#this is probably the only thing I'm good for contributing in fandom aside from actual discussion

[thequietsrestricted-discussion]

Huzzah! Playlist is up on youtube!!

@theinkymystery This is my gift to TAP, Mercowe, and everyone else putting in work on this fic behind the scenes. The songs are in no particular order, but I plan to add a new song each time I finish a chapter. Seriously, great work you guys. It's awesome, and I am loving it so far.

Sighhhhhh. I think Inky Mystery has taken my life over to a degree. I'm seriously considering making a whole new spotify account to keep my identity hidden just so I can make a playlist for Bends to send to the authors and creative team. I think I'm losing it. But like. In a good way.

[fireflysummers]

Final Thoughts on GO S2

I'm probably gonna pull back on discussing S2, at least publicly, after this. I did actually like a lot of the season, but it's triggering some of my religious trauma and also the fandom is already stressing me out. So here, let's have some final thoughts.

First and foremost: I am not a Gaiman simp. I've read a decent amount of his work: comics, short stories, essays, and novels. Aside from Good Omens, I've liked Coraline and The Graveyard Book the best by far, whereas American Gods just. Did Not Connect with me, even though it's should have, given the stuff I tend to enjoy.

However. Regardless of whether I like a given work (or even like how he adapted it, a la parts of The Sandman TV series), he is a veteran writer who has proven that he does, actually, know how to write a story with consistent characters.

Beyond that, I do actually believe that he's trying to do right by Pratchett, and loves and respects the story and characters they created together. He's generally shown up as an ally to a variety of social causes, and directly and respectfully responds to fans on Tumblr. While no saint, I feel that there is cause to give the benefit of the doubt that things will resolve satisfyingly in S3, and that there is Intention about some of the things in S2.

This, of course, does not absolve it of being "bad," but even here I think we need to articulate better the different types of "bad" that people are reacting to. There seems to roughly be three camps here: 1) People who thought it was "bad" because of how it ended, with the breakup and a lot of unresolved plot threads; 2) People who thought it was "bad" because it struggled on a technical level with its set, lighting, directorial choices, editing, etc; 3) People who thought it was "bad" because they felt the characterization was significantly off and that the internal logic of the series had been violated.

With regards to Point One, the only solution is to Wait and See. Judgement should be reserved until the story is properly finished--easier said than done, especially considering the current media landscape, and the number of series or franchises that fail to live up to their promises.

Point Two isn't something I understand well enough to contribute meaningfully, except that I suspect the pandemic affected this aspect the most and am willing to give it a bit more mercy. That aside, I for the most part I don't find it bad so much as not as good as S1. Except for the parts with epilepsy warnings, surely there could've been a better way to do that.

Point Three... that's the stumbling block for me, and I find it interesting that most of the folks who struggle with this point in particular are long time fans of the book.

I trust that instinct.

There are two different directions to go from here. The first is the assumption that these problems are a result of ego, carelessness, or lack of skill from the showrunners/writers/director. It's cynical but not unjustified. The second is the belief that the breaks in lore or characterization were intentional, building towards a much grander conspiracy. Of course, even in this case I don't think it forgives the lack of signposting that would indicate that this is a choice rather than an accident. It just makes it feel clumsy and poorly constructed, a major risk on a show that hasn't had its third season confirmed.*

However, regardless, it still feels salvageable. I've enjoyed reading a lot of meta on all this, and I've pulled some things from others (particularly That Theory by @ariaste), but I don't really want to put forth a single, defined theory myself. Instead, here's some questions I've got, why those questions are important (to me, at least). Actual theorizing comes after, and anybody who snidely mentions Sherlock in the comments or tags is going to get auto-blocked. Like seriously, I'm aware that some stuff is a stretch, but it's fun??? To theorize????? And I'm here for me and my peace of mind rather than trying to argue a point.

*I have some suspicions here, particularly with Gaiman stating that the decision from Amazon would come much faster than The Sandman's second season (which was four months). I don't know enough though to say if that's actually significant.

Questions

Who the fuck is telling this story?

This is the most important piece, in my opinion. There's this assumption when reading books (or research papers, newspapers, etc...) that the narrator who is writing the words is a non-presence, Neutral and objective. That's not the case, and an important part of literature critique is figuring out who the narrator is, and what their goals are. Oftentimes, the narrator and the author are the same person, but with Pratchett's work, particularly on Good Omens and Discworld, the Narrator was its own unique character.

This is why people struggle adapting Discworld to live action--that medium requires a Reason for having a Narrator, and especially in the age of method acting that's often considered immersion-breaking. Good Omens worked so well because they not only kept the Narrator, but they made Her God.

This added some really interesting new dimensions, such as the scene where Crowley speaks to God about his fall and the destruction of humanity. He doesn't receive an answer, but we're watching from God's perspective, so we as the audience know that She's listening.

Another advantage of making God the Narrator is that it justifies all the goofy little asides we get into the lives of minor characters (i.e. Leslie the Mailman), without losing focus. It helps the world feel like it’s full of people, rather than characters and plot contrivances, and the theme that individual people and their choices are important. The Narrator is such a central character of Good Omens that without it, the story struggles to stay focused.

It also highlights a key difference in the writing styles of the two authors. Pratchett’s work tends to introduce four or five totally unique plot threads that feel completely disjointed until the last act (if not even later), when it turns into a Chekhov’s Firing Squad. Plot twists around secret identities and backstabbing and schemes are relatively rare, as the omniscient Narrator doesn’t lie about the intentions of people or their actions.

Gaiman’s writing is typically not like that, to my knowledge. He buries characters in misdirection and hints, and you never know the true identity or motives until all the chips are down. It’s a perfectly valid way to approach storytelling, but it makes it jarring to see it in S2. The lack of a Narrator is a huge reason why S2 doesn’t feel like Good Omens to some folks.

My gut feeling is that the decision to shift from the original Narrator was highly intentional. It helps to obscure the thoughts and intentions of people, and it also muddles the insights that we’re supposed to take away. (I would have loved hearing God monologue about what’s going on in Jim’s head. I think it’d do a lot to make him seem less.... obnoxiously stupid.)

More than that, it brings up a reasonable potential plot point of: Where did God go? Why isn’t She present in the story? Even in her early appearance in the Job flashback, she doesn’t sound like the narrator for last season. After the first part of her speech (which Gabriel later quotes), her tone turns casual and condescending, which might line up with her being a bit of an asshole, it doesn’t line up with the whole “dealer of a mysterious card game who is always smiling”).

Also, I don’t think it’s safe to assume that nobody is telling the story either. Just because they’re not making their presence known doesn’t mean they aren’t there, and in a story like Good Omens, that’s concerning.

Wait, where's Satan?

Another person I saw while scrolling the tags pointed out that Satan is nowhere to be seen this season. He's really only mentioned in reference to a bet God made in Job, but then Crowley is the one on the ground causing mischief. There's no Hail Satan among demons (like Hastur and Ligur did at the start of S1).

That's might be because the writers didn't want us to think it was important (a la Hastur), but that feels off. Given that Satan speaks directly through the radio to Crowley in S1, complimenting him on his work, it's safe to say that he was at least aware of and involved in the goings-on in Hell. The fact that he wasn't even an worry for Beelzebub in abandoning their post? Feels weird.

(Also if you know where that post is, I'll happy credit + link)

What is Maggie?

Look, I love cute lesbians in love as much as the next queer, but I don't like Maggie. I don’t think she’s a person. Contextually, she’s a plot device, but I agree with That Essay that she might be an actual Plot Device.

Her characterization is simple and relatively shallow—a bit of an airhead, ray of sunshine that’s supposed to remind you of Aziraphale. When she describes her past to Nina, it’s almost robotic (also, her story implies it was Mr. Fell who first rented to her ancestor, not Mr. Fell’s great-grandfather like Nina implied). Her emotions are over-dramatic and seem to be turned on and off at random (scenes with her crying to Aziraphale about her woes had my “manipulator” senses going off for some reason).

When asked about a song, she not only IDs the song, its singer, and its year, but how and on what it was distributed. (Honestly thought this would’ve been something interesting, because she’s been pretty ditzy so far, it’d be interesting if she had like... an insane memory for music history.) And then she’s the one that sets Aziraphale on his little investigation by giving him the transformed records, while also planting the seed about her love troubles with Nina. Later, her advice to Crowley is... not awful, but feels insincere and a bit too forward, given her own self-proclaimed lack of relationship experience.

I don’t know what she is (a demon, hastur with amnesia in disguise, a literal plot device inserted by the current storyteller, etc...), but there’s something not right with her.

(Also the joke of “who listens to records anymore, it’s so old fashioned” just doesn’t land, lots of people buy records, and I’m saying this as somebody who has worked at a record store before.)

What's going on with Aziraphale?

There’s something Off about Aziraphale, and it’s not his choices at the end of the season. That makes total sense if you read him as somebody with severe religious trauma getting dragged back into the abusive system because other people need him and he’s been promised the ability to change things.

But I do think something is happening to his memory. Nearly all the flashbacks are from Aziraphale’s point of view and retelling, which means that they’re less reliable than God’s version of events in the previous season. Many of them don’t make logistical sense (post-church scene in 1941), depict Crowley as meaner or more sinister than we know he is, or frame events... weirdly. The scene with him trying food for the first time feels Really Bad, especially when the series has previously established that he’s a) prim and proper and b) his interest in food is one of the beautiful things that connect him to humanity, not some kind of gluttonous sin. Also he turns down alcohol.

Their meet-cute at the  start of the universe also doesn’t line up with their reactions to each other in Eden, or the fact that knowing each other Before has never come up or been hinted at anywhere ever. I don’t know what’s causing this to happen, only that Aziraphale repeatedly looks pensive when coming out of flashbacks, and Crowley is never there afterwards to corroborate said memories.

His actions also seem pretty inconsistent with what we know of him—i.e. I refuse to believe he would ever mistreat his books, even if they’re just old encyclopedias. Also, he feels a bit too...forceful in trying to get Nina and Maggie to fall in love? I mean, he didn’t exert that much direct influence on even Warlock, when he was actively hoping that the boy would turn out angelic rather than neutral.

I don’t think this removes his agency in that last decision, so much as explains how he was in such a vulnerable place at all. He still needs to apologize and fix things, because he messed up, and even if he hadn’t he still seriously hurt Crowley.

What's going on with Crowley?

There’s something Off about Crowley. The most obvious thing, of course, is his memories. At multiple points in the present day, characters state that they remember him or have met him before, only to be met with confusion. This is especially concerning given that he has a nigh photographic memory for faces (something mentioned in the book when he immediately IDs Mary Loquacious, 11 years after a 30 second conversation).

Overall, he seems to be better known by other supernatural entities this season, in ways that often tie him back to his angelic identity (i.e. saying they fought together in the war, Aziraphale stating he knew the angel he used to be, etc...). This doesn’t feel right, because S1 we see that Hell is largely apathetic towards his schemes, and definitely does not defer to him at any point in any capacity.

Then there’s the issue of his power level. It’s always been speculated that Crowley was a powerful angel prior to falling, when he mentions in S1 his involvement with star making, his seemingly unique ability to freeze time, and creating a pocket universe for Adam before the confrontation with Satan. He also has a tendency of breathing life into inanimate objects, like his plants or car. He also has the regular demonic skillset: miracles that can adjust physical appearance; the ability to change inanimate objects (like paintball guns into real guns); the ability to manifest clothing and similar items; and summon hellfire to his fingertips. This, plus the way he monologues to God with a degree of familiarity rather than reverence seems to indicate that he was Somebody Powerful and Important Before.

But in S2, his skills are significantly expanded upon. The miracle he and Aziraphale summon sets off alarms in heaven and hell, and it’s powerful enough to mask Gabriel from the Archangels. He summons a miniature sun to rain fire on Job, which is way bigger and flashier than anything we’ve seen him summon in S1. (If he needs fire, he alters the course of a dropping bomb, without creating one himself.)

Yet he’s able to cloak his presence so well he goes wholly unnoticed in heaven, or in front of heavenly agents on earth (i.e. the Job flashback). Muriel can’t clock him as a demon, or even as another supernatural being, despite their auras usually being pretty significant, such Aziraphale immediately sensing the archangels when they arrive.  He’s able to interfere with files that Muriel claimed required clearance (although I feel like that might just be a snark about Obeying Without Thinking? I would really need a Narrator to know.)

I might be misremembering, but I don’t think we’ve seen angels or demons transmogrify living beings before either. In the book, Crowley brings Aziraphale’s dove back to life after the failed magic show, and occasionally sinks ducks, but he doesn’t alter them? Not even Adam demonstrates that skill in S1. But he has no trouble turning Job’s children into lizards, however temporarily. Boy that would’ve been convenient during the flood. Or when the guard stopped then from getting to the air strip.

I might be misremembering, but I don’t think we’ve seen angels or demons transmogrify living beings before either. In the book, Crowley brings Aziraphale’s dove back to life after the failed magic show, and occasionally sinks ducks, but he doesn’t alter them? Not even Adam demonstrates that skill in S1. But he has no trouble turning Job’s children into lizards, however temporarily. Boy that would’ve been convenient during the flood. Or when the guard stopped then from getting to the air strip.

I don’t have any real issues with his characterization in the present day parts of S2, but there’s something weird happening with Crowley.

Where's all the people?

I really like a lot of the new characters, but how were there only like, 2.5 new humans named in the present day? Flashbacks don’t count bc the humans are all dead and can’t affect the story.

As much as I like Nina, she and Maggie don’t drive the story beyond being an occasional and awkwardly inserted plot contrivance? Both are actively robbed of their agency at several points, forced into situations that they could not have avoided or escaped. I’m not really sure what growth they’re expected to experience other than deciding not to date each other after everything. I literally can’t tell you anything about Nina other than that she remembers her regular’s orders, runs a coffee shop, and has a textbook abusive partner we never see. The only meaningful interactions they have are between those two, or in conversation with Aziraphale and Crowley.

Compare that to S1, where Anathema gets hit by Aziraphale and Crowley, but her primary relationships are with Newt, Adam, and Agnes Nutter (I think that counts as a relationship). We know that she’s got a wealthy family back in Puerto Rico, and that she was literally raised to save the world, and that she isn’t happy under all that pressure. Newt on the other hand is connected to not just Anathema, but Shadwell and Madame Tracy. He never even directly interacts with Aziraphale and Crowley. We know about his hobbies, his struggle to hold down a job, and his almost supernatural ability to destroy any electronics he touches. I don’t necessarily like how their relationship came together, but they were both very, very well fleshed out characters with unique backstories and goals. They weren’t just... waiting around to give Aziraphale and Crowley a new questline.

And while there’s no requirement to include a large cast of human characters that are exerting influence over the story, the lack of it is another aspect that makes this season feel not like Good Omens.

Also, it's just. Really weird to me that the events of S1 aren't really referenced at all? Like, Adam isn't mentioned, nor is Warlock. I don't expect them to keep track of the humans they met on the airfield for 20 minutes, but none of it is ever specifically referenced as far as I can tell, beyond Crowley threatening Gabriel. Like, I get that it's been a few years, but the pair caused a big enough disturbance that you'd expect some kind of ripples in their supernatural communities.

Promised by the Narrative (Obvious Chekhov's guns that I will be legitimately upset over if they do not go off)

A sincere apology from Aziraphale to Crowley that doesn't come with the expectation that Crowley will come back to him, but because he deserves an apology, even if the choices Aziraphale made were done with good intentions. Aziraphale does not expect forgiveness, and is shocked when Crowley grants it without hesitation.

A clear declaration of love from Aziraphale, which can't be rationalized away by either of them.

An "I'm Sorry" dance between Aziraphale and Crowley, but with greater sincerity and gravity. The most important piece is that they end up dancing together, which signifies a mutual apology and dedication to come together.

Since kissing is on the table, I expect an actual joyful, mutual kiss between these two assholes.

A shared cottage in South Downs.

Predictions/Theories (just some fun thoughts I've had)

When Adam declared that Satan was not his father, he didn't make himself not the antichrist, but accidentally crowned his human dad the King of Hell. Nobody knows this, because Adam doesn't have a good measure for "normal" supernatural situations, and Mr. Young because he's so "normal" that he explains away all the magical bullshit that's started going down.

When Adam declared that Satan was not his father, he erased Satan altogether. However, this left a vacuum in both power and reality. The defection of both Gabriel and Beelzebub only widens that crack. In an attempt to Fix things, reality is warping the story. Crowley has become leagues more powerful between S1 and S2, as the narrative is trying to force him into the role of his previous boss. Aziraphale is unknowingly being pulled into a similar version on the Other Side, perhaps to replace Gabriel or perhaps to replace God herself, who has been fairly absent in all this. The alterations to their memories or past have come about to keep the narrative running smoothly.

When the Metatron asks Nina whether anybody has ever asked for death, he was actually referring to Death, the sole remaining rider of the apocalypse.

If Maggie is indeed a Plot Device, it would be a fascinating exploration of Free Will to see her become aware of this (cue existential crisis), and then fall in love with Nina on her own terms, rather than because she was written that way.

Hastur will be back. Somehow.

The reason why S2 focuses so much on the supernatural characters is because S3 will be about how the events in S1 have changed the political landscape of heaven and hell. Angels are questioning their roles, demons are yearning for something more. It's scaring upper administration, and then the two most reliable folks in employment run away to alpha centauri. Recruiting Aziraphale and getting him back in line prevents him from becoming a martyr, control the range of his influence. The series reasserts its theme of choice and agency by highlighting that Aziraphale and Crowley aren't that special, they've just had the chance to live and grow, and that the others have free will too, if they want it.

The reason why they wanted to separate Aziraphale and Crowley, is not to get Aziraphale on his own, but to get Crowley on his own. He literally stopped time and made a pocket universe in front of Satan last season. He's powerful and dangerous and somebody wants to see that reigned in.

Wishlist (stuff I desperately want to see)

Crowley getting an audience with God and an opportunity to ask his questions, only to refuse to do so because he's found his own Answers and he no longer needs hers

Aziraphale and Crowley growing more into their book incarnations. Aziraphale becomes confident in his sense of morality, which he developed the hard way through millennia on earth besides humanity. He slowly learns what it means to be loved, unconditionally, but also is better at asserting and maintaining his boundaries. Crowley, still anxious and unwinding, works through his fear of abandonment, providing him opportunities to be kind and gentle and nurturing--all traits that he's aggressively hid since being a demon.

Hand holding. I know that Gaiman was referring to Ineffable Bureaucracy, but I still feel like we'd benefit from meaningful hand holding, especially since that got cut from the adaptation of the book.

Shifted focus away from the supernatural shenanigans, and back onto the humans that actually drive the story.

Cameos from S1 characters (if not a more substantial appearance).

The Four Other Riders of the Apocalypse.

Cursed Thoughts (why I shouldn't be allowed a social platform)

Ineffable Bureaucracy turns up in season 3 because Beelzebub got Gabriel pregnant somehow.

[review-anon]

Thoughts on Sayaka Maizono?

Sayaka really is a character who the fandom goes one or two ways. One section of the fandom calls her a snake and the other section literally decorates their entire fucking house in Sayaka drawings.

The funniest thing is some of @creepercraftguy's sprite edits found their way into said house and as such one can tease him over the fact he actually contributed to that...well would you call it a masterpiece? It's art but...I dunno.

Design wise, Sayaka is extremely plain looking but I am gonna give her some slack as she was literally the first female Danganronpa character ever designed and you aren't gonna have a banger on the first go. But I will say that Sayaka could benefit from a redesign as currently she looks like atypical Japanese high schooler which might have worked when we were in the Distrust era but in this zany Danganronpa universe, not so much. It's just her design isn't very "idol"

Of course everyone and their mother knows Sayaka is the first big gotcha in Danganronpa and tells you right away what this franchise is gonna be about. As in a normal setting, Sayaka would be the assistant character for Makoto and the fact they knew each other before the game was definitely setting up for that.

And so Danganronpa has her be victim number one, which okay that's one thing. The second thing is that Sayaka was planning a murder but 11037 turned the tables and killed her. Now I will say that those saying that Leon should have walked away once Sayaka was disarmed, firstly the Class Trial system wasn't announced until after this murder took place, and secondly Sayaka could have spun the whole thing to make Leon look guilty and the others would have believed her.

Alternatively the manga adaptation of Danganronpa paints this more tragically as Sayaka still had the knife on her when she fled into the bathroom and Leon opens the door, to try and calm her down. As for why he didn't do so outside, I'm gonna assume the door is soundproof, but Sayaka didn't believe him, another attempt was made and Sayaka got accidently stabbed.

Its very easy to call Sayaka a snake in this regard but aside from the fact by the logic of snake, both Aoi and Kyoko could be called that due to their actions, but Sayaka was less a criminal mastermind and more of a desperate young girl who feared her career was over. Given how brutal the idol industry is, Sayaka probably had to do some unsavory stuff to get on top.

What I find funny is whenever Sayaka shows up in askblogs she's a total badarse. Ask the Despair Kids? Sayaka runs the Remnants of Hope, was able to hold her own against Kyoji who had basically genetically modified himself to be like a typical Bioshock player, AND she has a pet kaiju. A Student Out of Time? Sayaka is the long awaited 4th good time traveller and has been pulling a lot of weight and has her own faction consisting of mostly future people from her class. Survivors? Sayaka is a major member of the Future Foundation and recently has become one of Makoto's girlfriends. The only one she hasn't done something epic in is Despair to Future Arcs but that's because we haven't focused on her past yet. And when Sayaka gets her moment in my sketches you bet she will have an epic moment.

But in terms of her in canon, Sayaka just dies in the first chapter because Spike Chunsoft hate using her as a reference model, and she sets the tone of the franchise but that's that. Nothing impressive in canon and her best moments are from her potential and what fans can do with her then what she does in canon.

[angsty-nerd]

Meta: Echo’s Big Fight in 3x09

Let's talk about the Big Echo fight. Because wandering around in the fandom this past week, I’ve seen a lot of very specific conclusions as far as what they were or weren't arguing about, and I’m not sure my take on that scene really aligns with other folks. So let me try to break it down a bit and give y’all an alternative perspective on it.

To start with, the scene opens with Max on edge because they're breaking and entering. Liz is singularly focused on the mission, and he's kinda freaking out. Instead of responding to his concerns, Liz gets straight to business.

"Ooh, ooh, this is interesting. Heath left Genoryx two days after I did. Must have realized he didn't need to be working underneath their corporate thumb."

Liz is kinda projecting here. Heath never once displayed any discomfort with Genoryx as a company the way that she did. He wanted her to stay. He wanted the resources there. We know these things as an audience, and Liz would too if she was thinking through the big picture at this point in time.

Max, on the other hand, doesn't know any of that. Here's what Max hears from Liz: he hears surprise. He hears Liz acknowledge that this is unexpected news. And right as he’s processing this unexpected reveal...Max sees Heath's Wild Pony t-shirt.

Weird coincidence #1 from Max's POV was Heath (the guy who is currently so pissed at Liz that he won't take her calls) supposedly rescuing Liz's science out of the good of his heart so that Genoryx doesn’t get their hands on it? This doesn't add up.

Weird coincidence #2 was Heath quitting Genoryx - a decision Heath made that Liz wasn't expecting.

The Wild Pony t-shirt is now the 3rd thing that doesn't add up. And if the t-shirt clue isn't adding up for you, see my post about it here:

The T-shirt is strike 3 for Max. He can't really pretend that he's not suspicious of Heath anymore. So he broaches the subject with her.

"How much do you know about this guy, Heath? How close were you?"

Max is feeling uncomfortable and looking for more information. He's trying to make the clue make sense. Why would Heath have the T-shirt? Does he have a connection to Roswell that Liz doesn't know about? And Liz doesn’t listen.

"This isn't the time to be jealous about a boy I met."

For all that Liz is clinical and on mission, she jumps very quickly to assuming that Max is NOT on mission. Yes, Max is inherently more emotional than she is. But throughout the episode he's been asking questions about Heath and NOT JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS. That's one of the keys to me here. Max really is trying to give her the benefit of the doubt about him.

At Liz's house, he asked about "the boyfriend" but he wasn't doing it in a jealous or judgy way. If anything it could almost be interpreted as concern. He started with "were you happy" and only when Liz kind of metaphorically admitted that any happiness was a façade...that's when he brought Heath into it. And yeah, Liz says that he impacted her life and helped her grow, but she didn't exactly express romantic feelings that would make Max jealous. So when she basically jumped straight to the jealousy assumption instead of actually discussing this with him, he starts getting worked up. Because she is not hearing him. She is not acknowledging that the facts they have found during this investigation are not adding up. So he is honest and blunt about what he's thinking.

"I'm just saying it's possible that he took your one-of-a-kind alien spores and quit, so that, just like you, he could use the research himself, free of Genoryx."

Max is the one who brings the science into this conversation. Not Liz. And he's not criticizing or questioning HER application of the science. He's questioning the trustworthiness of Heath. Because the lies are starting to jump out at him like a friggin’ neon light.

BUT — now that he's specifically brought up the science, he has her attention. Because Max questioning her science is HER sore spot. So what does she say back to him? Something kinda judgy.

"That grand trust speech certainly had a short shelf life."

Side note: I really don't think there actually was a "grand trust speech" in this episode. I can think of a few scenes where there might have been an opportunity for one. In particular during the milkshake scene when he admits to saving her tapes. But they actually don't talk about trust in that scene. They talk about having hard conversations. They talk about moving forward instead of looking backwards. But they don't talk about trust. My guess is that there might have been content cut for time at some point in this episode, that may have included some grand declaration from Max, but that's really just speculation on my part.

Regardless…Liz's response to Max bringing up the science is to basically accuse him of not trusting her. Which is not what he was saying. He was not questioning her use of the science. He was questioning her trust in Heath through the context of her science. So he elaborates on what he IS saying, and as he does, he's getting more and more worked up...because this does relate directly to his personal fears, and, frankly, his buried trauma that he's never properly addressed.

"I trust you. Okay? But I don't trust some guy I have barely met with a secret that could endanger me, could endanger my family and break the frickin' Internet if it came out."

Max doesn't know Heath, and he doesn't trust Heath with a secret that could endanger Michael and Isobel. His emotions are escalating, because now he's thinking about the science that scares him in the hands of a guy that all signs points to being potentially untrustworthy, and he's triggered.

BUT he doesn't back up his argument. He doesn't point out the very specific evidence he's identified that Heath is probably lying to Liz.

And Liz is inherently reactive and sometimes overly defensive (see 1x09 list of Liz's flaws). So even though he's focused on Heath, she immediately reacts defensively and takes it as a criticism of HER.

"You think I would let myself be conned?"

"No, I think you came out here looking for a partner, and it could blind you."

*deep breath* and this is where it starts to get personal. And rough. Max isn't entirely wrong here. But he also kind of is. Liz didn't choose Genoryx for partnership. She was looking for resources, freedom to do the science she wanted to do, and to save her father from deportation.

But partnership? Yeah, Liz wanted that. But she wanted that from MAX. She was looking for partnership in life, not in science.

And now that Max has thrown that direct criticism out there, Liz is going to throw a bomb right back at him.

"Just because you sabotaged me when I thought you were mine does not mean that Heath would take the same path."

Ouch. This is the hardest line in this whole scene for me to work with. Because it is combative. And purposefully hurtful.

BUT…she is NOT TALKING ABOUT HER SCIENCE. She has not said a single word about her science in this argument. She moved past that. She had the epiphany that she was wrong and she apologized (3x03). That is in the past for her.

This argument, for Liz, is about betrayal. This is about her believing that they were going to be partners and move their lives forward together (2x12), and right when she believed in that future, Max made another massive decision that directly impacted her life (just like he did in 1x13) instead of working with her to make big decisions together.

"And just because you changed the wallpaper doesn't mean you've mended your blind spots."

I really hate this "change the wallpaper" line. It feels like they're mixing metaphors. Liz called her life a commercial. Max is saying that she's changed her decor. Like...pick one and stick with it.

That aside… I think this barb is about her arrogance. Earlier in the scene, she seemed baffled at the idea that Max believes she could have been conned by Heath, because Liz is used to always being the smartest person in the room. She thought she was smarter than Diego and he figured her out. She believed her lab was secure, but Diego (possibly) got in. Sometimes, like most scientists, Liz is so bogged down in the complicated, brilliant details she’s thinking through, that she misses simple things that contribute to the big picture. And I think that's what Max is getting at here. In her arrogance, she believes that she can control the Heath situation. But she's not acknowledging the human factor here - that Heath is a person who may have his own unspoken ulterior motives driving him. Just like Diego did. She's just not seeing what Max is seeing.

BUT - again I'll say. Max is also not communicating the scope of the evidence he is collecting. They're both wrong here.

"I have learned my lessons, but you... oh, my God, you sound an awful lot like the guy who blew up my lab. So forgive me, but you're making it perfectly clear why I felt like I had to go and change the wallpaper."

This is the only line where Liz even comes close to talking about her science, but again, she's talking about his betrayal. She's talking about him undermining their partnership. She's talking about her need for a change of scenery from HIM.

And that’s when Max blows out the safe and they put the fight on hold to finish their investigation.

But, to sum it up…the fight was all about trust and betrayal. It was necessary for them to work through it, though frankly? I wish they could have finished the discussion. Because instead of them coming to some sort of peace with their trust in each other, the truth came out about Heath, Liz realized that she was wrong, she apologized, and they moved forward together, on mission.

I can’t help pointing out though…after the fight and Liz's epiphany about Heath, Max and Liz spent at least 15 hours in a car together. And I'm sorry, I refuse to believe that they didn't talk about anything important for 15 hours. Fic writers assemble? 😆

Many thanks to @ober-affen-geil for doing a quick review and checking me on opinions vs facts. Very important.

And for my next trick… road trips, life choices, and Robert Frost! Coming soon to a Tumblr near you…

[dryades-angeli]

I saw your post and would like to comment. My post is not intended to launch a counterattack, but to contribute my thoughts. ~*~ First. Not every NaruSaku shipper is automatically as you described. Personally, I enjoy this shipping, but I would never resort to such anti-social methods. Although I can understand their displeasure to a certain extent. According to Kishi, NaruSaku was never planned and Sakura was actually supposed to be a side character. Strangely enough, Naruto was still in love with Sakura right up until the moment he met Minato. Link <- Naruto answers his father's question in the affirmative with shining eyes and Minato draws a comparison to Kushina.

Source

Source And there are enough parallels between MinaKushi and NaruSaku. These images serve as an example. Especially since Kushina also told Naruto that he should date someone who is like her. And if we speak of similarities... Borusara isn´t Sasukarin coded, but more Sasunaru.

Source And Sakura is like her, Hinata on the other hand...

...is the wheird one, that Naruto shoudn´t pick. Jokes aside. I and a few others didn't expect Naruto to suddenly change his mind. And this change of decision was really short-term. As I said. Naruto was still quite obviously crushing on Sakura during the same fighting event, when he suddenly discovered his feelings for Hinata. And she had made a declaration of love to him long before (during the fight with Pain). - To which he didn't respond. And as proof that Hinata was planned to be Naruto's waifu from the start, we are shown a picture of her wearing a necklace with an Uzumaki symbol. A symbol that is not exactly unusual in Konoha. Also to say that Sakura is just a side character is a joke, since she is the kunoichi who has the most screen time and has also done the most character development alongside the male protagonists. This made many fans feel ripped off. Ultimately, selling manga comes before telling a good story. That's why Kishimoto decided to implement the pairings most liked by fans. And that's SasuSaku and NaruHina. And that's why Borusara will also become canon with 100% probability, because it is the most popular ship in the Boruto fandom. ~*~ Your Ying-Yang theory sounds very nice, but it doesn't quite work. So Sasuke would have to be shy too. Additionally, Choji and Karui are both quite extroverted and harmonize well together as a couple. The symbol that you immediately think of when you hear the word Yin Yang consists of a black and a white part. The black area (Yin) stands for darkness, calm, passive reception, the feminine and soft. However, white (yang) means sun or brightness and warmth, active giving and masculinity. - Source I wouldn't really call this kind of outburst shyness, but rather that she might be embarrassed by some situations. But I'm not a fan of drawing parallels between Hinata and Sumire anyway, as for me the two are completely different characters. ~*~ When you mention that Sumire confessed her love for Boruto... It's pretty strange why she asks Sarada if she has a thing for Boruto.

And she wasn't the only one who asked Sarada about her feelings for Boruto. Aida and Mitsuki (2x) also asked about it. Sumire gave a very knowing smile, when Sarada answered "No" a´la "You're not kidding me." Sometimes Sarada reacts very nervously or blushes. And if I remember correctly, in the Boruto movie, Sarada often blushed when she saw Boruto, so it had some Hinata vibes. So Sarada is obviously in love with Boruto. ~*~ I don't know whether it's a counterargument that Boruto calls Sumire class representative. After all, the rest of the class does it too, apart from her teammates, who actually call her by her first name. For me, however, that feels a little distant. In Japan it is customary to address the person by their title. In Sumire's case with class representative. However, Sumire's teammates don't. And that gives me the feeling that the two ladies are closer to Sumire than the rest of the class. But everyone can decide for themselves. ~*~ Borusumi is a pretty sweet Shipping. I can understand why people ship it. And if you enjoy it, I'll give it to you. <3 For my part, I prefer to ship Kawasumi.

Why I Ship BoruSumi

No hate

In Naruto, it was all about shipping. People love watching Naruto or other characters having romantic relationships with others and ship baits and it was exciting to see what would be end game. It was all about the fun. But a part of the fandom took that fun and made it a nightmare (NaruSaku/Sakura) fandom. They sent death threats to Masashi Kishimoto and the team to make NaruSaku canon and loved hating on any other character that interacted with Naruto, mostly Hinata Hyuga. But after the ending of Naruto, some of the fandom can’t seem to accept that. They moved onto the kids, hoping to live out their delusions through them (Boruto and Sarada). After Boruto the movie came out, most people speculated that they would be canon, and because the next gen wasn’t planned yet, they had no one else to pair Boruto up with, so that’s why there are a lot of blushing scenes. 

But while the anime was undergoing, there was a beautiful character who showed up in chapter 19 of the Boruto manga, and episode two of the Boruto anime. She was Sumire Kakei/Shigaraki. The reason most of the NaruSaku/BoruSara/Sakura/Sarada fandom hate on her is because she’s the biggest threat to their ship, just like Hinata was. Other than that side of the fandom, most people liked her and Sarada was hated by most of the fandom (like Sakura and Hinata situation). 

Now, BoruSumi is one of Boruto’s most popular ships, along with BoruSara. Here's why I ship BoruSumi:

Opposites:

Ever heard of the saying, “opposites attract”. Yeah, well, that’s true in this case. Most Naruto/Boruto couples are yin and yang. Yin being quiet, emotionless, and shy. Whereas yang is loud, obnoxious, and easily angered. Boruto was quickly ruled out as yang, whereas Sumire was ruled as yin. Boruto often pulled pranks and would shout and have random outbursts. Sumire was shown to be quiet and shy and scared whenever her class was having fall outs, which was easily shown in one episode where the class was having a girl VS boy battle. Even after her arc, she was still shown to be scared about other people and what they think of her and a shy and caring person:

Now, every Naruto/Boruto character get their personality from either their mother or father and Naruto and Sasuke got theirs from their mothers and married someone like their fathers (Hinata/Minato and Sakura/Fugaku). Even Itachi got Mikoto's personality and Izumi had Fugaku's (it was confirmed that Itachi loved her). It's only fair since Boruto inherited his father's personality that he marries someone like his mother, that being Sumire. Sarada, in contrast to what people think, actually inherited her mother's personality.

2. Treat each other differently:

Sumire is kind so she treats everyone equally, but she has confirmed her feelings towards Boruto twice, but this one's mostly pointed towards Boruto.

Chocho: Shouted at her, angry at her, called her a liar, etc:

Namida: He's barely had any interaction with her but she is a friend of his. But in this scene, he didn't have a direct conversation with her, but still wanted to help. But judging from his calmness, her wanting to not be a ninja didn't bug him much. He has also seen to tease her and Wasabi:

Sarada: He didn't see her as a normal girl and hated her guts, vice versa. But as the anime/manga went on, he became comfortable around her and saw her as only a teammate:

But with Sumire, he listens to her like she's his mom, which Sumire is technically the mom or big sister of the group:

3. He doesn't call her by her name:

People may think this is a con to the ship, but it's actually a pro. In Japan, calling someone by their title has shown to be respectful and calling people like how Boruto calls Kakashi, Konohamaru and Hanabi is shown to be disrespectful. Now, he probably thinks he's not close or not good enough to call her by her name. But he always respected her, more than I can say for Sarada and his own sensei. He only called her by her name once and that was when he had saved her from darkness, but it was also life-changing for him, meaning her name meant something to him. That was when Sumire started having feelings, too.

4. Jealousy:

Sumire has shown jealous (the scene where Boruto was chasing Sarada on the boat in the Kiri arc), but it was barely displayed. Boruto, however was shown jealousy over her two times (probably even more but I haven't watched the whole show, just up to episode 232, but these are the scenes I can remember):

5. Boruto was worried for Sumire when she was in trouble:

In the first scene, Boruto was upset (and in the novel, he even cried for her) and blamed himself for her getting hurt. In the second scene, Boruto refused to let her go after Nue, afraid he might lose her again. The third scene shows he was protecting her from Nue and there is a scene where he goes into Nue's dimension blindly just to save her. Next scene was in the Jugo arc when they were attacked, he didn't want to let her go after Nue again, knowing she might get herself killed. Next is after Kawaki attacked her. He tried convincing her that Kawaki was bad. After that, he was worried about Sumire even though there was Sarada and Chocho to protect her. In the last scene, Boruto was worried about Sumire after Naruto's stone face collapsed, but then again, that could've been because she was on a different level then him and because she was the only girl. There was also another scene (couldn't find it). It was there purification incident, Boruto was really worried and rushed off before the news was even done and Shikadai had to calm him down.

6. Boruto blames himself for Sumire getting hurt:

In the novel (as mentioned earlier), Boruto cried for Sumire in the novel, but in the anime, it showed him as worried. It got so bad that Sarada had to drag him out. He then vowed to stop the guy who hurt her.

7. Those around Boruto seem to know he gets a bit overprotective of Sumire:

Shikadai:

He was worried about Boruto's reaction when Inojin said that Sumire might be transferring.

After Inojin opened his big mouth, Boruto instantly became angry and tried getting her back.

Mitsuki:

Mitsuki is a bit different because he doesn't know but he does, if that makes sense. It's obvious that Mitsuki likes Boruto (I'm pretty sure it's confirmed), so that technically makes Sumire his rival. But Mitsuki still seemed to know that whenever Sumire was involved, Boruto would act differently and rush over to her. He knew he acted differently around her. He even went as far to ask her about Boruto when she was in the hospital, all because he took Inojin's words out of context and assumed she liked him.

Naruto:

Boruto's own father seemed to know how much Boruto cared for her. Naruto probably realized this when Boruto asked him to use his Hokage title. You could see the realization on his face and the smile he gave him was a "I will, trust me" one (there is a pic, but I can't find it).

Hinata:

A mother knows her child best, right? Hinata had been in love with Naruto since childhood, so she knew about young love. She didn't know Sumire in person, but she knew that she was important to Boruto since he rarely ever asks anything from his father.

7. Boruto trusts Sumire:

Now, Boruto trusts all his comrades, but he trusted Sumire even after everything that she did and his trust in her was unbelievable. He put his life in her hands even though she tried to destroy his home and family. He even put faith in her and wanted to protect her and couldn't chose between her and the village.

8. Parallels:

KawaSumi is parallel with SasuHina (purple being mc's rival and lover, but Kawaki's and Sasuke's are leaning towards black, but at one point was purple) and BoruSara is parallel with SasuKari/NaruSaku.

10. Confessions:

Sumire has confessed her feelings like Hinata has.

11. Data book:

In Sumire's data book, it was confirmed that she loved Boruto, just like Hinata's and Sakura's confirmed their love to their respective partners.

But this is all my opinion and why I ship them. But if you ship BoruSara then that's fine. But these are my reasons for shipping this ship and I'm pretty sure it's canon because of the last point. I don't think that Ino or Karin's have confirmed their feelings for Sasuke when the series was going on. And I know Sarada's definitely hasn't. But ship your own ship.

Only time will tell, I guess. and the decisions for Kishi to decide and some rabid fans sending death threats to him to make their ship canon won't change his mind.

[virunathestarbaby]

Day 11: Coffee or Tea

Day: 11 - Coffee or Tea

Fandom: Death Note

Pairings: Matsuda Touta x Kotobuki Otoha (OC)

Warnings: none

Word count: 1310

Songs I associate with this chapter: None

With a disgruntled sigh, Matsuda trailed a hand down his face, eventually stopping over his mouth as he continued to look through the various files they had for a case. It was the same difficult case that had him coming home more exhausted than ever. 

It just didn't make sense!

The time and date of the disappearances all varied that you couldn't even tell they were all connected, but the timings of them, they were all too convenient to not be a coincidence. At least, that's what everyone said and agreed on. 

Breathing out another heavy sigh, he slumped back on the couch, gazing up at the ceiling. He wanted to help in the case as much as he can, but how could he contribute when even he doesn't know what else there is? Everyone already knows the bare minimum: all of the abducted people have an age range of 16-25, and most of them were women and teenagers; suspected motive, human trafficking. Aside from that, everyone's at a blank. Nobody knew where the victims were possibly taken, and nobody knew who and where the next target taken might be.

Glancing at the papers once again, he tried to get his brain to work, to try and get it to see something he probably missed. He even tried to sit like L but it only made him uncomfortable.

"Why in the world are you sitting like Ryuyu?" He heard Otoha ask from behind him.

"I'm trying to activate my brain…"He flopped to the side, hugging his knees, "It's not working…"

"Aww, baby!" She cooed, leaning down to place a kiss on his temple before placing the mug she was holding on the table a little farther away from his papers. "Here, I made you a little something to help you with your stress." She said, rubbing the side of his arm with her now free hand.

"Thanks, Oto…you're the best." He smiled, sitting up and taking a sip out of the mug. A few seconds later, his face contorted to that of slight disgust, wrinkling his nose at the taste. "Uhm…Oto…what is this?"

"Chamomile tea." She cheerfully replied, taking a sip of her own tea. "It's really good, good for your health too."

Matsuda put the mug down, shaking his head, then hung it low to try and hide the look of disgust on his face from his girlfriend.

"Touta? What's wrong? Did you burn your tongue?" 

"N-no, I…I just don't think this chamomile tea is my thing." He awkwardly chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

She gasped, "Oh! That's okay, no worries."

He sighed then gave her a small smile, "Thanks for under—"

"I can brew you up with some mint tea instead!" She grinned, standing up and grabbing his mug before dashing off to the kitchen.

"Wait—huh?!?" Matsuda panicked as he followed her into the kitchen. "W-wait, baby, slow down!" Thankfully, he caught her just as she was about to grab another set of tea for him.

"Hmm?" Otoha hummed confused, tilting her head to the side. "Is something wrong? What do you mean slow down? I promise I won't trip or slip this time. I'm not that clumsy, you know." She huffed, puffing her cheeks.

Shaking his head, he replied, "N-no, I mean— about the tea. What I meant was, well…I don't..kind of like it." He sheepishly admitted.

"I know, that's why I'm making you another one. Now, what about mint? Oooh or maybe we could do lavender! Rose? Milk??" She beamed, taking out the tea boxes from an unknown tea stash Matsuda had never seen before. He didn't even know she likes tea and they've been living together for almost half a year now! 

"No…Bunny..you're misunderstanding me.." He frowned, slumping his hands to the side, earning another confused look from his darling, " I don't like tea or any kind of tea in general."

Otoha blinked then screamed, "WHAT?! HOW COME?"

"I just don't like it…I mean…yeah, I grew up drinking green tea after a heavy meal but it doesn't mean I actually like it.." He admitted, shrugging.

"Okay, but honey honey honey honey— you've never tried British tea before— and I'll tell you it's the best tea there is and it'll absolutely blow and change your mind about tea!" Otoha grabbed all the tea boxes she had and looked at it him determinedly. "I promise!"

Matsuda nervously chuckled, "I never knew you liked tea. I rarely see you drink some. Well, aside from milk teas from stores. And those teas, where did they even come from? They weren't here before." He gestured to the stack of tea boxes in the cabinet.

"Oh, I LOVE drinking tea." She beamed, "It's just that Japanese tea is…well, not that good, no offense, so I rarely drink some. But then I remembered, I could just order some overseas! So I went online, ordered a bunch of tea I would normally drink back when I was still living in the UK and purchased some~. They just arrived earlier and I maaay have forgotten to tell you about it so that's why you didn't know about them." She looked through the boxes, seemingly trying to choose a flavor. "Oohh! Earl Grey! Wanna try it?"

Well...that's certainly news to him. Guess you really do learn something new every day. "It's alright, buns. I'll just get myself some coffee." He smiled at her, patting her back and kissing her on the cheek as he passed by her to brew his own drink.

"Is it really a good idea to drink more coffee when you're already sleeping less? I know it keeps you up so you could do your work but wouldn't it be more healthier if you drank tea instead?" She asked as she watched him. "You already drank twice today.."

"Yeah, but I just like coffee more than tea. It tastes better in my opinion." He replied, taking a sip of his newly blended coffee. "Plus, it does the job of keeping me awake more. U-uhm…Is there something wrong?"

"How dare you say coffee is better than tea." She glared at him.

"E-eh—"

"Tea is far more superior than coffee. It offers more health benefits and has a more refined taste than just being bitter. You can also add anything you want in your tea to make it more delicious and suitable for your taste. " 

Matsuda held a hand up, "O-Oto—"

"Tea could also keep you up and wake your spirits if brewed right. It can also help decrease stress and—" Matsuda lowered his hand, the corners of his lips quirking up into a small smile as he listened to his girlfriend ramble about tea. It was amusing to see her getting worked up over something as little as which beverage was better.

"You know.." He spoke up, catching her attention, "Sometimes…I kind of forget you're British." He chuckled.

"Are you stereotyping me?" Uh oh. "Are you saying that just because I'm British I—"

"N-NO— BUNNY, SWEETHEART— YOU MISUNDERSTOOD ME— THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT—"

"Then what did you mean, Tou-kun?" Otoha's glare intensified, making Matsuda shrink back.

"I-I—"

"You're sleeping on the couch tonight." She huffed, flipping her hair back and walked out of the kitchen after finishing her tea.

Well….he did sort of deserve that…

Rubbing the back of his head, Matsuda let out a deep sigh. 

There goes sleeping nice and comfortably in bed after work.

~~ *morning* ~~

Matsuda: *waking up* N-ngh…why does my pillow feel so he— *sees Otoha sleeping on top of him* O-Oto? *pokes girlfie bean*

Otoha: *wakes up* Oh…good morning…

Matsuda: W-why were you sleeping on top of me? Not that I have a problem…

Otoha: I missed you last night but you were already asleep and I didn't wanna wake you up so you could move 🥺🥺🥺

Matsuda: Oh…I hope you slept well then. *thinking: Shouldn't have made me sleep on the couch then ಥ_ಥ*

[lieutenant-amuel]

Hey, if you don't mind, who are your Top 5 Royal Guards of Avalor? (of course, it's obvious who's no. 1, but what about the rest?)

Hi! Thanks for the ask! Honestly, your remark in the parenthesis made me giggle a bit ×)

Anyway, your ask was a bit tricky to me as, to be fair, we don't have lots of the guard characters in the show. They're mostly the background ones, so there'll be one character whom you, more likely, didn't expect to see.

Let's get started!

5. Antonio Sandoval.

There's not a lot to say about him, but I think captain Sandoval is a character who might've been super interesting, if he had been more important. I had a thought that captain Sandoval used to serve Raul and Lucia, but retired as soon as Shuriki took over and was a part of an opposition (seriously, Avalor just had to have the opposition groups). He returned as a captain when Elena became a crown princess, but, considering his age, he retired for good after one year.

Plus, I like to think that Gabe might've had a close relationship with him. Not sure why, I just like this idea.

Anyway, his character wasn't explored like at all, so I don't know what else to say about him.

4. Rico Villalobos.

Rico is such a jerk, but I love him. Even though he was originally introduced as Gabe's rival (a very hard rival, honestly), he's actually very enjoyable as a comical character, like in "Crash Course." Besides, I think he actually got a good character development.

Plus, I'm really interested in meeting his family as Rico said he got his sword from his father, which means, he's either dead or it's not that deep, and he just gifted it to him. Anyway, I also love the idea that Rico didn't want to be a guard, but since he comes from a military family, couldn't choose any other way for himself. So, he just was jealous to Gabe since he was able to become someone whom he wanted to be.

I don't know how much sense it makes, but I want to believe there something more of him than just being a person who treats others by their origins.

And Rocco? 👀 They're brothers, yes?

3. Antonia Bello.

I love Antonia so much! She's truly awesome both as a character and a person. She's persistent, hard-working, and honestly so charismatic and enjoyable. I also really appreciate her for being both brave and smart. As a guard she shows both her strength and mind, and it's probably the main thing I love about her. Seriously, if Gabe was a girl, they would totally be alike.

And since I share some of my headcanons and thoughts in this top, I have some more to say about Antonia. When we got the episode titles and summaries of season 3, my sister and I were speculating about the possible plots of those episodes.

My sister thought it would've been cool, if Antonia had been Gabe's childhood friend. They both dreamt of becoming the guards, but couldn't, since Gabe is from a non-military family and Antonia is a girl. Anyway, for some reason, they stopped interacting and met each other again only on a recruitment competition.

And as you may see, it remained a speculation ×) Anyway, I loved the way this episode turned out. The fact Antonia and Gabe never knew each other before and she achieved everything herself makes her much better.

2. Mateo de Alva.

And it's the unexpected character ×) Sure, I know Mateo is not a guard, but he still contributed to the development of the Royal Guard system as he was the first person who used magic in the military and taught the guards how to use it against the enemies. Plus, he's an advisor to the Royal Guard since "Captain Mateo", so we actually can call him a part of it.

Aside the Royal Guard side of his character, Mateo is truly amazing. He's one of my favourite characters in the show, and he actually has a huge fanbase in the fandom, so I think it's even not necessary to talk about him too much. Without any words, he's a super complex character with a great personality.

1. Gabriel Nuñez.

Yes, I didn't surprise anyone ×) Gabe is my favourite character in the entire show, so, of course, he has the first place in this little top.

I have lots of thoughts about Gabe, but I'll try to talk only about the guard side of his character as this top is supposed to be the "my favourite royal guards" one. Otherwise, I'll just start rambling too much about him again ×)

Gabe comes from a humble family, but achieves everything he wants only thanks to his hard work and devotion. He used to be one of the best lieutenants, but was teased by the other guards, because his parents were bakers. Despite that, he became a captain, because, first of all, he just was a human. Selfless and kind.

He learnt how to be a captain, led the guards in the military missions. He doubted his worthy as a leader, but accepted magic and began to appreciate its value, even though it was difficult for him, and became a general. He truly achieved a lot on his way, and this is honestly very impressive to me.

Gabe is physically strong, but the thing I appreciate about him - he's got a brain and has strategic skills. He's smart, analytical, reasonable, and with his bravery, confidence, and strength, it makes him a very well-balanced character, imo.

The main thing I love about Gabe as a leader is how professional and tough he is to his guards (as he's supposed to), while being supportive, encouraging, and caring to them. He's not just an officer who gives the orders, but also a human who inspires people who follow him, and it's very valuable.

He deserves his promotion more than anyone else, and as I was saying, I'm really proud of him!

Thank you again for the ask!!

[elizabethrobertajones]

With Cas and the whole I love you thing, we are excited because the camera went right to Dean after it. But I feel like this is where the disconnect comes from, because that's a director decision right? And so who knows what the writers, etc intended to portray but the director chose that shot and isn't this just business as usual with queer baiting because nothing real will probably come from it. I'm trying to be rationale about it and maybe failing?

Ick, sorry to leave you waiting on a reply for days. This one needs a lot of brain for me to answer >.>

I’m not totally sure if you’re disappointed entirely, or warring with yourself about being excited but also wary of queerbaiting at the same time… I don’t really want to talk about queerbaiting because I have been trying to keep my blog for a couple of years already mostly about analysing the show and just enjoying what is on screen, and indulging in the subtext because it’s there and it’s fun and I like it, while keeping my expectations about what the show will do with it in the future low, even while I feel good, as I have always said, that they will absolutely drive this subtext to the end of the road, and never attempt to “kill” Destiel out of the text because it’s such an intrinsic part of it now. I’m along for that ride, and everything else is someone else’s problem because I am tired and just want to have fun and enjoy some stuff >.>

(I know some people at the start of the season were worried they had and that Dean n Cas were just very buddy buddy, but they were building up to new drama between them, and now in the space of a very few episodes we’ve been dipping into references to all the big episodes, including coming at 8x17 and 6x20 again in different ways over multiple episodes, and using that very specific language the show has developed to convey Destiel in all its ridiculous, romantic glory.)

Anyway. The show is a collaborative effort. 

The writers offer up the basic lines but are VERY clever about the references - Dabb has ALWAYS been canny about it and getting more and more canny the longer the show went on and it’s no surprise at all to me that when he takes over the show the writing becomes all about looking inward and retreading the past, from Destiel events to Yellow Eyes - the first wave of MotW were about Sam and Mary’s trauma, the second about Dean’s crap and the Cas-centric stuff… Now 12x12 mixes it all together spectacularly along with a whole bunch more references rehashing the past in exciting ways - the Destiel subtext is just swept along in this same thing… 

There’s the actors, who have been making faces at each other for 9-12 years depending on who you’re talking about, and are very good at making those face, but they are just following the scripts (mostly) and at the mercy of what story is being told; they bring the texture and nuance to all these moments, but they’re still being told what to do by the directors. Speight might be a bad example because while he’s clearly fucking amazing, this was only his second episode. I’m still in a 12x10 mood, and that was directed by Thomas J Wright who has been directing episodes on the show for years, and has a few things he does all the time that you can tell it’s one of his episodes - he does a TON of overhead shots of the Bunker war room with everyone in the cage imagery of the railings or shadows of the lighting or what have you (he has been really creative with it; I think he has like 3 different ways to convey the same thing :P) and it’s clearly one of his favourite shots to set up. 

He also has kept up a thread of this crypt scene rehashing that not only has happened in his episodes at least 3 times, but the 8x17 fight mirrored the 10x22 one blow by blow, and the dramatic conclusion of 10x22 mirrored shot by shot a fight he once directed in Dark Angel with very similar conditions (there were gifsets, they’ll be very deep in my 10x22 tag although if you have an afternoon to kill, knock yourself out >.>) - and then in 12x10 he directs a similar fight but happening to Cas with a 3rd person present and mirrors his shots from 10x22 again; the end of the fight would have been scripted and I don’t know how much input he’d have on it or how much the fight would have been suggested to him, but it was written to have a positive conclusion and he directed it to mirror a whole thread that went back to 8x17 and the original crypt scene and actually put some emotional closure on that moment for the first time after 4+ rehashings of it. 

And they don’t work in a bubble because one of those rehashings was not directed by him - it was Director Ackles, who had acted like 4 of them BEFORE that because of the Dark Angel one :P Anyway I don’t think it’s a coincidence that these scenes kept on happening but written by Robbie, Dabb, Buckleming and Yockey (and also possibly Buckleming again in 11x21 because there was a lot of discussion about that at the time wondering if it worked as a crypt scene parallel and it was the same director so we were suspicious because it was Destiel AF) 

With all these different people having some input in a really coherent thread of events that obviously the director put the finishing touches to to mirror the previous happenings, I don’t think director choices are at all random or isolated from the story. It’s a collaborative episode and they CLEARLY re-watch old episodes, read their lore and find ways to tell the story as coherently as they can. I picked on a Destiel thread to explain this but I’m sure there’s tons of other stuff. I mean, like, the El Sol thing which is the set department, ANOTHER apparently random branch of the storytelling which has been putting in visual clues like death beer, mom beer, dream beer, Heaven beer… which hold up to strong scrutiny and analysis despite appearing practically at random, you might think. The show has a LOT of languages to tell the story and they’re not all things written in the script, and the script is not the be all and end all of where the story comes from. Mostly the writers seem really chill with any changes and embellishments… The only petty think I can think of is in 9x04 the line about Dean reading got swapped, and Robbie came back with a vengeance and in 11x04 got in an identical line which they could not wriggle out of swapping, AND made Dean like 5x more nerdy in the process by talking about reading seriously thinky stuff instead of vaguely suggesting he might like to read Game of Thrones one day :P Aside from that I think we haven’t had too much petty in-fighting about the story, at least not in that mic drop sort of way :P

… Anyway I don’t know about expectations and I don’t wanna encourage them, but these people know what they’re doing and no one person is completely responsible for what’s going on all the time, so I don’t think there’s any ACCIDENTAL storytelling or stuff which is just one actor or director or writing playing with something all by themselves. I mean, the writers and directors seem to have quirks that they love including so you can usually sort of feel you know what you’re getting if you know who’s responsible for certain elements, but those quirks don’t affect a bigger narrative and something like Destiel, there’s stuff going on at every level of the storytelling to at least stress how important Cas and Dean are to each other, who knows how much nod nod wink wink from up top but those directly responsible for the episodes - directors, writers, actors, set people - contribute enough to make the subtext endlessly compelling to me… And of course at a higher level it’s all put together by editors and the people in charge of the show at the top level dictating what the writers and directors work on, and how they do it, and coming up with the long game, and, I think, generally being the only people who know what the long game is meant to look like, since it certainly does not get as far as the actors because I’m pretty sure they find out the story script by script and MAYBE get ominous warnings about how to act certain things such as when they’re starting a descent arc or have a secret or whatever and their overall behaviour changes…

I don’t know, I just think… It’s MORE than just a ton of random disconnected moments because there’s a real persistent narrative about it that they make where the reading is always there and everyone’s chipping in, and then we’re emphatically not discouraged from making the reading (10x05) and we’re informed is there and that we’re supposed to read into it (9x18)… I know this answer has to be about how I and only I relate to the text because it’s personal to everyone, but I like this structure and it intrigues me and they keep on playing into their own game, and the collaborative WHOLE of the show works well for me, as something I enjoy as just a fun show to watch, and ALSO as having all this depth and SO MUCH to read into it. At this point I’m really happy just enjoying how the show is so layered even for regular plot things. I felt actual GLEE with the Yellow Eyed demon and those sound effects around him and so on because it’s all coming around again in such interesting ways… Like the heavy Destiel subtext is just a bonus because I’m a nerd about this show who also likes Destiel and can read it into the text in a way that makes me happy and comfortable with it, and… when you don’t have that same approach all I can do is explain why I do or how I see it but I can’t tell anyone it’s NOT queerbaiting or that anything will come of it >.> I just like it despite my better judgement because this show has been there for me SO LONG and oh god the SOAP OPERA of it all :P 

I do think rampant optimism is ALWAYS dangerous for fandom because it makes people expect too much too quickly or at all, and this show intends to keep on plodding to at least episode 300 which I think someone said is halfway through season 14, which means we’re like 2 years off closure AT BEST if you’re waiting for the show to end and knot up all its loose ends… So I’m happy to play it cautious with my hopes and enjoy it as it comes… Though as I have rambled at in great length, I don’t think that’s taking it all as totally random unconnected moments which have no meaning in a wider context for the writers or actors or whoever might not seem to have been consulted for some random moment or other, when there’s so MANY of them and they’re as self-referential and complex as the rest of the show…

[agent-85]

Hi! So I'm really late ^^' but I just saw the ep and what a deception... I got messages before telling me how awesome it was and I really don't get it. I mean the lmd arc was amazing with how FS was pushed to the front and their story was build up perfectly for them to have their win and save everyone for once and not just used as support. And again writers messed up everything with the cheapest twist ever with LMD!Fitz and make it a Daisy moment, she always hijack storyline, I can't stand it(1)

(2) anymore. After the will-thing, then the fact the FS were mostly put aside from the hive storyline at the end again for daisy, then this... I don't understand the writing decision in this show, they just aim for "shocking" twists at the expense of the story. Ironically I hated the Ghost rider storyline and was saved by 4x08 from quiting and now I loved this arc and 4x15 makes me want to quit... Maybe the hiatus is a good thing at the end. Sorry its looks like a rant, but its just deception.:)

They there, anon!

I gotta say, I completely disagree. I think this last episode is easily one of the top five in the series, if not in the top three. But everyone has their own opinion, of course!

But @consoledacup explained this pretty well in this post. So let me just add to that! Sometimes things don’t happen the way we expect them to, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Yes, I agree that it would have been cool to see FitzSimmons save the world together! And you’re right that they set up FitzSimmons perfectly for this arc. But I don’t think this was a deception. A twist, sure, but a fair one. They also set it up pretty well that Fitz could be an LMD, which is why half the fandom called it ahead of time. Jemma was the only one who COULDN’T have been the LMD, because she was with Davis and had an alibi. Everyone else was alone at some point. Also, just the way it was shot, we tracked her, she was the first to get to the meeting place, etc. 

So going into the episode, I felt the chances of Fitz being an LMD were 50/50. And, I mean, there’s no way that Radcliffe was not going out of his way to grab Fitz. Fitz is a son figure to him, as well as his greatest threat. Now he has him, and Fitz can’t hurt him. Best possible scenario for Radcliffe.

So, I mean, it really could have gone either way, but here’s why this way isn’t cheap: it made sense and felt true to character. 

The main problems with 3A are the logical inconsistencies/plot holes (Will hates science but is an astronaut and therefore a scientist, Will should be like 40 at least, the Hive we meet on Maveth isn’t close to the one on Earth, Jemma has PTSD and then not and then does, etc.) and then they took the love triangle thing WAY too far (which took away Jemma’s agency and made Fitz a martyr). Jemma wasn’t just out of character, she was a different character every episode of every scene depending on what they needed. I mean, retroactively giving her a crush on Ward? Come on. We don’t need her to be portrayed as a person who falls for whomever happens to save her. 

In contrast, Jemma (and Fitz) have been very consistent in 4B. Jemma has been loving and supportive while still admitting that Fitz made mistakes. She’s against Fitz looking into AIDA, but she is still reasonable and changes her mind when Fitz explains what’s going on. Before and after she finds out, she’s on Fitz’s side, trying to help him through Radcliffe’s betrayal as best as she can. Meanwhile, Fitz sees that he let Racliffe manipulate him, and he feels more and more guilty about his contribution as things get worse. How great is it that he has Jemma still by his side! Still reassuring him! Telling him that he’s good, and whatever happens, they’ll fix it together.

Now, that Fitz has been kidnapped, it’s up to Jemma to pick up the pieces. I’m super excited to see that, because it’s the opposite of what happened in 3A. Jemma is determined, she’s in charge, and she’s going to get her man. What she’s doing lines up with the person she’s been since season one, and I feel like it’s about time! Jemma is brave and selfless, and it;s about time she gets to actually be that on screen, for goodness sake. She gets the short end of the stick so many times! And since I was disappointed that Fitz almost went to another dimension and Jemma didn’t even know about it until after, I am pumped to see Jemma go into action this time.

As for Daisy, I didn’t see it that way. I think Daisy and Jemma were pretty equally heroic on this one, each playing to their strengths. And I mean, that whole conversation between them is just Daist telling Jemma how great she is and how much she and Fitz to belong together. When I watched it for the first time, and Daisy starts saying that there’s one thing she knows for sure, I expected her to talk about duty, or honor, or being the shield. Instead, she tells Jemma that she wants Jemma and Fitz to get their happy ending, and she’s willing to fight for it. I mean, Daisy is focused in FitzSimmons! That’s pretty significant.

I believe that Agents of SHIELD is best as an ensemble show, so I hate it when it turns into The Daisy Show. Not because I don’t like Daisy, but because every single character is just as great as she is, and they all have fantastic chemistry with each other, and I like to see the bounce off each other. You take ANY two main characters, literally ANY two, and you lock them up in a room together, and you get something amazing. I don’t care if it’s Coulson and Bobbi, or May and Mack, or what. This cast and these characters are fantastic. So, this episode, you basically get Daisy and Jemma locked in a room, and it’s probably one of the best scenes of a pretty great episode. I loved it! I love their friendship!

And yes, you’re right to say that FitzSimmons HAVE been set aside for Daisy before. It HAS been The Daisy Show before. So I understand where you’re coming from. BUT! They are going into this as equal partners. They’re going to save the team together. And already, we see that Jemma has her mission, and Daisy has hers. They’re both in something of a pickle, and they’ll have to figure their way out. If they were together, Daisy might overshadow Jemma, but since they’re apart, it’s looking like they’ll both get their chance to shine. Again, I’m super excited.

And I mean, I admit that they could easily mess this up. I don’t want Space Boyfriend 2.0, for example, That would be a mistake and a waste of time. (The girl in the limo, BTW, is either Agnes or his mother. If you look, it’s an older woman’s hand. I highly doubt that it’s a love interest.) I don’t want Daisy to take over. And let me tell you, Jemma better not make some guy do all the saving for her, because then I will be pretty upset. 

There are definitely reasons to be wary, anon. But so far they’ve been very careful and consistent with setting it up, and if they just continue on their own path, it’s going to be amazing. I’m trying to not get my hopes up too high, but I’m not going to criticize the writers for making a mistake they haven’t made yet.

I understand that everyone reacts differently to the same story! There’s no better example of that than when I went to NYCC and saw a 4x03 before it aired, an anon asked me if there was Philinda in the episode, and I honestly didn’t remember. And there’s actually quite a bit of Philinda in it! But I wasn’t looking for Philinda, I was looking for FitzSimmons, so I missed it. I’m sure a Philinda shipper wouldn’t have missed it! So, we all watch the show and see different things, and that’s how we know that we’re not robots. So I respect your take on the episode, anon. I hope I was able to let you see it from my point of view.

[sage-nebula]

Hey, I saw your post about the Gladion hate and I totally agree! So uncalled for. But on that, how do you feel about Cameron from BW? Out of all the people who beat Ash in the League, he's probably the most reviled by the fandom for it, but I think most people hate him for other reasons as well. Do you think he's a well-written League Rival who gets undeserved hate like Ritchie, Tobias, etc. or do you think he's the exception? I'm interested to hear what you think. (Also, nice new banner!)

Hah, well . . .

First of all, I’m kind of bemused that you mention Ritchie and Tobias when talking about “well-written League rivals,” but you don’t mention Alan, even though the post I made yesterday was about Alan and the vitriol he receives just as much as it was about the fact that Gladion is already receiving hate (and even though Alan is the best written League rival we’ve had to date). I mean, not to upset any fans of Tobias’ (since I have seen at least one fan of his before), but he’s not well-written. He’s barely even written. Tobias was introduced at the very start of the Sinnoh League, and the bulk of his “characterization” (if it can be called that) is that he’s mysterious and over-powered. He was a godmod introduced for the sole purpose of booting Ash from the League. And I don’t really mind that, per se, because Ash had to lose the Sinnoh League one way or the other, and that is a way to do it---but that doesn’t mean that Tobias was a well-written character, because he wasn’t. He has no real characterization, his motivations are never explored. He’s a piece of sentient cardboard when compared to other characters in the series. He’s not well-written in the least because, in all honesty, he was barely written at all. So to list him as a “well-written League rival” instead of talking about Alan, who had four special episodes dedicated solely to fleshing out his character and showing his backstory in addition to the main series appearances he had prior to the League (and everything in the Flare crisis, et cetera) is . . . kind of bemusing to me, to be honest, haha. I know I could be accused of bias due to my unyielding love for Alan, but part of why I love him is because of how well-written he was. He’s certainly better written than Tobias could ever dream of being.

Setting that aside, though, to address Cameron specifically---

I’m a bit dubious over whether or not Cameron is truly the character most reviled by the fandom for booting Ash from the regional League, not because I haven’t seen hate for him (of course I have), but rather because I think the hate these characters receive has to be considered along with the general fandom consensus on the saga they appeared in. Cameron was the character who booted Ash from the Unova League, and while it’s true that he receives a decent amount of hate for that, it’s important to remember that BW in general receives far more hate than it deserves. Aside from contentions over the OS (which is infused with Discourse™ due to all the baggage it carries from fandom), BW is probably the most widely hated saga of the anime. Again, it’s completely undeserved; while there are some things to criticize about it, there are things to criticize about every saga, and BW’s strengths and good points are (in my experience at least) purposefully ignored by its ardent haters in favor of bashing it and every character in it outright. As a result, any negative opinions or hate extended toward characters in BW is magnified, blown up into a far bigger deal than it needs to be not because those characters are actually terrible, necessarily, but rather because hating BW with all the fire of a thousand suns is still, for some reason, the thing to do in some circles.

So with that said, the vitriol that gets sent Cameron’s way needs to be taken with a grain of salt, because had he appeared in a different saga instead, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t be as hated as he is. General fandom opinion toward BW tends to be so overwhelmingly negative that a simple “yeah, Cameron wasn’t my fave” gets turned into “CAMERON WAS THE WORST AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST BLIGHTS ON THE ANIME,” particularly since this is the internet, and being dramatic on the internet is simply the way of things. So it’s hard for me to say whether or not he really is the most reviled, especially when you compare the hate he gets to the hate Alan gets, when Alan came from one of the more popular sagas of the anime, and is still being bashed and vilified to this day, to the point where he is the point of comparison people are making when they’re talking about new characters they want to hate. I mean, it wasn’t “the new Cameron” that Gladion got called. It was “the new Alan.” When people were making salt memes for movie 20, Alan was regarded as one of the biggest disappointments / betrayals. Like, you could say that perhaps it’s just that Alan is newer than Cameron, but I’d say that Alan is loathed far more than Cameron at this point. Not only does Alan not have the pall of an already hated saga hanging over his head, but he beat Ash in the League finals, which people had deluded themselves into believing Ash had a shot at winning. Considering that Alan is still being treated like a villain and bashed to this day, I think he has it way worse off than Cameron. (And, as stated, is a fantastically written character to boot . . . /sigh)

All of that said, with regards to Cameron’s writing: Eh. He’s no Alan, but I don’t think he’s any worse than Ritchie (and he’s better than Tobias). Cameron at least had the benefit of appearing before the League actually started, establishing him as a rival earlier on than when the League kicked off. So in that, he has a leg up on Ritchie. He also has really strong characterization, given how immensely disorganized and energetic he is. He has a memorable personality, and one that has the potential to create some interesting stories surrounding him. That said, his scatterbrained personality could very well be what contributed to people’s ire over him defeating Ash at the League, given that he comes across as a complete mess, and yet he still managed to win anyway. I will admit that it’s a bit hard to believe that someone who is such a hot mess could achieve things like that . . . but at the same time, I feel like the trope “bunny-ears lawyer” applies here. Cameron might be a scatterbrained mess, but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad trainer. He’s just bad at everything else in his life, but this one thing he can do. :P

So yeah, I’d say Cameron’s probably on the same level as Ritchie. He’s very middle of the road. Not the worst, but not the best. Just average.

(And thanks! ♥ Honestly, the thing that always comes to mind whenever I look at it is “have you ever seen anything so pure your entire heart melted” because honestly . . .)