#writers finally write something logical

[ladyofchroyane]

Sunfyre obeying commands said in the common tongue implies absolutely nothing about Aegon’s bond with his dragon.

Dragons are very intelligent magical animals, but they are still animals, and the language they are trained in is the language they’ll understand and respond to.

However, Aegon training Sunfyre in the common tongue does convey something about Aegon. Above all, it shows how disconnected he is from his Valyrian heritage, and due to his disinterest in becoming fluent in High Valyrian, it also suggests that he is simply uninterested in learning more about that side of his identity. This also exemplifies the ongoing assimilation of the Targaryens into Westerosi culture and foreshadows their increasing conformity with Westerosi traditions and values.

Again, Aegon commanding Sunfyre in the common tongue does not say anything about how strong or weak their bond is. It simply shows that Aegon is more or less uninterested in his Valyrian heritage and has assimilated into Westerosi culture more than any other Targaryen at the time (that we’ve seen so far).

Now, I have a lot of gripes with the HOTD writers and the additions and changes that they’ve made, but I see no problem with this one. This isn’t something the HOTD writers wrote in on a whim nor is it more proof of the writers being anti-Aegon (a prominent belief that Aegon stans hold). It is actually very consistent with both Aegon’s previous characterization and the green factions ideology.

So my confusion with team greens outrage lies here with this question: For the team that is so anti-Targaryen, why are you guys angry that Aegon is detached from his Valyrian heritage?

[buggachat]

im gonna be honest i think the "adrien being a sentimonster was randomly thrown in season 4 with no planning on the writers' part" theory is really funny. like the writers of this show are just so bad at their job and so stupid that they tripped and fell in season 1 episode mr pigeon and accidentally spilled "a strange relationship to feathers" all over adrien by accident. they stubbed their toe on the coffee table and accidentally set up a mystery surrounding emilie's relationship to a feathery miraculous in season 1 volpina before we even knew what its powers were. then they spilled coffee all over their favorite shirts and at the same time spilled more white feathers around adrien in season 2 episode gorizilla. while writing the same episode someone had a really nasty sneeze and got boogers all over the script that said "use the imagery of two twin rings intertwined as the opener for the film of adrien's dead mother". they forgot to look both ways before crossing the street while writing the season 2 finale and were struck by a truck labeled "the peacock miraculous gives life" and then by a second truck with the license plate "it does so using white feathers identical to the white feathers that surround adrien in his ads" at the same time. they plummeted down an open manhole and hit the ground with a loud whack that sounded like "sentimonsters like bugette are just as real as any human..... and isn't bugette so...... perfect?" in season 3. on their way to the hospital they slipped on ice that had frozen in such a way to perfectly resemble the sentence "the word 'perfect' is consistently used throughout the series and by the creator ominously to denote how characters like adrien and kagami are 'different from everyone else', ever since season 1 episode simon says". during season 3 someone on the team got food poisoning and when they threw up felix came out instead and started another whacky series of comedic errors. the answer to the mystery of "how and why did emilie die? what life did adrien's loving mother create that she was willing to die for?" was originally gonna be "idk maybe she just exploded or somehting" probably, but then there was a really painful rock in one of the writers' shoes while walking to work that put them in a mood so bad that they forgot their original plan and instead made some bullshit up that somehow ended up being something that made sense with what we knew and put all the puzzle pieces together and actually made the show even more interesting and impactful on a rewatch because it put a lot of shots that at the time seemed random into a new and logical perspective as clear foreshadowing. it's actually impressive how stupid these silly clown writers are that they put strangely specific things so consistently throughout the entire series that resembled foreshadowing while never actually having intended it a single time! like........... really.......... really impressive............... i think..............

[sapphiresaphics]

EDITORIAL NOTE:

I wrote this months ago and since then Amanda Overton, one of the key writers for the show, was asked about this exact question and has answered publicly that “Caitlyn does not know Ambessa set up the attack on the memorial and if she did know she would not have joined her.”

I am leaving this post up in its entirety because while you can take her word as gospel, I do not think that negates my analysis based entirely on what was presented in the show itself. You are entirely free to disregard this analysis if you want, but I think it still holds some value because when you critique media you often don’t have the word of god (from the creators of the media) to explain every facet and you should be allowed to interpret things differently if it feels like it’s presented in the media that way.

Anyway, please enjoy or disregard this post if you want.

———————

Because I don’t think just describing it is as effective, let’s go through the scene where Caitlyn becomes the general. (Note: These gifs have been edited for time and comprehension.)

What’s important to remember before watching this is that we’ve been shown many times now that Caitlyn is a detective. She has the unique power to walk into a crime scene, observe the surroundings, and make logical deductions from the enviroment.

With that in mind look at Caitlyn’s face here after the initial shock of being nominated. She looks down and her eyes start twitching. She’s thinking hard about something.

And then we cut to Ambessa pounding her chest and see glimpses of her henchman arranging the attack on the memorial, in addition to her silencing all the loose ends that could lead back to her. I don’t think this is just for our benefit, I think this is a glimpse into Caitlyn’s mind. (Gif sped up for time)

And then we cut back to Caitlyn, who is now looking around at her surroundings and watching the peer pressure start to unfold. As Maddie and the other Enforcers begin to beat their chests in rhythm to Ambessa’s prompting, Caitlyn looks back up at Ambessa with hatred. Watch those brows furrow.

In this moment Caitlyn KNOWS. She knows Ambessa set up the attack. She knows she was wrong for attacking the undercity. She knows she fucked up by letting her anger at Jinx get the best of her and for creating a rift between her and Vi. And most importantly… she KNOWS that Ambessa is using her.

Note that Caitlyn doesn’t start moving forward until after Ambessa says “come, child.” And when she finally does start walking forward it’s with a slow deliberate knowing pace. She even turns her head and keeps her eyes glued to Ambessa as she walks past her. She may not know WHY Ambessa is doing this, but she’s not stupid. She knows what her name unlocks, having just spent the past 2 episodes abusing her namesake’s power.

But the writing is on the wall now. She has no choice. Whatever it is Ambessa is doing, she can’t stop this nomination. She will have to accept the power. And I think here she is finally FINALLY realizing how fucked up she is. She has just become Marcus. A pawn in a larger game. And the ONLY benefit she can see is that she can use this power to find Jinx and bring her to justice, so her memory of her mother can finally rest.

And Ambessa knows this too. That’s why she leans in and whispers “your mother will have Justice!” And that’s when Caitlyn finally assumes the role of martial law general.

She doesn’t want to be there.

She doesn’t want that power.

But she can’t turn away now.

She’s stuck.

And she KNOWS it.

[leejenowrld]

‘yes, professor?’

professor! jung jaehyun x reader

smut, 1.5k words

it starts with whispers. nothing concrete, just hints scattered in the air like cigarette smoke curling in the hallways after late-night classes. you hear about him before you meet him: jung jaehyun, the youngest literature professor in the department, rumored to have a sharp tongue and a reputation for unraveling students’ egos in seminar discussions. not in the humiliating, arrogant way—he’s too controlled for that. he dismantles arguments with precision, makes you feel the cracks in your logic as if he’s pressing his hands to them. but what everyone talks about isn’t just his intellect. it’s the way he looks, the way he moves—how he reads a passage from paradise lost like he’s seducing the room.

you sign up for his seminar on a whim, telling yourself it’s because you like the syllabus—something about desire and morality in 18th-century literature. it’s a lie, of course. you know exactly why. you’ve seen him once before, walking across campus with a leather-bound notebook tucked under his arm, his fitted dress shirt pulling taut against his shoulders. you’d been curious then. intrigued. and now, sitting in the second row of his seminar, you realize curiosity was too soft a word for what you feel.

the first few weeks are uneventful. he’s strict, dismissive of lazy interpretations, and ruthless about deadlines. when he speaks, it’s with a deliberate cadence, like every word has been measured for weight. he doesn’t look at you—not specifically—but you feel his presence like a charged wire running under the surface of the classroom. and then it happens: he catches you staring during a lecture, his eyes lingering just a moment too long. it’s subtle, almost imperceptible, but enough to send a rush of heat straight to your stomach.

you don’t mean to push. it starts small—comments in class designed to catch his attention, emails phrased too carefully to be casual. he doesn’t bite, not at first, but there’s a flicker in his gaze every time you speak, a slight pause before he responds. it’s like you’re testing a boundary you’re not even sure exists, prodding the edges of something unspoken.

it shifts one evening during office hours. you come in with a question about your essay, and he barely glances up from his desk, motioning for you to sit. the room smells like old books and his cologne, something warm and musky that sticks to your clothes even after you leave. as you talk, his gaze sharpens, not in the way it does when he’s dissecting someone’s argument, but like he’s reading you, peeling back the layers of what you’re really asking. you stumble over your words, and his mouth twitches—not quite a smile, more like he knows something you don’t.

“you’re distracted,” he says finally, leaning back in his chair. his tone is measured, neutral, but there’s an undertone that makes your stomach tighten.

you make some excuse about being tired, about the pressure of keeping up with his class. he doesn’t buy it. instead, he stands, moving around the desk to lean against it, arms crossed. he’s closer now, the sharp line of his jaw more prominent under the low light of the desk lamp.

“you’re a good writer,” he says, and it’s the first compliment he’s ever given you. “but you hold back. afraid of pushing too far, maybe.”

the air between you stretches thin. you don’t trust yourself to speak, so you just nod, your throat dry. his eyes drop to your lips for a fraction of a second, and you know you didn’t imagine it this time.

“i think you know how to take risks,” he continues, his voice lower now, almost a murmur. “you just need the right… incentive.”

it’s not an invitation, not yet, but it plants something in you, something dark and electric. you leave his office flushed, your skin buzzing with the memory of his voice, of the way his eyes lingered just a little too long.

you start to write differently after that. your essays become sharper, more provocative, laced with a kind of defiance you didn’t know you had. when he reads them in class, his comments are laced with a subtle edge, like he’s speaking to you and no one else. it’s maddening, intoxicating. every interaction feels like a game you’re not entirely sure how to play but can’t seem to stop.

the break happens late one evening when you show up to his office after hours, the building nearly empty. you tell yourself it’s about your paper, about some question you need answered, but you know better. and so does he. when he opens the door, his tie is loosened, his sleeves rolled up, and there’s a glint in his eye that makes your breath hitch.

“this is inappropriate,” he says, but his voice is thin, stretched too tight. the way his eyes linger on your lips betrays him. he steps aside, letting you in, the door clicking shut behind you like a trigger. the space shrinks, the air heavy, pressing down on your chest.

you’re not sure who moves first. it’s a blur of tension snapping, his hands grabbing your hips, your body colliding with his desk as his mouth crashes into yours. the kiss is bruising, all heat and hunger, the faint taste of coffee and mint on his tongue. your back arches into him as his hands slide up your thighs, rough and impatient, pulling your skirt higher.

“do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?” he growls against your lips, his cock already hard and pressing against your stomach. his hands are rough on your ass, pulling you closer, making you feel every inch of his need as he bites down on your neck. “every fucking time you walk into my class with those tight little skirts, pretending you don’t know what you’re doing—this is what you’ve been asking for, isn’t it?”

“yes, sir,” you whimper, breathless, gripping his shoulders. “please, i’ll be good. i’ll do anything.”

his eyes darken, and before you can say more, he grabs your hips, spinning you around and slamming you against the desk. the edge digs into your thighs as he presses you flat against it, his body caging yours. “anything?” he repeats, his voice dripping with dominance. “then stop pretending to be so fucking innocent and take it like you’ve been begging for.”

his hands yank your blouse open, buttons scattering across the floor as he pulls down your bra, exposing your breasts to the cool air. his mouth is on you instantly, sucking and biting at your nipples, his teeth scraping just enough to make you gasp. his hands slide up your thighs, bunching your skirt around your hips. when his fingers find your pussy, he groans, deep and guttural.

“you’re soaked,” he mutters, pushing two fingers inside you, slow but deliberate. “all semester, acting so innocent, sitting in my class with this pussy dripping and waiting for me.”

“i—i couldn’t help it,” you stammer, your voice high-pitched and needy as his fingers curl inside you. “you’re so hot, professor. i just want to be your favorite.”

he lets out a low, dark laugh, pulling his fingers out and grabbing your hips to flip you over, slamming you down against the desk. “oh, you’re my favorite,” he growls, his voice dripping with heat as he unbuckles his belt, the metal clinking sharp in the silence. “and i’m going to fuck you like it—fill this pussy so good you’ll never want anything else.”

the clink of his belt barely registers before he pulls his cock free, thick and leaking, the sight alone making you clench. he lines up and thrusts into you in one brutal motion, his cock stretching you so perfectly it steals the air from your lungs.

“fuck,” he groans, his grip on your hips bruising as he sets a punishing rhythm, driving into you so hard the desk shakes beneath you. “you feel that? this is what happens to little sluts who tease me all semester.”

“yes, sir,” you moan, your nails dragging against the desk as he pounds into you, each thrust stealing the breath from your lungs. “mmm—fuck—your cock’s so good, professor. i’ll be so good for you—promise.”

“you better be,” he growls, leaning over you, his teeth grazing your ear. “because this pussy is mine now. no one else gets to touch it.”

his hand slides between your legs, his thumb finding your clit, rubbing in tight, merciless circles that make your body shake. “come on,” he growls, slamming into you harder. “take it. take every inch like a good girl.”

your walls clench around him as the pressure builds, your cries turning into screams as pleasure crashes through you, leaving you shaking beneath him. his thrusts grow erratic, his grip tightening as he buries himself deep, his cock twitching as he spills inside you with a guttural groan.

he stays there for a moment, his cock still throbbing inside you, his breath hot against your ear. “look at you,” he murmurs, almost mockingly. “all fucked out and stupid for me. maybe now you’ll learn how to behave in my class.”

but as his lips brush against your ear, there’s no mistaking the hunger still burning in his voice. you both know this isn’t over.

it’s only the beginning.

[ambitiouspotions]

Could you write a oneshot about a very first kiss between y/n and george weasley, please?💌

LONG AWAITED | GEORGE WEASLEY | ONESHOT REQUEST

summary — in which george f. weasley and y/n’s first kiss finally takes place

word count — 1.1k

warnings — none, fluff!

author’s note — seventh-year students, no house mentioned for reader! thank you for your request! i hope you enjoy!

the start of seventh year, after a long, excruciating, and painfully hot and boring summer, you were waiting to board the train. your mother was snapping away at pictures as you tried to rush her, wanting to meet your group of friends you already saw go past. though the next thing to catch your attention through the spotty speckles the camera flash caused was george weasley looking at you longingly as your mother took the photos. his gaze was so taken by you that the first letter he opened during breakfast the next day was from his mother urging him to tell her who you were, though that was complicated. how does one explain to their mother that the girl they were staring at was merely a friend, no, a schoolmate at most?

you only spent time with him in previous years was when walking to hogsmeade, sitting in the courtyard, passing each other on the way to class, watching him during quidditch matches, stealing glances, and none of that was even spending time with him if his twin brother was right next to him as well. and that time he grabbed your hand when asking if you were alright after fred accidentally sent a textbook flying into your face in the library; that was merely just his more sensitive side showing, not because he liked you. well, maybe, he did like you.

you constantly caught him staring, but if you caught him staring, wouldn’t that mean you wanted to look at him, too? no, he must have been looking elsewhere; there was only one logical explanation: you were overthinking the situation like always. if george liked you he would’ve said something because the twins always tended to never shut their mouths.

and you thought george was cute, but who didn’t? that ginger hair was clipped now, after being a shaggy mop the year before, and had definitely somehow gotten just a little bit taller. your mind paused for a moment.

no, the even the shaggy hair was cute.

stop, stop, bring it in.

wait, how had you noticed he had even gotten taller? you didn’t pay that much attention to him.

yes, you did stop denying it.

you noticed that the hem of his school jumpers had been pulling up more than they normally had, revealing a bit of his stomach each time he raised his arms because he never tucked in his white school shirt like he was supposed to.

the staring at the train station wasn’t the only occurrence this year that made you question your sanity. it was the way you felt when your thigh was pressed up against his while at the three broomsticks in the cramped booth with friends. forced proximity or whatever the romance writers called it in their cheesy stories. then, the instance when fred had forgotten his coat on a windy december day when you all planned to eat lunch outdoors rather than in the great hall. you and george walked in silence, but it seemed like you didn’t need words when working out a comfortable area to sit. it seemed like george was going to say something when he finally relaxed, but that was when fred returned. finally, at the end of january, fred struck up a conversation with you as you were waiting outside of defense against the dark arts class. he had mentioned that the loosened tie around your neck was going to make george swoon if he saw you. you could’ve sworn the moment george sauntered up he had a bit of blush on his cheeks when he saw you.

now, in the present moment, mid-march to be more exact, you were staring into his brown eyes, like it was a color you had never laid your eyes on before. he was holding you close under an awning; the rain was pelting, the wind occasionally bringing the droplets onto you until he noticed and turned your bodies in the opposite direction. his quidditch uniform could take the beating from the rain rather than your soaked wool sweater and pleated skirt. the gryffindor quidditch team had taken another successful win in a rainstorm. your hair was a stringy mess, and the tips of your fingers stung the slightest bit when you tried to curl them from the cold flurries of wind. the only reason you stayed behind in the awful weather was because you saw him alone, waiting outside of the pitch waiting for the rain to die down for only a moment. all the other students were running from the pitch to find shelter at the castle. then there was a moment of peace, no one was here to ruin this one moment that assured you that you were not going mad or overthinking or even overreacting to the scenarios you had been involved in with him before. this was a satisfying ending to an insecure mind.

george had an initial hesitation, resting his forehead on yours before initiating the kiss. worried that you might not have wanted the same thing. you could see his inner conflict, it was one you knew all too well. the same conflict you struggled with from your sixth year until now. it was the confusion and second-guessing ruling your life that made the kiss so much sweeter. your eyes instinctively closed as he leaned in closer.

your hands were grasping the wet fabric of his maroon robe and one of his hands rested on your hip while the other was holding your lower back to keep you close to him. your lips moved in unison and with his. you savored every second of the thoughtful and intimate gesture. the soothing splatter of the rain creating an unknowingly beautiful atmosphere for the two to share a kiss.

you pulled back breathless, your eyes still closed. your breath just lingering over his lips as he exhaled. within a second you were meeting his lips again and standing a little straighter, having a bit more courage than the time before and taking in the surrounding factors this time. the first kiss was otherworldly, but being able to remember every detail of the second was somehow even more satisfying. george smelled of the earthy rain, the scent of sweat from his match was long washed away. you could feel where his fingerless gloves ended and his fingers began on your hip.

“dear merlin,” george mumbled, pulling away this time. his eyes were wide with delight. your grip loosened on his clothed chest. your face was flushed and he looked to the rain fading to a soft drizzle. with his arm around you, you made your way back to the castle.

[atrologynuances]

Astrology observations pt2 || Planets in their detriment

NOTE: the interpretation of these are solely on the planets. harmonious/inharmonious aspects can change the translation of these planets.

these are based on personal observations as well as acquired knowledge from books, websites, and other observation posts.

𓋼𓍊 Aries/Scorpio Venus- may struggle maintaining a harmonious relationship which can lead to them changing their relationships quite often. aries venuses might posses an either fiery or more grounded energy thanks to the cardinal energy. scorpios on the other hand might be emotionally reserved, and only truly love very few people around them if any, the rest they keep around depending on what they can access from them (very manipulative). Given their possible relationship insecurities these two venus signs will seek for someone going at the same pace and someone with the same mindset, which realistically is hard to find. when they do think they’ve found it, they might later find out they were in fact wrong. When they do get in a relationship they might become possessive as a result of possible insecurities.

𓋼𓍊 Taurus/Libra Mars- these natives might need extreme motivation to get things going, like a 9-5 they don’t like, but the security and responsibility of it keeps them on their toes. these mars signs could also lack sense of security in their actions, which could leave them wondering whether they were right or wrong and as a result they might not fight for themselves as hard as they should. it is important for them to have a big support system that reassures and validates their actions when conflicts arise.

𓋼𓍊 Gemini/Virgo Jupiter- these natives have a hard time seeing beyond logic explanation, they could experience something and until they don’t find logic behind it they won’t be satisfied. get fixated on many things but never seems to finish or find a final answer to any of them. is not that they’re unable to finish them, they’re just no longer interested to. closed minded towards otherworldly subjects, or tries very hard to understand it.

𓋼𓍊 Cancer/Leo Saturn- these natives lack discipline but want it. they might vent to you that they do not like their current monetary situation and are looking to make some changes in that aspect of their life, but the next day you see them spending all their money on clothes. they know this is wrong but will still do it. they may be prone to control people and situations because they think they know what’s best for everyone. however, they do not like people telling them what to do lol. they might be prone to burnouts easily and immune system problems.

𓋼𓍊 Sagittarius/Pisces Mercury- struggles to find something that feels “right” for them, when they do find it they mostly have to work harder than everybody else to catch up. problems with communication; either started talking late or have problems expressing themselves as they get older. prone to saying things that don’t make sense upfront which will make them have to explain themselves often. this might create insecurities that will lead them to express themselves less. this is the reason why I think so many great writers have these placements, they can just erase and reword their writing without being judged for it.

- fyodor dostoevsky, jane austen, james joyce, victor hugo, emily dickinson

𓋼𓍊 Capricorn Moon- find it difficult to be vulnerable, this translates to needing or wanting material security to make sure they won’t need anyone. do not like to rely on anyone for emotional/financial support even if they really need it. despite all this, they are very emotional. the difference between them and their sister sign cancer is that they are not expressive with their emotions or act on them. something I have noticed is that they are not as workaholics as people might expect them to be, however when they work, they splurge on the money they make or might be stingy with it, as either one of these actions brings security to them. most of the times they don’t feel loved by either one of their parents even if they’ve both always been present in their lives.

𓋼𓍊 Aquarius Sun- natives are hard to describe for me because I have not met many of them, I feel like most hideaway at home lol. one thing i’ve noticed is that they cry a lot and are unapologetic about it. these people shine bright like their sister sign leo, the difference is they don’t want to so they avoid situations where they have to or when they are put in these situations they have to make sure their presentation is flawless. however in day to day life they do not really care how they’re perceived. they’re the ones that go to school in pijama pants. they also oftentimes seek some form of validation with other people, which is why they change partners often. very physically beautiful, but doesn’t seem to know or act on it.

Thank you so much for reading, I hope y’all have a wonderful day.

guide

[tryandbehappy]

I don’t even know where to start. Let’s break down the writers’ intention first, and then I’ll analyze it.

Out of all the possible outcomes, this was honestly the worst on, not just because it’s the one we didn’t want, but because it’s the shallowest. They used Nick, and the fans’ love for him, just to create a shock twist. What were they trying to say? That someone who survives within Gilead could never deserve a normal life? Maybe I even agree with that idea in theory. But the way they executed his death was awful.

They never actually showed Nick doing anything wrong on-screen. All the moral ambiguity was off-screen. And there was always a possibility they’d twist it last minute to reveal he was a villain. But from the perspective of emotional manipulation? This was brutal.

This is what’s known as a “shock for the sake of shock” a writing device where the creators deliberately go against the logic of their own story just to trigger an immediate emotional reaction: surprise, grief, rage, disbelief. It can work if the twist is emotionally and narratively earned, but most of the time, it ends up as narrative betrayal.

Here’s what defines this kind of twist:

-It contradicts everything we know about the character, making the audience feel tricked.

-It destroys emotional investment, because the entire journey we followed with the character suddenly doesn’t matter.

-It lacks narrative honesty instead of letting us witness conflict, transformation, or consequences, the story just drops death like a fact, not a resolution.

-It denies catharsis, we’re left with no space to mourn or reflect because the character is killed despite the story, not because of it.

What we have here: they wanted to make a statement about morality or the system, sacrificing the character for the message, forgetting that this character already means something deeper to the audience.

At its core, this is emotional exploitation of the viewer: build up an iconic love story, layer it with emotional depth and meaning, and then simply say forget it, he died like a dog, and this isn’t even a tragedy, it’s a lesson.

That’s why these twists don’t just make fans sad. they make them feel betrayed.

The Handmaid’s Tale has always been a show about extreme cruelty, but also about resistance, hope, and the idea that good can prevail. And here, they gave us the most intimate, beautifully filmed scenes of love, Nick’s love for June, their bond, his sacrifices and then had him die like a dog. Meanwhile, characters who did far worse things Aunt Lydia, Serena, Lawrence get redemption arcs and walk away cleaner than Nick ever did.

They did all of this to shock us. To hurt us. And the worst part is, they didn’t even let us mourn him properly. Because in the final scene, we’re not even supposed to feel sorry for him. They framed it like he chose the wrong side, that he somehow deserved what happened. And that is just… vile.

Calling this a “love letter to fans” is pure mockery. Especially knowing how they carefully baited us all season giving us beautiful scenes, emotional intimacy, suggestive dialogue. It wasn’t in our heads. It was crafted. And now they call this heartbreak “a gift”? That’s sadism. That’s Gilead-level manipulation.

Nick ends up being framed as the one true “bad guy,” despite everything we know and love about him. Despite his arc, his humanity, his pain. And they didn’t even give him a meaningful death.

So I ask was it worth it? Was this really the story you wanted to tell? And calling it a “love letter” just adds insult to injury.

The whole episode was stuffed with scenes that felt rushed and absurd, with cartoonish logic. And no execution, especially in a brutal regime like Gilead’s, would end the way they portrayed that hanging. Not without real consequences. Not without blood.

So they really want us to believe that Luke and a bunch of handmaids just magically took out a group of armed guards and no one got hurt? That’s honestly laughable. It was childish. The way it was filmed like a playground fight scene.

But what they clearly wanted to show is that Nick was the man who picked the wrong side, and so he “deserved” what he got. All while keeping everything vague and off-screen.

Honestly, I don’t even know how to comment on this anymore. What I do know is that they used the fans, played with us, and mocked the very love story they carefully built. They knew they had created a huge emotional fanbase around Nick and June. They gave us fairytale visuals, Disney-style parallels, deep, intimate moment, all to twist the knife at the very end. That’s not drama. That’s emotional sadism.

And that’s all I really have to say. There won’t be any more videos. I can’t even bring myself to rewatch their scenes anymore. It feels tainted now.

I used to think Peter Quinn’s death was the worst one out there, meaningless, undeserved. But at least he died a hero, trying to save the President of the United States. It didn’t make much sense, sure, and Carrie forgot him way too fast. But at least he wasn’t punished by the narrative.

Meanwhile, Nick’s death? It was framed as something he deserved. because he stayed in Gilead, even after his father-in-law murdered those girls. As if that proves he was never going to change. As if none of his sacrifices ever mattered.

What did they even accomplish with this twist?

Sure, they got their shock moment today, but for most fans, for the majority of their loyal base it’s now unpleasant to even rewatch the show. Rewatching June and Nick’s scenes feels hollow, painful, or even meaningless. And I genuinely don’t understand who does this to their own story. They had something beautiful they could continue to profit from , emotionally, artistically, even financially through rewatchability, legacy, and fan engagement. And instead, they burned it for a one-time shock payoff in season six.

And the worst part? This could have been done beautifully. If they wanted to show tragedy, if they wanted to show how trapped he was they could’ve done it emotionally, meaningfully, powerfully. But they didn’t. They just used us, their most devoted viewers to create a “twist.”

Like, yeah, what’s the most shocking thing they could possibly do?

Serena betraying someone? Obvious.

Lawrence switching sides? Expected.

Aunt Lydia doing something cruel? Nothing new.

But Nick? Nick dying like a dog, stripped of dignity, labeled a villain, denied both love and redemption that’s the twist no one saw coming. And yes, they were right. no one predicted it.

But at what cost? They destroyed the emotional core of their own show just to surprise us for five minutes. Now the rewatch value is gone. The emotional resonance is gone. The love story they crafted and framed as sacred is gone.

All for what?

It doesn’t make any fucking sense. So yeah, this is where we’re at. I don’t know what else to say, guys.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Notes: Non-Linear Storytelling

Non-linear Narrative - a narrative technique in which the storyline is told out of chronological order.

That can take many forms by using:

flashforwards

flashbacks

dream sequences

foreshadowing

Non-linear plotlines can mimic the recall of human memory, or weave in fantastical elements like time travel or clairvoyance.

Advantages of Using a Non-Linear Narrative

Non-linearity as a narrative structure might be a challenge to pull off—the order in which everything is presented must still be logical, if not chronological—but when done well, it allows a more nuanced, masterful story to emerge.

Intrigue. By disorienting the reader, a nonlinear structure creates a puzzle that requires more engagement with the individual pieces of the story. Cause and effect cease to be predictable or immediately visible, allowing the reader to curate their own logic. When a novel opens with a murder, the series of events that follow carry greater weight and add to the anticipation of the final (known) outcome. When the reader knows more about a character’s fate than they do, opportunities also arise for moments of irony, be they tragic or comic.

Worldbuilding. Not only can you use a non-linear structure to incorporate different time periods into your story, taking a momentarily different point of view can give the reader more insight into other aspects of the setting—think subplots unfolding on the other side of the world that will eventually become meaningful, or perhaps historical events that come to bear on the lives of your characters.

Depth of character. The more the reader learns of your main character’s backstory, the better they understand the choices they make throughout the narrative. Instead of simply telling the reader your character is an orphan, send them back to the moment they became one. Those experiences stay with the reader as they continue through the story.

Flow. Nonlinear storytelling moves your narrative form into something closer to art. While humans might be instinctually drawn to the neatness of chronological order, they are enchanted by the complex. Interchanging the main plot with a non-linear plot allows you to capture more of what it means to be human, and then some: giving shape to all the connections that bind a group a people together, though they themselves remain blind to it.

Examples of Non-Linear Narrative

Non-linear storytelling goes as far back as the 5th century, with flashbacks peppering the timeline of the Indian epic, the Mahabharata, which tells of two clashing groups of cousins. Homer’s Iliad used a technique called in medias res, where the story starts at its mid-point.

The non-linear is still going strong in the 21st century: here are a few new and noteworthy examples.

Virginia Woolf’s To The Lighthouse follows a family’s visit to the Isle of Skye over a ten-year period. Featuring no dialogue and almost no action, the novel unfolds in thoughts, observations, and childhood memories reflected against the present moment.

In William Faulkner’s The Sound and The Fury, the narrative is pieced together by separate members of a fractured aristocratic family. Each section jumps forward and back in time, covering the events whose ripples have led to the present fate of the family.

Kurt Vonnegut, whose book Slaughterhouse-Five utilizes flashback and time travel to illustrate the life of American soldier Billy Pilgrim.

Science-fiction writer Ted Chiang’s first-person short story, Story of Your Life (which was later made into the film Arrival) examines the existence of free will in the face of the inevitable. Told from the point of view of a Louise, a linguist who learns an alien language that allows her to view her future and comprehend time in a nonlinear way, the story opens with the birth of her daughter; the reader only learns later that she knew the child would die young and still chose to fulfill that destiny.

In Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler's Wife, protagonist Henry De Tamble lives with a genetic disorder that forces him to sporadically travel through time with no warning. He falls in love with an artist (who lives an ordinary life on a standard linear timeline) and continues to jump in and out of moments in his own life, sometimes with dangerous consequences.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[mylovesstuffs]

Anon.

Are you fucking serious right now?

I saw your message and I had to take a full-ass walk around my block because I was genuinely afraid I’d punch my goddamn wall.

Let me break this down for you very clearly, so even your AI-smooth-brained moral compass can process it:

You are not entitled to shit.

Not my writing. Not the ending. Not a single fucking word I typed out with my own fucking bleeding fingers.

You think you “need” closure?

Cool. I “need” eight hours of sleep, a functioning spine, and respect from strangers online. Guess what?

None of us are getting what we want today.

Fanfiction is a gift.

Not a product, not a service, not a series finale you paid for on HBO Max.

A gift.

You don’t throw a tantrum because the gift didn’t come with a bonus epilogue and a director’s cut.

Your entire ask is a monument to entitlement. You say “if you're not going to write it, I think it's fine to use Al?”

I did NOT write it for AI. I wrote it for human readers. For emotion. For narrative voice. For soul.

AI doesn’t have that. You want a soulless machine to mock my style and feed you a bootleg version of my work?? Which is, not to say but, the equivalent of a a knock-off Louis Vuitton sold from the back of a van?

Then don’t ask me. Just go to your shameful little corner and live with the fact that you’re the kind of person who disrespects art to feed your own dopamine addiction.

You wanted permission, so now you get the wrath.

I see in your other little asks, “AI is there to make things easier.”

At whose fucking expense? The thousands of fanfic writers whose fics are being scraped, harvested, mimicked and tossed into machine-learning hell so you don’t have to wait for an update?

Do you have any idea how many of us have had our fics [both in our caratblr and other fandom spaces] show up on AI mirror sites or been plagiarized by bots? Do you know how many real authors are losing book deals, commissions, or livelihoods because of this exact entitled logic?

Let me give you a basic fucking rundown since you clearly didn’t do the homework:

AI is not ethical – Generative AI is trained off data sets that include unauthorized, uncredited, scraped work from unpaid artists, writers, poets, journalists, bloggers, fanfic writers—fuck, even therapy forums.

Authors are suing OpenAI for ingesting copyrighted novels without permission.

Fanfic is already vulnerable – We exist in a legal gray area protected only by community ethics and mutual respect. You're breaking both.

You say “I won't post it anywhere, it's just for me.”

Oh, wow, thanks. So you only want to steal quietly. Like that makes it better.

You think the damage only happens when it’s public? WRONG.

Every time you plug an artist’s work into a machine, it gets processed, stored, used for training, forever.

You have no control over where it goes or how it’s repurposed later. You are feeding the beast and killing the creators in the process.

Don’t give me “I respect you but—”

If you respected me, this message wouldn’t exist.

You get your AI-stitched ending, it doesn’t scratch the itch, and you feed it another one.

And another.

And another.

Until the entire fucking archive is turned into a graveyard of replicas and you’re the ghoulish little shit dancing on the corpses of every writer you leeched dry.

And you say “I think I’m just entitled to a bit of closure”?

Entitled. You actually used the word.

Thank you for confirming what we already knew:

That you don’t see us as people.

You see us as content machines that owe you something because you liked our work. You don’t want closure, you want control, and you will NOT get it from me.

You’re entitled to a bath, a glass of water, and the air you breathe—not my writing, not my thoughts, and definitely not a fucking auto-generated Frankenstein mockery of my style you can jerk off your emotions to.

So here's your closure:

No, you may not touch my fic.

No, you may not feed it to a bot.

No, you may not engage with my writing, my blog, my friend's blog, or my community ever again.

Block me. Report me. Cry about it.

But know this:

Every time you open an AI generator to finish a story you didn’t write, you are choosing to destroy the very creators you claim to admire.

You should be ashamed, but you won’t be. Because parasites don’t feel guilt, they just suck and suck and suck until there’s nothing left.

I'll never forget this time and date.

I hope it was worth it.

Let this be your final fucking warning.

— Celeste.

[fatuismooches]

bene quiescam, dilecte mi.

synopsis: Exams are any student’s nightmare, and that too applies to even Zandik sometimes (although to quite a lesser extent, perhaps it'd be more accurate to call it an annoyance.) As any good partner does, you do your best to relieve his stress, but this time he takes things into his own hands.

includes: dottore w/ gn! reader

notes: This is a commissioned work! A cute lil fluffy scenario with Dottie getting stressed from exams and dragging Reader away for cuddles was requested. I hope you enjoy!

Exam season at the Akademiya was not for the weak.

The House of Daena was always occupied even until ungodly hours, the libraries were full yet so quiet, and other spots were filled by students who had their coffee refilled far too many times. Classrooms were overtaken by study groups and the chalkboards were filled to the brim by sleep-deprived scholars. All-nighters were frequent for many students. Seniors could often be seen trying to comfort their younger classmates. Conversations consisted of a variety of feelings, from confidence to anxiety (mostly the latter.) The sight was something that simultaneously comforted you and scared you a bit, knowing everyone else was in the same boat as you.

Ever since you met Zandik, however, you could say your studying experience was probably different from the other students. Of course, there was still the stress that came with it, but studying with Zandik was definitely more enjoyable than doing it by yourself, especially when you had the very special privilege of being his beloved. His brilliance always shined through, even when he acted all grumpy about helping you and explaining concepts again. You gave him a kiss every time, which he clicked his tongue at and excused himself to refill his coffee. Indeed, it was moments like these that made studying better.

Zandik, on the other hand, was never one to worry much, which was a stark difference compared to other students and yourself. You were always a bit jealous at how unworried he was. Often, he didn’t even need to study too much, spending his time doing his own research as he usually did. You supposed it was to be expected considering how intelligent he was, but still.

However, this time, you had seen Zandik in a state you’d never seen him in before. Alright, that statement seemed a bit dramatic, but it was still true - you’d never seen him study to this extent (although it was still a lot less than what other students did.) The situation he had found himself in was due to a couple of reasons.

Firstly, he had decided to sign up for a class that had a terrible professor, despite your pleading for him to listen to the poor reviews of the teacher and just take the class with someone else next semester. His logic was that all the professors disliked him anyway, so it wasn’t a problem (which turned out to be the opposite, of course.) Not to mention, the class was writing-intensive. Zandik wasn’t a bad writer especially if he was excited about a topic. But his thoughts tended to be scattered as he wrote what came to mind, and the professor was quite strict and demanding for a particular writing style. (There was also the fact that quite a few of his papers were written by you, as he wasn’t interested in wasting precious time on such things… no one knew that though.) You couldn’t forget the numerous group projects too - Zandik only ever got a good grade on those if you were his partner. 

All in all, the situation wasn’t ideal. This final exam was pretty important for your lover. Thankfully, you had already finished all your exams and could bask in the softness of your bed for hours, but that was also coupled with witnessing Zandik being glued to his desk all day and night, preferring to stay in the dorm to study. It was a good thing you stocked up on pens and pencils - he had already broken at least a dozen…

For as long as you knew him, you had slowly tried to introduce him to the concept of a break, which… wasn’t really that successful despite the years you spent with him. And it certainly wasn’t successful now. You had pushed and pushed him to relax for a bit but there were times even you couldn’t convince him, Zandik being the stubborn scholar he was. At least he was making time to eat the snacks you prepared for him. Probably only because he couldn’t physically continue without some substance in his body.

So for now, you had settled with taking care of the other chores and working on his research in his stead to ease his burden. You weren’t really put off much by his actions, at least not when you’ve been with him this long. His exam would be over rather soon anyway, and things would be back to normal.

Zandik, on the other hand, was also coping fairly well. He was a bit annoyed at the fact so much time was spent on this class, but he supposed it was to be expected considering the kind of nonsense that was demanded at the Akademiya. Something that he was not coping well with, however, was the lack of touch he’d received from you lately.

He had always been used to being by himself, the touch of others making his skin crawl. When he met you, he initially thought your kindness and fleeting touches were incessant. Now, Zandik itched for them, although he very much refused to admit that to himself.

Still, how does he get you to throw your arms over him and nag at him to come to bed? How does he get you to touch and kiss him? How does he get you to pull at his waist and tug him out the door for some fresh air? Obviously, asking you was out of the question. He wasn’t going to deal with your teasing right now. He could subtly drop some hints, but you had been pretty dense these last couple of days.

Perhaps he should take a page out of your book and simply take what he wanted. It could be a good plan - you usually listened to him as long as there was affection involved. So that was what Zandik did as soon as you reached back to the dorm.

“Zandik, I got your favorite from the tavern. I’ll just put it away for- oh. You’re actually out of that chair for once! That’s a surprise- ah, h-hey! What are you doing?” It hadn’t even been a minute before you were suddenly being dragged by your partner to the bed. What was his reasoning for this, you wondered.

“You’re tired.” …Well, that was unexpected.

“I’m tired? Me?” 

“Yes. The bags under your eyes are still there and I can hear you yawning from the kitchen.” You furrowed your eyebrows and blinked at him when you realized he was still touching you. Well, clinging would be a better word, from the way his fingers still dug into your arms. And then, everything clicked as you realized the true reason behind this little show. Of course, you’d play along if that was what your beloved desired.

“…Yeah, I am pretty tired, actually. I guess finals took a lot out of me.” It was a convincing lie since it was partially true - you were still pretty exhausted from all of that studying.

“Exactly. So-”

“So I should get some rest before I end up causing you trouble, yes yes, I know Zandik.” You finished his sentence to spare him any further embarrassment, along with then tugging on his arm to pull him further into the bed with you. “And since you’re already here, you should just stay with me. Just so I can get the best rest I possibly can,” you smiled at him, giggling at his seemingly annoyed expression. 

“I still have work to do. I have not finished reviewing chapter 27 yet,” he grumbled, and yet he made no effort to remove himself from your embrace. You took it as a sign to bring him even closer to you.

“You’ve already done more than enough. You’re going to top the class like you usually do. There’s no need to worry so much,” you said as you placed a kiss on top of his head, reveling in the soft blue fluff that greeted you.

“I don’t need you to give me a pep talk. And I am not worried,” Zandik said as if he wasn’t snuggling closer to your neck, teeth about to graze your skin.

“I’m not doing that! I’m just… you know, it doesn’t matter. Just think about all the fun things we’re going to do after! All the ruins we’re going to secretly explore and the machines we’ll dissect! That’s what I do to motivate me when I’m studying.” You didn’t mention how you were looking forward to holding him hostage in bed in the mornings.

“You motivate yourself by thinking of all the work you’re going to do with me?” Your lover sounded simultaneously confused and amused as he began to nibble along your shoulder. You think the biting was a sort of stress relief for Zandik, for some odd reason. But such things didn’t bother you in the slightest anymore.

“Yes, but not because it’s work. It’s because I get to spend time doing things I’m interested in with a cutie as well. It’s a pretty good deal if you ask me,” you couldn’t help but tease him as he scoffed at your flirting, but his demeanor already seemed lighter than the past few days.

“I don’t remember this enthusiasm on the last expedition we went on,” he responded, finally nipping your skin, and moving upward to your ear.

“Alright, now that's a different story… you made me carry a bunch of things in the desert!” You laughed, the banter lifting your mood. It always felt good to have a normal conversation with your lover, especially after such a stressful week. As much as you wanted to continue talking, you also wanted to seize the opportunity to add a few hours to Zandik’s sleep schedule. You wrapped your arms around him a bit tighter as you yawned.

“But I am rather tired, as you said. I think it’s time for some sleep, wouldn’t you say?” At your words, Zandik began to try and shift out of your arms, but to no avail. Whether your arms were that strong, or Zandik was faking his protest, well, who could say?

“Nuh-uh. You already said you’d stay and rest with me,” you smiled as you reached over to turn off the lights, only the light from outside illuminating the dark room now.

“I promised no such thing. You’re the one who assumed that,” he mumbled, the heaviness of his body becoming much more noticeable to him now that he had entered a relaxed mood. 

“Yes yes, it’s all my fault you can’t pull an all-nighter today,” you rolled your eyes in amusement as you pulled the blanket over you two. “Just get some shut-eye, I’m sure you’ll need it for tomorrow’s one. Okay, Zandik?” Your voice had become softer, and the only response you got from your partner was a series of reluctant grumbles, which you grinned at. 

“Good,” you whispered as you pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Rest well, my beloved.”

[dangermousie]

The Glory (2025) - final verdict

For those who don't want to read the whole thing, short version: has its issues but overall would recommend.

Now, you may go "but Mousie, you ranted so much recently, really? What changed?" Two things - (1) I adjusted genre expectations and (2) after the nadir of eps 20-25, I found 26-end quite solid and much more to my liking (they moved on from random side characters and back to core relationships; it also helped enormously that FL again started caring for someone(s) who are alive - concubine, stepkid, husband etc.) The drama never returned to true obsession levels of first half for me but it finished well.

Anyway, moving on...

Visually, this drama remained GORGEOUS throughout. I can forgive a lot to a drama this beautifully shot; the look is even more impressive when you know it didn't have a large budget.

The acting was also solid - Chen Duling slowly but steadily went from "oh her ugh" to "oh her yay" for me with every drama and this is no exception. I don't think I'd want to be friends with Hanyan and I don't necessarily like her as a person, but she was wonderfully acted (in addition to being solidly written about which more below.) It was very much her show and the rest, ML included, were basically supporting characters and she carried it off.

The plot was...not great. This writer wanted to get from point A to point B without caring much about the route (Royal Consort's basically offscreen-plotted downfall that took five minutes total is a particular lowlight but the dad's apparently incredible powers - how is he not the prime minister with those skills - were also not great.) But not every drama can be Joy of Life or The Advisors Alliance and compared to something like e.g., Si Jin or Brocade other recent grrlpower dramas, the plot of this one was quite good.

The villain was a weakness because it's boring to have a true sociopath with no complexity or weakness or anything. I suspect the writer just saw him as a stand-in for the patriarchy all these women needed to defeat (the heavy-handed message of this drama was very) but still - a little complexity would help. I do think the men overall were an afterthought in this - the women were all well thought through and whether you liked them or not, logical results of their relationships and circumstances, the men (even the ML) not so much. They were all the equivalent of busty girls in a shounen anime. I do think this is a failure of writing - you can have one-gender focused stories that still make the other appear real people (Joy of Life female characters and Legend of Zhen Huan male characters all feel like real people) but it's honestly not a cardinal sin here since the focus WERE the women and they were written well so I didn't feel the lack most of the time (if only supportings are written meh, it's forgivable.) But the female characters were all intriguing and the story took many of them places I did not expect (the concubine and her daughter? OMG about both of them.)

I ended up buying the ship because they do fit together (and would one really inflict either of these violent schemers on a "normal" person?) but if you want a romance-centric drama, this is obviously not for you. Interestingly, while I ended up liking them and shipping them, I was not rabid the way I thought I'd be and the lack of focus is not really the reason - I was RABID about Kill My Sins protags as a couple and they never even said I Love You let alone kiss or anything. But that's probably because in addition to just preferring LSS x Shawn as actors (they are both huge faves of mine), that drama was a true dual protagonist story - they both were mains in their own lives and narratives which occasionally intersected and were allowed great and equal complexity and life outside the narrative which made me more invested. FYX was hot and psycho and angsty which I love in a fictional man, but he never felt truly fleshed out outside the narrative and interactions/meaning to Hanyan.

I loved loved loved how uncompromisingly bleak this world was and how the characters all stepped in the muck and stayed there (for once, people with trauma did not miraculously come across as saintly and chirpy) and how there were second chances for characters who'd normally not get them (the concubine and her daughter) and how both FL and ML (and concubine etc) did things that I morally disapproved of or that (more shockingly) censors should disapprove of yet it made sense in character and, totally unexpectedly, they were not punished with death by the narrative because people are complex and outcomes are complex and and and.

I also loved that Fu Yunxi was married before and banged his first wife and seems to have liked her. Thank you!!!! (Seeing some peeps on mdl/twitter trying to bend themselves into pretzels to preserve a period adult man's virginity for FL was...well.) I loved that he was a random war orphan, no secret noble identity. I loved that lesbian pirate got to live and hopefully will come back to FL someday. I loved that the happiness at the end was "for now" but sufficient.

Anyway, this is going on and on and on so I am gonna stop on saying I adored that this was a dark story that has been so sadly absent from recent sunshine cdramas and that it had real danger and stakes. It became a surprise hit and I really do think it shows there is hunger for these types of stories; hopefully producers will take note. And I love that the protags were allowed to do all that and yet get a happy ending. That is so so so rare and so so so appreciated.

[1thesewordsaremyown1]

So about those 8x16 spoilers.

Clears throat. Places Optimistic Akubra firmly on head.

Read under the cut for a ramble as to why we shouldn't be fretting.

I know people are panicking/upset about the most recent spoilers for 8x16. But I'm of the belief that those spoilers aren't as doom and gloom as we think, and in the case of Buck and Tommy, they're actually GOOD news.

Let's start with the Bobby of it all. I don't think he's dead. For starters, Tim STILL regrets killing off Shannon (who wasn't even a main) over five years after the fact. He's the type that would prefer to write off his characters so that he has the opportunity to bring them back. Then there's the number of the ep that the funeral is in - this happens in ep 16 of an 18 episode season. Narratively speaking, killing someone off is usually a last episode kind of thing (or second to last if you're going to have the last episode deal with the consequences of that death - think Tara from Buffy). But, since we know eps 14 and 15 are a big two-parter, you could logically conclude that Bobby's "death" happens in 15, and 16 is the aftermath/funeral. Now there has been speculation that the two-parter is going to follow a story similar to the movie Outbreak - perhaps there are people trying to use a biological weapon and they end up kidnapping Bobby in circumstances that make everyone believe somehow Bobby was killed? Or maybe Bobby gets infected with something, and the FBI/Army fake his death because they don't want the knowledge of the contagion exposed. Who knows, I'm just spit-balling here.

Then there's the fact that since 911 moved to the abc (I know, small sample size being this is the second season) the stories to open and close the season have been heavily Bathena focused. Cruise ship, house burning down, aeroplane disaster. I mean, they are the stars of the show after all. If the trend continues, you can bet that the last two episodes will be heavily focused on them again - perhaps Athena thinking she's lost her husband and Bobby trying to get back to her.

I've also seen a few people suggest that 911 isn't getting renewed and that's why they've seemingly killed off Bobby. I dont think that's the case here. As we saw at the end of season 6 when they thought they were being cancelled, as well as how Lone Star ended, the writers of 911 like to end on a "happily ever after". There are far too many threads still in play at this point in time to be tied off for that to happen. With Athena at least, unless they do a time jump in the last ep, there's no way Athena goes from grieving widow in 8x16 to happily ever after in 8x18 (and a time jump would not only be lazy writing but seriously unsatisfying for viewers - we want to see Athena being able to move forward, and her journey getting to a happy ending, not just being shown in the last five minutes of the show that all good, she's happy again!)

Now for the bucktommy side of things. Those stills only firm up my belief that they get back together in 15. It would be a classic bait and switch - lull the audience into thinking everything is ending on a happy note with the two of them getting together and then BAM. Bobby is dead.

Not to mention, that for Buck, NOT having Buck get back together with Tommy before they "kill off" Bobby is just CRUEL. With everything he's gone through this season - the breakup, his sister's abduction, his best friend leaving - to throw the death of his father figure on top of all that? Like I said, cruel. Yes, of course he's still going to be devastated, but at least he'll have his boyfriend back for a support system.

And once again, there are too many threads to tie off before 8x18 for them to wait to reconcile until AFTER 8x15. Buck's relationship with Tommy has been his major storyline for this season - finally resolving their issues, and getting back together would be a big deal for him. If Bobby is indeed not dead, and the last few episodes are focused on him, there's just no room to breathe for Buck and Tommy's reconciliation. I mean, sure, they could have them getting back together in 16, have Buck realise that life's too short and he wants to be with Tommy, but personally I'm not a fan of this option. I feel there would always be the lingering doubt (and I know the buddies would certainly use this argument) that Buck only got back together with Tommy because he was blinded by grief, and not because he genuinely thought it through about wanting to be with him (much like they're claiming that he only slept with Tommy because he was lonely, not that he wanted them to get back together).

The fact that they've brought Tommy back again for 8x16, straight after the big two-parter, is also a VERY good sign that a reconciliation is nigh, as well as the fact that he's up with the 118 in the funeral procession - a place we've seen reserved usually for family and his station. Honestly, if they're not back together by this point, the audience would surely be getting frustrated and wondering what's going on and when the hell are they getting back together already. The more they keep bringing him back, the more it's obvious the writers are trying to embed him in the audience's mind as Buck's potential endgame - if they weren't interested in getting them back together, 8x11 would be Tommy's last appearance, and they wouldn't bother putting him in at least an additional 2-3 episodes later that same season.

Once again, this is all speculation based on what we've seen on the show over the years and what you expect to see from a general episodic TV formula. I could be completely wrong, in which case I will begrudgingly trade in my Akubra for a clown wig. But until we find out after those episodes air, the good old Optimistic Akubra stays on.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Since you’ve talked about the secret between Adrien and Mari and how Adrien has no agency, back when the s5 bible leaked, there was a part where it said that „Adrien will never find out about his father being Hawkmoth“ or something like that.

Do you think the writers will actually stick with that rule? Because I just can‘t see how this is supposed to be narratively satisfying…

I have no idea and that's not a compliment. It's a condemnation. Adrien should absolutely find out about his father. The story isn't satisfying if he doesn't. But Miraculous doesn't seem to care about being satisfying. It cares about being shocking and that's a terrible thing. To explain why, let's talk about the topic of predictability in narratives and why it's generally a good thing.

We'll start with a quote from a famous George R.R. Martin interview where he perfectly explains why you want your stories to make logical sense with the final line of the quote being the most important part:

Before the Internet, one reader could guess the ending you wanna do for your novel, but the other 10.000 wouldn’t know anything and they would be surprised. However, now, those 10.000 people use the Internet and read the right theories. They say: “Oh God, the butler did it!”, to use an example of a mystery novel. Then, you think: “I have to change the ending! The maiden would be the criminal!” To my mind that way is a disaster because if you are doing well you work, the books are full of clues that point to the butler doing it and help you to figure up the butler did it, but if you change the ending to point the maiden, the clues make no sense anymore; they are wrong or are lies, and I am not a liar.

This is a writing rule that I believe in my soul, but that the Miraculous writers don't seem to care about. Miraculous will introduce things that should be important to the story, but they end up meaning nothing.

A great - and relevant - example of this is the Chat Blanc stuff. Chat Blanc comes near the end of season three, early season four sees Marinette have a nightmare about Chat Blanc, and late season four is all about Chat Noir feeling left out as Marinette trusts Alya over him. Many viewers looked at these story beats and went, "Oh, okay, so Chat Blanc is causing Marinette to push Chat Noir away. Got it." because it honestly was the only thing that made any sense.

But that's not what was going on. The official word is that Marinette was just stressed over her new role as the guardian even though nothing in the text really explains why that would strain her relationship with Chat Noir. It actively improves her relationship with Alya! Why wouldn't it do the same with her long-term partner? As we've discussed several times, he was fine with the status quo at the start of the season and didn't even ask for more responsibility until Kuro Neko so it's not like he was doing anything to stress her out until he randomly quit on her.

This begs the question: if Chat Blanc isn't haunting Marinette and Chat Noir isn't stressing her, then why doesn't she share things with Chat Noir? Why go with Alya when Alya's identity was revealed to the villain requiring Alya to go into "hiding" as Rena Furtive? There's really nothing in the text to answer those incredibly important questions. Question that are only incredibly important because the writers actively chose to have multiple episodes dedicated to Chat Noir feeling left out. Why that happened really isn't clear so there's also no clear resolution. What needs to change? No clue! Did that thing change? Once again, no clue! It's all set up with no pay off!

Or, at least, we don't get the kind of pay off you'd expect to see. Aka the big dramatic moment where Ladybug finally confesses what happened to her. Instead, Chat Blanc's big pay off is Adrien missing the season five fight because he just magically knows that Chat Blanc happened:

During the scene that leads to Adrien wearing the Alliance ring after being reticent to it, [the writers] say that they had a conflict when writing it as they had to find a way for Adrien to not become his superhero self, cataclysm the walls and go help his lady in Paris. The end result is that Adrien is reminded of the devastating effect of his power by the nightmare and would therefore do anything to avoid hurting people, and so he wears the ring. Mélanie says that he "could become Chat Blanc" and the others add that even though he does not remember and has never lived it, Chat Blanc still has an influence on his actions.

So Chat Blanc doesn't matter to the person who actually met him, but it does matter to the person who was Chat Blanc an alternate timeline even though this show has never once showed another akuma victim to be haunted by their akumatization. Does that make any sense? No, it's frustrating and confusing, but it does tell us the way these writers think and that insight doesn't bode well for Adrien learning the truth about his father. It's not enough for me to say with certainty that it will never happen, but I would not assume that it will happen. The show has an active pattern of avoiding these kinds of payoffs:

Example 1: Multiple Lila appearances had her claiming to be Ladybug's BFF and she was even interviewed for the Ladyblog based on this lie, but as soon as Alya learns Ladybug's identity, the show conveniently forgets about this ongoing lie because then Alya would be against Lila and the writers didn't want that.

Example 2: Marinette gave Alya the Fox without telling Chat Noir that they had a new full-time teammate, but Chat Noir never learns about this development. The most he gets is that Ladybug revealed her identity to someone, which is nowhere near as important as the Rena thing in terms of the ongoing fight against Paris' resident supervillain. The fact that Rena Rouge is now Rena Furtive is literally never revealed to him. He learns that she's active in the final fight, but the name change and her status are forever a secret. Alya being Rena Furtive also leads to nothing useful for the heroes. You could remove that from season four and it would play almost exactly the same same for a few minor tweaks.

Example 3: Luka learns Ladybug and Chat Noir's identities in Wishmaker, but this reveal is just used as an excuse to write Luka off the show in season five. The episode that gets him written off shows Monarch realizing that Luka knows the identities because of some mental connection that happens during akumatization. This is damning because Kagami was akumatized twice in season five (Perfection and Protection) and we later learn that Kagami learned Marinette's secret identity during Perfection, the first of the two episodes. In fact, Kagami learned the secret mere minutes before getting akumatized and she was akumatized because Marinette wasn't talking to her so Marinette being Ladybug should have been on her mind and yet Monarch didn't get so much as a hint of any of this!!!!!

That's not even getting into the issue of the fact that nothing in Perfection so much as hints that Kagami knows even though the episode is all about her relationship with Marinette or the issue of Marinette keeping her secret identity safe even though she was almost akumatized the freaking times! SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE IT MAKE SENSE!!! WHY IS IT WRITTEN LIKE THIS??? How is anyone supposed to follow such shitty lore? The audience can't text appropriately if they don't know what the stakes are.

So, yeah, I'd put a small amount of money on Adrien never learning because that would be way too satisfying and Miraculous hates being satisfying or logical. The times we do get big reveals are generally terrible like with freaking Andre the Ice Cream Man being the one to tell Adrien about Marinette's crush or Lila being outed because of a plan Sabrina and Marinette made up off screen or Adrien finding out about Chat Blanc because magic. Watch Andre the Ice Cream Man be the one to tell Adrien about his dad for some reason. Nothing would surprise me at this point.

[littlehideyhole]

WWDITS Finale thoughts from a Nandermo shipper:

Ngl I thought the writing was fire. I know we all wanted a kiss but I’d argue we got something way better, here me out

Going from this decade long power imbalance to a relationship built on mutual trust and respect (with the last thing Nandor doing in the series is prove to Guillermo that he is seriously committing to a 50/50 work load) is a really good story arc and I think the logical next step WOULD have been romance

I thought the writers were sending “HEY we love the idea of them getting together but we don’t have enough time to show that in a way that feels satisfying (they’d probs need another season of them crime fighting and building on that trust cause they got some baggage but that’s a fanfic for another day)

And that’s okay!

If we learned anything from this show it’s that, despite patterns, the vampires genuinely do grow. I feel like the implication was “they’ll get there, we just won’t be around to see it”

The only thing I love more than cheeky fan service is realistic well written character arcs and this finale gave us BOTH (idk what the other endings were but I got the sitcom one)

Listen I’m not saying I wouldn’t have loved a big romantic kiss and a “what does this mean for us” stumble into romance from the finale. I would have LOVED a final gentle hand holding shot but I also think the Guides monologue was almost a direct message to the fans “hey guys listen Nandors gotta a lot more work to do on the romance side of his mindset and we don’t have the episodes to get there so”

I mean they basically said “no matter what, they’ll head back to each other” and if that’s not canon idk what is

[loverlessnight]

My Favourite Polin FanFiction: Angst or Hurt/Comfort

Cruel & Unusual: A Tale of Personal Growth: Penelope Featherington is officially over Colin Bridgerton. Deservedly so. She’d worked tirelessly over the last twelve months to move on from him. She’d listened to Lizzo on repeat, read every self-help book under the sun, been to therapy, and even changed the plot of her novel from a coming-of-age romance to a zombie thriller in a world devoid of men. In fact, she was seeing someone, not exclusively, but it was certainly heading in that direction. She’d done everything in her power to move on from her stupid, heart-wrenching, soul-destroying crush. Everything short of having a lobotomy. Which was why it was a tad concerning that she’d just shagged him.

i'll use you as a warning sign: The words on his body sound like Lady Whistledown. His soulmate - the person meant to capture his body and heart, his partner and love of his life - ruins lives. Perhaps it makes sense that she’s already ruined his. — Or, soulmate AU where the words you write show up on your soulmate's skin.

Ruin: “Perhaps you should take a seat,” said Violet. Colin wouldn't remember the details of what his mother told him next. He would remember her hand warm on his knee, her eyes wide with concern, her voice gentle as velvet. All of it in stark contrast to the devastating news she shared. Penelope was ruined.

I'm Having His Baby: Penelope Featherington has a drunken one-night stand with her best friend, Colin Bridgerton, and there are major consequences. They now have to figure out how to mend the pieces of their broken friendship all while navigating this complicated and life-changing journey they've found themselves on together.

a father's son: 12 yo colin choosing to immediately leave the family for eton after edmund's death & preferring staying there over the holidays bc everyone always told him he looked exactly like his dad & colin couldnt bear the pained look violet gave him whenever he reminded her of her husband — or a love letter to colin bridgerton.

souvenirs of the grand tour: Something about her words seemed so familiar. Like a song that had already been stuck in his head. Or: writers fall in love as readers do -- through words.

Secret Love Song: The night before Penelope marries Lord Debling, Colin leaves Mayfair, shutting his family and the world out. Five long and silent years later, Violet's sudden illness brings him home... back to London and the woman who never stopped loving him.

buried in the shallow grave: In a world where the marriage ritual leaves a permanent mark on you, the word that reflects your match’s first impression of you appears in your skin. On her wrist, visible to anyone close enough to read it, was written her word with golden letters. Shallow.

Green is Gold: A torrential storm forces a couple of visitors to unexpectedly stay the night at Number Five.

the fall of a wallflower: Penelope knew something wasn't right in her being when she saw Colin Bridgerton raise his glass and announce Marina as his wife. She assumed it was envy. But when the purple welts appeared on her skin and the fainting spells became recurrent, she recognized that her situation was not as logical as the sky is blue, the grass is green, and the love for Pen did not reach his chest. It wasn't jealousy and envy that grew inside her. They were flowers. Flowers, the fruit of her unrequited love for Colin. Penelope Featherington was dying, and the only thing that could save her was Colin Bridgerton's love.

Dancing Around the Truth: On the final night of the 1815 season, after spending months attempting to win back her favor, Colin finds himself alone with Penelope. Just when it seems like their relationship might return to what it once was, Penelope relays some distressing information. Matters do not get any simpler when, just a few days later, he learns that she has fallen ill. With the rest of the Ton already departed from Mayfair, Colin finds himself in Penelope's company once again. Closer than they've ever been before.

dissolved into water: Penelope has been taught very little about the change that will take place upon her coming of age. But that should not matter. The Featheringtons have always been betas, unaffected by the fate-altering pheremones that draw alphas and omegas to each other. Penelope shall be no exception. After crossing paths with Colin Bridgerton, she finds that truth harder to bear. A thought occurs to her: what harm could come of delaying the change for a while?

august: Penelope Featherington is house-sitting for Violet, and Colin comes home early from his travels.

Stay: Penelope's not in love with him. She's not. It doesn't seem to matter anyway.

City Lights: Sometimes she wonders what people would say if they knew that Penelope Featherington was Colin Bridgerton's booty call. Felicity would probably spin it into some grand adventure, casting Penelope as the lonely figure stood on some moonlight shore as she waited for her lover to return. Eloise would undoubtedly be violently sick and then call her an idiot... and Penelope, well Penelope could hardly believe it herself. It has to stop though. It has to.

Soft: Penelope and Colin fool around whilst hungover at Aubrey Hall, and turn their relationship upside down

back to who we are: Just because People has resolved herself to a lifetime of spinsterhood in the Featherington household, does not mean she needs no opportunity to occasionally escape. She had not anticipated one such escape coming in the form of a sick Colin Bridgerton, just back from travelling and requesting her assistance at Number Five while the rest of the Bridgertons are at Aubrey Hall. Nor had she anticipated just how difficult it would be to prevent herself from getting swept back up into the orbit of the man she's always loved. If she can ignore her heart while she takes care of him, she’ll be a far stronger woman for it.

Remembering Mrs. Bridgerton: When Colin awakens, the world as he knows it has changed.

[crooked-wasteland]

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