#Isabelle (mentioned)

[bookishjules]

just saw someone say max lightwood's death was unnecessary, so much so that they said it was one of the things the show got right, not killing him.. as if he wasn't created to die. as if his death didn't serve as a gut-wrenching revelation of just how fucked up sebastian is and what he's willing to do to get what he wants. as if his death didn't make everything with sebastian personal for the younger lightwoods in a way it wouldn't have otherwise been, because he may not be their brother but he is their brother's murderer. as if his death didn't leave izzy in enough raw pain and guilt that the walls around her heart flickered and weakened. as if his death didn't heighten alec's fear of losing someone enough to make him insecure and vulnerable to camille. as if his death didn't snowball into maryse and robert's divorce and the growth they both gained from that, including, might i add, an increased appreciation and respect for their children.

was max's death sad? yes. was it made more so by his innocence and youth? absolutely. but that was the point. max's death is a crucial turning point in the series and to dismiss it as unnecessary does the series and characters (and author) a huge disservice.

[amphibianaday]

day 1421

[389]

Brand New Cherry Flavor (S01E06)

[a-literal-toaster-wtf]

bbc ghosts fandom can we plsplspls pls talk about isabelle higham more pls. she was under the impression that the love of her life didn’t love her back and didn’t have the guts to tell her to her face, and then he died defending another woman’s honour in her own backyard. and then coerced into an unfulfilling courtship based on materialism and prestige rather than actual love while she was vulnerable. like that is so horrible and fucked up i have so much love for isabelle where are the isabelle fans where are they pls!!!!!!

[fictionalreads]

This Was Never Meant to Be What It Feels Like (Part 2)

A/N: Soooooo I couldn't help myself. Ya'll really showed me love on part one and it encouraged me to write this part. I'll admit this isn't my favorite piece of writing but it's necessary cause it sets up part 3😅 Give me a few days at least for that one though. Hope y'all like it. 18+/Minors DNI

Part 1 Part 3

Pairing: Armando Aretas x Original Female Character

Fandom: Bad Boys Movies

Song I listened to while writing: Back To Love by Robert Glasper featuring SiR and Alex Isley.

Prompt: It's been six months since Armando left Shay but things feel unfinished for him.

Warnings ⚠️: Talk of smut (y'all I can't write that shit, I tried and it was trash so I just talk around it)

Armando was only supposed to be in LA for a couple days. He was still a wanted man and he didn’t exactly enjoy putting himself at risk of being caught, but it was unavoidable. A contact had needed a job done and since being on the run, he wasn’t afforded the option of being picky when it came to money. Besides, Martinez had been helpful in getting him jobs so he considered the extra risk a favor.

Nobody wanted to work with a snitch. 

It didn’t matter that the feds had him serving life and he was just trying to survive, hopefully shave off enough time to not die in a cell. He was a rat and had nothing but enemies on both sides. Mierda, his parents had really screwed him over. His mother had ensured he would always be seen as a criminal and his father had ensured every criminal saw him as a traitor. He was destined for a life of solitude. 

Then he met Shay.

He had been eating at a restaurant frequented by his target, canvassing the place, when he heard her laugh. Usually he would ignore other patrons as he did his job but there was something so uninhibited about the sound that it captivated him. He looked up to find the source and saw her head thrown back in obvious joy, curly hair flowing freely behind her. Her eyes were damn near shut, smile big and bright. 

He was in LA for work but a little play never hurt anybody so he had his waitress send a drink to her and watched as he was pointed out. She lifted the drink he sent in a silent thanks and he raised his glass back, nodding at her with a smirk. He was aware when she had left and he finished his own meal and work soon after. He was unsurprised to find her waiting outside for him. That was the beginning of them.

He had thought once he had slept with her, they would both be satisfied and she’d be out of his system. A win-win situation, truly. But there was something about her that had him acting stupid. After he took care of Martinez’s problem, he laid low for a week, letting the heat die down. When it was safe enough to go back to Mexico, he just…didn’t. Instead he went and found her. He expected to have to work for it seeing as he left in the middle of the night and didn’t call for a week, but she let him back in.

So instead of going home like he should have, like he would have if he was smart, he stayed for her. He knew he should get the hell outta dodge, but he wanted to know her. So he called Martinez and picked up a couple more jobs he needed done out in LA and the surrounding area. When he wasn’t working he learned everything about her like it was his job, careful to never give her any real information, steering the conversation back to her every time. He was enchanted by her beauty, enthralled by her passion. Everything he learned about her got him closer to that dreaded L word.

Then he fucked up.

It had been three months of playing this dangerous game when she asked about him. He kew the day would come eventually when she wouldn’t allow him to just brush off her questions but he was somehow still unprepared and suspicious of her motives when it came. She had asked to know about his parents and he should’ve just fed her some bullshit story but he just got quiet. He realized he wanted to tell her. He wanted her to know him, the real him, and still choose him. So he had told her an edited version of his parents, only to immediately realize his mistake. He didn’t want to, but he was going to have to leave.

So after fucking out his feelings, he left. He went back to Mexico and told himself to forget about her. Except he couldn’t get her out of his head. For six months he was constantly reminded of her. Every woman that flirted with him was compared to her, every one of them coming up short. Every time he smelled shea butter and coconut, he thought of her freshly showered. Every time he needed a release, he pictured her blissed out face, his hand not nearly as good as the real thing. So he did something even dumber than staying in LA for three months.

He went back.

He watched her for a few days, Shay never knowing he was there. He watched as she went out with friends. He watched as they encouraged her when some fucker had the audacity to step to her and flirt. He watched as she went on a date with the man. A better man would have taken that as a sign that she had moved on and he should too, but he never claimed to be a better man. He watched as she gave restricted smiles, restricted laughs and came to the conclusion that this ‘date’ wasn’t doing it for her.

So he left them at the basic ass restaurant the guy chose and went to her apartment to wait for her. He found his way inside like he used to and set up on her armchair, turning on her lamp so as not to completely scare her. He waited almost an hour before he heard her keys in the door.

She clocked the light being on the second she walked in the door. 

To prevent her from running and calling the cops because she didn’t know it was him, he spoke, “hola Amorcita.”

“Armando?” She question in disbelief.

He stood and took in his fill of her before telling her what he’d been thinking all night, “you look beautiful. Nice night?”

She shut the door behind her and cautiously stepped past the kitchen to reach the living room. She was still too far, standing at the edge of her breakfast bar across the room. Why wouldn’t she come closer? On one hand, she could be pissed that he left her for six months. Something told him it wasn’t that though. If she was pissed she wouldn’t be trying to keep herself as far from him as possible, as if out of reach. No, instead she’d probably get close enough to slap him. A heartbreaking realization hit him. “Are you afraid of me now, Amorcita?”

Shay stood tall, facing him head on. “Your rap sheet says I should be,” she bit out.

There it was. The confirmation she knew who he was now, that there would be no more hiding behind omissions of truth. He tilted his head in contemplation, “that’s not what I asked.” Was she not phased by who he was? Or was she just biding her time?

When she didn’t say anything else, he slowly walked to her. He could feel the energy in the room shift and amplify. He still wasn’t sure if she was gonna knee him and run or invite his touch. He wasn’t sure if he could take the betrayal from her, but he would understand. Any sane person would run from the likes of him.

When he stood mere inches from her he ghosted his fingers over her arm, noticing her intake of breath. “Are you afraid of me now, Amorcita?” He repeated, his voice barely louder than a whisper.

Shay looked up, her eyes meeting his, “no.”

“Maybe you should be,” he brokenly admitted.

She lifted a hand to cradle his face, “You’ll never hurt me that way.” She said it so surely, as if she could see into him, see his soul. There was no doubt in her voice, her sureness both a surprise that she felt that way and a relief that she understood.

It didn’t escape his notice, however, that she was very distinct in her words. He may not have hurt her physically but he had hurt her all the same.

“I’m sorry for leaving, Alma.” He turns his head to place a kiss on her palm.

She gave him a slight smile. “I get why you did.”

“Doesn’t mean it hurt you any less or make me any less sorry.” He placed his hands on her waist, pulling her even closer, her hands going around his neck. Her scent took over his senses, clouding his thoughts.

She didn’t refute what he said, just reached up to press her lips gently against his in a quiet acceptance. When she pulled back he stared into her eyes, wondering if this was real, wondering how she could be real. He saw nothing but the love he wished he could keep. Unable to stop himself, he drew her in for a longer more passionate kiss. It was slow as if they had all the time in the world, or rather if time and the rest of the world didn’t exist. He hoped she felt the words he couldn’t say aloud.

He felt her hands stop their playing in his short hair and move towards his shirt buttons. Before she got to the first one, he pulled back and held her hands in his own, needing to tell her, owing her and her loving heart the truth.

“I can’t stay.”

Eye to eye, love and determination shining bright in hers, she whispered, “I know.”

From there, clothes shed quickly and they made their way to the bedroom. They both knew this was a goodbye, closure for them both. Their last attempt at an ending had felt lacking, like there was more to be said. This time it was all laid out in front of them. Emotions may not have been said but they were felt and known, the reality of their situation acknowledged.

This time they would both take what they needed, giving them a more satisfying conclusion.

After she fell asleep he fixed his gaze on her white ceiling, wishing things could be different for them, wishing he could stay and give her the life she deserved rather than a few memories she’ll hopefully look back on with fondness. He allowed himself a few minutes more of wishful thinking and soaking in the feeling of being with her. When it came time to leave, he hated himself for it, but he laid her on the bed and quietly collected his things. Finding a pen and a scrap piece of paper, he scribbled out a note for her, leaving it where he should have been laying next to her. He spared one last look at her before leaving her for good this time.

If you ever need anything, find Detective Mike Lowrey. Miami PD.

-A

A/N: How we feeling about this part? Let me know what your favorite line was in the comments! Don't be shy with the comments and reblogs, they motivate me. Likes are appreciated too!

Translations:

Mierda - Shit/Damn

Amorcita - Little Love

Alma - Soul/soulmate

Taglist: If you request to be on the taglist, you're agreeing that you're 18 or older.

@yeahnohoneybye

[livvylives]

clace incest era obviously sucks but I do appreciate how literally all their friends are weirdly okay with it. like idk it's fun. anyone else would be raising multiple moral objections but not Simon, Alec, and Izzy! they're the og ride or die friends because this was somehow not a deal breaker. they at most joke about it after the fact, friendship goals ig

[lukaskyle-moved]

THE WALKING DEAD: DARYL DIXON 2.03 "L'Invisible"

[eliotquillon]

reread city of glass earlier today and lowkey the next time someone asks me why i’m so insane about simon/isabelle i’m just going to shove the whole book at them because it is absolutely incredible. they spend pretty much the entire book together and the one time they’re separated it’s because simon’s in JAIL starving to death and can’t stop talking about how much he likes isabelle and how ‘brightly she burns’. literal first thing she does when he’s being introduced to aline and sebastian is announce ‘i kissed him once’ and then when she finds out he’s going home she starts pouting and complaining. most normal couple in the world who are definitely only hanging out together out of ‘convenience’ yeah sure

[batmanfruitloops]

Buckle in, boys, I've got a lot of old Oswald sketches and comics to share,

Starting off with some young Ozzie; he's not well adjusted to being a human at this point, so he's very much still a penguin at heart. He never did like to be spotlit in such a way, though.

Isabel's original concept! Forgot I gave her the nickname Izzie. It's very cute, though!

(Add all alt text!)

Oz and Iz have been through a lot for a long time. Isabel knows how to calm the storm that is Oz's anger, but not ringmaster Cross'.

The siblings (in bond, not by blood) do their best to protect one another, but as children, it was understandably a lot harder.

Comfort is more easily given, at least, and something that Oz doesn't shy away from when it's about Iz or his penguins.

Mid life Oz and Izzie. These were my first sketches of the two interacting, so I hadn't actually thought of their ages during this interaction, nor is Oz's speech really fitting anymore. Our Oz isn't very talkative, and when he is, he's not as eloquent. (I know he's not speaking that eloquently here either, I just couldn't think of a better word)

Featuring Isabel's poodle companion, Bon Bon! She's just cute,

This covers Oz and Izzie as their ages that'll be featured in the main comics. Oz is finally able to take his rightful place as the Cobblepot heir, per his parents passing, but it ends up not being quite as grandiose as he and Izzie were expecting.

Rather, it's a bit disappointing. But at least he has more capital and social standing to take care of his remaining circus family members.

- Sarsee

full sketch pages under cut:

A couple of these sketches may look familiar if you've seen these two posts from me,

[clairedsfield]

sdl ep. 298

[jonahmagnus]

I make them transgender. Okay?

Headcannons below the cut ✂️!

Isabeau (he/him): Isabeau wanted to name himself Isaboy because he thought that would be funny (it is) but his mom wouldn't let him legally change his name to that so he chose Isabeau, which is exactly two letters off from Isabel. People still call him Isaboy as a joke, though.

The first person he told was Max, both because xe (Max) is ambiguously transgender in every universe, and because xir dad cracked his egg by showing him that masculinity can be whimsy and joy and not just the hardened role hes been forced to play until now. This realization would probably come after a short but very intense femme phase after whatever happens to his grandpa happens (exorcism hopefully) where he tried to embrace traditional "girly" things and while the freedom was nice he hated it so bad and eventually realized he was just forcing himself into another box. Him and Max are the Buzzcut Brothers during highschool.

Anna (she/they): Anna wanted to name herself Miku, and then remembered that she was white. She decided to name herself after the titular Anna from Fr/ozen, which is lame but its a "fucking Mildred?" situation where her friends are begrudgingly supportive. You can't really see it well, but her hairties are the same magenta as Miku's!!

The realization would come after like... years of repression and thinking that feeling Wrong is a problem unique to her and that Nobody Else Has Ever Felt This Way. The catalyst is an argument with Max over it which xe says "just google it, stupid". She does and then stares haunted at her computer screen and the posters of pretty anime girls up on her walls. How her favorite stories all feature transformation. She probably tells Doorman first, at like midnight, and then frets over her contact list before she calls up Max. Xe comes over grumbling the whole time but still supportive has she sobs her eyes out over this realization and gets snot into xir sweater. Xe makes fun of her name but nicely. And then xe asks if she wants to hear any other diagnosises that Max thinks she has. She says "no thank you I've realized enough for tonight ♡" and she is later diagnosed with autism, ocd, bipolar personality disorder and depression.

Crash (they/them): Crash names themself both after the titiular bandicoot and in honor of Crush, the guy who strangled them the day they realized they where nonbinary. This name is awesome and literally the perfect choice for them, its the perfect amount of absurd to suit them and also a normal enough sounding word that people would do a double take when they introduce themselves.

The first person they tell is honestly? Probably Rj. After a few weeks of Knowing that their... not cis, they track down Rj when their alone and explain the situation to them. Their super supportive, obviously, and extremely excited to have cracked Crash's egg. They are delighted by the name and in honor of the choice Rj takes Crash out to egg some houses with the jang. Crash tells the rest of the jang next, with Johnny being deeply enthused by the same they chose and concinved them to try and let Ollie roll them like a bowling ball. Ollie does so and another beautiful friendship is formed. Stephen solemnly tells them "Im proud a' you Crash, gender is a scam made up by the goverment to track our bathroom usage and its pretty cool that you're sticking it to the man like that". Crash nods equally solemnly in response, appreciating how thats fully just a fucking insane thing to say. They nervously tell Isabeau (who at that point is probably still Isabel) over text the next day, who then hunts them down to squeeze them in a hug.

Max (-/-): Max, of course, looks the same in every timeline. No matter what, they have a buzzcut and their name is Max. Cis girl? Buzzcut. Trans girl? Buzzcut. Trans guy? Buzzcut. Cis guy? Buzzcut. Nonbinary? You're never gonna belive it, but, they have a buzzcut. It/its situation in every timeline too. Doesnt matter the combo. She? She/it. Makes 'shit' puns about it. He/it? He is gonna "he/it" you with his car. They/it? Theres no pun for this one but it'll find a way to make one. It/its classic? Also no pun but it gets a boost to its attack speed so it doesnt really need one.

Max doesnt really come out to anyone. Xe doesnt feel the need to. You dont know its alphabet and you will never learn. If it feels like sharing xe will. If it doesn't, it wont. If you try and make it join a pronoun circle against its will, it will pull the god danm fire alarm. It will tell you its not cis but will not tell you in which way.

"Max, why dont you come join the pronoun circl-" "Spender, if you dont stop trying to get me to share my alphabet, Ill take a "she/it" on your work computer and pull the fire alarm"

[Plain text: "Max, why dont you come join the pronoun circl-"]

[isablooo]

Jonathan Harker reference sheet!

⁺. ⋆˙✧⋆꒷꒦꒷☽༺🦇༻☾꒷꒦꒷⋆✧˙⋆⊹

This is for my first comic project, Dracula's Guest, which will be a short one-shot about Jonathan's adventures as he travels through Munich, based on Bram Stoker's working notes for Dracula and the deleted second chapter. Keep an eye out if you want to see more of your good friend Jonathan Harker!

[girddlepatchilles]

Post 10 of your fave female characters

[accirax]

Who Will Win the Disventure Camp Comeback Challenge?

Hello Disventure Camp nation!! It's been a while.

While I haven't had the time or motivation to cover Carnival of Chaos with weekly speculation, I have continued watching and enjoying the episodes as they release. In my opinion, this season is definitely shaping up to be their best so far, though there are certainly still milestone benchmarks they'll have to hit before we can say that for sure.

Speaking of which, between the latest exit interview confirming that the most recently eliminated player is the final premerger, and the YouTube community post stating that we'll be seeing eliminated players again come Saturday, it seems like we're finally at the point of this season's comeback challenge! A returning player seemed basically guaranteed given this season's huge episode count, but I'm still excited to see it play out.

So excited, in fact, that I'm coming out of my pseudo-DC-writing-retirement to speculate about which of the 8 eliminated contestants will be the one returning to the competition! Hoping to make this short and sweet, but... well, we'll see, lol. Onwards!

Spoilers for all of Disventure Camp through DC4 Episode 12, plus all of DC4's exit interviews up to that point.

This is going to be formatted much like my old DCAS Power Rankings, with a few exceptions. Firstly, there won't be a section recapping how last week's elimination impacted my overall score, because I don't have a prediction from last week, nor an overall score. Secondly (and more importantly), I won't be doing a trailer analysis section either.

Yes, this means that there's technically some information that I'm leaving on the cutting room floor, such as potentially what sort of challenge will be featured, but I have my reasons. The CoC trailers have typically been much more revealing than the DCAS ones. While that would actually be beneficial for the sake of this analysis, I've found that when I do wind up watching the trailers, I enjoy the actual episode less, because I've already seen a good chunk of the episode. I'm not willing to risk that for the sake of having slightly better predictions. Plus, I'm writing this post 100% for fun's sake, and analyzing the trailer doesn't sound fun at the moment.

So, basically all that to say, we'll be doing a numbered list, starting from the person who I think is least likely to come back, up to the one who I think is most likely to come back. That means our first ex-competitor will be...

#8: Amelie

Sorry Amelie fans, but I think there's basically a 0% chance that your girl will be back in the game. There are just too many things working against her.

Firstly, Amelie's arc already nicely wrapped up. She's sufficiently finished her journey of learning to value others, and I don't currently see any other loose threads in her character that a return would benefit. As compared to Alessio, her fellow super-early boot, I also think there's more fun and mystique in bringing back the first boot of the season than the second.

Amelie's return doesn't seem like it would benefit anyone else's development, either. Hannah was the only character she had a particularly well-developed relationship with, but I don't think that her return would help Hannah's character in any way, either. Amelie has likely already imparted whatever wisdom she had for Hannah, and if she hasn't, whatever's left could probably be covered in a finale/Loser's Motel episode, or in this very challenge.

And, perhaps most damningly, Amelie has already been teased to appear in TomJake season 2, should that series be funded. I suppose there is an argument to be made that ONC would like to flesh Amelie out further before giving her a cameo in another show, but to me, it feels like Amelie is already booked for her return elsewhere. All of these reasons combine to make me very confident that Amelie will not be returning to the competition.

#7: Marissa

It feels weird to put Marissa this low, because I feel like there are other characters out there who have more disqualifying traits than she does. Yet, I've chosen to put Marissa below them.

Truly, it's just a vibe check. Marissa is among a large rank of characters whose arcs seem to be complete, though they have some ongoing relationships with other characters that could be tapped into. We've already seen Marissa's aha moment with questioning whether the military is truly her calling, but she still has her relationship with Anastasia and the remnants of the girls' alliance as potential plot threads were she to come back.

Although, really, I think her relationship with Anastasia is the main reason she's this low. Don't get me wrong, I certainly think the anarissa ship has room to grow, given that the two of them didn't even officially become a couple, much less discuss anything deeper about how their relationship could grow. It just seems like Anastasia is going off on this corruption/villain arc of sorts that just began with Marissa's departure. Having Marissa come back would revert Anastasia to the state she was in before (or better, even, with Lynda gone), which would be kind of a bummer.

I don't think Marissa returning is impossible, but personally, I don't see the vision.

#6: Lynda

Speaking of "characters who probably have more disqualifying traits than Marissa," here's Lynda!

Lynda has one big obstacle obscuring her prospects of returning: the fact that she already just had a chance to get back into the game. Which, you know, she already failed.

Lynda was already facing accusations of plot armor prior to her first elimination, and if she came back now, I think we'd have to call those allegations accurate. All things considered, Lynda is pretty bad at the game of Disventure Camp, so giving her so many chances would start to feel pretty hokey. Stretching her non-elimination out over the course of four episodes would be a very perplexing move, from a writer's perspective.

However, Lynda seems like enough of a writer-and/or-fan-favorite character that I can see much more motivation behind bringing Lynda back than Amelie or Marissa. It could even be good for the story, in some ways! For Lynda's sake, it would be nice to give her a concrete win to show off to her family, and it would be pretty funny to watch Anastasia fully lose it over having to take Lynda out of the game for a third time. Especially if it was in a situation where Marissa was on the verge of coming back, but then Lynda snaked the win away from her last minute.

However, I don't think those minor upsides are enough to cancel out the downsides of giving Lynda yet another extra life. Fly high flop queen; I look forward to watching you be a hater from the bench.

#5: Ivy

Obviously, the elephant in the room (or the corner, as it were) is that Ivy was just eliminated. Bringing her back now would sort of feel like a "gotcha!"-- all of the drama involved in her elimination, such as Hannah's "big move" and Zaid's stated quest for revenge, would feel a little cheap if Ivy was out of the competition for less than an episode.

However, I dunno, I just see more potential in bringing Ivy back than I do with Marissa or Lynda! If Ivy were to return, it's not like every aspect of her elimination would be cancelled out. Zaid would still be pissed at Benji for trying to vote his girlfriend out, and Hannah still would have chosen to side with Isabel and Jade over Zaid and Ivy. The actual mechanics of the last episode would be undone, but the consequences wouldn't fully disappear.

That being said, I still don't think that Ivy will return. I'm just attempting to justify why I have her at 5/8 instead of even lower. Ivy could be brought back with a creative ploy, but there are better options out there that feel much more likely.

(I notice I've put all four eliminated women at the bottom. I'm sorry, women (/j))

#4: Alessio

I don't know how Alessio managed to wind up in the upper half of characters I'm considering for a comeback, but... here he is!

Logistically, there aren't any problems with bringing Alessio back. Although he did have a complete arc of finding his inspiration, he was such a minor character in his appearance that bringing him back could essentially be like introducing a new character into the show. His exit interview even mentions that he might decide to take a break from painting for a while, so I think it'd be funny if returned!Alessio had a new lease on life, and suddenly became an adrenaline junkie willing to try anything.

Alessio also has the benefit of having a relationship with Logan that could be further developed, while also starting on ground zero with the entirety of the Red Tribe (sans Isabel, if you count her). Tell me it wouldn't be funny to have Benji commission Alessio to draw him and Zaid being besties as some sort of treatise.

However, it's not all sunshine and rainbows for Alessio's prospects. His first issue is that Alessio is not very good at the game. He wasn't shown to have any aptitude for challenges, and he wasn't particularly social, either. If he's teamed up with Logan for the return challenge, that could help him win the comeback. But, I don't think he'd be much of a mover or a shaker in the game proper were he to come back, which isn't as fun as a character who would cause a major shakeup or revelation.

Even more pressing is the question of "who cares?" From what I've seen, Alessio is regarded as an excellent first boot, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the people want to see him do anything beyond that. Or, even if the fanbase wouldn't be opposed to seeing Alessio return, I can't help but feel like there are characters they'd rather see; characters who have more to do.

Alessio's return is likely to remain a pipe dream, but the lack of issues raised by victory are enough to leave him in plausible contention.

#3: Diego

Screw everybody else-- if you ask me, these remaining three characters are the only ones who have any real chance of being the one to come back into the season. I can say with 99% certainty that either Diego, Ted, or Tristan will be Carnival of Chaos' returnee. However, choosing between those three is, in my opinion, surprisingly difficult, and the main reason I was inspired to write this post. So, let's go through the pros and cons of each of these characters returning, starting with Diego.

The reason for bringing Diego back into the game is obvious: ONC wants to make more of those sweet, sweet yaoi dollars. Joking phrasing aside, the reason to bring Diego back would be to get more closure for his relationship with Spencer.

Or, maybe "closure" isn't the right way to put it. Their relationship does, at the moment, have a genuine ending: they didn't wind up together, with Spencer instead leaving Diego heartbroken, voting him out of the game. However, this bittersweet goodbye begs for some sort of continuation.

If there's any hope for diencer's happily ever after, they'll need more time to work things out than a Loser's Motel episode and/or finale can probably provide. (Yes, I know that Tom and Jake did it in that amount of time, but 1) Tom and Jake had a prior season of build up together, 2) Tom and Jake spent more of DCAS at least both in the game, even if they weren't on the same tribe, 3) Jake didn't actively orchestrate Tom's vote-out in DCAS, and 4) I at least felt like Tom and Jake's makeup was rushed, and I wouldn't be surprised if others agreed.) And, even if Diego and Spencer aren't meant to be, watching Spencer navigate the game with his greatest misdeed come back from the grave would obviously be compelling. I'd love to see them work out trying to rekindle an alliance, or watch Spencer grapple with having to vote Diego out again after everything he's done.

Given that, why do I still have Diego as my lowest ranked of the true contenders? Well, for one, Ted and Tristan are putting up really good fights, too. (It's almost like this is a really good cast or something :P) But also, I do think that, if Spencer and Diego are done for good, whatever conversations they'd need to have together could be fit into this comeback challenge, and/or a quick chat at the end of the season. So... let me make a quick case for why I'm not sure that Diego and Spencer will be an endgame couple.

The quickest case I can make against diencer is one word long: Logan. I may be biased towards believing that Logan and Spencer could be a thing due to predicting that it would happen pre-season, but after laughing at myself for thinking it was ever on the table when Diego and Spencer so quickly linked up, I was shocked to see that there's been a lot of support for the relationship since Spencer swapped on to the blue tribe!

The most obvious hint is that Logan blushed with sparkly eyes after Spencer touched his shoulder, which certainly implies that Logan is attracted to Spencer in some way. But I could definitely see a world where that's just a further step in Logan realizing that he likes men in general, and doesn't have to do with Spencer specifically. Alternatively, Logan could also have an unrequited crush on Spencer, should Spencer not be interested in Logan for whatever reasons.

However, Spencer's been dropping his own subtle hints that he's fond of Logan as well. My favorite comes from Episode 12, where Spencer goes from looking agitated to smiling softly as Logan explains the drama of Anastasia and Lynda's battle.

The fact that his expression changed as Logan continues talking shows an attention to detail on Spencer and Logan's relationship that implies its importance. Richard and Anastasia, two other characters that Logan is highly tied to, don't change their expressions in this sequence (even when Logan grabs Anastasia), but Spencer does.

I'm fully willing to admit that this may just be my bias talking, as I (at this point) prefer logancer over diencer, but I do actually think that diencer may be over, and we're moving towards a logancer ending. If that is the case, then bringing Diego back might be more of an awkward obstacle than a benefit to the story.

This episode is going to be a big one for all the shipping scientists out there. If Diego gets back into the game, then it seems almost guaranteed that he and Spencer will be endgame. If Spencer tries to apologize to Diego, and Diego says something along the lines of "it's fine, I've moved on," then keep an eye on Logan and Spencer moving forward. And, if the returnees don't meet up with the current players at all...? Well, then maybe it won't actually be a big episode for the shipping scientists, haha.

I feel like I've gotten off track. My point is, Diego is certainly a candidate to come back into the game due to ship potential with Spencer, but since I believe that diencer may have sunk, it leads me to rank Diego as but the third most likely.

#2: Tristan

Hope you aren't completely sick of me talking about ships yet, because I will need to bring up another one when discussing the possibility of Tristan coming back into the game-- that ship, of course, being trinji.

I mean, trinji is basically canon at this point, right? Combining Benji's thoughts about what it would mean to date a nonbinary person with Tristan's over-the-top reaction to Emily asking if they had a crush on Benji makes it pretty clear that there's mutual attraction there. And yet, the ship feels very unfinished, or underexplored. I don't think I was alone in not realizing that Tristan and Benji were intended to have romantic undertones until Tristan's boot episode, at which point their on-screen time together was abruptly cut short.

Now, it's definitely possible that Tristan and Benji's relationship "ended early" for reasons that don't include Tristan coming back. Maybe trinji was never meant to be 100% canon, and little easter eggs of their relationship was all the crew wanted to leave behind. If characters from DC4 are already planned to be in the next returnee season, perhaps there are plans to further trinji in DC5+. Maybe the crew didn't realize that Tristan and Benji would make a cute couple until later in development, and only had the chance to squeeze in a couple of hints in Tristan's last few episodes. Maybe whatever conclusion their relationship is meant to reach can be successfully communicated in just a few more meet-ups. However, their relationship feels like it should have more to it to me, and that could be a sign that Tristan has more game left to play.

Speaking of, Benji isn't the only character that Tristan has an unfinished dynamic with. It definitely struck me as odd how Tristan's boot episode established their rivalry with Richard, only for it to seemingly never be relevant again. At the time, I figured that it was just a way to lower the audience's guard about a potential Tristan boot, enhancing the blindside later on, and that could very well still be true. But if Tristan does come back, it would make total sense if they and Richard have some sort of great duel once they're both on the merge tribe.

Funnily enough, however, the two characters that Tristan was perhaps most connected to are also the reason why I most struggle to see them coming back into the game. Last episode, Ivy said this:

I just think that's a really weird thing to have Ivy say literally right before Tristan would reenter the game. I actually think that Tristan coming back into the game would be more detrimental to Zaid's character development than Ivy doing the same. At least if Ivy comes back, it would just be rewinding the clock by one episode, just with some additional information. If Tristan comes back, it would mean that Zaid is still in the game, devastated that Ivy is gone and burning with Ivy's final wish that one of them win the game for Tristan's sake... but also Tristan is right next to him, playing the game for themself, and trying their best to give him some awkward condolences. I feel like it would deeply confuse Zaid in the midst of his angst, and that confusion therefore extends to me as well.

Other than that, though, I would love to see Zaid and Tristan interact again, because their goofy dynamic was really fun to watch. Tristan still comes in at #2 most likely to me, but their prospects are actually looking much brighter than I originally thought at the time they were voted out. The reason for that, I'll discuss with my #1 choice.

#1: Ted

If I had been making episodic updates about my thoughts on this season, it would have become apparent that, from Episode 4 to Episode 10, I was dead certain that Ted would be the contestant returning to the game. It just made sense to me. Ted seemed to have so much untapped potential. Diego, Tristan, and Marissa's eliminations came and went, and I hardly batted an eye. Then, it was time for Lynda to be eliminated, and my faith wavered.

After Lynda somehow survived the first few boots of the Blue Team, I figured that, contrary to my initial projection, she'd be in the game for the long haul, and factored that into my projections for who the returnee would be. And, for Ted, that was really important, as his dynamic with Lynda was easily the relationship of his that I'd most want to see expanded upon with a return.

However, with Lynda gone, where does that leave Ted? He has a relationship with Richard, and kind of with Logan, but given how entrenched those two are with other characters (Richard with Natalia, Logan with Anastasia and Spencer) and each other, would Ted really be able to fight through those bonds to become truly important to anyone who's left? Given that the returnee will be thrown straight into the merge, is exploring relationships between Ted and Hannah or Ted and Zaid something that's worth spending the returnee slot on?

(Okay, actually, I can actually kind of imagine a Ted/Jade dynamic, so maybe something could happen there.)

Still, despite my aimlessness, Ted remains my #1 contender based on one simple, unchanged fact: Ted has no argument for having completed a character arc thus far. Alessio found his inspiration. Amelie learned to respect others more. Diego didn't learn anything, per se, but he had a conclusive rise and fall in which his unwavering pursuit of Spencer led to his downfall. Tristan gained a family. Marissa learned to ask herself what she really wants. Lynda found a reason to respect herself. Ivy decided to take a chance on romance over her career.

Meanwhile, Ted was unceremoniously voted out for reasons that were barely even his fault, and was also ushered out of the show with the least dramatic fanfare of any DC4 contestant thus far. He has the best argument out of any eliminated character that his story is straight up unfinished. And while it's possible that Ted's story is intended to be finished on some other season in the future, I still believe that this argument is strong enough to leave Ted as my top contender for the winner of the returnee episode.

And, that's it! DCAS' returnee was one of the few predictions that I got 100% correct, so I have high hopes that I've managed to repeat that trick for DC4. However, as stated, I really think it could be any one of Ted, Tristan, or Diego who returns, and reserve Alessio as an unlikely-but-possible dark horse candidate.

... I don't know how to end this post. Um, watch Reality Resort if you haven't already. Bye!

[isabelguerra]

isabel-centric maxbeljo is killing my brain. wheres that post thats like “polycule that is gently trying to woo their self-loathing friend by treating them softly & bringing them into their shared loving relationship”

which is a really interesting angle here because im not sure max or johnny would know…… how….? To do that? Neither of them are fantastic with words or feelings. They are good with actions.

[jamescarstairs]

you know me i'm like the first person to be an advocator of platonic relationships and i adore platonic caryl but what pisses me off about twd/twd: dd is that you know the only reason why daryl is constantly paired romantically with younger women who have no chemistry with him and not have daryl romantically involved with carol is because they view her to be "too old looking" to be a romantic involved with him....