#after s1 we see both of them actually trying and their relationship gets better because of it

[fuckyeahisawthat]

If you see Good Omens s2 as a bridge between the end of s1 and a s3 plot that, it seems, will revolve around [spoilers below]

Aziraphale and the second coming (in a parallel to s1 being about Crowley and the Antichrist) then a lot of things make sense, and actually I think this is one of the only routes they could have taken that would seem remotely plausible.

Because how the fuck do you get Aziraphale back in Heaven after the events of s1? Both you (a writer who wrote s1 as a self-contained adaptation of an existing work, having no idea if there would be future seasons) and you (Heaven within the world of the story).

In the book verse, I could see this playing out as a sort of “you thought you were happily retired and then they pulled you back in for one last job” situation, and I think that could have worked. Because book Heaven and Hell seem to end the story basically agreeing to forget Aziraphale and Crowley’s numbers out of sheer embarrassment, and that works in the world of the book because Heaven, in particular, seems to forget Aziraphale exists at least 80% of the time anyway. Book Heaven is mostly notable for its absence. We recognize their hypocrisy in claiming to be the good guys while mostly doing the exact same shit as Hell with better PR, but in the book Hell seems like the side that’s more dangerous and actively intrusive in Crowley’s life.

But TV Heaven and Hell are terrifyingly, oppressively present in Aziraphale and Crowley’s lives, and both of them very recently (in immortal being terms) tried to execute their respective agents for treason, and still don’t understand why they failed. This raises the stakes and the threat to their relationship enormously, which works great in a television drama where their relationship is much more of a focus than it is in the book. But it also makes it much more difficult to imagine either of them going back to their respective sides after the events of s1. They made that choice already.

So what do you (writer now trying to solve this problem for s2 and potentially s3) and you (Heaven, trying to come up with a way that Aziraphale would walk back into his former prison willingly) do?

You offer Aziraphale the one thing he can’t refuse, the thing he still doesn’t have, even now after Armageddidn’t and surviving the trials and 4 (?) years of living more or less openly with Crowley around. You offer him safety. Safety for himself and Crowley, together.

We know it’s a trap. We know what Heaven is offering is not safety, but control. But Aziraphale hasn’t gotten there yet. We understand why Crowley sees it as a rejection and an insult. But to Aziraphale it’s an offer better than he ever thought was possible to receive.

He thought, all of s1, that he would have to choose between following Heaven’s orders and saving the world and his relationship with Crowley. And he made his choice. Now someone is telling him he can have both? Love and acceptance from Heaven for him and Crowley, and the power to make things better? And when he realizes Crowley won’t come with him…well, maybe at least from Heaven he will still be able to protect him, even if he’s not by his side.

And you know what? I bet, in the short term, this is going to only make him double down on his “it was just a few bad angels” justification for the way Heaven behaved. Because this offer is coming from the literal voice of God. Maybe it even reinforces the idea that God didn’t want Armageddon to happen at all, that Aziraphale and Crowley and Adam and the Them actually were doing her will by stopping it. Because now Aziraphale is being invited back in, with more authority than he ever had before. And they invited Crowley (who he always believed was Good) back in too.

He doesn’t get it yet, that Crowley is right. That you can’t reform Heaven from the inside, because it is not and never was the good side. Because there is no good side.

Aziraphale hasn’t figured that out yet. But he will.

[king-zacharyy]

IF YOU HATE HELLUVA BOSS, HAZBIN HOTEL, AND/OR STOLITZ, DO. NOT. INTERACT. (WITH THIS POST OR MY PAGE)

Okay, I am currently rewatching Helluva Boss, and I just finished S1 Ep7: OZZIE'S, and... How do some people genuinely believe Stolitz is one-sided?

From what I've seen, Blitzø absolutely returns Stolas' feelings, even if he refuses to acknowledge/accept that he does. A lot of people, from what I've seen, have been using Blitzø' words to Stolas in OZZIE'S and his words about Stolas to Fizzarolli in OOPS as arguments for why Blitzø "clearly" doesn't love Stolas back, but my question is, do some of y'all not have basic media literacy?

Sorry if that’s rude, but seriously. There are plenty of clues to how Blitzø is actually feeling during and after these scenes.

1. Blitzø was literally holding back TEARS as he said that in the van scene.

2. He says that Stolas has made it very clear that all it is is Stolas wanting to be fucked. That wording is very distinct and, honestly, says that Blitzø does NOT want it to just be a Fuck Buddies things.

2.5. May I remind everyone that Stolas literally calls Blitzø his "Impish little plaything" in Truth Seekers? And that that likely just confirmed the insecurities we know he was already feeling? (We know he was feeling insecure about his and Stolas' relationship already because of how he reacted in S1 Ep5 to Striker goading him)

3. Literally ALL of what happens after the van scene. Including all of Episode 8. He goes home and cries himself to sleep, and then goes and self-destructs at a party. Bee said it herself that he wasn't drinking to have fun.

4. In S2 Ep6: OOPS, His face when he said it was nothing more than Stolas being horny gives away how hurt he actually is. He is desperately trying to convince Fizz and remind himself that Stolas doesn't want anything more.

Honorary mention that I'm not sure is really a fifth point is him calling Fizz and Ozzie hypocrites.

Moving on from those scenes and onto Blitzø's insecurities about love and his self-worth issues. Blitzø does not believe he deserves love. He does not believe anyone does or can love him. We can see this in how he acts with the people in his life. He pushes them away. He is obsessed with M&M's relationship because they're the only model of a healthy relationship he's ever had, and he wants that with someone. We also can tell because of how he reacts to what Fizz and Verosika say in OZZIE'S.

Blitzø hates himself. He crosses out his face in the pictures hung up in his apartment. He blames himself for an accident that caused his mother's death, his best friend to lose his limbs, and his sister to hate him.

No one was truly there for him after the accident. Fizz may have been crippled, but he had a support system. Blitzø did not, and no one was there to tell him it wasn't his fault.

Not to mention the fact that up until the accident, he was CONSTANTLY being put down and told Fizzarolli was better than him. Even his own father cared more for Fizz than him. Honestly, I'm surprised there isn't any actual animosity towards Fizz on Blitzø's part.

Speaking of the fire and Fizz, Blitzø was planning to confess romantic feelings to Fizz that night before the accident (We know this because of the letter and flower he was holding before the fire started). That likely made it difficult for him to confess his love to someone because if you think his brain wouldn't connect love confessions to the greatest trauma of his life, you're dead wrong.

Brains make weird ass connections when it comes to trauma/traumatic events.

In conclusion, Blitzø loves Stolas, Stolas loves Blitzø, and they both need to heal and get their shit together. Stolitz forever.

Kloveyoubye ❤️

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Can I just say that I love Satan and MC's relationship? I'll read fics (romantic or platonic) and just sit there. "Huh."

Yes! Yes! Yes! They have such an underated friendship and they're probably the most similar to each other in the family?

• They're the two newest members in the family

• Neither of them were accepted by the others in the beginning and there was a lot of friction between them and the others

• Neither of them were present in the Celestial Realm with the others and didn't live through two wars with the others

• Neither of them really knew Lilith even though she's an important part of their family

• Both of them only witnessed the past through the eyes of another (MC through Lilith and Satan through Lucifer)

• They're the only two in the family who are more or less related by blood to someone else within the family (Satan to Lucifer and MC to Lilith)

• Physically they're both pretty unique. As far as we know Satan is the only demon created from the anger of an angel. MC is blood related to someone who had the soul of an angel

• They can both be mistaken for "the normal ones" within the family but truthfully they're both just as chaotic as everyone else and are just better at hiding it

• They both like cats and reading

• They both initially had a pretty bad relationship with Lucifer and now though that relationship is better they still like getting on his nerves

• They're both social and have a lot of friends

• They're both good at cooking

• They're both hardworking and responsible when they want to be

• They both look out for the others

• They're both softer with Luke than they are normally with other people

• They're both pretty calm but when pushed to the limit they have an explosive temper - though obviously it takes a lot more to reach MC's limit and a lot less to cool them down

• They both found their perfect place within the family dynamic to the point that you can no longer imagine what it would be like without them

What I'm trying to say is they have a lot of similarities and the biggest one is being the newest members. Imagine how hard it is to be tossed into a tight knit group without your consent and to be expected to just fit in with no issues, specially when it's clear that, at least initially, the others don't want you there? Plus the fact that neither of them went through the same trauma as the others which would have helped the others bond or had to deal with the grief of losing Lilith. It would have been hard having to deal with that on your own, specially with the feeling like you're an outsided who didn't fit in, and didn't deserve to fit in because you didn't live through the same problems as the others. I imagine because of that Satan and MC would have had a lot to bond about and a lot of reason to seek each other out and lean on each other and take comfort from each other.

And we do get to see this in canon as well.

We see in S2 how supportive Satan is of MC and how much he goes out of his way to help them.

We see in S3 how much he trusts them and relies on them. How they silently sit next to each other and hold hands when Satan is upset. How he looks to them for confirmation that he isn't just Lucifer's clone, even after Lucifer himself already said he wasn't.

Also, I might be remembering this wrong, but I'm pretty sure Satan's the only one who apologised to MC for trying to kill them in S1?

We see in Nightbringer how Satan is even more isolated and out of place after only being truly alive for one year. And how much he values MC's opinion and abilities. I could actually write a whole essay on how Satan in Nightbringer seems to look up to MC - (unknowing to him, because they have experience) they seem to fit in with the others in a way that he can't, despite being newer than him, but also in a take charge + competent way that he can respect. MC's attitude probably seems like an ideal to him that he should be able to achieve. They also know how to treat him in a way that makes him feel seen and respected - they don't talk down to him or walk on eggshells around him.* So when they compliment him he takes it more to heart than when the others do and gets flustered and blushes. Their dynamic in Nightbringer really reminds me of a younger kid with a crush on their cool upper-classman.

* I worked with this kid with anger management issues who was refusing to cooperate or work with any of the others and how MC's interacting with Satan in Nightbringer is a great example of what should be done. They listen to him and take him seriously and talk naturally to him instead of talking like they're constantly trying to placate or baby him. They offer him suggestions and alternate perspectives on how to get the cat to approach him, an activity that would make him want to keep his anger under control because he'd need to be gentle to interact with the cat. All of this is something Simeon and even Luke does with Satan too.

Edit:

This is giving such sibling energy - like a little sibling (younger than 10) with an older sibling (at least late teenage years) wanting to do something new and failing and geting advice from their older sibling and being so proud of learning how to do it and wanting to impress their older sibling so they excitedly share it

Also it's killing me that in Nightbringer MC is technically older than Satan

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

it hurts me. the parallel of Charlie at the start of ep 1, so excited about showing her plans for the hotel to heaven she doesn't see how VERY NOT excited about it Vaggie is (cough angel kicked out by heaven for not doing enough murder cough cough), even while getting literally up in Vaggie's face.....

and then Vaggie, when Charlie comes drooping home after that all crashed and burned spectacularly- now it's VAGGIE so excited to show CHARLIE the new and improved hotel commercial she got everyone to make while Charlie was away... now it's Vaggie, up close and basically physically pressing her excitement into her girlfriend, not seeing how utterly crushed Charlie is right then

like, clearly Vaggie expected the heaven meeting to not live up to Charlie's hopes for it. Clearly she REALLY wanted to have something GOOD AND HOPEFUL for Charlie to come home to afterwards

-which would have worked too, if the Extermination schedule update hadn't interrupted the commercial airing

look at how habby Charlie was finding out about the commercial

awww

"heaven isn't homophobic" well then what do you call them interrupting this lesbian's hard won cheer-up-the-girlfriend effort huh? what was that then. not only cruel but also an insult to us queers everywhere. one of the only real sins we ever see in the show, tbh

but gods, they give each other so much CONFIDENCE, chaggie and the mutual "I can do this for her" / "She thinks I can do this and I will" synergy...

and it keeps fucking their relationship up. GODS

how they mirror and act like they're trying to literally meld into each other, while both being So Bad at actually SAYING when and why they're upset about something Serious-

when they're also clearly wanting to share SO MUCH of what they feel specifically with the woman they love!!!!

and how that sometimes blinds them both, over and over again, to the moments when (ironically) their other half needed them to be a little less sure, for a second, that things are or would be okay. Share less of their own conviction, that they got from the other one in the first place

When instead of needing answers to the obvious problem, they both needed to be asked hey IS something wrong? is there ANOTHER problem here actually??

they both put so much of themselves into each other, they both rely on the other one for their sense of self-worth and the strength they need to be The One Who Get Things Done and The One Who Always Has A Plan

that's so DELICIOUSLY fucked up. the flip side to love,

(Vaggie freaking out feeling her existence is pointless while thinking she's failed Charlie, and Charlie losing so much hope just at the thought Vaggie might not really love or believe in her)

when someone else is walking around with your heart beating in their chest because you yourself put it there

heck, their resolution in s1 ISN'T even them hashing things out or communicating better! they don't NEED that- (yet) they JUST need each other! (soooooo fucked up I LOVE it) the thing that brings them back together is Vaggie fully letting go of her angel past to focus on her life with Charlie and tapping back into her whole self for first time since meeting Charlie, it's Charlie the singer and giver of heartfelt motivational speeches having her mind blown by words meaning less than actions as her partner who lied to her is also off right that moment doing everything she can to protect what they've built

the big moment is NOT them actually TALKING about what happened or why it happened. it doesn't matter!!! (to them) Their hurt came from being scared of losing each other, they meet up at the hotel gates and just seeing the other one there is Enough!

they happily return to status quo minus some secrets and plus some more confidence in what they have.... which means the rest of this stuff, the root cause of it all, the unaddressed subtext that they NEED to be fucked up together in an active, intentional, KNOWING way but are so good at inspiring and supporting each other that it just, doesn’t, happen..... that's all still there.

(i see you, Charlie sitting alone with your story of hell book and being shocked at your long time girlfriend coming up to your shared room, being around to see you sad, you putting on a smile and trying to wave it off bc yeah she's right you AREN'T alone anymore. technically)

(i see you, Vaggie asking to be left alone on a rooftop so you can deal with a devastating blow to your whole sense of self as 100% unintentionally dealt by your loving girlfriend who WANTS to be there for you through this but who YOU can't face until you're ready to shoulder the blame and apologize to her)

(i see you both trying so hard to help each other and not letting yourselves be helped)

(because no clearly you don't need it, clearly this is all already so much better that what you used to have and you're doing so much better, and what if you're still not good enough for it actually-)

chaggie is so happily, catastrophically entertwined and i hope they spend the next thousand years suffering through it together

[dedenneblogs]

HEARTBREAK HIGH S2 ANALYSIS PART 1 (buckle up this is going to be a doozy)

so... it's out (the trailer).

my excitement cannot be expressed...

BUTT! today, i will be doing my iconic mouse analysis of this trailer (this is actually the first time im doing something like this so it's not rlly iconic BUTT it will be soon) with the most comprehensive inspection i can using under 2 minutes of video as a basis....

with that said lets

BEGIN!

the heartbreak highers are back for another "cursed" term....

so glad to see the trio back in action. like. actually so happy. MIGHT explode from excitement... as always, their outfits slaylay.

the boyfriends... friends? boys? BUGS??? found out on hh s2!

these goons are back... gayer then ever,,, seriously. when will these two have an episode long make out 'sesh? unlikely, to much dismay....spoiler alert...you'll see....

MISSY!!!!! and sasha, i guess

SPOILER ALERT AGAINNNN missy looks like she'll be more prominent in this season so...WIN!!!!

also why is she mewing who is rizzing up

and new on the the chopping block-- Rowan Callaghan!

we'll get to rowan when we get to rowan

in other (more important) news-- SHE'S HEALING! HARPER IS HEALING!!!

i... *sobs* i she's growing her hair out oh my GAW...... she's getting better...she... there's a lower chance she'll cock-block amerie (oh but she'll get cock [spoiler-- again!])

butt let's not celebrate just yet-- it's still "everyone hates amerie" up in this joint, smellas

may as well... shot them. huh. well. pop off, i suppose... (amerie asserts her right to bear arms-- truly patriotic coming from an aussie!)

...touché coming from the (still) most hated student in heartly who only adds salt to the wound by... using the pink 'ildo from s1 as a mic... chat... she's lost it.

(unrelated but in the background-- MISSY AND MALAKAI!!! they were building up a relationship between them in s1 and how she and her brother (i think? 'memory's fuzzy) helped him heal from the shit he had to go through in s1 and even better connect him with his aboriginal roots. i hope to see more of these two interact come april 11th and i binge the whole season)

ALSO also ANOTHER new character-- Zoe Clarke!

we will ALSo get to zoe when we get to zoe

anywho-- cue: AMERIE'S ONLINE HARASSMENT ARC! becuz every show needs one...unfortunately. Give a cold welcome to Bird Psycho, heartbreak highers (we will get to bird psycho when we get to bird psycho)

(who ever is doing this shit is a bitch but either way: "you dont get to be the hero" shut your goofy ass up)

oh that's gore. that's core of my comfort character.

ok so maybe this bird psycho cuck isnt fucking around because clearly he's gotten to our girl ams :(

(dw they uh...take her out for ice cream. after this. proabably.)

moving foward-- STAND BACK I SAID STAND BACK WEIRD GIRL QUINNI

oughh im gonna be sick. of course. OF COURSE SHE WOULD GO FULL SHERLOCK HOLMES TO HELP HER BESTIE.

yeah anyways with this in mind she'd totally try and crack the fnaf lore wouldn't she. wouldn't she.

she's slay she's girlboss but at the end of the day she's a weirdo

anywho nuff of my rambling there--

ominous of you to say zoe

BUT ENOUGH OF HER CA$$HHHHHHHHHHHH

ca$h omg eshay eshay eshay pspspspsp,,,

i am so happy to see him (spoiler alert for 2 secs throughout the whole trailer) but anywho remeber? remeber right he's in prison. but seems to be doing okay... (maybe for the best heartly drama is really coming to a boiling point)

<3

and-- oh. uh... chicken dumbell... okay... pop off, missy...

when i said i wanted more missy i didnt expect this

spider seems to be into tho maybe what ??1/1/111.1/?!??!/1/1/1

missy x spider was NOT on my bingo card

WHEN MISSY SAID SHE WAS STARTING TO LIKE WHITE BOYS I DIDNT THINK SHE MEANT THIS.

BUUTTTttttt-- i. am. down. for. it... somehow. frankly, spider needs someone to put him in his place and low and behold, missy seems to be the student to do so..........

hey. if they're both happy with their...chicken dumbells, i am too.

amerie dont be alarmed but there's a white boy to your right

in other news this love triangle scares the diarrhea out of me

look at them. they're the perfect couple (malakai x amerie 4life) and rowan is--

well he's a nice boy but cmon

LOOK AGAIN IM DOWN FOR THEM TO BE HAPPY BUTT when it comes in between THE BEST SHIP IN THE SHOW (looks at amerie x spider shippers with affectionate disdain) i draw the line.

but who knows? rowan seems nice enough, and if he's able to make amerie happy, let them have each other! <3

also knowing malakai's track record i wouldn't put it past him to get freaky with rowan too (threesome attempt 2??? actually no wait thats a horrible idea NEVERMIND [gets s1 ep4 flashbacks])

also also "classic love triangle" scene gives major "erm...well this is akward!" vibes from ams (we stan cringey amerie in this household tho)

and well. shart. max limit of 30 photos. oh well-- ill make a second part! tune in for the update heartbreak highers :3

[captain-hen]

I have been telling my friends that season 7 is a bridge. Also, that Tim had a plan and as he wasn’t in the last 2, the story isn’t as he planned so he spent the whole season taking the characters there. Meaning healing from last trauma to add new traumas and building the foundations for the next season, foundations he thought were going to be build.

For example:

- Chim and Maddie fostering Mara is the bridge to Maddie and Chim having another child, maybe adopting this time.

- Hen and Karen will adopt Mara, and I’m not quite sure about the next step because I’m thinking about Captain Hen but I don’t think it’ll happen in the next season.

- Bi Buck we know what bridge that is even if some people don’t want to accept it.

- Eddie, being bad written, is the bridge to prioritising and putting himself first for them establishing boundaries with his parents. (Kind of Buck did). Also, to discover himself and what he really wants. Healing.

- Bobby to realise he’s a hero and that his works wasn’t over, especially now that Gerrard is back.

- Athena hasn’t been a proper cop this season and both times (Harry incident and whatever the fuck was the Amir thing) she has used her power so I think something will happen there that’ll make her stop and think.

The reason why the wasn’t room for development is because for some stories, it was the end (Chim being traumatised in his wedding by Doug) and for other stories it was the beginning (the whole episode 7x10)

i'm sorry, i don't want to sound like i'm being dismissive of your opinion because you're entitled to it, but i don't agree with any of this. to start with, it's too bad that tim couldn't tell the story he wanted to after s4, but that's not an excuse for him to come back two seasons later, throw a temper tantrum and ignore everything that's happened since that isn't convenient for him. lol. as for the rest, let's break it down:

this sets up for maddie and chim having another child...except we don't actually KNOW how THEY feel about it. they've never talked about having more kids, let alone fostering. we never saw any of this from their POV, we were just up and told that they wanted to do it for henren. which is a beautiful thing for them to do, but we don't know what they feel about it, if they've considered the logistics of having a second child, about jee having a sibling—none of it!

my issue with henren this season was that they recycled the plot of them having trouble with expanding their family for, what, the...third time? it's so tired and feels like misery porn at this point (and let's not even get into the uncomfortable racial elements around the way mara was written in 7x05).

something as monumental as the bi!buck arc should have been explored better. sorry. aside from his conversation with maddie, we barely got to see buck do any kind of serious self-reflection about this major part of his identity and his relationship with tommy, has, well. it's just been written in a very strange and off-putting way post 7x05. sorry to say.

whatever happened with eddie is really not the way to get him to prioritize himself! think about it. for the first time he prioritized his own grief in trying to get catharsis with kim. and it backfired on him spectacularly. he hurt his kid. he lost christopher. i don't think he's ever gonna recover from this guilt. if anything, what's happened will only reinforce his belief that he should never prioritize himself, ever. the thing with kim didn't lead to any kind of healing, it made everything a million times worse. he was quite literally punished by the narrative for his grief and it's quite sickening. and given how things were handled this season i highly doubt it will be treated with any kind of nuance or care in the next.

this has not been the first time athena has abused her power—only the most egregious instance of it—and it won't be the last. if abusing her power in s1 and harassing a teenage girl then didn't get her to stop and think, i don't think this will. sorry.

my entire point, is that most of the things you've mentioned here was incredibly last minute. madney fostering mara. the eddie/kim plotline. eddie's conflict with chris. the bobby and amir plotline. everything in 7x10 felt like an afterthought. why is it that bobby's life was in serious danger and yet we barely saw anything of him? why didn't we get to see more the firefam being worried over him and holding vigil? how is it that eddie and chris didn't even have a single conversation before chris went away to a different state?

you don't use all ten episodes of a season just to set up new plot points for the rest without developing or concluding the stuff already going on in a meaningful manner that makes sense. sorry.

[maxphilippa]

Nickel's sense of guilt and fear of change. [Character/II S3 Episode 14 Analysis, part 1/?]

Today, the longest episode of Invitational has dropped, and I have many thoughts of it as well. Might do more posts analyzing the events that ocurred as of now in canon, but I would like to talk about the heaviest part in the lore and how most people are not getting it completely (in my opinion), and that being: Nickel's current point of view of Balloon and his relationship with Suitcase and BB.

We all know that Nickel's actions hurted the Grand alliance, but what happened in the episode is that they showed how apparently, Nickel doesn't get exactly that things were completely fucked up.

In the episode, he mainly focuses on the good memories he had with BB and Suitcase, and doesn't even seem to hate Suitcase either, unlike what most people thought (me included to an extent, though I did see him being hurt mostly with their relationship and what happened in s2), but.

Nickel doesn't realize that he actually fucked up with them a lot, and that's the main issue.

Like, sure. He knows that stuff were messy at points but that's all he says. He mainly focuses on the good moments he had with them, maybe that's a product of him growing once he got eliminated and came to terms with himself that "well yeah there was a bit complicated shit but we still had fun together", but deep down he feels a sort of... guilt? Regarding Suitcase.

But even then, Balloon scolds him for trying to erase the times where Nickel made all of them feel bad. Hell! Even then Balloon recognizes that Nickel hurted Baseball deeply! And he says how Suitcase was the only one who had enough courage to stand up for her! Because hey! Nickel did use the same treatment that he used with Suitcase on Baseball! But the difference is that BaseBall kept making excuses for him!

The person who Nickel has been, alongside Baseball, "ignoring" of some sorts, has been Suitcase.

But here's the thing as well: Nickel doesn't know how to make things better again.

Nickel doesn't understand... feelings and complex emotions to put it shortly. He's afraid of change, and the way he just ignores the bad stuff that happened and tries to say that it's the only way that things can work, is... somewhat sad. Nickel doesn't understand a lot of stuff. He probably thinks that, at the end of the day, those were just little conflicts and that there was more good than bad.

But... that would mean he would also be running away from his consciousness over what Suitcase told him.

About how none of what they had was real.

He doesn't realize the damage he has done because hey. As much as you all like to think that Nickel didn't have his reasons to be a dick towards Balloon, he did. He actually did. He even mentions it in this episode, that if Balloon didn't try to manipulate everyone just as S1 started, maybe things would be different.

Nickel SAW and KNOWS Balloon's by his awful actions, and he wanted to protect BaseBall and Suitcase from him, since he thinks that Balloon CAN'T be trust-worthy after everything he did in S1.

That's why he was so aggressive as well towards Balloon. Yes, he cared for BaseBall, but he also cared for Suitcase deeply. The thing is that Suitcase was Balloon's friend, and Nickel can't bring himself to think that someone who he saw being such an awful person, could possibly be targetting someone who he cares about as well. So that's why he tried to push Balloon away for so long. He tried to keep his relationship with Suitcase and BB, he even says it in S2 when Suitcase confesses that she voted for him.

But of course, this is even more complicated. Both Nickel and Balloon fucked up, but Nickel fucked up for a longer time. Balloon was actually changing, and Nickel did only take the protective stance when this was happening. Which like, Nickel was right on that. He had his reasons to NOT trust Balloon. The problem is that he couldn't accept that Balloon was changing, and that he wasn't realizing that his actions were hurting both BB and Suitcase.

What I think that people don't get, or what hurts me the most, is the fact that Nickel is in denial. But it's merely the fact that when he hears Suitcase's voice, he doesn't get angry or mad, or even panics, no.

He's just... shocked.

What are you supposed to tell someone who went through hell, thanks to you, even if you tried to protect her from whom you thought was bad? What are you supposed to tell the friend who you tried to protect and instead hurted them in awful ways?

What are you even supposed to do in that situation?

It's not only that, but the fact that he didn't even think twice when walking towards her, didn't even question if she was truly Suitcase. Like, he immediately went on and tried to explain himself to her-

He completely forgot about everything because he wanted to talk to her and, I do think that he feels guilty for what he did, but he can't put it to words/can't understand it completely after all- but his first instict after seeing Suitcase is to talk to her about it.

He wants to explain himself to her- maybe even apologize, but he doesn't know how.

The thing is that Nickel is smart. With logical stuff, not feelings, according to Adam himself. And that fucks it all up for him.

Nickel can't handle change.

Suitcase can understand change.

Balloon is always changing.

And BaseBall can't keep up with it.

And that shows it here.

Nickel is a complicated character. Guilt is eating him constantly but he lacks emotional intelligence. He can accept that stuff went wrong, but seem doesn't understand what or why they did go wrong.

He regrets what he did to Suitcase most likely judging from his behaviour the mere second he saw her, but he can't tell why exactly. Same thing as Nickel probably realizing that he keeps on messing up the more he clings into that mentality. He tries to move on from the past, but he can't. He even says it. There's no way to make things feel better as of now, so that's why he pretends.

But there is a way.

He just... needs to talk it out with Suitcase and Balloon.

That being said, thank you for reading this.

[nalyra-dreaming]

"Romeo?" reminds me of "No Peleas, no Melisande"

In both Louis through dreamstat expressing his doubt that he and Armand could ever be some grandiose iconic love story.

Which heartbreakingly ties with revelation that Armand did not see lestat. He felt him but he didn't knew details and didn't knew for sure how Louis viewed and still views their relationship. This episode solidified my theory that "love of my life" wasn't even delusion, but more put upon mask. OR it is what Louis believes in but I think it started after some...tinkering in San Francisco

Assad acting is insanely good, I understood why Rolin said he felt for Armand while filming. That moment of realization, that hurt and shock he experiences and tries to mask immediately because Daniel is there. Assad's interviews are very insightful and interesting and I got from them that Armand truly viewed this relationship better than they actually were, even though deep down I think he knew.

I have a theory that he was aware that things were not good to say the least at first but something happened in San Francisco. Something that made Armand believe things will be better. (Some memories were changed perhaps) And so they lived after this their stable life under sword of Damocles, because once memories returned? Peace is gone. Raglan mentioned other people trying to interview Louis (or at least that's how I interpretated this) and it ended poorly for them. Armand definitely took care of them.

So Louis definitely knows that something isn't right. We established it in ep1 s2. He also 90% knows that Armand is responsible at least partially for this. Or at least can restore memories. He knows interview will help him. He knows Armand doesn't want interview. He knows Armand kills(?) people who interview him. He knows that Armand spared Daniel (we don't know if anything else happened but we don't have to. It's enough already). He knows that there's something about Daniel that makes Armand intrigued and he can't kill him. He probably feels guilty about Daniel's memories as well. He invites Daniel so they both can remember.

Okay, so the "love of my life"... was more or less debunked already after the last episode of s1, in interviews. It was a play on "The Graduate", here is a great discussion on that (also this is from November 22, for context^^):

This isn't their great love story. It's being sold as such, for reasons.

And yes, Assad is insanely good, and he understands his character so well! Ultimately Armand wants love... and to be loved. (The problem is the way he goes about it...)

Armand canonically believes that "Louis would get over it". Not kidding. "It" being Claudia's and Lestat's (supposed) deaths. There is a whole speech in IWTV about that. And that was a misconception in the book, and it will be one in the show.

And yes, I have also theorized that Louis invited Daniel specifically because he is the one tool to crack Armand... and to remember. Because he knows things do not add up. And now Daniel knows, too. And Daniel... Daniel is the one mortal Armand won't just kill.

For... reasons which have a lot to do with San Francisco :)

[verosikastrikerstellaexcuser]

You know it's pretty wild that since S2 started, Stolas isn't needed as a character anymore. This whole arc with Blitz could be done with basically anyone from his past like(Fizz, Verosika, Barbie) or with the other actual main characters in Mox, Millie and Loona.

The whole Asmodean Crystal thing, given how fast Fizz was willing to just give him one after making up with Blitz and getting his life saved. ...There was a whole 1st Season worth of content right there that could have been explored, how Blitz gets to Earth for his company that way. Blitz also mentions that I.M.P. was killing in Hell before, so it's not as if they would be out of money if they weren't killing up top anyway(as well as actually exploring Hell itself). But there is a story hook there for a whole 1st Season.

It explores Blitz not only as a character, but also his past, who he interacted with, so on and so forth. This would then fit to make S1 more consistent with what S2 is going on with his character. Stolas isn't needed for any of this, he's just a S1 hanger on that no longer really matters from a writing standpoint.

Let's see what's more interesting for S1 as a character for Blitz?

Getting into a transaction deal with a Royal in order to keep his company afloat?

Or

Trying to make amends to those he wronged in the past, exploring his internal issues, while at the same time trying to keep his company afloat?

The former fits more with just a sort of "Ha Ha" comedy/dark sort of line where you can have character moments, but they aren't really a focus and it's more just a side thing.

The latter fits more with....well what S2 is trying to do, in that it's become this character soap opera drama thing. In fact S1 was also building up to that, but they instead just brush by it so quick in S2 to instead focus on this 'romance'.

Notice how S2 is basically retreading all of S1, just with a different coat of paint? Because I swear we've been through all of this before already in S1, the only difference being is that Stolas isn't needed as a character anymore.

And yeah sure, I get same sex couples aren't exactly swimming through media. But this show wasn't setup as telling this 'soap opera romance' thing. It was setup as a whacky assassination show, that was the premise, it just so happened there were also 2 guys screwing.

I dunno, I just feel like a whole lot of other great potential was lost somewhere that would actually fit both of the Seasons way better.

Honestly yeah. ANYTHING would be better than St*litz. And I really feel you about retreading, we do it every 5 fucking minutes with Moxxie as well as with the constant Stolitz drama. It gets really tiring when meanwhile we barely know anything about stuff like Stella and Octavia's relationship, Barbie Wire, etc. Also yeah seeing hell more would be nice as I definitely want to see more of rings other than pride lust and greed, the rings are such a fun concept that I wish was utlilized more. Especially since Hazbin will probably only really show pride since its about earth born sinners and they only exist there.

To build off this idea of focusing more on a show where Blitz makes ammends, something I think that would have potentially been a better idea instead of the-stolitz-show would have been to make each season focused more on a certain side character. You'd have S1 Fizz, S2 Verosika, S3 Barbie Wire. And each one is an opposition of sorts.

Like, maybe in S1 Fizz has beef once hes with Ozzie since Blitz keeps robbing crystals to try and set up IMP without having to rely on St*las (you could just scrap the registration thing, maybe Blitz found a way to hack and bypass it even). Also make the crystals able to run out of power and need replacing, hence Blitz keeps stealing them. As a result of this we see Fizz on and off before they finally reconcile. And slowly through their beef we'd uncover what exactly happened at the circus and what they were like as kids.

Then in S2 when IMP starts doing well Verosika hears about it and shows up to ruin Blitz's life and they're both explored before coming to an understanding. We'd get to directly see the aftermath of what Blitz did, and how it put her in rehab, and how she clawed her way out and kept her career going anyway. She'd get to have her life outside of Blitz explored more like Fizz got to have.

Finally, in s3 rather than being an opposition, Blitz wants to save or help Barbie Wire and fix his relationship with his sister. Maybe Barbie was even friends with Verosika in this version so Verosika coming to terms with Blitz sends her spiraling/feels like a betrayal and Blitz becomes determined to make it up with her too so they can all be at ease. Or, maybe not, and instead when the understanding between Verosika and Blitz comes, later she contacts him that she knows Barbie needs help and that maybe Blitz should try reconcile with her too.

I feel you anon about St*las being unnecessary other than for the ship but I do think what we had of him in S1 was very powerful and had a lot of potential. I think a lot of the problem is that hes a side character that wasn't allowed to stay one. And so I raise you this:

St*las still exists in this each-season-focuses-on-an-ex-something-of-Blitz alternate show. But he exists as a side drama and a side character, especially since for S1 he'd be a kind of comparison to the healthy Ozzie/Fizz relationship. Perhaps he even becomes an antagonist especially towards the end. And ultimately they both part ways once Blitz has a legal way of always obtaining a crystal of his own at the end of S1 or start of S2. Sadly that would mean less Octavia and Stella and idk how Striker would then be used exactly but I feel like letting the St*litz ship die would have allowed for it to properly be explored in an interesting way instead of a fetishized sexual extortion way and without needing to make St*las a poor wooby baby. Hell, we could even have a catch up episode to see how the whole family is after St*las moves on.

The 3 side characters from Blitz's past focuses would also be overarching over the season they pertain to, so we'd have time to stop to explore Millie, Moxxie, Loona, side threads etc.

HB consistently has banger side characters. Say what you will about it but so many of its side characters have people in love and hooked. I feel like giving the female ones as well as male ones special focus, and focusing on Blitz's past drama since its so interesting via cool side characters instead of just showing us hints or snippets before jumping back to yet more gross annoying St*litz would be superior.

[mirtola87]

"Tale as old as time", or how Good Omens planted a seed in my soul that's growing more and more (bettah) [2/2]

[Continues from Part 1] Then we started watching S2, and as it happens in any good mystery story, clues became evidences. Crowley and Aziraphale started laying their cards on the table. Throughout the episodes, they act more and more like an "us" and we get used to the idea that their side is a fact. No matter what happens, they will face it together, as they did more and more in the last 6.000 years of their "tale as old as time". Being a coup... ehm, "group of the two of us" without telling themselves and each other, walking on a wire. And then came the rainstorm, the canopy, Jane Austen, the ball, Beelzebub and Gabriel going off together, Nina and Maggie talking with Crowley. The moment not only the characters but the audience, too, realize that the ineffable love could be actually named and told. "Just a little change, small to say the least / Both a little scared, neither one prepared." It was pure revelation, mind-blowing and delightful. After 9 long years, I finally knew that they loved each other, that I loved them, and that I wanted them to be happy together, forever. If I could feel it so deeply, I wonder what it could have been like for Neil himself to discover that the two characters he knew so well from almost 30 years were in love with each other. And then, after 6 "quiet, gentle and romantic" episodes, exploring the evolution of the characters and their relationship and mutual influence through the time (6.000 years of bickering, longing glances and building trust in each other, "bittersweet and strange, finding you can change, learning you were wrong"), the last 15 minutes suddenly came and leave them (and us) heartbroken, as their love is told and denied in the very same moment. It was painful and devastating. And here I am now. Two months have passed since I saw S2 E6, and all that I, all that we can do is wait (and see, hopefully). But it's not, it can't be as before. Something in me has definitely changed. Or rather, it woke as if it had been long asleep. And it grows better and better. This story made me feel things I hadn't felt for years. It's making me feel love, and pain, and longing, and hope. It made me remember how great stories (amazing lies) can make you experience true, deep feelings ("true as it can be"); and it awoke my desire to tell stories and share feelings as well, a wish that had lied sleeping in the back of my mind for a long time. So yes, I am obsessed with GO, but it's not just about this story I love, it's also about me, I believe. And all the time in-between reading the book, watching S1 once, rewatching it and then watching S2 lead me to this, because things can develop and grow only with time. So I guess I should be grateful for that heartbreaking cliffhanger. If S3 had already been there for us to watch, I would have already consumed the answers I wanted. My mind would be at peace and probably none of this would have happened. Instead, I find myself full of questions (about the story, and about my life), I'm restless and eager, I'm painfully alive. And I feel like a new path, a new chapter, is opening before me. "Certain as the sun rising in the East", in the next years I'll be waiting for Neil to tell us about the "Neighbour of the Beast", and in the meantime I'll try my best to cling to that feelings as a precious gift, don't let them go, nurture them and use them for the best. There are many things I wish to thank @neil-gaiman for, but this is probably the most important so far.

[tio-trile]

Obligatory sorry if you're fed up with GO2 asks!

I'm a new fan of the show (like, a few weeks after season 2 came out a friend lent me their Prime acc to binge watch everything) and haven't read the book at all but!

It's like in S1 Crowley and Aziraphale exist in the world and in S2 the world exists for them kind of,, in S1 the point of view shifted almost constantly and at the end the plotlines converged together in a cathartic moment for all of our beloved characters, but in S2 it's just,, present Aziracrow and past Aziracrow,, which is fine, I liked that they showcased the way they were and are with each other but it would've been better if there were less of these moments.

Talking about these, I saw that a lot of people on Tumblr were excited to see Crowley as an angel and it could've been good but. I don't get why Aziraphale HAD to be here, or more like HAD to interact with him and remember/recognize him later, and I'm not really thrilled about the fact that Crowley is implied to be someone important! It just feels like Crowley and Aziraphale aren't equals anymore ; Crowley Always Knows Best he admittedly was someone pretty important in heaven before and he feels more Holier Than Thou than the literal angel he's with?? I get that he Fell so he already knows for sure that Heaven is corrupt but,, I don't know, I feel like Aziraphale lost agency and just Can't Do Anything Right anymore! (And Crowley Can't Do Anything Wrong anymore either??)

I found the flashbacks for ineffable bureaucracy quite adorable but it was all too sudden! It feels the Gabriel mystery just wasn't progressing at all during the season and at the last minute, ta-dahh here's an exposition dumb on what happened, no build-up for the now canon pairing. Not a big fan of amnesia in general but even less when the amnesic character just gets everything back for a dramatic reveal scene, maybe I would have felt like things actually happened in this season if Gabriel was slowly able to access some memories. We could have had the build-up of him and Beelzebub planning on escaping together in the flashbacks! (And I mean, I get that there was the fly and the song but,, It didn't really affect Gabriel/Jim so it doesn't feel,,, enough?)

I was completely indifferent to Maggie and Nina. Also could've worked better as a separate POV from Aziracrow. I just didn't get enough scenes to care for them or feel any chemistry. Nina was already in a relationship, and Maggie was just crushing on her. They didn't really get together at the end but they're involved enough in the idea of them getting together in the future to give Crowley love advice and for Maggie to wait for Nina. I just don't really get it? If the goal was Maggie and Nina getting together, then they needed more time and scenes. If the goal was that they would not get together because Aziraphale and Crowley were trying to force them to be, then why saying that they "only needed a little push," that Maggie is "willing to wait for Nina," why both give love advice to a guy they barely know when they barely know each other too?

Anyways, I really liked the show (and am still eager for a potential S3)! But I feel like Neil Gaiman's writing is missing a similar style to Terry's (though obviously I wouldn't know what his writing is like since I. Haven't read the book nor other books from this/both of these actually authors), and important reoccurring characters besides Aziraphale and Crowley.

Yes, I agree with a lot of your points! And it's very interesting for me to hear that we share a lot of the same opinions although coming from different places -- being an older book fan and being a newer show-only fan. "S1 Crowley and Aziraphale exist in the world and in S2 the world exists for them" is exactly right, and similar to what I complained about not liking them "being the main characters". And I completely agree with that even if we see Angel!Crowley, Aziraphale doesn't have to be there, and also not liking that Crowley was somebody important before. And yeah, I've said it before but the Gabriel mystery and even the Nina/Maggie romance have potential, but ends up falling flat. Thank you for the ask! Apology accepted.

[rosetheocto]

Hey! If you'd be open to it, I was interested in hearing your thoughts on any Failtopia pairings that you particularly enjoy and the reasons you do? Whether they be platonic or romantic-

YESSSS I HAVE AN EXCUSE TO YAP ABOUT CHARACTER INTERACTIONS YWUAJSJEJJEJR!!! OKAY!! So idk how put together this is since there is a mix of my typing when I’m super tired + typing when I just woke up so I’m praying that what I’m saying makes sense LMAO. TLDR: I really like failtopia’s characters

So starting off with what is probably the most popular dynamic in this series: Bo and Erica!! To say they’ve both Gone Through It is an understatement, and them both finding comfort and safety in each other is amazing to me!! Like. Erica’s had so many people die on her and the reaction to finding out that was nearly impossible to lose Bo was just. Flawless. Can’t believe Dan improvised that. And Bo was sent to just kill Mar and work for Screamith but Erica was pretty much the start to her letting her true self shine and developing an actual attachment to The Incident!! It’s so awesome how Dan has wrote them. we love our gay level 6 “friendship” girlbosses ‼️‼️

Mar and Orion have also gone through a handful of things before the series begins, and the relationship they develop as the series progresses is pretty dang interesting! as much as the fandom focus on EriBo as a romantic thing, more people need to talk about how Mar has explicitly shown he has a crush on Orion. MULTIPLE TIMES. The idea of Orion opening up to Mar after he lost his wife and Mar opening up to Orion after his time as the Dark Curse and AGGHH I love these two so much and the way they interact every time they’re on screen is amazing. old man yaoi

I imagine C!Failboat and Erica as exes. like they dated for like a week and were both mutually like “that was awful let’s just stay friends”, They had a bunch of small interactions together (especially in S1) and I like them being friendly towards each other, Erica finding a friend in C!Fail was a pretty good step for her arc! I also think the idea of C!Fail and Erica being childhood friends in non-Miitopia AUs very intriguing!! Any content of those two interacting (that isn’t romantic) is always a nice thing to see!

Taking a break from the more popular relationships/friendships in this series, we have Deko and Joker!! For two characters that barely interact in canon there’s a lot you can do with them! They’re just two anime boys trying to survive in this weird party. I have a lot of thoughts on them but I just can’t form it aghahajsjjs but the main one is that they aren’t alone in what they’re going through, and no matter what backstory you use for Joker it still has a lot of potential!! I’m sure people can explain this one better than I can I just really like this rarepair!! while on the topic of Joker, shoutouts to his friendship with Lanc!! You can’t convince me Joker didn’t have a crush on them. Just watch their interactions in Karkaton and you’ll probably get what I mean lmaoo

I just need to mention the sisters!! even if they aren’t sisters by blood, Chi and Erica both have the energy! Chi being the thing that really gets Erica out of her “I hate everything” phase in both seasons needs to be talked about more. They bring out the best in each other I swear,, again I promise I can talk about them more my brain just isn’t giving me the words rn, but I think Gnome explains it best!

While on sibling dynamics, Bill and Shrimp is so great to me. Like. Bill helping Shrimp out not only because he likes her music, but also out of the genuine kindness of his heart is so sweet to me!! They’re so nice every time they’re on screen together and it’s fun to see them battling by each other’s sides!! plus the matching outfits in the finale was also a great touch :]

I’ve mentioned these two before, but Bill and Chi are criminally underrated imo. Like. They’re the only members of the Incident who have just recently turned 18, Chi’s literally Bill’s mentor after he changed jobs, and their dynamic is just so fun to work with!! Bill’s more mature and ‘normal’ while Chi is Chi and will set things on fire For Science and I think scenarios where they’re together are really fun to come up with!! Same with Shrimp and Chi!! The sister dynamic they have is also super underrated, like they’re a Fire and Water duo!! I think there’s a lot of things you can do there :0

look I am more than aware these two have never interacted but that’s cuz Dan is a COWARD and knows that Bo and Lanc being in the same room would lead to so much mayhem lmaoo. Out of everyone in The Incident (apart from Chi obviously) I see Lanc getting along with Bo the best! a lot of stuff I have for them is pretty based on fanon but you can’t tell me they wouldn’t gossip about the lastest drama with the party and the outside world. I swear they’re besties, they relate to each other, just hear me out. I also think Rose and Bo can be great friends and they really have a LOT in common!! Princess who faked their whole identity gang ‼️‼️

I love Erica and Rose just being each other’s biggest hater, it’s my favorite thing ever. it’s canon that Rose only shows off for Erica to prove to her that she’s better than her and that’s amazing to me. They’re both just so done with each other lmaoo (also the headcanon of them each other’s gay awakenings is perfect)

I think Friend and Mar interactions could be cool!! Like for starters they had some pretty huge connections to Hank they could bond over. also I find Mar being canonically a demon mixed with the headcanon of Friend being an angel very fun!! I also think Friend and Erica could be fun to see, especially with Erica’s past as a Cleric!! shared jobs and trauma!!

Mar and literally any FailFleet member can be funny I think, like we already have the Neksdor Three obviously, but I think an ACTUAL Bob and Mar reunion will lead to someone getting beat up lol, everyone in the S1 Squad would all have very different view points on if Mar deserves to be forgiven or not, or if he’s a good leader, etc. and I think that there should be more done with that!!

Orion’s friendship with the rest of The Incident is also a very important part of why the party is the way it is!! There’s absolutely characters with awful relationships to their dads, fathers that are barely around, or just never had a parental figure at all. I LOVE that Orion was able to fill that void for those party members, and he does a damn good job at it too!! And of course the parallels he has with Erica is great, both are stubborn warriors with a lot of baggage, but also have a lot of differences, like their views on stuff like becoming a healer!! Orion being like a mentor to Erica is great. also shoutouts to Slapo, we love her. I think her interacting with other members of The Incident is also something that’s needed more!!

Speaking of fathers, scenes with Chat and C!Fail are downright hilarious! Chat’s insanity mixed with C!Fail’s attitude always leads to some crazy thing going down! Chat with anyone really is always a treat, since they’re way more than too much to handle most of the time, and seeing how everyone reacts to their shenanigans is always gonna be fun!!

Smuk, Rose, and Bob’s relationship is just perfection. Bob obviously crushing on Rose is so great to see when they have scenes together and Smuk basically proposing to Rose (but not really) with that ring is also cool!! And of course we gotta mention Smuk and Bob’s bromance in Greenhorne, those two were inseparable a lot of the time I swear, I love them a lot, I’m praying if we get S3 we have those three come back (along with Petunyawn)

Deko’s friendship with both Chi and Lanc is vital to his arc!! Similar to Erica, he had gone through quite a lot before S1 and traveling with them got him to warm up to them and helped him get better control of his powers!! Lanc and Chi being absolute goofsters while Deko has no energy is VERY amusing!! also Deko, someone who was experimented on, being paired up with two soon-to-be scientists is vile lmaoo, why do you do this Dan /pos

SPEAKING OF THOSE SCIENTISTS!! If you thought I wasn’t gonna bring up Lanchi at all then you’re wrong. These two. These two are my everything. They’re undoubtedly my OTP!! There is quite a handful of canon evidence (in both seasons!) that point to Something going on between them!! I’d list them all out rn, but imma save that for another time, so I’ll just stick to saying everything I like about them!! The way Lanc and Chi just bounce off each other is insane. I swear they can read each other’s minds sometimes, they actually just share a braincell!! Lanc being all nervous in the Finale and Chi comforting them,, and ofc Chi being inspired by Lanc to switch jobs in S2 is just GAHAJJJJW I LOVE THEM!! They’ve been living rent free in my head since 2021 and I can’t get them out even if I tried!! EVERY SINGLE INTERACTION they have can be read as romantic. I refuse to believe they’re just friends lmaoo

[glitterpensupremacy]

Alright, you all voted (in spite of my prediction) and so I am more than happy to deliver!

Adrien MTS

His character notes are organized into four categories:

1. General info

2. Personality

3. Key relationships

4. Planned character growth

(This post may be a bit long, so the rest is under the cut)

1. General Info

I‘ll start with the biggest overall changes:

Adrien now has an equal importance to the story as Marinette (they are both the main protags of the show). This is because MTS has certain relevant plot lines that wouldn’t work with Marinette as the POV character. For example, the Agreste family backstory heavily impacts him and his life, so making Marinette the focus doesn’t work. This change was also made because duality and balance are major thematic motifs in the show, and having two MCs was one of the best ways we could implement this idea. (Also he’s just a fun character to write plots around!) On average he and Marinette would get equal screen time, but it fluctuates depending on the particular story (ex: he has a slightly smaller role in season 2 since he has less of a connection to Lila, a major antagonist in that season).

We are also not using the SentiAdrien plotline. This is due to it not being confirmed as canon at the time we began conceptualizing MTS, so we didn’t include it. And now the story doesn’t have room for it and all all the other aspects of the series that are more integral.

2. Personality

Adrien, while still trying to be nice to most of the people he meets, is a lot less mild mannered than his OG counterpart. A bit like the OG show’s S1 Adrien, only slightly more chaotic. He’s generally cheerful, enjoys making jokes (mainly as CN) and trying new things, and affectionate with his loved ones. Freedom is very important to Adrien, and he’ll often go to great lengths to try to hold on to it. Sometimes Chat Noir tries to put on a bit of a “tough guy persona”, but often melts at the first compliment or gesture from his partner.

Adrien does have the tendency to be very assertive and a tad brash (especially in the first season) because he worries that any sign of weakness will cause others to want to make decisions for him to “protect him”. Similarly, he hates being put on a pedestal, especially when it causes others to dismiss any part of him that doesn’t fit the image they have in their head (basically him being a famous model has greatly impacted how he wants to be perceived with others). He also can’t stand it when people close to him (mainly his father and initially his brother) hide things from him and try to control his actions and behavior.

3. Key Relationships

This is actually only a couple of his relevant relationships, seeing as there are a lot of them in MTS. If you want to know about a specific relationship I didn’t mention (or want more detail on a one I did mention, feel free to send me an ask!)

Marinette: The two start off with a casual friendship, as Marinette doesn’t really care that he’s a model. This actually makes Adrien more interested in hanging out with her, as she’s someone who sees Adrien as a person rather than a celebrity. He doesn’t really see her in a romantic light (or at least realize he does) until toward the end of the show, but still values her a lot. He also won’t be as oblivious as the OG Adrien about Mari’s feelings, and even though he doesn’t reciprocate them (consciously anyway), he appreciates that she actually likes him for who he is.

Ladybug: These two sort of get off on the wrong foot. Partially because of their Kwami’s influence (we may have given them some issues for the plot) and partially because Chat initially thinks Ladybug is a lot like his brother, the two don’t really work together, and often quarrel. He gets very paranoid about her wanting him to go along with her plans (due to his fear of being controlled) and thinks she’s bossy. After the midpoint of the S1 though, they get to know each other better. He learns that she is very different from who he thought she was. Realizing that she’s actually a vulnerable girl trying her best to be a hero and do right by others, causes him to become more concerned about her wellbeing. The two will also start to confide in each other about their insecurities, and near the end of S1, he finally falls in love with her. (He’ll be a lot less outspoken about it than the OG though, due to an incident that happened prior to this.) He wants to be the hero partner she deserves first and foremost.

Felix: The twins were very close growing up, especially the death of their mother and their father becoming more distant, but over the years, Felix began to change. He started to treat Adrien more like their father does, which caused Adrien to feel betrayed by his brother. Initially their relationship is cordial, with a bit of resentment on Adrien’s side, which grows until it reaches a breaking point. The two end up getting into a (somewhat one-sided) fight, that Adrien comes to regret. Fortunately the two end up getting a bit closer after this, before finally resolving their issues in the season finale (Felix learns Chat Noir’s identity, which changes how he perceives his brother, and Adrien realized that there’s been more going on with Felix than he thought after he gets akumatized into Calamity). From there the two regain their lost relationship, and do anything for each other.

Gabriel: Adrien’s feelings about his father are… complicated. On the one hand, he understands how hard things have been for his dad after losing the love of his life. In the other hand, Adrien can’t stand the way he’s acted for the past several years: isolating himself from everyone else, constantly trying to keep Adrien locked away and micromanaged, never just being there for his son, which is all Adrien really wants. On the other other hand, Adrien has a much harder time speaking up to him than he did with Felix (because well, it’s much easier to rebel against your twin sibling than your controlling father), and still wants to see the best in his dad (both because he cares about him and because Felix showed Adrien that change is possible). Throughout the third season, Adrien is able to learn a bit more about Gabriel and even confront him for how he’s treated Adrien (and Felix, but that’s another post). His father even seems like he’s starting to change after this, but… let’s just say something goes wrong.

Nino: Adrien is instantly charmed by his new “best bro”, who tries to teach him a bit more about normal kids work. Adrien tries to inspire Nino to apply himself a little more, at least when it comes to things that are clearly important to him. The fact that Nino likes his jokes definitely boosts his spirits. Adrien does start to worry about Nino after the Bubbler, as Nino’s extreme reaction (seeing as people usually can’t be akumatized unless it relates to a core issue that’s been festering for years) suggests that there may be more to his “cool dude” best friend than he thought.

Other notable Adrien/Chat Noir dynamics (for better or worse) include Plagg, Alya, Kagami, Luka, Chloe, Mylene (it’s a long story), Emilie, and Hawk Moth (he is their nemesis after all).

4. Character Growth

Ah yes, the bread and butter of storytelling. Adrien receives two major character arcs in the series. One principally taking place during season one, while the other is much longer. (He also gets minor, non-arc related growth, but I’m highlighting the most important details)

Arc #1: Adrien undergoes some pretty major changes in the first season. He starts off as the usual sweet, sophisticated, “perfect” Adrien who tries to smile through the loneliness and suffocating rules. When he meets Plagg, he gets a change to show how capable he can truly be, while getting the power to free himself from these confines. He especially loves using his Prime Ability, Wildcat (his equivalent to the Miraculous Ladybugs) to do so. It essentially turns him into an unbeatable fighting machine! Unfortunately, this power is more than a mortal being can handle, and slowly chips away at his sanity, amplifying his feelings of anger and determination to be free. Plagg also eggs him on, warning him that giving up on using Wildcats will make him “weak again”, which will cause him to go back to being helpless and submissive (MTS Plagg and Tikki are kinda jerks at first). He realizes that it’s too much for him to handle in the first midseason finale, and renounces the power. This causes his body to fall into a state of withdrawal and fatigue that takes multiple episodes to recover from. During this time, he learns the value of stability, responsibility, and that he can be empathetic while also not letting others control him. His arc culminates at the end of season 1, where he unlocks the power to purify akuma, understanding that destruction can be used for good when maintaining an inner balance.

Arc 2: The seeds of this arc are planted from the beginning, as using Wildcat caused him to unintentionally become destructive and dangerous, but the episode Copycat is what launches the arc. Facing someone who looks exactly like you, has all of your powers, who you (unintentionally) lead to get akumatized does a lot to a person’s self esteem. Even though he hasn’t fallen in love with Ladybug yet, he cares about their friendship, so fighting an imposter who completely obsessed with her causes him to fear becoming the same way. Naturally this causes him to panic when he does fall in love with her, making him take longer to even admit how he feels about her. (He also struggles after she rejects him, but is more worried about her potentially being afraid of him than the rejection itself.) The New York Special also deals with his insecurities, as he almost quits being a hero due to not wanting to hurt anyone else. Fortunately Felix (who he tried to give the ring to instead) talks him out of it. Finally he manages to overcome his fears in the final season, after he faces his nightmare in Sandboy (that being a Ladybug who believes he’s a monster), and acknowledges that he’ll never be that kind of person.

Conclusion:

Alright, that finishes a (general) overview of Adrien’s character in Miraculous: The Series. To anyone who actually had the patience to read all of this, thank you for listening to my ramble (believe it or not but there’s even more details I could have mentioned!)

Marinette is gonna be the next character I talk about (idk when I’ll actually write her notes out, but she is next) as a planned post. After that… I’ll probably either discuss the MTS love square, Tikki and Plagg’s changes, or one of the fabled Season One trio characters (Alya, Chloe, or Felix). As for now… stay miraculous!

[horizon-verizon]

Alicent actively partaking in Criston breaking his oath makes a lot of sense. Would a rigtheous and virtuous person cover up rapes and abuse ??

Most sexual conservatives/religious fanatics are total hypocrites in real life.

And her husband being dead doesn’t erase the fornication factor and how having sex out of wedlock, especially for women, is a sin.

Okay. I said that we needed the journey of her getting there, though? Because that would really make the character better, rounder, so we have the breadth of said hypocrisy and how people delude themselves while telling others, sincerely, that they are the "sinners". Some of us knew Alicent was hypocritical since at least epi 2 of S1. However, this doesn't mean that she'd inevitably sleep with Criston of all people, or anyone. A possibility =/= an inevitability for every single conservative hypocrite, bc you can be a hypocrite in many ways. Some conservative women absolutely don't sleep around on their husbands while they preach sexual purity. Some actually do take some rules about sexuality very seriously. They'd still be hypocrites if they allow their sons to rape without consequences or protect them or claim the victim (sometimes a "good" Christian girl herself) was "seducing" him. Which many do.

Once again, it's important for us to see these two develop a relationship in at least 1 written out dialouge-action scenes and not just glances or relatively quick moments of clutching that could just as easily just as translate to just frustration and desperation (epi 7, when Alicent tries to get Criston to stab out Luke's eye and he refuses), esp when the scenes are pretty chaoticly written back to back or when t's just a scenes that addresses one huge story element (this case, the boy's parentage, what this means for the line of succession, the confrontation aspect of it all. Along with Alicent's anger with Viserys. This scene in particular didn't lend to affair-having on Alicent's end; there was no moment where we saw Alicent speaking to Cole and accidentally look "funny" at him). Because while they were doing all that, the show would have other shit going on simultaneously or do quick cuts from those teeny-tiny moments to some other grand part of the scene. One example is when some person uploaded the moment Alicent went behind Cole/he went forward when Rhaenys came up the floor. We immediately went to several different moments: Helaena, Alicent going towards Aegon, Aemond, etc. It was a chaotic scene and people wanted to take everything in.

Some people do not engage in articles written about this show or rarely do bc they wish to see the project for what it is and what it writes for itself, and the project--without reading any outside articles--makes it so that Alicole was a possibility, but not an inevitability.

I know about Alicent looking up a little up at Cole in one scene. Again, that doesn't make up for the affirmation of this PLUS an actual scene where they speak flirtatiously. Because Alicent was also trying to be secretive for something else I can't remember.

Finally, the pacing of the entire season was very fast, the relationships were not allowed to really breathe so we may see the contours of each one at court, etc. More details, more scenes add depth to characters' actions and color to engage more viewers so they'd take notice when said stark moments of attraction exist later on. The flatness of the emotion aside from shock plus the fast pace make it easy to miss whatever, esp when they are tiny compared to everything else. Such sceneless-ness is a tactic of storytelling for a reason, when storytellers want to create a plot twist. Put in some bits of suggestions, some people get it or hope for it or dread it, others don't notice. So this all just makes it very clear that the show intended for this to be a surprise. Esp when Matt Smith/Fabien both started laughing after Matt made the joke after Fabien accidentally let it slip.

HotD's Alicole is simply something they did to hammer in that fact about Alicent AND bc they don't know what else to do with her since she doesn't do much during the war itself aside from a few notable events.

So no, the writing, eh. It is valid for people to not think alicole was a thing BEFORE this announcement. They still thought of her as a hypocrite without actually thinking she'd ever sleep with Cole. And claiming that "it was obvious" is leaning towards obnoxiousness.

Yes, widows are still subject to chastity and purity culture.

[ladyluscinia]

In an ideal world, DJenks could build on Lucius’s poly ideas in “we don’t own each other.” and Stede and Izzy’s (super limited) abilities to compromise with each other (via hostages) and they could both be with Ed and everyone in the love triangle is happy, but that seems super delusional at this point, even if it’d be so cool. So, what do you think a realistic happy ending for Izzy would look like?

I think I pulled up a link I wanted to include to answer this like a day or two after it was sent, and then I promptly got distracted and didn't actually type anything. Oops.

Anyway... happy endings.

So here's a post where I kinda speculated on this before that's worth reading. It brings up some tropes that I think are in the mix of possibilities and how I personally feel about them.

For an answer to your question... The way I kind of see the "compromise" situation coming out of S1 is that all the characters are falling on a sliding scale between two not-ideal extremes of piracy philosophy. One end has Izzy firmly planted as the extreme of Edward's default approach - iron fist, emotionally closed off, total focus on skill and discipline, ruling things through a balance of fear and awe that makes them really good at piracy but emotionally and interpersonally a disaster. The other end is probably Lucius as the extreme of Stede's approach - all focus on interpersonal relationships and emotional fulfillment, wanting to have fun and do no work, flaunting hierarchy, and generally failing piracy in favor of self expression.

(Note it's important that Edward and Stede can't truly hit their extremes - Edward is too seeking of attachment and frivolity even as he bristles at vulnerability, and Stede is too emotionally locked up like a clam to practice what he preaches and now has no money to fund a permanent enforced vacation. They don't really want what they perceive as their culture goal, which is good because both their goals kind of suck in different ways. The Kraken is doomed to collapse because it's further out than Izzy.)

The whole crew, Izzy included, needs to make their way toward the midpoint (which, given this is a romcom, is probably not a true middle but skewed a bit toward Stede and silly hijinks) in order to be successful AND emotionally fulfilled. And I think they can do it!

Like Stede's whole vacation boat and enforcing his own unskilled, atypical piracy in the early eps has already caused friction with his crew. They want to be badasses, face challenges, complete raids, etc. The fact they've grown to like him doesn't mean they've decided Stede's hobbies are better than theirs now, it just means they are more open to doing something silly with him and enjoying it than they were in 1x01. I don't think the show is going to end with "retirement" because I don't think any of the characters really want to retire (including bored-as-hell Edward). And if they are still being pirates - in fact, trying to be good pirates - then it's not unrealistic to think Izzy can chill out a bit via character development and get in on the fun.

This is a guy who met Stede and sliced his shirt up as a hello, and then did literally everything he did in 1x06. He's not an inherent buzzkill of a person lol. He's just stressed.

Izzy and Edward working out their shit is probably going to be a extended part of Edward's general character arc, but once they get through that I feel like Izzy's happy ending will be just moving from lurking on the stairs to being in the circle. Give the man a friend, a knife game, probably a boyfriend for the middle aged love parallels... and throw in a real, much scarier antagonist for S3 just to cement him on the Revenge side (*crossing fingers* please be Hornigold).

He'll do just fine.

[justanotherhh]

suuuuper curious to know where you're suspecting the story will take striker, blitz will definitely want him decimated once he comprehends the damage dealt to stolas, but there's also the matter of there definitely-almost-certainly-i-am-not-deluded being a goetia we still haven't met who striker wants decimated for whatever the fuck was done to him and his in the past ( unless he's already killed them and then just.... kept on plowing with his unquenchable quest for vengeance ) + obvs his backstory needs to be revealed and that thing will have to address both his classism and his identity as a hybrid + there's def more villains left he could team up with + twice now there's been the lingering threats towards octavia and oh no where could that possibly go now that he's off stella's chain + i am so curious where his beef with eminem will go now that they've had a rematch

hello hello!

THIS IS AAAAAAAAALL PULLED OUTTA MORE OR LESS NOTHIN' BE PREPARED:

Yes, absolutely there is some Backstory that's been somewhat hinted at that I think will explain some of his ire and further develop him as a foil to blitzø, who, after all, early in s1 could for a second there have believably joined him due to feeling objectified and used by stolas after a lifetime of his talents (which in the episode and generally all episodes are shown to be substantial) going to waste, due to, yes, his own Trauma, but also due to Class specifically. but of course, what striker doesn't get is that blitzø actually likes loves stolas and also stolas loves blitzø and wants to do better by him RIP

(sidenote, I think if striker found out that the reason blitzø acts Like That around stolas is to keep himself emotionally safe/at a distance, because he doesn't feel good enough for stolas, he'd flip a table, not because he cares about blitzø's mental health, but because This Is What He's Been Trying To Make Points About The Whole Time Dammit These Blue Bloods Take Our Best And Turn Them Into Whining Toys Desperate For Their Approval!!!!)

but yes, something that will potentially make blitzø see/understand where striker is coming from, and why he's unhappy with the way things are (in ways moreso than everyone else is unhappy about the way things are), and even maybe why striker was hoping to find some commonality with him? because they... do have a lot of common ground....?

sidenote here, I don't think this can be entirely divorced from stolas' and fizzarolli's arcs, the former I think could potentially eventually abandon the expectations forced upon him and become blitzø's employee/partner, and the latter... more unsure. still need some data, but it'll definitely pertain to his relationship with asmodeus being out in the open now. my dream is poly life, but hey, i'm never expecting it, even in queer shows. not everything can be sense8 after all --

but stolas and fizz represent two sides of the status quo that are going to dismantle it in their own way. stolas by not subjecting himself and therefore others to what he's been taught he Has to do and be, and fizz through his relationship with ozzie. they're already so much more effective than anything striker has managed to achieve, despite his beliefs

but also that striker is blitzø's shadow. blitzø feels hopeless and alone, but he's got a lot of people (especially as of halfway through s2) who would go out to bat for him, who want him in their lives, who really really care... the person blitzø doesn't want to be is... striker. striker is a match for blitzø in every way (share first place at the harvest moon festival), has many similar opinions (oh great, now the supremacist is agreeing with me), and is similarly jaded... and has nobody at all

the point is that striker's goal is to dismantle the status quo... sort of... it's to destroy something in any case, to get vengeance as some kind of vague Concept (which does make me think he got his vengeance and is just post-vengeance lashing out) but it doesn't seem like he's thought that far ahead, and now it's become personal, it's all centred around blitzø (and fizz, but blitzø moreso) "betraying" their kind, and stolas and potentially fizz, now after oops are symbolic of everything that's Wrong, but also... it would hurt blitzø specifically..... both western energy and oops showed blitzø reacting emotionally to someone getting hurt because of striker. differently, because his relationship with stolas and his relationship with fizz are two distinct kinds of fucked up, but in the end, because of blitzø's place in the story and the Thing that striker is trying to destroy (powerful demons and the class traitors that allow themselves to become their pets) it aaaall centers back around to him and striker becoming more and more unhinged about, specifically, him, and also maybe wanting to drag blitzø to his level and finally finally agree with his point of view...

at least... that's what i want it to

so I want it to get more personal from here on out. striker seemed to really lose it at the end of oops, there is no cool left AND THEN BLITZØ BLEW HIM UP. MY GUY! IT'S PERSONAL NOW IF IT WASN'T BEFORE! (and it was getting personal before, but I'm gonna break you like a horse really cinched it -- and that was before his manic attempts at murdering fizz in front of blitzø)

I don't necessarily think blitzø would want to "decimate" him, not because striker isn't really dangerous and hasn't actively tried to kill two people blitzø loves (and moxxie and millie by proximity), but because to blitzø this isn't as personal... yet. kill, maybe, but I don't think he's currently out looking for a fight, and I think once it does get that personal, the dynamic will be too complicated to measure in simple terms of destruction, i think it'll be a cauldron of things...

I need to go back and rewatch western energy to remind myself of how exactly he taunts stolas that blitzø isn't coming for him, just to convince myself that there's something in there that's more than just glee about stolas being hurt, but also that he's happy that blitzø hasn't been completely lost to this relationship (fizz is way more of a lost cause according to striker), and maybe he can cut that thread for him, who knows. put him back on the right path. it's a gift, really, killing stolas

and i want blitzø to pity striker. i think that would drive him right over whatever edge he hasn't toppled off already, if blitzø understood and saw him and still told him that he was wrong, but now he felt sorry for him

as for via, great potential for a stolas and blitzø co-dads team-up? i don't imagine she'd get seriously hurt in the way other characters have been, but then that's my own limitations, simply because she's been safe from harm so far... but yeah, co-dads team-up. feels like a later down the line thing (well, most of this does)

i do want striker to land some kind of truly painful hit on blitzø. something he can't walk away from without actually getting help. whether that's hurting people he loves, or hurting him in a way so that he needs to be saved (listen, i want the latter... big fan of emotional whump blitzø, but the show has us covered on that front, it's time for him to need saving after getting stabbed and beaten and what have you, stolas can't have all the fun!)

In Conclusion: do I have real Theories? not as such. I just have Feelings.

a. I want blitzø to understand striker because of striker's past, and for that understanding to make things worse between them b. I want striker to take whatever messed up emotions he has and fine-tune them in blitzø's direction and everything he cares about (hell, maybe barbie could get involved in this somehow, so far she's been very far off to the left) c. I want striker to really really hurt blitzø. I want blitzø to at one point be genuinely, deeply afraid and in pain for a prolonged amount of time (so not just the brief parts in oops, I'm talking full episode angst) because of striker -- I think especially because striker has lost a few bouts against I.M.P. it's time for him to get a real win. and for blitzø to get hurt. sorry, that's what you get for being the narrative's specialist little boy d. I want striker to accidentally bring stolas and blitzø closer together, perhaps by kidnapping/threatening via e. I want striker to function as blitzø's narrative/symbolic shadow for the rest of the show f. do I want striker to survive the show? idk. maybe. I like a villain whose motives you get, but who never gets redeemed, and whether that can happen and him surviving, who knows g. I want there to be more horse-based innuendos, I think that's their shared language h. (I also want him to start crying because he's so damned tired of everyone making his esteemed rivalries and attempts at decent threatening behaviours and murder into a sex thing. can't a guy be a mass-murdering hitman in peace these days?)

as for villains: striker and mammon? striker and paimon? the hypocrisy of striker working with people like stella being writ even larger, simply because his whole set of ideals have been upended by how much he wants to destroy/dominate/win over one fucking guy that lives in his head rent free (blitzø has that gift)

In Real Conclusion: in the journey to try and get at blitzø, striker destroys the last parts of himself that he could hold onto. something like that. that would be cool. also. want him to make blitzø cry at one point. just cos.