on his back, and the air bursts from his lungs in a harsh wheeze as the winning challenger makes his first and only move necessary to complete the round. He's so damn dazed that he can only grin stupidly up at the Clone brother above him asking if he's okay.
The impulsive streak is rearing its head again. "Why that-"
"Sit your ass down, you're not a charging Reek." He pulls his brother back down with a fistful of his uniform. Retaliation is just going to spur Jaccynn on and take it out on more of his little brothers. He's sung this song and danced this dance for years now with Jaccynn.
"But Jaccynn didn't give him enough time to get ready, I should feed him his teeth!"
"I saw it too, mynock-brain."
Though nearly fully-grown, the youngest are crawling on their hands and knees to avoid being noticed by the hired instructor as they try to get their brothers to stop arguing. To his memory, of all his baby brothers, these two are the only ones who have not fully abandoned this behavior when they're all supposed to be seated on the floor.
They don't opt for shuffling along on their knees like most other brothers. His batchmates are far from being like most other brothers.
"Cut it out, guys!" the second youngest pleads, using his body as a buffer between his oldest two brothers with the help of the youngest. Their faces are probably warm with anxiety as warm as their bark-brown eyes that implore them to get along. Privileges that come with being batch-babies.
The four of them really, really test his patience, but he wouldn't trade them for any other Batch, deep down. These are his batchmates. These are his brothers. Maker help him if he ever stopped loving them so much…
"Alright, alright, stop. Go pester him. I'm going to make sure he's okay." Privileges that come with being the two oldest means it takes just a few words to settle the others down. And, if you're annoyed enough, you make it the other's problem. Again, where these any other brothers but his batchmates, he would not be quite as tolerant of someone nearly fully-grown trying to share his shadow. "He's probably just had his bucket rung, again. Look at him, he's grinning like an Acklay. He'll be okay."
The simple fact he's sitting up and laughing it off bodes mostly well, at least. Second and third oldest are now joking that the third has probably seen more stars than a spacer, and he's never even left Kamino yet. "You're setting a galactic record!"
"Hell yeah!"
Maker, those two were certainly going to make him gray before he was ten. But at least the youngest would keep him softer and kinder. "Stop gnawing on your nails, little brother."
"Sorry…"
"I'm not angry anymore, it's-"
He shakes his head rapidly. "It's Jaccynn. He scares me." That's fair enough, he concedes. Jaccynn hasn't exactly made himself a popular Trainer with the Clones. More than one Clone-brother has wanted nothing more than to feed him his teeth for berating them, or picking on the batch-babies. That seems to be his thing. Jacc hates that across most of the facility, younger brothers are often afforded a little more leniency.
Cared for a little more until the next Growth Cycle is old enough to really roughhouse with the rest of them. They still can, granted; it's just that they don't want to accidentally hurt any of their brothers while they're still growing, still learning.
"All you damn Clones look the same, how can you possibly tell who's younger than you?"
It was impossible to explain how you just knew, or why exactly they did it, but of course they could absolutely tell who was younger than them even without being explicitly told. You're older than your batchmates by mere minutes. So when you age and grow and change as fast as they do, they have to find some way of establishing a sense of… normalcy. Maybe this was something that was passed down to them from the very first generation of Clones, or something that someone saw on the Holonet and really liked the idea of.
A living sea of hundreds and thousands and millions of brothers, of course they'd behave a lot alike "traditional" brothers in some ways. But they're a lot more unalike than nat-born brothers… they don't tend to Name one another.
"What about Fang?"
He scoffs, insulted. "What am I, a massiff? Pass."
"I dunno, you seem like an Axel to me."
He shakes his head again. Someone else in the neighboring batch (below them) is considering that Name. It's bound to happen, but you try to avoid too many name duplicates within a Growth Cycle.
"Rachet?"
That's not a bad name, but no. ("Stop chewing your nails or I'll have to hold your hand.")
His middle brother gives him a woozy smile as he's helped down to medical, again. "I think he's more of a… Ozone. Yeah, I kinda like it… That's a nice name…"
"Are you sure you don't want that name for yourself?" He offers as he helps his brother into a chair and lets a medic know that yeah, it's them again, who else? while doing his best to keep him upright.
"I'llthinkaboutit." That's fine, he promises. Only half-jokingly he replies he's more concerned about keeping them in one piece on Kamino so they can go and fight for the Republic. "There's plenty of time to find names, little brother. Even if that's when we leave Kamino." Away from Jaccynn who mocks every last name choice. Away from the bounty hunter who's only training soldiers of the GAR for a promised sum, not because he genuinely wants to make any kind of difference. But because he must feel small without hundreds who have to listen to him, one of those types of people. "One day, brothers… we'll find Names, and I won't have to keep thinking of you by your favorite colors. I'll think of you by your Names. One day I'll stop sounding like such a jackass in front of the others when I have to refer to you by CT numbers."
"Is that why you call me Yellow?"
"What am I?" His youngest brothers look at him with wide, imploring eyes. These two have always been so expressive. "Me?"
"Privately: I'm Red," he answers with a gentle chuckle, "yes, you are Yellow." he tells him with a nod, and ruffling the soft, fluffy curls of the second and then the youngest's last, he adds "You're Blue. And Orange seems to be your favorite color. That leaves our dizzy brother over here as Green."
"Green's not a creative color for a Name…" he complains softly, dodging the pinpoint of light from the otoscope in the medic's hands as he tries to check the pupils.
"What do I use instead then?"
He whines softly and shrugs while he tries to swat the otoscope away. "I dunno… no-go-awaaay." (He's never liked how much they have to use the otoscope on him when trying to figure out the root cause of his confusion and word-swapping.)
"Then for just now, I'll stick with Green, okay?"
"Eh… sure." he concedes before he allows the medic to do his job with no further complaints, since 'Red' offers his hand to hold. He's already holding 'Orange''s hand just so he settles down. Three Kaminoans have entered the medical wings. They've always made him a little nervous, much like a lot of things; he speculates that Orange has a lot of masked nervousness…
"Don't think about the long-necks…" he whispers, nudging his youngest batchmate to turn his back on the Kaminoans. "Just think about us, or what you want your Name to be. Anything but them. You're okay. So long as I'm here."
He'd make sure of it. For all of them. He's just minutes older than them, and he never wanted to be the oldest… but for them? Maker. As much as they drive him crazy, he'd probably burn down the galaxy for them if it would keep them safe.
These are his baby brothers. And he loves them.
Everything. He'd do everything again in a damn heartbeat.
He just needs to make sure if he gets another chance, another life, that he does a lot of things differently. That he stands up to Jaccynn sooner, and defends his batchmates more. That he tells his brothers he loves them, not just showing them through acts of service or sacrifice. Apologizes to his superior officers for being so closed off and stoic all the time. Thank the other brothers who showed friendship and offered their help to the youngest of his batch.
But more important than anything else is that he explains why his name is FARO…
Note from Frost: Don't have much of an explanation for this other than "creative exercise that I don't hate", taking the advice of just writing for myself on occasion, and exploring more of what made Faro tick. This ties in most directly to "Nice To Meet You, Brother" and "I Have No Mother, Only A Brother" within the OC "lore".
[Masterlist] [Clone OC Masterlist]
#frostfics#Baby Brothers: Faro's Telling#star wars#clone oc: gunnar/faro/cryfar/fluke#clone oc: canvas#tcw headcanons#I just really REALLY love the brother dynamic of the clones so I've created my own lore and narrative about it at this point#faro's greatest weakness and his strength were his batchmates#they annoyed him at times no doubt but he loved them so much#colored text#tw eyestrain#cw eyestrain#(just to be safe)
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DC's Stargirl 3.09 "Chapter Nine: The Monsters" has aired on the CW, and I'm here to talk about it.
Let's start this off by talking about the bad news. It has been confirmed that season three will be the end of Stargirl. Which is sad, but not surprising given how everything else in the CW and DC entertainment at large has been going. From that announcement, we know the creative team behind the show was given this information during the early production of this season and they were able to create an actual ending for the show that they believe is a good farewell, which is more than other shows have gotten. Let's enjoy what we've got while we have it.
As always, fuck grandma Mahkent, everyone hates you. At least grandpa seems to care about Cameron as a person.
Yay Pat being a stable human being and talking about his emotions and worries with Barbara. And Mike's tragic backstory reveal!
Yolanda's right, as much as it sucks. She really can't tell her parents everything because her parents have never been proven to give a single fuck about her. They would ruin her life, we've already seen them do it before. They didn't stand before and all evidence points to them not standing by her now.
I really like Jakeem genuinely wanting to help out Cindy. He's got a good heart.
Yet again, fuck grandma Mahkent.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, Cameron deserves to know the truth. Courtney doesn't have to, and shouldn't, reveal who the other JSA members are (though yeah, he can probably figure it out considering who her only friends are). Rick can be mad about it all he fucking wants, but it's not his life. Cameron has a right to know the truth about his own family. Just like Rick had a right to know about his back in season 1. (I want it to be known that I was just talking shit about Rick while the episode was paused right before he got emotional right here. I take back nothing but I'm glad to see some growth from this boy.)
Paula wants to teach Barbara some self-defence, love that for them.
Hey, Jakeem finally got a wish that worked out! Good for him.
Do you think Cameron's grandparents (grandma) could be the ones watching the group? It would make sense to me.
And immediately proven correct on my suspicions. I love being right, even when it's obvious.
THE SHOWDOWN BEGINS!!
Beth's suit can fight for her?? Incredible.
Artemis!! I've been wondering where you went, glad to see you girl!
Something about this showdown between Rick and Cameron is really attractive to me. I want to know how Cameron learned to fight like this. I really like seeing how Cameron does actually have this dark side to him because we know he is and can be better than it. And grandpa sees it too and wants Cameron to be better. He sees Cameron as a person.
Beth really is the heart and soul of the JSA in these moments. She very clearly throughout this whole confrontation has been trying to avoid. At this moment, it's because she was the only person who was both in a position and thinking about the bigger picture. Courtney came here specifically to try and stop this cycle from continuing and give everyone involved. She is thinking about the bigger picture but she's not in a position to do anything at the moment, and we also know that, like Yolanda, she'll do what she has to protect her friends. Yolanda is trying her best to protect the people she cares about and will do whatever it takes. And Rick is drugged out of his mind and not thinking straight. Beth is not only the only one who is in that place right now, but she almost always is.
Oh, that is a dead body at the farm. Who the fuck is this gorilla? Is it Ultra-Humanite? That's a surprise! Where the fuck did he come from!
Damn, things have really been stirred up. We got a new player on the field. The preview for the next episode looks like we're finally gonna get the confrontation between the JSA and Rick that we've been building to. The dude is drugged as fuck and he needs some help. Will he get it? Who knows! Cameron is finally going to get the full story from Courtney, hopefully. I'm excited to see what that disaster is going to look like. We'll find out with DC's Stargirl 3.10 "Chapter Ten: The Murderer"
#stargirl cw#stargirl (dctv)#courtney whitmore#yolanda montez#rick tyler#beth chapel#cindy burman#pat dugan#barbara whitmore#mike dugan#sylvester pemberton#stargirl#wildcat#hourman#dr midnite#shiv#s.t.r.i.p.e.#starman#lawrence corck#paula brooks#sportsmaster#tigress#jakeem williams#jakeem thunder#tw drug mention#sheep talks superheroes
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On Target
A Nightwing Fanfic
Sequel to Waiting On You
Read the next part, Midnight Secrets here
Pairing: Dick Grayson x Reader kind of, but it's from his POV and he's out of town, thinking about you.
Content warning: graphic language-our boys are being themselves
TW: NONE! Except...maybe sharing feelings, a tiny bit of angst? (I'm trying to be so careful about these but I think this one is very safe.)
Note: Thank you so much to everyone who read my last fic! This chapter is from Dick's POV. Mostly him interacting with Tim and Jason (which I adore), but lots of mentions of you, dear reader, so I will categorize it as a pairing in the tags and I promise you're IN the next chapter. Lots of backstory in this one but it's important to future chapters. I promise it lays framework for a ton of fluff, smut and ACTION.
Summary: After leaving your house, Dick and his brothers are on the way to South America to catch up with an old nemesis. Trying his best to focus on the mission, Dick realizes he can't get you out of his head.
Word count: approx. 1,600
/ / / / /
Dick Grayson.
It's just a name, he thought, staring out the window of the Batplane. Underneath a star-strewn sky, the shadowy tropical landscape slid by, shimmering slightly under the jet's cloaking system.
Bruce had always told him that his mask and his identity were one thing. "Protect it," he'd said once, "and no one can use it against you."
Bruce was great at protecting things, keeping them under wraps, Dick thought. But he had never talked about what might happen when he wanted to open up to someone. This urge to let someone in-someone besides his team, his family and his friends-was new. Brand new.
But then, so were you. Dick felt his heart quicken a little at the thought of you. He hated how caged he had to be with you, but if he was going to protect you, that was how it had to be. At least for now.
"Hey, you awake or what, dude? We're almost there." Jason hopped over the back of seat next to Dick, landing with a thud. A Nintendo switch dangled from one hand, while the other punched Dick in the shoulder. The Legend of Zelda theme chimed from the console. "What's up with you, man?" Jason chirped. "You've been mopey this whole trip."
"I'm not mopey," Dick shot back, sounding a little meaner than he meant to. He scowled. The truth was, he was moping. Jason was right-and that pissed him off even more. Normally he would be 100% focused on one thing only-the mission, not worrying about anything he'd left behind in Jump City. The only difference was that the thing he'd left behind this time was you-and there wasn't a single thing on earth that could replace you.
He couldn't help it. He missed you.
What was happening to him? He didn't think he had smiled once since he'd seen you. His scowl deepened. Normally, Dick wouldn't even consider how often he did or didn't smile but since leaving your side, he couldn't help but notice-he was definitely missing you and it was affecting not only his mood, but his concentration.
He slouched in his seat. Great, he thought. I'm going after one of Jump City's most wanted criminals, and I choose now to start going crazy. Just perfect.
Jason shrugged and kicked his feet up. "Oookay, whatever." He could definitely tell when something was bothering his older brother but he was not going to push it. Bruce hadn't exactly trained them in emotional intelligence-even if he could tell that something was wrong, he'd have exactly 0% of an idea of how to fix it. Even if Dick wanted to open up about it, it would take time-a lot more time than they had before this mission started.
He tried to go back to playing Switch. Normally he would let it go but worrying about Dick irritated him. It could seriously screw up their mission if they weren't on the same page and he was not looking forward to Bruce's reaction if that happened.
Bruce never used traditional hour-long lectures, he just shook his head and put them through hours of training and simulations. Jason winced, remembering how sore he'd been after the last time. "Look, whatever it is, just get it together before we land. We've only got one shot to pull this off."
Dick mumbled a moody agreement. He knew full well what was at stake. One false move and they might lose their lead on her.
Terra.
He had purposely kept the details of this mission between himself, his bat-siblings and his original team...minus one person. If Beast Boy knew the entire story, he would either go overboard, blinded by emotion, or try to reason for her, trying to justify what she'd done. And they couldn't afford either reaction.
After years of cold trails, fake tips and false leads, they finally had a concrete path to her. Terra had resurfaced, terrorizing cities all over South America, using her powers to terrify local citizens while she and her goons robbed banks and businesses.
That was just the beginning; she'd only fallen onto the league's radar in the past year, when her name had come up in connection with a series of break-ins at South American government installations, each one specializing in DNA studies.
It didn't take a genius to know that Terra had to be stopped, soon. A criminal plus stolen government property could only equal bad news.
It was only because Beast Boy was one of his very best friends that word hadn't gotten around to him. Dick gritted his teeth, remembering how awkward he'd felt asking Bruce for the favor of classifying the intel from all but the core members of the League.
It had been unpleasant but until she was caught, he couldn't risk Beast Boy finding out that Terra was once again their latest target. Letting his best friend know that his ex was stealing everything South of the Gulf of Mexico just didn't seem like a great idea.
Dick ran a hand through his hair, huffing another sigh as some minor turbulence jostled the plane. He understood all too well why Beast Boy couldn't think straight when it came to Terra. It had been years since her utter betrayal but Beast Boy...he simply hadn't recovered. Terra meant to Beast Boy what you meant to Dick, and the way he felt about you, he wasn't 100% sure that he wouldn't react the same way if you ever betrayed him.
All he could do was hope that you wouldn't.
Tim appeared from the cockpit, chugging the last of a tripleshot coffee energy drink. "Alright boys, get your asses in gear. We're here, and we had quite a smooth flight if I say so myself," he said, grinning proudly. Jason snorted. "Yeah right, we know what autopilot is," he joked, ducking as Tim chucked the empty can at him.
Dick felt a little better, watching his brothers. He was glad he'd had the fortitude to let Tim fly this mission. Bruce had personally taught each of them to fly, Dick included. But with his mind boomeranging off of you, Beast Boy and Terra, he didn't trust himself in a pilot's seat right now. Once they were on the ground, he knew he'd be able to focus. Besides, Tim could use the practice.
Tim pulled his mask on. "Before we left, Bruce went through all the financial records for each guard employed at this facility and cross checked them with all of their account balances and spending habits. I had a chance to look at the data too and the numbers do not match up-they are all definitely being paid off. Terra must be padding their pockets to make sure they look the other way while she cleans them out. The question is, cleans them out of what?"
Dick nodded. "That's what we're here to find out."
Getting up from his seat, Jason tucked his Switch into his bag. He grabbed a couple of extra birdarangs, tucking them into the empty slots of his utility belt. "Bruce accessed their bank statements? I know he's smart and all but doesn't bypassing bank security take like, genius level hacker skills?"
"Yeah," Tim echoed slowly. "Genius level hacker skills."
Everyone looked at Dick.
He smirked. "Okay, I helped. But hey-Bruce is the one who taught me how to get around those firewalls. He was just giving me a refresher course."
Then he grew serious. "Alright, everyone listen up. Latest intel tells us this is where Terra and her crew are hitting tonight. This is not an assault mission. This is snatch-and-grab recon, only. We get in, find Terra, find out what she's been up to and who she's been working for," Who she's been working for this time, he thought drily, remembering Slade.
"We'll wrap her buddies up nice and pretty for the local authorities but Terra's our primary target. She leaves with us. Tim, I want any and all resources on this facility that we don't already have-I need schematics, financials, visitors logs, security codes, inventory, everything. Upload it to the cave's database. Jason, I want the guards immobilized and all security footage and logs from tonight erased or set up to be erased before we're even gone. No one knows we were here."
Tim and Jason exchanged glances. "Annnd...where exactly will you be?" Jason prodded.
Dick turned his earpiece on, checking the connection. "I've got something else to handle."
"You mean you're going after Terra," Tim said pointedly.
Dick didn't answer. No way was he letting anyone else take her down. He owed it to Beast Boy.
This was personal.
"Ready?" He asked. His brothers nodded. After they deployed, the Batplane would land itself, staying hidden until they were ready. "You all have your assignments. 10 minutes from drop point to entry, 20 minutes to converge at my location. We're in, we're out, we're gone. Everyone's com systems online?"
Jason tapped his earpiece. "Ladies and Gentleman, Captain Tim has turned off the fasten seatbelt sign, feel free to roam about the cabin," he said in his best pilot's voice. "Welcome to the creepy-ass jungle, it's about 1 am local time because apparently, we only do shit like this in the middle of the fucking night. Enjoy your evening capturing supervillains, and thank you for flying Bat Airlines."
Tim rolled his eyes. "I can hear both you dorks just fine, unfortunately. Let's do this."
Dick slammed his palm on the deploy button. The Batplane's ramp opened slowly, ushering the jungle's humid night air into the cabin. The team stood silently, feeling the exhilaration and anticipation that came just before a mission. If any of them had been feeling uncertainty, it was gone now. They were good at this. They were born for this.
One by one, they leapt silently from the jet, dropping through the jungle canopy below.
To be continued...
#nightwing#nightwing x reader#nightwing x you#nightwing x y/n#nightwing fanfic#nightwing fic#nightwing story#nightwing imagine#robin#dick grayson#tim drake#jason todd#batfam#batfam fic#batfam fanfic#batsibs#dc comics#dc universe#dc comics fic#dc comics fanfic#dc universe fanfic#teen titans#teen titans imagine#teen titans story#teen titans fic#teen titans fanfic#young justice#young justice imagine#young justice fic#young justice story
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Rockin' the Suburbs: Destiel Fic Chapter 1
Chp2 Chp3 Chp4 or read on ao3
Pretending to be married to his best friend who he's secretly in love with? Dean's totally got this under control. But pretending to be married and raising an actual toddler with his best friend who he's secretly in love with? Yeah so maybe he doesn't have it totally, under control, actually he's screwed. Fake married case fic+actual baby Jack? What could go wrong?
This was all Sam's fault.
Sam had strolled into the war room yesterday afternoon announcing that he had found a case in Sudbury, Massachusetts. Six people died, all parents, all with one kid, kids lived, but the parents, they weren't so lucky. It was in one of those Stepford gated communities where every house looked the same, "Pleasant Acres", or some crap like that. Meaning, Jody, Donna and Claire were all set to take the case, but they called twenty minutes ago saying they got caught up on a hunt in Montana. So now they were all shifting through their contacts, trying to find hunters with kids, since whatever it was only seemed to target families.
And Dean's been feeling well, weird, ever since Sam brought up the case yesterday. Something itching in the back of his mind. He's of course been trying to ignore it, but now that he's reading over the case it's getting stronger, making his twist in way he definitely doesn't want to unpack.
He glances up across the room, eyes quickly finding Cas and Jack. Cas is seated across from him on Jack's blanket, helping him build unstable block towers, just so he could knock them down.
(read the rest under the cut)
Dean's stomach twists again, and an all too familiar feeling washes over him.
Yeah, he definitely doesn't want to unpack it.
"Hey, I think I got something" Sam calls pulling Dean from his trance as Cas stands, making his way back to his chair.
"So Sarah and Mike Johnson? Jody met them, and their daughter, Katie on a hunt last year. They live somewhat close by, so I'll try to give them a call" Sam continues, reaching for his phone.
And now, Dean doesn't know why, but he felt that thing squirm deep inside him, and the next thing he knew, he was talking.
"Why don't we take it?" Dean practically shouts startling everyone, including himself.
Sam paused, cellphone halfway to his ear and Cas' head snapped up so quick Dean's worried he has whiplash.
And so Dean freezes, mouth suddenly very dry.
What the hell was he doing, why was h-
"Why don't we take the case? I mean the thing is only going after families right, and we-we've got an 18 month old super baby right here. So we cou-two of us could take Jack for a week, play house for a week, and gank the thing" Dean somehow chokes out, watching as Sam and Cas' stare with increasingly disbelieving looks.
Dean’s heart began pounding against his chest.
Dean could barely believe the suggestion to take the hunt came out of his mouth, let alone bringing the kid? Completely out of the question, way too dangerous. He's not just gonna put the kid directly in harms way, on a hunt for godsake! And yet the suggestion had rolled off his tongue anyway? Dean didn't know why.
God what the hell was wrong with him today?
But it's not like he can just take it back now that he practically screamed it, so in favor of looking like an idiot or delving into the reason behind why he said it, Dean sat in his own silent panic.
From across the table he watched Sam's face contort into about three different emotions, finally landing on something that looked like agreement.
Shit.
"Well, that might actually be a goo-" Sam started with a sigh
"You can't seriously be suggesting we bring Jack along on a hunt? It's too dangerous, we've barely even left the bunker with him" Cas immediately cut in and god Dean could kis-Dean was very relieved.
And Sam surely wouldn't argue with that. So he was in the clear. He could just forget about this whole stupid conversation like it never happened, and never have to think about it ag-
"Exactly, I mean you guys have barely left the house and Jack has barely even seen the world. I hate to say it, but I think it'd be good, for all of us" Sam replied reluctantly.
And there goes Dean's heart rate.
"Sam, we don't even know what we're up against it co-"
"I know Cas, but he'll be with us. And besides, it looks like whatever's doing this, is only taking victims with young children, not a single one is over the age of five. So it's probably better if we end up taking the case anyway, rather than Sarah and Mike, or even Jody and the girls. We're the only one with a kid under ten. Plus he's half angel, we're probably at greater risk than Jack is" Sam reasons carefully.
A tense silence fell over them, the only sound was Jack babbling to himself on the other side of the room. Dean wanted to say something, wanted to say he doesn't know what he was thinking and it's crazy and they shouldn't take the case, but his mouth wasn't exactly on his side today.
He snuck a glance at Cas who has his eyes trained on Jack.
The tension was killing him, Dean had to say something. He couldn't just let this happen because his stupid mouth started talking nonsense.
So he swallows thickly, opening his mouth to take it all back, so they could forget this whole conversation ever happened, so he wouldn't have to think about why h-
"You're right" Cas sighs, looking as if his answer deflated him.
And Dean couldn't agree more with that sentiment because suddenly all of the air was knocked out of his lungs. He must have looked like it too because Sam met his eyes across the table, leveling him with a look Dean can't decipher.
Then suddenly, a smile spread across his face, which in his experience, is never a good sign.
"Alright so, Dean can stay at a nearby hotel, while Cas and I take the nei-"
"I'll go with Cas" Dean blurted before he even realized what was happening.
He snapped his jaw shut, but apparently not quick enough. Again, Dean didn't know why he said that, but that thing was back swirling around his stomach so he assumed it had to do with whatever the hell that was. And his mouth must have a mind of it's own today because he's pretty sure he didn't tell it to start moving, let alone say that.
Dean's heart beat against his chest, face burning. He forced his eyes to look up at Sam, not daring to even glance in Cas' direction. He can't handle any look that might be on his face. What if he'd rather go with Sam? What if he's ang-
"Okay it's all settled then, I mean so long as that's good with you Cas?" Sam asked, smile turning into a smirk.
"Yes, that's good with me" Cas replied, tone unreadable.
Was he really okay with it? Was he creeped out by the way Dean cut in? Was he actually annoyed that he'd have to be with Dean?
All great questions, with sadly no answers. Because Dean would have to actually look at him, if he wanted any insight to what Cas was thinking, and that was so not going to happen. Not with his face still on fire.
"Alright perfect! I'll call the real estate agent, about setting up a house tour, you guys start packing? And oh, don't forget to think of your backstory so you're both on the same page! We can leave in the morning" Sam said with a too wide smile, as he pushed himself out of his chair. Sam stopped for a moment, giving him a look that Dean definitely didn't want to think about right now, before turning down the hall with a skip in his step.
Yup, this was definitely all Sam's fault.
Heart still racing in his chest, Dean braves a look over at Cas.
And a bit of relief floods through him when he catches those blue eyes. Cas seemed fine, doesn't look angry or disgusted at the thought of doing this thing with Dean. So he counts that as a win, and his heart rate slows a bit, but he still doesn't know what Cas is thinking, and he needs to know.
But he doesn't dare say anything, because at this point anything could come out of his mouth, and that's definitely not a risk Dean's willing to take after the mini heart attack he just suffered. So, awkward silence it was until Cas decides to speak up.
Eventually, after what feels like hours, Cas slumps forward folding his hands on the table as he stares over at Jack. Dean follows his gaze, watching Jack knock over his lopsided block tower with an excited shriek. A small smile tugs at his lips.
"Dean, I still think this is reckless" Cas sighs and Dean turns back, finding his eyes trained on him, filled with worry.
Dean's smile slips at the sight, his heart clenching and he pretends not to know the real reason why.
Things were already...weird between him and Cas lately, and now his dumbass had to go and make it worse. Because what the hell was he thinking suggesting they take this hunt, bring along the kid, and practically beg to pretend to live with Cas. Jesus, Cas is probably beyond creeped out and angry.
Dean has to fix this.
"Cas, listen I'm sorry it was a stupid idea-I don't even know why I said it. Because now we're putting Jack in danger-and it's not fair that you're gonna have to be stuck pretending to be married to me because I-I'm gonna go find Sam and we can just call the whole thing off, and he can contact that other family an-"
"Dean, no stop I want to do the hunt" Cas cut in quickly, effectively stopping Dean's rambling.
"But yo-"
"I said I still thought it was reckless, and it is-to bring Jack along I mean. But Sam's right he's barely gotten out of the bunk-we've all barely gotten out of here, so I think it'll be good for all of us. And besides Jack has his powers" Cas replied, gaze shifting back to Jack.
Dean let out a breathe he didn't realize he was holding. Cas wasn't angry at him, he wanted to go on the hunt. And he didn't seem too torn up about doing it with Dean so-
"Jack will have us to protect him the entire time. And I'm glad it's with you, I feel safer about the whole endeav-not that Sam isn't a phenomenal hunter. He is, but let's face it he isn't the world's best babysitter when it comes to Jack" Cas said turning back to Dean with an amused smile.
He's of course talking about the last time Sam watched Jack, where they walked in to see Sam trying to coax Jack off the ceiling into a laundry basket piled with blankets.
Dean couldn't help crack a smile at Cas' little joke. The squirming feeling had disappeared, leaving Dean feeling much calmer about the whole thing as he relaxed in his chair.
They'd be fine, this would be just like any other hu-
"So, Sam mentioned a backstory? Should we come up with that now, so we aren't caught off guard when someone asks?" Cas suggested, eyes staring into Dean's.
And just like that, Dean's calm had left the building.
"Uh yeah sure. Let's do th-let's start with how we met" Dean managed, now that his throat had gone dry again.
"Well, we met September 19th, 2008 in a barn in-"
"Okay September 2008, we can use that-but let's turn the barn into a bar instead? I saw you sitting at the bar alone, bought you a drink, we started talking, boom the rest is history" Dean raced, wanting very much to be done with this conversation.
"Dean, people always seem to be interested in these kinds of stories. We're probably going to need more information if anyone is going to buy it"
Damnit. Cas had a point, stupid angel always has to be right. So he puffed out a breathe, unclenching his fists under the table.
Breathe Winchester. It's just some fake story.
"Alright alright, so I saw you at the bar, you looked lonely so I bought you a drink and we got to talking. You uh...just got out of a long relationship with a bad ex, and I had just been through hell and back with my job-"
"Oh I see, like me rebelling against heaven, and you literally going to hel-"
"Yeah genius how'd you crack that cod" Dean quipped only to be cut off by a swift kick to the shin. Cas shot him a smug smile causing Dean to roll his eyes, and his stomach definitely did not flip.
Get it together Winchester
"So you helped me through a terrible breakup, and I helped you through the stress of your job. In a way we saved each other, which isn't so different from our real story" Cas continues.
And Dean swears his friggin heart stopped, Cas' words knocking the wind out of him.
God Dean should have stopped thi-
"By the way, what is your job going to be?" Cas questioned with his usual tilt of the head that definitely did not send Dean's heart racing even faster.
"Don't care you pick" Dean managed to force out, as he tried to gain control of his anxiety.
"A mechanic, I think. You love working on Baby, I think you'd enjoy getting to fix and help other people's cars for a living" Cas suggested in the most sincere tone Dean's ever heard. And how Dean somehow managed a nod of approval through his internal breakdown, he'll never know.
"Alright, so you pick what my job is then" Cas smiled softly, either not noticing Dean's panic or clearly ignoring it. Dean was grateful for either option.
Dean managed to reign in his stupid freak out long enough to get his brain working.
"A college professor-maybe like English lit or something. I know you like to read, and you always like to talk to about the books after you finish them. That is if you wa-"
"I think that's perfect, it sounds like a nice career"
"Great, so met in September 2008, mechanic and English Professor helped each other through their crap. Now they're moving to the suburbs to grill burgers in the backyard and fight to get the kid into a good preschool. Sounds like we've go-"
"Oh, we need a wedding anniversary" Cas cut in.
And yeah Dean's 100% sure his heart stopped this time.
How could Dean be so stupid, they wouldn't have to just pretend to be together (which was difficult enough within itself, for reasons he'd rather not discuss), they'd have to be married. Of course he knew this logically, but since his mouth had a friggin mind of it's own, he wasn't really thinking about the implications.
Married. To Cas. With a kid. A family.
And god, Dean couldn't even sa-no he's so not unboxing that right now.
"Uh, got married in our backyard. Just pick any date" Dean said weakly once he found his voice.
Cas was silent for a moment, expression unreadable. Then he nodded to himself
"November 2nd, 2017"
And that was the final hit. Dean was sent spiraling, losing any control he had regained.
The day Cas got out of the empty, the night he called Dean, the night Dean tried to-
"Alright, good. Sounds like we've got everything covered. I'm gonna get a start on packing, why don't you put Squirt over there down for his nap" Dean said jumping to his feet and quickly made his way to his room without a glance backwards. He feels like shit for leaving Cas just sitting there, but he had to get away before he really lost it.
Dean carefully tries not to slam his door and flops down on his bed. His thoughts buzz around in his skull, while about ten different emotions wash over him all at once. With a groan he reaches out and punches his mattress, which doesn't do much of anything seeing as its memory foam.
God what the hell had he gotten himself into.
He just agreed to be fake married to his best friend and live in a house in the suburbs with a 18 month old child.
He was crazy. He didn't even know why he said anythi-god who was he kidding. Of course he knew why he said it, he just didn't know why he let himself say them out loud. Now he's gonna have to play house with Cas and Jack for at least a week, when he can't even admit to himself th-
No. He can't let any of that get in the way. He can't throw himself a pity party just because Cas doesn-this stupid hunt was his own stupid fault, also partially Sam's (Dean's still sticking to that, thank you very much)
This is still a hunt, there are lives at stake. He can stow it. For everyone's sake.
So Dean sighs running his hands through his hair as he racked his mind for what he'd have to pack. On autopilot he began grabbing his clothes and usual crap, shoving it into his bag. As he zipped it up, his eyes landed on a box in the top of his closet.
In a flash he had the box down, lid off, sitting on his lap. Dean reached inside, pulling out two rings and his stomach flipped at the sight.
Yeah, it was gonna be a long night.
The next morning they were all in the garage packing up the trunk, getting ready to leave for their two day drive. Sam said the real estate agent was ecstatic that they were interested in the house. Must be a hard sell since the last three owners died inside.
Dean was strapping Jack into his car seat, rings weighing his pocket down, like a boulder.
"I'm gonna grab the last bag from the kitchen" Sam announced as he jogged out of the garage.
Well, it was now or never. So Dean drew in a shaky breath and walked around the car.
"Uh Cas, here" Dean said lamely, holding out a ring between his fingers.
Cas tilted his, eyes widening at the object.
"We're uh, supposed to be married right? So we need rings ya know" Dean continued unsure of how to proceed.
Cas nodded in understanding, carefully taking it from Dean's fingers, and slipped onto his left hand.
Dean gasped, and quickly tried to cover it up
"Uh yeah sorry of it's too tight, it's mind from years ago. I used to wear a few of them all the time, but they hurt like a bitch when you gotta deck someone" Dean rambled, face heating up.
"It's perfect, thank you" Cas smiled, meeting his eyes.
The squirming feeling was back, and squirmier than ever.
"What about you?" Cas asked looking at Dean's empty fingers.
"Oh! I've got my mom's old wedding ring. Had it resized to fit years ago, so I figured it would work" Dean rushed, pulling the second ring out of his pocket and slipping it onto his finger.
When he looked up again, Cas was staring at him with a look Dean had never seen on him before. It made his heart skip a beat in his chest.
"Alright! You guys ready to go?" Sam called as he walked back through the door, causing both of them to jump.
Moment ruined.
Without a word, they quickly climbed into the Impala. As Dean went to turn the key, his eyes traveled to the rearview mirror.
Jack giggling in his car seat as Cas wiggled his stuffed rabbit right above his head. Cas suddenly looked up catching his eye in the mirror, giving him a soft smile, which Dean found himself easily returning.
His eyes slid over to Sam, who was staring at the ring on his finger. Then Sam met his eyes, offering him a smirk and a raised eyebrow.
So Dean quickly snapped his attention forward, and turned the key a bit too hard.
Yeah, Dean was fucked.
Tag list:
(Please let me know if you'd like to be added or removed💛!!!)
@wormstacheangel @smiledean @shelikestv @chaoticdean @midnightwings-deancas @jellydeans @sunshine-jack @archervale @wikiangela @organicpurplepants
@writtendevastation @tkdwolf2012 @doemons-blog @rolling-stoned-girl @skylerkernaghan @shadowywerewolfqueen @the-cookie-navy @thelahatiel @thefantasyfiend @castielle-deanna @aestheticflyer26
@multi-fandom-imagine @x-mypeopleskillsarerusty-x @wellofwoes @becky-srs @multi-fandom-dark-lord @perfectkoaladream @castiel-for-lunch @it--hurts--to--become @bowtiesandneckerchiefs @dakiaty @feraldean @teamfreebees @keshetcas @hrh-princess-bea @martymar1963 @misha-moose-dean-burger-lover @midnight-sparks-studio @slipper007 @winchester-novak
#looks its a fic that i actually planned out!! who knew??#graphic design is NOT my passion but thatd the best i can do ashdhsgah#i love fake married case fics but like added drama of them also being like 'and this is our child' makes me go crAZY so here you go#this first chapter turned out to be 3k by accident so like who knows not me?#this is like a lot of set up and background sorry ashdhaga#THANK YOU ALISON FOR THE TOWN SUGGESTION because my dumbass couldnt think of a town#AND THANK U RUBI FOR LISTENING TO ME YELL ABOUT THIS IDEA#im not following canon really beyond cas coming back from the empty in s13#destiel fic#baby!jack#dad!dean#dadstiel#dean winchester#castiel#jack kline#sammy#bec writes#destiel#goodthingsclara#baby jack truthing
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I've got to object HEARTILY to Esme being Jewish. Domestic abuse is anathema in Jewish culture (with the exception of *maybe* some very very fundamentalist sects), and it's canonical that her parents knew Charles was physically hurting her. I don't care what time period we're talking about, Esme's parents would have taken her home and she would have recourse to a divorce. That headcanon is not awesome, it's extremely culturally tone-deaf.
Oh you have decided to come into my inbox to talk about someone else's headcanon. Well, strap in, anon, this is going to be a semi-long post because there are four separate things this ask makes me want to talk about.
tl;dr--this is interesting and useful, so why not direct this comment in a thoughtful manner at the OP?
First, let's talk about headcanons. Headcanons are what in the trade are called backstory. They're the stuff that you, as the author, know about your character which may or may not end up on the page, but which should influence what does end up on the page. When you're talking to the writer of a source, there is a "right" and a "wrong" headcanon because the author actually does know what they had in mind (or at least, they should; I happen to think that is often not the case for Stephenie Meyer). But when it comes to fans reading between the lines, making up their own headcanons to guide their own engagement with characters? There's no such right and wrong. There're some things that are better supported or less supported, either by canon itself or by history/circumstance, of course. We can agree or disagree on them, or argue about why one makes more sense than another, but when it comes to it, we aren't the originators of the canon so unless they're running contradictory to the canon, they're not "wrong" per se.
Second. Esme as Jewish. This is a piece of Twi Renaissance fanon with which I happen also to HEARTILY disagree. While I happen not to be Jewish and don't know this particular piece of information you've offered, anon, there are two big reasons why I think her being Jewish is a nonstarter: one, the Jewish population in Ohio was very small in 1911 and mostly in Cincinnati, which was the largest city at the time, not Columbus. It was also very insular--a Jewish family was not particularly likely to horse-and-buggy it to the city to see a doctor. I agree, the way Esme's parents behaved is much more consistent with Protestant, Calvinist Christianity, which would make a ton of sense for the middle of Ohio at the turn of the 20th century. I've never fully fleshed this one out in my head, but I'd be leaning toward Methodist.
The second reason I disagree with it is that it strikes me as very unlikely that Carlisle would be open to marrying a Jewish woman. This is a rant suited for another day, but please never mistake my curiosity for Carlisle's character as a blanket condoning of everything he is and stands for. He's quite racist, which we see in canon, he's pretty misogynistic, and he doesn't experience much contrition for the ways his actions harm others. The religion he was raised in would've taught him to be derisive of Jewish people, and the circles he moved in thereafter would not have offered very many opportunities for him to change his mind. So I am starting from a base of assuming that Carlisle is pretty anti-Semitic. I think he probably woke up on this front around the Holocaust. These things are actually why I find him so compelling--he's pretty deeply prejudiced about a lot of things and it means he has great blind spots I can exploit as a writer.
Okay, onto thing three. So why would I reblog something and tag it with my "awesome headcanons" tag when I don't agree with every single word? Because it's interesting and fun and sharing fan content makes the world go 'round. And consistent tags make it easier to navigate old content. But shouldn't I be really clear that I don't agree with that one part just be sure that no one mistakes it for my idea? Well, imagine if every headcanon or meta someone shared was followed by a bunch of reblogs of people going, "Well, actually I don't like this part even though I agree with most of these..." this place would stop being fun real quick. I lived through a time in this fandom when fic authors told their readers to go fuck themselves in their author's notes, when people created whole blogs and livejournal communities just to anonymously make fun of anyone whose fic was remotely popular, where it was seen as totally acceptable to drag people's
personal lives out in the open and mock them for whatever personal thing they mentioned having done in service of you know, just being human and talking about their lives.
That sort of constant fighting makes you not want to engage with other people. Most of us just took our balls and went home. So I'm not going to do that to another fan because I enjoy being a fan with other fans. This is also the same reason I don't spend a lot of time going "I know you all love calling Esme Jewish but I disagree because this this and this other this"...like, that's just not fun for anybody, even if I can support my position well. I will quietly hold my own headcanon over here and I'm going to not jump on somebody else about theirs.
But what if the thing somebody said actually could be unintentionally harmful? Am I telling you to just shut up about that? Part four: your very odd decision to anon into my inbox about headcanons from someone else. What you've offered here is really useful information, because as you point out, it suggests something negative about Jewish people (an already marginalized group) that isn't true and therefore is harmful. So here's a much more useful way to address that. Rather than going anon into the asks of a person who reblogged it, which doesn't get you anywhere, you could choose to either thoughtfully engage the OP, or you could reblog it yourself and say, "You know, this particular headcanon is actually problematic. You may not know this, but domestic violence is actually very frowned on in Jewish culture and it's very unlikely her parents would not have taken her back in. That they didn't suggests she's not Jewish. To suggest that she is Jewish would ascribe this untrue awful behavior to Jewish people which, given the extent to which Jewish people were and are still persecuted across the globe, is a thing you don't want to do, even unintentionally in good fun. So I just want to make you aware." The latter is probably the better option, in part because then you'll ascribe your own blog to the comment, and people can know it was your well-supported point.
You'll then allow yourself room to let the OP rebut directly about why they followed that particular headcanon in the first place and what they think of your critique of it. But since it's not actually my headcanon, and one I don't actually hold, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place. Thanks for the soapbox, though.
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Analyzing the writing of Eagles
Here's a post I've been wanting to make for a while! I've expressed my thoughts on some of the storylines in previous posts, but I've never done a complete post on the writing of the whole show.
I've divided this post into separate parts, focusing on each season and its plot points. Keep reading to see my analysis of the writing in Eagles! 👇
Word Count: 18k
If you've stumbled upon this post from the Young Royals or the Beartown tag (tagged them since I've drawn some parallels from those shows), here's a brief summary of what Eagles is, which you can watch with English subtitles here. This post contains Eagles spoilers from 1x01 - 3x10.
Eagles is a Swedish TV show that revolves around a few teenagers living in the Swedish ice hockey town Oskarshamn while experiencing friendship, love, and rivalry on the ice.
To start this off I would like to say that I have no experience with professional screenwriting and if anything, this is just a way for me to procrastinate on actually writing my own projects.
I love experiencing new stories and when I discover one I really like it's just natural for me to branch off with "what ifs" and to start wondering how the story would've turned out if some things were changed. Sometimes it's with a storyline improvement in mind, and other times it's just out of plain curiosity.
You might feel like this post is leaning towards the critical side, and I can definitely understand why since there are a lot of small details that I've picked apart from all seasons. I added a section for each season with things that I thought were really well done so this post wouldn't be too negative.
I actually did enjoy all seasons and I feel like the quality of not just the writing but every single thing has steadily increased each year.
Season 1: Tropes and clichés
Eagles premiered its first season in 2019 and was, despite many negative reviews, a big success among its target audience. Every episode on SVT Play amassed around 700 000–800 000 views and there didn't seem to be any doubt that the show would get renewed.
What the critics had issues with were that "Eagles rarely takes the unexpected path, and feels like a slightly soulless product of studied target group thinking a little too often," (Karolina Fjellborg in Aftonbladet) and "In Eagles, the characters seem to be locked in the role of a "teenager" but the humanity is missing. They've simplified the construction of the character," (Django Lorentzson in MovieZine).
Eagles was unfortunate enough to constantly be compared to SKAM in its infancy, and that's a tough comparison to live up to. SVT sort of shot themselves in the foot as they were the ones who contributed to it. While the show was still in the casting process, SVT wrote an article hyping the show up as a Swedish SKAM (which has since been edited, but led many to falsely believe that it would involve all the familiar SKAM characters with some hockey elements sprinkled in).
So, why exactly did critics think the first three episodes of the show were predictable and soulless? Well, it's pretty simple. They'd seen it all before. The setting, the characters, the storylines—just in different TV shows and movies.
Season 1 for me is nostalgic and very enjoyable despite its clichéd nature. I also felt like I'd seen the show before due to its generic storylines, but there is a reason why tropes are tropes and why clichés are clichés. It's because they're tried and true, and actually somewhat good writing tools as long as you expand on them. The keyword here is to expand—a story doesn't magically become good simply because you mimic something another writer has done. Tropes are fine to use but you can't just apply them and stop there. Everything in a story needs to be developed in order to be good.
It's safe to say that it's pretty much impossible to write a story without any tropes that have been used before. Striving to avoid clichés at all costs in hopes of making your story as original as possible is harder than it sounds, and almost impossible to boot. Here's a great piece of advice for aspiring writers written by a user on Carvezine:
[...] if you look down at your story and are worried it’s already been told before – don’t spend another second thinking about it. It has. A million times. The only difference is that it hasn’t been told by you. Accept that regurgitation is part of writing, and just do your best not to regurgitate the same way as the guy next to you. We’d all do well to acknowledge there is at least a portion of our stories that are really someone else’s.
[...] Beyond that, write with the motivation that if you don’t get around to telling your story, eventually somebody else will.
Even the greatest books have storylines with some clichés. And that's not really a bad thing, either. Think about it. How many times have you decided to binge a TV show solely because it reminded you of another series? Or picked up a book simply because you love a good enemies to lovers romance, a battle between good and evil fantasy, or whatever it might be?
I found this article from Masterclass that perfectly describes what tropes are and why they're used. It's written from the perspective of novel writing but it is still applicable.
A trope in literary terms is a plot device or character attribute that is used so commonly in the genre that it’s seen as commonplace or conventional. For example, a trope in superhero stories is a villain who wants to take over the world. Tropes are popular for a reason—if something has been written about over and over again, there’s a good chance that it’s something readers enjoy reading!
Tropes can be helpful, but a novel made up only of tropes will quickly start to feel stale and predictable to readers. That’s why you need to read up on tropes—and then innovate. Deliberately taking a favorite trope and turning it on its head is a great way to put your own unique spin on the genre and keep your readers interested.
Eagles, in its first season, didn't really do a lot of expanding upon the tropes they used and it's understandable that they were still trying to find their footing. I can also imagine it's difficult to do so when you only have eight 20 minute episodes in the season.
However... There definitely should've been more work put into these characters to make them their own. It's tricky, yes, but still achievable if you don't abandon them in their cookie-cutter form and try to actually decorate them with something unique and fresh.
So, how did they write their characters?
Felicia's character and backstory
To start off, Felicia is a famous influencer known for starring in a reality show next to her former NHL professional father. There's already a clear disconnect because it's hard to relate to a character with such a public past and large following. But it is 100% possible if you let the viewer know the character has humane qualities just like the person watching the show.
Look at Wilhelm from Netflix's Young Royals, another Swedish TV show. Wilhelm is the prince of Sweden, set to attend a prestigious elite boarding school, and is the heir to the throne. That doesn't exactly sound like a relatable scenario, does it? And yet the writers make it work because when we're introduced to Wilhelm we realize he's just like everybody else. He wants a normal life, he latches on to his older brother for support, he has anxiety, and he struggles between following his heart versus doing what his family is expecting him to do. A lot of these factors are relatable among the audience.
So, let's look at Felicia Kroon. She is in many ways portrayed as the main character of the show. Eagles starts off with her family having moved to Oskarshamn and the following episodes focus on her developing relationship with Ludde as well as her traumatic past. There's almost too much focus on Felicia here, and I'll get back to that.
Comparing Felicia to Wilhelm from Young Royals, they're both well-known teenagers with famous parents. Of course they have different circumstances considering Felicia is Instagram popular and Wilhelm is a blood royal, but in the grand scheme of things they're similar. Felicia is even referred to as a "Kroon princess" because of her last name Kroon bearing a resemblance to the Swedish word kronprinsessa, meaning crown princess.
The students of their respective schools treat their attendance as a big deal when they first arrive and then Wilhelm and Felicia start spending time with the "popular" crowd despite not really fitting in there.
I personally found it easy to relate to Wilhelm but difficult to relate to Felicia. Some people may feel differently, but her character is basically a popular party girl who attracts the attention of one of the school's star players and is "welcomed" by the popular crowd on her first day of school. I put welcome in quotation marks because Klara, the leader of the girl group, isn't exactly the most welcoming person but she does welcome Felicia to the school. My point is, Felicia doesn't have a lot of relatable traits in the first episodes.
Felicia then goes on a date with the guy she's met, Ludde. Okay, so there haven't been that many layers to her character yet. We're at the third episode and so far she's been kind of flat.
Near the end of the third episode, we get some depth to the character and we hear her back story.
Felicia: [...] We don’t have a good relationship, my dad and I. And that’s probably why we moved from the beginning, because he’s an idiot. We’ve never been close, but… Elias and he have been since they’ve had hockey. [...] And mom has been really involved, so… And I… They’ve never really cared about me. And… And I haven’t really been a problem either. I’ve had good grades, good friends, and… I don’t know why I’m telling you this. I don’t talk about it to people.
[...] I just felt so fucking lonely and invisible. I was worried all the time, couldn’t sleep, panicked because I couldn’t sleep… So I started going out more. It went overboard. It started affecting school, my grades slipped… I started taking things to be able to concentrate. Everybody does stuff like that. And then I still couldn’t sleep, so… I started mixing with sleeping pills. And there’s always wine and booze at our place. I don’t want this to come out, that’s really important.
Ludde: Of course, I’d never tell.
Felicia: One night, something happened that made me… Act out of control more than usual. I woke up the next morning in the hospital. So they sent me to rehab. It was really rough for mom and dad that I was suddenly in focus. When I woke up, dad wasn’t even there.
Ludde: What made you take too much that night?
Felicia: I’d forgotten my phone at home, so I ran up and got it while my friends were waiting in an Uber. Then I came into the hall and I heard noises. You know, like, when somebody is doing it.
Ludde: Okay.
Felicia: And I thought it was really weird because mom wasn’t home. So I went into the living room… Dad was fucking my mom’s best friend. On the rug below the couch.
This gives Felicia more layers and does separate her from every other "popular pretty party girl" trope that you see on TV. But this is a huge info dump, and that's a problem. I would've liked to see this happen on-screen instead of only being told what went down. The golden rule of Show don't tell, as people like to say.
Show, don’t tell is a writing technique in which story and characters are related through sensory details and actions rather than exposition. It fosters a style of writing that’s more immersive for the reader, allowing them to “be in the room” with the characters.
In his most commonly repeated quote, Chekhov said, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining. Show me the glint of light on broken glass."
This back story could've been more impactful that way if, perhaps, the show began with Felicia in a hospital bed with a strong headache and hazy flashbacks of that night where she saw her dad sleeping with another woman. Then we're introduced to her mother and brother sitting next to the hospital bed tired and worried, and Felicia notices her dad isn't present. They tell her Felicia is being sent to rehab and then there's a time-jump before we see the Kroon family having moved to Oskarshamn.
That's just an idea I threw together at the top of my head, but you get my point. It would've been more interesting if we knew from the beginning that Felicia had a traumatic past like this, leading the viewer to want to know more about what actually happened.
We did get a brief flashback at the very beginning of the show—we see Felicia partying with her friends and taking some pill before lying unconscious on the ground. There's also a glimpse of Ludde's car accident with Andreas yelling at him to get out of there.
That segment only lasts for around 45 seconds and it's easily forgettable upon your first viewing of the show. It's also hard to even recognize Felicia in the dark nightclub setting with the flashing lights. Some dialogue in that short scene could've made it more memorable, because I found that when I first watched season 1 I remembered Andreas yelling at Ludde despite that being drowned out by the music.
Ludde's backstory was way more well-done, in my opinion. We see him having crashed the car and bleeding from his head. He looks terrified and almost frozen by fear, needing to be pulled out of the car by a panicked Andreas yelling at him to bring Ludde back to the reality of the situation. We see Andreas yelling and pointing, telling Ludde he needs to run now. It's more powerful when we get to see it.
And in episode 8, when we learn the truth of what happened, it's not a long and dragged-out monologue. It fits into what's going on in the story. Felicia and Ludde have known each other for a few months now and are much closer than they were on their first date. They've had disagreements and fights, but at this moment they're in a good place.
And it feels like the right moment for Ludde to come clean about what happened to him.
Ludde: Hey… There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.
Felicia: What?
Ludde: About… My brother. It’s not really as everybody thinks.
Felicia: What do you mean?
Ludde: That night when he crashed… It wasn’t Andreas who drove the car. We were on our way home from one of his buddies. We’d had some fun drinking. And then… I’d just started learning how to drive. So I nagged and nagged at him.
Felicia: So you were the one driving? But he’s an adult-
Ludde: He was drunk as hell. He was going to leave the car, but I thought it was so cold and it was only three blocks away so I thought that I could drive.
Felicia: And what happened?
Ludde: It was slippery and really dark… And a car came. I hit the brakes in time, but it… Yeah. Right after he pushed me out of the car and yelled that I should run home straight away. He really didn’t want me to get into trouble. So, yeah… It was fucking bad luck. I want to just gather everybody and scream that it was me.
Felicia: Hey… I love you.
Ludde: I love you too. I love you so fucking much.
As Ludde is telling Felicia what happened as the other car came, we see a silent flashback of it along with Ludde's voice narrating. We see Andreas pulling him out of the car and yelling. Cutting to this scene that we've already seen in the beginning but might've forgotten about is a smart choice and makes the story Ludde is telling more real. We see it unfolding as Ludde is telling this to Felicia. It's a powerful scene.
We then see Felicia hugging Ludde from behind, a sign of support with no words needed. She tells him she loves him and Ludde says it back. It's an honest and sweet moment that comes at a perfect time in the story. It's not too early like Felicia's backstory was.
I sort of understand why Felicia's backstory was info-dumped because it was right before the drama of Mats accidentally spilling the beans to Klara's family. They wanted the audience to know what happened to her early, so they could move on to the plot point of Felicia thinking Ludde was the one who told everybody.
But we don't need every single detail of Felicia's story. Let it come organically. The only thing that was really needed was for Ludde to know that Felicia had struggled with drug use and was sent to rehab for this storyline to work. The reason why could've been saved for later, and it would've made for a more interesting reveal. Maybe just have Felicia allude to seeing something that night, but don't tell the viewers right away what it was.
In 1x06, Felicia is incredibly upset when she hears that her dad was the one who told Klara's family what happened to Felicia in the US. And rightly so.
Felicia: Don’t you get it? You ruined everything!
Mats: What?
Felicia: You told the whole damn town about me! About the US!
Mats: I really didn’t mean to disclose you- Or disclose us. Sorry. Hey, sorry. Flisan, please. Hey.
Felicia: Did you tell them you fucked mom’s best friend too? Yes, I saw you.
If this had been the moment where we first find out what Felicia saw, it would've been more surprising. Our reaction would've mirrored Mats's, and it would've been more heart-wrenching to know that Felicia was traumatized by an affair her dad had only to be cheated on herself in the very same episode.
Ludde's problematic nature
One of the scriptwriters of Eagles, Fanny Ekstrand, was interviewed in the behind-the-scenes documentary Edvins Skådisdrömmar. In this interview, she states:
Ludvig, he's the one who's been the easiest to retain the personality of. Because he's so... He's calm and friendly, but he makes dumb decisions. Ludvig isn't a typical hockey guy. He has a bunch of other qualities—music being one of them.
I found myself slightly disagreeing with this take, despite knowing Ekstrand is literally a part of the writing team and most likely helped shaped Ludde's personality. I just interpreted Ludde's character (at least in season 1) differently.
I also didn't find him that much different from any other typical hockey guy just because he happens to have another interest. That's a bit like saying Archie Andrews from The CW's Riverdale isn't a stereotypical jock because he also plays the guitar.
In season 1, we see Ludde break into the rink because he wanted to test out the ice. He just loves hockey that much. He also uses it as a way to express frustration and anger, which we saw in 1x05. He flirts with the new girl in school and in the beginning he even uses it as a tactic to gain a position on the main hockey team. This was confirmed by the creator Stefan H. Lindén in his Q&A, where he said:
My idea has always been that Ludde was blown away by Felicia and that he really likes her but that they both initially interacted and met to go swimming because Felicia knew it would piss her dad off and Ludde knew that it might throw Elias off since they were competing for the same position in the team.
I would say that the characteristics of a typical hockey guy would be someone like Adam—obsessed with the sport, flirting with girls, going to parties, and just spending a lot of time in the rink. Ludde checks off all of these points. However, I will give this the benefit of the doubt since season 2 Ludde seems to change a lot and it's easier to interpret him as the calm and friendly guy he was supposed to be in season 1.
So to me, Ludde wasn't calm and friendly at all. In season 2, yes, but when we're first introduced to him?
Ludde shows anger issues and violent tendencies in 1x05 when he head-butts Elias and breaks his nose. It's violent and messy. He then yells at Felicia to leave when she's trying to communicate with him and belittles her drug problems solely because she's rich. To me, Ludde wasn't a nice person in 1x04 either when he let his friends make suggestive comments about Felicia and what she was like in bed.
Omar: I can tell you one thing - you’re not borrowing my towel today cause I don’t know where that dick has been.
Adam: It’s nice when she sucks, right?
Omar: Can’t you tell us some more, does she bite you or is it just really, really nice?
[...]
Adam: Is that what you sound like when you’re coming? What does she sound like?
This was described as "locker room talk" and the writers probably wanted to show an authentic view of what being a hockey player is like. I understand that. But it's a little problematic when it's later swept under the rug and treated like something that we're just supposed to accept.
Elias: [...] it’s not very fun to sit in a hockey locker room where people are talking about how nice it is to fuck my sister.
Felicia: Ludde would never say anything like that, you know that.
Elias: He wouldn’t? It’s a locker room, Felicia. That’s the only thing they talk about.
It did not sit right with me how Felicia seemed to be the one Elias blamed in this scene, and Ludde and his friends never faced any real consequences for what they said. Elias did lash out at Ludde, but there was no severe consequence for Omar and Adam's comments.
Compare this scenario to another Swedish show, Beartown on HBO. Beartown is similar to Eagles and focuses on a hockey team in a small town with one of the star players hooking up with a girl who's recently moved to their small town.
This girl is raped by the hockey player. And because of his status as the star of the team, he has almost the whole school behind him. The girl however is labeled as a lying slut. It's unfair and frustrating to see it happen, but it's authentic and done in a way that doesn't glamorize the ugly side of hockey culture.
Eagles is not as dark as Beartown so this comparison might be a little unfair. Beartown's whole storyline did revolve around this incident while in Eagles the hockey culture is treated more as a side thought. It's like they decided to throw in a taste of what goes on in a locker room just to create drama without really addressing it further.
Beartown did a much better job of portraying the problematic and toxic elements of hockey culture without making it seem like it's just something normal that we should accept. It was honest and raw. If you haven't seen the show, this short video does a great job of depicting how much thought was put into the toxic hockey culture, winning mentality, and subsequently hockey players thinking they're entitled to do whatever they want.
So, to respond to Ekstrand's quote from Edvins Skådisdrömmar—I did not experience Ludde as a "good guy" who only makes dumb decisions at all. In season 1, he's a bad person for letting his friends sexualize a girl he likes and letting her brother hear their disgusting comments. He's a bad person for fighting with her brother and later yelling at her, saying her drug issues are insignificant despite acting supportive of her only two episodes earlier.
I don't mind conflicts like these because they drive the story forward. I didn't particularly like Ludde in season 1 because of the reasons I just stated, but they're necessary to create drama and make the show interesting.
It's just weird to me how one of the writers is saying that Ludde is a calm person and a good guy when that is not at all how I interpreted his character.
Eagles is a show targeted towards a young audience, among them probably a lot of easily influenced pre-teens. What kind of message does this send to them when the guy letting his friends sexualize a girl he's slept with and on top of that laughing at their inappropriate comments is referred to as the good guy?
Klara is mean... What else?
From the moment we're introduced to Klara, it seems obvious that she'll play a living and breathing version of the infamous Alpha Bitch trope. She's also a prime example of the basic Popular is Evil trope and has her own Girl Posse consisting of Sara and Amie.
Klara feels threatened by the arrival of a potential new popular girl, Felicia, and does everything in her power to bully Felicia to show dominance. She barely shows any good sides of herself.
The only instance I can think of where we sort of see season 1 Klara in a positive light is when she talks to Amie in 1x05 about their friendship and then accompanies Amie to her audition for the school band.
Klara: Ever since Felicia started at school… It’s felt like you only hang out with her and that you’ve forgotten about me. She like took you from me.
Amie: But I haven’t forgotten you.
Klara: No, but do you get what I mean?
Amie: I get it, but I haven’t forgotten you.
Klara: No, I know.
Amie: I know, but it just turned out that way when school started.
Klara: Okay.
Amie: But I’m sorry.
Klara: It’s fine.
Amie: Are you sure?
Klara: Yeah. You can make it up to me when you go on your world tour.
Klara is really supportive of Amie's musical endeavors, but she also uses her support as a way to alienate Felicia from the girl group. It's very on the nose and kind of feels suffocating in the way it's written.
Klara: Amie, did you remove the clips?
Amie: Yeah, she said they weren’t good.
Klara: She’s just jealous. It’s so obvious. I mean, I’m jealous. You sing absolutely amazing. I don’t know, I just think it was really rude of her to sit in the cafeteria and criticize you like that
Amie: Yeah, maybe. But she apologized.
Klara: But still. That clip of you in the bathroom… Like… Sorry, but I’d be so mad if someone had posted something like that of me. I mean, you were standing there without makeup, completely non-fixed up. And the whole thing with her filming you without you knowing. That’s really weird. You don’t do that. Don’t you think so?
I'm sure there are plenty of people who act like this in real life. And maybe that's part of the problem, because Klara in season 1 really isn't an interesting character. We've met this person before and we know exactly what she's like. There's nothing new to discover. So season 1 is essentially just Klara being petty and rude every chance she gets, and to me it felt like a large part of her character was written just to stir up drama.
In 1x06, we see Klara backstab Amie by filming her making out with Ludde at her Halloween party. But I thought it was established in 1x05 that Klara feels like Amie was taken from her? And if Klara actually cared about Amie and didn't want to lose her as a friend, she wouldn't just stand by and watch with her phone recording the whole thing. It doesn't make a lot of sense.
Klara even made that whole point about how it was really weird of Felicia to film Amie without her knowing. So why would Klara do it, when she expressed that's weird and not something a normal person does? Is that supposed to be foreshadowing? Because if so, that's a clear contradiction and not how foreshadowing works.
When Sara happens to see the video on Klara's phone she immediately says that Klara should delete it.
Sara: What is that? Did they know you were filming?
Klara: No, of course they didn’t know.
Sara: Oh my god, Klara. You should probably delete it.
Klara: I’m going to! But it’s crazy, right?
Sara: Yeah, god. But seriously, delete it.
Klara: I’m going to.
So Klara says she's going to delete the video. But it's still unclear why it was filmed in the first place if Klara insists that she's going to delete it. It's not like she filmed it just to show it to Sara either, since Sara wasn't meant to see it and only saw it by chance while swiping through Klara's photos on her phone.
It doesn't make sense for Klara to film a video like that of her best friend that she's supposed to care about. It doesn't make sense for Klara to film a video of anybody without their knowledge when she previously made a big deal about how you shouldn't do that.
What Klara's character is, is a bad attempt at the classical mean girl. She's clichéd, boring, and full of tropes.
Even her eventual character development is riddled with tropes like the Heel Realization where a character realizes they're actually one of the bad guys. This realization seems to come in 1x08, where Felicia calls Klara out on her behavior.
Felicia: You know what, Klara. I’m so fucking tired of your fucking comments. You didn’t get to be Lucia this year. Poor you! Was dad unable to fix that? Cry then, Klara. Cry. You’re so fucking mean. Everybody here is tired- Everybody here is scared of you. Even those who liked you once, they can’t take it anymore.
Klara: That’s not true. It’s not true.
Felicia: Yes, everybody is scared of you. You know what? Look around. Show people some fucking respect.
Klara: Well say something, Amie!
Amie: What is there to say? She’s right.
Klara needed a wake-up call like this. It's just unfortunate that she goes back to her mean girl behavior and posts the video after Amie insinuated that Klara wasn't a real friend. Klara already knew that Amie felt that way since she said Felicia was right in her assessment of everybody being scared and tired of Klara. So wouldn't it have made more sense for Klara to post the video right after that moment instead of during Amie's performance?
Or rather, why not pull a Subverted Trope and not have Klara post the video at all after she realized how horrible she'd been acting? That would've made me respect her so much more and be a great introduction to her character development in season 2.
The Halloween Incident
To me, the whole Halloween episode was questionable. First off, we never got actual confirmation of what happened in that room between Amie and Ludde. Some viewers insist that they only made out and others believe they went all the way. Here's what the creator of the show, Stefan H. Lindén, had to say about this in a Q&A post he did:
I think if you went into the writers room of Eagles and asked all of us what really happened in that room [between Ludde and Amie at Klara's Halloween party] we would all have different answers. I know what happened, but I’m not sure we will ever truly know for sure, unless Ludvig or Amie eventually are open enough to admit to anyone what really happened.
This is kind of a vague answer, but that's fair considering that when Stefan did this Q&A the latest episode that had been released was 2x05 and he probably didn't want to spoil anything. However, looking back at this answer knowing how the season turned out I still feel like it's unclear what happened. It's also strange that Stefan seems to be saying that they never actually decided what happened between them since the writers "would all have different answers".
1x06 was just an odd episode for me overall. Lots of things felt rushed and underdeveloped. Let's not forget that this episode also contained, in my opinion, some of the weirdest lines in the whole show (along with Elias's strange monologue about plague vampires).
Ludde: Hey, I only have like 3%. Do you have any power?
Adam: Are you wondering if I have a power bank in my shorts? It’s coming-
Ludde: I like shellfish. (said to Amie, wearing a lobster costume)
Up until this episode, Ludde has shown zero interest and attraction towards Amie. We are basically told that Ludde only hooked up with Amie because he was so drunk that he practically had no idea what he was doing.
In 1x02, we see a drunk Amie try to kiss Tobbe and upon getting rejected she moves on to make out with Adam. She gets overly friendly when she's drunk so the fact that she makes out with Ludde later is... Weird, but not entirely out of the realms of possibility.
Ludde on the other hand is moping about Felicia all night. He regrets how he yelled at her at the end of 1x05 and it shows. He's trying to drown all his problems in alcohol and it seems to be working, because when it enters his system he seems to be on top of the world.
What I found kind of ambiguous in this incident was if Ludde even remembered what happened that night. He was drinking so much compared to Amie, who doesn't really need as much alcohol before she reaches her "overly friendly" state. I thought for sure that Ludde was oblivious to the situation when he woke up in his bed the next day and immediately messaged Felicia.
There are just so many questions to unpack here that were never answered. What prompted Amie and Ludde to go into that empty room? Why did Ludde come with her? Why didn't Adam seem to care about this, when he'd been sitting next to Ludde and taking care of him most of the night? And as I wrote before, why would Klara film this video of her best friend when she previously expressed that was a weird thing to do?
There's just too much in 1x06 left unanswered. The Amie/Ludde hook-up was a badly executed plot twist because there wasn't anything hinting that this would happen. It just came out of nowhere.
Unbalanced screentime and Elias's wasted potential
A large portion of season 1 was dedicated to Felicia. This was kind of a let-down for me since I thought more focus would be placed on Eagles as a hockey team (after all, that's what the show is named after). I also thought more attention would be on Elias since he's the talented star player who's supposed to live up to his father's legacy.
The show starts with a couple radio hosts hyping up how Elias Kroon, son of the legendary Mats Kroon, is going to join the Eagles hockey team.
Host #1: [...] It’s finally official. New center in the junior team - Elias Kroon, son to the legendary NHL-pro Mats Kroon, who has now chosen to move home from the US to his hometown where Elias will play in his father’s old club Oskarshamn Eagles.
Host #2: This is so freaking cool. Who doesn’t want a Kroon on their team?
Host #1: We hope that he’ll take a spot on the A-team.
But we don't learn a lot about who Elias actually is in the first episode. The attention is on Felicia and her interest in Ludde.
Elias is so discarded that he barely has anything to say in the first couple of scenes we see him in. Here are all his eight lines in 1x01, and I'm not even joking.
Elias: Yes.
Elias: Shut up.
Elias: Ow.
Elias: It's fine.
Elias: Really?
Elias: Fucking hell.
Elias: I'll stay here.
Elias: No, it's fine.
In 1x02 he has even fewer lines. Three, to be exact, and all he says is that his injury is a sprain and that it's fine. Essentially just an echo of two of the lines he had in the previous episode. It's nothing new.
There's a way to have a character stand out when they don't have many lines, but Elias just fades into the background with every other extra. There's too much time spent on having other characters talk about Elias than us actually getting to know him. So when we do meet him, it's pretty underwhelming.
Compare Elias to his sister who gets so much more attention from the writers. I don't really understand why either, since I thought Elias was a much more interesting character than his influencer sister. Felicia's character only seems to revolve around a guy. I wonder how many times we've seen that before?
In 1x02 we see the Eagles hockey team play their first game, but Elias is unable to play and has to sit in the stands for what was supposed to be his debut match. Why? Because during a hockey practice session in 1x01, Adam rams his stick into Elias to purposely injure him. I mean, fair enough. Adam is trying to get Ludde on the main team since he and Elias are competing for the same position. The shot of Adam smiling after Elias sprains his wrist is a bit too on the nose, but whatever.
What this does is minimize Elias' presence in season 1 by a lot. We don't see the son of the legendary NHL professional play an actual game until 1x05, which is more than halfway into the season. It's kind of disappointing but I understand the injury is done to dramatize his situation.
Elias barely gets his own storylines in the first few episodes. He just has things done to him instead of acting on his own. When we do see him on screen he gets injured by Adam, reprimanded by his father, and later told he can't play in his debut game.
His sweet side (or any side of him, really) isn't shown until 1x03 when Amie wakes up at the Kroon house and Elias reassures her that they didn't do anything together and that she can borrow Felicia's clothes.
Elias doesn't really do much for the plot until he hears Ludde's friends objectify Felicia and he starts a fight with Ludde and confronts Felicia about it. That's when it feels like Elias is actually a part of this show instead of just being an extra shoved into the background. His actions are finally affecting the plot.
Elias's potential in season 1 was hugely wasted. The only episode where we actually got to see him shine was 1x07, when he travels to Karlskrona with Amie. We find out he doesn't want the hockey arrangement his dad has planned for him and that he's actually a pretty goofy guy who likes making jokes (and eating green candy).
If less time was spent with Felicia and the distribution of every episode's 20 minutes was more balanced, season 1 could've been massively improved. It got much better in season 2, but season 1 suffered and made many people think that Felicia was a basic and unentertaining character.
The side characters and their comic relief
So one thing that I found really disappointing with Felicia's amount of screentime is that we barely got enough time for the other main characters, let alone the side characters.
What I mean here is that the only people we really know on the Eagles hockey team are Ludde and Elias. Ludde's friends, Adam and Omar, just feel like comic relief sidekicks. We don't really know what they're like, besides the fact that they like to make jokes and mess around.
This issue is largely created by the short running time the episodes have along with season 1 only having eight episodes in total. That's definitely understandable. It did get better in season 3 where we see Ludde having a deeper conversation with Adam and Omar and they finally don't just feel like the comic relief characters, but actual people with layers.
Ludde: I’m going to quit hockey.
Adam: Are you serious?
Omar: What the hell are you saying?
Ludde: It’s not the same anymore. I’m not passionate about it. I… Yes, it sucks, but… I’ve thought about it for a while now.
Omar: We make jokes about it and all, but… Yeah. It wouldn’t be the same without you. Kingelikingen.
Adam: I get that it’s a tough choice. But yeah… You’ll work things out. You and Felicia. You always do.
Ludde: You guys are pretty awesome sometimes, actually.
This scene was really sweet, and I wish we could've had moments like this between the guys in season 1. Just one scene to show that they're not just the "typical hockey guys". It feels like Ludde was the only person on the team in season 1 who wasn't just a background character. Even Elias, who you would assume should be at the forefront, isn't properly developed until 1x05 where we see him defending his sister and starting a fight with Ludde. Otherwise, it very much felt like Elias was kept in the background.
There are also guys on the team called Herman, Simon, Näslund, Ekbäck, Hoffmann, Berglund (even Montell, which was a fun nod to the show's director)... But who are they, actually? Do you even remember their names? To be honest with you, I don't. Because they're just names—not actual characters.
None of the other guys on the team get any depth. They're just sort of there as extras and to give the audience a sense of comedy with their "hockey team shenanigans". This was illustrated in 1x08, where Adam and Omar make their teammate Liam do a "sexy dance" on a table because he lost his virginity. Or a more extreme example—Jönsson, who only exists to be the comic relief and the unlucky guy who just can't catch a break.
In 2x04, Jönsson is told by Jack to do extra time in the gym and gets told off when he only spends a few minutes on the exercise bike. Later, Jack also makes a joke about how he should get Jönsson a defibrillator. In 2x09 Jönsson invites Ludde, Adam, and Omar to come to his mom's place to hang out. After he's left, Adam makes a comment about how there's no way he's going to "rot" in Jönsson's apartment that doesn't even have a balcony.
Don't get me wrong, these scenes aren't bad and I don't mean they should've been scrapped. Comedy can absolutely have its place in a show like this. Let's take the scene where Ludde flashes a couple of unfortunate old ladies on his first date with Felicia as an example. It feels like something a teenage boy would do to try to make a girl he likes laugh. It's a brief scene and it's nice to see Ludde being able to goof off only moments after talking about Andreas. We know that's a touchy subject for him.
However, it feels slightly overdone sometimes with how almost everybody on the hockey team is only there for comedic purposes and to fill space. It's more refreshing when they're shown to be multi-dimensional. I wish this is something that the writers would've considered when the show is literally titled after the hockey team, yet most of the hockey players are hardly in the story.
To add to this, it felt like Sara and Tobbe completely disappeared from the story in season 2. With Sara we understand that she probably didn't want to hang out with Klara anymore after knowing she filmed the Halloween video and posted it on Instagram, so that's fair. But it would've been nice to see Tobbe stick around in season 2, and I'll get back to why I think that.
The potential of season 1
When I look back on season 1 I feel really nostalgic. No matter how many small details that irked me, I can't deny that the setting of the show is beautiful and I really appreciate the depiction of it. Instead of showing Oskarshamn as a boring small town, we're shown the beauty of it which is incorporated into the storylines.
Some examples would be Ludde and Felicia's first date at Gunnarsö and walk through Havslätt, the gorgeous view of the Oskarshamn harbor from Klara's house Villa Högklint, and Badholmen where the school band performs and we later see Elias and Amie walking by in season 3. All these places are listed on the Eagles Oskarshamn site and I feel like they did a great job tying the storylines in with the locations.
Another aspect of season 1 and its writing that I really enjoyed was Elias and Amie's budding relationship. They just have a natural chemistry together and the dialogue between them also felt authentic and sweet.
Season 1 is just a very polished teen drama overall compared to some of SVT's previous series.
Back in 2007-2010, SVT used to air a soap opera-style show focusing on a few teenagers living in Gothenburg that was called Andra Avenyn (translation: Second Avenue). I was only seven at the time but I watched this show religiously as it aired three times a week. Just mentioning the show brings a lot of nostalgia.
Andra Avenyn amassed around 500 000 viewers per episode and was, just like Eagles, nominated for a Kristallen television award. But how good was it, really? If I take off my rose-colored glasses for a second and actually consider the show's highly dramatized storylines and unlikely scenarios, it had a tendency to drag on (which usually happens with soap operas). It didn't offer a realistic view of teenage life and on IMDb it currently sits at a rating score of 5.6 stars out of 10.
Comparing this old teen series to SVT's newer one, Eagles season 1 was a huge improvement and continues to be the most popular teen series that SVT has aired so far.
This idea and all the characters have lived in Stefan H. Lindéns mind since 2008, while Andra Avenyn was still on the air. It's actually amazing how high the quality of most TV shows has risen since then. Eagles has a rating score of 7.4 out of 10 stars on IMDb and has become internationally known in a way that Andra Avenyn never was.
Eagles season 1 laid the groundwork for SVT's most successful teen series of all time, and that's a huge achievement.
Season 2: "Subverting expectations"
When Eagles came back for season 2, the script made it kind of obvious that the writers had listened to the critique of season 1 being predictable.
I did find season 2 a huge step up from season 1—the directing was so much better and when it came to the script we got a deeper look into all the characters that they hadn't really scratched the surface of in the first season. My main disappointment however was that it felt like they threw in a bunch of weird plot twists just for the sake of "subverting expectations".
The core idea of subverting expectations can be great if done correctly. You lead the audience to believe they know what's going to happen, but then you surprise them with an unexpected and clever twist.
A post in Cinematography written by Mason Leaver defines the phrase of "subverting expectations" as:
[...] a method of surprising the audience with some element of a story, be it the plot, themes, characters, etc. This goes beyond a “twist” in a film. Expectation subversion actively works within the genre of a story, and attempts to reinterpret or subvert the conventions of that genre, breaking patterns in surprising and interesting ways. However, this method of surprising the audience is not always well received- it can sometimes be the source of heavy criticism from fans of the tropes which have been subverted.
This included "unexpected" relationships such as Elias/Klara and Amie/Ludde. The former actually worked, but the latter? Not so much.
Amie's crush on Ludde—make it make sense!
Amie and Ludde were my biggest issue with season 2, and it felt so out of character of Amie to be head over heels for Ludde. They work great as friends but romantically they're a huge mismatch.
But they have music in common, I hear you say. Yes, they do. But having a shared interest doesn't mean people are automatically a good match. You have to consider their chemistry and overall compatibility.
Before actors are cast in a show or movie where their characters will be romantically involved with each other, it's common to do what's called a chemistry read. Here's a neat description from an article in Backstage written by Caroline Liem:
Chemistry is the complex emotional or psychological interaction between two people. If this were a romantic article, it would be about love. Instead, we are discussing the astonishing rapport between two actors, and how that connection is achieved in order to book [...] the role.
A chemistry read is an opportunity to read with actors being considered for a role opposite yours, usually lead roles. The main purpose is to see how you instinctively connect and work with the other actor.
This obviously wasn't done for the actors playing Amie and Ludde, since there didn't seem to be any intention of having their characters be involved in a romantic relationship.
That was even confirmed by Stefan H. Lindén in his Q&A of season 2, where he said that a love triangle between Ludde/Felicia/Amie was planned but later scrapped.
I can confirm that from the beginning of development of the series and the first version of the storyline a triangle drama was at some point intended for season 1 but later removed – however when creating the characters, Ludvigs skill in music and arts was always there from the beginning so by knowing that, we always knew that interactions would appear between them. When looking back at Season 1, in the first scene by the lockers when Amie tells Felicia who Ludvig is, she does know exactly who he is and she is well aware of that his friend Tobias is a music guy that Amie wants to get to know. Also when looking at it, when I was the same age as Ludvig and Amie I, and I am sure a lot of people can relate to it, fact is that we never really knew if it was love or friendship in the beginning.
Knowing that the triangle drama was scrapped for season 1, it makes sense why it seems so arbitrary. There was no groundwork laid down for this pairing before it was hastily thrown together in 1x06 for a cheap plot twist. This continues in season 2, where Amie and Ludde start spending more time together. Yet it's hard to see Ludde as a potential love interest for Amie in the way the writers want us to. They still come off as friends despite having hooked up at a party.
I mentioned that Tobbe should've stuck around for season 2 and here's why. Tobbe was written to be the leader of the school band that Amie later joins, and he was friends with Ludde before the video was posted. He would've been a perfect fit for the Amie/Ludde music storyline but he's completely absent. He had the potential to be the person who could've helped them with the song a little and then later picked up on whatever there was going on between them.
I think the Amie/Ludde storyline could've hugely benefitted from a scene between Amie and Tobbe, where Tobbe asks if she actually has feelings for Ludde and we get to hear exactly what Amie is feeling. Maybe she's torn, not wanting to get together with Ludde because of how much they hurt Felicia, but at the same time finds it hard to suppress her feelings. A scene like that would've allowed us to get into Amie's head and make the Amie/Ludde storyline much clearer.
To add, this storyline was in desperate need of more interest from Ludde's side. There needed to be some indication from him that would make Amie believe he liked him back, even if that wasn't the case. All we get is Ludde complimenting Amie's song and then a hug in 2x05 when Amie says the record label in Stockholm wanted a meeting. And apparently, that was enough for Amie to think Ludde was interested in her despite him blowing off the Stockholm meeting and Amie hearing Ludde say that the Halloween incident was a mistake.
Ludde and Amie don't really mesh as well as Elias/Amie do or even as well as Ludde/Felicia do. Elias and Amie had sparks flying from the very first scene they shared. That pairing is one of the main reasons why the show became popular internationally, and why is that? Because of the actors' chemistry.
Amie and Ludde are a clumsy attempt at throwing together two people who don't really work together with the intention of "subverting expectations". And I suppose that's what the writers wanted to depict—an awkward crush that doesn't really make sense, which I'm sure many people have experienced as a teenager. That part is fine. But what I didn't like about this storyline is that Amie had no good reason to believe Ludde would be interested in anything with her beyond a platonic friendship.
While season 2 was airing, I was convinced that Amie wasn't actually in love with Ludde. She was just lonely after the aftermath of the Halloween video and mistook her feelings for Ludde as love when she just appreciated his company. Here's what I wrote:
So as we know, Amie kissed Ludde in episode 6 when he was in the hospital after having been injured during the hockey game against Karlskrona. She immediately seemed to regret having done that and ran out without an explanation, leaving Ludde alone and confused.
I honestly don’t think Amie has any romantic feelings towards Ludde. I think she might mistake her feelings for a crush or something, when in reality she’s just lonely and appreciates Ludde always being there for her and giving her compliments on her musical ability. Ludde was complimenting Amie at the hospital, saying she was amazing, and I think Amie was just really touched by that and maybe wanted to thank him somehow, and ended up kissing him. And then she freaked out and left because oh my god did she really just kiss Ludde. It was an uncomfortable and awkward situation and that’s probably why she ran out.
However, I really believe that if she had just stayed to explain and apologize, Ludde would understand and they could’ve just laughed it off. But this is a drama show so of course that wouldn’t happen!
Do I think the writers are making them into a couple? No, definitely not. They know that season 1 was sort of predictable and cliché, so they’re making season 2 as different as possible by including these unexpected pairings such as Klara & Elias and Amie & Ludde. But Amie and Ludde won’t ever be a couple, because Ludde is still very much hung up on Felicia. I don’t see them as a couple either - yes, they have music in common, but they work way better as friends than in a relationship.
In Edvins Skådisdrömmar, which is a behind-the-scenes documentary of Eagles season 2, writers Fanny Ekstrand and Michaela Hamilton discuss the writing of the show in the documentary's third episode. The third episode is mostly focused on the lead-up to the scene where Amie kisses Ludde at the hospital. Adrian Öjvindsson, who plays Ludde, says:
Filming the kissing scene was [...] awkward and weird, actually. And that's how it ended up. Yandeh and I haven't really had any intimate scenes. In this case you could take in that it was weird, because that's also what the scene wanted to depict.
When Edvin reads the script, he describes the scene as a "nightmare" scenario. I agree. And the lazy build-up to this Awkward Kiss trope doesn't make it any better, because just like the Halloween incident this doesn't make a lot of sense.
It's supposed to be awkward and weird, just like Adrian said. But he also mentioned one of the most important details: Yandeh and I haven't really had any intimate scenes.
Before this kiss scene, there was nothing that indicated any chemistry between them. No accidental hand-touching, no longing stares, no nothing. Just a friendly hug. A proper build-up to the kiss scene would've made it feel less out of place.
The love confession from Amie to Ludde in 2x10 really threw me off as well. The confession to me made no sense and honestly felt like a prank call. There was no feeling behind it and zero reason for Amie to believe that there was a chance Ludde liked her back.
At the end of 2x08, Felicia goes to Ludde's house after he's confessed the truth to the police about the Andreas situation. Amie happens to overhear the conversation and she hears Ludde very clearly say that he's not interested in Amie.
Ludde: Felicia, there’s nothing between us. Between me and Amie. It was really the biggest mistake of my life.
Felicia: Goodbye, Ludde.
Ludde: Felicia, please!
Amie, now having her heart broken, crosses Ludde's name off the contract while crying. She knows he doesn't feel the same. So why would Amie even bother to call Ludde up to tell him she's "in love with him"?
Amie: [...] Hey, Ludde…
Ludde: Yeah?
Amie: It feels really weird to hear our song now. Because I know who the lyrics are about. And… And I… I really like you. Or, well… I’m in love with you. I just need to know how you feel. Or if you feel anything. Just tell me.
Ludde: I’ll always want to be your friend, Amie, but… It’s Felicia I’m in love with.
This moment is on par with the awkwardness from the hospital kiss between them in 2x06. The second-hand embarrassment with this one was really rough, and what I don't understand is why this was even added to the script when Amie had already gotten the confirmation that Ludde didn't think of her in a romantic way. This storyline could've ended in 2x08 after Amie overheard the conversation between Ludde and Felicia.
It really didn't need to drag on for the whole season, essentially making Amie's whole storyline in season 2 about a guy. Her moment of finally getting signed to the record label was ruined when it could've been regarded as a fresh start if the storyline had just ended where it should have.
What this storyline did instead was ruining my favorite friendship of season 1, which was Amie/Felicia. This mess made it so hard for them to reconcile and they didn't end up properly addressing it until 3x09, spending almost two whole seasons mad at each other. It sucks that the writers decided to drag out their fighting and disagreements for this long when they could've instead shown two girls in solidarity who don't let a guy get between them and their friendship.
Amie apologized in 3x03 for how she hurt Felicia, but Felicia made it clear in 3x06 that she still harbored ill will towards Amie for what happened at Halloween (which in the timeline of this show was more than a year ago).
Felicia (to Amie): Are you going to start slobbering with [Elias] now too? Just give me back that sweater first, I don’t want slobber on that. Thanks.
I talked about how much I disliked the Amie/Ludde storyline in this post, with my main reason being that it really messed up the character dynamics that were established in season 1.
This storyline [of Ludde and Amie hooking up]—along with Amie falling in love with Ludde—is by far my least favorite one because it messed up the whole character dynamic. I feel like Amie and Felicia won’t ever go back to the kind of friendship they had in season 1 before the Halloween incident because the trust was so broken, and Amie really should’ve tried harder to apologize to Felicia like Ludde did instead of going after her best friend’s ex in season 2.
If there's just one thing I could change about this show, I would 100% get rid of the Amie/Ludde storylines. There is nothing that annoyed me as much as those storylines did.
Amie's musical ambitions
I've talked about this a bit before in another post because this was something that really bugged me about Amie's character in season 2. Here's what I wrote:
I honestly still feel like Amie’s whole storyline with sending in a rather basic demo written by two teenagers with little to no experience and then getting praised on it [by the Stockholm music producers] with comments such as “it’s going to be a real summer hit” felt so unrealistic to me. Maybe they only said that so Amie would accept their offer or something, but that’s still very strange because she would have still said yes without a doubt.
I can understand that they thought Amie was marketable as a person and there was this bonus with her having gone viral before on Felicia’s Instagram, but that demo did not seem good enough for me to be immediately released as a single and then have them decide on the spot that Amie would be given a contract.
I mean, come on. It never felt earned because we never really saw Amie struggling with her songwriting journey to achieve this dream. Sending in one demo to one record label and having them immediately want to make a whole album with you just doesn’t happen in real life unless the song is extremely good or you have a very unique voice. Amie is really talented but there are hundreds of people just like her, if not thousands. I was never convinced by her getting signed so quickly in season 2.
I understand that they wanted to establish her as a successful artist [at the beginning of season 3], but that felt so rushed. I was so sure that the record label would screw her over and steal the song rights to record it with another artist who was already established, and that we’d have to see Amie work even harder to achieve her dreams. But we didn’t get that at all. Where was the struggle?
[...] Of course I wanted to see Amie achieve success (and I was happy when she did), but the journey there was so bizarrely easy.
She didn’t start to seriously work on making her music career become a reality until season 2. Amie had dabbled in music prior to that, like when she auditioned for the school band and did that performance of Follow, but she didn’t truly start to work towards it until season 2 when she decided to have her work sent to professionals in the business. And then, just five episodes later, she gets contacted by the record label in Stockholm.
To put this into context—season 2 took place somewhere around March, and episode 5 around three weeks into April. So when Ludde first started helping Amie it took less than two months for her to get signed. You could argue that the song was just that good or that Amie is just that talented, but it never felt like a realistic storyline to me.
It's tricky to write a storyline like this when you only have ten 20 minute episodes in the season and a limited amount of screentime for every character. All that is understandable. But it's strange that they didn't opt for a time jump to really sell this storyline and make it believable.
Eagles uses time jumps a lot, but somehow this particular plot point was omitted from that and kind of glossed over. I don't really understand how they expected us to buy this storyline. The viewers aren't stupid, and more effort should've been put into this storyline.
In the post where I wrote this, @gajana18 also had an interesting thing to add:
[...] it's equally unrealistic that this huge record company would be hounding Amie, a teenage onehit wonder essentially to come back to the label- don’t they have other bigger artists?
This is a very strong point. Considering how Amie kept expressing that she wanted to finish school and then proceeded to ignore their calls, it's weird that they didn't just decide to discard her contract when Amie clearly wasn't taking her singing career as seriously as they wanted her to.
So, back to season 2. Maybe they could've gone with the record label stealing the rights to Amie's first song and screwing her over. This fuels her to try again and after a time jump of a few months we see Amie having worked really hard on a new and better song. Maybe even a whole album. And this time, she's learned from her past mistakes and improved her songwriting. This time, she's successful in her endeavor and it feels so much more earned after knowing the struggles she's been through to get there.
I also feel like a storyline like that would've made people sympathize with Amie more in season 2. It was really hard to root for her when she had nearly screwed Ludde over by not giving credit to his songwriting and saying "fuck him" when he didn't return Amie's feelings.
Klara's character development
When we're introduced to Klara in season 1, she's a stereotypical mean girl with wealthy parents who is the popular girl at school and has her own followers.
In season 2, the writers decided to develop the character. We find out Klara has issues at home and her mom is barely there. When she is, her parents will start fighting. Klara is feeling really lonely and doesn't really hang out with her friend Sara as much as she used to.
I appreciated the added depth, but it seemed like a drastic shift. The changed perspective could attribute to that but when you step back and really look at s1 Klara and s2 Klara, they're like two completely different people.
Maybe Klara's reputation suffered after she posted the Halloween video? Maybe she had a change of heart after Felicia finally confronted her during Lucia? I mean, I guess.
But what most fans (including me) didn't like about Klara in season 2 was that there were no clear consequences for her after she posted the Halloween video. Klara still hangs out with what seems to be the popular crowd and she has people to go out with. In a post I wrote last year about my thoughts on season 2, I wrote this:
I actually wish that Klara would’ve become more ostracized from her school friends to emphasize how alone she is, but she seems to still be pretty popular so that was kind of disappointing. I thought the fall-out of her posting the video would be worse, but I guess not.
Anyway, I like that they’re taking a disliked character and making her into a better person. Feels like it’s been done a few times before, but I still appreciate them doing it. I hated s1 Klara for being so one-dimensional, but s2 Klara is well on her way to being a pretty good and nuanced character.
Her character development sort of comes a little out of nowhere, though. Her reputation wasn't ruined by posting that video and she didn't really lose any friends besides Sara (she had already lost Amie prior to posting that video considering what Amie said to her after Lucia in 1x08).
So what prompted Klara to become this whole new person who actually considers other people's feelings in a relatively short amount of time? Here's a conversation between Felicia and Klara in 2x07.
Felicia: Was there anything in particular you wanted to talk about? I understand that we’re not best friends just because you and Elias are together. We’re not here without a reason, right?
Klara: No, I get that this feels weird for you. And if you don’t trust me after everything that’s happened - or that I’ve done.
Felicia: Klara…
Klara: I know that I haven’t acted like the world’s best person. And I regret that. Sorry.
But why does Klara regret her past behavior? What made her realize she hadn't acted like the "world's best person" if the ramifications from posting the Halloween video were so minimal?
Was it the relationship with Elias that made Klara change? No, I don't think so. When they first start talking at the bar in 2x03, Elias tells Klara that he doesn't always agree with Felicia and that he has his own viewpoints. In 2x07, he says Klara wasn't the one who messed up, but rather Amie and Ludde. And in 2x09, the script tells us that the Elias/Klara relationship seemed to bring more change to Elias rather than Klara.
Felicia: What did you do to him?
Klara: What?
Felicia: He’s smiling. Elias is like a whole new person since he met you.
Klara: Stop.
Felicia: I mean it!
So what made Klara change? In 1x08 she's mocking Felicia's drug problems and posts a video that will for sure ruin Amie's reputation. But at the start of season 2, she's suddenly become more withdrawn and considerate of people's feelings.
I can only name one factor that actually makes sense, and that's the fighting between her parents. Klara seems to turn into this quiet child when she has to listen to her mom and dad yelling at each other. This is something that didn't really begin until season 2, when Ola's company GECED started going under. This storyline was very well done.
But the other things, like Klara's reputation and friend group which you would assume would be affected, remain as they were in season 1.
Jack's sudden character change
Jack came into season 2 as a charming and charismatic character, seemingly fooling everybody into thinking he was a good guy. He knew the Kroon family from before and both Felicia and Elias were none the wiser when it came to the eventual reveal of his true colors.
Here's what Stefan H. Lindén had to say about the Jack character in his season 2 Q&A:
Bringing Jack in was actually originally not my idea, it came from my writer colleagues after that they revised my storyline notes for Season 2, while I was still down in Oskarshamn shooting Season 1.
We had always intended for a character to come in and raise the stakes but I never imagined it to be Jack. When we started to develop the character, we all started liking him so he was kept in the story. Like with any new character we never really know who they are and what [the] point of them for coming in is [...]
Personally, I feel like the point of Jack's character is pretty obvious. When he first comes to Oskarshamn he is very much the embodiment of the new love interest coming in to date the girl who has broken up with her previous lover, while the previous lover still loves her and does anything he can to get her back although she's dating someone new. Jack is the Romantic False Lead trope who later becomes an alpha-dog Jerkass.
What I found interesting about Jack compared to Klara (in season 1) is that Jack isn't just a bad guy. He's very clever with his manipulation tactics and can easily charm people with his good looks and charisma.
When Felicia accuses Jack of cheating in 2x07, he manages to spin the whole thing around and make Felicia apologize to him and say it was stupid of her to believe he would cheat on her. I talked about this in a post while the season still aired, before Jack's true colors were revealed. Here's what I wrote:
I still don’t know if Jack really is cheating on Felicia with Olivia (the girl that texted him) but I would say he is. Jack is incredibly confident and charming, which makes him able to easily lie and manipulate people. We know he’s not an entirely good person since he’s already lied to Elias about not knowing that Mats would bring him back to Eagles. I wouldn’t be surprised if he really did hook up with Olivia and ended up being a really good liar.
The fact is that not only did he deny it but he then shamed Felicia for blaming him and causing a scene, ultimately shifting the focus in the argument to her and making Felicia feel bad that she even confronted him in the first place. Jack says that maybe they shouldn’t even be together, which causes Felicia to backtrack and apologize. It’s actually pretty impressive how Jack was able to spin that around to blame Felicia and make her apologize.
Jack is able to take a small detail and use it as ammunition to get what he wants. In this situation, he brings up the girl in the Stockholm club that Felicia partied with and also kissed.
Jack: You shouldn’t accuse me, either.
Felicia: What?
Jack: I saw on Instagram, you and some girl in Stockholm. Have I whined about that? Coming here and blaming me for things, it feels really immature.
Felicia: Fuck. Sorry, Jack.
Jack wasn't bothered by that at all. It happened before Felicia and Jack were even an official couple, and all they had done was hooking up at a party while Felicia was high. Jack, having cheated on Felicia, couldn't care less about the random girl Felicia kissed. That was just something he used to manipulate her.
When we discover that Jack is actually cheating on Felicia, he immediately reverts to a one-dimensional "evil" character. He's become the 2.0 version of Klara in season 1—written in just to stir up drama.
This "master manipulator" version of him just goes down the drain and Jack turns into a manchild who starts petty fights, files a police report because Ludde pushed him, and says to Felicia "I'm gonna tell on you!". Alright, maybe those weren't his exact words, but you know what I mean. It's a sudden shift and you start wondering how Jack was able to hide this version of himself so well before.
In 3x05, Jack sees Ludde and Andreas after a hockey game and fumbles trying to find any insult he can to hurl at Ludde. Everything he says from that point on is just line after line to really solidify that Jack is the bad guy. You didn't forget that, right? Here, let's have Jack call Felicia a druggie so you know just how shitty he is. And have him call Andreas a junkie later for good measure—there, that should be enough for people to understand that Jack is the villain here.
Jack: Johansson!
Ludde: What the hell are you doing here?
Jack: What does it look like?
Ludde: I guess it’s you I should thank for the victory. Nice work.
Jack: What is Felicia doing these days, then? Does she miss me?
Ludde: Hey, you’re shutting up now, do you get it?!
Jack: Jesus Christ. Do you think you can save her? What do you think she even sees in you? You two play in different leagues, Ludde.
Ludde: You have no idea what we’re like.
Jack: Come on! You should leave her. While you can. She’ll just pull you down into the dirt with her. You’re no hero, Ludde. Isn’t she still doing drugs? Once a druggie, always a druggie, right?
Jack is a horrible person, but at least he was able to pretend to be a good guy in season 2. And that was actually really fascinating. I wish we could've seen more of Jack's manipulative side that he showed in season 2 instead of making everything coming out of his mouth be a half-assed attempt at insulting the other person. That's a pretty boring villain, in my opinion.
Jack's backstory of his father being an alcoholic and him starting to resent the whole Kroon family because they had everything growing up while he didn't is interesting. It would've also made more sense if his anger was only directed towards the Kroon family since they're the ones he grew up with. They're the ones he was after the whole time.
His anger towards them feels cheapened when Jack also starts insulting Andreas (who he's probably never met before) for no good reason. It's like Jack's human qualities are just gone and all that's left is this empty shell made to start fights. His backstory didn't really make anybody sympathize with him, either.
The improvements of season 2
What I liked about the writing in season 2 was that they explored new ideas and had some solid storylines (besides the mess that was Amie and Ludde). Elias and Klara actually worked pretty well as a couple, even if they were pretty much the 2.0 version of Felicia/Ludde as the "wealthy, popular pretty girl starts dating the star player on the sports team".
Felicia finally gets some more depth. The scene at the end of 2x02, where Felicia and Leila park their car near the harbor and just start crying, is so powerful.
2x05 is also one of my favorite episodes of the show, as well as the ending montage of the 2x10 season finale. In Gameday, we had a very touching scene between Felicia and Mats where they finally communicate. It's not the most understanding conversation but it's a start. It's an interesting contrast between their talk in 1x06 where Felicia revealed she saw Mats cheating on Leila versus the talk they're having now.
Another one of my favorite scenes is when Felicia and Ludde meet up at their bench in 2x10 after Ludde has called her up asking Felicia to come if there's any chance of them getting back together.
The dialogue is simple and to the point. There's no long-winded love confession for the sake of drama. It's a moment that the whole season has been building up for, and when we finally get there we realize that this is how love should be.
Easy and simple.
Ludde: You came back.
Felicia: Yeah, I did.
Ludde: Do you remember our first date here?
Felicia: No. I’ve forgotten.
Ludde: I was so freaking nervous.
Felicia: Everything you said… Did you mean it? Because you hurt me, Ludvig. And I… I’ve really tried to hurt you back, but… It’s not possible. I can’t… Not love you. Do you think… Do you think it can be us again?
Ludde: What do you think?
Felicia: I don’t want anything else.
Ludde admitting how nervous he was on their first date is sweet and shows us how much they've been through. Felicia is struggling to find the words to say and she's acknowledging how hurt she was, but still can't seem to find it in her heart to hate Ludde. It's honest.
Another plotline that I think was a little underrated in season 2 is the GECED company going bankrupt and Ola, Klara's dad, is under investigation for financial crime. This isn't a storyline you would usually see in a teen series. It's much more serious. It also gave us a really touching and poignant scene in 2x08 between Ola and Klara sitting on the floor of his office, where Klara has to comfort her father who starts crying.
Ola: When you were little you used to sit like this. On the floor, while I was working. You had your own room, but you wanted to sit with me. “Help daddy work”. Mom’s doing the right thing by leaving for a while, don’t blame her for that.
Klara: What, you can’t just leave because things get a little tough.
Ola: Maybe you should get away for a while too. You know, I never wanted you two to… That you… Everything’s gone.
Klara: It will be fine. It will be fine.
Ola: Sorry. I’m sorry.
In 2x09, Klara is at a party when she notices a bunch of missed calls from her dad. She immediately senses something is wrong and rushes home to find her dad having attempted suicide. It's executed very well and I really liked the more serious tone they went for in season 2.
It set up season 3 perfectly, which continued with the darker themes but balanced them very well with the more light-hearted moments.
Season 3: Finding one's footing
Season 3 was a highly anticipated season. I thought the season 2 finale was masterfully done and it left me wanting more. When season 1 finished on its cliffhanger of the video leaking, the focus only seemed to be on that.
But with season 2 there's Felicia/Ludde getting back together and Ludde having been sued by Jack, Jack threatening that he would leak all of the Kroon's family secrets, Klara's dad passing away, Elias deciding to get on the train and go to the draft combine anyway, Amie having finally become a recording artist but being isolated and heartbroken... There's so much to unpack, and it's a lot more interesting than the ending of season 1.
Where's Jack?
Jack is supposed to be the main villain but he's gone for most of the season, failing to show up until 3x05. In the season 2 finale Jack makes a huge deal about how he's going to destroy Felicia's life. He's threatening her in a very violent and abusive way.
Jack: [...] I know a lot about you, Felicia. And your nice family. It’s enough for me to leak to one news site. I can destroy you. Do you get it? I’ll tell them everything. The drugs, the cheating, your abortion!
Felicia: Shut up!
Jack: Hey. Huh? Did you seriously think I wanted to be with you? The little Kroon princess, who has gotten everything for free her whole fucking life! You and Elias! Like spoiled brats! You don’t understand what it means to fight for something!
In 2x10, Jack decides to report Ludde for assault but he doesn't follow through on destroying this family that he hates. If there's anything Jack seems to despise above all, it should be the Kroon family, right? So why did he fight back with Ludde but not the Kroon family?
I expected Jack to leak all the Kroon secrets at the beginning of season 3, but Felicia seems strangely calm at the funeral which I'm assuming only takes place two weeks or so after Ola's passing in the season 2 finale.
Then, a whole year passes with no indication that Jack is ever going to leak anything. As season 3 was airing, I commented on how strange this felt in an ask I received:
One of my main questions about the time jump is the whole thing with Jack saying he was going to ruin Felicia’s and the Kroon family’s reputation in the press. It seemed like nothing really came of that?
I’m pretty sure that detail hasn’t been abandoned entirely and that Jack will come back (we’ve already seen a glimpse of him in the third episode), but it feels strange that Jack threatened to leak all her secrets and then just never did. I got the impression that Jack was a person who, when having his pride wounded, would do pretty much anything to get back at the person who insulted him. And yet there’s no mention of where Jack has been during that time or what he’s been doing.
I feel like I would be pretty paranoid about this if I was Felicia, but we don’t see this haunting her until episode 3 when she sees a flash of Jack before realizing it was just some random guy.
It seems strange that Felicia was relatively at ease during the funeral (which I assume took place not long after Jack first threatened her) and after the time jump. We don’t really know what’s been going on during that year, but Felicia seems to be fine and like she hasn’t had any thoughts of Jack at all. Maybe she assumed that his threats were empty and that he wouldn’t actually leak anything to the press, which is reasonable but at the same time I don’t understand why Jack has yet to do anything after a year. He was really pissed off in the season 2 finale, after all.
Going to repeat one of the things I wrote here because it deserves to be mentioned twice, and this point is one of my biggest issues.
I got the impression that Jack was a person who, when having his pride wounded, would do pretty much anything to get back at the person who insulted him.
I feel like this was kind of a plot hole that wasn't explained. Jack is ruthless and doesn't hold back at all when his true colors come out. He has no problem talking about the sexual relationship he had with Felicia in front of her father. Jack is just that horrible.
So what prevented him from ruining the Kroon family's lives earlier, when it seems to be the thing he's wanted for years?
Michael's predictable predicament
Michael first appears at the end of 3x04, where he calls Amie up to tell her he's her father.
Man: Hey! Sorry for calling so late. Is it Amie? Amie Condé?
Amie: Yeah.
Man: I saw you on TV the other day. I’m Michael Condé. I’m your father.
In the next episode, we get a voice-over of the continued conversation between him and Amie.
Michael: [...] I understand if it’s shocking. I’m in Oskarshamn for work for a few weeks and— Could we meet up someday?
So, it's clear what the writers are going for here. It's the estranged father who returns into the child's life when they've become successful. We're made to believe it's a Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You trope when Michael meets up with Amie and tells her why he left.
Michael: So Petra, she— Has she said anything about me?
Amie: Well… That you moved from Sweden before I was born… That you’re working as a lawyer. That you didn’t want to see me.
Michael: I was… I was young when we met. Your mom and I. And everything went really fast. I was in love, but she had feelings for somebody else. And when she found out that she— That she was expecting you, then… She didn’t want me there. She said I wasn’t father material. To some degree she might’ve been right, but… I wasn’t much older than you are now. I had just gotten into a law school in Berlin. When I finally came back to Sweden, then… She didn’t let me see you. I had already lost you by then, but I want you to know that I— I’ve thought of you. And about a week ago, I… I’m seeing you. On TV. There you are. With my last name. I’m so proud.
However, it's pretty easy to identify the holes in Michael's story. To be honest this whole storyline was predictable from the very start. Before Michael even came into the story, I made this post which pretty much summed up Michael's whole character when we didn't even know he existed yet (this was when 3x03 was the latest episode that had aired).
I don’t think we’ve heard any mention of Amie’s dad in the whole series except for 3x02 when Amie was being interviewed and was asked about the Condé name where she said that while Samuelsson was from her mother’s side, and Condé was from “the other side”. I found her word choice a little interesting.
I don’t think Amie’s dad has passed—but rather that he’s alive and just chosen to not be a part of her life, which is why Petra seemed to be a little offended when asking Amie why she didn’t want her last name anymore. This might also be why Amie said “the other side” rather than “my dad’s side” because they have an estranged relationship.
[...] I’m not really sure if they’ll do anything with Amie’s dad (maybe they’ll go for that trope where the parent who previously abandoned their child returns after the child has accomplished something big/something major happened and the parent wants something from them for personal gain?).
When we actually get to meet Michael and hear his explanation of why he left, I wrote this post pointing out some of the holes in this storyline.
Michael meeting Amie only after she’s become famous is a little suspicious, but it’s understandable if he previously thought she didn’t want to meet him and then sees her with his last name on national television. Obviously he would contact her after that.
I feel like there were some question marks with Michael’s whole story though, and the fact that his work just conveniently happened to send him to Oskarshamn after he’d just seen Amie on TV.
Maybe I’m missing something here, but how did he know Amie had gone back to Oskarshamn if he saw her living as a pop star in Stockholm? Was this information about Amie quitting the tour and going back to her hometown even online? If Elias (who actually witnessed Amie saying she was done and quitting) seemed taken aback when he saw Amie in Oskarshamn, then how did Michael know?
I do think Michael will return for season 4 though, so hopefully this storyline will be straightened out a little. We don't really know what Michael has been up for the past few years and if he has a family of his own. Maybe he'll contact Amie again to tell her she has some younger half-siblings?
They ended on sour terms, but if Michael does have his own family it's something Amie deserves to know and she can decide whatever she wants to do. I'd also like to see a Michael/Petra reunion, but I'm getting a little ahead of myself.
This storyline wasn't bad, and I do appreciate we got to find out what the situation with Amie's dad was. I also liked how I was able to sympathize with Michael. He's not entirely awful, even if he did put a lot of blame on Petra. It's one of those situations where you don't really know what it's like to be in Michael's position unless you've experienced it, and it's very realistic.
Plot holes
Some of the plot holes of season 3 that I've already mentioned are how Jack waited a whole year before leaking the Kroon family's secrets and how Michael conveniently knew Amie was in Oskarshamn when nobody seemed to know she was coming except her mom.
I actually don't mind that it was never explained how Michael got Amie's phone number either, because that's usually pretty easy to find with a Google search. Things like addresses, economic status, and even your criminal history are easily accessible in Sweden when googling someone's name. So finding someone's phone number is probably fairly easy as well.
On the other hand, one of the most glaring plot holes appeared in 3x08. In this episode entitled Lost, the Kroon family is frantically searching for Felicia who has gone missing. Leila and Elias knock on Petra's door to see if Amie is there and might know something about Felicia's whereabouts. Petra tells them Amie isn't there and they leave.
Someone left me an anonymous ask which I answered in this post, pointing out how it was strange that Elias didn't just call Amie to ask her when she wasn't at home. We know Elias has her number because they've been talking on the phone and texting each other several times before in the season.
In 3x08, when Elias and his mom go to Amie's house and ask Petra if Amie has seen or spoken to Felicia or whether she's home, I couldn't help but wonder, uh Elias why not just call Amie and ask her if she has seen or spoken to Felicia? [...] if Elias had called her and she heard how frightened him and his family were and police being involved she would have told him and then there would be no point in the 3x09 episode really.
This is a very strong point. You could argue that maybe Elias just didn't think of that but if they went out of their way to visit Amie's house only to not find her there, it would seem like calling her instead would just be a logical next step in the situation? Here's what I wrote in response to this ask.
This is an issue I had with 3x08 and 3x09 as well. I had a hard time actually enjoying the moment between Felicia, Klara, and Amie knowing that her family was getting increasingly worried for her and even thought for a short moment that Felicia was lying dead at the bottom of the ocean. All that could’ve been avoided.
To add, it didn’t make a lot of sense to me that when Klara finally decided to call someone she called Amie instead of Elias. An ex-friend of Felicia’s instead of her brother who could’ve helped a lot more. What was Amie supposed to do when she showed up at the hotel, exactly?
I know there was the thing with Klara only knowing Amie’s number off the top of her head, but there is no reason why she couldn’t have gone down to the reception while Felicia was sleeping and asked to use a computer just to get a quick message to Elias. Like, “hey, Felicia attempted something bad but she’s safe with me, we’re at this hotel in this room but she didn’t want me to call anybody, I don’t know what to do”. That would’ve been so much better than keeping quiet about the situation for nearly 24 hours.
I know that Klara probably has trauma from leaving her dad at the hospital after his suicide attempt and that she probably didn’t want to go against Felicia’s wishes. I understand the first part 100%. But Felicia was in a very bad place emotionally and was thinking that her whole family hated her when that wasn’t the case. I feel like in a situation like that you kind of have to be the bad guy just to ensure the family that Felicia was safe. Even if everything turned out alright in the end, it could’ve gone so much worse if Felicia had wanted to be kept hidden for longer.
[...] Elias calling Amie would’ve been an easy solution to this whole debacle but we would’ve lost the drama. It’s still somewhat of a plot hole though, like you said.
I understand it was done this way for dramatic effect, but that doesn't really patch up the plot hole.
I also found it strange how many people turned on Felicia after Jack ruined her reputation in the press. I talked about this in an ask I received.
I don’t understand why the public turned on Felicia so harshly. And Leila too, for that matter. The way Jack told the story about how these two women had things done to them should indicate that they’re not the ones to be blamed.
If I read this article and found out an 18-year-old girl got pregnant by a “violent criminal” who forced her to abort and then abused her I would not be angry with the girl. I would be angry that she was physically abused and also outed on her sexuality for being bi.
If I read this article and found out Leila had been cheated on by her husband repeatedly with her best friends, I wouldn’t be angry at her. I would not agree with the decision to turn to alcohol (same as Felicia turning to drugs), but I wouldn’t blame them. And I feel like a lot of people should’ve been on Leila’s side after finding out the reason why they divorced.
I don’t understand why people are saying they’re disappointed in Felicia and calling her fake when she’s been through so much trauma in her life. I feel like if this actually happened in real life, all the blame would be shifted to the men because they’re the ones who—in this story—are painted as the bad guys (with the exception of Jack, considering he was anonymous).
I got another anonymous ask sent in after this, pointing out how the anger directed towards Felicia was considerably more about her drug use rather than the abuse she endured. Here was my response to that:
[...] the drug use should’ve been understandable considering the stuff Felicia had been through was also written in that article.
I don’t know. I can understand people unfollowing her if they didn’t want their young children to be exposed to all the controversy, but it’s still strange that everything Felicia received was hate messages.
Did everybody just skip over the part where the anonymous source stated that Felicia was violently forced to have an abortion by an ex-criminal and probably did so out of fear for her life? Yes, we know this is fake, but why didn’t anybody seem to mention this?
[...] they seem to have written this storyline with the idea in mind that the public was against the whole Kroon family. Felicia got comments such as “So fucking disappointed in you and your family”, “What a nasty fucking family”, “You and your family are so fucking disgusting”.
So I think Leila received plenty of hate for drinking instead of divorcing her husband sooner and basically turning a blind eye to all the problems her family went through. That’s what Jack told the press, at least.
The anger seemed to be directed towards every member of the Kroon family and that didn’t make a lot of sense to me.
Again, this is something the writers did to dramatize the situation and they kind of forgot to consider that what Jack actually told the journalist wasn't as incriminating for Felicia and Leila as it were for Mats and Elias.
The magic of season 3
What season 3 really excelled in, to me, was delving into some more serious topics as well as showing the gradual development of Amie and Elias' relationship. Amie and Elias are the prime example of how a slow burn is so much better than having a couple get together too fast, like Felicia and Ludde did back in season 1.
While season 3 was still airing, I wrote a post dedicated to questions I had received about Elias and Amie. Here's one of the things I said about them:
I think Elias’ interest in her really started to grow after he saw how caring Amie was to Felicia, and later on connecting with her on how they both ended up back in Oskarshamn after following their dreams which didn’t exactly turn out the way they expected. Yes, Elias has always sort of been watching and admiring Amie from afar, but that interest didn’t start growing until he actually got to know her.
The experiences they had in the US and Stockholm, respectively, probably changed their mindsets and in my opinion it makes so much more sense for them to get together now than it would’ve in season 1 or season 2.
I still believe that Elias and Amie are the best-written couple of the whole show (at least so far), because they just make sense. We'll see what season 4 has in store for them because we have yet to actually see them in a romantic relationship, but I feel like their personalities and characters just fit together really well.
Another thing I really appreciated was the depiction of Felicia and Ludde's declining relationship. Things like that happen so easily, and I liked how we see Felicia do this huge gesture of planning a picnic for Ludde in 3x04 but there were still underlying problems between them. It's like that in real life too—no matter how big of a romantic gesture you make, communication will always be the number one priority in any relationship and that's where Felicia and Ludde fall short.
The obvious disconnect between them when it comes to money is also important. It's been like this from the beginning, but season 3 gave us an actual conversation about it.
Felicia: Please, I can’t talk about this. Seriously. It was stupid of me to bring this up from the beginning. Fuck, I get such anxiety talking about the future—
Ludde: You get anxiety? I’m the one walking around with no money in my account. Mom and dad had to get a loan to pay off mine and Andreas’ fines. I’m playing on a shitty old synth, and living off you like some leech. That’s anxiety.
Felicia: Everything isn’t about money.
Ludde: Says the one who has money.
Felicia: Move out then, if it’s so fucking hard to feel like a leech.
This felt very realistic. Of course a person like Felicia wouldn't think money is everything when she's never experienced financial issues. She's able to move out into her own one-bedroom apartment as soon as she's turned 18, it seems, and doesn't worry at all about the cost of furnishing and decorating it. She didn't even pay for it herself, because Mats mentions he's the one on the mortgage loan. It seems like Felicia has never had an actual job either, and that's starting to worry her because she has no idea what she should be doing.
Felicia: [...] I don’t know what I’ll be or what I’ll do in the future. I don’t know that.
Ludde: You’re still an influencer—
Felicia: Don’t say I’m an influencer, please. Do you think I want to be that my whole life? It’s not even a career. I'm— I’m graduating next year, and I… My grades suck, and— I have no plan. I only have you. Not like that—I have you. That’s what I have. I want to be here, in Oskarshamn. I don’t want to go to the US and chase some dream and be a hockey wife. That’s not a life. Sometimes I wish neither of us had a plan, just us together here.
Felicia's character finally offers something interesting here, which I've waited for since season 1. She's not just a party girl anymore who has issues with drugs. She's a privileged teenager who is co-dependent on the guys she meets and who has anxiety about the future, to the point where she wishes she could stay in Oskarshamn in her little apartment forever stuck in limbo.
She has to face a harsh reality when Ludde decides to break up with her, and later on when her name is slandered in the press and people all over the country are sending her hate messages. Her own family is furious with her and Felicia has nobody. She's pushed away a lot of people and her mental state is just crumbling in front of our eyes.
It's a strong storyline and actually very well executed. Almost everything gets taken away from her, and at the end of 3x07 you can almost feel what Felicia is feeling. We've been with her through this whole journey, almost, and we understand why she feels like suicide is the only answer.
It's tough to watch that final scene of 3x07. It's greatly amplified by Alva Bratt's superb acting, but the writing of the journey there is also amazing. It's very difficult to write a sensitive storyline like this.
Overall, I don't have a lot of critique towards season 3. I loved most of the episodes. I elaborated on this further in a separate post:
[Episodes 3x04 and 3x05] showcased what Eagles should be all about so well, which is relationships plus the struggles you go through as a teenager in a small town, and then of course hockey. The hockey game episodes are really good, even if I don’t think 3x05 topped 2x05 (the game where Ludde got tackled and knocked out).
I loved the contrast in Date night of the budding relationship between Elias and Amie and then that fight between Felicia and Ludde on the cliff. [...]
It was interesting to see how this sweet gesture from Felicia turned into a fight between the two of them. I thought that was very realistic, because no matter how big of a gesture Felicia made to apologize there were still underlying problems that they needed to talk about.
I also loved the “non-date” between Elias and Amie in this episode. It was cute to see them goofing off before the movie started and then talking about it on the way home. I liked how Elias could connect to her on how they had both returned to Oskarshamn.
The recent episodes that dropped last week (3x08 and 3x09) were very strong and discussed some important subject matters [...] They were dark, but not necessarily bad because they needed to happen.
However, I have to say that I prefer Eagles when it’s about hockey and teenage relationships. 3x04 and 3x05 made me kind of nostalgic for season 1 and I liked the vibe they both had.
Eagles season 3 is in my opinion the best season of the show so far, and we haven't seen any signs suggesting that there is any reason for season 4 to not be even better.
Season 4: Hopes and wishes
Considering how each season has been increasing in quality bit by bit, I have pretty high hopes for the writing in season 4. I'm excited to see how the transition from teenager to young adult will be portrayed in the main characters, and what their future will hold for them after they've graduated.
My main questions are if Felicia and Ludde will find their way back to each other or if they'll remain broken up (that would be realistic as well), if Klara will reconcile with her mom, what's in store for Elias's hockey career, and if Amie will leave her label and maybe opt for something more independent.
I also want to see how Felicia deals with the new home she's checked in to, and if Ludde will in fact go to the school now that it seems Andreas will be getting into trouble again.
Amie and Klara are kind of wild cards here, because it somewhat feels like they've already reached their happy endings. Amie is famous and successful in her pop music career, and Klara has found her place as a businesswoman following in her father's footsteps. Maybe these developments should've come in season 4 instead of rushing them.
Nonetheless, I have faith in the writers. The writing suffered a little in seasons 1 and 2 but it has gotten better. Most of the things I pointed out about season 3 were just small details in an otherwise stellar season.
In conclusion...
This post was critical, but I tend to be critical of every show I watch. Eagles is still a very special show for me and having grown up in a Swedish small town myself I'm very fond of the show and its characters.
So huge thanks to the creator, Stefan H. Lindén, for making this show a reality and also to the director Carl-Petter Montell for contributing to the writing in season 3. And of course the writers of the show which include Michaela Hamilton, Fanny Ekstrand, and Anton Nyberg (plus Amanda Adolfsson who helped write 1x02 and 1x05 and Simon Ekbäck Nordström who is credited for helping with the hockey scenes in 3x05).
I hope you guys enjoyed this long, long post and major kudos to you if you read this far!
#eagles svt#svt eagles#eaglesspoilers#young royals#beartown#björnstad#been working on this post for a few days so i really hope you enjoy it!
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