#characters who aren't from the usual bunch (in order of appearance:)

[lunaechaos]

Agatha All Along spoilers and the /possible/ identity of The Ouija Board (tm) spirit

(i've never done a theory post before so cut me so slack)

hello Agatha lovers! hope we're all good and frying our brains to come up with theories and analysis for the show, aren't we?

in light of the two episodes and the new teasers/tv spots that came out after them introducing Alice's mother as an actual character, i think we can assume she is the spirit the coven tries to contact via the ouija board. but why?

first, Alice's mother was revealed since the very beginning, which is very funny because i could swear this was Alice. this is literally from the first teaser trailer ever released for Agatha All Along, the new teaser and the ending credits of the show:

Lorna Wu to you guys.

we know for a fact from the 2nd episode that Alice's mother is lost inside the road and probably trapped in it, so Alice's wish must presumably be related to finding her. this is the part where things get a little blurry for me, because i have a few ideas as to how the mother-daughter reunion could happen:

while Alice finds her mother in her own trial, the disco inferno one, i don't think her appearance is the result of it being successfully completed, considering everything that also happens in it (remember the red demon-thing everyone?).

i'm also not sure it's just Lorna's spirit manifesting for them as i've seen some people suggest, because this would mean she is already dead. all that we know about her is that she is missing and lost inside the witches' road, not deceased.

if she really is helping Alice on her trial, then i believe something goes wrong (who could've imagined it) and she perhaps sacrifice herself to protect Alice? there were early theories that pointed out that the red demon could be Alice, but now i'm tending to believe it is actually Lorna.

there was a theory that Alice would die in this episode, which doesn't hold true at all. many sources who have watched the first four episodes have confirmed that the disco scene (aka Alice's trial) takes place in the 4th episode, and reliable leakers say that the ouija one is in the 5th. while we know Alice isn't with the rest of the coven in the scene where they're need-for-speed-ing on their broomsticks, we can only assume she's either gotten off of the road or died somewhere during episode 5.

now, let's talk about the ouija scene, shall we?

admittedly, i don't have much to work with this time except a bit of the lyrics of the ballad's sacred chant version. i'm sure most of us are streaming this song to the point it might get a bb hot100 entry, but after hearing Jac say that the entire show is based upon the ballad's lyrics, it's obvious that it contains copious amounts of foreshadowing. now:

"if one be gone, we carry on spirit as our guide"

this bit intrigued me because it clearly implies that the coven can be guided by the spirits of dead witches who walked the road. would it be the spirits of only the witches of the current coven doing the road? the spirits of all the witches who have died on it? both? i don't really know.

what i do know is that contacting Alice's mother, a witch who's been trapped on the road for god knows how long and probably knows quite a lot about it, who's composed the most famous version of the ballad and who's just died, does make sense. it might rely on a lot of things happening? yes, but i do believe it makes more sense than the theories that they're contacting Sharon/Mrs. Hart, Evanora or even Wanda (as much as i love de idea of Wanda giving Agatha hell even spiritually).

it's really either that (them contacting a specific person, which is usually how you do in ouija) or a random spirit.

anyway, this is valid as long as Marvel doesn't release another bunch of revealing teasers because my god, they're not slowing down at all. or as long as the episodes come out and i'm not proven miserably wrong. some final considerations without any particular order that are related to this post:

if Alice really dies, then she either dies at the ouija board house or by the hands of the Salem Seven. i'm inclined to believe it's the latter.

if Alice doesn't die, then she really has had enough of Agatha's ass and the murderous road and just peaces off of the road (which i think is unlikely considering the protective nature of her magic and character).

we know that the 3rd episode is Jennifer's trial, 4th is Alice's, 6th is Lilia's and 7th or 8th is Agatha's. 9th is the special, which i'm not sure if it's at all related to the story of the show.

which makes me wonder: where is Billy's trial? i'm actually tending to believe the 5th episode is where his trial takes place. Rio doesn't have a trial because of her status as green witch, and the ouija house is the only one not elemental-coded (and that weird Hydra-like facility, but i think this one is related to Agatha somehow). Jennifer's trial is related to water as we can see from the scenes where she's being drowned, Alice's trial is related to fire because of obvious reasons, and Lilia's trial is related to air (everyone flying and falling around, yeah?). which leaves this particular trial, and i do think it's a trial because of the outfits and the house and all, quite out of place. so yeah, my bet is on the possibility of this actually being Billy's trial.

Jac Schaeffer please let me take you to lunch i need to know what goes on inside your brain.

thank you for getting to the bottom of this long-ass post and i hope it's at least intelligible for y'all!

[collectionsofbitsandbops]

Marvel characters as customers at my coffeeshop:

Basically been on my mind and so here are my thoughts. Obviously note these are my opinions. Typing this on my phone so excuse any mistakes.

Steve and Bucky: they both get drip coffee with cream and sugar. Since cream and sugar were rationed when they grew up its a treat that they get to have every morning. They tip and it took a while for them to figure out the whole credit card thing. They always say good morning and thank you. Overall a good customer and welcome regulars.

Sam: this man is the perfect customer. He likes to get the special or whatever the barista recommends. However if it's busy he will get a drip coffee since it takes less work. He always tips. Always calls you by your name. Asks how your day is going. Compliments your music or outfit. Best customer out there and favorite regular by far. Oh he also always offers to pay for his friends. He might even pay for the person behind him. Literally makes your day as soon as he enters the shop.

Natasha: never gets the same thing since she's a spy and is trained not to have a routine. Knew your name the first day without asking for it. It took you a moment to realize this. Cash only. Will tip and once stole the wallet of a man who refused to tip. A mysterious 100$ appeared in the tip jar.

Clint: like natasha he doesn't have a regular. Will use your name and asks how you are. The creepy guy who hit on you never showed up after you informed Clint it in passing once. Sometimes orders pastries to bring home.

Tony: a busy man who gets the largest cold brew. Doesn't really talk. It's more of a nod, you ring him up, he pays, and leaves. He's usually on his phone. Would be annoying but he tips well and if someone new is there he introduces himself and what he orders. He's a regular you can count on to be polite and simple.

Bruce: shows up Monday morning at opening for a cup of coffee and to order a bag of beans. He makes himself coffee at home for the rest of the week. Super polite and honestly a great first customer for the start of the shift. However if you're a minute late he will mention it.

Thor: so excited to try everything and also wants to learn about it. Asks the difference between espresso and drip. Has tried everything and keeps note of what he likes and doesn't like. Also likes to order for his friends. A lively customer who is a great tester for your new specials. Sometimes too much energy for when you are having a bad day. But he often noticedls this and buys you a pastry in hopes it makes you feel better.

Loki: the type to order a pourover and peer over the counter to make sure you get it right. Will have you remake a drink if it does not satisfy him. Great taste but terrible customer. Oh also offended at how little money baristas are paid and makes a point to tip really well. He mentions how even the servents of asgard get paid more and better benefits. Also has stolen from customers who don't tip. The only reason he's not banned from the shop is because the tip jar is filled each time he comes in. Sometimes even with random things like jewelry or magical objects.

Peter Parker: doesn't take too much caffeine. Gets a tea or lemonade. Sometimes food. Usually comes after school with friends to study. Apologizes about being too rowdy but honestly they aren't too bad. Aks you a bunch of questions and shares cool facts. Always cleans up and tucks in the chairs afterwards. Personally I would love him and would sneak him a bunch of treats and discounts.

[erdarielthewhumper]

Hey, just wondering, where is your profile pic from? I absolutely love it! 😍

Oh thank you!

It's from an old tv show I quite like called Robin of Sherwood, from s1e6 "The King's Fool", and that's Robin of Loxley who has just been punched in the face by King Richard Lionheart (spoiler alert, but Richard's not a super good guy and his return fixes nothing in this show. And then he goes to war to Normandy again and dies there offscreen during the second season)

Here's another screencap from the same scene so you can appreciate what a pretty boy Michael Praed's Robin of Loxley was 😆

This is from another episode (also the quality of the picture isn't great, sorry), but it seemed relevant to add here :P

(More abt the show and its contents in terms of whump under the cut. It gets pretty rambly, and I'm sorry about that, you just asked me about something I really really like so I can't help but ramble about a lot of things about it that you never asked)

Now, the show's actually not super whumpy, because it was a family-friendly show that aired in 1984-1986, which apparently meant that you can have a character (not Robin) give a backstory exposition rant about how his wife was raped and murdered and he's in jail waiting execution for killing three of the men that did it (okay, he did not use the word "rape", specifically, the phrasing was "Soldiers. Drunk. Mercenaries. They took her from me. And when they'd finished with her, they trampled her to death with their horses." but I don't think that makes it any better) but god forbid you show blood on-screen when people get hurt. Like, with Robin of Sherwood, it's a pretty good indicator that the injury is not super serious or dangerous if there's blood, if someone gets killed you never see blood.

And honestly, the show kind of tends to avoid injuring the main characters super seriously most of the time. Various outlaws get possessed/mind-controlled to turn against their friends from time to time, but even then it's not super angsty most of the time and people usually don't get badly hurt. And the villains obviously don't tend to get to truly hurting them.

To be fair, I don't know how much of that comes from it being a family-friendly show, and how much comes from the writers being aware of the fact that you can't injure the characters super badly before it gets to a point where it would kill them or permanently disable them since they're a bunch of medieval outlaws living in the forest and don't have access to medical care (the show has magic, tho, and there's a character who's somewhere between "very powerful wizard" and "a straight-up minor god" in power level who sorta watches over Robin and the crew and does create some deus ex machina interventions on occasion, but you can't use that to heal the characters too many times before it gets stupid, either)

So yeah, there's more angst really than there's characters getting physically hurt, and there's not all that much angst there either. Although for its own time, it apparently was relatively dark and serious take on Robin Hood, and like, it's not a comedy or anything by today's standards either. The episodes vary a bit in style and seriousness (and quite frankly, quality too, although most of them are fun enough to watch), and while there's a few two-parters, it's pretty episodic, there's some basic continuity (although actually for continuity, some of the episodes should be watched in a different order than they originally aired in, but other fans have done the work to order them in a way that makes more sense continuity-wise and you can find those fan-recommended watching orders online if you're curious) but there aren't really any big overarching plots really.

Like I already said, the show has magic and fantasy elements, it's not a purely traditional Robin Hood in that sense. How much there's fantasy depends on the episode, and it tends to come up mostly in the form of new villains who appear in just one or two episodes, the Sheriff of Nottingham gets tangled up in the magic stuff sometimes too but usually he's not the main threat in the magic-focused episodes. And there's some episodes that don't have magic or where magic is more in the background that have one-off villains too. So overall, the amount of episodes where the main conflict is between the outlaws and the Sheriff and those under his direct command remains pretty low.

Which I would say really ends up working in the show's favor, since it helps the Sheriff's character retain his credibility as a capable villain worthy of being taken seriously. As does the fact that even in most of the episodes where the conflict is directly between the outlaws and the Sheriff, the outlaws' goal isn't to kill or overthrow the Sheriff, and killing or capturing Robin and the outlaws usually is secondary to the Sheriff, like it would be nice but it's not the absolute main goal he's striving to achieve, so it's possible to write some of the episodes in a way where both parties manage to achieve the goal that was most important to them. Like I just personally really appreciate it, because in episodic shows like this, when you have a regular villain, it's really easy to end up writing it in a way where since the heroes must always win at least enough to keep their lives and their freedom, the villain always loses and therefore ends up losing all their credibility to a point where it's hard to take them seriously anymore. So writing it like that, where they're not the only villain in the show, and even when they are the main villain of the episode, most of the time it's possible for both sides to win some and lose some, is just a really great way to avoid having that.

Now, "is Robin of Sherwood good, or do I just like it?" is a harder question to answer. (Also a question you didn't ask, I know, but I feel like it's worth answering.) It depends a lot from episode to episode, but I would argue that as the kind of show it was intended to be (that is, fun fantasy adventure, intended as entertainment first and foremost) it is very good! It definitely fills that purpose. Plus, it's one of those shows that pretty much the whole cast genuinely enjoyed doing (to be fair, who wouldn't like to be given a cool costume and a sword or a bow and arrows and be sent to forest to play epic heroes and devious villains?), and that enthusiasm does shine through to the finished thing, just adding that little bit of magic that nothing else really does.

It doesn't necessarily win any points for originality on most of the plots, especially the more fantasy-heavy tend to be somewhat predictable, and like I said, the quality does vary from episode to episode, some of them I really love and some of them I hardly ever rewatch. But then again I doubt that originality was ever the goal for those episodes, and I honestly don't mind a predictable or even cliche plot as long as it's an entertaining one. Some of the special effects they use seem a liiiittle bit outdated, but hey, it's an 80s tv-show, what do you expect? And honestly, there's not that many effects that stick out even then, CGI in early 2000s tv shows sometimes sticks out more often and worse. And yeah, it does also in some of its themes and elements carry the biases of its time so there's things that wouldn't be considered right if a tv show did them today, but as far as I can tell, it's not really any better or worse than most other stuff from the same era.

So I would say that if you like, say, BBC Merlin, or that sort of episodic fantasy or adventure show, you're probably gonna like Robin of Sherwood!

[twh-news]

How Loki's finale sets up season 2 and the future of the MCU

Loki finale spoilers follow.

Just minutes into the season-one finale, Loki and Sylvie finally arrive at their destination following last week's big castle reveal. When the doors to their destiny swing open, Miss Minutes suddenly appears and congratulates the pair on completing this "awfully long journey."

Sure, season one was only six episodes long, but Loki's story started way before this. Combine all of his movie appearances with the wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey hijinks of this show, and it sure does feel like we've been on a long journey with the God of Mischief.

And now, following that post-credits reveal, Marvel has confirmed that Loki will indeed return for a second season. Thank the gods this journey is continuing, because there are more loose threads in that final episode than there are in all of Asgard's finest tailories combined.

Loki ending explained

Upon arriving at the Citadel at the End of Time, Loki and Sylvie are promised all of their greatest desires, including an infinity gauntlet, the Throne of Asgard and a win against those "self-righteous' Avengers. Christmas came early for our Lokis, but despite all that, they both end up turning Miss Minutes down.

And with that, the Big Bad of Loki (and now the MCU as a whole) is revealed to be Lovecraft Country's Jonathan Majors, AKA He Who Remains AKA Kang the Conquerer AKA "a jerk" (his words, not ours) AKA the villain that comic book fans predicted all along. What follows is a hefty amount of exposition that puts even the first episode to shame, so we'll do our best to summarise.

While He Who Remains bops around to avoid Sylvie's sword, he serves the pair tea and begins to explain his big origin story. Eons ago, in the 31st century, our guy (let's call him Kang, even if the show didn't) discovered the multiverse around the same time that other Kang variants did. At first, they shared knowledge and tech amongst themselves, but as time went on, those who were not "pure of heart" began to invade other realities, which erupted into all-out war.

This Kang was different from the rest, because he discovered Alioth, a creature born of the tears in reality that this war created. He Who Remains weaponised the creature, thereby ending the multiversal war. To preserve cosmic harmony, this variant then decided to isolate the "sacred" timeline, his own, and prune the rest to avoid another war. He then created the TVA to maintain this peace and thereby keep his other variants at bay.

According to He Who Remains, the only way Loki and Sylvie can move forward is if they either take over the TVA or kill this variant, which would unleash the multiversal war along with an "infinite amount of devils." So either "stifling order or cataclysmic chaos."

Pressure mounts once they cross the threshold, the point beyond the timeline that Kang knows. Everything from this point on is a surprise to him, so he's content to let his fate rest in the hands of two Lokis because… he's tired, he says.

Sylvie thinks that He Who Remains is also He Who Fibs A Bunch, so she tries to kill him. Loki isn't so sure though, and as you might expect, the pair try to settle this with a cheeky knife fight. This ends with a big kiss (cue the strings!) and then a double cross.

That's right. Sylvie chooses vengeance over love and shoves Loki through a portal, sending him back to the TVA. And with that, Lady Loki guts Kang like a fish. He seems pretty chill about it though, promising that she'll see him soon... Ominous much?

At that point, all of the timelines start branching out like crazy, creating the multiverse of madness that Kang tried to stop, until he got bored of it. We then cut back to Sad Loki at the TVA where he tries to tell Mobius that a terrifying new threat is on the way. But Mobius doesn't even know who he is anymore.

Does this mean that the timeline has been altered? Or has Loki been thrown into a new reality? Either way, it's not looking too good for the God of Mischief because a statue of Jonathan Majors has replaced the Time Keepers one we usually see in the TVA lobby.

How Loki's finale sets up season 2 and the MCU's future

Season two is going to throw plenty of new challenges at Loki, and hopefully a lot less exposition. First of all, our God of Mischief will need to figure out what the Hel's going on in this new version of the TVA. How will he get Mobius on side if Kang has always ruled this timeline or rewritten history in some way?

And it's not just one Kang he needs to worry about. He Who Remains has now become They Who Remain, which means that there are an infinite number of time-travelling villains to fight. And the worst thing of all is that Loki doesn't even have Sylvie on side now either following that savage betrayal.

Things could soon change in that regard though given the pair's connection. With Kang's tempad, Sylvie can go anywhere now, and we wouldn't be surprised if she ends up drawn back to Loki in some way.

Ravonna will almost certainly pop up again too. The TVA is all she's known, before the mindwipe anyway, and her quest to discover free will could end up transforming the Judge into an ally of sorts. And boy does Loki need all the help he can get.

Beyond the show itself, Loki's finale also just changed Marvel's entire trajectory. Not since we saw America's Ass has the MCU been left so shook by one event, but here we are, about to dive into the multiverse of madness.

The most obvious connection is between this and Doctor Strange's next film, which happens to be called The Multiverse of Madness. The good Doctor must be having heart palpitations after watching this episode, and rightly so, because he's perhaps the only one strong enough to fix this mess, aside from Wanda of course. In fact, the Scarlet Witch could turn out to be the key to everything going on here.

As a Nexus Being, Wanda can reshape reality itself, and that's going to come in handy given all of the Nexus shizz happening from this point on. Elizabeth Olsen's involvement in the film has already been confirmed, and at the end of WandaVision, it was strongly implied that Wanda will visit another reality to try and rescue some version of her now deceased children. Could this help fix things somehow or perhaps make them worse?

Doctor Strange and Wanda aren't the only ones caught up in all this. An animated show called What If...? will dive into some of Marvel's alternate realities firsthand, and the upcoming Spider-Man sequel will also tackle the multiverse with cameos from franchise stars who appeared pre-Marvel. Who knows? Maybe Spider-Ham will turn out be the one who saves everyone.

All this multiverse tomfoolery also opens the gates for X-Men and Fantastic Four characters to finally join the MCU. Marvel's First Family, as they're known in the comics, are already confirmed to star in their own film, and those Merry Mutants won't be far behind either. Whether those teams end up being recast or whether they ask the original actors to come back, one mutant whose return has already been confirmed is Deadpool.

[ftstorm]

My take on 5x10

Welp, that was a big one!

You know, before going into this episode I reminded myself this was the first episode of a new era, the first episode completely made by the new team.

So with that in mind my expectations were "Okay, let's see what they've got."

And oh boy did they surprise me.

DISCLAIMER: this text post is long af, not kidding.

1. THE INTRO SCENE.

You guys have no idea how glad I am that we got Mac doing a usual MacGyvering in his house. It's been ages since they implemented this format of showing his dynamics outside Phoenix and around his house.

I wasn't worried about the proposal thing at all. Guys, you have to accept that MacRiley was always going to happen after that 4x04 episode.

There was also the fact that this was the intro scene (usually the most important plot issues happen in the outro scene), Bozer's weird reaction and the melancholic audio cue.

If that proposal was happening, they would've made it more uplifting.

(I gotta say that watching Monica Marcer and the official MacGyver account making damage control in Twitter 3mins into the episode was a funny experience)

So my initial questions about Mac wanting to propose were: "what are his motivations?" and "how is this not going to work out by the end of the episode?"

The second question we got the answer later on. The first question remains unanswered. If we take on Mac's words, he says:

Mac: Unexpected, I know, I know. But that's why I like about it. You know ever since I lost my dad and Jack I've been thinking about the bigger picture. A commitment to make things work it's exactly what Desi and I need. A grand romantic gesture. *cue melancholic music*

Here we're presented with a bunch of things worth analysing, in my opinion.

He's trying to see the "bigger picture" which, for me, it means he's trying to tackle down different issues from his life with one specific, efficient action [the proposal]. Those issues being:

> his current romantic relationship: make is aware they have an inconsistent relationship > his performance at work: he needs balance between his personal affairs and his work, which is based on saving the world in a daily basis and for that he needs to be focused. > dealing with his past losses: to my understanding, saying "ever isn I lost my dad and Jac I've been thinking about the bigger picture" means that he doesn't want hopelessness to take over him, he wants to keep on moving and being proactive about his life.

So... you have to understand that in some sort of way, this proposal thing is a signal that Mac is healing. In some sort of way, if you were in Mac's shoes you would see that it was a positive thing for him. A step forward.

The thing is, we [the audience] have an extended understanding of the situation and we know that an engagement would be an incredibly rushed decision.

As well as it is that Mac's trying to move forward, he obviously hasn't been able to pinpoint the true issue behind his relationship with Desi. He isn't wrong about them lacking in the commitment department, but forcing the relationship to scalate isn't the right move. He should be asking himself: "Why are we avoiding commitment?"

And that's when he'd find out that they have very deep and important trust and communication issues.

~~~~

2. Moving on. MURDOC.

Russ: I can process it more efficiently by having it all spread out ahead me, you know. I reckon see the bigger picture at once.

This is when I realized that the episode was centered on this whole "bigger picture" idea. Russ struggles to see the full picture until the very end and Mac finds out that he hasn't been seeing the full picture of his life at all by the end of the episode.

Fast forward, the team's in Mexico, Riley knows about the ring already and she has already had the talk with Bozer in which she refers to her feelings for Mac in a past tense.

Then Murdoc appears.

And as if the episode wasn't already a rollercoaster after Mac's reveal, now Murdoc shows up to put everything upside down.

First I gotta say, man Dastmalchian is SUCH A GOOD MURDOC. Excellent actor. The way he delivers his lines, his facial expressions, all of it make an original and very entertaining Murdoc.

He always gives me such a Andrew Scott's Moriarty vibes and I love it.

Secondly, his dynamic with Andrews: *cheff kiss*

I loved how Andrews was so over Murdoc's theatrics, to the point his facial expression screamed "Why did I even reclute this guy" LOL.

Back to the story.

This is something I was hoping it wouldn't happen but at the same time I don't see another way it could've happened which is the explanation behind Murdoc's escape and how Phoenix didn't know about it.

Because what they told us is that the FBI didn't let them in on Murdoc's escape, right? Does that imply that the FBI has a corrupt agent in charge? Does it imply that the order of not letting Phoenix in came from above? Maybe someone with higher clearence than Matty? A politician? Governement conspiracy?

It smells like plot hole, tbh. I feel like the Murdoc's escape is a classic "it is what it is". We'll see if they come back to this in later episodes.

~~~~

3. BIG SECRET REVEAL 1.

By now we're at the point of the rollercoaster where you're going up and up and up. Your tension building more and more as you're getting close to the drop.

Bozer and Riley's audio was the drop.

You know, during this scene I jumped from my seat, closed my eyes, cringed, squealed, my heart accelarated, forgot how to breathe...

As a person who is a little bit bipolar when it comes to romance (I can be very shy about it or very outspoken about it) that scene made me SO UNCOMFORTABLE.

Imagine having your feelings exposed not only to the person you have feelings for but also his girlfriend who happens to be your friend, your boss and the criminal that's threatening to kill hundreds of people.

I was like: "Not like this!!"

And Mac's reaction didn't help because of the lack of it. I don't know what I expected but his slightly monotone reaction broke my heart.

Thankfully, I've recovered since then and I don't mind that it happened that way.

Still, imagine how suffocating it must've been for Riley. That idea was what made me so uncomfortable and I think that's what they were going for. They wanted to make it as straightforward and awkward as possible.

But it doesn't end there. It's followed by Mac revealing the ring to Desi (and Riley). Mac's in "fuck it" mood and Desi kinda panics.

Little side note here, using GUM and a DIAMOND to break a bullet proof glass... BIG YES. That's an intrinsic MacGyverism.

~~~~

4. BIG SECRET REVEAL 2.

Then we get a breather from this drama by introducing another drama, Leanna's death.

Bozer's reaction to the news was heartbreaking for my already heartbroken heart.

I have my suspicions as to why they decided to kill her... The other episode completely made by the new team was the Quarantine one (5x06). During that episode Mac and Bozer bond over Bozer's pain. After learning about Bozer's mom, Mac chooses to share a piece of his own pain with him.

So, hear me out, I think they writers are planning to help Mac process his own grief THROUGH Bozer's grief. Keep in mind that we still have a Bozer centered episode coming up.

This is just a theory. I may be wrong, but I think it may be right too.

Back to the episode.

Once again we see a three dimensional Russ. He does something accordingly to his own judgement thinking it's the right decision [hiding Leanna's death], he realizes he screwed up, he gives Bozer a very heartfelt apology about it.

Henry's acting talent shone with this narrative. Actually, most of the actors had the chance to shine THANKS to the NARRATIVE. Murdoc, Andrews, Desi, Mac, Russ and Bozer... they all had their highlight moments (I'll talk about Riley later).

Parenthesis here... THE NARRATIVE HAS RETURNED THEIR SOULS TO OUR DEAR CHARACTERS!

WOW, they aren't brooding, angry, sad or whiny ALL THE EFFIN TIME. ABOUT TIME!

~~~~

5. LAST ACT.

For the third or fouth time in this episode my heart broke again when Mac was friendly towards Riley, after she explained herself. It really felt like he was friendzoning her.

But here's something to point out. Riley visibly relaxed when he reacted that way. What does that tell us?

> She had been so tense up until that point. Imo, she's on the defensive now. You can even see it in her wardrobe, make up and hairstyle choices. They're very contrasting to Riley's most vulnerable moments in this show (like when Audrey broke up with her).

Riley has had a year to sort out her feelings. We see in this episode that she spoke about them in a past tense. Whether she achieved it or not is unknown. We just know that she has at least tried to move on.

> She was mostly afraid of ruining her close relationship with Mac (who's her only family, along with Bozer) and her friendship (?) with Desi. We've seen it over and over again: Riley DID NOT WANT to get in the middle of them.

Keep that in mind as we go in the last scene.

It took me a while to figure out a possible thread of thought inside Mac's mind. Why did he look at the ring and decided to go to Riley's house? It really didn't make sense to me.

One moment he was thinking about his proposal and somehow that lead to him having the necessity to know if Riley still had feelings for him? Why??

My theory is that he went to her apartment for permission.

His question was a way of asking Riley for permission to propose to Desi. It was a way of reassuring himself that proposing was still the right decision.

In a way, he could also be fishing for an excuse to not do it [the proposal].

Because now he has doubts. He's confused, unsure.

Mac asks:

Mac: Hiding your emotions and letting it pass. Did it go away?

What could her answer have been? Here I wanna go back again to Riley being emotionally defensive, added her strong desire of not wanting to be in the middle of Mac and Desi's relationship.

I think she would've said "Yes, it worked."

Because it also lines up with my idea that the love triangle has changed from "Riley's a better match for Mac" to "Mac needs to win Riley's heart".

Riley's done her job. She worked out her feelings. Now it's time for Mac to sort out his humongously messed up internal self and reignite her spark. That's what I think.

Also, if anyone has any idea on how the song that played in that scene relates with the moment please share it with me because I don't really understand the song choice lol.

~~~~

6. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Desi. I'm not sure what's going on in her mind. She seemed stressed out by the ring, very serious about Riley, lenient with Mac... I'm really not sure.

My guess would be that she doesn't want that type of commitment but she wants to be with Mac yet she can't ignore Riley so does that mean she has to end it with Mac? That's the thought process she may have had? Idk...

I'm glad they let her be mature about it, with no overreactions, no whining, no blaming, nothing of that style that we're used to see in her.

I'm also glad about that moment when she defeats Murdoc and Andrews. THAT'S HOW YOU WRITE A TOUGH DESI. It was filmed with such a gracefulness and elegance. I liked it.

From a MacDesi point of view, she's probably being open minded and giving him space and waiting for him to come back to her... but somehow I got the vibe that she's actually... running away?

Lastly but no less important.

THE HISPANIC REPRESANTION OMG. RUSS SPEAKING SPANISH AND THAT CUMBIA MUSIC FILLED MY HEART WITH SO MUCH PRIDE!!! :')

[rosicae]

Writing tip or something - planning scenes

Writing difficult scenes is always a struggle. Here are some tips to make the process a little easier, and more importantly, actually get something done instead of staring at a blank page for two months (guilty).

First, let's start where you left off. Maybe they're exploring the dark woods trying to find their lost cat and they come across a beast. Great! Battle scene time.

The first thing you need to ask yourself is what you'll get out of this battle. The main points, or plot-twists, if there are any. For example: Maybe the cat turned into the beast and they only realise as it lies dying; maybe one of the main characters die; maybe they find a key in the beast's skull; maybe they spare the beast and it becomes their friend; maybe the beast just dies and that's it. I'm not judging, there's a plethora of reasons you'd do anything in stories. Most scenes should have some sort of lead, whether it be key or death or kiss or whatever, depending on what sort of story you're cooking, but it's up to you.

So, figure out your main point. For simplicity's sake, I'll go with: “They kill the beast, they find a key”. Finding the key will be a clear lead to their next move. But for now, let's focus on the current scene.

You're going to want to order the events. Writing scenes like this off the bat can be pretty hard, so let's just go with what we know first.

I'm not joking when I say a lot of my scenes start out sort of like this.

Now, to build upon this beauty, we have to dig into each segment. Let's start with part A!

PART A - “Rosi encounters a beast.”

What sort of beast is it? A slimy tentacle monster? A catfish-pirate? A deformed bear? Dracula?? Your decision will affect the entire scene, so really think about what you choose. Monsters are super fun, so be creative if your story allows it! I'll pick a duck-faced bear spider hybrid. What does that do? It might help to draw your monster if it's a struggle to think it through. Here's mine!

As you think about their appearance, see how you can use it to their advantage or flaw. You might even already have ideas for certain moves during their fight, or what could be the fatal blow. We'll talk more on that later though.

Next on Part A, how did she encounter it? Was she up in the trees trying to check the sun's direction when suddenly it barreled into her and threw her down the tree? Did she trip over a log only to realise it wasn't a log but an angry treant? Is the forest cursed and monsters just keep chasing after her for no reason??? Maybe she's holding a tracker and the evil villain is sending the monsters after her.... it's good to think about, in the long run. For now though, let's just stick with: "she bumped into the beast"

But try to make it fancy. What was her reaction to bumping into it? Why would she bump into it? Maybe she wasn't looking while she was running and kept bumping into trees, but then one tree was actually the monster. The monster is clearly very fluffy (would probably make a good blanket), so let's make that a clear point.

So now we've got:

“Rosi was running along the forest without properly watching where she was going, when she bumped into a tree - but it was fluffy and warm and beating, not a tree. It was a bear duck spider beast. OOOO! SLAP SLAP!”

Slap slap being “the beast slapped her in her confused daze”, because who wouldn't be surprised if a tree was actually a duck-bear hybrid? This happens to be a perfect initiation to begin battling! On to part B!

PART B - “She fights the beast and kills it.”

This is absolutely the hardest part. It'll take careful consideration and pacing and- oh whatever let's just slap in every action thing we can think of. Even if you think it isn't good, even if it's just little phrases or actions or fancy words or teeny tiny segments you aren't sure about, it's good. Just do it.

-beast slaps her in her confusion/daze and she hits her back against a tree, much pain

-beast snaps its flappy duck beak and honks a bunch, muddling her brain

-rosi throws rocks at it

-rosi somehow breaks off its spider legs, unbalancing it

-beast uses its spider legs to crawl everywhere and be very agile and hard to fend off

-beast stabs her with its stabby legs

-maybe an injury from being slapped around

-rosi tries to run but it's always there

-rosi smacks its beak, very annoyed

-beast forces her to the dirt and pummels her with its stabby paws

-rosi evades its stabbies because the green drippy stuff looks like venom

-venom touches nature stuff and makes it wither

-beast lets out a bellow that shakes the earth and topples trees

-rosi avoids the trees to not die

-rosi scrambles to get up

-the most important thing is to somehow open its skull: plunge a verrryyy strong stick through its eye that tears out the key; or somehow trick it to stab itself with its venom spider legs and it withers and turns to bone/ashes and yay key (I like the second one so I'll go with that, but it's always good to list out your options!)

So I basically just took parts of the forest and parts of the beast's body and natural instincts of someone who is facing death and, adding some creativity, threw together a bunch of possibilites. It might take some practice, but once you're in the flow and have some experience listing this stuff, you'll get the hang of it in no time. Thoughts tend to be short and snappy in quick-paced scenes, so be careful not to go into a whole monologue about their past experiences, but absolutely show some reasoning to the complex things they do if necessary. And leave the monologing for when they're not being killed.

Now let's order them into something that sort of makes sense. It varies depending on what you want, so see if you can make your own unique battle scene out of this list!

-beast slaps her in her confusion/daze and she hits her back against a tree, much pain

-rosi scrambles to get up

-maybe an injury from being slapped around (tree + back + sudden slap = pain, this might be a good time to mention if they already have a flaw like having weak bones or an old injury, but if it isn't your intention to incapacitate them and you want to be realistic, have a reason for them not to insta-die without being op. Maybe she was just slapped into bushes and got little scrapes or a twisted ankle. Maybe she had a plushy backpack that took most of the impact. Remember where your character gets injured too, since pain usually hurts for a while and it's good to add that in wherever needed now and later. It can even drive the story along at times, like a life-threatening blow.)

-beast lets out a bellow that shakes the earth and topples trees

-rosi avoids the trees to not die

-rosi tries to run but it's always there

-beast uses its spider legs to crawl everywhere and be very agile and hard to fend off

-venom touches nature stuff and makes it wither (she notices here and thinks oh no, that is bad, can't let that touch me)

-rosi throws rocks at it (misses because it's agile)

-beast forces her to the dirt and pummels her with its stabby paws

-beast snaps its flappy duck beak and honks a bunch, muddling her brain

-rosi smacks its beak, very annoyed

-beast stabs her with its stabby legs (or tries, let's not kill her just yet if we're deciding on venom QwQ Maybe she uses a plank of wood to save herself last second)

-rosi evades its stabbies because the green drippy stuff looks like venom

X-rosi somehow breaks off its spider legs, unbalancing it (delete because the lower idea is better, but maybe earlier one of the rocks she threw can unbalance it a bit and it jumps on her to attack closer because it feels threatened)

-rosi somehow tricks it to stab itself with its venom spider legs and it withers and turns to bone/ashes and yay key (she tricks it by deflecting it with something strong, like a boulder behind her, she got out of the way just as it does a slash at her, and it bounces perfectly into itself

And just like that, ordering and expanding on every part, you've got yourself an entire fight! Obviously it isn't as easy as counting to ten and opening a pot to a finished piece, but if you just take ten minutes or, better yet, an hour, you'll get somewhere. All you need is the base.

PART C - “She finds a key in its skull.”

Keys are shiny, and if it's daytime, maybe some light can twinkle off it as it falls, or she could just notice it because who wouldn't notice a key trapped in bones? Either way, she picks it up, as you do (unless you want an eagle to swoop in and take it, in which case rosi will have to chase after it and climb a tree and try to take it back from its nest and blahdy blah but rosi doesn't feel like moving anymore after the fight, so let's go with the easier option for now). She might have to wrench it out of bones, but it's fine, she's already dirty from the battle.

So what's the key look like, hmm? Is it rusty and old, or fleshy but firm and warm as suited for being trapped in brains for so long? Or oozing in the same venom, and she has to wipe it off with special fabric only trolls deeper in the forest are capable of making, or throw it in a lake to purify it? Maybe it's short, or missing half that you have to find somewhere along the journey. What does it unlock? Rosi won't know now, obviously, but you'd better have an idea or there'd be no point to it in the first place. Maybe this entire journey is in her mind and she's finding parts of a key to unlock her memory which will be a door to her childhood house. Maybe it's a master key to the villain's castle. Maybe it was accidentally baked in a cookie the beast ordered from a special fish-headed-cat-run bakery, and the little workers will be scrambling around to find the key and be so grateful that rosi brings it back that they hail her as king of fish-headed cats. You never know :D...except you kinda have to, so please have some sort of idea even if it's small.

That's practically all you can do in this part, so next we're on-

PART D - “She questions the key, then goes off to seek reason for it.”

Assuming she collects the key, what are her thoughts? It's all down to personality. Let's say rosi loves keys, and she has a whole collection at home, and she loves shiny things. She'll probably squee at the sight of it and act very excited - "she snatched up the key and chirruped her glee (oh hey, that rhymes!), and after a quick inspection with gleaming eyes, she tucked it safely in her pocket alongside trinkets from the seaside."

Because, you know, obviously she was at the seaside before all this. Or whatever else she was doing. It's your call. It's their personality. It's an optional connection, but a valid one nevertheless. Careful though - if she carries too much, she might get weighed down and drown.

In her case, she doesn't really think too hard on the key. Maybe she's already fought plenty of monsters and gotten a nice treasure trove of stuff. Maybe she's an air-head. Cough. Either way, the obstacle is gone so now she can go off and do what she was doing before - albeit a little more cautious, provided she learns from experience. If there's a clear indicator of what the key is for, or if the character was actively seeking it out, that'll obviously give a different outcome - maybe they'll turn back the way they came (car keys), or head for the town of blue oak (blue key) if that is already in their knowledge database, or ask the next person they see and get guided or tricked.

Finally, let's put this baby together! Let's start simple for now and just slap together this monstrosity with whatever little stuff we think of in the moment and some proper tense. We can build it up later (not here lol I've spent too much on this but you can if you want).

~~Rosi's Magical Adventure~~

Rosi ran along the forest without properly watching where she was going, when she bumped into a tree – but it was fluffy and warm and beating, not a tree. It was a bear duck spider beast.

Fish. That definitely shouldn't exit.

The beast slapped her in her daze and her back slammed against a tree. Despite being in pain, she scrambled to get up. She staggered, feeling the pierce in her ribs, the ache in her feet, the scream in her head that told her to run. It was drowned out under the beast's bellow. The earth shook and trees toppled one after another. Rosi spun on her heel and ran, avoiding the trees that twisted her path.

Even when she thought she outran it, it was always a step behind, a step above, a step ahead. Its spindly legs granted it an agility she couldn't imagine matching. Not only that – wherever the ends of those legs touched, an iridescent liquid spurted out, withering blooming manes and wilting once-proud trunks in an instant.

She shivered. She couldn't let it touch her. Realising that her (flee, running, escaping – whenever you can't think of the right words in the moment, just think of whatever is the closest and use that until you find the right word, or you might waste an hour racking your brains when you could just keep writing) was futile, she pounced into a rolling stop by a mound of rocks. It disoriented the beast for but a moment as she scooped a handful of rocks and hurled them at it. Most missed, or melted into its ragged coat, but a few landed directly against its uppermost legs. It gave an unnerved honk and flung itself at her, forcing her to the dirt, pummeling her with monstrous paws and claws that snapped her skin as she raised her hands to defend her face.

It honked. She grimaced. Her vision blurred and brain muddled with every honk. On impulse, one hand shot out to smack its flapping beak. Its pupils contorted, enraged by her sacrilege, and its spindle-legs shot towards her.

Just in time, she rolled free and pulled herself up, evading the blows that scattered poison over melting green. One hit went into a boulder. The boulder didn't budge. It was ineffective. It sparked an idea in Rosi, but she wasn't sure, so she waited until it happened again, and again it hit a boulder and bounced without damaging the boulder. She danced her way around the clearing, then stopped directly in front of boulder, facing the beast with her lips twisted into a wry smile.

The stabby leg slashed her way, but she ducked out of the way at the last second. Unable to redirect its blow, the leg bounced off the boulder and went directly into the beast's skull. The venom was quick to engulf the beast. Its skin vanished like the trees. It was only (bones, skeletal structure remained) and it fell before her. (If you still aren't sure how to write a part, break it down even further, even if it looks stupid. Keep breaking down everything as much as you need, until everything is plain to see and there are no misunderstandings. Then add on, and keep adding on, until you eventually understand.)

Streams of sunlight (because a lot of the trees died, so now there's some light in the forest) glinted off a surface lodged in the bones. Realising the rusty old metal to be a key, she snatched it up and chirruped her glee, and after a quick inspection with gleaming eyes, she tucked it safely in her pocket alongside trinkets from the seaside. Then she turned and limped her way back home, wondering why she came in the first place as blood trailed after her.

~~The End~~

It isn't perfect – far from it – but it doesn't matter. It's a start. You can work with it. You can keep going. Finish the chapter by repeating this process over and over, then go back and polish it when you've let the experience sink in a bit. Who knows where you'll go??? (ﾟヮﾟ)/

I spent almost three hours on this instead of writing my own book, and I'm tired, so I don't know if this makes sense, but I hope it's helpful a little??? I tried not to make it complex as much as possible so people of many levels can understand and hopefully get something out of it;;;

It's the method I've been using for a long time, especially when I'm in a difficult part or just can't get myself to write anything. Start simple, get something done, and keep going.

….....which I realise is the complete opposite of what I'm doing. Oh gosh what have I done OAAAAAO

….also this is really long and I'm scared so I'm not even going to hard read it over or edit now that I'm done writing.

ROSI OUT

[perkwunos]

I want to start off by saying I am not uncritical of Nietzsche, am Most surely not a Nietzschian (I also agree many academics get very defensive when you criticize him and his work. I would however argue there are far more critical readers of his work that aren't people mouthing uncritically someone like Deleuze without having even read a single one of Nietzsche's own words.) , and I abhor Pound. My problem is the amount of charity you are able to extend to men like Kant and Whitehead. A.N. Whitehead may very well been a liberal Englishman of his time but credit where credit's due because despite your thoughts on the man (and to reiterate there are many very real problems in Nietszche who I think is a nerd) surely what's impressive about someone like Nietzsche growing up in his specific context was his ability to distance himself from his own previous anti-semitism (which again I agree with you that people tend to blame this on Wagner rather than N. himself) to both very explicitly openly mocking and proclaiming that all anti-semites should be quite literally shot. Have you seen the letters he sent out from when he went "mad" ?

I agree there are things in his work and subsequently in his general thought that get far too charitable readings by many leftists. Mostly men. Mostly white. I also believe that on much of the same note Holub's own scholarship and specific readings can (and have been) criticized for the same overreaching and inconsistent arguments that let us say someone like Deleuze is often criticized for making in support of Nietzsche.

I would also like to clarify Whitehead's problematic views on Jews and Jewishness are in fact not just in the Price book but also in places like Process and Reality and I believe Science and the Modern World (it might actually be Adventures of Ideas). These passages have been quite literally criticized by Jewish philosophers and theologians who themselves are critical but inspired by Whitehead's thought. Surely these implicit Christian biases of a Victorian Anglican man (no matter how heterodox) make his ideas and system just as easy for prodding as someone like Nietzsche (who let us not forget was brought up Lutheran and never fully escaped the way he had hoped). I frankly do not want to prop up a bunch of dead men and their ideas uncritically nor do I want to be just as uncritically puritanical about the work of a bunch of dead men and shut down open discussion (and which again as an aside I've noticed has increasingly become very white, male and circular. which is a bit ironic given the topics and men discussed. for instance I find it odd that you say you just don't see a lot of critical scholarship on Nietzsche which is quite literally untrue as there are many women and poc who have written work that is very critical of Nietzsche and his ideas. but I digress.) And again I think what bothers people (past the usual reflexive Nietzsche defenders on and off this site) is less that they feel you're playing games about Nietzsche than that you're willing to be more charitable to thinkers who have their own problems (Not just personally but also systematically. Such as Whitehead) who you yourself are more sympathetic and biased towards.

When I identify people like Whitehead and Kant as liberal that’s not supposed to be a good thing, it’s at least a mild insult and more me indicating that there are aspects of their social/political thought I find seriously, systematically wrong and incoherent. Of course, at the same time it’s important to distinguish types of anti-liberal stances: Nietzsche opposes Kant because he’s specifically an anti-liberal reactionary, and he supports aristocratic hierarchies. But I understand that all that probably doesn’t come across in a lot of what I say and it can seem like I’m just accepting them unproblematically as “normal liberals.” I’ve said before on here that Whitehead was eurocentric and naive in his sociological/historical accounts and am pretty open to that kind of criticism. I don’t begrudge you for wanting to bring this up in reference to Whitehead because I do think it’s a very worthwhile scrutiny; obviously, I myself think Whitehead’s main concepts in his philosophy survive this scrutiny, but it’s always worth looking at critically. Also, full identity cards on the table, I am jewish and my concern with antisemitism in philosophy is not a mere academic exercise, the reason I focus on this in relation to Nietzsche is pretty personal, and I have no desire to excuse or ignore its appearance in any thinkers.

I think you and I fundamentally disagree on what it meant for Nietzsche to disagree with the antisemites of his day. He disagreed with antisemites because he thought they were too much like Jews; that’s just what he himself says. My whole point is that he never really critically distanced himself from wagnerian antisemitism, he just adopted it and arguably took it even further, but in his own distinctive form. When I say antisemitism is a constitutive element of Nietzsche’s philosophy I mean when you want to understand his own thoughts on master/slave morality and how he uses that to critique Christianity, this requires understanding his antisemitism. Slave morality, so Nietzsche says, became an important force in history because it was unleashed by the Jews. Christianity is a manifestation of slave morality for Nietzsche because it is Jewish in origin and in character. It is central to his thought here.

So this isn’t comparable to Whitehead. If, in order to explain something like Whitehead’s concept of the “fallacy of misplaced concreteness,” the main works that I would have to cite and reference included extensive passages of him going, “And this fallacy of misplaced concreteness is specifically Jewish in origin and character and is part of how they’ve gained control over modern society...” then it would be comparable.

As to me not having an exhaustive knowledge of different critiques of Nietzsche, I’m not an academic scholar and I’ll admit as much, so yes I’m still likely ignorant of many of the lesser known critiques that have been put out there. I wish you’d mentioned some of who these people and their writings are so I could check them out! Finding all the different scholarly work being done isn’t always an easy process. And you have to admit it’s a bit ironic that you still refrained from actually naming any of these women or people of color who end up getting ignored in these discussions.

[windowedcrown]

tell me more abt ur black swan au!!! i love ur art ❤️ (my twilight blog is alicesgirlfriend lol)

AAA sorry this took me so long to reply its been a . few days. anyways

long post below but yeah!!!!!!!! big project!!

black swan:

there are a bunch of segments of this so let me break it up:

lore:

ok so in this universe its the twilight universe but also like. every other magic thing exists also. the woods around the reservation (that i am making unnamed because i dont like how smeyer handled that and dont want to add to made up shit about a real life tribe) is actually a magical preserve, a safe haven for magical creatures that the council look after. not everyone who lives there knows about it, and the creatures are as harmless as real life creatures if you dont know about them. sometimes if youre magically touched though (a vampire, a werewolf, a fairy, etc) you get to see them. non-magical people have to ingest something (milk, eyedrops, butter, if uve read fablehaven its those mechanics) in order to see/interact with magical things. (bella is granted the Sight after james bites her, so not only does edward dip and leave her in the woods, but he does that in the Now Super Much More Dangerous Woods because now she can interact with Them and They can interact with Her).

because of the amount of magic/magical beings that exist near/around forks, there are quite a few magical encounters. the residents brush them off usually because of enchantments around those creatures that make nonbelievers less likely to push and prod at things. until the cullens arrive, which is when things get too in your face for certain people to disregard. my main character who ill get to in a second, along with jacob and eventually the rest of the human squad make a sort if youtube channel/blog to record these things and investigate such strange happenings around town, mostly revolving around the cullen household.

other changes ive made to like lore and mechanics are:

vampires: Their bodies aren't made of stone, they still have skin and appear humanlike, but the venom that has replaced their blood reinforces their muscle and bone and brains, so they are highly intelligent and extremely strong/resilient. Their muscles feel like cement, but are still malleable, just intensely supported. Their skin glows in the sun, not sparkles, because venom is white and their skin can look translucent in direct sunlight. They drink blood to appear less dead and to sate their thirst (if they do not drink for too long they not only become feral, but look more sickly and deranged, attracting more attention which can be dangerous). They don’t physically age from when they were changed, but mentally they can mature and shit cuz fuck that. They also keep their human memories, though as newborns you’re kind of like lobotomized for a while. For those first like 6 months you could be anyone, and you have to trust whoever you think you are/you’re told you are, before memories come back. Venom basically replaces blood and just enhances them physically and mentally, but if they drink enough blood regularly they appear mostly human (hair growth and stuff is still a thing cuz fuck smeyer. also crying.)

werewolves: Don’t phase as babies, they have to be legal adults and decently mature before they phase. Aren’t inherently violent. Aren’t mostly men. Their clothes don’t rip when they phase, magic has evolved with humans, and knows clothes are the new Fur, so it’s fine. They don’t have to cut their hair. They’re not affiliated with a real life tribe. Not uncontrollable (they have to learn cuz wild magic is. wild. but its just like vampires do). Have a kind of truce with the vampires. Are the caretakers of the magical beings who live in Forks. the previous generation were also werewolves. their truce w the vampires gives them their space (the cullens own their land but off that, its the werewolves' territory) but the werewolves control/protect the rest of the area around, are the like leaders of this magical area (but not as a hierarchy, theyre just . the easiest to liason w humans. theyre all respectful of each race/species).

Imprinting specifically: The magic in werewolves’ blood telling them who their soulmate is. Only works if the other person also has magic in their blood (magic calls to magic). Some have them, some don’t, its bot a big deal if u dont. Sam (a werewolf) and Emily (has the gene, never phased), Quil (WW) and Embry (WW), Jacob (WW) and Oliver (Distantly descended from a Vampire). You don’t have to act on it, it just shares strength and power, makes you a power duo. Doesn’t have to be romantic, though often is, but it doesn’t Mean anything romantic (though often has that connotation). In a world without magic, these people would still be close, etc. It does NOT connect adults with children thank you :).

characters/relationships:

everyones in college btw. ollie is 18 (may 16) when the story picks up and bella is 21 (september 13 iirc)

so. the main character is Oliver "Ollie" Swan. he's the son of renee and charlie, just a baby when renee took bella and left (she didnt want to deal with a Baby again). at first they hung out whenever bella visited, but then she started getting really upset when she had to leave so renee threatened taking custody of ollie away from charlie unless the kids didnt see eachother anymore. rip.

ollie grew up with jacob and theyre best friends. also oliver is trans and gay and jake is bi because i said so. theyre endgame babEY

oliver is like bella in that theyre prolly descended from vampires, edward cant hear his thoughts, but thoughts that have prominent feelings to them, he can feel those feelings connected to them.

bella is her normal sexy self but shes a lot more headstrong and also goth/punk in this au. she unfortunately does get w edward in the beginning cuz shes only wver had a relationship w her emotionally manipulative mom and eddie boy is just the same kinda creepy but anyways he dips in new moon and she has time with just ppl who love her for a few months and then the rest/most if the cullens come back and she meets rosalie again and they actually bond and make fun of edward for being a loser and they bond and bella ends up falling and rosalie also ends up falling and theyre endgame

other than that some race/ethnicity and bg and sexuality headcanons i have for the cullens: esme is jewish and bi, carlisle is bi but catholic, alice is korean and pan, emmett is black and bisexual and trans, rosalie is a lesbian but she didnt Know ™ until after she was changed, jasper is gay and white cuz jackson rathbone is perfect for him and hispanic BUT he worked for the union cuz fuck!! fuck smeyer!!!! he rips down confederate flags regularly. the cullens dont see eachother as family theyre just like. found family but its not like Adopted. in the lore they tell everyone that carlisle just takes in strays but they arent legally or like act like family they just all live together. anyways emmett and jasper are in love and SO annoying abt it but jock/cowboy rights. edward is str*ight and catholic. no rights. hate that ginger bitch. hes so annoying. rosalie calls him her little brother just to bully him and dunk on him and to explain why she still hangs around him when she thinks hes so fucking stubid.

for the human squad: jessica stanley is bi and half white half black. shes great and smart and goes to fucking med school in california and UGH i love her so much queen. angela is black and a lesbian and i love her nerd ass. a researcher for the blog babEY. she and jess dated in highschool but broke up when jess moved for college. mike is white and bisexual and completely in love w jess but doesnt want to make their friendship weird so he keeps it mostly to himself. eric yorkie wasnt present enough in the books as far as i read and yeah those are just the main. like. ppl.

also embry is bi and quil is gay and theyre endgame also and they imprint on eachother and are a Power Duo, they work on the blog too but theyre not technically human so i didnt know where to put them there ajfkwkfmwkgmwkf. angela is endgame w leah (whose bi)

also sam is a woman and bisexual and emily is a lesbian and sam never assaulted her :). jared is now a girl also cuz i wanted her to be and shes bi and named jewel (everyone makes juul jokes cuz they can). paul is NOT cis but doesnt label anything he uses all pronouns hes just here vibing queer as hell babey.

plot:

in v v short version: bella moves in w charlie who asks ollie to move in w jake and billy for the time being, who thinks its cuz of the murder that just happened but its not lol he jsut needs to figure out how the hell to tell his kids abt eachother. the BFU crew finds out bella and ed are dating and try to learn more abt her to make sure shes safe, ollie ends up finding out her dad is his. then the baseball scene happens and everything for the end of twilight happens owo.

instead of prom tho, alice is just throwing an end of the year party. mike disappears around the same time as bella cuts her finger and edward goes fuckin bonkers, which triggers the breakup etc etc. bella spends time w and bonds w jake and ollie a lot quicker, they work on trying to find mike and a bunch more ppl go missing etc etc. rosalie and bella meet and get close and shenanigans are all happening and its great. jake phases around the same time the cullens come back (september ish for school yk), ollie is there and jake imprints but doesnt know what that means or anything just assumes its a wolf thing hiJINKS ensue ugh its so fun its so iconic and basically that plot just bleeds into eclipse

edward comes sulking back cuz hes tired of sulking and now bella and rosalie are together and they make fun of his loser ass together and hes just emo and a loser lol. they figure out its victoria and the whole eclipse plot happens owo but better cuz i said so. riley is mike actually and hes a vampire now >:3. when jake gets hurt tho oliver also feels it and has the same reaction cuz thats a side effect of being yk imprints and shit so yeah wild.

but the volturi show up after that and they see that bellas a human and around vampires so they take bella and rose to italy and meet the volturi who demand she be changed. rosalie is ok w that only if bella is and bellas had time to consider her mortality and stuff and she says ya why not bb but whats our cover story as to why im gonna be moving around w ur fam tho?? and they decide to get publicly married which triggers breaking Dawn but Better becaus eits Gay and theres no Demon baby

after that its like wedding stuff and oliver have figured out what the fuck is up between them but ollie's scared that that means their feelings are just magically influenced andnits all angsty and they dont really have time to Talk before the wedding cuz sam and emily are having a kid (how? magic) and so sam wants jake to take his place as pack leader so hes off training a lot and oliver is the best man so hes helping plan and its a lot chiller than before the human gang and the wolves are invited for bella and rose invites some of her vamp friends and stuff and its alot nicer and deffo more bella and rose than Alice yk and its just cooler and bettwr and its great and rose wears a wedding dress and it may or may not be the one she murdered royce in which bella finds Oh So Hot and bella wears a suit and its great

but family stuff happens when oliver and renee run into eachother for literally the first time since he was 10 months old lole :) and shes transphobic and gross and oliver has a panic attack and jake takes him home and charlie bans her from interacting w their kids anymore and its all intense and rose and bella are already going off onto their honeymoon and have no idea dna jess and mike are getting together and leah and angela are too and everyones like having a romantic time except jake and ollie and then they Talk the next day and its so much and ollie is overwhelmed and then he almost dies due to Evil Magic Creature but he gets saved by some merfolk and then jake finds him and then they get together and its all nice and then

the volturi call the cullens to ask if bellas been changed and so the girls come back from their honey moon as proof and mikes been rehabilitated right but hes been busy since jake and oliver got together and ollie doesnt know abt the volturi visit so he goes tot eh cullens house to tell mike abt them but the volturi see h first and know that theres anoTHER human who knows abt vamps and they try to kill him then and there but the cullens stop them but they order ollie's turning anyways and he doesnt want to and theres like a while spent mulling over His mortality and allt his stuff and i havent decided if he becomes a vamp or not i think hes going to tho but he doesnt lie Want to like bella does

but anyways if i make that the case then the volturi come to watch as ollie is turned and its all angsty and emmett (cuz theyre bros) sticks the syringe of his venom into ollie's chest for a less painful change and then mike runs in to see if he missed it but he sees the volturi and recognizes him from those months that victoria tortured him and shit and he just snaps and ends up killing them all but its too late and ollie is already turning and then the volturi's followers start a riot abt the murder of their leaders and its this whole thing and it lowkey sucks but yk what cool immortal bfs cuz werewolves dont age if they keep shifting and so yeah so ollie works thru his Turnedness and its all crazy and stuff and the Battle actually happens but there are only injuries on the Good Guys side because i said so and also ollie's power is to make his feelings felt (kinda like jaspers but jasper feels everyones and can make ppl feel whatever he wants, ollie's emotions just bleed out and he can focus them on ppl but theyre His) and anyways he and jake are a really cool power duo and its epic and cool and then happy ending

and then the epilogue is another crew of unsolved supernatural ppl investigating the mysterious disappearances of paranormal investigators Jacob Black and Oliver Swan and they interview olivers "grandson" Oliver III and its fucking hilarious and i love my brain but yeah!!!!!!!! shit boi!!! thats it thats my au. very sorry that this is long i will try to put a read more but im on mobile but yeah!!!! tysm for reading!!!

[salvatoreschool]

Legacies' Chris Wood Talks Kai's Return and That Malivore Twist

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for the latest episode of Legacies, "Kai Parker Screwed Us." Read at your own risk!]

Kai Parker (Chris Wood) is back, and honestly, it was everything we ever hoped for and more! In the first part of Legacies' two-part guest star arc for Wood, Kai was back to his usual tricks, lying, stealing, and manipulating people all with a smile on his face. We even got another short musical number from him!

Most of Thursday's episode, "Kai Parker Screwed Us," focused on Josie's (Kaylee Bryant) reluctant partnership with Kai, who appeared to be on Team Gemini so long as it got him out of his prison world. Unfortunately, Josie broke the cardinal rule of dealing with Kai Parker — never believe a word that comes out of his mouth.

While Alaric (Matthew Davis) was paying for past sins regarding the students he expelled from the Salvatore School and sent to the prison world, and Lizzie (Jenny Boyd) was having a very Klaroline-esque date with Sebastian (Thomas Doherty), Josie was faced with a pretty impossible decision. In order to escape the prison world, Josie had to shatter the Mora Miserium hourglass to become powerful enough to create a door back to the real world without an ascendant — all before Kai took a swan dive into the Malivore pit in a bid to escape himself, thus erasing himself (and the knowledge of how to escape) from her memory.

The craziest part? Kai fell right into the Malivore pit in the prison world and popped back out in the real world, ready to wreak havoc on Mystic Falls again! TV Guide talked to Chris Wood about reprising his fan-favorite character and got the scoop on what's next on Kai's agenda in part two. Read on.

What was it like stepping back into Kai's shoes again after all this time?

Chris Wood: Honestly, it was so great. I can't say I was scared to go back, but there was a part of me that was wondering how hard was going to be the drop back in because it's been a considerable amount of time. And when I first played this character, it was 2014 or something? It feels like forever ago, and I guess it has been a lot of years. So there was, not a hesitation, but there was the question mark. Like, is this going to be smooth to drop back in? And honestly, that's where the writing comes in so handy. I feel like, thankfully having Brett [Matthews] still around and obviously Julie [Plec], and then Thomas [Brandon], one of the new writers watched a few episodes [of The Vampire Diaries] and very quickly got a hang of what Kai's like. The dialogue helps so much because as soon as there's those nasty one liners, it just kind of drops you right back to Kai Parker. It was so fun, honestly. It was a breath of fresh air for me to get to play him again.

Kai and Josie had such an awesome back-and-forth dynamic in this episode, so what was the funnest part of finding that relationship with Kaylee Bryant?

Wood: Oh, it was so fun. Working Kaylee was a blast. I loved how Kaylee plays sort of the assessment of Kai. She definitely had the fear and the distance, but then you see her also so furious at him. I think what was fun to play in those scenes was her balancing her distance and her anger with how to navigate dealing with him because obviously she knows all the stories and she's heard nothing but how horrible he is and not to trust him, but then he sort of presented her with these alternative facts. She's like, "Wait a second, I think maybe I actually do have to work with him to figure this out." That was so fun to play with Kaylee, and she's just a great actor and a fun person to be around.

And where do we go from here now that Kai has essentially been unleashed on the world again?

Wood: He sure has, yeah. He's definitely ready to create havoc at a moment's notice. I don't know how easy it will be to get rid of him now that he's in whatever state he's in. He always has a plan, it always involves killing people, and it's never good when he's around. So, I would expect that the heroes have some trouble to deal with.

I know you probably can't see too much, but did you get to share scenes with any other Legacies kids in next week's episode?

Wood: I did, yeah. And I don't want to spoil too much, but the first episode was really just Kai and Josie, really. Kai's next episode, he encounters some other characters and he also uses a tactic that we've never really seen him use before. And it's very fun and kind of silly, but a bunch of people who don't actually know what he looks like but have heard stories might not see him walk in somewhere and know who he is right off the bat. So, he kind of uses that to his advantage in a very entertaining way.

We've asked Jenny Boyd and Kaylee Bryant which twin they thought was more like Kai, but now that you've had some experience with them, which do you think has more Kai in them?

Wood: Just purely from a hands-on standpoint of working with Kaylee so much in this episode, I would say probably Josie right now. And when she's got that dark thing going on, obviously, the soullessness is something that she would share with her uncle when she's in that place. I think they've done a nice job on the show of kind of presenting them both with possible elements of Kai and keeping that sort of up in the air if somebody's gonna get a little too much of Uncle Kai in their blood. I would say Josie just because I saw elements of her craftiness, and you can see when she's gone dark that things aren't great for people. So that's my vote.

Legacies airs Thursdays at 9/8c on The CW.