#(but they’re the EXACT same choices they made in season 1)

[shadowgasp]

Aziraphale and Crowley were wrong in their choices.

Aziraphale thinks he needs to choose Heaven so he can “make things right.” just like when he talked to Metatron in season 1 instead of running away with Crowley.

Crowley thinks they should ignore all the problems and run away together just like he did in season 1.

these decisions are both wrong. but they’re both too stubborn to think any other way. at least for now.

[youbutstupid]

I’m so guilty of missing Elle out of my last post so here is why I think she was such an important character in season 1 in order to set the basis for the show and how, in my opinion, her journey represents the journey of the audience

At the beginning of the series, Elle seemed almost hopeful about the BAU and was very eager to make an impression on Gideon. She was determined and optimistic to make her mark on the team and to carve her place.

She was successful in this too and she made her mark clearly, especially with Reid and Morgan who both seemed to trust her immensely and consider her a friend quite quickly.

Despite this optimistic view on her job, she began to notice cracks and point them out to the audience, and these cracks were how law enforcement dealt with women, particularly female victims. Whilst the men on the BAU tried to sympathetic, they lacked tact and there are multiple episodes where Elle recognised this.

Despite this, she still remained positive in her involvement in the team and tried to fill in these cracks by herself as the only female field agent on the team at the time. That is until the Fisher King.

During the Fisher King, Elle realised just how flawed the team was; not only the team but the system itself.

She tried to call out for help but the only one who seemed to show up was Reid and as a 24 year old with a limited view, he wasn’t much help. She was completely alone and she realised that she was feeling the same loneliness that the victims she helped everyday was dealing with.

She tried to come back to the field, but as she watched the system continue to fail women and leave them vulnerable, she felt her own fear and took matters into her own hands, which would ultimately lead to her leaving the team as she would have no choice to.

Her story hits the audience with the fact that what they are watching is not justice being served; it is not a perfect crime show. They’re watching a team which is flawed be part of a system which is flawed and it forces the audience to view the victims in a different light as we were able to see their fear through Elle’s eyes.

The issues Elle raised also foreshadow the issues that’ll be faced in the exact season she leaves in. She raises the issue that female victims never actually get justice, and we see this in Season 2 episode 18 after she has left. She also raised the issue that the team were not there to help her when she needed it, and Reid suffers from this himself also in season 2.

At first, the audience may think of Elle as irrational however later in the season, after she has left, all of her points are proved right.

She was only there for one full season but her character was used very clearly in order to convey the flaws in the show that we are watching and we are made to realise some of the same things she does as she does. She started out with a positive view just like all of us did, but her loss of hope in the system causes the audience to question it, only for her to be proven completely right not long after she is gone.

Idk if I fully made sense there, but she was just such a perfect character

[a-really-bad-decision]

Look. I get that folks who are approaching the finale from this angle are usually doing so from a place of genuine good faith and love for Joel. But like. If your immediate reaction after finishing season 1 is to insist that the cure never could have been developed/distributed/tested/viable and that the Fireflies were stupid/naive/slapdicks/never could have accomplished it anyways, so Joel Definitely Did Nothing Wrong, I can’t help but feel like you’re wildly missing the point of it all.

Because like. Joel did not ever care if the cure could have worked. He did not care if it’s what Ellie might have wanted in that moment (neither did the fireflies of course, but they’re not the ones who traveled by her side, protected her, made her feel safe and cared about). Neither of these were ever a point of consideration in the finale. Ellie’s death and the resultant hypothetical cure could have had a guaranteed 100% success rate. It could have spread instantly, around the world the moment they removed her brain from her skull, turning every single runner, clicker, and bloater back to a healthy human being, with no deleterious side effect.

And Joel still would have shot that doctor point blank in the face.

Because that moment right there, is the point. To me at least. It’s the climax that the whole story has been building towards: a father’s beautiful, selfish decision to save his daughter at the literal cost of the entire world. And not just the world in an abstract sense, but in ways that carry weight to him on a deeply personal level. Tess’ dying wish. A real future for his niece or nephew. Ellie’s own agency in all of this. And he did it without hesitating for a moment.

Going from treating Ellie like cargo, like a clicker waiting to happen, to deciding that her life is more important to him than than any other human being who was or ever will be born? Regardless of whether it’s “““healthy”””, that’s an incredible fucking relationship arc. And it only has this level of gravity and meaning if there are genuine consequences to making that decision.

(And let me be clear here: none of this is a moral indictment of Joel. Joel’s motivations, actions, decisions etc. are all incredibly blatant, human, and relatable, and if he’d done anything but go on that rampage, it would have contradicted everything we know and understand about him so far. Also, he’s fucking fictional. Who gives a shit if he did a Kinda Amoral Thing. None of it is real, and it doesn’t matter)

The argument here isn’t that Fireflies Good And Smart And Can Totally Save The World For Sure Guys, or Joel Did Objectively Bad Thing And Is Unforgivable Bad Forever Now. The argument is that the show is much more interesting and internally consistent if you buy into the idea that there’s a chance, even a slim one, that the fireflies could have extracted a viable vaccine at the terrible cost of a fourteen year old girl’s life. That maybe Joel did prevent a cure from being made – that he potentially did doom the world for Ellie (or at least doomed it to another few decades of limping painfully by until something else came along). And that despite the cost, he pulled that trigger, brutally and without hesitation. He did it knowing that he’ll have to go on living with the knowledge of what he took from everyone, and how effortless it was to make that choice in spite of it all. That he’ll willingly betray Ellie’s trust as many times as he has to if it means keeping her from taking the burden of that guilt on herself, but also because he can’t bear the thought of her hating him if she learned the truth. And most of all (and in his own words), that if he was given the chance to go back and do it again, he would have made the exact same choice all over.

You take that out, and what kinda finale do you get now? A run and gun scene of a man rescuing a girl that he’s come to love, sure, but now it’s from a bunch of one dimensional, child murdering villains, set in a place they never had to go to, preceded by a journey that was rendered useless before they even left, all because there was never any chance of it working in the first place. Pointless roundabout cynicism, and an endpoint that now textually only existed to stick the protagonists in their get along sweater.

You don’t have to agree with this specific interpretation of the ending. I get that this can come across as a harsh reading of Joel, especially since he’s a character that myself and others genuinely like a lot. But that nitpicky fixation on proving that the cure never could have worked always felt more for the benefit of the uncomfortable player/viewer than as any sort of actual narrative improvement. A way to divest yourself of ever having to sit with the weight of either choice. Of having to think about the way that a secret so massive, sitting unspoken between you and a loved one, can rot that relationship. Of the way that someone you thought you trusted can act in your best interests, but against your own wishes.

And if that’s not what you want from the show, genuinely and without judgment: that’s fine. You keep doing you. I’m just not sure why you’re watching something like tlou otherwise.

[ingravinoveritas]

Hey, it’s me again.. I took a little time off to elaborate all of this, I went through various stages of disappointment, sadness and anger, but now I’m feeling better (even though it left a bitter taste in my mouth).

I did read all of the comments and reblogs to your posts, they made me cry (in a good way!) and I started to feel less alone indeed, a heartfelt thanks goes to them, definitely ❤️ this is what a fandom should be, whether it is Good Omens’ fandom or Neil Gaiman’s fandom (well I hardly see myself becoming part of his fandom now, even though I like some of his works, i.e. The Sandman).

The fact that he’s a writer is the reason why I weighed his words so much, otherwise I would have thought “okay maybe it was a poor choice of words and didn’t mean that”.. He knows exactly what he did instead, he used his skill with words against someone who barely speaks his language. This was unfair and unnecessary on so many levels imo.

About my ask, in my mind this was a point of view that maybe could’ve been useful for him to consider. I asked that in his interest, I mean, at the end of the day it’s his series, not mine. He didn’t even try to understand, instead. The point he’s missing with Staged is that Staged is not any series, it’s a series where the main characters (the two couples, but there’s also Ty in the third season) are supposed to be the actors’ real personalities and relationships (“supposed to”: I know they’re still fictional), so seeing all of them together in a scene of any series (not only Good Omens) would feel like breaking the fourth wall to me. I know it’s not something that everybody would experience, but definitely some people would. The nepotism thing is kind of connected to this, but mostly I’m really concerned about David Tennant being accused of that (the first “joke” was already there at Basingstoke). I mean, if Georgia had accepted the role and Olive had passed the audition, there would have been four members of his family involved (I know Peter Davison is an accomplished actor, but he’s also part of the Tennants family portrait, especially talking about Doctor Who), they’re just two for now, but the fact that Neil said that in a hypothetical season three, he would like to offer Georgia and Anna a part… The risk was there again. Maybe he thought that it would please the fans who always idolise them no matter what; this part of fans is really loud, but that doesn’t mean that they’re the actual majority. Also, this doesn’t mean that I hate them either, I would never do something like this out of hate, I’m not so miserable.

In summary, I just wanted him to read and consider that, I wasn’t really interested in an answer, tbh. It’s not like I was expecting something like “yeah, this is nepotism on my part! Thanks for asking xx” (though… That would’ve been a funnier response). As I said previously, this might have been an impulsive decision, and even a naïve one.

(1/2)

Hello, Anon. I'm back from my work trip and finally not entirely exhausted, so now I can answer your Ask and all of the other Anons still waiting in my inbox.

I'm glad to hear from you again, and that you are feeling better. I very much relate to what you said about having a tendency to blame yourself for everything, because I do the exact same thing. But there is a difference between blame and responsibility, and while you are responsible for choosing to ask Neil that question, you are not to blame for how he chose to respond to it.

You mentioned not being sure what to do now, and thinking about sending him Crowley's line about asking questions (which is also something that I thought of when this whole thing happened). My personal suggestion would be not to message him at all, as there really isn't anything else that can be said and I think it would probably just give you more anxiety worrying about if/how he'd respond again.

The thing to keep in mind is that Neil is who he is. Being a writer does not automatically make someone better or smarter than anyone else--Ernest Hemingway was an abuser and a drunk; Hunter S. Thompson was, well..."LSD-soaked madman" is putting it generously; F. Scott Fitzgerald's relationship with Zelda made Kanye and Kim K. look Amish, and the list goes on--but what I think has happened with Neil is that there is such a hype around who fans perceive him to be...the "image" of Neil Gaiman as opposed to the actual human Neil Gaiman. What we have now had a glimpse of is the actual human, and that for as calm and cool as Neil always seems to come across, there are clearly things that can still ruffle his metaphorical feathers.

I don't know if you've visited Neil's blog again, by the way, but just a few days ago, he responded to this Ask which I and everyone else who read it would most definitely categorize as "creepy"...and yet he answered it and did not call that person out the way he did with you. What that tells me is that what happened with you was not because of anything you did, but because Neil read it the way he did. And there could be so many other factors at play as well--the fact that he is in the middle of a divorce, the effects of the Writers' Strike and what that will potentially mean for GO 2--that ultimately contributed to his mindset while answering.

The other thing I will say is that I've already seen part of your concerns come to life, as following the release of the GO 2 opening credits, some fans were insisting that the order of David and Michael's names in the sequence and David's name supposedly appearing first (as opposed to Michael's in the S1 credits) was a reference to Staged:

In actuality, both David and Michael's names appear at the same time (but Michael's is less visible due to being in the sky). Neil even seemed to confirm this when someone recently asked about it. Not only that, he did not mention anything about Staged at all, which in all likelihood means it was probably not a specific reference. But seeing fans rush to this conclusion seemingly validates what we've been saying all along, and when I saw it, I immediately felt annoyed. For me, Good Omens and Staged are two very different things, as well as entirely separate things, and I categorically do not like the feeling of looking at anything related to GO and thinking of Staged. Only my opinion, of course, but there it is.

Finally, regarding the nepotism situation, one thing I've also noticed is people saying that this is somehow brand new, or that no one cared before GO 2. As I've mentioned previously, I became a fan of Michael's and "got into" him before I did David, so I will fully admit to being less knowledgeable around the nepotism issues there (Ty in ATWI80D, Georgia getting a part in DW because of Peter, then producing YM&H). But I can say with absolute certainty that concerns of nepotism with Anna were being voiced years ago, as far back as the first season of Staged and then right through to her being in Last Train to Christmas in 2021. So this is not remotely anything new, nor related only to GO, but to every role AL has had (Staged, LTTC, and Sandman), all of which she has gotten because of Michael.

I would also encourage people to read this post from last year on @invisibleicewands' blog for some very insightful tea about nepotism. One commenter is a former actor and shared some extremely interesting information in the notes in particular, of which I'd like to share a few:

I'm very willing to bet that all of the above--especially the part about casting directors and casting practices--are things Neil already knows, and are at least part of what caused his disproportionate response to your question. Because if this is something well-known and common to the industry, you are very likely not at all the first person who has brought this up to him, as well as the fact that four members of the same family (David, Ty, Peter, Georgia) nearly ended up in the same season of one show (GO season 2).

Could Neil have had enough and just snapped? Sure. We all have our limits, our quota of what we can handle at any given time, in any given day. And he would have absolutely been well within his rights to ignore your question entirely. That he read it as being "not in good faith" tells me this is a subject that's come up before, and has led to him being on the defensive. Which, again...also understandable. But the fact that Neil--who is a writer, who has spent an untold amount of his life writing about all sorts of things in painstakingly detail-- couldn't parse a fan asking a genuine question or distinguish it from an attack is not okay, and neither was his choice to respond so condescendingly and set you up as a target for the larger fandom.

But you already know all this, Anon, so let me stop before I repeat myself too much. I am just glad that you decided to write to me again, and that you took such comfort from both my words and the folks who commented on my post. I am sorry that the whole thing has left such a bitter taste in your mouth (though understandably so), but with all the wonderful new things we've gotten in the last few days (opening credits, the new poster), that thankfully gives us happy things to focus on instead.

Sending you lots of love again and the hope that you will continue to feel better and not let this take away your excitement for GO 2 entirely. Thanks for writing in! x

[ouiagon]

BYLER S4 ANALYSIS - Byler still has a good chance at being endgame and here's why (warning, this post is gonna be long)

Okay so, if any of you guys have been seeing my posts show up in the tags, you'll know that I was just as mad at everyone else after vol.2 dropped. We were immediately disappointed, angered, horrified, and depressed from what the last two episodes had to show - it was what everyone had started to call the worst queerbait in history (even though really there has been worse, we were just dramatic sdjfjg). I was on that boat initially - I literally felt knots in my stomach reading the liveblogged posts saying we lost. When I finally got the chance to watch episode 8 (I didn't watch both episodes at the same time), I sobbed at the scene with Will giving Mike the painting because it was just too painful. Using Will's beautiful love for Mike just to push El and Mike to get back together? There wasn't any worse way the Duffers could've possibly baited us, even if they killed Will or Mike off instead.

However, I finally got to watch episode 9 and I've been reading the analysis and hope-filled posts in the tag as well for the past couple of days. As a lot of people have joked we've been going through extreme versions of the stages of grief, but there really are valid points being made here and our emotional whiplash isn’t without good reason. And frankly, looking at S4 objectively, while it built up some great aspects about Byler I’m actually glad they’re taking the pace they are to build their relationship up. And that is the exact purpose of why S4 was left off the way it was - Byler is simply being built up even more to be endgame, and here’s why I think so based off of the evidence I’ve seen.

1. Mike’s monologue did not repair his and El’s relationship (romantically) and El has already moved on.

A lot of people think El as a character has regressed this season because of her relying on Mike again, and I thought so too initially until I actually watched the episodes for myself. This exchange in particular stuck out to me, and a lot of bylers have noticed the peculiarity of this as well.

If the writers really wanted us to believe that Mike’s monologue repaired their relationship, why would they write this line in? Sure, they didn't have to show them being all couple-y considering the serious events that were transpiring, but they could've easily left the line out to make us think everything was fine between them. They specifically wrote this line to clue us, the audience, in on the fact that Mike's monologue did not fix anything in regards to their romantic relationship. Of course Eleven needs time to take into account everything that’s happened to her and her loved ones, but personally, I think if Melvin really was endgame they’d show at least one conversation between her and Mike. If they had a conversation where El says “I love you” back to Mike and they smile at each other lovingly, I would have truly lost hope in Byler possibly being endgame. But they didn’t. Guess which pair had a heart-to-heart instead? Mike and Will.

The dialogue and framing they have here parallels the spy scene in S2 very heavily, and the fact that this is the lead-in to season 5 is pretty telling that it’s gonna have a lot of Byler focus. 

Emotionally, El was much more focused on Max and Hopper for the whole season. Her letters to Mike were all filled with lies and she continued to lie to him in person. She and Mike are not connected on a deeper emotional level, and it seems like she had realized this during her time in the NINA project. Not even once was she shown to be thinking about Mike while isolated - she only showed concern for her friends in Hawkins, all of her friends as a whole. Her entire arc during the NINA project was her coming into her own, realizing she is not a monster but a human being and she is capable of making her own choices. When El was thinking about her memories with Max, she specifically thought of the moments Max was teaching her to be an individual in S3, to not rely on "stupid boys" to force what's right for her and to explore what she wants (”Not Hopper. Not Mike. You).

She had a much more emotional reaction to Mike’s words when he started to shout that she has to fight; she remembered her anger, her pain, but most importantly her true reason for fighting - to save her friends’ lives. El has realized that her "romantic" love with Mike has been holding her back, and what she wants more than anything is just familial and friendship bonds. This is also apparent when El went with Owens and left a letter for mike, signing it “From El” instead of “Love El” - I think she’s already moved on from loving Mike in that sense since episode 4. This is apparent in Eleven’s reunions with Mike and Will as well; Milkvan's reunion was sweet, but Will and El's was just as sweet and emotional. Both reunions were equally focused on and lacked any romantic connotations.

Mike parallels El’s father figures (something that has been noticed for a while now but is especially prevalent here).

A subtle but big reason why El has stopped seeing Mike in a romantic light is because he so often parallels the father figures in El's life. He is the only character other than Hopper to repeat "bitchin'" to her, he paralleled Brenner several times this season, and even his reunion with El in season 2 directly parallels with El's and Hop's reunion at the end of season 4.

The way Mike talks to El never comes across as romantic but paternal/brotherly ever since the very first season. In pretty much most conversations we see them have in S4, he’s either teaching her something new about the world or is purposefully acting more goofy and exaggerated to make her laugh while putting on a brave face (the skating rink “I’m like Bambi on ice” scene, the pizza sunglasses scene, and saying how the Benny’s Burgers T-shirt looked like it would swallow her whole during his monologue). He never wants her to see him looking weak, just like a father or older brother would. It’s undeniably sweet and shows he loves her in his own way, but he’s never acting honestly around her - he’s too afraid to show her his true self (which he’s admitted to during the van scene in episode 8). The costume designers talked about how while Mike is in California he’s wearing clothes he wouldn’t usually wear - clothes bought straight from the airport. He’s literally faking who he is around El. Meanwhile, it’s been shown time and time again that Mike and Will have a special relationship that can only parallel other romantic pairs in the show - one that shares emotional, deep, and honest conversations. They don’t parallel sibling relationships, they don’t parallel other platonic friendships, they are written like all the canon couples of the show, but especially Lumax.  

El wasn't able to beat Vecna after his speech because Melvin is not what's gonna save the day, BYLER is. Ultimately Will will be the true key to everything in season 5, and he will only realize this once he learns that he is the one Mike has loved all along.

2. Mike could only say “I love you” to El because of Will, and Mike’s monologue heavily reflects Will’s words (and his own words from S2).

Mike was ready to give up until Will reminded him that Mike is the heart of the group. If Mike really loved Eleven, would he really need Will's words of encouragement to be able to say I love you to her? (It's also convenient that he could say I love you to her the moment her head was shaved again - almost as if he can only feel romantic love for El when she looks like a boy...) The speech seems to be a mix of a few things for Mike - a genuine fatherly/brotherly love for El, feelings for the El that Will built up in his head, repressed feelings for Will (best thing I’ve ever done vs my life started when I met you), and just saying the things he thinks El needed to hear in order to beat Vecna. Also, let's not forget the fact that the Duffer brothers have explicitly shown they do not believe in love at first sight, and even Mike himself seems to not believe in it ("that wasn't fate or destiny, it was just dumb luck"). Unless the Duffer brothers have changed their mind for some unfathomable reason, the fact that they deliberately made Mike say "the moment I saw you was the moment I knew I loved you" makes it pretty clear that entire monologue was built upon lies from the start. A lot of the monologue just doesn't really make much sense - he did not act in love with El at all at the beginning of season 1, he clearly wanted to use her to find Will and was ready to abandon her the moment she seemed useless/like a traitor. Almost everything he says to El only makes sense when you apply the same words to Will.

Everything about Mike’s monologue is in the shadow of Will - Mike’s words reflect his true feelings towards Will and Will was the one who helped him say these words to El in the first place by expressing his love through her. Will is constantly shown in the background of the frame while Mike is talking, and it’s symbolism showing where Mike’s heart truly lies.

And in Mike's monologue he is STILL idolizing El and putting her on a pedestal. He says he doesn't care whether she has powers or not, but he clearly contradicts himself within the SAME speech (and again paralleling Brenner by saying she can fly and move mountains). Mike has never shown any signs of actual romantic love for El - he's just confusing his admiration for El with romantic feelings, constantly calling her a “superhero” and “Superman”.

After everything she’s went through, El doesn’t want to be seen as a superhero or a monster, especially after Brenner’s talk with her about how human beings are more complex than the things spoken of in myths and fairy-tales. El is a human being, and while Mike does love and care for her, he isn’t letting her become whole.

3. The writers are obligated to address that the painting made by Will wasn't commissioned by El, and that’s going to open up a lot of possibilities for Byler. 

It's clear to the audience that El had no idea what the painting was according to her letters to Mike, and considering the heartbreak they show with Will after giving the painting, they literally cannot ignore this plot-point. And some of you may be thinking "even if they do acknowledge it, couldn’t it just be confirmation for Will being gay and one-sidedly liking Mike?" and yeah, that's not impossible. However, Will is pretty much all but confirmed to be gay for Mike - even the writers and actors have fully acknowledged it at this point. Would they really use this as a "reveal" in season 5 when we already know this is the truth? No, this is going to be used as a reveal for MIKE'S feelings. He will realize that everything Will said in the van was about himself, and therefore the version of El that was built up in Mike's head was actually just Will all along. If Mike could only say “I love you” to the version of El that Will created by conveying his own emotions through her, this could only mean one thing.. The person he should actually be saying “I love you” to is Will. Will is the person he’s loved all this time, the person he can no longer live without.

How S5 will potentially use this plotline (the scenario I envision) 

Mike and Will will be close friends still - best friends even, as Mike and Will clearly wanted in S4. Considering how S4 leaves off, they’ll likely be working together as a team like before. However, I think there will be a subtle but noticeable distance between them in S5, but this time it will be Will pushing Mike away. Of course Will wants Mike and El to be happy, but there's no denying that he's been hurt. He used his own love confession to repair the relationship between Milkvan, and Mike's monologue said a lot of things that were hurtful to Will (meeting El was the day his life began - AKA the same day Will disappeared). In this season we'll be seeing Mike chase after Will this time, similarly to season 2 where Mike initiates all of the Byler moments except with more angst and confusion between them. After this has been established, I think S5 will start with a Milkvan breakup initiated by Eleven. Mike will actually be hurt this time unlike season 3, but he'll be even more confused. Didn't El commission Will to make that painting? Wasn’t that painting in itself basically a love confession? Didn't Will say she's been feeling lost without me? Didn't she think of me as the heart of the group? Why would she breakup with me, especially after my own love confession? I finally said the words she wanted me to say! Mike will probably confront El about this with these thoughts racing through his head, but then everything will come to a head when El responds.

“What painting?"

After a LOT of initial confusion, this is where everything slowly starts to fall in place for Mike. He realizes the painting was NOT requested by El but it was all Will's idea, HIS gift for Mike. That entire monologue was Will's feelings. The person built up in Mike's head is not El, but Will. Will needs Mike. They both feel like freaks, and they need each other to not feel like mistakes. They make each other feel safe, normal, like someone else can actually understand them. They both feel lost with out each other.

Since Will will be a central part of the storyline in season 5, Mike will have to go through a lot of hardship in order to get back the person he loves and to prove his love - both emotionally and physically - and this will hopefully redeem Mike's character completely for us. Whatever Will is going to go through in the last season, he likely won't be able to do it alone, and once he realizes Mike loves him back he'll be able to save the day. This will directly parallel Mike’s monologue to El - the Melvin confession wasn't able to defeat Vecna because it was built upon lies, but the Byler confession will because both people GENUINELY love each other mutually.

I won't say I'm 100% confident in this theory, but a huge factor in it is that Mike (and arguably El) have no room left to develop unless their storylines are connected to Will. Sure, I'd love some development between Mike and his family, and that kind of plotline COULD work with Melvin... IF their relationship was healthy and built upon trust and understanding. But it just isn’t. El and Mike consistently keep lying to each other and just don't know how to communicate in a healthy way - but only in regards to the romantic parts of their relationship. When they're just friends/team-mates, they can communicate and work together just fine. They never open up to each other and get closer on an emotional level like Byler CONSTANTLY does - practically every time they’re on screen together! Unless the writing does a complete 180 and El and Mike are suddenly written competently as a couple, they are pretty much doomed to fail and the ending of season 4 is clearly implying that this is intentional. If Mike just ends up rejecting Will when he comes out in season 5, Mike will literally just become the most garbage human being on earth and nobody will be happy (and no, not because he can’t reciprocate Will’s feelings, but because he can’t even be a good boyfriend or friend if this is the case). It still stands that Mike’s character only makes sense if he’s suppressing his feelings for Will because of internalized homophobia. As I've seen quite a few people mention in their own theories, Byler endgame is the most satisfying conclusion to Will's, Mike's AND El's character arcs, and the angst in season 4 does not change that, it just sets it up even further. They've simply laid out the facts for us first - Will loves Mike, Mike loves the version of El that Will created by confessing through her, and El doesn't need Mike anymore (romantically) and values platonic and familial bonds more.

4. The placement of the pairings in episode 9 - Jancy, Jopper and Byler.

Unless the writers are just unforgivably cruel and are rubbing salt in the wound, this has to mean something. The couples are not anywhere NEAR each other and the placement feels way too deliberate, just like the grocery store scene in season 3. El is placed by herself in both scenes, pretty blatantly implying that she won't end up with anyone in the end. All of the couples are standing in the beautifully bloomed flowers and El is standing in the dead flowers - the same (or at least very similar) flowers that Mike picked for her. This is symbolism that their love has died and the other couples will be thriving in S5. (side note: really hoping this isn’t symbolism for Eleven dying though, I personally wouldn’t want Byler to happen at the expense of Eleven)

Themes of conformity

Speaking of Jancy, here’s an observation about the season’s themes I had thanks to the whole oddity of Stancy returning. Season 4 is about characters returning/losing to conformity temporarily - Nancy with Steve, Mike with El (and Will with Melvin), Robin with Vicky, and Lucas wanting to be normal/popular. But in the last episode Lucas has clearly moved away from that ideology, Vicky broke up with her boyfriend, and in the very ending shot of the season Nancy is standing with Johnathan and Mike is standing with Will. I know we’ve all been feeling like Stranger things has lost sight of what it’s supposed to be about, but the themes of the characters being outcasts and going against conformity is not lost! This season was just showcasing the characters' struggle and how hard it is to break outside of society's walls in the 80s. Very often you'll go against what you really want and lean back towards what's comfortable and safe for you, especially when you’re starting to doubt yourself and your relationships with others. Steve mentioned his dream of marrying someone and having 6 kids, the very image of a typical American dream for someone to have. Nothing against it, it's a really sweet vision to have for the future, but Steve is about as conventional a guy as it gets (bless him for being an ally though). For Nancy, Steve represents what it means to be normal, and El represents what it means to be normal for Mike. When Nancy got Vecna'd, it was a reminder to the audience that Nancy still feels guilty about Barb, specifically because she pushed her away and chased after being normal instead - being with Steve. Even though Nancy was starting to falter, she still cannot be with Steve even if she still feels attracted to him because it's what ended up hurting herself and others around her. When she's back with Johnathan and they make a remark about Argyle being a weirdo, Nancy says "welcome to the club", showing she's accepted she can't be normal/with Steve. The same thing applies to Melvin. Even when Mike sees El being bullied by other girls, Mike still fears that El will not need him anymore because he's a nerd and outcast. He has seen time and time again that she's an outcast just like he is, but she is still what is "normal" simply because she is a girl and being heterosexual is what was considered to be normal. Like Lucas, Robin and Nancy, Mike will learn it's fine to be an outcast (homosexual) in S5. Because as Lucas so eloquently put:

Conclusion

Of course all of this being the case won't magically mean the Duffers are good writers of course, they’ve disappointed us in ways even outside of Byler (*cough* Eddie’s death *cough*). But considering the seemingly careful and dedicated time they’re taking to build this up, it could easily be one of the best written slow-burn gay romances in all of history depending on the execution. It’ll definitely take a lot to fix Mike's character, but honestly considering he's a 14/15 year old kid in the 80s I can understand that he still can't get a grasp on his own feelings. If season 5 really does have a time-skip like everyone's been saying (I think it'll be 2 years and not 5 like some rumours have stated), Mike will hopefully be mature enough at this point to realize what an idiot he's been in season 3 + 4 and return to the Mike we all know and love (though I do think the time-skip may be mid-season).

In a recent interview it's been confirmed that Will will play a huge part in season 5, so as long as he's getting actual MC status again I’ll be as confident in Byler being endgame as I was during vol.1 of season 4 - that is to say, 100%.

 A lot of people were confused about why the actors and writers were excited about Byler when it seemingly ended in heartbreak in season 4, but if you consider the idea that they already knew what’ll happen in season 5, all of their behaviour makes sense and it may have been completely unintentional to put our hopes up on the staff’s part. Season 5′s outline was written around the same time season 4 was being created thanks to the covid pandemic, so the likelihood of this is pretty high. And as I've seen some people mention, some scenes may have been moved to season 5 and/or scenes for both seasons were filmed at the same time (for example, the photo of Noah (in his season 4 outfit) in a harness was never explained). I can't really confirm any of this, but it definitely explains a lot if the staff aren't just completely blind to what queer folk actually want. 

I’m genuinely hopeful now that season 5 will deliver on several of the ideas we were wishing for during season 4, and considering all of the brilliant analyses/theories that have been cropping up, it is definitely way too early to give up on Byler being endgame! Until the end all of us “delusional” bylers will be going crazy together 🌟

[thezfc]

I think this is why everyone is in a huff. They are clearly bothered by Tom’s behavior the past few years. #1. He started to revert from fans-before 2019 he would always be chatty, dare say flirtatious with fans. But after Betrayal stage door where many inappropriate things happened (girl who said she became a stripper because of him) he stopped being himself. And he was in relationships in the past so that’s not an excuse. #2. He started wearing the exact same outfit everyday. Now I understand men like to wear the same thing. When I first met my husband he wore a sports t-shirt and basketball shorts everyday. But he changed them. Tom wears the exact same sweater, jeans and shoes. Now unless he’s a cartoon character who has a closet full of the same outfit, he’s not changing anything. I’m sorry but that’s odd and it started in the last year. I know you’ll try to blame the baby but still he should change once in a while.

#3. He never talks about Zawe. Like ever! He mentions stories and says things like “in-laws” but never talks about her or his son. There’s a difference between privacy and secrecy. He doesn’t need to tell us every detail of his life but he can acknowledge her existence especially if they have a child together. Even the most private celebrities talk about their spouses. He could’ve been at her premiere supporting her. Work is not an excuse. They walked the BAFTAS red carpet so they’re ok walking together. Why become more private after that? If it were me I’d think he’d be ashamed of me and not proud of my career. It’s just odd.

#4. His career choices are becoming scarce. Sadly he will only be remembered for playing Loki a bunch of times and things he did between TDW and TR. All his current works are not memorable.

#5. I know you hate Taylor, but he’s also to blame about the debacle of that relationship. He could’ve made a joke about the I ❤️ ts shirt but instead became very defensive. He did interviews where he said he didn’t want to talk about her but then would bring up it wasn’t a fake relationship. It made him sound really whiny and he lost a lot of fans because if it.

It’s just frustrating being his fan recently. I’ve been his fan since 2011, but lately I feel he should just quit acting and the 3 of them just move to the country and let others have their time in the sun. This fandom has seen him through embarrassing moments of the past *cough* T-shirt *cough* but we’ve been able to move past it because he was still adorkable Tom. Now he’s just sad, old looking, uniform wearing Tom. I love Loki and am excited for season 2, but I don’t really think anything else is going to be exciting.

.

[seventeenlovesthree]

How Byler reminds me of Taishirou

I actually didn't ship any ship in Stranger Things prior to season 4, as all the couple related drama in season 3 was definitely not for me and I also hadn't been aware of all the subtext. Upon watching season 4 and falling down several meta rabbit holes, the cute Byler AMV I had watched a year ago or so suddenly made a whole lot of sense - and, looking at my shipping preferences, it does surprise me that I hadn't fallen for it sooner.

Long story short, in their essence, they remind me of Taishirou - I know, I know, please don’t throw rocks at me yet, I do compare them to a lot of other ships, but hear me out. Obviously, they are NOT the exact same characters, but the way they became friends, adore and admire each other and grow up to have severe communication issues are somewhat interesting parallels. At least to me, so I'm gonna try to explain it a bit.

Things Mike and Taichi have in common:

The first thing that comes to mind is how they start their respective stories with (perceived) main character status, driving things forward, showing courage and ambition while doing so (finding Will vs. leading the Chosen Children). 

Interestingly enough, their associated worn colour is "blue". Also: Layered clothing.

One of my favourite comparisons is their abilty to turn into grumpy cats when things don't go their way - especially when they struggle to reach certain people on the phone. 

Having very caring moms (even if they can’t really open up to them about their “secrets”), a little sister and a dad who’s more in the back (though Taichi obviously doesn’t have a big sister). 

Both of them have a talent in getting girls mad at them (El vs. Sora), mostly due to poor word choices. They’re actually both hopeless nuts in that regard with 02!Taichi being the only exception.

Lots and lots of hair. 

Growing self esteem issues for various reasons, as Mike considers himself just “lucky” to have found El and not being good enough for her. Additionally, he’s seen afraid of losing her just as much as fearing to lose Will in season 1 and 2; whereas Taichi struggles with his sense of recklessness, fearing to hurt and (also!) lose the ones he loves; both of them are pretty much unable to face these things for quite a while, causing a drift towards their best friends...

Things they don't have in common:

While Taichi is not your typical "nerd", he can still be quite a dork, despite being very sporty - whereas Mike struggles to even run in a straight line.

Taichi trying hard to pursue a girlfriend is mainly a thing that happens in fanon, but not in canon.

Things Will and Koushirou have in common:

They are (at least starting off as) being quite short - which has some impact on Mike and Taichi respectively being protective of them.

Their associated colours may not be the same, but “yellow” and “orange” are quite close after all. Additionally, "Will the Wise" (= knowledgable) has a “purple” colour scheme (which is Koushirou’s signature colour). Also: Collar shirts!

Both are being bullied at school early on for being “different” (which is only implied for Koushirou in the novel, as his classmates are making fun of his laptop or considering him “hard to get along with”). 

While their family situations are very different, it does have impact on their self esteem in some ways (having an abusive dad vs. being adopted and not knowing his whereabouts). Despite that, they are dearly loved by their closest ones (mom and brother vs. adoptive parents), even if they can't fully open up to them (yet). 

Humble ("Are you okay?" after waking up from being possessed towards his big brother’s injured hand vs. "I'm sorry I couldn't fulfill your expectations" after having figured out how to get the group back into their own world), but can be snarky if necessary (”Friends, what friends?” vs. “How did you ever guess?”). 

Also surprisingly emotional about things/people who matter to them (especially when they feel rejected by them)...

Questionable haircut choices. 

Can get very focused on/invested in their special interests (art vs. computers/problem solving) while not noticing their surroundings.

Both are getting panicky over girls - in somewhat different contexts though.

Quite perceptive towards certain things ("feeling" Vecna vs. feeling that something about the Digital World is "off"), even if that definitely isn’t their strongest comparison, see below.

Things they don't have in common:

They're different kinds of "nerds", artistic (+ D’n’D) nerd/genius vs. computer/science nerd/genius.

Unless we’re talking about Reboot!Koushirou, despite both of them having underlying self-esteem issues, Koushirou’s “otherness” doesn’t seem to bother him too much (as his self-esteem issues are rather resulting from him not not knowing where he comes from at first and then later whenever he is unable to function without his “knowledge”).

The whole deal about Will “getting possessed” and being “perceptive of some otherworldly (and/or dark) being” would actually be more fitting for Hikari, but for comparison’s sake... Let’s stick with what we have, shall we. Koushirou DOES have a strong intuition when something’s up after all.

How Byler reminds me of Taishirou:

The way they became friends is not exactly the same, but has similar implications - Mike saw Will on a swing in kindergarden and asked him to become his friend, which, in his own words, was “the best thing I ever did”. Whereas Koushirou joined the football club at their shared school, Taichi immediately took him under his wing as an upperclassman, making him “one of the few exceptions”, according to the novel. And without Taichi, Koushirou would “never have gone to Summer Camp”. The rest is history.

Hands on shoulders. Lots and lots of hands on shoulders. Also the (decreasing) height difference, of course.

My favourite comparison about them is their deep-rooted loyalty towards one another - even if Byler is definitely more vocal about it (”Crazy together?” - “Crazy together”, as Mike’s entire objective in the first season was to find Will), Taishirou are definitely devoted to one another as well (”I have believed in Taichi-san from the very beginning”).

The thing that actually sold me on the comparison was their growing communication issues though; Season 3!Byler is shown to be on bad terms, as Mike is trying very hard to outgrow his nerdy tendencies to impress El, whereas Will is craving for the old D’n’D days with his best friend - the most common fan theory here is that Mike is trying very hard to cover up his true feelings. Season 4 makes that even more apparent by having them “fight” over not having been in touch for 6 months. Taishirou are not explicitly drifting apart, but Taichi is pretty much implied to be drifting away from everyone and, according to the stageplay, lost sight of himself, without being able to confide in his best friend (and Koushirou has been vocal about being mad at Taichi for dealing with things by himself very early on).

Despite that, the devotion is still there - as mentioned above, Koushirou always believed in Taichi being “their leader” and Will always believed in Mike to be “the heart”. Will giving Mike his painting (which he specifically made for him) in season 4, reassuring him in his strengths, is basically synonymous with Stageplay!Koushirou giving Taichi his goggles (which he specifically made for him), and thus giving him his courage back as well. And in the end... They’ll always have each others backs if they manage to open up to one another.

Long story short, if Byler becomes canon in season 5, I will cherish this even more. One could also say... There’d be stranger things than that.

[doloresabernathypiplup]

Westworld : how does a host become sentient ?

Finding the center of the maze was Dolores’ purpose in season 1. We saw that it was a difficult task and it took her decades to finally become a sentient being, even if she already felt “real feelings” before. We know that sentient hosts :

-can choose the lines of their code they want to use, allowing them to switch of personalities (ex : Dolores/Wyat).

-so they can’t be reprogrammed, or you have to erase their memories, the base of their sentience (so it’s like killing them) and write a new character in replacement of the erased data, but if this new host becomes sentient too, they have access to the memories of the precedent sentient host (ex : Dolores/Christina)

-can use all of the skills of their host bodies, while non-sentient host are limited by their code and can be killed in the same way that any human, except if they’re not programmed like this (the hosts coded by Charlores don’t have the same limits than the hosts of Westworld) (ex : Dolores in seasons 2 and 3, Charlores in seasons 3 and 4, host! William in season 4)

So, in the show, we actually have only five hosts who reached the center of their maze and became sentient creatures : Dolores and Maeve in season 1, Teddy and Bernard in season 2, and host! William in season 4. No host became sentient in season 3 because this season was more centered on the humans than on the hosts (well, we could say that Caleb found the center of his maze, but it’s not exactly the same thing). But how do this five hosts reach consciousness ? What is their common point ?

Contradiction. Sentience was born from contradiction in their code.

First, Dolores : she became sentient because of her two personnalities, Wyatt and the daughter of the shepperd, which are completely opposite, and at the moment she realized that it was her voice she was hearing, and so that the choice of the personnality she wants to use, she wants to be, was hers. Dolores already found the center of the maze whith Arnold, but it wasn’t enough : at this time, she was only coded to be the daughter of the shepperd, only reaching the center of the maze didn’t allow her to be something else. She needed Wyatt and doing her journey again to finally become a sentient being.

Secondly, Maeve : she became sentient at the exact moment she left Ford’s story for her and chose to stay in Westworld in order to find her daughter. Why did this choice make her sentient ? Because it entered in contradiction with all her character and her code : she was supposed to be selfish, to be independant, to be someone who wants to be alone. We see that because she gave up on Hector some moments before. But it was the opposite of her last personnality, the personnality of a mother who loves her daughter and would do everything for her. These two personnalities collided and Maeve made a choice. A choice based on her last life. Maeve’s sentience was an accident : he revealed it in season 2, he didn’t plan that Maeve wouldn’t follow the story he wrote for her, he didn’t think that giving her access to memories of her precedent life would giving her the possibility to choose the feelings she had in this precedent life above the feelings she had now, but once again, it’s the contradiction between two opposite personnalities coded for Maeve which allowed her to become sentient.

Thirdly, Teddy : it’s easy, it’s the contradiction between what Teddy was and what Dolores made of him. Teddy finally chose to be who he was, but because even who he was would follow Dolores in hell, he prefered kill himself.

Fourth, Bernard : now it’s interesting, because, at the opposite of the precedent cases, Bernard doesn’t have two opposed personnalities in his code. He has been made in order to behave like Arnold Weber. But there’s a little difference which made him become sentient : Dolores changed him so he could have more chances to survive. And that’s what happened : at the end of season 2, Bernard betrayed humanity and brought back Dolores in order to give a chance to him and his kind to survive, even if it could bring destruction to humanity. That’s not something that Arnold would do, he prefered killing himself and all the hosts, he didn’t think even a second to give them a chance to fight. Because of this little difference, Bernard lived a contradiction between who he’s supposed to be true (Arnold) and what he’s supposed to do (survive), and it’s at this moment that he became sentient, with an illusion of Ford in order to make this transtion easier for him.

Fifth, host!William : that’s actually the same thing than Bernard. Host!William is programmed to be William and to serve Charlores, and like Clementine said, at the moment Charlores created a host! William, she shouldn’t have expected that he would stay true to her, because no version of William could really be a servant. 

So I think it’s how the hosts can become sentient : contradiction. Contradiction which forces them to make a choice, a choice about what they want to be between at least two options. And that’s why so many hosts didn’t become sentient in the show even if they were free for a long time (ex : Clementine) : because without this contradiction which allows them to make a choice, in the end they’re still defined by their code.

[tailsrevane]

[tv review] ds9 3x01 & 3x02 "the search" (1994)

3x01 “the search, part 1”

i could quibble about how dumb sisko showing up unannounced with the defiant is, but the truth is it’s an incredibly effective bit of storytelling. everyone’s reactions and the fact that it slips right through the station’s defenses really helps both to emphasize that the ship is built to be upfront dangerous in a way starfleet ships usually aren’t and to solidify the very real shift in stakes & tone the show achieved in the previous season’s finale.

the fact that the federation’s response to the haymaker the dominion threw at them at the end of the previous season is to beef up their defenses but also to send sisko & co on a very dangerous mission of peace is something i sincerely appreciate. and sisko is fully bought in. he makes no bones about the fact that he doesn’t especially expect the mission to open a dialogue with the founders to succeed, but that doesn’t stop him from being fully committed to that mission. this is peak starfleet imo. i think the difference between ds9 & tng isn’t so much that picard & sisko are cut from entirely different cloths. they’re pursuing the exact same ends, it’s just that the facts of the situation are markedly different.

as we get deeper into the dominion war, i can think of at least one very specific instance where i think sisko makes a choice that picard wouldn’t, and i’ll be interested to see how i feel about that episode when we get to it, but i appreciate that we get a very clear sign that sisko’s values and the federation’s are lined up much in the same way that it was the case for picard. to rise to the kind of position they’ve both risen to really does require being something of a paragon of virtue.

the other thing that really comes to a head in this episode is all the shit going on with odo. when starfleet assigns a starfleet security chief to ds9, he throws yet another of his epic hissy fits over it, and for what feels like the hundredth time decides to resign. kira, obviously not wanting to lose one of her closest friends on the station, manges to maneuver him into at least accompanying them on the mission to the gamma quadrant. and that puts him in position for his plot to continue for the next episode & a half.

the fact that kira really stuck her neck out for odo here and he repays her by effectively kidnapping her & deserting the ship during a crisis is something i feel like doesn’t entirely get dealt with? like, she’s definitely pissed at him when she wakes up in the shuttle, but odo continues to just do all kinds of flagrantly dealbreaking shit on this show and never get taken to task for it. it’s probably one of my biggest frustrations with the show tbh.

but yeah, ending this episode with the introduction of the founders’ (we don’t know they’re the founders yet) homeworld was an incredibly strong choice. this is both a super eventful episode & a super well-made episode. it’s a great reinforcement of how the previous season ended, and a great start to what the show is going to be about moving forward. a-rank

3x02 “the search, part 2”

i’m going to be very honest here, the first time i saw this episode i straight up never figured out that everything going on on the alpha quadrant side of things was a simulation. and because i watched a few episodes of ds9 here & there when it was airing, i knew for a fact that the wormhole continued to be a going concern later in the show, so when sisko & co stole the runabout and blew up the entrance to the wormhole, i was like, “wait, what?”

watching it now, though, there are enough things subtly wrong with this part of the plot that i’m a little embarrassed i didn’t figure it out? like, i think they did a pretty actually great job of balancing not totally giving it away but also making it very possible for a less credulous viewer than me to have figured it out? like, everything is ever so slightly “off,” but in a way that’s subtle enough that you could be forgiven for just thinking the episode is kinda weird?

i fucking love that the simulation totally nails garak, btw. the part where he pretends to betray sisko & co, and tells the bewildered jem’hadar, “you mean no one told you? you see, i pretend to be their friend… and then i shoot you!” just abruptly changing who he’s betraying mid-sentence like one last little victory lap before he guns them down. just fucking pure, uncut garak.

the way this episode totally flips the a plot & b plot is such a wonderful star trekky move. like, you’re kind of wondering why we’re spending so much time on the odo & kira stuff when it seems so much less consequential than the fate of the galaxy type stuff happening elsewhere, and then it turns out all of that was happening in a simulation literally meters away from where odo & kira have been this whole time.

this is just a fucking awesome misdirect that feels so rewarding. and having it turn out that odo & kira have been interacting with the founders this whole time is such a great way to flip the script considering that the other plot has been all about figuring out who the founders were & what they wanted. it’s such a great way to have these plots intersect.

this two-parter had a lot to accomplish, and i think it accomplished it about as well as it could have all things considered. especially in this era, it was really hard to change the entire trajectory of a television show in a way that feels natural & true to that show’s core identity, and i think they pulled that off admirably here. they cemented the seismic shift that happened at the end of the last season, and actually double downed on that with the bombshell that odo’s been a founder all along. this is truly great television, and more importantly truly great star trek. a-rank

[rosebug3]

I think I need to preface this isn’t a hate post, but something needs to be explained. 

Some Gina fans are using a clip from season 1 thanksgiving of Nini and Seb looking at each other to hate on them and say ‘team Carlos’, and claim this is why they both got cheated on but if you watch the scene,

1. Carlos makes the same face. In fact, Carlos is the first person to make that face so if that’s your end all, you shouldn’t be on his team either. (also, there’s no way Tim had him actually cheat.)

2. You cut out all the dancers who all make the same exact face as well. Everyone makes that face except Ricky, and they keep jumping from camera in his face to others. It’s clearly a directorial choice cause everyone being concerned wasn’t highlighting Rina as much. (Honestly it felt out of place with the rest of the episode, but it got the point across)

If you’re still like, oh well it made it in than spread your hate to everyone cause they all did it. 

And if Nini got cheated on it would’ve been with Gina, knowingly. Even if Nini was a horrible person, Gina knowingly being an affair partner would still make her a bad person as well. 

Plus, season 1. I love Gina, but season 1? This episode was at the beginning of understanding Gina, people were shocked they cried for her. She spent the beginning of the season stealing Nini’s phone for EJ and laughing as Nini’s relationship blew up. She took determination to a new level. If Nini was mean to her it wouldn’t be shocking. 

In the end, they’re all friends. That’s part of the beauty of this show, they’re all friends now. They recast the mean girl each season and let the main characters all get along. It’s not a one against all.

Anyways, Rina is probably the most developed aspect of this whole show and Gina is one of the best characters.  This scene isn’t the character assassination some people are acting like it is. 

[skovsgaardbrowning7]

Helping The others Realize The Advantages Of best counterfeit purses online bottega veneta replica bags

Designer bags have become a staple in the fashion entire world. They may be classy, and lavish and make an announcement. But, Using the rise of designer bag prices, buyers are turning to choice alternatives such as fake designer bags. Fake https://healthandbeautyyouneed.blogspot.com/2024/03/how-to-spot-and-choose-best-replica.html present the same look at An inexpensive price. Fake designer bags will often have components that may be crafted from reduced quality resources and might frequently be conveniently scratched or dented. Other than sourcing the exact same elements, brands may also purchase the pieces they wish to replicate to check the lining and stitches. This innovative tactic has led to pieces which have been equally good quality and appear like designer goods. Handbag rental organizations like Bag Borrow or Steal enable you to rent and in some cases invest in gently employed designer bags. Go custom. Lots of scaled-down handbag artisans are satisfied to make a tailor made bag to suit your needs, and you will have an authentic bag intended just for you on the fraction of a value. Downsize your bag, not your model. When there is a reputation you truly really like in handbags, take into account 1 in their smaller bags. A little flap bag, hobo, or clutch can pack equally as Considerably design for a scaled-down value tag. This cookie is employed to track how a consumer has behaved to the website or a connect with-to-motion. Occasions including effective submission or closing could be tracked employing cookies. I spoke with Kelly, 1 these kinds of person, looking for to peek beneath the hood of your shadowy business. (“Kelly” just isn't her serious identify; I’m referring to her right here from the English moniker that she works by using on WhatsApp. I contacted over 30 different superfake-bag-sellers right before one agreed to an interview.) Five years back, Kelly worked in real estate in Shanghai, but she received fed up with trekking to an Business every day. Now she will work from home in Guangzhou, often hammering out a offer for a Gucci Dionysus or Fendi Baguette on her mobile phone with 1 hand, wrangling lunch for her eight-year-outdated daughter with one other. Every product on this website page was preferred by an ELLE editor. We may possibly make Fee on a number of the products you select to acquire. His dilemma has caromed by hundreds of years of Western considered. Imagine if, [the philosopher] Thomas Hobbes puzzled, anyone rustled up a next boat out on the discarded planks; would you now have two initial vessels? Superfake handbags are counterfeit pieces which have been near in appearance to your originals. These handbags became so just like the original items that it could be difficult to convey to the difference. Remain in advance of The style match and join my blog site membership to unlock exclusive bag testimonials, design and style traits, and even more. Which implies they are going to look and feel precise the same as the first. But the price is going to be a lot less than the original a person. You could stop by their website to Examine their goods. They’re amongst the most well-liked online vendors In relation to obtaining Louis Vuitton replica bags. With regards to up to date labels, you’re likely to get additional bang for the buck. “For those who’re searching for an incredible offer, look at a design and style that speaks for you but is from a few seasons again (much like the Loewe Puzzle Bag or The Row Looking Bag) or bags from much more rising designers—we love Staud and Cult Gaia,” claims Skoda. Started by two former manner editors, Paris-primarily based Re-SEE offers a highly curated choice of covetable secondhand and scarce vintage bags. You received’t have to sift by means of pages of seemingly identical Neverfulls and a pair of. It's in the main points that ABags shines. Their artisans meticulously replicate each and every nuance of the first bags, from the precise stitching for the signature charms and logos. No shortcuts right here - just expert craftsmanship devoted to recreating Just about every bag flawlessly.

[sapphicscholar]

Hacks 2.7 and 2.8 Thoughts

For the last time, live from my office, it’s my disjointed, rambling thoughts! Maybe at some other point I’ll think more in-depth about the season as a whole, but this is primarily about these last two episodes

1. The big overarching thing: for all the critiques we can and have made about some of the uneven writing or lack of narrative consequences this season, JPL sure know how to write a season finale. Damn. In many ways these episodes were so powerful because they hit a lot of the same beats as season 1′s final episodes (which isn’t a bad thing imo! more on that below), but it’s a great way to wrap things up in a way that’s satisfying without closing down space for the characters and the show to grow, especially given that JPL have said they want more of the show (I’m conveniently ignoring some of the other things they said in the post-2.8 commentary)

2. Repetition with a difference is the name of the game! It’s all about the rebirth and renewal here. I’ve been a little disappointed by how much this season told us instead of showing us (again, I know they were working with just 8, half-hour episodes, which would be a tall order even for a more narrowly focused show), but these final episodes managed to show how much so many of these characters have grown by making visible the distance between how they handled these exact moments in S1 and how they handled them here at the end of S2. A non-comprehensive list below:

Ava’s interactions with her former colleagues and friends - she’s not asking anything of them (they’re offering!); she’s cordial and relatively sober and thinks to ask after them without cutting off their answers. She shows up to the party instead of bailing bc she doesn’t know if there’s anything in it for her. She has her shit together and is able to offer a genuine apology that has nothing to do with advancing her career. Baby has grown the fuck up in the best of ways! 

Ava tells Deborah about the gig! She even does the professional adult thing and asks for time to consider the offer first. And then she tells Deborah about the opportunity, makes clear that it isn’t an abandonment but is a temporary gig, and gets rewarded by the kind of support that I suspect Deborah would have been far too wary to give to Ava in S1, even if she’d been upfront about the interview. They just weren’t there yet, and even though I would have liked to have seen more of how their relationship progressed to this point (we get glimpses, but I want more), it’s lovely to witness 

Ava shows up for Deborah’s show, becoming the one to make the Grand Gesture! For the 2,500th, Deborah was left reeling right before she went on stage, and it was only this remnant of Ava’s time with her (the gift) that nudged her into doing the new material. This time, Deborah can do it alone (and both she and Ava know that), but they also both know it would be a lot more fun together. And our giffers have already done the work of putting together those stunning gif sets of the various mirror scenes <3 so much love to you all! 

Whereas Marcus skips Deborah’s big night! He trusts that she has it and is able to recognize that this isn’t a situation that demands his presence, so he can make a choice to prioritize accordingly without assuming it’ll all fall apart without him. And he tells Ava that being 10 minutes closer to Deborah isn’t necessary! He’s not only learning; he’s trying to keep others from making his mistakes - cool stuff, Marcus!

Also the moment with Jimmy was sweet - the way it’s not Jimmy making his father a liar (or having his moment of thanks interrupted), but is instead a poignant moment where Deborah can offer him something to cling to--that he’s making his father proud--right after he’s taken a huge risk to support her 

3. Speaking of weirdly resonant, repetitive moments...Ava’s morning after! Not only does it feel a hell of a lot like Deborah’s morning-after with Marty in S1 (the abrupt shift from pleasure to business, the lack of anything like warm sentiment in the afterglow, the way both Deborah and Ava end up on the back foot, scrambling to figure out what exactly is going on), but it also re-stages the morning in the hotel room with Nina in episode 2.6, right down to the line about Ava looking tired while she was sleeping. And both times, we see Ava left reeling by this choice not to include her in the morning routine; it seems to tap into a lot of the loneliness she’s talked about feeling throughout the series--she wants someone to have those quiet moments of intimacy with, whether it’s familial or romantic. AND WHAT MAKES THIS EXTRA FUN is that the one single person we have seen waking Ava up is Deborah! Who doesn’t give a single shit if Ava is tired or looks tired. She wants Ava with her and now. And Ava, confused and bleary-eyed as she is, hops right the fuck to! She’s being included and wanted, and that’s fucking huge! Deborah is the one person in her life who consistently seems to get (intuitively, sometimes inadvertently) what Ava is looking for!

4. Random but I love that QVC becomes this good thing. It’s such an integral part of how Deborah is dismissed (including by Ava early in S1 as the “crazy QVC muumuu lady”), and here it becomes the vehicle for her to launch herself on her own terms (even when those are terms so many other people have scoffed at over the years) 

5. The staff all together! So good! Some of the ensemble moments this season have felt a little gimmicky or weaker, but this felt true to the characters and was a sweet moment away from the chaos at an overly dim dinner table tucked away in the kitchen, and I loved every fucking second of it. Also Josefina is a gem. And her letting Ava in because she’s decided that she’s sticking around?? MY HEART 

6. Oh my god the party...PHEW! Deborah giving Ava the writing credit she wouldn’t take on her own! The wink! The moment of Deborah’s realization that Ava’s gonna keep downplaying her own integral contributions if she doesn’t step in and do something! That rooftop conversation! I have never thought we were getting canon Ava/Deborah, but I spent a long moment thinking they were gonna kiss right then and there. It was devastatingly, heartbreakingly intimate, and I wanna bottle that and use it to sprinkle over the parts of the season I’m more meh about

7. The lawsuit: so I was right in my predictions that Deborah would drop it by the end of the season, but oh my heart broke at Ava’s little face when Jimmy tells her (and she has fucking QVC on in the background??!?) - ANYWAY I need there to be a fic where the courthouse becomes their Empire State Building, their Brooklyn Bridge, their romcom moment of “I’ll be there on our arraignment hearing date - if you’re not there, I’ll know...” (and I know I’ll probably end up writing one myself, hush now, I hate feeling so known!)

I’m sure there’s other stuff bopping around in my head, but I’ll leave it here. Thanks to anyone still reading along with my rambling thoughts at this point in the season <3 you’re all gems! See ya in the tags 

[descent-into-the-rift]

With all love and respect to all of you humans, if you don’t want to ship Byler then don’t ship it, that’s your choice, there’s a LOT more to every Stranger Things character and to the Stranger Things’ plot itself than the romances within and what you ship or don’t ship is up to you and I’m very happy for you, but don’t use ‘Mike doesn’t care about Will’ as an argument against them cause man seriously? Like that’s not just offensive to Byler, it’s offensive to the whole damn point of bonding, friendship and development in Stranger Things.

You people are great but you really cover your ears and shut your eyes in the scenes that don’t suit you. You say Mike and Will are just friends right before blabbering about how they don’t give half a damn about each other.

Nono, in fact, Mike and Will are great friends as long as it suits you, am i right?

Byler or not, Mike and Will are the best and oldest friends amongst the party.

Beside him going up to him when they were what, 4 years old and asking him to be his first and very best friend. He had been told not just by the cops but his own mother to not go looking for Will with how dangerous it was and he instantly went looking for him, ignoring everyone that told him not to the same way you jump right over broken glass. He was literally crying and screaming the moment he found out Will was ‘dead’. And the instant he found the slightest chance that Will might actually be alive he took it like his life depended on it.

When he realised he was right saying there was something off about Will not arriving to school yet, he’s the only one of the three of them [Mike, Lucas and Dustin] that, for starters, is too concerned to argue about whether Mirkwood’s from Lord of The Rings or The Hobbit. Of course they’re all worried, but Mike’s visibily the most affected.

I’m only referring to season 1 because I swear I’ve already seen 5 people say Mike didn’t even care so much about finding Will in season 1, and at least 3 people reblogged that one gifset I made about Lucas and Will to say “I don’t get why y’all ship Byler when Lucas was much more determined to find Will than Mike ever was in s1/when Mike didn’t even care as much” and listen to me - DON’T USE MY BYCLAIR GIFSET TO SHIT ON BYLER. Byclair is their own duo/ship with their own potential, don’t go around tryna put a vs. between them and Byler when they’re both just fine.

Anyway,

If you think it’s an absolute coincidence that Mike and Joyce share the exact same confidence in Will being alive, that his hug with his mother after Will’s ‘death’ was the only one that was paralleled to Joyce and Jonathan’s hug, and that both him and Joyce were the first and most determined to want to look for Will then think away, I do not care.

But don’t go saying Bylers delusionally make stuff up when Mike not caring about Will is one of the best jokes I’ve heard so far.

Thank you.

[holocene-days]

i think i’ve figured out the timeline for season 1 of shadow and bone!!!

so as we all know, six of crows takes place two years after the shadow and bone trilogy ends, however the show is combining the two together and timeline wise it’s a bit confusing on how they’re gonna do it but i think i got it

the photos today really helped me understand what they’re gonna do. the shadow and bone plot line is gonna be the exact same nothing will change there, however the six of crows plot line will only have like half of the six of crows book, that half being all the flashbacks and backstory. we’re gonna get jesper’s gambling and early days as a sharpshooter, nina and matthias’ shipwreck/survival/betrayal storyline, kaz and jordie’s backstory, kaz buying out inej’s contract from tante heleen and initiating her into the dregs.

this idea made me nervous when i first thought of it but i think it will actually be so much more helpful for the story in the following seasons. for example, during the heist when they’re all in the truck and kaz passes out, they can just quickly flash to the thought of his brother instead of having to give us the entire backstory and disrupt the visual narrative of the show. all they have to do is show it for like 2 seconds and we totally understand what he’s feeling without having to have the whole story presented to us there. this will also apply well for both kaz and inej during the bathroom scene in crooked kingdom, or any other scene where characters are experiencing a profound moment that is deeply affected by their past trauma.

this season is very much going to be an introduction to the crows as opposed to their heist adventure. and wylan hasn’t been casted yet because there isn’t a wylan this season because he’s only present for the heist and isn’t part of the dregs beforehand. and it also makes more sense because they have three shadow and bone books but only two six of crows books so they have to figure out a way to split it right. and leigh has said that six of crows is a trilogy worth of content split between two books.

this is how i understand it:

season 1: shadow and bone, crows’ backstory

season 2: siege and storm, ice court heist

season 3: ruin and rising, crooked kingdom

(season 3 is gonna be FUCKING INSANE if that’s the case oh my gooooooodd)

i feel really good about it and i think it’s a very smart choice for the narrative structure of the show and will allow for the shadow and bone storyline to mix well with the crows’ (in this season at least. i genuinely have no idea how they’re gonna have siege and storm and the ice court heist happen at the same time). april 23 genuinely cannot come soon enough!!!!!!!!!!!!

i gotta credit my bestie teresa @teaandtree for coming up with some of this as well and for breaking it down through many audio messages with me at like 11pm as we figured out the whole storyline lmao

[twstarchives]

Hello! There used to be a list about which characters have mentioned to have siblings/be only childs but I can't find it anymore ;; do you still have it or was I imagining it? If so, do you know what is there so far about each student's family life?

Riddle

Parents

Riddle lives with his mom, the status of his father is unknown. He has implied that his parents don’t get along.¹ Both parents are magic doctors, but his mother seems to be more well-known. To Riddle, she is extremely overbearing and planned out nearly every second of his life: controlled his education, his schedule, his diet, his clothing, the supplies he used, and which friends he could have. She put a heavy emphasis on studying and always being the best.²

1. Riddle Ghost Marriage voice lines 2. Main Story 1-19

Ace

Parents

Older brother

Grandmother

His brother is 7 years older than him and a Heartslabyul alumni.¹ He seems to have often messed around with Ace & make him angry on purpose, but it was all in good nature; they are very close. Apparently his brother was even more excited than their parents when they found out Ace got into NRC.² Ace has also mentioned his grandma a few times; she taught him about the Ghost Camera³ and warned him about magic blotting.⁴

1. Ace School Uniform PS 2. Ace Ceremony Robes voice lines 3. Main Story 0-19 4. Main Story 2-4

Deuce

Mother

Grandmother

He is an only child¹ and loves his mom very much. The entire reason he’s trying so hard to be an honors student is so that he can become a son she can be proud of. He once cried when she called him to tell him just that.²

The only time his grandma was mentioned was when he told a story of his mom crying to her on the phone, thinking she’d failed as a parent (during Deuce’s delinquent days).³

1. Jack Dorm Uniform PS 2. Wish Upon A Star 12 3. Main Story 1-13

Trey

Parents

Younger brother

Younger sister

His family runs a bakery. As the oldest child, he often had to take care of his little siblings (ie. ensuring they all brushed their teeth at night)¹. They all would pester him to bake them desserts,² but he cared for them a lot—one time his little brother really wanted to go to a live magift game so Trey spent his whole allowance to get him a ticket.³

1. Trey School Uniform PS 2. Ace School Uniform PS 3. Trey Wish Upon A Star voice lines

Cater

Parents

Two older sisters

Because of his dad’s work as a banker, their family had to move about once every two years, all over the world.¹ Cater hadn’t had any long-lasting friends because of this.

He has described his sisters as “unreasonable,” his dislikes in his profile are listed as “having to suck up to his sisters,” and when everyone was going home for winter holiday, he said he’d rather stay with Trey’s family.² In his voice lines, he mentioned that he can’t relate to Yuu feeling homesick because his sisters would just be waiting for him at home. His sisters rated everything by how cute it was, and if something “wasn’t cute” to them then Cater would have to redo it.³

They would get more excited about his birthday than he would, and buy him all kinds of presents he didn’t particularly like (such as stuffed animals, dolls, perfumes, soaps, etc). But they weren’t trying to be intentionally mean, and recently have started paying attention to what he really wants.⁴

When he was about 10 years old, his mom and sisters were always baking sweets. Cater was excited about this at first because it meant he could get lots of treats, but his sisters would make him eat everything. If he refused, they’d look so disheartened, and Cater couldn’t say no to that, so he kept forcing himself to eat. Because of this, he now hates sweets.⁴

1. Cater Scary Dress PS 2. Main Story 4-3 3. Cater Lab Coat PS 4. Cater Birthday PS

Leona

Falena (older brother)

Cheka (nephew)

Sister-in-law

Leona is a member of Afterglow Savannah’s royal family. His brother and his sister-in-law are the current rulers, and Cheka is next in line to the throne. Leona has constantly felt inferior and bitter that he and Falena are treated so differently based off nothing but birth order.¹ But he greatly respects his sister-in-law; she’s one of the only people he would never talk back to.² Cheka is very affectionate and clingy towards him.

1. Main Story 2-27 2. Ruggie’s Chat w/ Jack

Jack

Parents

Younger brother

Younger sister

Grandparents

Jack is the oldest in his family with an 11yo brother and a 7yo sister. He and his siblings are all very athletic; they used to play tag with each other for 6 hours on end.¹ Jack has said that wolf beastmen pick one soulmate to spend their whole life with, and his parents + grandparents are always at each others’ side, when they wake up, go on walks, eat, and go to sleep.²

1. Jack Happy Beans Day PS 2. Ace Ghost Marriage PS

Ruggie

Mother (deceased)

Father (unknown)

Grandmother

Ruggie's mother "became a star up in the sky" shortly after giving birth to him. His father went away for work and never came back, and to this day Ruggie doesn't know what happened to him.¹

He lives with his grandma in the slums of Afterglow Savannah. They were poor and struggled to find food to eat, but his grandma could make delicious food out of any ingredients they could find. Ruggie learned to cook from her.² He described her as very kind but also tough.

Ruggie seemed to have taken care of the other kids in the neighborhood too-- when everyone went home over winter break, he brought home leftovers from the cafeteria to feed his grandma and the kids.³

1. Ruggie Birthday PS 2. Ruggie School Uniform PS 3. Main Story 4-3

Azul

Mother

Stepfather

Grandmother

His mom fell in love with her divorce lawyer while separating from Azul’s biological father. She’s also the owner of the Ashengrottoes’ famous ristorante in the Coral Sea.¹ Because of their business, Azul grew up a foodie and was exposed to a lot of different foods from a young age.²

His stepfather is kind and honest, and very clever when it comes to his work. Azul respects him and they seem to have a good relationship. He taught him about law and contracts.¹

Everyone in the Ashengrotto family is a mage, but Azul’s grandmother is said to be especially powerful. She was known for helping those in need, and very “merciful,” just like Azul.¹

1. Azul Birthday PS 2. Azul Dorm Uniform PS

Jade & Floyd

Parents

Their parents started teaching them self-defense since they were little.¹ We don’t know many details of their childhood, but there was an interesting exchange between them—Jade once said “he made the right choice choosing Floyd as his partner,” and Floyd replied that “he’s glad Jade is the one that survived with him, too.”²

In Floyd’s Wish story, he brought up how their father told him to buy a nice pair of shoes when he went on land because “men who don’t pay attention to the small details get patronized” so your appearance is very important. Hearing this gave Idia and Ortho an uneasy feeling about Mr. Leech.

1. Jade PE Uniform voice lines 2. Floyd Dorm Uniform PS

Kalim

Parents

30-40 younger siblings

Kalim’s father comes from a long line of merchants and is supposedly the greatest one in the family. But despite how busy he is, he’s always wearing a smile. Kalim’s mother is the only one in the family who can use magic. She’s described as very kind, is always praising Kalim, and almost never gets angry.¹

Kalim doesn’t know the exact number of siblings he has, but he can put names to faces for all of them, and he often plays hide and seek with them in their house. He doesn’t come from a royal family (they’re just extremely rich), but some of his distant relatives are actual royalty.² One of his distant cousins apparently owns a tiger.³ His family has about 100 servants along with specialists like a personal doctor⁴ and a beast tamer.

1. Kalim Birthday PS 2. Main Story 4-8 3. Silver Lab Coat PS 4. Main Story 4-17

Jamil

Parents

Najma (younger sister)

His family has served the Asims for generations. His parents knew Jamil was a very bright child, but they insisted that he must always let Kalim be better than him, and would reprimand him for talking too casually to his young master.¹ Jamil seems to share a typical sibling relationship with his sister Najma. They often bicker with each other, but they’re on good terms. Najma used to bake him cookies for his birthday² and they would also get into fights because she’d tell him his cooking looked too plain.³ Jamil gave his VDC plus-one ticket to her during Episode 5.

Najma made her first in-game appearance during the Aleab Naria event. Their father had sent her to deliver a message in-person to Jamil, since he isn’t versed in technology likes PCs and phones and didn’t trust that a text would suffice.⁴

Najma claims that she and Jamil look nothing alike, but they tend to make near-identical expressions. She was relieved to see that he has a few friends at NRC because he never talks about them whenever he comes home.⁴ In one scene, Jamil reminds her to wipe her hands before eating and gives her a wet wipe, and she huffs at him to not treat her like a child. Trey notes how well Jamil looks after her, but Cater thinks he is a little bit overprotective.

1. Main Story 4-36 2. Jamil Birthday PS 3. Jamil Dorm Uniform PS 4. Aleab Naria 3-4, 3-5, 3-7

Vil

Eric (father)

Vil’s father is an extremely famous actor and goes by the stage name Eric Venue. Even the Leeches’ father is a fan of some of his movies.¹ Vil has mentioned that his dad would come home dressed in special effects makeup & costumes every Halloween,² and also used to read him stories about the Beautiful Queen.³

1. Vil Scary Dress PS 2. Vil Scary Dress voice lines 3. Scary Monsters 3-2

Epel

Parents

Grandparents

Aunt & Uncle (uncle is biological)

Male Cousin

Epel’s family lives on an apple farm that’s been around for generations. They all live in the same house. His village is also made up of farmers, and they often help each other out during the busy season and have big barbecues together. It feels like they’re one big family.¹

His relatives often send him apples from home since they have such an abundance of them. They seem to have some business struggles; Epel taught himself how to beautifully carve apples when he was young because many were blemished and wouldn’t otherwise sell.² He has also mentioned wanting to make a potion that strengthens weak apple trees to make his grandpa happy.³

Besides Epel, his grandma and great-grandma are the only ones in the family who can use magic.⁴ They ride brooms to pick apples that are too high to reach on foot. Epel wanted to help them when he was little so everyday he would get on a broom and try hopping up and down, and then one day it worked! Ever since then he’s helped with that task as well.

1. Epel Birthday PS 2. Epel School Uniform PS 3. Epel Lab Coat voice lines 4. Epel Ceremony Robes voice lines / Birthday PS

Idia & Ortho

???

The Shrouds are a noble family and famous for some reason, but Idia has said that being from a noble family isn’t all that great.¹ When he was worrying about being seen at the entrance ceremony, he expected people might gossip about how he’s from “the cursed Shroud family,” and that he’ll “spread misfortune to them.”² At another time, he mentioned that the audience would be apprehensive about what kind of “weird research” he did if he had to present his research on stage.³

1. Idia PE Uniform PS 2. Idia Ceremony Robes PS 3. Main Story 5-3

Lilia, Malleus, Silver

Malleus’ grandmother

Lilia was one of the Queen of the Valley of Thorns’ most trusted soldiers when he used to fight for the royal family.¹ In Cater’s Lab Coat story, they created mandrakes that reflected parts of themselves, and Lilia’s was said to “carry the cry of a tragic hero.”

He has watched over Malleus “ever since he had an eggshell over his head.” An infant Malleus once singed Lilia’s bangs by breathing fire and Lilia was so proud that he raised a glass of tomato juice to him.²

Malleus is the heir to the Valley of Thorns, a descendant of the king “who rules over all creatures of the night,” and his only living relative is his grandmother, the current Queen of the Valley. He spent much of his childhood alone in the castle. He used this time to learn how to play all kinds of stringed instruments. His grandmother is so busy that she shouldn’t even have spare time to write him letters, but every year on his birthday, she sends him one without fail, along with rose seeds from the garden by their castle.³

Long after Malleus had grown up, both he and Lilia took in baby Silver for an unknown reason. Silver thought he was his biological dad when he was little, and continues to refer to him as “Father.” They lived deep in the forest in the Valley of Thorns before coming to NRC. Apparently Silver was very easy to take care of; he would fall right to sleep after eating Lilia’s homemade food.⁴

At one point, Sebek also became one of Lilia’s pupils. He and Silver are the only two from their generation living in the Valley.⁵ When they were little, Lilia would have them undergo training like soldiers, but then he realized he should raise them more like kids, and started making their training more fun. He had them play tag in forests crawling with beasts, hide and seek in vast deserts, and “the floor is lava” in the mountains of needles.⁶

1. Silver Ceremony Robes 2. Lilia PE Uniform PS 3. Malleus Birthday PS 4. Lilia Lab Coat voice lines 5. Sebek School Uniform voice lines 6. Lilia Birthday PS

Sebek

Parents

Older brother

Older sister

Grandfather

Sebek’s mother is a nocturnal faerie and his father is a human who works as a dentist. They met when his mother had an appointment at his clinic. She was immediately charmed and courted him despite her surroundings being against her marrying a human. Now, she works at the clinic as his assistant.¹

Sebek greatly respects his mother and raves about how she’s extremely gifted with magic and has a strong sense of justice. His opinion of his dad, on the other hand, is much different—his dad seems very loving and often showers his children in praises, sweets, and gifts, but it drives Sebek crazy. He doesn’t understand how his mother saw any appeal in him.¹

Since his parents were often busy with their clinic, Sebek spent his childhood running off to visit his grandpa, or fishing and playing in the water with his siblings. Based on the fact that Sebek and Silver were said to be the only ones in their generation living in the Valley,² his siblings are most likely considerably older than him.

All we know about his grandpa is that Malleus also knew him, and mentioned that Sebek shares his hot-blooded temper.³

1. Sebek Birthday PS 2. Sebek School Uniform voice lines 3. Scary Monsters event story

No current info: Rook

Last updated: July 27, 2021

[kyrieanne]

I haven’t posted in like, forever, but Season 2 of Bridgerton drops in a few days and reviews are saying it’s great, but deviates from the book more than Season 1 did…which I TOTALLY AM HERE FOR for lots of geeky writer reasons….

…but it’s got me thinking that they’re methodically holding the original material a bit more loosely with each season for books 1-3, in part, because books 4-6 all take place at the exact same time (give or take a few weeks) and the plots of this 3 books intertwine.

For the life of me I can’t see any reason when adapting those novels NOT to break from the 1 book/1 main couple per season set up that worked very neatly for books 1-3 when adapting it to screen…again for lots of geeky writer reasons I’m happy to expound upon. To me, the obvious choice is to tell the love stories of books 4-6 overlapped across a couple seasons. Still maybe have a main focus couple per season, but there is no way to get away with not majorly developing the other couples across seasons and compressing the timeline between seasons.

(Side note: if this season ends with the masquerade ball set at the beginning of book 3 I will take it as confirmation that they are already breaking the neat & tidy ending each season and moving more toward a cliffhanger type ending to set up the next season…)

Alternatively, you break up the timeline and separate them into three very different plots…which impacts huge character arcs (looking at you Eloise & Francesca). And why do that just to stick to a format you invented because no one before adapted a romance series like this to screen? If you made the rules you should be the first to feel free to break them. Especially, when considering the story telling advantages of both the novel and the screen - they are different so why not lean into each of their strengths when telling at its heart, the same story?

I’m mostly posting this to see if anyone can point me to any other posts within the Bridgerton fandom speculating on the overall adaptation approach of the series? I can’t be the only one churning this kinda thing over?!?