#but for gods sake if you’re going to devote two entire episodes to someone else’s story

[flaccid-rats]

I. Ugh. Okay. I need to get some thoughts out about the new episode.

I get that Din didn’t want the Darksaber. I understand that it was the last thing he wanted, and honestly? Yeah, I would absolutely expect him to give it away in the long run because while Din Djarin might be an excellent leader and he’s absolutely someone who inspires loyalty, it’s not a position he wants to be in. And I love Mand’alor Din with all my heart but in canon? It probably wouldn’t have happened. Yes, I love him as this tragic figure of someone who’s destined to be a great king even thought they don’t want to be king, but that’s not what the show is about and that’s what fanfic is for.

What I’m mad about, is that at the end of season two they set up this wonderful storyline about a simple man just trying to make his way though the galaxy who has just been given an entire world, who’s been given this legacy, this ancient and noble title that people had killed and died for, whose been given everything that his people have fought years for, have fought for generations to get back after it was stolen from them, and yet he’s lost everything.

He’s been given everything and now he has nothing.

This season should have been about that. It should have been about Din Djarin coping with the loss of his son, it should have been about it taking more than an episode and a half for him to redeem himself, it should have been about Din Djarin learning the history of this relic he now has and the history of his people that he was never taught. It should have been about him learning the complicated history between his people and the Jedi, between his people and his son.

I don’t, and I cannot stress this enough, care that Bo-Katan has the Darksaber.

What I care about is that they fucked with Boba Fett’s show and story and plot to continue that storyline they set up at the end of season two, to have Din Djarin hurt and lost and say that the Darksaber was his because it’s all he has left, to have him fight Paz for the Darksaber even though he did not want it, to have Din fight to get it back because he was not willing to give it up, because he lost his son and the Darksaber is he all he has now, and then they just. Gave him Grogu back with zero repercussions and threw ALL THAT away for season three so they can make Bo-Katan the main character and start a fuck ton of side plots about the New Order so they can make the sequels make sense.

That’s what I’m mad about.

Having said that.

I loved Lizzo and Jack Black this episode they were great.

[know-the-way]

I know it’s really stupid of me but I was kind of hoping for a redemption arc for Faustus. 😅😢

It’s not stupid, not at all! It’s natural to want to see the best in people, particularly when you believe they can be better than what they are now, so it’s completely understandable.

And, ya know, if the show gets picked up - he may have one yet still, we don’t know!

To me, this season really highlighted what the purpose of Faustus’ character is supposed to be, imo. Thinking of episode 4, we’re shown three different levels of corruption through three different characters.

The first is Harvey. Pure, sweet, golden boy Harvey is revealed to have some deep-seeded hatred of witches. Does he have any reason to hate witches? Well, let’s check - he lost a brother, got manipulated, controlled, and lied to by his first love, and has been in an endless cycle of extreme danger for the past year of his life. I think it’s fair to say we all understand that prejudice is not okay, but is it equally understandable why Harvey has some hang-ups about magic and witches? I personally think it is. (Not to the point of joining a literal witch hunt or angrily accusing your distressed best friend of killing your dad at her 17th birthday party 🙃, but understandable nonetheless.)

I personally think the intention with Harvey’s character being a cadet in Blackwood’s army was to demonstrate how, even when we believe someone to be morally good and just, they can become someone else when they endure pain and that pain is never properly addressed.

Did Sabrina apologize to Harvey for everything that happened between them? Yes. But did she repeat the same troublesome behaviors in different ways after that? Also yes. She didn’t demonstrate change in her actions, and a loootttt more happened with Harvey and the witch world in a negative way beyond his relationship with Sabrina, so the mistrust he feels isn’t entirely unjustified.

Then - “oh wow, oh my God, my second love has also hid being a witch from me, can I catch a fucking break here? Why should I ever trust another witch in my life?”

Answer: because they are humans, none being wholly good or bad, and they love you.

Roz talks to Harvey, tells him she believes he’s good, and demonstrably proves her own “goodness” by sacrificing herself to save others at Dr. C’s. Roz shows Harvey that she means what she says and her feelings for him are real - that she is a scared, broken human like him, just trying to do her best with what life has given her. Hence, when the moment of truth comes - Harvey remembers his humanity and proves his own “goodness” by saving her. But if Roz had never spoken to him, never acknowledged what he’d been through and that his feelings were valid... if no one had ever truly cared about his pain? It seems apparent that Harvey would have continued down a very dark path.

Which brings us to...

Mary. Mary has been literally murdered, had her identity hijacked by a demoness, her fiancé is dead, she doesn’t remember several months of her life, and her previous favorite student is a witch who has seemingly performed magic more than once on her.

Mary has every right to fear witches at this point. She has had zero trustworthy interactions with the witch world and from her perspective - her entire life has been stolen and no one cares. No one checks in on Mary, no one validates her pain, and as a result - no one in the witch world seems to have any compassion, humanity, or kindness in them. Enter the Pilgrims of the Night, who recognize her pain and fear without even knowing her, acknowledge it, and offer her solace in their congregation on the basis that her experience with witches is shared by the Reverend Lovecraft and his flock.

They prove themselves to her when the advice the Reverend/Faustus gives her (“let the dark in”) saves her life. My God, someone finally seems to care if she lives or dies!

People who care about others are good, so the church and the reverend’s mission must be good, too. Therefore, she is absolutely invested in whatever is asked of her and will blindly follow their lead in order to protect others from experiencing what she has. To me, Mary in the perverted universe represented the crossroads of corruption - where you truly believe what you’re doing is the right thing, even if it hurts others because those “others” have hurt you... and they will surely hurt again if you don’t stop them.

However, I think if Mary was finally told the truth - the full truth - and Lilith herself apologized for being the first piece in the puzzle... along with all the other witches... AND they showed that they actually cared about her well-being... Mary could find her way back through forgiveness. Or, at the very least, she could understand and process everything so that she could find a way to heal that doesn’t involve persecuting others.

And now, there’s Faustus. We aren’t entirely clear on Faustus’ history altogether, but we do know he’s had many experiences of being slighted by the churches of darkness (despite following the rules to a T).

He was rebuked by Edward for wanting to marry Zelda after mentoring him for who knows how many years, lost the office of high priest to him, and when he finally gets the title - here comes Edward’s self-righteous brat to fuck him over again. There he is trying to carry out the Dark Lord’s request to get Sabrina to sign her name in the Book of the Beast, even though she insults their doctrines and faith at every turn, and the coven and academy he’s had working like a well-oiled machine for the past 16 years is being slowly ripped apart. Why is the Dark Lord allowing this? Why is he having to endure a meddlesome child’s antics? Why is he not being rewarded for doing exactly as he’s been asked and returning the Church of Night to stability after Edward nearly destroyed it altogether? Like hello Dark Lord, can you throw me a fucking bone here?

Small victories - he finally secures Zelda’s hand in marriage and an audience with the anti-pope. This is what his life should’ve looked like two centuries ago, but no matter. He’s correcting it all now and by Satan, nothing is going to stop him this time.

But then...

Oh cool, Sabrina is here to intervene again and has presented the text of his old rival for consideration along with his (clearly superior) manifesto. What’s that, you say? Oh, she’s also gonna crash my wedding, accuse me of murder, and spread claims about my manifesto without having even read it? Wow, ahaha, sounds hilarious... except why am I not laughing?

He arrives in Rome and gets an inkling that the Dark Lord may finally be taking action about this heretical little monster because he’s offered the title of anti-pope by the unholy high council themselves. Finally, some appreciation! He just needs to hang on a little longer, eliminate these small meddlesome threats, and soon he will reside over a peaceful kingdom far removed from anymore mortal nonsense.

Oh, for fuck’s sake, what do you mean Sabrina convinces the council he’s unfit to be anti-pope? This is bullshit, man! You know what? Fuck this place, I’m gonna make my own damn church and ensure no other headstrong witches like Sabrina Buzzkill Spellman can ruin it. That’ll finally return things to ord- MY WIFE KEPT MY OWN CHILD A SECRET FROM ME?! WHAT THE FUCK?! Alright, that’s it, The Spellmans are clearly here to poison others (ironic foreshadowing) - time to wash my hands of them completely, I am so over thi- what’s that? The Dark Lord’s here? GOOD. About time this asshole showed up to set people straight and remind them that the values of his unholy church, which Faustus has exemplified perfectly, must be respected.

You mean for me to bow down to whom now? The halfbreed brat who has been directly and willfully wreaking havoc on the congregation he’s patiently and painstakingly lead back to greatness? Are you fucking serious, m8? No. Absolutely not. No. I’m getting out of here, and since I won’t have the little twat poison anyone else, I will literally poison them instead. Be free, sheep!

It’s up until this point that I believe Faustus was still mostly at the crossroads stage, same as Mary. He believed everything he was doing was the right thing, based on the teachings from the religion he devoted his entire life to, and that he’d be rewarded for serving the Dark Lord so faithfully - until the Dark Lord proved several times in succession that his religion was all a lie. That three+ centuries worth of groveling and abiding and waiting has meant absolutely nothing.

So now we have the Eldritch terrors. Beings more powerful than the oldest gods. He spends 15 years isolated in a time bubble purifying himself, devoting everything to them, and won’t it be so glorious when they welcome him into his ranks? He’s set them free now, after all, they owe it to him.

But doing the same action over and over and expecting a different result is what? The definition of insanity, friends. Of course the Eldritch terrors reject him, too... of course Sabrina gains their attention and veneration instead... of course he should have tried to seize their power for himself a long time ago... so, fuck it all, he’ll do that now. There is no right and wrong, there is no observed justice - if there was, he would have been rightfully recognized for all the time, effort, and pain he’s endured only to receive nothing in return.* No one ever acknowledged his pain... no one ever even considered it. Over time, that takes its toll.

(*Clearly, I mean this to be from Faustus’ perspective and not my own.)

Of course, he has inflicted more than his fair share of pain himself and I am of the personal belief he needed to pay for that, but... equally imagine being hurt over and over and watching those who did it walk away, not only without reprimand, but with the belief that they were right and just to do it? Could it slowly drain on one’s soul to watch the rules apply to some and not others? Debatable, I suppose, but I personally think yes.

So... I say all of this only to point out that there is still potential to acknowledge his pain. And thus, there is imo still potential to understand, communicate properly (I am very interested in any conversations he and Sabrina may have had during their training - I know he said she took a vow of silence, but clearly some talking occurred for Sabrina to learn so much about the void from him), grow, and finally - for him to be given the chance to repair everything he had a hand in breaking. It wouldn’t be an easy or painless task to get to that point, and no one would be faulted for not trusting him to do so, but I think there is potential for it. If they get picked up and they want to finally allow the characters some time to reflect and process shit, they could include Faustus in that.

[kor-ra]

Fun challenge for you based on your recent tags: Explain to me, someone who has never watched a single episode of the 100, why you ship Bellarke? I am curious, and I'm hoping this is entertaining for you to do lol

Oh gosh ok you asked for it, the flood gates have been opened. Sorry this took so long to answer but I wanted to explain it in the best way I could (or at least try to). I’m going to do a short version and a long version so people don’t have to read my entire explanation lol. Also I’m only going over the plot as it relates to their story, so there will probably be some holes.

Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake are soulmates, plain and simple as that. The growth that they have had since the first season till now has been a long and winding road. They were enemies then became co leaders then best friends and now are (hopefully) on track to admitting that they love each other. The amount of parallels the show draws between them is insane and they both have such a profound understanding of each other due to their shared leadership role and constantly being the person that the other one goes to when they need someone to comfort them. Time and time again they choose each other, even during some of the most difficult decisions they will ever have to make. Their growth almost always comes back to how they influence each other to try and be better people. Canonically, they make better decisions when they are together: The Head and the Heart. They cannot exist as their full selves without each other in their lives because their lives have become so intertwined with each other that they are fundamentally different people when they’re apart. No matter how often they’re apart, they always find a way back to each other. And if nothing else, the gazes and longing hugs that they give each other just oozes love and understanding.

Ok that was the short version. Here’s the Long Version🤪

Ok so Bellamy and Clarke definitely did not start off this way. From the very first episode they are at each other’s throats. Clarke is trying to be the practical leader to get these kids to survive while Bellamy is the dynamic leader inspiring these kids to “do whatever the hell they want”. They don’t see eye to eye and Bellamy even says he’s willing to cut off Clarke’s hand to get what he wants. This doesn’t change until 1x03 when Bellamy sees Clarke mercy kill Atom, another kid on Earth.

This girl, who he thought was a pampered princess, was able to make this tough decision while he couldn’t. After that they begrudgingly try and coexist together. Then “Day Trip” happens and Bellamy and Clarke go off on their own and almost die by a rogue delinquent. They kill him and while they’re recuperating Bellamy wants to run away from all the hardships and mistakes that he’s made. Instead of holding it against him, Clarke gives him forgiveness (“if you want forgiveness, I’ll give it to you ok, fine you’re forgiven”)

For the first time they are truly vulnerable with each other and make their first decision to lead together. This is the turning point. From then on they co lead together, sharing the burden and responsibilities of leadership and being the person that the other depends on. They don’t always get along but they learn to rely on each other. The season ends with them separated at the end of their first big battle. Clarke closes the drop ship door to save her people from the enemy and she thinks he didn’t survive the blast outside

S2

Bellamy and Clarke are separated (a common occurrence that you will soon find out) Clarke is trapped in Mt. Weather and although the rest of her people are comfortable there, she is determined to get out and find out if the rest of her people -cough cough Bellamy- are alive. Bellamy likewise also starts to look for Clarke. Angst and drama ensues, but the important part is that we get our first ever Bellarke hug and man is it a good one (and an absolute fan favorite)

Like Bellamy is so stunned by the way she RUNS and wraps her arms around him and slowly after the shock hugs her back. But this hug cements just how important they’ve become to each other. From here on out they protect each other. Bellamy saves Clarke from being poisoned, he volunteers to go into Mount Weather and Clarke (originally) violently opposes it saying that “She can’t lose him to” in reference to losing the boy she loved, among other things (imo this is when Bellamy starts to develop real feelings for Clarke). Finally towards the end of the season when they face off against the “big baddie” they have to make the choice to kill hundreds of innocent people among the guilty to save their own people. An impossible choice, and Clarke being the self sacrificial puppy that she is wants to “bear it so they don’t have to”. But Bellamy won’t let her do that, they’re going to share that heavy burden. And they pull the lever together

So they return home, people rescued and the guilt hanging high above their heads. But for Clarke the guilt is too much to bear and she tells Bellamy that she has to leave. And Bellamy BEGS her to stay, even repeating that same line that she said to him in the beginning of the show. However, she leaves him and her people behind, which would lead them both down a path of hurt.

S3

And hurt they do. Clarke leaving didn’t fill the hole of guilt in her heart, and Bellamy was left to (try lol) and heal his broken heart on his own. I will also say that both Clarke/Bellamy get their own significant other with Lexa/Gina respectively and this is because (imo) they both go down paths where the other is not in the picture I’m so certain that if they stayed togehter, they would’ve been together and that’s why they’re always separated. But then for the first time in the 3 months since she left, Bellamy finds Clarke, while she’s being taken captive and literally DROPS EVERYTHING to rescue her. When he finds her it is the most tender thing.

This is soon interrupted when Roan (her captor) comes back and Clarke BEGS him to save his life, saying “I’ll do anything. I’ll stop fighting just please don’t hurt him.” Bellamy gets stabbed in the leg and and Clarke and Roan get away. Unlike a normal person, Bellamy Blake is hopelessly in love and devoted to Clarke so he STILL TRIED TO GO AFTER HER WITH A HOLE IN HIS LEG AND WE GET THIS BEAUTIFUL SCENE RIGHT HERE

Cut back a little while later Clarke is safe in Polis with Lexa, trying to unify their two clans and Bellamy finds her again. He tells her to come back to Arkadia (their home) but she says she needs to be here (in Polis). This breaks his heart and is what sets him literally down a VERY DARK PATH of murder to try and justify a war (complicated stuff, what matter is he fucks up). Clarke eventually does come back to Arkadia only to find a very angry and heartbroken Bellamy who tries to justify his actions (You Left Me). They have a very Bellarke™ talk full of emotion and love.

And just when you think everything is going to be alright, he handcuffs her to a chair lol. And they spend a good chunk of the season apart.

When the going gets tough however, they know that they need each other. And after episodes of not speaking to each other they have another one of their Bellarke™ talks and hugs where Bellamy says “I was so mad at you for leaving. I don’t want to feel that way anymore” And then they hug like this, like c’monnnnnnn platonic my ass.

I’m going to speed up for the sake of getting to more stuff. But they end season 3 as they always do, fighting the evil together. Other highlights include Clarke’s (brainwashed) mom using Bellamy as her 1st choice to sacrifice in front of Clarke. There’s also a cute hand holding scene hgngnghngg

For all the angst however, this is the first season when other people call them out on their feelings (mainly Bellamy’s tho) for each other well Octavia already called him out during the first hug but that doesn’t count because She knows him too well. His other friends call him out for not being devoted to his old girlfriend Gina (who died) and Murphy comparing his feeling for Emori (his CANON love interest) to Clarke.

S4

Ok, I know a lot of this post has been focused on Bellamy’s feelings and that’s mostly because Clarke has had a love interest in every season so she hasn’t had time to recognize her own feelings. However during s4, we get to see the extent of just how much Clarke means to Bellamy as well. There are a lot of moments in this season so I’m just going to try and focus on the big ones/my faves.

(This isn’t super important, but in the 1st episode of s4, Clarke is still grieving her gf Lexa who died and IMMEDIATELY AFTER, we get a cut to Bellamy like way to be subtle guys. no platonic explanation for this edit)

Ok basically what you need to know about s4 is that the world is going to end by a nuclear radiation cloud thingy called Praimfaiya and it’s up to Bellarke (along with some other peeps lol) to save everyone from it. So one of the things Clarke has to do is write a list of 100 people to choose for a potential bunker. So of course Clarke puts Bellamy on spot 99 but can’t bring herself to write her own name. So Bellamy who is sleeping on the couch wakes up because his Clarke is sad sirens are going off to tell her to put her name down. (If I’m on that list, you’re on that list) Still she can’t do it sO BELLAMY DOES IT FOR HER (because this boy needs her to be with him). and then he puts his hand on her AND SHE LAYS HER HEAD ON HIS HAND....so tender.

Ok so a few episodes later Bellamy (and Kane) get held hostage and Clarke has to sacrifice part of a large shelter that they need to escape Praimfaiya for them, it’s a tough decision but one that Clarke obviously makes. (Literally the only reason Bellamy was even taken was because Roan knew how much he meant to specifically Clarke). I can’t find a gif, but trust me it’s worrisome

Ok god next episode is when we start getting into that high stakes shit (THAT I LOVE). So basically Clarke and Bellamy are going to be separated AGAIN and right before he leaves Bellamy says this

LIKE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ARGUE THAT HE WAS NOT ABOUT TO CONFESS HIS LOVE TO HER LIKE CMON PEOPLE LOOK AT EVERY TROPE OF THIS EVER. Clarke of course was like “No, we will see each other again” but uhufhdjejdwkndwk he was going to say “I love you” in my book

Ok now towards the end of the season, most everyone in Skaikru is in this Bunker except for Octavia and most of the grounders (people on earth who survived the original radiation). I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned this yet but Octavia is Bellamy’s younger sister and throughout the show he has sacrificed so so much for her and risked a lot of things to keep her safe. So now when Bellamy learns that Octavia is alive and outside the bunker he rushes to open the door for her. But here’s the catch: if they open the hatch, there’s a chance the radiation is bad and everyone in the bunker (THE HUMAN RACE) would die. However, because Bellamy needs to save his sister he’s willing to take that risk. For Clarke, that isn’t though and POINTS A GUN at him. But Bellamy says if she shoots she’s “going to have to make it a kill shot”. AND SHE CAN’T BRING HERSELF TO SHOOT HIM. CLARKE CANNOT KILL BELLAMY EVEN IF IT MEANT SAVING THE HUMAN RACE. Of course it was fine but still man c’mon.

And then later in order to try and lighten the mood, when they’re trying to drive the rover, Bellamy makes Clarke laugh and IS SO DISTRACTED BY HER SMILE HE CRASHES THE CAR. ok moving on

OK HERE IS THE BIG LEAGUE MY FAVORITE BELLARKE SCENE IN THE SERIES. So Bellamy and Clarke have this big heart to heart cause Clarke thinks she’s gonna die and it is the softest scene ever. So Clarke, thinking she’s going to die says “You’ve got such a big heart Bellamy. People follow you, you inspire them because of this (his heart). But the only way we’re gonna make sure we survive is if you use this too (his head aka what Clarke represents in their relationship” AND TO THAT RESPONDS “I got you for that” IN THE MOST TENDER WAY LIKE THEY’RE SO IN LOVE. And also they have one of the best bellarke hugs of the show.

So Bellarke and like 6 of their friends head off to the space station to avoid the death wave. However, the satellite that allows them to get in isn’t working, so Clarke sacrifices her self to go and fix it while the rest of her friends can go to space. Bellamy makes the HEARTWRENCHING DECISION to leave her behind in order to save the rest of his friends from the death wave. So Spacekrew go up to the station to wait 6 years until Earth becomes habitable while Bellamy grieves Clarke’s death.

Except she’s not dead

Clarke has special blood called “nightblood” that made her immune to the radiation. She spends the next six years on the only available plot of green land left with her adoptive daughter Madi (who has nightblood and she found when she survived the radiation.) So for the next 6 years CLARKE CALLS BELLAMY ON THIS RADIO EVERY DAY. This radio doesn’t even work, but Clarke calls him anyways to keep her sane and (imo) this is when I truly think Clarke realizes the depth of her feelings for Bellamy, because I for sure wouldn’t call my platonic buddy EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for 6 years (THATS 2199 DAYS) like c’mon

S5

Ok so 6 years have passed, and Clarke is waiting for Bellamy + Co (Spacekru) to come back to Earth. But before Spacekru comes back, another ship lands on Earth full of escaped prisoners who have been cryogenically frozen for the past like 150 years. So basically they come to Earth, capture Clarke and hold her hostage, while Madi (her adoptive daughter) escapes.

Literally a little while later Spacekru finds their way back to Earth and stumble upon Madi who tells them Clarke is alive, much to all of their shock but ESPECIALLY Bellamy (cause ya know the love of his life is back from the dead). So he goes to find and rescue her his wife from the prisoners. When he finds her they threaten to shoot him on sight, but he has leverage. He can send a signal back to the spaceship so, he trades 283 lives in order to save Clarke because of course he does.

Bellamy and Clarke finally have their moment to reunite 6 years in the making and it’s as soft and sweet as you could ever expect it to be and they have another one of their classic Bellarke™ hugs.

Ok so happy ending now for them right? They’re finally back together !!! Well NOPE because after Bellamy was done grieving Clarke he got himself a girlfriend :))))))) named Echo (context Echo was an assassin/spy the “bad guys” until end of s4, then she went up to space w/ them) but Bellamys whole schtick is forgiveness, which he learnt from Clarke COUGH COUGH . Anyways when Clarke sees them making out for the first time she is let’s just say ~taken aback~

and the second time she sees them she looks straight up heartbroken !!!

Now that Clarke has finally realized her feelings for Bellamy he’s with another girl :///// But Clarke still holds a very dear position in Bellamy’s heart and we see that when he confronts his sister. Remember Octavia? The sister who he would do anything for??? Well now she’s kinda lost her marbles and became an evil dictator when she was leading everyone in the bunker. So now due to ~plot~ Octavia wants Clarke dead. Bellamy CANNOT have this happen. I mean he just got her back !!! And he pleads for Octavia to save her life and Octavia says this

HIS SISTER WHO KNOWS HIM BEST (well besides Clarke lmao) CALLED HIM OUT ON HIS FEELINGS. And the best part is that Bellamy doesn’t even try to deny it. Then he says “I can’t let you kill Clarke , O” AND PROCEEDS TO POISON HIS SISTER. THE ONE WHO HE HAS RISKED HIS LIFE FOR LIKE FOREVER (she doesn’t die tho) Bellamy choses Clarke over her without hesitation, and that has come a long way my friends. 

Ok while, we’re riding this high it gets kinda worse. So, remember Clarke’s adoptive daughter Madi? Well now Spacekrew wants to put this thing called the flame (ok sorry I glossed over it before but it’s really important to the show, I just hate it !) which all previous leaders of the grounder people had, in Madi’s head because she’s the ~destined~ leader (it’s confusing I know just roll with it). Clarke is like fuck no because she also hates the flame (queen) and doesn’t want Madi to become a leader and carry that burden. So Bellamy locks Clarke up to get to Madi, but then Clarke grabs Madi and leaves Bellamy to die in Octavia’s apocalyptic fighting pit to fend for his life.

Not looking great right? Bear with me for a moment lol. So flash forward to the end of the season and one of the prisoner dudes accidentally sets off a bomb that’s going to destroy the one green valley that was left. Bellamy is pissed at Clarke for leaving him to die, but Clarke was only trying to save Madi but doesn’t know how to fix this. Then Madi (our mini bellarke shipper) tells Bellamy how important she is to him. Like this girl probably watched her make these calls every morning, SHE KNOWS

And just like that Bellamy cannot be mad at Clarke anymore, because he realizes the bond and isolation and dare I say LOVE she must have for him to do that. So they all make it back up to space as Earth explodes for the 2nd time (RIP). So remember that prision ship with cryogenic pods? Yea so now basically everyone who is on Earth is going to rest in these pods until Earth heals itself. Except it doesn’t (at least not in the 10 years they had hoped for). So two of Bellarke’s friends and couple named Monty and Harper stay awake and spend their remaining years finding another planet to live on. And when they find one 125 years later guess who they picked to wake up first. You guessed it, the co leaders themselves Bellarke. So they have a tender moment watching the sun rise over this new planet

S6

Ok this is the last season before we’re caught up but my god it’s a big one for Bellarke. Ok so the season starts off on this new planet and everyone is distrustful of Clarke for what she did on Earth to protect her daughter and make ONE personal sacrifice when she sacrifices everything for everyone all the time god Anyways, on this new planet due to this like “red sun” they hallucinate on the surface and Bellamy says to Clarke “I don’t need you anymore Clarke”(remember this it’s important). After the red sun fiasco, the actual residents of the planet show up (they were descended from an earthship that came there like 250~ years ago).

(I can’t believe I almost forgot to put this but Bellamy tells Clarke about the radio calls before they hallucinate and it’s such a whole some scene and helps to bridge the gap between them once more)

So the people show Bellarke + crew their customs which includes a ceremony where they repent and let go of their past mistakes. Clarke uses this to apologize to Bellamy for her actions as she declares to him “Hey, you’re my family too. I lost sight of that. But I promise I will never forget it again” like boyo that scene brings me to tears like fuck !!! and then once again they have a classic Bellarke™ hug and god it’s a GOOD one.

So yay, they’re on good terms !! That means something bad is about to happen again per usual. So it turns out the leaders of this group of people have been alive for 100s of years using these “mind drives” to back their consciousness up and put into new bodies when their current body dies (fun!). And take a guess as to who has the special blood and can be a new host :))))))))))

Clarke gets stolen and *dies* so Josephine can take over her body. While Josie!Clarke fools everyone for like an episode, guess who is the first to think ‘hey that’s not really Clarke’ ofc our boy Bellamy. AND THEN THEY GIVE BELLAMY AN ENTIRE EPISODE TO GRIEVE CLARKE LIKE HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO LOOKS THIS SAD THROUGHOUT THE EPISODE. way to be subtle JR

But then guess what !!! Clarke isn’t dead. She’s trapped in her own mind, but very alive. And you’ll never guess how Bellamy finds out. Josie!Clarke taps her fingers on her legs and Bellamy interprets it as morse code that translate into “ALIVE”. LIKE IMAGINE TRYING TO EXPLAIN TO SOMEONE THAT YOUR SUPPOSED DEAD WIFE BESTIE IS STILL ALIVE CAUSE SHE SENT YOU MORSE CODE, LIKE MY BOY I KNOW YOU LOVE HER BUT THAT’S QUITE A STRETCH.

Anyways, this sends Bellamy into overdrive mode, because goddamn it he is not losing her a 3rd time. Throughout the next episodes we see Bellamy prioritize Clarke over everyone, including his girlfriend Echo when she is in danger. He risks himself and even the lives of others to try and save Clarke to get Josie out of her head. And it all culminates to this masterpiece of a Bellarke scene.

Clarke’s heart stops and she won’t get up and Bellamy arguably becomes the most desperate he has ever been. He whispers, “the head and the heart” before LITERALLY BECOMING HER HEART AND PERFORMING CPR ON HER AND BANGING ON HER CHEST TO GET HER TO WAKE UP (HOW MUCH FURTHER CAN THEY TAKE THIS METAPHOR). Even when Octavia gives up, Bellamy yells at her that she’s not dead. “I need you” the first time he has openly admitted that he PERSONALLY needs her in his life. “You’re a fighter Clarke now get up and fight”. Clarke literally (in her mindspace) finds the will to get up and fight by hearing Bellamy’s voice. And like a miracle she wakes up and AN ICONIC AND BEAUTIFUL Bellarke™ hug occurs, even though it looked like she was literally about to kiss him !!!!!! Like tell me these aren’t heart eyes ?!!??!

So then for the rest of the few episodes Bellamy is still super protective of Clarke but they have to split up again because ~plot~. BUT WE HAVE ONE MORE GREAT HURT/COMFORT BELLARKE MOMENT IN THE FINALE. Clarke’s mother had just died, and who does she seek in a crowd for comfort: Bellamy...hopefully you know this by now. God they give each other such meaningful looks in this last scene and have another once again iconic Bellarke™ hug, but it’s a hug where they run into each other like from s2 !!!!! parallels

So they end s6 closer than ever and now we’re all caught up in the present to s7 and lemme be honest besides 7x11, it’s been a HORRIBLE bellarke season, but last episode has had things shake up finally god. So basically everyone assumed Bellamy was dead (including Clarke!!!), but *surprise surprise* he’s alive, but as they soon find out he’s been brainwashed by an evil cult. NOW IT’S CLARKE’S TURN TO SAVE HIM BY BEING HIS HEAD LIKE HE WAS HER HEART LAST SEASON (or I at least hope so). As of writing this post, Bellarke isn’t canon but I’ve been watching this show for 5 years and these two have such a hold on my heart it’s embarrassing, but I hope this explained to you why I and many others will be ridiculously obsessed when it comes to them hehe. Pray for us to be canon, we only have 5 eps left for this beautiful story to come to a conclusion.

[danganronpedits-archived]

Hello! I wanted a kin match if possible, preferably danganronpa! I’m an INFP-T (sometimes I get INFJ-T) and I’m probably either a 5w6 or 6w7. I fake my personality and lie to make people happy when I’m around them. I’m super anxious, self-conscious, and self-deprecating. I have many hobbies but feel completely talentless. I fake being bubbly and optimistic around people and I act cold and analytical when I’m trying to protect myself. I cry and daydream a lot, and I always feel like a burden. -🍈

yes, you can definitely get a kin matchup...! it’ll be placed under the cut, in case i start going off on a tangent again... i want your matchup to be as accurate as possible, so there’ll only be two major characters that i’ll assign you,, since you’re not asking for more than one source,,

um, but i do want to say that i hope you can feel better about yourself soon,, i’m sure that you have talent and that things will get better for you! you seem really lovely from this ask,, and i understand feeling stuck in your own head at times,,, but i promise you’re not nearly as much of a burden as you may think...

-mod tsu (mikan shift)

first off, from danganronpa another episode: ultra despair girls, i match you with...

kotoko utsugi!

unfortunately, kotoko doesn’t have free time events for me to refer to. however, like you, i think that even though she has extroverted tendencies, kotoko... has more of an introvert vibe to me, if that makes sense. she doesn’t really seem to get energised by other people the way extroverts do, although she does seem to generally like people. i think you could relate to this- it’s okay to take some time to wind down, haha... um, your enneagram types. i think that for 6w7s, both of you enjoy being around other people, fear losing your support systems(other people), strongly value reliability/trust in relationships, have a tendency to doubt themselves/others, and are naturally social and spirited. for 5w6s, both of you are hard-working and analytical solvers of problems, tend to pick up skills or knowledge that can be useful, remain calm in times of crisis(typically), have difficulty taking action when not inspired, and can be private or defensive. those are just some similarities.. and i think that the two of you share a lot of general traits. i don’t know you personally, but maybe you relate to her eccentricities- like how she’ll get into strange tangents(for example, in a conversation that’s too long, she starts going on and comparing it to how giraffe necks or elephant noses are too long). maybe not exactly something like that, but maybe you can relate to being a little odd in some areas !! i love that mango. and like, i don’t want to say “maybe you’re ~quirky~ because you use the ~melon emoji~” but at the same time... maybe you’re quirky because you use the melon emoji ? you’re gonna have to fill me in. ah or don’t !!! you don’t have to !!,, sdjf plus, i think that kotoko does fake her personality. in the art book, it’s implied that kotoko’s cutesy, cheerful personality is all a front. in fact, it’s specifically said by kotoko that without that character she plays, she would become miserable. she could also be joking here, or at least playing off her feelings as a joke, which relates to that self deprecating comment you said. she is definitely a liar, though... her ingame relationship with monaca is based off of her acting ability, at least until the end of it. 

i think that kotoko is very anxious. specifically around adults- she has a strong distrust of them due to her... upbringing, and a lot of her jokes are very dramatic( “Sorry for the intrusion, tank you veddy much! Phew, I reached waaay back for that reference! I had to deal with baby boomers all the time, so my gags are kinda dated.”). um, with the implication of her theatrics being a persona, it can also be implied that her jokes are also part of that mask... um, plus, i think that her general vibe doesn’t make her come off as self conscious per say. but you may be able to relate to that too... since while i don’t want to call either of you dishonest, the “bubbly” and “optimistic” demeanor you both give off is a facade, as you said. while her happy facade isn’t directly for other people, she does find value(to an extent) in cheering up monaca, and does care about the other warriors of hope. plus, a big part of why she wants to be strong is to surpass her upbringing, in my eyes. it’s kind of clear with her trauma that there’s something lurking under the surface, though- you may not have the same story as her, but there’s a similar concept there. while kotoko doesn’t have many hobbies... honestly, you’d be a bit pressed to find a danganronpa character who does. however, i think that aside from acting, she also has enjoyment in the fashion department, as well as enjoying things she deems “adorbs”. she collects said objects, and is like... a connoisseur of cute. a cutenoisseur, if you will. she may feel talentless to an extent, however, as she doesn’t seem to enjoy talking about her previous stage life despite claiming to adore it. it could be that the acting reminds her of the upbringing she lived through, but. lastly, i think that kotoko fakes being cheerful, polite, and bubbly around other people. though i’ve already talked about that haha,, she does get very cold, borderline rough, when she’s paranoid or upset. she mans a robot from god-knows-where to take down what she sees as threats, and does have an entire setup of lies that she presents to monaca in order to keep herself safe. she does also cry very often, and we don’t exactly know about her daydreaming, but she doesn’t seem to have the highest attention span- as i touched upon with her off-topic rambles.

second off, from danganronpa V3, i match you with...

angie yonaga!

please hear me out on this one... despite angie’s extroverted tendencies, i think that she is an introvert to an extent. for starters, she’s the ultimate artist, a very introverted activity. for the rest of your mbti type, um... while i won’t go over the P/J since that’s not really set in stone... in the N(intuitive) and F(feeling) aspects, i think that angie can shine. while angie is a very logical person, i think that this is mostly because of how in tune she is with her feelings regarding her religion. um... her intuition is very much to trust in what she believes her god can do for everyone.. sorry, i got a bit off topic there. in the enneagram types, i think there’s also some overlap between both of them that fits into angie as well. um, first off, 6w7 types fear losing their support system(which for you can be other people. i think angie’s is her religion, but you may be able to relate to her in this way, using “support system” as a concept, instead of religion vs relationships specifically.), devote themselves to specific causes, enjoy being around others, and care deeply for other people(see the student council, and her classmates in general). plus, the 5w6 types also tend to make logical decisions, feel stressed out by emotional vulnerability, can struggle to believe in or understand others, and prefer to do deeper thinking alone. while they have a bit of contrast in both of their descriptions, all of the listed traits apply to angie, and i assume that at least a few of them apply to you as well. though, your “probably” kind of makes me feel like you got more unrelated types on the enneagram test, haha... maybe you got a 3, or something? my point is, both types “combine” to make angie. the two of you, i think, lie about your personalities. some people even point out how angie’s constant smiling is eerie, but i don’t think she’s that happy all the time. this comic made by ministarfruit pretty much sums up how i see angie... not to be a stan or anything ajfsdjf,,,, she does lie to an extent though, and is chipper and eccentric for the sake of people around her. she’s essentially everyone’s “hope” in the face of the k/lling school semester- or at least, she tries to be.

um... despite us not really being able to see into her possibility of self loathing, shuichi(in her free time events) finds it likely that she becomes lonely very easily. she has a sickle ready to... well, stab into her window in case she feels sad- and in her free time events she seems very ready to do so. even if it is dismissed as a joke- which, that “joking” part i think you can relate to, actually. plus, the fact that she finds it hard to budge from her own views could possibly,, be a defense mechanism for insecurity... i don’t want to assume, but !! um, also, it’s strongly implied that she struggles to differentiate her god’s intentions from her own. even though religion can be part of someone’s self, yes, i think that this could show that she has issues with her identity. at least, the identity she has that’s “her own”. like, beyond how her god demands her to be. without her religion, she might struggle to have an identity of her own. once again... we don’t really know a lot about her past, but issues with the self can... definitely cause(or be caused by) anxiety, like you mentioned experiencing. also, identity issues can be caused by factors of one’s upbringing, or stressful events... so while she’s not very self deprecating, i think angie could have lower self esteem. whether that’s from her upbringing or something else. despite her pride in her religion, which might make you disagree, she doesn’t seem to be very proud of her own achievements(such as being the ultimate artist), as she says that that’s all her god’s work. maybe you could relate to that; people complimenting you and you finding it hard to accept for one reason or another. i’m proud of your achievements, anon... um. but i think that this relates to your next point, saying that you have several hobbies yet feeling talentless. while “art” technically is one hobby, art is definitely an umbrella term. sculpting and drawing are very different medias, and angie is very talented in both, but both of you share the belief that it’s not really... a talent that you possess. there,, might always be a reason that you come up with for someone else being able to do it too, you know? eh, but that could be me just guessing... oh, and something i forgot to mention- in trials, angie also becomes colder or more analytical when she’s trying to protect herself/classmates. she doesn’t hesitate to incriminate others if she thinks they’re suspicious.

-

in the minor matchups category,, you also remind me somewhat strongly of masaru daimon, and kokichi ouma, as well as somewhat of toko fukawa. oh, and you lightly remind me of misaki asano, himiko yumeno, and ruruka ando...

i hope this was helpful anon !!! i had a bit of trouble deciding on someone for you,,, so if there’s anything i got wrong please let me know- i’m happy to modify something in here for you !! i’m not super confident in this one haha,, so if you disagree i completely understand, go ahead and tell me ,,,,

[chibi-jing]

Somnus makes a better King than Ardyn

Yes. You’ve read me well.

Ok, so now that your heart is broken as much as mine, let me explain…

 As a human being, Ardyn disposes of qualities nobler than his brother: he’s devoted, humble, unselfish, kind-hearted and empathetic. He puts the sake of each individual before his and grants to each life an immeasurable value. He prefers to heal rather than destroy, and to educate rather than condemn.

There are multiple examples illustrating his personality traits in the anime: first, Ardyn’s infection by darkness. He’s perfectly aware of his sickness but he continues his duty nonetheless, even if it has to keep him away from his lover, Aera. Second, when talking to his people, he explains to them that the Starscourge is a disease that can be healed. He believes that the way to defeat darkness is to unite people against it, not ostracizing the ones who are sick. He also proposes a deal to his brother to spare his life rather than having to kill him when they fight. Then, even if his people consider him as a king, Ardyn has no intention whatsoever to rule. Since he have the sense of responsability he’d become king if the others require it but mainly because it would allow him to help more people, not for power in itself. Ardyn keeps this characteristic until the end of FFXV where he sits the throne during 10 years but never uses it to reign.

.

On the other hand, there is Somnus. Compared to Ardyn, he’s certainly not empathetic and unselfish, but these qualities are replaced by other ones: instead of giving to each life an immeasurable value, Somnus thinks more in term of greater good. If you have to kill a dozen to save an entire country, Somnus will be the one doing it. He’s also charismatic, determined, ambitious, skilled in combat and can keep a cool head in any circumstances.

In the anime, he’s in a strong position: it’s him who commands the army, who lives in the castle and people obey to him, whether he’s ordering them to burn their peers or when he's inviting them to the coronation. He can do what he has to do because people are listening to him, and if it’s not the case he uses his soldiers to obtain what he wants. Somnus doesn’t even bat an eye when he fights and kills Ardyn, only focused on the way to succeed, giving more attention to his goal rather than his feelings.

  If you’d ask me to choose between the two brothers, I would have no hesitation at all and definitely jump into Ardyn’s arms. It’s also what Aera should have think: even if Ardyn’s situation is complicated and dangerous, being in company of such a pure soul is priceless. But.

  But the gods aren’t supposed to choose the best human being. They have to choose a king. And as much as I love Ardyn, I have to admit that in this situation Somnus is a better candidate.

.

We commonly imagine that to be a good king (or queen), you have to be a kind person who listens to his citizens and tries his best to take care of all of them. This is what we wish, we expect our rulers to understand us and give us what we want to live an happy life. But it isn’t what a king is supposed to be in reality. A king isn’t supposed to give us what we want, but what we need. A king is a symbol used to unite the people, he has to appear strong and be strong. A king is the leader of a country, someone to rely on and trust when he has to provide security. A king has to maintain order in his kingdom and has to take the right decisions to make it prosper. A king has to be reassuring and able to take difficult decisions for the greater good.

As Regis says himself at the beginning of Episode Ignis: "A king cannot lead by standing still. A king pushes onward always, accepting the consequences and never looking back" and in French: « When you’re a king, you must be able to advance in adversity. And this, whatever the sacrifices. You have to go on without ever stopping ». And in fact you can see in Kingsglaive that Regis is perfectly aware about what’s going to happen in Insomnia, but even if it frustrates him, he took the decision to let Iedolas and Ardyn destroy the city because he knew it was the only way to give a chance to Noctis. And Regis didn’t acted this way only because Noctis is his son, if he saved him it’s primarily because he’s the Chosen King and the only one able to save Eos.

  Regarding the two brothers now it’s obvious that Somnus fits the role, but not Ardyn.

  Somnus completely corresponds to Regis’ description: he’s taking decisions for the greater good regardless of the sacrifices and accepting the consequences of his actions. He’s also a natural-born leader, able to gather people under his banner and inspiring them. He’s winning the people confidence by being self-assured and a good speaker in public. He’s intransigent and always have the final word, but he also does whatever has to be done to succeed like in Kingsglaive when he allows Nyx to use the Ring’s power. The risk with this kind of profile is for the ruler to turn from a king to a dictator, but Somnus isn’t presented as having bad intentions. According to SE Q&A about the anime, Somnus simply wants to eradicate darkness, whatever the cost. That’s why he needs the power: to take action.

 On the opposite if Ardyn’s qualities make him a saint, they definitely are insufficient to be a good king according to the definition FFXV gives us about this role.

Unlike Somnus, Ardyn doesn’t inspire naturally the admiration of his person: during all the anime, he seems tired, sad and dirty. Even with Aera, Ardyn still looks like he’s living his life through someone else’s eye. His devotion to his people is slowly killing him, wether it be his soul or his body. And that’s a major problem: how can someone pretend to rule a kingdom while being sick? From the gods’ point of view, even if they close their eyes on the corruption inside Ardyn’s body, it would be stupid to choose a sick man to embody the strength of a king. As the anime shows us, Ardyn’s disease is a strong disadvantage during his fight against Somnus, giving his brother the upper hand on him.

In addition, Ardyn doesn’t have the will to rule. He would do it if he had to and I’m sure he would do his best to take the right decisions, but it’s simply not in his nature. Even in FFXV, he prefers to remain in the Emperor’s shadow rather than being exposed.

Moreover – and it’s really painful for me to acknowledge it – Ardyn’s method to fight darkness isn’t enough. As the old man tells him: "But even with your curative powers, you can’t save everyone". That’s absolutely true. Eos is big and Ardyn is alone. The darkness spreads faster than he’s healing people. Unless someone else could have the same ability as him or some kind of medicine to stop the Starscourge, Somnus’ drastic solution will unfortunally remain the most efficient of the two.

For what we know, Ardyn works alone. He probably has supporters all around the country, but he’s not surrounded by an escort for his travels while Somnus has been able to surround himself with precious allies such as Gilgamesh. A king can’t rule alone, he needs some trustworthy and competent persons, something Somnus fully understood.

The way Ardyn is helping people is compassionate and altruistic, he’s considering them as human beings and not as pawns on a chessboard, which is his biggest quality and weakness: a king can’t have a case-by-case approach, he has to consider the overview. Also, it is better for a king to be respected rather than be loved. With his policy, Somnus is respected and even if some people disagree, they will follow him. For his part, Ardyn is absolutely loved by his people and they don’t follow him because he’s charismatic or powerful, they’re following him because they know he’s a fair and good man who can rescue them. Ardyn’s supporters have surely a stronger dedication to him compared to Somnus’ ones, but they are fewer, because Ardyn is acting at a human scale while Somnus is thinking at a country level.

  That’s why I believe that for all these reasons, Somnus was indeed a better choice. Ardyn is exceptional and a true hero, but he doesn’t fit the job. And that’s a real tragedy because Ardyn never wanted to be king to begin with! If Somnus didn’t wished to get rid of him, Ardyn could have lived a peaceful life with Aera without facing his brother’s betrayal. But something happened, something that isn’t in the anime and I hope will be in the DLC, something that broke up the brothers and gave them no other choice but to fight each other. Maybe Somnus discovered Ardyn’s infection by darkness? Maybe Ardyn was turning people against Somnus? For now we have no idea about it, and I’m dying to know the bottom of this!

 - - -

I was thinking...in fact, Ardyn would be a perfect Hufflepuff while Somnus would definitely be a Slytherin.

It works also with Assassin’s Creed: Ardyn would be an Assassin and Somnus a Templar…

And yes, I love Hufflepuff ^^

[irregularjohnnywiggins]

My Pitch for how to rewrite Arrow.

So, a while back, after me and my brother had a chin-wagging session on why Arrow was a legitimately terrible show after Season 2, I decided to do a little think piece: say I was tasked with rebooting Arrow a couple of years down the line. How would I do it? What would I change (a lot)? What would I keep the same (not a lot)? I decided to sit down and write out a basic outline for a rewritten Arrow Season 1.

...two weeks, 2000+ words and another basic outline for Season 2 later, I am pleased to present my pitch for Arrow Season 1 under the cut to anyone who might give a shit.

WARNINGS for: discussion of violence, mental health and swearing.

The first season is almost exactly the same as Arrow, but with a few not that big rather large differences

1.       First off, no Felicity. You could probably bend her characterization into something likeable, but it would just be too much work for too little payoff.

Seriously, if we need someone to do hacker bits? Oracle is right there, you guys.

2.       More overtly a Robin Hood story-Team Arrow are the Merry Men, Malcolm Merlyn is the Sherriff of Nottingham, some episodes are entirely ripped from lesser-known Robin Hood stories, etc. (Full disclosure: this is mainly because I love Robin Hood, and will fight to the death to have another good Robin Hood show for this generation)

3.       Have Oliver be explicitly an SJW. I say this because Arrow really lost something the instant it turned Oliver into just another Batman clone. If I may reference a comic I haven’t read (yet) I think one of the most interesting (and easily incorporated) elements of the Rebirth story is Oliver coming to terms with the idea that he can’t really ‘fuck the man’ if he is ‘the man’, and it could also give Thea something to do besides be all ‘self-destructive teen’-and also it’s a great way to introduce Roy.

4.       In addition, have Merlyn be an actual morally opposed antagonist. Maybe have Tommy bring up that Merlyn could do anything to help the people of the Glades and be more faithful to his mother’s memory, but it’s easier for him to pretend that he’s ‘curing’ the city by getting rid of the poor people.

5.       And for God’s sake, don’t have Oliver open up a nightclub in the middle of a dilapidated area that needs literally anything except another fucking nightclub. Like… anything. Hell, have him open up a soup kitchen that also gives out really expensive clothes he doesn’t need any more, and have Moira be all ‘but charity? What is the SJW bullshit?’

Thus Thea’s whole ‘I work at a law firm except now I run a nightclub aren’t I a caring soul?’ becomes ‘I worked at a law firm and now I run a soup kitchen because this will actually help people.’

6.       But the biggest change has to be to Black Canary.

So, when Oliver returns from the island Laurel is… different. For one thing, she’s going by Dinah now. She’s also got a new personal trainer (Wildcat), and… that scene in episode 2 when China White attacks them? Dinah kicks ass.

But that’s not the only thing that surprises him.

See, when he goes to strike the first name off the list-a name, I may remind you, that Dinah is suing in court to no real effect-he runs into complications.

Complications in the form of an apparent thief named Black Canary.

See, Dinah’s been doing this Daredevil shtick for a while now. Apparently she compulsively activated her meta-gene in grief after her sister’s death, and the Canary Cry is actually effective in this-the Canary Cry in the comics can take out Wondy if she’s not prepared, so we’re talking that level of effectiveness.

Why she decided to be a vigilante is up for debate-maybe she actually has a Daredevil-esque ‘I trusted in the law, and it screwed everything up, so fuck it, I’mma do it myself!’ or maybe she found out her mother was the first Black Canary and took up the mantle (or both. Both is good)

Regardless, she’s here to hack into Hunt’s computers and release a ton of info onto the web to use in her case against him. Oliver’s here to hack in and give the money Hunt stole back to the people.

Neither of them mention this.

They fight.

Dinah wins (of course)

And thus, for more or less the first half of the first season, both of these dorks are convinced that they’re having a ‘Batman/Catwoman’ style romance, with the other one as Catwoman.

They arrive in more or less the same area, they trade witty banter, they both somehow get what they want despite the other person opposing them, rinse and repeat.

Even better, Oliver goes to Dinah in her civilian identity in like Episode 3. So Dinah starts thinking ‘maybe he’s not so bad after all’. So she starts pulling her punches. Which results in Oliver sometimes winning (rarely, but sometimes). Which results in him thinking that it has more to do with his skills than it probably does.

Meanwhile, out of costume, Oliver and Dinah exchange as much flirty banter as in costume. Like, sometimes it’s the exact same flirty banter.

Diggle, after he joins Oliver, immediately susses out who Black Canary is based purely on the flirty banter, and spends the rest of the first half of the season constantly going HOW HAVE THESE TWO NOT FIGURED IT OUT YET?

7.       The mid-season finale has GA and BC fighting Merlyn, wherein a) they both discover who the other is and b) Oliver gets sure-fire proof that Moira is involved in the Undertaking

8.       This leads to Dinah and Diggle both telling Oliver to give the evidence to Lance (who has been hunting for both of them, but keeps on hinting that he knows who Black Canary, at least, is) but Oliver is all ‘but she’s my mom.’

9.       And because Diggle and Dinah are having none of that shit, Dinah goes to her dad and he starts investigating Moira.

Oliver is not happy.

They fight.

Dinah wins (of course)

10.   Oliver spends about three episodes brooding about this, until Diggle, Thea (unknowingly) and Dinah kick his ass back into gear (This is also where we get the majority of the island flashbacks, which, btw: almost the same, but no Slade and more Yao Fei and Shado.)

11.   Tommy finds out who GA and BC are (how I’m undecided on. Maybe Dinah tells him, maybe Oliver does, maybe he figures it out on his own, idk) and agrees to help investigate his dad, because Team Arrow figure that Malcolm has to be involved.

Btw, Tommy’s been working in the soup kitchen because Oliver’s paying him and he, at least at the start, thinks he can convince Ollie to give up this weird SJW thing he’s got going on and go back to being a partyer

This all changes when he meets one Roy Harper, because Roy is basically him but with no money and an even bigger chip on his shoulder (also Native American cos I’ll be fucked if anyone gets whitewashed in my fucking Green Arrow show)

Basically for every scene the show devoted to that fucking love triangle I want a scene of Tommy and Roy being bros.

12.   Moira isn’t convinced to out the Undertaking by Oliver tricking her, but by Oliver confronting her at the same time as Tommy confronts Malcolm, and the two giving more or less the same speech eviscerating the notion that the Undertaking is good for anyone.

Seriously, I want full on Marxist, socio-economic and class-based ideas being raised. I want this to be so overtly political that newsgroups will be talking about it for years. You wanna prove comic books aren’t just for kids anymore? Have an adult conversation about the world comic book Green Arrow would want us to live in, and see the conservative nerd sites explode.

For a bonus, have Malcolm talk like a commentator on Fox News, all ‘entitled poor people’ and ‘benefit thieves’ and ‘they shouldn’t be born poor if they didn’t want to get killed by an earthquake machine’.

13.   Ultimately, the speech convinces Moira that she needs to turn over everything on the Undertaking to the authorities, and convinces Malcolm that Tommy just doesn’t understand his plan, and that he needs to start it right away.

14.   From then on, the finale goes more or less as it goes in canon, with one major exception: Oliver and Dinah are both there when Tommy dies.

15.   But before we get on to that, a word about the Green Arrow and killing:

Now, straight up front, I prefer my heroes to not kill if they can help it.

I do have caveats to that belief (e.g. I am in general agreement with @bluefall-returns‘ stance that Superman and Batman’s ‘killing is okay as long as it’s not humans’ ethos is… problematic, to say the least, and Wondy’s whole ‘don’t attack until you first talk, but if someone is a proven threat and killing is your only option, make sure they aren’t getting up afterwards’ is such a refreshing concept that I even incorporated it into the morality of one of my main characters) but on the whole, a superhero like Green Arrow, who stands for a specific set of real-world beliefs, shouldn’t kill unless absolutely necessary, and certainly not admit that he enjoys doing it (seriously, wtf Guggenheim?)

That being said, I will acknowledge that Oliver should kill at the start of the series. That only makes sense. He’s got fucking PTSD for fuck’s sake. Of course he’s reacting the way he did on the island.

But – and here’s the key thing – YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THE PTSD!

YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR ‘LOVE INTEREST’ MAKING JOKES AT YOUR EXPENSE ABOUT FUCKING ‘FANTASY ISLAND’!

YOU DON’T HAVE HER ACTING ALL CLUELESS AS TO WHY YOU’RE OPPOSED TO KILLING NOW!

YOU DON’T HAVE PEOPLE BEAT YOUR MAIN CHARACTER DOWN FOR MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND CALL HIM AN ASSHOLE IF HE RESPONDS NEGATIVELY TO TRIGGERS!

I APPARENTLY HAVE TO TELL PROFESSIONAL WRITERS THAT PTSD ISN’T SOMETHING THAT CAN JUST SOME AND GO AS IT PLEASES

I’S SO FUCKING STUPFOWRBUORVN PNFWEONVOEWVN OWRENVORENVREO

…

…sorry

Anyway, have Oliver go to Dinah for help, because hey, she took an elective in psychiatry in college, maybe? (I don’t know how American school works)

(That may seem a bit too Mary Sue for some of you, but I say that if Batman can be a detective/ninja/billionaire/whatever else, and TV!Ollie can be a member of the Russian Mob before he even comes back to the city and no-one questions it, the fucking Black Canary can be a therapist if I want her to be. Also, at the very least it’s from a piece of comic book media (Young Justice) and associated with the right character, which already puts it ahead of anything Error has done with its female characters.)

So Ollie stops killing people after a while (which, for bonus points, removes a lot of the ‘WHAT WERE YOU THINKING’ from the Huntress episode)

(Yes, episode, because the second episode was pointless and I hate it.)

16.   So, anyway, that happens. Thus, when Ollie fights Merlyn, it’s less external ‘will Tommy forgive me if I kill his dad’ and more Batman style ‘if I kill him, will I be able to stop/will I go back to what I was before?’

I still haven’t figured this out, btw. If Oliver kills him, then events proceed as they do in the show and Oliver is left with the realisation that killing Merlyn didn’t do anything except add another casualty to this insane plot. If Oliver lets Merlyn live, everything Merlyn does in later seasons are things Oliver could have stopped in this moment.

17.   Where’s Dinah during this fight? Simple: she’s helping the evacuation of the Glades, because she may be able to help with the fight, but both her and Oliver know that’s secondary to getting the people to safety, and Merlyn’s all kinds of right wing shite, so it’s reasonable to assume he’s also sexist (he probably isn’t, but they assume he is) and so more willing to fight just Green Arrow than just Black Canary.

18.   But, yeah, back to the angst.

19.   So, Tommy dies. More importantly, Tommy does not die propping up Green Canary, because killing off people and having their final moments be about propping up another ship is a terrible idea. So, no, Tommy dies exactly as he does in canon, but with Oliver and Dinah there, and they both get closure.

20.   The result is Oliver doesn’t just go fuck off to Lian Yu, but instead walks up to Dinah after Tommy’s funeral and is all ‘This city is going to go down the shitter. Thousands of people are now homeless, the rich bastards (Dinah ‘you know it’s not healthy to speak about yourself in the third person’) are gonna be trying to get as much of the opportunity pie as they can, and on top of all of that, we need to find out just how many of them were involved in this. It’s gonna be a hell of a job. You up for it?’

21.   Dinah smiles. It’s simultaneously beautiful and dangerous.

22.   ‘I thought you’d never ask’ she says.

So, that’s my idea. I’ll freely admit this isn’t complete, nor is it perfect - I didn’t really have many ideas for Detective Lance other than ‘Commissioner Gordon meets Sam Vimes’, which doesn’t really come across here, and my lack of knowledge about Roy Harper beyond Arrow and Young Justice (both of which I’ve been reliably told by @oathkeptroxas are not good representations of his character) lead me to be unsure of what to do with him, but I just wanted to get this idea off my chest. Thanks for listening to my rambles, and if you have any questions, ask what you will.