#dropped plot threads

[flock-of-cassowaries]

I thought Collins Enterprises were going to have to contend with their own Succession-style hostile takeover bid; but fortunately for the Collins-Stoddards, this show has lost its original antagonist, and his replacement has all the charisma and intensity of a stale saltine.

It’s as if between seasons 3 and 4, Alexander Skarsgaard had quit; and his replacement was just your Uncle Bill.

[bucksboobs]

Unfortunately, because we know they filmed 809 already, and which means they wrote it before the backlash to the breakup, the earliest we can hope for a course correction is 810. Which kinda sucks because the way Lou talks, I know he isn’t going to be in 808 or 809. So we just kind of have to hope for either nothing new or something small.

[relentless-endurance]

so i made a post a while back about not insisting on a certain type of baldur's gate 3 playthrough is 'canon'. and i generally still stand by that statement. however i've gone through the game now as regular Tav, redeem/resist durge, and full blown evil durge - and the difference between Tav and durge is a fucking canyon.

like yeah, yeah, your playthrough is valid, i'm not here to argue with that. but it really well and truly feels like the majority of the effort was put into Durge, and Tav is shortchanged when it comes to the threads that tie them to the major plot of the story. its a god damn shame, because I understand why Tav is an option (Durge gets really fucking intense, ESPECIALLY with the evil route, jesus fuck); i just wish that they had thought to put in as much effort to Tav as they seemed to have durge. a damn shame, really.

[altarfates]

just so all of my mutuals know I’m starting uni full time in a few weeks so my time to write will inevitably change. I’ll probably prioritise plotting a bit more and stick to smaller threads bc as much as I love my ten paragraph threads they take two to three hours to write sometimes and realistically that won’t be happening as often now, atleast until I work out how to divvy my time up effectively.

[blatantprinterpropaganda]

let me preface this by saying that this is in no way a complaint. but truly i think there are few things that more neatly summarize the priorities of this show than babe and style's dad getting brought back in the finale to get kidnapped at gunpoint and silently witness a revenge murder, only to then disappear completely with just one of them mentioned again in passing, because unpacking All Of That (or showing, like, thirty seconds of how these minor characters respond to the whole hitman and prison and mortal danger revelation) is less important than another scene of kisses in bed, another scene of kisses in a different bed, kisses under the northen lights, and kisses that constitute reckless driving. ugh. i'll miss this group of four people who have something extremely wrong with them and their weird colorful world that never felt even remotely real <3

[porcubus]

i think a lot of plot threads were really unceremoniously dropped and I think it is so evil that gemma gets sidelined so much especially as a woc (which severance seems to be gaining a bit of a track record for now) and ends the season in just a brand new form of pain like jesus fucking christ

at the same time I don't think mark and helly were running away thinking they'd have a life down there they were running for the sake of being alive and together just a little longer & I don't think the implication is that they fumbled the gemma rescue I think it'd be just insane if s3 begins and she's just. Back in there and while some choices are questionable I don't think they'd do that devon and cobel are more than likely just outside. maybe this is too hopeful but it felt clear to me

my hope is for s3 to do due diligence with the way things ended and spend more time with gemma as a main character (hopefully having that time tie in more with devon And Her Kid We Forgot & ricken and whatever the hell he's doing since we've been told they were all close)

[blueskyscribe]

The reason the third set of Earthspark episodes were such a disappointment to me was that I expected all the plot threads from the previous two thirds of the show to interweave and instead a lot of them were just dropped.

Like why did Optimus need to keep Bumblebee's existence a secret? Why did GHOST think he was dead? And what consequences did Optimus face once GHOST found out Bee was alive? Seemingly none. Optimus showed up so little in the second batch of episodes that I kind of thought they'd retaliated against him and imprisoned or brainwashed him but nah, he's fine and it's never explained why Bumblebee had to fake his own death.

What was the Cybertronians' war initially about? It is unbelievable to me that this wasn't explored. First, it's interesting! Second, it would give us insight into the motivations of the Decepticon ensemble.

The show is a sort of a "what if" AU based on G1, and in G1 the Decepticons were warmongers who wanted to rule the galaxy and enslave everyone. However, if you've read MTMTE you might notice Megatron chiding Shockwave for dismissing the Terrans as "lower class beings" and conclude that the war was about classism. But ultimately the viewer shouldn't have to fill in the blanks from other media. Earthspark should address this within its own show, because the question "Can the Decepticons be trusted, can they be redeemed?" can't be answered without it. Like, if the Decepticons were just The Evil Bad Guys then it wouldn't matter, but if you want them to end up freely walking the Earth then it's extremely important to know if the average 'Con's motivation for joining the army was "I'm standing up for my civil rights" versus "y'know, I just love killing people." Especially since, unlike the easy-breezy G1 cartoon, in Earthspark the TF war resulted in human injuries and deaths.

Shockwave and Soundwave's complicated feelings about Megatron never get resolved or even addressed outside their solo episodes. Which is very odd in a series that put such an emphasis on working out emotional strife, what with the cyber-sleeves and all. In the finale the Decepticons team up with the Autobots and Terrans because Mandroid wants to destroy all robot life: a purely physical threat. And that was a cool fight. But it doesn't resolve any of the emotional baggage. This disappointed me because the emotional fallout of Megatron's side-switch was the most interesting part of the show imo.

Then there was the Starscream episode, which felt like the "Dear Princess Celestia" moral in the last two minutes of a MLP FIM episode without showing how the conflict played out in the previous twenty minutes.

Earthspark got renewed for a second season. (And I'm glad! It has a lot of potential, that's why I was pumped during the first two-thirds!) But they thought they might only get one season, and if that was the case they would have left us with all these dead ends.

[renewedawn]

so, uh, yeah. to summarize my thoughts: this is what I mean when I say I don't think I ever want arceus or giratina to appear for real for real on this blog. Arceus is Literally meant to be The Narrative; they are something that we as readers can see in some degree of wholeness, something that undeniably exists within the world and whose influence can sometimes even be felt, but fundamentally, they are not meant to be something the characters can truly Know or Understand in a meaningful way. arceus is not a character on this blog, they are this blog, the posts, the lens through which we can even perceive hikari & her story. I dunno man. I did warn y'all that I was going to get weird with it.

[cyberneticatoms]

WHERE: Metroplex General Hospital WHO: Carrie Bachman (@chaosandcrimson)

Topher was humming to himself, scribbling on a notepad before he heard shuffling, eyes flickering up at Carrie. He hadn't come alone once since she'd been in here, always with Andros and mostly letting his friend handle conversation. "Morning...or evening actually," he said glancing out the window, "Um..your siblings are downstairs with your folks grabbing dinner. I uh...do you want some water or anything? Can snag a nurse if you're hungry," he offered awkwardly shifting in his chair.

[otome-on-the-side]

I’ve been a bit too depressed to engage with om much (and this only worsened with how cash grabby nightbringer got, no matter how much I wanted to engage with the story) but it is so sad to see a game that was as promising as it was get throttled by the company that owned it, despite the effort of everyone involved

[belasso]

howdy! >:)

[soulstagger]

[imanixkline]

Yacht Party with Emiliano De La Cruz @emilianodelacruz

Not a patient woman by nature, Imani had found her frustration rising with each second them remained trapped inside. More incensed by the inconvenience of it all than concerned about any threat of violence. The whole situation could be helped if people just stayed still, their constant toing and froing doing nothing but add fuel to her fire. Things only got worse when a heavy foot landed on her open toed heel, jaw tightening as she stifled the pain. "Maybe it'd be helpful if we all just stayed were we were. The doors have been tried already." For once she had to work to sound reasonable and friendly, irritation almost cracking her polished tone. Had she been completely unrecognisable there might have been a temptation for a sharp remark, or a jab about their clumsiness, but she'd worn her mask too well for too many years to let it slip now. With a supressed sigh she gathered herself, tone friendlier the next time she tried. "But here, at least have some light if you're trying to find someone." With a smooth movement she pulled out her phone, using the flashlight to help them move past her without any more of her toes being casualties. But they were unsteady on their feet, likely still drunk from earlier and staggering towards her. Reflexively she stepped back, her shoulder colliding with someone else's and eyes closed briefly as she prepared to apologise with sweet, smooth tones. "Sorry, I was trying to avoid more trodden toes but it seems like I've just traded them for bruised shoulders."

[ccxcorioni]

Yacht Party with Nolan Fitzpatrick @nolanfitz

It had only been minutes since she'd finally located Nolan, barely halfway into her tipsy inspired ribbing of him when the alarm had rang, cutting into her off the cuff monologue. "Saved by the bell." Except none of her teasing had actually managed to be severe, it was an expression of affection if someone knew to read into it well enough. As the masses shuffled towards the room they were to gather in she couldn't help but make disparaging noises at the crowd, impatience killing the buzz she'd built up from her hours of drinking. "Does no one know how a queue works." Eventually everyone filed in and she found a spot beside her boss, doors slamming not long after. It took her a moment to realise something was wrong as the darkness surrounded them, only panic from other people piercing through her alcohol fog to suggest this wasn't the plan. People around them started to move towards the door with little regard for whether or not they were in their path, trying to open them to no avail. "Oh yeah, everyone keep pushing. 'Coz that's gonna help." A particularly hard shove had her wobbling in her heels, grasping his arm for balance. A brief sense of vulnerability washed over her, suddenly all too aware that she had no idea what was happening nor what it meant for her. But the feeling is squashed down, reaching for a joke instead. Voice was kept nonchalant, lighter than she was feeling. "Y'know, it could be worse. At least I don't have to look at you now the lights are out."

[purplemccns]

🌙 || closed starter for @mndstom

while he did enjoy writing his novels, trenton was never really the biggest fan of the book tours. the way he saw it was that he didn't really care about trying to have more people read his books - they'd read it if they were interested in reading it and if not it was no harm lost. but unfortunately for his contract he had to have at least one month of promotion, even though last time he was somehow able to get back home just shy of the normal four weeks. today though was just the start of week two, and all he could think about was the girl that couldn't come with him. pulling out his cell phone, he hit the video call button that was placed first on his home screen, chewing on his lip in anticipation to see if she was busy or not.

[masenewman]

Who: Mason & @lucie-newman Where: Shopping center When: plot drop 2025

"So what exactly do we need to get?" Mason never made a grocery list. He simply survived off vibes, what he usually ate and making sure his dogs were fed. They were eating better than he was, but he had decided to help Lucie prepare and just tag along. "All we talking all junk food, healthy food or a good mix?" He was just here to throw stuff in the basket and carry water. "I don't want to see you texting me for anything you forgot, we're getting everything now."