#i can guarantee you after s5 that this is the end of these characters story forever...

[imminent-danger-came]

I've been seeing a lot of people saying it was a problem that Mei didn't save Red Son from the scroll of memory in TEW as a callback to when he talked to her in EYD. I personally don't like the idea and think it's a kind of silly complaint, it wouldn't fit in the already quickly paced special or really add anything to the story/Mei's S4 arc.

To me, it just seems like another case of the LMK fandom not being able to think of Mei outside of Red Son, but I'm not sure if that's just me being a hater (lesbian) so I'd like to know what you think? Your analysis is always interesting and fun to read!

Aw, thanks anon! <3

I think a majority of the LMK fandom would sacrifice Mei in a blood ritual if it meant Red Son would have more screen time. Which is uh, not an opinion I share (<- Mei is their second favorite character).

Look, I love parallels. I post a lot of 'em on my blog, and I've made a few parallel predictions myself. But, and here's my hot take: A Red Son and Mei convo in the scroll just wouldn't have fit in the special.

Logistically, the only time this conversation could have happened was post-battle, after everything had settled down and they were able to get everyone out of their scroll pieces. The 3x11 convo between Mei and Red Son only happens because Red Son is desperate—he needs a hero, he needs Mei to save his parents, and Mei is worried she'll lose control. A convo at the end of 3x14 wouldn't have stakes for Mei to urge Red Son back into the outside world with, making the parallel fall kind of flat. There's just not that same weight or urgency.

If exploring Red Son's (or any of the Demon Bull Family's) time in the scroll were to happen, it would be at some point in s5 when it would be the most significant and impactful. You don't just...waste something with so much narrative potential for the end of an already jam packed special. Now, this isn't me saying we're guaranteed to get anything like this in the show, but it is me saying that the special wasn't the place for it.

Plus like, a 3x11 parallel would have to have Character A comforting Character B about some fear, with Character A assuring Character B that they're needed and that they can help—they're not going to make the situation worse.

If anything, I'd argue that we do get a parallel to Mei and Red Son's 3x11 conversation, it's just that it's between Wukong and MK—which, BASED Mei and Wukong parallels moment:

((This is also all assuming that going into the scroll is even necessary for a non-broken scroll piece lol.))

It really does feel like a lot of people just can't see Mei as her own character. If it's any consolation, I don't think you're being a hater anon! I think you're just picking up on what was most important to show in the s4 special.

[emsylcatac]

One of the main problems with the reaction to the finale is that people act like it's the end of the story while it sets up the next story arc. Like I really don't like how in the interview they said that everything will be revealed and resolved when it comes to the very fundamental plots of season 1-2, but this ending that people fantasized about just does not develop the next seasons at all. With endings like this, it's just that most will leave the show, as the main drivers of the show will be gone, but look: they're still here. The Agreste's arc is not over, just some of their roles have changed. We do not have comprehensive answers to all questions. For example, very little is known about Tomoe, although she seems to be one of the roots of this conflict. Do you think Gabriel built the lair himself? What role does it play in the search for miraculous? If Gabriel, as canon says, became so bad after Emily's death, did she fuel his power hunger? I think she'll get the Miraculous Butterfly at all after defeating Lila/Cerise/Iris/Whoyou, as she fits very well into the same pattern associated with both owners of the Butterfly Miraculous.

While many have whined during this season, I've just thought it through and already have a clear picture of what will happen in the second story arc in its entirety, even the finale pretty clearly and even a piece of the third arc and what it will likely revolve around. And although I can't guarantee that it will go exactly like this, but it seems that everything will be approximately like this, especially the people who built theories here, even more strongly strengthened my belief in it.

I can even explain what the general theme will be in the next arc. Either way, people would rather stop watching the show instead of whining. I've been in a few fandoms and there were a lot of very similar salty patterns and I don't want to delete tumblr again because of them.

Honestly if people who are too bitter leave the fandom I wouldn't complain hahaha

My one fear with the big hiatus we're about to have is that the fandom might brew more salt like it was the case between S3 and S4.

I'm sure if season 6 brings more answers that are satisfying, a lot of the people who might leave the fandom because of the S5 finale will come back which would be amazing!

In the meantime it's fun to theorise. And yes while Gabriel/Monarch is technically gone, I'm sure he'll still be very much present in the plot or in the characters' mind & trauma. Very excited to see how 👀

[bellamysgriffin]

would love to hear your gilmore girls s6 thoughts!

lmao i don't even know where to begin i have so many! let's bullet point it

so i can see why people point to this season as the beginning of the downfall of rory gilmore. girl crumbled after someone said one mean thing to her, immediately committed a felony and dropped out of school. that said, i did like that storyline for her, it was interesting, but. i was definitely on lorelai's side. i think rory behaved pretty badly throughout that storyline – and frankly throughout the season. i feel like the only person who points out that the scene with rory/richard at the end of s5 was a pretty manipulative scene on her part, but i also feel like the show agrees with me, since they point it out several times lmao. like, that girl realllllly did not want to face any consequences, and so she went to the person who would guarantee that for her. 

in general, i do think the writing has gone downhill, and that’s in large part due to so much of so many episodes being dedicated to antics instead of actual storylines. side characters have been getting broader and broader. it feels like everyone aside from rory, logan, luke, lorelai, emily, and richard are basically operating at kirk levels of zaniness. one kirk is fine but they can’t all be kirk, you know?

i think that could have been solved by giving side characters meaningful arcs. which means it’s time to talk about the paris of it all. they’ve fully bastardized paris and i could not be more disappointed. she’s my favorite character on the show, and i think it’s wild that instead of showing her grow or have any arc, they’ve regressed her to being socially inept. like can you imagine s6 paris leading madeline and louise around and running things at chilton? paris has always been intense and frank and kinda mean, but she’s not like. terrible with everyone. the running joke that everyone secretly hates paris was really mean-spirited, especially considering how long she’s been on the show. they had a storyline in which rory publicly clarified to a room of ppl who she knows hates paris that she does not consider herself paris’ best friend. 

i will say they got better at writing for her again by the end of the season. but i feel like they could give her an arc in which she’s confronted by the fact that a lot of other students at yale are as driven and smart as she is. she claims that rory is her only real competition but get real. they go to YALE. are you expecting me to believe that rory is the smallest person here?

also they could have given her a meaningful romantic subplot a la lane/dave, instead of just dumb comedic fodder with doyle. (i say this even though im a parisrory but).

SPEAKING OF LANE, the way they wrote the breakup with dave was WILDLY bad. so contrived. i don’t think they ever gave the storyline with lane & her mother the kind of weight it needed, and i’m disappointed by what seems to be a very long slow character assassination. 

also. hot hot take about logan/rory. i prefer jess and jess/rory mostly because i think that was a better, more interesting story and i was therefore more emotionally invested. that said, i do happen to think logan treats rory better than any of her other boyfriends did. and yes, that includes the sort of cheating storyline. i can go more in depth if u want, but i do firmly believe this to be true. (logan himself i find kinda smug/smarmy, but i don’t mind him. i do think that’s what rory is looking for right now, and it’s kind of a signal of her embracing her grandparents’ lifestyle.)

finally, the luke/lorelai of it all. oh BOY am i sad. the april storyline was RIDICULOUSLY contrived. april herself is a fun kid, but i see no reason why her existence should make luke have to postpone the wedding?? the show could never give a reason. how does april prevent luke from committing to lorelai? and why wouldn’t lorelai say anything? they both acted really out of character in order to make that work as a complication. and it just didn’t. (i also don’t love how the first few episodes of season 7 seem to be letting luke off the hook just bc lorelai slept with chris. like you wouldn’t let her into your life!! that’s why u broke up!! not bc she slept with chris or bc u “weren’t right for each other”!!)

i feel like they wrote this partly bc ASP didn’t know what to write. i think that explains the antics-heavy season, dumb side plots and april fiasco. they could have given paris a meaningful arc in that time, but they didn’t. and what they COULD have done with luke/lorelai is just…. give them a kid!! i say this as someone who is not super crazy about baby storylines typically, but on gilmore girls you could do SO MUCH with it. you get rory dealing with a sibling after being her mom’s whole world for her entire life, you get emily and richard getting a second chance at being there from the beginning, you get lorelai having a kid with a stable life and support system, and you get luke and lorelai navigating parenthood together. so much potential tragically wasted and i’ll never get over it.

also…… i’m only on 7x03, but i can’t believe luke/lorelai get married in AYITL…. a full twenty years after lorelai dumped him for not marrying her….. LUNACY

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

Are you confident Bughead will be endgame on this show? That’s literally the last strand I’ve been holding onto, but the thread is weakening. I really can’t believe that they would take this ship, their absolute most popular and loved one, and just end it like this forever. I am so angry with the writing!!

Hey there, anon! It is unbelievable, isn’t it?

What a tricky question you ask! confidence + prediction + the Riverdale writers ... As Jughead would say: yikes!

The thing with these writers is that they use a lot of words without knowing their meaning. “Endgame” is one of them. “New” is another. “Exciting”. “Darkness”™. “Adult stories”. “The message”…

Dangling the bughead “endgame” carrot at the end of one or two seasons of no bughead or -worse- of b*rchie and j*bitha f.e. is not an endgame. The general definition of endgame -outside of chess- is: the last stage of a process. If the process (i.e. the season’s content) isn’t about bughead, then bughead coming together at the very end is not an endgame, it's a peripeteia i.e. a sudden or unexpected reversal of circumstances.

In shipping, endgame is a couple that will inevitably end together (for ever and ever and ever). In order for something to be inevitable, you have to create that sentiment, you have to build the couple up.

There’s an article about the misappropriation of the word “endagame” that I find particularly funny, as it starts by mentioning Riverdale!

Anyway, this is a long-winded way to say that, yes, I do believe that the show will end with bughead and varchie as their main canon couples. It’s just that, like you, I’m so very tired with these story lines. There is satisfaction to be had at the notion of endgame but a seasonful of investigative bughead would be infinitely preferable. For me (and I can only speak of myself) the journey is more important than the destination -even if for the simple reason that -in TV show time- it lasts longer!

Why do I think bughead is still … that word? Everything’s under the cut, so as not to clutter your dash!

1. A lot of people have been theorising that what happened in 5x18 was not the original plot. I agree.

Let’s start with 5x18 varchie.

Their break up came completely out of left field. Its unexpectedness is reminiscent of 4x17. I make fun of how s5 is a reboot of s1+s2’s leftover ideas, so another copy-paste shouldn’t feel out of place, and yet … really? Another repetition? To what end? If the season’s goal was not varchie, b*rchie was already there waiting at the beginning of the time jump! Why abandon that plot? In terms of romantic varchie time, that was extremely limited, since after their kiss in 5x7, Veronica’s divorce kept them apart until 5x17 … Why have Archie being extremely jealous of Chad, Veronica getting involved in all of Archie’s schemes (firefighters, bulldogs), Archie getting involved in Ronnie’s (rescuing daddykins) or Veronica telling her father she chooses Archie over him in 5x17? Also, for those who remember, there was this by the-writer-who-shall-not-be-named.

The reason of the break up is as ludicrous as Veronica moving into Archie’s childhood bedroom (with its effing slanted roof!) on the premise that long term the Andrews’ residence has more room! (By the way, I don’t know what surprised me more: that Veronica thought that Archie and uncle Frank would know who Ina Garten is or that Jughead didn’t.) Why is Veronica astounded by Archie’s involvement in the same activities he has been involved in all through the season?! For f***’s sake, she’s the one that gifted him the fire truck!

Ok. Now let’s give 5x18 j*bitha a try.

For me, 5x18 could either have gone bugheadwards or j*bithawards. J*bitha had some heartfelt talks, a hand touch, a hallucination and a kiss. Bughead had one unfinished heartfelt talk (the only one in the whole season for Betty), two shoulder touches, two hallucinations and Jughead attempting to reconnect with Betty (without specifying what his intent was, it's true).

While I do think that j*bitha is a ship that has been adequately teased, the way they were explored in 5x18 was … not underwhelming exactly (after all, they’re not my ship, so I didn’t have any expectations about them) but … maybe lukewarm is the word? They had but minimal dialogue, only enough to establish that Tabitha’s parents were in town. Then a song where Tabitha initially rejects Jughead, although she had been supportive before. Then another song, where the lyrics were heavily altered and didn’t make much sense anyway (we hadn’t been properly introduced to the Tates) but where the original lyrics were very compatible with Bughead’s history and state of being as of 5x17. The kisses were ok, I have no problem with the actors’ chemistry. But -and this is strictly a personal opinion- Jughead’s flirting scenes (not the make-out ones, you perverts!) with Cora were better and so was the j*bitha kiss in 5x10. For the 5x18 j*bitha to flow, more dialogue and more flirting was necessary (always a persona opinion). So, no, I don’t think j*bitha were supposed to sing what they sang in 5x18.

Production for s5 wrapped up one week after the official announcement of the 5 special episodes for Riverdale and The Flash: “we expect it will take us until Fall 2022 to get back to a regular schedule” was the official quote. Re-organising the cw’s overall schedule didn’t happen overnight. Yes, more likely than not, the writers knew about the specifics of s6a before shooting 5x18-5x19 and had time to re-write them.

2. The couples spoilers for s6 do not make sense plot-wise.

If the end-goal for 5x19-6x1 had been b*rchie, j*bitha and v*ggie all along, these were pairs already happening (except from v*ggie) at the beginning of the time-jump. As for v*ggie, last time we saw them, Veronica pulled a face when she heard that he had had (still has?) an affair with Hermosa. And what about Nana Rose?! (ok, that was a joke! ... or was it? 👀)

The majority of both the fans and the general audience are bugvarchie shippers. Teasing b*rchie and j*bitha as a means of maintaining the viewers’ interest in a will they/won’t they way, only works if the audience finally gets what they want. In this season. Not the next one! There is so much trolling one can take after all. In the space of 1.5 year (4x17-5x19) b*rchie will have been teased ... THREE times (and still lacking build-up)!

I cannot myself see b*rchie, j*bitha and v*ggie as endgame couples. For the audience to invest in them after 4 years of bugvarchie, the writers have to a) give j*bitha an absolutely incredible development that will surpass bughead and the cinematography to go with it (good luck with that) and b) undo Archie’s character (highly unlikely) and/or give Betty a lobotomy (at which point a lot of people will quit en masse, because Archie as The One All The Girls Want just doesn't resonate with the majority).

I have no idea if s6a is an AU or not. But if it’s not, no one will be left to watch 6b.

Can I guarantee a bughead endgame? Of course not. I have no idea how the minds of the Riverdale writers work. But I do think that Jughead and Betty getting back together is more than wishful thinking.

Fervently shipping Jughead/Betty, Jughead/his book and Betty/therapy, sincerely yours, @raymondebidochonlifechoices

I hope you have fun with the Riverdale universe regardless, dear anon. Riverdale has given us one of the most beautiful getting-together stories in s1 and lots and lots of beautiful canon bughead afterwards. Here's to many more! Much love to you!

[nikadoesanart]

My predictions on BSD getting animated going forward

I’ll be taking a look at the novel page counts (Japanese and English) and comparing them to the screen time they’ve gotten so far and then using this to predict how long the remaining light novel adaptations will be (approximately). At the end will also be my rough prediction/hopes for the order of some of these being adapted. I say some because I have yet to read what there is so far of the gaiden novel translations, the main story manga has essentially still been on the DOA arc almost since where the anime left off, and I personally think that it’s currently too soon for Storm Bringer (aside from money purposes).

Note, most of this was written well before the anime 5th anniversary livestream but the announcements wound up not affecting it. I then of course made adjustments as needed account for the novel content we do have so far, both in Japanese and in English (officially).

Page to Episode Count

Not counting the afterward, ads, etc for the English/US copy, Japanese is including it

Also all eng page counts are using the Yen Press release and jp page counts are taken from the fandom wiki

*148 is purely counting the Untold Origins portion of the novel. If we also count the A Day at the Agency short story that’s included before it (56 pages), then we get the full 203

Also the English page count for BEAST was noted before the English release date but after page counts have been posted by affiliated retailers, so subtract a couple pages from the written count of 176 for the time being to account for the afterward and possible character sheets being included

Now that we have our page to episode counts (as of April 5th, 2021), let’s find the actual content run time of what we do have animated so far.

Seasons 1-3 and the OVA all have the same episode length/duration. Each episode is 23 minutes, and we can subtract 3 minutes on average from that to account for the OP and ED being played. This leaves us with an average of 20 minutes of BSD story content per episode. So on average, each of the first 3 seasons contain 240 minutes, or 4 hours, worth of story content.

Dead Apple’s total run time is 91 minutes, with the OP and ED making up 9 of those minutes. However, we do have a bit of the story content being played while the ED is playing (as sometimes happens in the anime as well). To keep the math simple, I’ll be approximating story content time at 82 minutes.

Apply these numbers to the novels that have been animated so far and this is (approximately) what we get:

Now let’s use these numbers to predict the screen time needed for the other novels

Note that we can’t really use Entrance Exam as a fair measure because of how much got cut out (just compare the run time of it to Dark Era and it speaks for itself). However, the numbers for Dark Era and Dead Apple are the best ones to use, as they both have minimal changes between anime and novel and both have official English translations currently available. Take out the approximate time taken up by OP/ED and and the numbers pretty much match up.

So with that being said, we can estimate Untold Origins (only) at approximately 3 eps/60 min and 55 Minutes at 1h 40-55min/100-115 min or 5-6 eps if it doesn’t get a movie. We can also estimate the A Day at the Detective Agency short story at the beginning of Untold Origins to take up about 1 ep, probably even a bit less.

1+ 3 + 5-6 = 9-10 episodes which isn’t enough for a full single cour season unless they all get put into one big OVA season, but also 10-11 eps (or less) seasons are a thing (ie. Fugou Keiji: Balance Unlimited, Blood Lad, Black Butler: Book of Circus, The Seven Deadly Sins: Signs of a Holy War, FLCL)

My personal predictions/hopes for the anime adaptation timeline going forward

This is considering the manga content, current “pausing/stopping points” what wouldn’t be too awkward, each of the novels relevancy/necessity to the main story manga, and assuming we continue with single cour (12-13 ep) seasons

Hopefully/ideally a 55 Minutes movie

S4: ch 54-70

Early S5 (preferably) or end of S4: Untold Origins or A Day at the Agency

S5: ch 71-88/around where we are now?

A Day at the Agency can, in my opinion at least, be chucked in at any point either as a single episode OVA or as the light novel content for s4 (maybe not even taking a full episode and then starting ch 54 in the last few minutes for example). Keep in mind that the current DOA arc is a long one and has plenty to it, so personally I think it may even be better to not include a novel adaptation in a future S4, as it would likely already be a right squeeze content wise. Remember, we also have a few XX.5 chapters that are continuations of the chapter directly before them.

I still need to read what’s currently available of the gaiden novel fan translations but it can probably be adapted at any point as well. I’m estimating approximately 5-6 eps as an OVA series. I don’t really think it would get a movie, partially because you can make it only so long, especially since it’s an anime movie and unlike Storm Bringer, it doesn’t have Chuuya to practically guarantee the profit.

BEAST also doesn’t directly impact the main story and can be adapted at virtually any point. However, seeing as we do have a live action confirmed for it and it’s page count lines up very closely with Dark Era, it can be either 4 eps or (more likely in my opinion) a movie, as it can be considered almost stand alone content.

Personally, I believe it is currently way too soon to animate Storm Bringer as it came out only a little over a month ago (as of writing this) and has minimal plot necessity as of ch 91, but I do believe it should be either split into 2 movies (a part 1 and part 2) or it would need 8 episodes, likely as an OVA season. If it were to get animated sooner than 55 Minutes or Untold Origins, which I believe to be very unlikely, I feel that it would almost certainly be driven by the financial gains of Chuuya being included, and his popularity alone. Reminder, SB is about Chuuya and not SKK. Dazai’s appearance in SB is proportionally a very small percentage and he’s not even mentioned in the official plot summary.

However, you can argue that SB is starting to have some relevance now, with the recent mention of the Order of the Clock Tower in ch 90 and the increased relevance of sealed ability weapons in ch 91. However, I really do believe that you can’t adapt Storm Bringer before 55 Minutes because of Standard Island and its treaty, it also talks about sealed ability weapons, knowing who Wells is, and 55 Minutes canonically takes place during the “downtime” portion of S3. In fact, here’s Asagiri’s words directly from the Afterward (translation by Yen Press):

“this volume didn’t take place in the past, but rather sometime after the tenth volume of the manga. In other words, it’s a tale about the ‘usual’ detective agency in novel format.” (55 minutes, p 237)

Untold Origins also should be adapted sooner rather than later (at least compared to SB in my opinion) because it’s about Ranpo and Fukuzawa’s shared past, which becomes increasingly relevant ch 70 onwards, as well as the need for the ADA being founded (which ties in with Yosano’s backstory in ch 65-66).

In regards to whether I think each of these would be better suited to a movie adaptation or as multiple regular length anime episodes, it’s mainly due to page count and partly due to the budget difference between the two, as well as how difficult I think it would be to animate each of these based on what needs to be drawn. The anime industry isn’t the fastest to switch to newer technology, hence why we see issues with 3D blending sometimes. I really do think that at the very least, 55 Minutes deserves the movie budget because of how detailed and complex the architecture of Standard Island is described as, as well all the mechanical parts needed for the final battle of the novel. Hate the lizard mouths introduced in Dead Apple all you want, but you can’t deny that the 3D cgi was blended very smoothly. For any of the other novels to be movies, it’s more so because gaiden and BEAST can be considered their own stand alone stories that don’t rely too heavily on the main story in terms of when they take place and get adapted. I feel that SB is more likely to get its own season or an OVA season more so due to its length, but multiple part anime movies have also been done before (ie. the Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel movies), so it’s not entirely impossible. Especially considering that merely having any Chuuya screen time means that you can expect the profit and popularity to really go up, especially with SKK being on screen together (regardless of whether you love or hate how the fandom tends to push a shipping POV on them).

These are all of course just my hopes and predictions and estimates based on information currently available, so take them with some salt. I’d love to hear opinions on how, when, and why each of the currently non animated novels should be adapted going forward. Also please stop begging the relevant BSD official Twitter pages for SB to be animated next and go read the other light novels you Chuuya simp

[fanficmaniatic]

The "Anti-Chat" Theory.

(Which is also why Chat Blanc 2.0 wont work and why Ladybug needs to be akumatized).

This is a turducken on my thoughts for S4 and the future of the show so just roll with it.

So, Season 4 has been wild so far, and if clues given by the writers and people involved in show are any indication, this is only the beginning, we are in for a bumpy ride and things are just going to keep getting worse.

In all the discourse revolving season 4 something that we are all mentioning is how “Chat Blanc” is still a thing and there is no guarantee it won’t happen again. If anything it now seems more likely Chat Noir will get akumatized considering the imminent Ladynoir fallout, and how Adrien is still living with his Father, as his isolation keeps getting worse. And though I am always In for some good Character angst, and I feel like it is necessary for Adrien to know about Chat Blanc, and/or for Chat Blanc to reappear, I don’t think Chat Blanc 2.0 is something Adrien nor the show needs right know.

This theory has many parts, I promise it all ties neatly at the end.

First things first, I may be a little biased, Chat Blanc is an episode I really enjoy. I love Time Travel shenanigans, and I was dying to see Adrien finally find out about his father. The heavy consequences of the episode were obviously erased, but the impact of it all still remains trough Marinette, whom we see in the episode ‘Sentibbubler’ is having nightmares about the whole thing. But still, I love the episode, and I really don’t want an “Stormy Weather 2”… which is an episode I heavily dislike, compared to THE BEST formulaic episode of the Whole show, a.k.a “Stormy Weather” a.k.a My favorite episode. So yeah, this whole first point is just me REALLY not wanting an episode called “Chat Blanc 2.0” But there is more to it, and is the fact that I don’t see how it could work out.

“Chat Blanc 2.0” is unnecessary, and the reason why is that bringing him back wouldn’t actually do anything besides perhaps bringing Ladynoir further apart. Ladybug still CAN’T know Chat noir’s identity, (Let’s be honest and admit that’s prolly s4 finale OR happening during s5) so the show would go out of its way to make his dialogue as plain as possible without mentioning his father being hawkmoth. And yes, I do realize that Chat has been bottling his emotions and it all is likely to come out during THE ladynoir fall out… But people are ignoring the elephant in the room which is that Chat Noir DOES NOT fight Ladybug.

I promise this is relevant.

Chat Noir, unless mind controlled, would never attack Ladybug. The most clear example of this is in “Gamer 2.0” when he straight up says “I could never bring myself to fight you” as he sacrifices himself for her, that added to their classic “Is us against the world, My Lady” every season finale, and Marinette’s “In case something happens to me” In ‘Optygami’, it all could pretty well be a foreshadowing of a Ladynoir fight, where Ladybug is akumatized, and Chat has to willingly fight her. Yes, one could argue that he did fight her during ‘Chat Blanc’, but it could also be read as more of him trying to make her listen.

Where am I going with this? Chat Blanc 2.0 would be unable to bring the nuance the story needs right now. Chat Blanc still wouldn’t fight his father, because I doubt they won’t leave that for season 5. Chat Blanc still doesn’t have a motive to actually fight Ladybug. But the most important part is… What would happen at the end? What would be the change? What conversation are we having? What would be different than what we got in the original Chat Blanc?

To be fair, maybe I am wrong, maybe it can work out, this is just a theory. Maybe all the things I crossed out as impossible will actually happen, but I have been watching the show for 6 years, and If I have learned something about it, is that it is a slow burn, in ALL the aspects.

So yes, I believe Ladybug/Marinette needs to be akumatized, but I also think that Adrien has to learn about Chat Blanc, and that Chat Blanc needs to reappear, having a bigger Role than just a nightmare. So… how does that tie with everything I just said? Easy, the “Anti- Chat” Theory’

So you probably remember “Anti-Bug”, one of the best episodes from season 1, where Chole tries to help Ladybug, she doesn’t listen, and Chloe ends up being akumatized into “Ladybug but evil” … In theory, that is the deal, and is no wonder I am picking Felix Graham De Vanily to fill this role.

From an animation perspective, Felix is the obvious choice, he is identical to Adrien, and if following Anti-bug’s logic in costume desing, that would mean they can reuse Chat Blanc model with no alteration needed.

Now, How would this work? By giving Ladybug a jump scare. She thinks she has to live one of her worst nightmares again, to then find out “Oh… This is not Chat Noir” while still creating enough tension, by looking scared and distraught, that she HAS to tell him that she is scared of him being akumatized WITHOUT actually needing to mention the alternative timeline. This gives Chat noir the chance to lash out, once he realizes this is part of why ladybug is keeping him away, which can lead to Ladybug’s future akumatization.

Why this way? And please hear me out. Chat Noir NEEDS to let his emotions out, and I don’t think lashing out at ladybug is the best way but I see it as necessary. Adrien needs to take on more responsibility while being Chat, but he also needs to learn how to healthy express his emotions, because he is not allowed to do that in his current situation. Ladybug being akumatized because she feels guilty about Chat Noir allows Adrien to do BOTH. Because to save Ladybug he would have to realize “My emotions are valid, and is okey to let them out, but the way I did it was not the right one”, and both Ladybug and Chat Noir would have to apologize because this whole thing is not miscommunication… is a misunderstanding of their partners character. Ladybug needs to relay more on Chat and Chat needs to take on more responsibility… it won’t happen if Ladybug is the one that needs to save Chat Noir.

Adrien needs to realize that he needs to save himself, and that there’s people outside of his father that care for him. Ladybug is this figure that he looks up to and Admires, and is from a side of his life that his father has no control over, (At least from his perspective). So if she forgives him, if they are able to fix their relationship he will realize that things can get better.

Now, going back to Anti-Chat… his deal is way bigger than just bringing The Ladynoir fight… Is about setting up seasons 6 and 7.

What do we know so far? The Love Square and Gabriel’s Hawkmoth is going to come to an end by season 5. Which has left many fans wondering “Then what is happening on seasons 6 and 7?” And the best answer we have so far is in the episode “Timetagger” where Bunnix reveals that there is a whole team of miraculous holders fighting the Hawkmoth of the future, which is by the same episode confirmed to not be Gabriel Agreste. Besides this, I think it is safe to assume that the specials are quietly setting up themes that could come back In seasons 6 and 7.

Now, when speaking about characters that could be future villains the fandom seems to have its collective mind set on two individuals: Lila Rossi, and Felix Graham De Vanily.

Besides ‘Rocketear’, (E17), ‘Wishmaker’ (E18), and the special ’Shadow Moth’s last attack’ (Eps 25&26) we don’t know the names of the episodes of the second half of the season, which is really uncommon for miraculous ladybug, and the reason they gave us as to why is “You would know who is akumatized based on the names”… Which AGAIN, is really uncommon for ML. If you have been in this fandom for a long time you’ll realize that most people working in the show don’t really seem to care about spoilers. Now, this is kinda a conspiracy theory, but If you saw that there was an episode called “Anti-Chat” would you have assume it was any one other than Felix?…. No, right? That’s what I though. Miraculous has proven that it is good at subverting expectations, so when they are pointing at something (like a Chat Blanc 2.0 episode) it may not be as we want or suspected it to be. So I think an Anti-Chat episode makes a lot of sense.

Now, Why am I saying that this can set up future season? Buckle up, pals, here we go. What do we know about Felix?

He is evil, or at the very least seems to be ill-intentioned, if his attitude and look at the end of his episode is anything to go by.

He is after jewelry. Which, yeah, was only shown in that one episode he appeared, but this could pretty much be a foreshadowing of him later on going after the miraculous.

We know that he is bound to appear 3 more times

For this theory to work, I need it to happen in episode 22… Yes, the feared 100th episode of the show. It is not as important why Felix is akumatized, but what is happening WHILE he is akumatized.

Besides what has already been discussed, with Ladybug being scared, Ladynoir should not be able to work together. They are tumbling on each other because Chat Noir feels like she doesn’t trust him, but Ladybug NEEDS his reassurance right now, which he wont give.

This, is directly parallel with what is happening between Anti-Chat and Shadow Moth. Because Felix, even though he wants the miraculous, he won’t let himself be bossed around. He is demanding things from SM, and like in Robustus, Anti-Chat tries to, not just take Ladybug’s and Chat noir’s Miraculous, he wants to destroy Hawkmoth too. Which will lead to Shadow Moth being the reason he gets de-akumatized, instead Ladybug and Chat Noir saving him... bringing more fuel to the Ladynoir fire.

Now, Why should Felix have an attitude with Shadow Moth? Well, my friends… Do you remember, years ago, when the producers of the show said “The peacock miraculous holder will make Hawkmoth look like a baby”…. That’s not Mayura. Nathalie is a great miraculous holder, and she is really clever. But instead of making Gabriel look like a baby, she makes him look smart because he has someone like her on his team. What I am saying with this is that Felix, will suspect/ figure out Gabriel is Hawkmoth at the en of Anti-Chat, and that he will get the peacock miraculous during “The Last attack of Shadow Moth.” Thus, setting up a villain for future seasons.

This makes Felix 3 appearances be: In episode 22 (Anti-Chat), In episode 26 (SM last attack, part 2), and during S5’s finale. Felix situation will be much like Lila’s during s1 and s2 where she was introduced at the end of the first but not used until the end of the second.

Conclusion:

Felix Graham de Vanily has the potential to be a future villain and bring the Ladynoir conflict to finally surface.

And to clarify, The Ladynoir conflict, just like this Felix theory, is not something that will, nor can get resolved in one episode. If anything the fight will be around the end of season 4, and it will get resolved during season 5.

But again, this is just a theory, and I will probably be death wrong, but who knows?

[ladylynse]

So I just finished marathoning BBC Merlin recently and I'm craaaving a DP crossover. I think I saw you mention you had the idea for one before? Maybe??? Or maybe it was a 3 sentence prompt? Either way, if you had an idea for one I'd love to hear you talk more about it? If not, I'd love to hear a musing :D You have the best ideas. Thanks in advance, have a nice day/night!

You're thinking of this post. *grins* I try to collect that kind of thing on this post, but sometimes I forget to link it, so even if you vaguely remember seeing something, there's no guarantee it's on there when it should be. I haven't done a three sentence fic with that crossover, so feel free to drop me a prompt or two if you want one.

There are fic possibilities beyond what I talked about in the first post, of course, even without setting it in the present where Merlin hears what's going on in North America, specifically Amity Park, so here's another one. (I'm coming up with it on the fly, so apologies if there's more inconsistencies than usual.)

Given the time period, a fic could be set at a time when Dora and Aragon are alive. And cursed. Dealing with that whole backstory. If I were bringing more DP characters into the story like that, I'd be tempted to set the story after the Merlin series ended, when Merlin can be off avoiding thinking about what happened and run right into trouble that a dragonlord is uniquely suited to deal with.

Failing that, I'd set it in my comfy S4-S5 spot, where they're out following up on rumours of Morgana and magical activity (Arthur would believe they were linked even if they weren't) that Arthur shouldn't be tracking for safety reasons but he is because he's Arthur, and Merlin isn't as keen to laugh off the stories Gwaine brings back from the local pub about sorcery that can transform people into dragons. Transformation magic is hard, and something that skitters along the lines of the ancient magic of dragons is nearly impossible to mimic. The fact that something is out there that can supposedly do that is worrisome, and he needs to find a way to break off from the group and check it out.

You could technically do that story without any time travel whatsoever, but I like time travel, so chances are good I'd include it and therefore include Danny.

As such, that could work with the Ghost King AU, too, with Danny getting some *ahem* unconventional training off the books that he in absolutely no way signed up for. (I mean, hey, if it were a Ghost King AU, why not go all the way and throw Pariah Dark in there, too? Danny's back here for a history lesson. (Please let this be a normal history lesson. With Clockwork? No way!) History and politicking. And just being on his toes, more so than he already is. He is not as careful in Amity Park as he should be, getting lax about his secret because the general populace seems so oblivious.)

And if Danny were thrown into the past with next to no context? With how careless he is? Even when he's being careful, chances are good someone would catch him at something and he'd be called out for having magic. There's not much people hunting down sorcerers can do when it comes to capturing and keeping him, not without some magic of their own, but Danny would not be able to blend in well even when trying to do so (he'd make little social mistakes even if he pretending to be a beggar simply because he doesn't know the unspoken societal rules), and you cannot throw him into the wild and expect him to survive. (Well. Not happily. You could certainly stretch it, say he doesn't need to eat or drink as much--or anything--if he stays in ghost mode, but you cannot tell me that child paid enough attention to actually learn which berries/mushrooms/etc were poisonous and which weren't, especially when most of what he would be able to reliably recognize might not grow in, oh, we'll go with Wales, shall we? Different environments, different species. Some overlap. Likely not enough overlap.) He's much more likely to resort to stealing food if he can't get any by asking for it, even if he doesn't like the idea, They'd be able to track his movements and hunt him down.

It would be a little like being hunted by Skulker, except it would take longer and involve markedly fewer missiles. (Arrows might not be missiles, but hey, he's not going to discriminate too much between projectiles flying at him that he can't afford to let hit him.) And these people would be better at it. Outside of Camelot, if someone like King Sarrum decided they wanted him? If they went after him, regardless of the cost? Possibly employing the use of sorcerers to track him down? Danny would be screwed.

Until he stumbles into someone who can help him, anyway.

Which would be about ten seconds after he stumbles into someone he knows but doesn't recognize him, as Princess Dorathea is very much alive at this point in time, and Merlin is rattling off an apology for the both of them because he can feel something about Danny that tells him the boy isn't as ordinary as he appears, and not listening to his gut has come back to bite Merlin in the past.

(see more musings)

[janiedean]

Laviania, why are you so sure Stannis won't burn Shireen "for the greater good"? I mean... it's a classic trope (Agamemnon) and would be one of the ethics questions (one death to avoid many others) GRRM loves? [not on tumblr, but I'm Wirette on Discort - and by the way, I'm still sorry you have to endure this special kind of anon... but I'm also sickly fascinated by it. Like an horror book, see?)

hi! ;) and eeeh. I KNOW. one day they’ll get tired. 

that said, about stannis, very quickly (hopefully):

in the show it was 100% the agamemnon trope, but in the book there is absolutely nothing linking stannis to that guy whatsoever - they don’t have a similar personality, they’re not the same archetype, they’re not fighting a war for the same reasons and it doesn’t add up;

now, in the book it’s not physically possible unless it doesn’t happen in wow because:a) shireen is at the wall, stannis is going to wf;b) so stannis is stuck in the snow same as in the show right now at the end of adwd and shireen is miles away geographically like how is he going to burn her for the show reasons? he can’t, because she’s not there;c) current summary of the situation in asha’s adwd chapter:That tale she had from Justin Massey, who was less devout than most. "A sacrifice will prove our faith still burns true, Sire," Clayton Suggs had told the king. And Godry the Giantslayer said, "The old gods of the north have sent this storm upon us. Only R'hllor can end it. We must give him an unbeliever.""Half my army is made up of unbelievers," Stannis had replied. "I will have no burnings. Pray harder."I mean, he’s not burning anyone in his prisoners/army which is all unbelievers yet and I have to assume he’s burning shireen? okay but not;d) also, theon pov in winds of winter so after asha’s chapter:The knight hesitated. "Your Grace, if you are dead — "" — you will avenge my death, and seat my daughter on the Iron Throne. Or die in the attempt."Ser Justin put one hand on his sword hilt. "On my honor as a knight, you have my word."... so not only he can’t physically burn her, he wants his knights to put her on the iron throne when a woman couldn’t even inherit it in theory and I have to assume that he’d sacrifice her just like that? nah;

other than the above.... before stannis even thinks of going back to the wall he has to take winterfell which is not happening before mid-wow or the end of it because jon needs to join him/he needs more soldiers/it’s most likely the northern storyline climax and possibly davos has to show up with rickon before that happens or smth but anyway shireen is at the wall, stannis won’t be there before the end of the book if he even goes back at all and there’s no guarantee he actually survives the whole thing, so.... what the hell;

now, melisandre and selyse are at the wall and jon is currently dead and selyse doesn’t gaf about her daughter and melisandre would probably burn her thinking she’s doing the right thing so if you’re telling me that shireen dies burned alive because people at the wall most likely the two of them think it’s necessary for the greater good then it’s a way more likely theory, but that stannis would do that in the books is so out of this world to me I’m not even deigning to consider that as a legitimate possibility and ngl I’ve elected to pretend it never happened in any show only fic I wrote because fuck that noise.

now: dnd couldn’t write stannis, couldn’t give a damn about it, didn’t care about his character either way because they started writing him like they were drunk on tequila since S3 and it was obvious they couldn’t wait to kill him off long before his role in the story was exhausted, but since wow he actually isn’t a bad guy they had to make him do something unredeemable so that they could have brienne kill him in one of the top five most ooc decisions they took for any character in these series (because don’t let it be said that I don’t have immense pits of hatred for their decision to make brienne’s s5 storyline about avenging saint renly and looking out of a window because guys I do and no one wants me to hear all the venom I could spit on the topic) and what’s better than going that route when 99% in the books if she dies that way he won’t have a hand in it.

but since I’m here and it’s stannis baratheon loving hours and the show decided to not give a damn, this is where I would like to state that while stannis is the worst at showing his feelings to people and a complete disaster when it comes to show them to her, he loves his daughter way more than her mother does, he educated her the way you would educate your son not a daughter (it was made clear in the books but she didn’t just have the usual lessons daughters of great houses have, she had the lessons sons have that girls aren’t necessarily given), he thinks of her as his heir and not as someone he should just try to marry off, he wants her on the throne when the last time a woman was on it not as a regent in this universe there was a years-long civil war happening because OMG IT’S NOT A THING THAT SHOULD HAPPEN, and he cares about her very damned deeply when half of the other lords in these books would have despaired knowing their only daughter wasn’t the most palatable marriage prospect (stannis & selwyn should found a club for ‘my daughter is awesome and people don’t get it) and the fact that he’s shit at showing it and that dnd couldn’t grasp the concept that a dude who’s actually great at waging wars and might be a tad too strict when it comes to donning justice is also a disaster human being who’s crap at showing his feelings to anyone except davos but loves his daughter anyway and is that strict also because it’s a trauma coping method not because he gets a boner out of sentencing people to die doesn’t mean that the book version is going down the same path. ;)

tldr: because it’d be ooc and show!stannis hasn’t done three things IC in a row since S3. ;)

[twdmusicboxmystery]

FTWD 5x16: Analysis

Wow! What did everyone thing of last night’s episode? I thought it was great. Yes, it ended on a little bit of a cliffhanger, but I thought the writing was really genius.

***As always, spoilers abound for episode 5x16 below. Don’t read until you’ve watched!***

First, let’s appreciate the title: End of the Line. I know it had to do with the song Grace and Daniel sang at the end, but it caught my attention for another reason. I just have to point out that Terminus was also once referred to as “the end of the line.” I might have more to say about Terminus in a later post. For now, just wanted to point that out.

We started with seeing a pair of feet running. It reminded me of when we saw Morgan’s feet running at the beginning of FTWD S4 when he ran away from Washington D.C. and toward Texas. We saw with the feet and not the face. It’s also similar to what we saw in Inmates: Beth and Daryl’s feet while they ran away from walkers. After a moment, Dwight tripped and we saw it was him.

I'm trying to decide why they used this parallel. You could argue that Morgan ran away from a war happening (between TF and Negan) and he ended up saving a lot of people (the current Fear crew). Similarly, Dwight ran away from a war about to happen between Morgan's group and Ginny, and he ended up taking back some horses and saving them. That's probably not the extent of this parallel, but it's a start. I wonder if Morgan, in a bigger sense, or his group will end up going back to D.C. and saving them in some way there. But that's just conjecture. I’ll get into why I’m wondering about that later in the week.

At first, I wondered if this bit with Dwight was a flashback. I soon realized it wasn't. He thinks he hears Sherry's voice through the walkie, but she doesn't answer him when he says her name. It's as though he can hear her, but she can't hear him.

Later he tells June he thinks it was in his head, but her voice was leading him to something. That’s because right after he hears her voice, whether phantom or not, he sees the horses.

This is super-significant in my mind. I mean, we had the disembodied voice on the radio at the end of TWD 9x16. A disembodied female voice leading him toward something. And then there’s all those pesky parallels between Dwight/Sherry and Daryl/Beth. So it feels like a parallel/foreshadow.

And then there’s the horses. They’re a huge Beth symbol. We saw Buttons in 5B, and Morgan finding the one in 6x16 with the sign, "You're still alive" nearby. And now here, Dwight finds horses to take back to Morgan's group and help them.

Next, we see a bird’s eye view of Gulch, looking down on the walkers. We’ve seen that shot many times before, mostly in regular TWD. We saw it with the tank Rick jumped into in 1x01. We also saw it after the prison fell. I feel like this is how they signal that there's a big change coming. 

More specifically, it’s often a separation of characters. So, in 1x01, Rick was separated from his family. When we saw it in 4x09, the prison had just fallen and all of the characters scattered/separated. And, of course, by the end of this episode, our entire crew was forcibly separated by Ginny.

We then hear Morgan talking to Ginny. Remember at the end of the last episode he called her on the walkie. Something she said stood out to me. She said she was glad he called her for help. "Glad as a grandma with a gravy boat." It just struck me as a callback to Daryl in The Cell and the “gravy train” named in the Easy Street song.

When Morgan tells her his group is at the Gulch, she seems surprised. She tells him a little story. She says there were 263 souls in that place and they had a crackpot leader who made the wrong call. 

That struck me as something of a Grady parallel. Remember that in Dawn's case, she talked about Capt. Hansen and how he had “cracked.” After that, Dawn stepped in. So, if Ginny represents Dawn in this analogy, we have a supposed crackpot who made a bad call got a lot of people killed, just that Capt. Hansen did. And Ginny seems to have assumed leadership in his stead, as Dawn did at Grady.

Even at this point, I saw the parallels. As the episode progresses, we learn even more about what happened there. Ginny wasn't being entirely truthful. Upon learning more, the parallels to Grady only become stronger. Because as it turns out, she killed this man and his 263 people for fighting back. So just as Dawn killed Capt. Hansen, Ginny killed this guy.

She refuses to guarantee to Morgan that she’ll take everybody or that she’ll let them stay together. Morgan asks her to come anyway because they don't have another way to survive.

When he goes to talk to Grace, she has some interesting things to say. She says she knows her time (for dying) is coming. Because she's sick, she knows Ginny won't take her. Morgan assures her that he’ll make sure she's taken along.

She also tells him she understands what he was trying to tell her before. (Quick refresher: last episode, Morgan started to tell Grace how he felt about her, but she asked him not to.)

She says that she actually did tell her previous boyfriend how she felt before he died. The main reason she did was because she knew he was dying. She even tells him of the two of them slept together. She just didn’t want to make things any harder because she’s sick and still thinks she’ll be dying soon. Morgan insists that they will see one another again. Keep that in mind, as I think it's foreshadowing.

After that, Dwight shows up with the horses. He points out that if these horses are alive, there must be water nearby. Which means Ginny lied about them not being able to survive there. She simply wants them to come with her.

Alicia takes her weapon back from Strand and they decide to try and clear the Gulch of walkers. They do a mini Operation-Lead-the-Walkers-Away, which made me smile. 

John, June, Daniel, Morgan, and Grace get on horses to lead the horde. (I had to smile at this part as well because Morgan rode double with Grace. Especially as she’s ill, there was no reason AT ALL for her to go rather than staying behind with Al and the others. This was just to enhance the Morgan/Grace romance. Which again, made me smile.)

They plan to use the walkers to surround Ginny and not hurt her, but just try to get her to agree to what they want. Unfortunately, this plan falls through because  Ginny shows up with Luciana in tow, and Morgan’s group doesn’t want to risk Luciana getting hurt. Plus, her being there means Ginny has leverage against them, which is no doubt why she brought Luciana. So the plan fails before it even begins.

Back at the Gulch, Al finds some of the key badges Ginny’s people wear. She figures out Ginny lied about the people at the Gulch having simply died from refusing her help. She attacked and killed them because they resisted her. So, they realize that if she comes, she’ll make war on them and they're vastly out-manned and outgunned. They basically prepared to surrender to her.

Daniel had a great line in this episode. Strand is considering taking up Ginny on her offer and Daniel says, "She's not giving us a choice. That is all we need to know." Amen bro! Go Daniel!

When Ginny's people arrive at where Al's truck was left, things start to go bad. Dwight’s horse starts to freak out, obviously afraid of the walkers. He becomes surrounded and his horse refuses to move. 

Finally, he stands up on top of the horse’s saddle and jumps over the walkers’ heads. He hurts his leg when he lands, but at least he isn’t bitten. The horse isn’t so lucky. The walkers fall on it and start munching. It looks exactly like what happened to Buttons, so I think it's a callback to that in S5. (And also, by extension, to Rick’s horse in 1x01.)

Limping, Dwight gets up and runs. He eventually comes to the river of water. This struck me as a Beth parallel. I never really saw Buttons as much a Beth parallel—he seemed to be more about Daryl. Watching this, it struck me that it actually might be. Dwight hurt his leg and was limping (like Beth in 4b). He finds the water (Beth = water) and of course he’s running from a walker horde.

If Morgan finding the white horse (Beth) next to the "you're still alive," sign represents Beth living, then maybe walkers feasting on Buttons could represent what happened to her. Or at least what TF things happen to her. This is just me conjecturing, but if it ends up being true, then Daryl seeing Buttons go down kind of has a new meaning, now doesn't it?

Morgan goes after Dwight and then John, June and Grace go after them. They eventually lead the walkers across the river and the river water sweeps the walkers away. So once again we have an example of water saving them. From walkers.

Back at the Gulch, they realize they're going to have to give in to Ginny. They don't any other choice.

Before she arrives, Lucia and Wes paint at the church and John and June get married. It's a very sweet, happy and hopeful ceremony. 

June wears green, which I think is important. (GREENE, and think of the parallels between John/June and Daryl/Beth.) Dwight gives them his and Sherry's rings. He talks about how when he finds Sherry, it will be a new start. John’s ends up being too small for his finger, so Charlie gives them a necklace and he wears it around his neck.

Rabbi Jacob talks about how they live in a broken world. And this kind of thing, two people falling in love and getting married, is a way to repair it.

Grace and Daniel sing “Well it's all right." The light shines into the church in really lovely way and Jacob says that it's Nar Tamid, the eternal light. Yeah, massive foreshadowing there. More on that in a minute.

After that, Ginny arrives. Morgan demands she take everybody. After some humming and hawing, she finally agrees, deciding it will be easier to do that than to have a big battle. Unfortunately, she doesn't let them stay together. They all go to separate places.

Al confronts Ginny with the reason why. She says Ginny separates people because she believes if they get too close, their caring for one another will get in the way. In other words, she separates them so she has more power over them. She's definitely a dictator.

Daniel and Charlie have to part, which was kind of heartbreaking. Ditto Sarah and Wendell. They take Daniel’s cat away from him. John and Joan part as well, with John saying, "were going to find our way back to each other." (Beth and Daryl, anyone?)

Grace tells Morgan she finally feels hope and after all that happened, for the first time, she doesn't feel like it's the beginning of the end. In other words, she's going to live. Morgan finally tells her he has feelings for her, and she reciprocates. Of course, Ginny makes them go to different places.

She brings in a guy named Dr. Holt who apparently once did a rotation in oncology. I've got a lot to say about the radiation angle. @wdway, @frangipanilove and I have been discussing it, but it’s a whole post unto itself. For now, let me just point out the Grady parallel. Trevitt, who was brought into Grady, was an oncologist. I’ll go over what we think this means in a lot more detail later this week.

After everyone else leaves, and Morgan is the only one left, it turns out Ginny has decided to kill him. He's just too much of a threat because of the way he rallies people. He's too much of a leader to suit her. She takes out her gun to kill him. He lunges at her with his stick and manages to hit her in the face and knock her down. (I thought that was AWESOME! Go Morgan!) Unfortunately, she still shoots him in the shoulder.

She grabs another gun and tries again to shoot him, but the gun hisses and sputters, not firing correctly.

Just then, Dr. Holt contacts Ginny to say Grace is not sick. She's pregnant. So that's where the information she gave Morgan earlier in the episode—that she and her previous boyfriend slept together right before he died—is so important. It created baby. Morgan smiles when he hears this because he sees hope in it. He realizes what they were fighting for was worth it.

The creepy thing? Ginny gets super happy when she hears Grace is pregnant. She actually laughs. Then she says she hopes Morgan dies, but that’s no longer the point.

I have no idea what the hell Ginny is up to, but there was a creep factor there. Almost like she’s going to take Grace’s baby and do experiments on it or something. Hopefully it won’t be that sinister--I’m really not trying to be morbid--but that disturbed me.

And I have to say that, given all the Child and Baby symbolism around Beth, the idea of this definitely has potential. Frightening though it may be.

Ginny simply walks away from him, leaving him behind to die. We end with him speaking into the radio saying, “If anyone can hear me, we fought for the future. We made the hard call for her." (I'm assuming he means Grace.) “For all of us. Live. Just live." And we see walkers closing in on him.

So what are my takeaways from this? I suppose the biggest question is, will Morgan guy?

No, he won't. If you hadn’t already figured that, just take my word for it. Everything we’ve seen, the precedents we have, the qualifications for death we always see…none of them are present here for Morgan.

When someone truly dies in the show, some other major member from the group needs to be there to witness it. We also need to see either a body (decapitated or reanimated as a walker, or stabbed in the head to prevent that, so we know there's no coming back from it) and/or a burial/grave. We haven't seen any of those with Morgan.

While he does seem to have lost a lot of blood and is in a somewhat dire situation, he can also simply go into the nearest building and shut the door. He's in much more danger medically than he actually is from the walkers, which is significant.

If you want to talk logistics and outside-the-show stuff, keep in mind that Morgan/Lenny James has filmed scenes we haven't actually seen yet. I also feel like by setting up his bond with Grace, they set up future arcs for the two of them. Lots of Bethyl parallels there. There's also the fact that I still think he and Rick need to meet again before either of them dies. So no, I'm not worried about Morgan dying.

And how about those foreshadows I keep mentioning? Well, Morgan told Grace very firmly several times that they would see one another again after Ginny split them up. That, my friends, is a dialogue foreshadow. Those have never failed us on this show.

Then there's the eternal light. We saw it come through during John and June's wedding (John and June, who have so many parallels to Beth and Daryl) just before Ginny showed up to split them up. So, I feel like it's saying that Ginny splitting them up will lead to the eternal light. Which is them finding each other again, as John said, but also could be a Beth thing.

Another reason I don't think Morgan will die? He kind of became Beth in this episode. Think about it. Right after establishing a romantic relationship with someone (remember that Grace and Morgan had a Still/Alone parallel episode) he was shot by an evil dictator who happens to be a woman. (Okay, Beth wasn’t actually shot by Dawn, but she was shot because of her in a roundabout way.) Then he was shot, left behind by the rest of his group, and he's surrounded by that pesky horde of walkers as well. Not to mention, he's in a Humbug Gulch, which has sheriff stars and badges all over the place.

Specifically, take a look at the second time she tries to shoot him and the gun is defective. That gun was pointed at Morgan’s head. And it did go off, it just didn’t shoot correctly. But, like Beth, we have a potential head shot that...didn’t kill.

We don’t know if any of his group, like Grace, heard him speak into the radio at the end. If they didn’t, then they don’t know anything about him being shot or left behind. They’ll just assume he’s wherever Ginny told him to go. So that’s a little different than Beth, but the lack of realization on the rest of the group’s part is the same.

I guess you could say that, much like Glenn in S6, if Morgan dies, TD is screwed. But he won't. Glenn didn't.

Morgan’s isn’t truly a death fake out because, much like Rick’s, the audience sees it from Morgan's point of view and kind of knows that he is still alive. But for the rest of the group (John, June, etc.). this might turn into a death fake out for them.

It will be interesting to see what happens next because it could go several different ways. In terms of parallels with Beth, I'm kind of wondering if Morgan will run into the helicopter group, independent of the rest of the Fear crew. (Like maybe they’ll save him?) Because that's what we think happened with Beth. On the other hand, he might just be on his own for a while on the outside and save the others from Ginny. Maybe he actually runs into Beth. Who knows? It will be fun to see how this happens, moving forward.

As I said in an Ask yesterday, I have a lot of things to post in the next week before TWD starts. I wanted to wait to see how this all ended. The timeline didn't advance quite as much as I would've thought. I thought Morgan's group would run into the helicopter group by the end of the season. They didn't, and it's becoming more and more clear that Ginny’s group isn't actually part of the helicopter group. I think she's her own thing.

But I really did like this episode and the way it ended. Even though it was cliff-hangery, it set up a great arc for next season of all the characters needing to find one another. After all, this is not unlike what happened in TWD when the prison went down with all the characters going in separate directions and being separated from one another in 4b. Now, they're all going to have to find their way back to each other. And that, my friends, always makes for great story.

What did you think of the finale?

[ruwithmeguys]

Four episodes into season 7 and we’ve been told Felicity is dead…. Twice.

Now, I know a lot of people are worried about that reveal in the last moments of 7.04. The portent.

I’ve had a couple of anons leave me asks about this and it’s okay if you’re worried or damn near freaking out. Two years ago, I would have been too because I couldn't read the story. But I’ve learned a few things since then, like how to connect certain narrative points and how to see the structure of a scene, now… I’m not saying I can see things you can’t: the opposite. Just making people aware that I only gleam information FROM the stuff we’re already given. That’s it. I might be wrong. I might be right. But I don’t want people wasting their time asking me when I can just give it all here and do this.

Let’s look at the facts:

First. 7.01:

Your wife is dead.

BOOM.

Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but since when does Arrow take away the surprise factor?

This isn’t Glen from the walking dead; a character who supposedly ‘died’ and made the audience believe he had three or four times before truly kicking the bucket. They don’t do this in Arrow. They can’t afford to. This show is predicated on the belief that heroes can rise in all shapes and sizes, that heroism prevails; even if all else is lost. That good wins. Oliver Queen has been the only character who has technically/or as close as, died more than once on this show and that’s because he’s the principal hero of this story.

And he always comes back.

Now, Felicity - being his wife and the love of his life - is starring as a parallel archetype to Oliver this year which is astounding. Do you realise how rare it is for a female counterpart to any male hero on any TV show of any genre, when they aren’t the principal character, receiving that kind of agency, no matter how far into the game the show is? It’s like watching equality. It’s shown sporadically at best and it’s happening. Her story emulates her husband’s in almost every way without actually copying it and close encounters with death, her own, is one of those parallels. They completely took out the element of surprise.

They’ve made it a regular factor for her character now. Felicity Smoak will come close to death several times this year I feel.

Second. 7.04.

Felicity Smoak is dead.

When does Arrow reveal who’s dead in the future at the beginning of a season?

It doesn’t just take away the surprise factor, it kills the illusion of industry being brought to the table. It makes us think everything she’s doing now, will be worthless because she’s DEAD. In the next 20 years, according to the show, she dies… right? There’s no hope, right?

Look at Oliver and William’s faces:

It’s the death of hope right there: the show is signalling her meaning and is telling us that it’s important. SO IMPORTANT. 

Hope.

I mean, of course there’s still hope: there’s this little faction of renegades being brought together in the future and that’s something Felicity has done. And apparently she’s dead: well done! Bravo! Now you can argue that she programmed a bunch of things (kudos to Beth for reintroducing the audience to Felicity’s skill sets, unused since season 4) to make it all happen in the event of her death, but who’s changing the channels? And why does t have to happen AFTER she’s dead? Why are they being brought together? What has happened to instigate this because her supposed death isn’t brand new, according to Dinah.

So why are they being mobilised NOW? (I mean then… they will be. You get it.)

Third. 7.04. 7.03. 7.02. 7.01.

Can you be ruthless?

Black Siren asked if Felicity could do ANYTHING to get the job done. Could Felicity be ruthless and put the stakes above of her emotions?

Clearly, she CAN.

She tells BS that she is now a person who will not let herself get murdered, who will not allow her family to get murdered. She's afraid. She’s alone. And she’s done with that.

Correction: she’s FORCED herself to do this, to change. We’ve seen the signs already: she’s already there because she feels like she’s HAD to and it’s only a matter of time before something happens.

But this has also been stressed in each of the four episodes so far. That she will do whatever is necessary to bring her family home: together because they are each other’s home. That she has nothing to lose anymore until that happens.

Not even herself: her conscience. Soon she’ll do something she really can’t take back. It’ll be necessary, but it will be final. I THINK. Don’t quote me. She’s becoming a woman who CAN be ruthless.

The kind of woman who can, possible, fake her death. Who can disappear and leave her children behind because she must. For their sake. The type of woman who can orchestrate from behind the scenes, a coup d’etat.

Very clearly these flashforwards are focused on her family: Oliver, William, herself, Emiko, and Felicity’s possible daughter.

Solving the ‘mystery’ of her death will be part of the plot for the flash forwards and I can imagine it ending in discovering the truth and finding her alive. Again, don’t quote me.

Many times, she and Oliver have been forced to confront the reality of doing something cruel to achieve the required outcome; because in a world where you get put in prison for being a hero, in a world where the bad guys roam free and attack your loved ones while you’re helpless, in a world where no matter how hard you try, the evil keeps coming back in various forms, you can no longer play by a rule book that’s ineffective.

The city has already lost complete hope in the justice system and with good reason.

The dismal future shot of the city indicates that, with the rise of Smoak Tech, Felicity and Oliver get the city back into shape somewhat – but then something happens to royally crush their efforts. So, they succeed for a while, which is the point isn’t it? You fight to keep the bad at bay and it’s only ever temporary. Things can’t last: it’s physics. That’s why heroes are needed: to push back the evil over and over again: it’s like a cancer.

You have to cut it out, remember? Season 1. Oliver says it in one of his mental soliloquies. 

Four. Theme.

Legacy: now, I was sure season 5 was legacy and maybe it was in a very different way. S5 focused more on Oliver and his father and how Robert helped create who he’d become. Now it’s about how Oliver AND Felicity have helped create not only William, but whoever is going to bring back peace to a city that has clearly lost all hope of every finding it.

It’s about the fight being carried on both in Oliver’s absence as well as emboldening why it needs him back and it really does.

In the future, a plan has been set into motion to bring them all together again, one by one and I’ll be stunned if Oliver and Felicity aren’t at the helm. Everything that is happening of those flashforwards, feel like the results of everything happening to Oliver and Felicity in the present.

This season is also hugely promoting Oliver and Felicity as heroes TOGETHER. Almost as one hero and I’m not romanticising that. 

Their parallel story will lead to a brand-new understanding of each other that will go deeper than you could ever realise and it’s been in the works since this really:

This will probably come after they’ve focused on some issues, but the motif between them is hugely symbolic of a partnership to echo through the ages. Cheesy, I know; but true. But look at it this way: has anyone else on the show, shown that they are willing to go the depths that Oliver and Felicity are currently going: Felicity legitimately has to remind everyone of Oliver’s importance and Diaz’s lethality.

They are alone in this. But they are together in this: THEY JUST DON’T KNOW THEY ARE YET. And they will.

It feels like it’ll be them against the world eventually, fighting the good fight both alone and together.

They’ve both said it: William is the most important. But when Oliver and Felicity are apart, everything goes to hell anyway.

She demanded that Oliver accept her will to fight… and he DID accept.

That's the first step right there.

I have yet to be show ANY reason to believe that Felicity Smoak is dead in the future. Just because Dinah said she’s dead, doesn’t mean she’s dead. I’ve been given no reason to believe otherwise. Arrow and death are laughable bed friends after all, but it isn’t just that.

Let’s say, Felicity IS dead in that future. Knowing that completely takes away our horror because for the rest of the show, she’s not dying in the present. Which means we have nothing to fear in terms of her dying until the very last episode.

Let’s say she dies EVEN KNOWING THIS... her supposed future death makes zero sense in connection to the present and this show is all about connection. It’s nonsensical.

Now I know that many will argue that her death would make all the sense because of Smoak Tech. it’s in ruins. It’s in ruins because she died right?

It’s all clever camouflage to distract us from something else, which is why this revelation was released so early.

Oliver and felicity are different. they’re going to continue being different.

Do you feel a dividing note between them and everyone else? I do. I’m not saying that they won’t have friends or be happy but there’s something different now for them and between them. Something that may one day alone them to leave everyone behind.

For William, I almost guarantee it’s for his own safety. In Oliver’s mind in 7.04, one of his greatest fears is leaving William the traumatic way his dad left him. This ties into leaving him in the future: he will leave him. He’ll have too. SO will Felicity. We just don’t know why.

We need to see more to understand more because these two are IT:

After their forced independence from each other, their issues, their breaks int he armour; their love will have to see them through. And there is no couple on this show stronger than these two. This a marriage that didn’t come easy, until it really did. they’re it. Through thick and thin, which makes their coming issues so very bearable: imagine them relearning how to live together. Seeing new facets to each other.

EXQUISITE.

I see lots of exploration. Sex. Exposure. Arguments. Painful territory. LOVE IN ABUNDANCE.

Felicity Smoak is not dead, lastly, because the man she married is alive. And there is no point, for William or for the viewers in repeating that old dance:

He needs you!

He needs us.

But remember what she said?

I will always, always wait for you. I will always always love you.

It’s their vows: maybe Oliver will have to say it in the future. It stands forever.

And then for Oliver to botch it in the next episode. It’s not happening anymore. Beth has yet to waste a scene (*cough* CURTIS *cough*).

And it’s always brightest before the dawn @dust2dust34 - there’s no frigging way that Arrow spends an entire season showcasing the death of their favourite character from start to finish. They start out dark and work their way up to the dim light that comes. Her fate is not to die, but to inspire.

And to show the world why no one messes with Felicity Smoak, her husband and her son.

(Oh and, there’ll probably be another ‘Felicity Smoak is dead’ moment this season because they’re already on a curve)

But seriously: don’t take my word for it. I might be very wrong. This is just my point of view. And we are only 4 episodes in: presuming things and taking the words from characters at surface value and believing them immediately-

Felicity Smoak is dead

-will lead you down a miserable path this year. You miss all the cues they give doing that too. 4 episodes out of 22. There is so much more to the story guys: so much more. To be crude, we literally don’t know SHIT. Heck, Dinah does’t know shit about shit!

None of them do.

And that;s the beauty of good writing. This is what I would do with my most beloved character. I’d make everyone worry to death about her before letting her soar.

Again, I could be wrong. This is just me.

[dyketectivecomics]

I’m the anon whose setting the bomb off by asking why season six won’t happen

TL;DR- bc Teen Titans (2003) ended! It wasn’t canceled! It was brought to a conclusion, that fans weren’t super happy with obviously, but it was an ending nonetheless.

I’d really like to encourage everyone in the fandom to read the interviews gathered by TitansTower (2nd half of the page) during the time TT03 actually aired. David Slack, Glen Murakami, & the crew have said over and over again, the original order for the series was for 4 seasons. WB hadn’t expected the popularity of the show to last past that, but it exceeded expectations and by the time season 4 was wrapping up development, they were asked to pen a movie and move forward with development for s5.

They had LOTS of ideas for season 5 too! More side characters they wanted to explore! More depth to get into the Brotherhood’s plot! But unfortunately, when they pitched the idea of a Longer season/more episodes, they were asked to keep it at 13 eps, the usual order. There were Talks about a possible 6th season & the crew started prepping for it and pitching it because, hey! they were passionate abt the show they were working on too! But WB ultimately decided to move onto other projects and guess what? So did the crew! Because that’s just what happens! Things end and you have to accept it and move on. Huh it’s almost like Things Chan-

(The rest under the cut here, is very much getting more into a Rant that veers way off topic (the Bomb is above mostly, the shrapnel is below lmao) & it hasn’t been proofread for errors bc I am, as the kids say, Big Mad. so Beware. You’ve been Warned) (also tagged: long post, in case the cut doesnt work for whatever reason, sorry mobile users RIP)

[[MORE]]

Even IF, for whatever reason, against all logic & reasoning they decided to Greenlight a sixth season, 12 years after this series ENDED. I GUARANTEE fans would find SOMETHING to bitch about every single step of the way. Just look at Young Justice. Much shorter timeframe between s2 and s3 getting picked up and yknow what fans are still doing? Being the Same Old Fans that Fans who Fan will Be.

Misinformation gets spread around every so often too, and I just wanna be really fucking clear: No amount of Toy Sales success/failure had anything to do with the show. No amount of the Demographics they Targeted vs Ones they Hit, had anything to do with the cartoons perceived ‘failure’. Especially considering that, again, they got a movie+5th season that hadn’t originally been planned for. So from that, no amount of fan petitions or campaigns were going to ‘bring it back’ because WB & the crew, again, had moved on to other projects. Because the show, as a production, had reached a natural conclusion.

Now sure, let’s fast forward to 2011/2012? The DC Nation block gets dropped into a SatAM slot. Nostalgia hits Big as, alongside new eps of Green Lantern:TAS & Young Justice, they showcase a plethora of shorts! One of which, is the New Teen Titans, done in that ~*adorable*~ Super-D form but with more or less the same style as the first cartoon.

Fans lose their minds and there’s a resurgence of petitions and letter writing campaigns (ones that I will readily admit to participating in because I was 15 and we all do DUMB things when we’re 15) And through all of this. WB/DC answers our Monkey Paw wish.

But here’s the thing abt the monkeys paw: you’ll get what you wish for, but it’s gonna come with a Big Ass Catch

And that catch, while they gave us the same lineup and same voicecast, they also gave us a comedy-focused & fully super-d/simplified style. And “fans” were Outraged with that.

But here we are again, 7 years later. And there’s a whole generation of fans who have forgotten the mistakes of the past, thinking and hoping against any kind of logic & blinded by nostalgia, that maybe JUST MAYBE. WB will revive a cartoon that ended in Two Thousand and Fucking Seven.

I tutor kids now who weren’t even born by then! The only Titans they know are TTG! And when they tell me they LOVE them, I say “that’s AWESOME dude! Did you know that they’ve got comic books abt them too?”

I tell them about the new generation of TTG! comics, the ones based on the cartoon they grew up with, not the ones I did. I let them know that there’s even more kid & teen heroes beyond the titans. And if they have a certain fav I let them tell me everything they love abt them and I tell them a cool Fact that might encourage them to find out more later!

Some days I HATE TTG, but I will NEVER tell a child that I hate something they love. I saw too much of that when I was growing up and I’ll be damned before I turn around and do the same damn thing to these kids.

Cartoons are a WONDERFUL medium to introduce a new generation of fans to these characters. And we should be encouraging WB to take more chances on bringing more of them to life. Not asking for the same few characters or groups to be redone over and over again.

Give me a Birds of Prey limited series! Give me a Secret Six Adult Oriented action-comedy! Explore that Amethyst short, with all its 80s game tech+magical girl anime aesthetic! Explore more Obscure characters with a quick 5-10 min story! Put a fresh new spin on a golden/silver age storyline (bc lbrhh some of them got WILD)

Just for the love of fuck stop pretending that One cartoon was the absolute Peak of Achievement and is the only thing that deserves to be revived or redone to death. Teen Titans WILL get another cartoon eventually. It’s like Scooby Doo and Batman. Its like Sherlock Holmes or Star Trek. It’s just a little early in its journey but it WILL have another reboot, another reimagining, another chance to shine for an entirely new generation. Everyone will have their preferences.

Just sit down, have a juice box and popcorn and enjoy ur fan servicey nonsense movie that you asked for But Didn’t Ask For, until we get that brand new series again.

TTG is gonna have to end eventually. And when it does, WB will be rubbing their hands together just biding its time until they can reboot the Titans again.

[tonystarkbingo]

Week 30 Roundup!  THIS IS OUR FINAL ROUNDUP!  Our Second Round of the Tony Stark Bingo has officially concluded, and here are the last of the amazing creations that our spectacular participants have made.  (There are DOZENS, so pace yourself!)

Title: Welcome to the Pride Collaborator: MagicaDraconia16 Link: AO3 Square Filled: S5 - Shapeshifters Ship: Pepperony, FrostPepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: shapeshifter AU, humor, implied/referenced brainwashing Summary: Escaping from Thor before he's taken back to Asgard after the Invasion of New York, Loki decides that a night following Tony Stark and his girl friday - what is her name?! - will be a lot more exciting than watching the Avengers have movie night. He didn't expect just how right he was. Word Count: 2710

-----------------------------------

Title: I fall in love (everyday with someone new) - Chapter 35: Cinderella Story (A4) Collaborator: scriptatur Link: AO3 Square Filled: A4 - Cinderella Story Ship: Stuckony, Tony/Rhodey,Pepper Rating: Gen Major Tags: polyamory, Endgame fix-it Summary: "Waking was- surprising. He woke up slowly, like drifting through mist or sirup or- something. He was kind of confused, if he is being perfectly honest. Confused about his own metaphor, a bit, but mainly confused by the fact that he was, well, waking up. That was not something he’d expected to do, after all." When Tony Stark wakes up after the final battle against Thanos, he decides that there will be nothing more that stands between himself and happiness. He goes home with Pepper and Morgan and it doesn't take long for Steve and Bucky (and other (ex-)avengers) to follow. Basically, this is the fix-it that I needed. It's very self indulgent and mostly fluff. Word Count: 22,928

-----------------------------------

Title: Not Science Unless You Write It Down Collaborator: AoifeLaufeyson Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - free space Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: pre-relationship, fluff Summary: Just a few hundred words of pre-relationship cuteness between my boys. Word Count: 883

-----------------------------------

Title: The Lost Twin Collaborator: camichats Link: AO3 Square Filled: R3 - (Picture of young Tony next to a woman with short hair) Ship: IronWitch Rating: Teen Major Tags: time travel, family secrets, twins Summary: Wanda gets shunted back in time for a little bit and learns that Tony has a twin sister she's never heard about. Turns out there's a reason for that. Word Count: 1023

-----------------------------------

Title: Songs in the Key of Stark Collaborator: Politzania Link: Tumblr Square Filled: A3 - free space Ship: assorted Rating: Gen Major Tags: playlist Summary: So, for the Free square of my @tonystarkbingo​ card, I’ve put together a playlist of the songs that have inspired and/or provided titles for various fics of my that feature Tony in a lead role.  I’ve linked to  YouTube vids, some of which are the official music videos, others are fan-created.  I’m also providing links to the fics themselves, grouped by pairing with a quick blurb about the fic and a rating.

-----------------------------------

Title: Reminder Collaborator: Iron_Eirlyssa (Eirlyssa) Link: AO3 Square Filled: R3 - Wingfic Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: drabble, tattoos, Tony needs a hug Summary: Tony has a tattoo to help him get through the rough moments. Drabble. Word Count: 100

-----------------------------------

Title: The Bun and the Bear Collaborator: romancebyfaye Link: Tumblr Square Filled: R4 - Interspecies Ship: IronHusbands Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: They told them it would never work. A kodiak bear and a domestic dwarf flop ear rabbit? Preadators and prey just don’t go together. Especialy when the differences in their shifted form is so drastically huge. But Tony has never fit any mold someone tried to force him into, and Rhodey is certainly not some growling beast ruled by instinct. And, as every naysayer is going to learn, love is not defined by the skin you wear.

-----------------------------------

Title: What Time Can't Drive Out Collaborator: deathofthestars Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2 - Apology Ship: Stony Rating: Teen Major Tags: medieval AU, implied mpreg, kid Peter, post split, getting back together Summary: Its been two years since King Anthony last saw his husband, Sir Steven Rogers, when suddenly the man appears in the middle of court. Could Steve's return spell a second chance for them or is there another reason for this impromptu visit? Word Count: 2181

-----------------------------------

Title: Broken Parts, On The Mend Collaborator: rebelmeg Link: AO3 Square Filled: S4 - comics image of Tony fixing Bucky's metal arm Ship: Bucky & Tony Rating: Teen Major Tags: developing friendship, Bucky recovering, Tony has a heart, Winter Soldier Summary: Tony has Shuri's best assurances that Bucky can no longer be triggered into the Asset by the control words, but there is no guarantee that the Winter Soldier isn't still lurking somewhere in Bucky's head. All that aside, there's something up with the guy's new arm, and if they could get to the point of trusting each other, maybe Tony could help. Thanks to Shuri's hard work, Bucky's mind is his own again. As he tries to become his own person again, in the new and foreign setting of the Avengers Compound, he ends up learning a lot. And finding a lot in common with the one person he never would have expected. Word Count: 7204

-----------------------------------

Title: Fractures beyond the looking glass - Chapter 2: ii. Collaborator: justanotherpipedream Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - Quarantined! Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: Victorian AU, canon typical violence, gothic romance, supernatural elements, dreams and nightmares Summary: The world spun round and round, the trees blurring past him as Bucky skidded to a stop at the bottom of the hill. He laid on the ground with a gasp, gritting his teeth as his ankle continued to throb with a dull but insistent pain. For minutes or hours, Bucky couldn’t tell, he hobbled as best he could trying to find the familiar path back to the village. However, the impressive outline of Stark Manor had Bucky pausing at the edge of the trees. Everyone in the village knew of the rumours surrounding the estate. These days, people wondered if the infamous Lord Stark still lived there, or if he was merely a ghost story, haunting the halls of the vast manor on the edge of the woods. Word Count: 2923

-----------------------------------

Title: indeed a beautiful thing - Chapter 2 Collaborator: Fluffypanda, justanotherpipedream Link: AO3 Square Filled: For Panda, A4 - AU:Fantasy World Ship: Stony Rating: Teen Major Tags: fantasy AU, fusion AU, anthropomorphic, plot twists, bandits and outlaws, swordfighting Summary: Rebellion is brewing in Velmar and Captain Steven Mouser has been sent to the city of Iron Landing to investigate. He is to secure the cooperation of Lord Stark if he is ever to find the elusive leader of the rebellion, but there is more to both of them than meets the eye. Word Count: 2364

-----------------------------------

Title: R3- No powers AU Collaborator: thudworm Link: AO3 Square Filled: R3 - No powers AU Ship: IronShieldHawk Rating: Teen Major Tags: deaf characters, polyamory, Tony feels Summary:At first, Tony didn’t realise there even was a problem. He always preferred to have his music loud, so the workshop was designed with surround sound in mind. Even though he tended to tune it out anyway when lost in the depths of an engineering binge. It was only when the need for food and other bodily functions overrode his ability to focus that Tony noticed something was wrong. Initially, it seemed like the problem was with JARVIS’ speakers. He was in the elevator, returning to the penthouse, when he noticed he was hearing much less sound on the right side as JARVIS lectured him about the benefits of a proper sleep cycle, or something.

-----------------------------------

Title: Soft And Sweet (And That's Enough) Collaborator: Gothic_Lolita Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - Asexuality Ship: WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: asexual Bucky, protective Tony, established relationship, bonding, panic attack, emotional hurt/comfort  Summary: Bucky loved Tony more than anything in the world. And when he opens up to Tony, he learns he can love Tony even more. Word Count: 760

-----------------------------------

Title: Falling through time Collaborator: Menatiera Link: Tumblr Square Filled: T5 - Time travel Ship: Stuckony Rating: Teen Major Tags: Moodboard + plot summary, time travel Summary: Strange sends Tony and Steve through time, it goes sideways, Bucky gets involved. Happy ending.  

-----------------------------------

Title: In Love With Wolves Collaborator: camichats Link: AO3 Square Filled: S4 - Wolf Ship: IronWidow Rating: Gen Major Tags: established relationship, Avengers family, magic, wolves, fluff Summary: Natasha gets turned into a wolf, and Tony still thinks she's the best. Both literal and figurative fluff ensue. Word Count: 655

-----------------------------------

Title: Fractures beyond the looking glass - Chapter 3: iii. Collaborator: justanotherpipedream Link: AO3 Square Filled: R3 - Secret Siblings (Especially Evil Twins) Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: Victorian AU, canon typical violence, gothic romance, supernatural elements, dreams and nightmares Summary: The world spun round and round, the trees blurring past him as Bucky skidded to a stop at the bottom of the hill. He laid on the ground with a gasp, gritting his teeth as his ankle continued to throb with a dull but insistent pain. For minutes or hours, Bucky couldn’t tell, he hobbled as best he could trying to find the familiar path back to the village. However, the impressive outline of Stark Manor had Bucky pausing at the edge of the trees. Everyone in the village knew of the rumours surrounding the estate. These days, people wondered if the infamous Lord Stark still lived there, or if he was merely a ghost story, haunting the halls of the vast manor on the edge of the woods. Word Count: 4367

-----------------------------------

Title: Iron heart, iron love Collaborator: Menatiera Link: Tumblr Square Filled: K4 - Riri Williams Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard and summary Summary: After a battle, Tony Stark is in medical-induced coma until his body recovers from the shock he survived. Tony was prepared for something similar to happen, so in the meantime his downloaded consciousness helps the new generation of young superheroes to adjust to their new life. Orchestrating meetings between them and giving useful (or not so useful) advices both about growing up and superheroing. One of Tony’s favorite is, unsurprisingly, the young and brilliant engineer Riri Williams, who built her own suit of armor.

-----------------------------------

Title: Bad Blood Collaborator: Iron_Eirlyssa (Eirlyssa) Link: AO3 Square Filled: S4 - Doppelgangers, Evil Twins Ship: none Rating: Teen Major Tags: Howard’s A+ parenting, introspective, waiting for the other shoe to drop Summary: When Gregory appeared, claiming to be the son of Howard Stark, Tony couldn't help but think this would not be going anywhere good. And as it turned out, he was right. Word Count: 1515

-----------------------------------

Title: Field Of Study Collaborator: camichats Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2 - Backstory Ship: Science Boyfriends Rating: Mature Major Tags: Sexual content, perceived unwanted sexual advances (mild), mentions of past abuse, fear of abuse Summary: Bruce is the Hulk, and Tony thought he was keeping a different anger-related issue secret. They break up but get back together when Tony learns the truth. Word Count: 3035

-----------------------------------

Title: He loves me, he loves me not Collaborator: lbibliophile-mcu Link: Tumblr Square Filled: S3 - [image of the ‘Proof Tony Stark has a heart’ plaque’] Ship: Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: art Summary: Pepper Potts knew she was falling in love with her boss, and tried to find subtle ways to show it. What she didn’t know, was if he liked her back…

-----------------------------------

Title: indeed a beautiful thing - Chapter 4 Collaborators: Fluffypanda, justanotherpipedream Link: AO3 Squares Filled: K2 - Victorious (Panda) and S3 - Steve/Tony (Summer) Ship: Stony Rating: Teen Major Tags: fantasy AU, fusion AU, anthropomorphic, plot twists, bandits and outlaws, swordfighting Summary: Rebellion is brewing in Velmar and Captain Steven Mouser has been sent to the city of Iron Landing to investigate. He is to secure the cooperation of Lord Stark if he is ever to find the elusive leader of the rebellion, but there is more to both of them than meets the eye. Word Count: 5990

-----------------------------------

Title: Steamships, Cyborgs, and Self-Determination: A Steampunk Story - Chapter 3 Collaborator: JacarandaBanyan Link: AO3 Square Filled: K3 - Anger Issues Ship: Stuckony Rating: Not Rated Major Tags: developing relationships, steampunk AU, comic book science, angst with a happy ending, mild gore, body horror, cyborgs Summary: The Cyborg Assassin formally known as Bucky Barnes is sent on a double assassination mission. His Targets: Anthony E Stark, brilliant inventor and scientist, and Steve Rogers, subversive artist. Word Count: 8037

-----------------------------------

Title: Ain't That a Kick in the Head - Chapter 1: Thermodynamic - What Now? Collaborator: Faustess Link: AO3 Square Filled: T4 - Maria Hill Ship: Bucky & Tony, Bucky/Maria Hill Rating: Mature Major Tags: dad Bucky, deaged Tony, BAMF Maria, protective Bucky, Tony needs a hug, enemies to friends, pre-relationship Summary: Maria Hill reviewed the footage of the mission, trying to pinpoint where it’d gone wrong. She knew now, of course… that the lab had been trapped, but she hadn’t known then. AIM had created perfect setup to put Tony Stark out of commission, cause a panic with Stark Industries shareholders, and lower the public’s confidence in the Avengers. A three-year-old Tony Stark has just become Maria Hill's next issue to deal with... and the fact that the kid latched on Bucky Barnes and she has things to consider like creating the most stable environment possible for the boy until he goes back to normal. Word Count: 9897

-----------------------------------

Title: Ain't That a Kick in the Head - Chapter 2: Oops... I Did It Again Collaborator: Faustess Link: AO3 Square Filled: T3 – Found Family Ship: Bucky & Tony, Bucky/Maria Hill Rating: Mature Major Tags: dad Bucky, deaged Tony, BAMF Maria, protective Bucky, Tony needs a hug, enemies to friends, pre-relationship Summary: Five times Bucky and Maria accidentally kiss - and one time when it's not an accident. Word Count: 9897

-----------------------------------

Title: Realizations Collaborator: ethereal-lullabies Link: Tumblr Square Filled: K4 - Identity Crisis Ship: Erik Killmonger/Tony Stark Rating: Teen Major Tags: genderfluid Tony, Erik didn’t die, identity crisis, supportive boyfriend Erik, Erik ends up living in Wakanda helping when he can, good guy Erik Summary: none

-----------------------------------

Title: Ain't That a Kick in the Head - Chapter 3: Only a Sergeant When I’m Wearing the Hat Collaborator: Faustess Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - pizza/takeout  Ship: Bucky & Tony, Bucky/Maria Hill Rating: Mature Major Tags: dad Bucky, deaged Tony, BAMF Maria, protective Bucky, Tony needs a hug, enemies to friends, pre-relationship Summary: Tiny!Tony turns ten! The pizza arrived, the cupcakes Bucky had made the day before were delicious, and the kids played Minecraft and built box forts in the backyard in preparation for the biggest Nerf gun fire-fight Maria had ever witnessed. But what happens after the party? Word Count: 9897

-----------------------------------

Title: (Not So) Similar Conditions Collaborator: Gavilan Link: AO3 Square Filled: S4 - Sharing a Bed Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: college AU, bedsharing, first kiss, first date, cuddling, oblivious Tony, awkwardness, fluff Summary: Tony and Bucky share a bed at a conference. It takes six months and some very different conference bed sharing with Rhodey for Tony to figure out exactly why cuddling with Bucky felt so awkward. Word Count: 5519

-----------------------------------

Title: the ultimate power couple Collaborator: hereandnowwearealive Link: Tumblr Square Filled: A3 - free space Ship: Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: art Summary: Iron Man and Rescue art

-----------------------------------

Title: Clint Really Should Have Known Better Collaborator: deathofthestars Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - Free Square Ship: Stony Rating: Team Major Tags: King Steve, Queen Tony, gag gift Summary: Clint gave Steve and Tony a gag gift that is really backfiring. Word Count: 765

-----------------------------------

Title: Catch & Release - Chapter 2 Collaborator: MarvelousMenagerie (HiddenOne) Link: AO3 Square Filled: R4 (picture prompt, Tony + tentacles) Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: mershark Bucky, fishing, octomer Steve, canon typical violence Summary: Neither Tony or Ty like fishing in the first place, so why are they even out here? “But I mean… it’s a shark, not a fish. Don’t you put those back?” Tony presses. Ty snorts. “Put it back, Tony? Come on.” Word Count: 3544

-----------------------------------

Title: Soar in the sky (with me) - Chapter 3: Your noncompliance will be rewarded Collaborator: Menatiera Link: AO3 Square Filled: R1 - Shared trauma Ship: WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: soulmate AU, wing AU, Winter Soldier, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, getting together Summary: "The Asset was suddenly entirely sure that the kid was like him. He couldn’t track down the origin of that thought, or the base of this feeling of similarity, but ultimately it didn’t matter. It was instinct like battle-readiness, like the anticipation of the next move of an opponent before his conscious brain could catch on." *** "He didn't move for a moment, too surprised. This position was too sudden and too much - the closeness wouldn't have been a problem for him, Tony was used to his private space being invaded, but the fucking wing outstretched over him made it into a nest, caring and intimate. Tony was used to sudden closeness, had been in just enough parties with drunk university students, even if this environment wasn't where he would've expected something like that. What was truly shocking, though, was the lack of visceral reaction from him." They have met more than once. It wasn't their fault that it took decades for them to come around, though. Word Count: 5018

-----------------------------------

Title: Guide Me Home (Guard My Heart) moodboard Collaborator: eirlyssa Link: Tumblr Square Filled: K5 - AU: Sentinel/Guide Ship: WinterIron Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: A moodboard based off my WinterIron Sentinel/Guide story, Guide Me Home (Guard My Heart).

-----------------------------------

Title: Ain't That a Kick in the Head - Chapter 4: The Real Perpetrator Is Getting Away, Old Man! Collaborator: Faustess Link: AO3 Square Filled: A5 – Innocent until proven guilty Ship: Bucky & Tony, Bucky/Maria Hill Rating: Mature Major Tags: dad Bucky, deaged Tony, BAMF Maria, protective Bucky, Tony needs a hug, enemies to friends, pre-relationship Summary: A teenage Tony and Harley Keener should've been back from the store over an hour ago. Bucky's worried and Maria's annoyed she can't finish her candied sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner. What really happened to those marshmallows? Word Count: 11,743

-----------------------------------

Title: indeed a beautiful thing - Chapter 5 Collaborator: Fluffypanda, justanotherpipedream Link: AO3 Square Filled: A2 - Identity Porn (Summer) + S3 - On opposing sides (Panda) Ship: Stony Rating: Teen Major Tags: fantasy AU, fusion AU, anthropomorphic, plot twists, bandits and outlaws, swordfighting Summary: Rebellion is brewing in Velmar and Captain Steven Mouser has been sent to the city of Iron Landing to investigate. He is to secure the cooperation of Lord Stark if he is ever to find the elusive leader of the rebellion, but there is more to both of them than meets the eye. Word Count: 9085

-----------------------------------

Title: Fractures beyond the looking glass - Chapter 4: iv. Collaborator: justanotherpipedream Link: AO3 Square Filled: A4 - Revenge Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: Victorian AU, canon typical violence, gothic romance, supernatural elements, dreams and nightmares Summary: The world spun round and round, the trees blurring past him as Bucky skidded to a stop at the bottom of the hill. He laid on the ground with a gasp, gritting his teeth as his ankle continued to throb with a dull but insistent pain. For minutes or hours, Bucky couldn’t tell, he hobbled as best he could trying to find the familiar path back to the village. However, the impressive outline of Stark Manor had Bucky pausing at the edge of the trees. Everyone in the village knew of the rumours surrounding the estate. These days, people wondered if the infamous Lord Stark still lived there, or if he was merely a ghost story, haunting the halls of the vast manor on the edge of the woods. Word Count: 5939

-----------------------------------

Title: After a long day Collaborator: littlecrazyfangirl_98 Link: AO3 Square Filled: A1 - Intimacy without sex Ship: ThunderIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: fluff, bathing/washing, nonsexual intimacy Summary: After a meeting that went longer than expected,Tony comes home exhausted. His boyfriend already awaits him and helps Tony relax with a nice bath. Word Count: 539

-----------------------------------

Title: To Wed the Dragon Collaborator: Politzania Link: AO3 Square Filled: K5 - Forced Marriage Ship: IronStrange Rating: Teen Major Tags: fantasy AU, forced marriage, dragon AU, shapeshifter AU, curses Summary: Every spring equinox, the dragon that lives in the mountains north of the kingdom demands its tribute: a quarter-tithe of goods and a consort. Antony Stark has been chosen, and neither he nor the mysterious manservant of the dragon could foresee what the summer will bring. Word Count: 2243

-----------------------------------

Title: Fylgja Collaborator: thudworm Link: AO3 Square Filled: K4 - AU: Angels & Demons Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: Angels & Demons AU, Hydra, Tesseract Summary: In Norse mythology, a fylgja (plural fylgjur) is a supernatural being or spirit which accompanies a person in connection to their fate or fortune. Or, Shoulder angels and demons are rare- they exist to work with those who have an important choice to make, one which will have an impact on many people. Word Count: 9761

-----------------------------------

Title: Recover Collaborator: Iron_Eirlyssa (Eirlyssa) Link: AO3 Square Filled: K3 - Howard Stark Ship: Tony and Howard Rating: Gen Major Tags: drabble, Howard’s A+ Parenting, healing Summary: Tony muses about Howard, and the things he learned from him - for the better and for the worse. Drabble. Word Count: 100

-----------------------------------

Title: At the meeting  Collaborator: littlecrazyfangirl_98  Link: AO3 Square Filled: T1 - Kink: Vibrators  Ship: IronStrange  Rating: Mature Major Tags: explicit sexual content, D/s undertones Summary: Tony can't concentrate at the meeting. Stephen is to blame.  Word Count: 640

----------------------------------- 

Title: Drip by Drip Collaborator: ShippersList  Link: AO3 Square Filled: S4 - Character death  Ship: Stony  Rating: Teen Major Tags: canon divergence, 5 things, slice of life, chosen family, getting together Summary: Steve’s road to Tony through five cups of coffee. 

Word Count: 2109

-----------------------------------

Title: The stranger addition - Chapter 4 Collaborator: Menatiera Link: AO3 Square Filled: S3 - Kink: begging Ship: Stuckony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, BDSM, no powers AU, first meeting, Tony POV Summary: “Doll,” Bucky orders quietly. Tony opens his eyes to see Steve reaching for him, stretching his amazing muscles to reach the restraints on his right wrist. It takes a while - Tony writhes with impatience the whole time, and Bucky chuckles, the sound vibrating through Tony’s dick still in his mouth - but then Tony’s hand is free from the bond. Word Count: 8765

-----------------------------------

Title: Beside And Below You Collaborator: camichats Link: AO3 Square Filled: T5 - Kink: Concubine Ship: IronWinter Rating: Teen Major Tags: royalty AU, established relationship, comfort, jewelry, insecurity Summary: Tony gave Winter a necklace, and he's a little confused as to why Winter isn't wearing it when he comes to his room that night. Word Count: 602

-----------------------------------

Title: Take me to the magic of the moment - Chapter 5: Epilogue Collaborator: Menatiera Link: AO3 Square Filled: T3 - Happily ever after Ship: WinterIron Rating: Explicit Major Tags: mild dub-con, explicit sexual content, BDSM, fantasy/magic AU, getting together, happy ending Summary: Sneak peaks of what happened afterwards. Word Count: 14,322

-----------------------------------

Title: Prince Anthony, First of His Name, Protector of the Kingdom, Creator of Miracles, the Iron Knight. Collaborator: Menatiera Link: Tumblr Square Filled: A4 - Royalty Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard, royalty AU Summary: Moodboard of Tony Stark as a prince of a medieval kingdom.

-----------------------------------

Title: Hot Summer Day Collaborator: camichats Link: AO3 Square Filled: K3 - Heat Fic Ship: IronWidow Rating: Gen Major Tags: established relationship, fluff Summary: Nat wanted to come to the fair, but it's hot outside. Word Count: 521

-----------------------------------

Title: you’re blind, i see (but i’m free) Collaborator: cvdmus Square: S1 — waking up married Rating: teen and up Warnings: none Pairing: Tony Stark/Peter Parker Summary: Tony wakes up and finds himself married to Peter Parker. Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20449346  Word Count: 3020

-----------------------------------

Title: Popsicle Collaborator: littlecrazyfangirl_98 Link: AO3 Square Filled: A4 - Popsicle Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: preslash, Tony is a tease Summary: Tony eats a popsicle. Bucky gets frustrated. Word Count: 258

-----------------------------------

Title: Gave You My Heart - Chapter 2: Know I've Made It Home Collaborator: Iron_Eirlyssa (Eirlyssa) Link: AO3 Square Filled: K4 - Tension Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: Hanahaki disease, hurt Tony Summary: The five times Tony developed Hanahaki disease, because as much as he wanted to, he just couldn't stop loving the wrong people. (When the Rogues come back, they're in for a surprise.) Word Count: 9355

-----------------------------------

Title: A New Life Collaborator: tuesday Link: AO3 Square Filled: R4 - Nebula Ship: Tony & Nebula Rating: Teen Major Tags: background character death, missing scene Summary: When the Avengers, Nebula, and Rocket return to Earth, Tony is still in his sick bed. Word Count:604

-----------------------------------

Title: K3- Peter Parker/Spider-Man Collaborator: Thudworm Link: A03 Square: K3- Peter Parker/Spider-Man Rating: Gen Pairing: Tony Stark & Peter Parker Warning: N/A Summary: Small snippet of Civil War, if Tony’s identity as Iron Man was a secret from everyone. Word Count: 628 ----------------------------------

Title: Gave You My Heart - Chapter 3: Open Up My Eyes Collaborator: Iron_Eirlyssa (Eirlyssa) Link: AO3 Square Filled: R1 - [picture of Iron Man and Captain America fighting] Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: Hanahaki disease, hurt Tony Summary: In which Tony experiences the less fortunate aftereffects of Hanahaki disease when having a talk with the rogues. Word Count: 9355

-----------------------------------

Title: Tale As Old As Time Collaborator: Iron_Eirlyssa (Eirlyssa) Link: AO3 Square Filled: K1 - Magic for the Tony Stark Bingo Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: hurt Tony, protective Bucky, magic AU, fairytale AU, Howard’s A+ parenting, safe haven, misunderstandings Summary: Once upon a time... A young prince, an elaborate spell, and a soldier who just wanted to help his friend and ended up in a fairytale he never could've imagined. Word Count: 2622

-----------------------------------

Title: Taking the First Step Collaborator: Judy_The_Dreamer Link: AO3 Square Filled: A5 - Kink: Dom/sub Ship: Stony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: prelude to kink, D/s undertones, getting together, emotional hurt/comfort, sexual content Summary: While going through Tony's closet, Steve discovers a special trunk he wasn't prepared for. It turns out to be the answer to all his prayers. Word Count: 2314

-----------------------------------

Title: Galaxy Tony Collaborator: Menatiera Link: Tumblr Square Filled: R5 - Galaxy Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: art Summary: Watercolor galaxy silhouette of Iron Man with the white negative of Tony Stark in front of it, quote added digitally over the picture.

-----------------------------------

Title: The Pit-falls of Vampirehood, starring James Barnes and his Major Crush on Steve Rogers - Chapter 6: Family Bonds Collaborator: Judy_The_Dreamer Link: AO3 Square Filled: A2 - Interspecies Ship: Stucky Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, vampire/werewolf college AU, fluff, meet cute, getting together Summary: Steve and Tony have a talk about love and murder. Word Count: 18,225

----------------------------------- 

Collaborator: lbibliophile-mcu Link: Tumblr Square Filled: A5 - image of bruised Tony in the F1 racing suit Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: gifset Summary: Tony is Done with villains interrupting his days off.

-----------------------------------

Title: Holding Out for a Hero Collaborator: mariana_oconnor Link: AO3 Square Filled: K4 - Kink: orgasm denial/edging Ship: Stony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, internalized homophobia, light D/s, Tony has a heart Summary: The serum did a lot of things to Steve, but one thing he hates about it is how sensitive it made him, too sensitive. After it contributes to the end of his relationship with Jan, Tony offers to help him out. Word Count: 36,418

-----------------------------------

Title: No Shit There I was, Undercover in a Gay Bar... Collaborator: LBibliophile Link: AO3 Square Filled: S5 - Undercover in a gay bar Ship: WinterHawk Rating: Gen Major Tags: preslash, identity porn, deaf Clint Summary: No shit there I was, undercover in a gay bar... and you'll never guess who I ran into and how. Word Count: 1233

-----------------------------------

Title: Never Let Me Go - Chapter 3: All This Devotion Collaborator: Iron_Eirlyssa (Eirlyssa) Link: AO3 Square Filled: T3 - Wake up! Ship: WinterIron Rating: Teen Major Tags: developing relationship, asexual Tony and Bucky, cuddles, panic attacks Summary: As they continue meeting up at night, Tony and Bucky grow closer. Then they find out that they can actually sleep when they're together, and really, what else is there to do but cuddle as they finally find some peace? Word Count: 6884

-----------------------------------

Title: Already a sinner, and I'm an overachiever - Chapter 1 Collaborator: Menatiera Link: AO3 Square Filled: S4 - kink: collars Ship: Stuckony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, established threesome, Extremis, D/s Summary: "Extremis and his arm - that for a long while was a combination solely for Tony's and Bucky's pleasure. He shared Tony in almost every aspect, but this, this was private, this was theirs… His greedy mind recoiled from the idea of sharing until only recently.Lately, Bucky feels that he might be ready to share Tony completely with Steve. They are all together in this relationship after all, but Bucky held back this piece of him from Steve, afraid that Steve wouldn't be able to accept that submissiveness. Just like with Tony, it took Bucky time and effort to work through his fears, but now he’s ready to make that leap of faith. Especially if he doesn't have to do it alone this time.  ---  Bucky is finally ready to be submissive in front of Steve. Turns out, Bucky wasn't the only one who held back a piece of himself. Tony finally gets to enjoy being in control of both of his boyfriends at the same time, instead of just separately. Word Count: 7649

-----------------------------------

Title: Ghosts of the Past Collaborator: mariana_oconnor Link: AO3 Square Filled: T4 - panel from the Winter Soldier comics of Tony working on Bucky's arm Ship: Tony & Bucky Rating: Gen Major Tags: Leverage fusion AU, hacker Tony Summary: Tony doesn't know why he didn't see this coming. Looking back it seems inevitable that they would end up going after Stane, that's what their little group does isn't it? They pick up where the law leaves off, and Obadiah Stane is rotten to his core. There's just one problem, no one knows that Tony Edwards is actually Tony Stark, presumed dead two decades ago. Word Count: 1640

-----------------------------------

Title: Already a sinner, and I'm an overachiever - Chapter 2 Collaborator: Menatiera Link: AO3 Square Filled: K5 - costume porn Ship: Stuckony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: explicit sexual content, established threesome, Extremis, D/s Summary: Steve, Tony and Bucky are all kinky in their own ways. In addition, Steve Rogers Also Thinks Extremis Is Hot. (Apparently.) Word Count: 7649

-----------------------------------

Title: The Weight of Knowing Collaborator: ShippersList Link: AO3 Square Filled: R4 - prison Ship: Tony Stark & Avengers Team Rating: Teen Major Tags: gaslighting, character death, open ending, emotional manipulation Summary: How would your life look like if your worst nightmare came true? Tony Stark is about to find out. Word Count: 2917

----------------------------------- 

Collaborator: Thudworm Link: Tumblr Square Filled: A2 - image of the scene from IM1 where Tony is pointing the repulsor at his reflection Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: craft Summary: Iron Man gloves

-----------------------------------

Title: Sentinel Collaborator: justanotherpipedream Link: AO3 Squares Filled: Chapter 1 -  A5: Image [Silver haired Tony] Chapter 2 - T3: Writing Format - Missing Scene/Epilogue/Coda Chapter 3 - S4: Fluff Chapter 4 - T5: Body Swap Ship: Tony & Nebula Rating: Gen Major Tags: drabbles, missing scene, fluff, hurt/comfort Summary: After Tony and Nebula return to Earth, Nebula keeps an eye on her new friend. Word Count: 400

-----------------------------------

Title: If Only I Could Feel You Collaborator: deathofthestars Link: AO3 Square Filled: S5 - I hate magic Ship: Stuckony Rating: Teen Major Tags: magic, battle, injury, ghosts, angst Summary: When a fight with Loki end with Tony being seriously injured Steve and Bucky are left reeling. Word Count: 539

-----------------------------------

Title: Soar in the sky (with me) - Chapter 5: Run boy run Collaborator: Menatiera Link: AO3 Square Filled: K3 - Afghanistan trip gone wrong (again) Ship: WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: soulmate AU, wing AU, Winter Soldier, angst with a happy ending, hurt/comfort, getting together Summary: "The Asset was suddenly entirely sure that the kid was like him. He couldn’t track down the origin of that thought, or the base of this feeling of similarity, but ultimately it didn’t matter. It was instinct like battle-readiness, like the anticipation of the next move of an opponent before his conscious brain could catch on." *** "He didn't move for a moment, too surprised. This position was too sudden and too much - the closeness wouldn't have been a problem for him, Tony was used to his private space being invaded, but the fucking wing outstretched over him made it into a nest, caring and intimate. Tony was used to sudden closeness, had been in just enough parties with drunk university students, even if this environment wasn't where he would've expected something like that. What was truly shocking, though, was the lack of visceral reaction from him." They have met more than once. It wasn't their fault that it took decades for them to come around, though. Word Count: 12,254

-----------------------------------

Title: A different take on the Iron Fam Collaborator: Menatiera Link: Tumblr Square Filled: R2 - [image: Tony & Nat at IM2 party] Ship: Tony & Natasha, BuckyNat Rating: Teen Major Tags: moodboard, plot summary, mention of abuse Summary: Moodboard + summary. Natasha as Tony’s little sister, getting together with Bucky.

-----------------------------------

Title: Younger but just as in love Collaborator: camichats Link: AO3 Square Filled: K1-Teenage Tony Ship: IronHusbands Rating: Gen Major Tags: deaging, established relationship, Avengers Family, married couple Summary: Tony gets de-aged, and they're all unreasonably surprised that the best way to keep him in control is to bring in Rhodey. Word Count: 826

-----------------------------------

Title: About A Little Boy That Lived In A Blue World - Chapter 5: Candlelight Collaborator: camichats Link: AO3 Square Filled: A5 - Kink: Candles Ship: FrostIron Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Arranged marriage, first kiss, first time, explicit sexual content, past abuse, misunderstandings, getting together Summary: Loki doesn't really have experience with candles, so he orders a couple to try them out. Word Count: 11,537

-----------------------------------

Title: Never Promised You A Rose Collaborator: MagicaDraconia16 Link: AO3 Square Filled: K4 - AU: Flower Shop Ship: Tony & Stephen Rating: Gen Major Tags: humor, flowershop AU Summary: Stephen Strange has had to buy numerous bunches of apology flowers because - according to Christine - he just can't help being an asshole to her. He knows what she likes. At least, he does . . . right up until this annoying flower shop owner tells him differently. Word Count: 1008

-----------------------------------

Title: Preying On You Tonight Collaborator: Gothic_Lolita Link: AO3 Square Filled: K4 - Animals Ship: WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: modern setting AU, past sexual abuse, protective Tony, mildly dark Tony, flirting, first meeting Summary: Tony was almost ready to go home after an uneventful night at the bar. But luckily, he stayed long enough to swoop in and save a damsel in distress, just in time. He also got to flirt with the damsel too, but that wasn't as important. Word Count: 630

-----------------------------------

Title: In The Woods Collaborator: Lacrimula_Falsa Link: AO3 Square Filled: S2 - AU: Fantasy World Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: drabble, fantasy AU, dragons, harpies, implied relationship Summary: A dragon and a harpy went to look for a shield. Word Count: 100

-----------------------------------

Title: Scaredy Cat Collaborator: Lacrimula_Falsa Link: AO3 Square Filled: S1 - Bathing / showering together Ship: Stony Rating: Teen Major Tags: holidays, fluff, laughter, dorks in love Summary: Tony and Steve go midnight “swimming”. Word Count: 1393

-----------------------------------

Title: No Pets Allowed Collaborator: Cinnamon_Anemone Link: AO3 Square Filled: A1 - Adopting A Pet Ship: Bucky & Tony Rating: Gen Major Tags: accidental pet fic, Tony has a heart Summary: Tony Stark is not a cat person. Word Count: 768

-----------------------------------

Collaborator: snarkysnartes Link: Tumblr Square Filled: K1 - AU: artist/muse Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: moodboard Summary: The second that Tony moved in Steve had found that his inspiration sky rocketed. When they were going out, ofcourse he had a few bursts of inspiration there and Steve managed to draw something after months. However, once Tony was fully in his home, walking around and cooking him breakfast Steve found himself drawing a lot more than he usually did. The first time, the first actual picture had been done on accident. Tony was telling a story and Steve just began … well, sketching. After that, Steve didn’t put the pen down.

-----------------------------------

Title: Trouble With A Capital T (And That Stands For "Tiny") - Chapter 1: Honey, we shrunk the genius Collaborator: Cinnamon_Anemone Link: AO3 Square Filled: A2 - De-Aged!Tony Ship: minor Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: deaging, actual good dad Howard, protective Bucky, kid Tony, AI Tony Summary: Tony is five. Panic ensues. Word Count: 14,568

-----------------------------------

Title: Out for a Swim Collaborator: romancebyfaye Link: Tumblr Square Filled: K5 - merpeople Ship: WinterIron Rating: Gen Major Tags: art Summary: Tony spots something interesting while out Bucky, his octo-mer boyfriend.

-----------------------------------

Title: 01000001 Tales of Siberian Nights - Chapter 1 Collaborator: ceealaina, feyrelay Link: AO3 Square Filled: For Cee, A5 - holiday fic Ship: pre-WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: canonical character death, Howard’s A+ parenting, implied/referenced brainwashing, Bucky needs a hug, 5 + 1, silver fox Summary: Or, alternatively, Five Times The Winter Soldier Glitched Out, and One Time Bucky Barnes Understood Perfectly.  A 'Maria Lives' AU told in vignettes. Word Count: 8416

---------------------------------

Title: It's Not Gay If It's A Cover For My Secret Identity (yes it is) Collaborator: Cinnamon_Anemone Link: AO3 Square Filled: A5 - Pretend Couple Ship: Gene Khan/Tony Stark Rating: Gen Major Tags: fake/pretend relationship, identity porn, Tony is an idiot, teenage drama, puppy love Summary: What do you do when you’re secretly a teenage superhero and you’re worried your best friend’s mom is going to figure it out and ground you? Start fake-dating your supervillain archnemesis/high school crush and use him as your cover story, obviously. (For the record, I really, really wanted to make the title of this fic "YOU ARE BEING SUMMoned TO ROACH PROM." Not sure if that would have been better or worse.) Word Count: 1635

-----------------------------------

Title: 01000001 Tales of Siberian Nights - Chapter 2 Collaborator: ceealaina, feyrelay Link: AO3 Square Filled: for Fey, A5 - FRIDAY Ship: pre-WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: canonical character death, Howard’s A+ parenting, implied/referenced brainwashing, Bucky needs a hug, 5 + 1, silver fox Summary: Or, alternatively, Five Times The Winter Soldier Glitched Out, and One Time Bucky Barnes Understood Perfectly.  A 'Maria Lives' AU told in vignettes. Word Count: 8416

---------------------------------

Title: Trouble With A Capital T (And That Stands For "Tiny") - Chapter 2: Time travel: not even once Collaborator: Cinnamon_Anemone Link: AO3 Square Filled: A4 - Plot Twist Ship: minor Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: accidental pet fic, Tony has a heart deaging, actual good dad Howard, protective Bucky, kid Tony, AI Tony Summary: Introducing Pepper, Rhodey, Stephen, Howard, and a very special surprise. Word Count: 14,568

-----------------------------------

Title: 01000001 Tales of Siberian Nights - Chapter 4 Collaborator: ceealaina, feyrelay Link: AO3 Square Filled: for Fey, K3 - Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier Ship: pre-WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: canonical character death, Howard’s A+ parenting, implied/referenced brainwashing, Bucky needs a hug, 5 + 1, silver fox Summary: Or, alternatively, Five Times The Winter Soldier Glitched Out, and One Time Bucky Barnes Understood Perfectly.  A 'Maria Lives' AU told in vignettes. Word Count: 8416

---------------------------------

Title: Inappropriate Suggestion [!Art] Collaborator: DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) Link: AO3 Square Filled: A5 - crack Ship: Stony Rating: Teen Major Tags: art, slime monster Summary: Steve and Tony had just finished fighting a giant slime creature. Tony has some ideas for the post-mission celebration.

-----------------------------------

Title: 01000001 Tales of Siberian Nights - Chapter 5 Collaborator: ceealaina, feyrelay Link: AO3 Square Filled: for Cee, R2 - Missing You Ship: pre-WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: canonical character death, Howard’s A+ parenting, implied/referenced brainwashing, Bucky needs a hug, 5 + 1, silver fox Summary: Or, alternatively, Five Times The Winter Soldier Glitched Out, and One Time Bucky Barnes Understood Perfectly.  A 'Maria Lives' AU told in vignettes. Word Count: 8416

-----------------------------------

Title: Confessions [!Art] Collaborator: DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - gossip press Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: art, relationship reveal Summary: Tony decides to confirm the rumours that have been circulating in the press about his relationship with Steve. Yes, they are dating, and he loves his Steve very much.

-----------------------------------

Title: 01000001 Tales of Siberian Nights - Chapter 6 Collaborator: ceealaina, feyrelay Link: AO3 Square Filled: for Fey,  A2 - AU: Sci-Fi/Futuristic  Ship: pre-WinterIron Rating: Mature Major Tags: canonical character death, Howard’s A+ parenting, implied/referenced brainwashing, Bucky needs a hug, 5 + 1, silver fox Summary: Or, alternatively, Five Times The Winter Soldier Glitched Out, and One Time Bucky Barnes Understood Perfectly.  A 'Maria Lives' AU told in vignettes. Word Count: 8416

---------------------------------

Title: Trouble With A Capital T (And That Stands For "Tiny") - Chapter 3: Iron Man: now available on Google Cloud! Collaborator: Cinnamon_Anemone Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - free space Ship: minor Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: deaging, actual good dad Howard, protective Bucky, kid Tony, AI Tony Summary: Tony is not a secret lovechild, but he is a computer program, and also there are two of him. Wait, what? Word Count: 14,568

---------------------------------

Title: A Walk Through The Fields [!Art] Collaborator: DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) Link: AO3 Square Filled: S3 - Fantasy AU Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: art, dwarf Tony, elf Steve, established relationship Summary: Steve and Tony talk a walk together though the nearby flower fields.

-----------------------------------

Title: Pining Paintings Collaborator: JacarandaBanyan Link: AO3 Square Filled: K2 - Picture of Tony on a magazine cover Ship: Stony Rating: Gen Major Tags: pining, artist Steve, tabloids, Skrulls Summary: Come on, Steve thought, how hard does it have to be to find a picture of Tony that hasn’t been photoshopped to the moon and back? He glared at the magazine rack as though he could peal back the layers of digital editing with nothing but the heat of his disapproval. The kicker was that Tony was already gorgeous and photogenic as hell. When natural perfection landed in your lap like that, you didn’t mess with it. But beggars can't be choosers, so he picked one of the less egregious examples off the rack and got into line for the register to pay for it. Bright yellow front running along the bottom promised more photos inside. Perhaps there’d be one or two that had escaped the airbrush. Steve pines so hard for Tony while he's away that he stalls the Kree Supreme Intelligence Word Count: 4735

-----------------------------------

Title: He Did Okay [!Art] Collaborator: DarthBloodOrange (DepressingGreenie) Link: AO3 Square Filled: A4 - all's well that ends well Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: art Summary: One of my favourite MCU Tony moments.

-----------------------------------

Title: S3- Future Fic Collaborator: thudworm Link: AO3 Square Filled: S5 - Future Fic Ship: Stony Rating: Teen Major Tags: Endgame, time travel Summary: It's becoming very clear to Tony that something strange is going on. Loki managed to escape with the tesseract, someone messed with the arc reactor, and Steve has some concerning information to share. Alt-2012 Avengers timeline fic. Word Count: 3515

-----------------------------------

Title: Your Rescuer for This Evening Collaborator: mariana_oconnor Link: AO3 Square Filled: R1 - Clint Barton/Hawkeye Ship: Indries Moomji/Tony, IronHawk Rating: Teen Major Tags: bad date, rescue mission, meet-cute Summary: The restaurant's discrete, the food is expensive and Tony's date is getting later by the minute. When a stranger sits down at his table, things get a lot more interesting. Word Count: 1665

-----------------------------------

Title: Insight offered (and sorely needed) Collaborator: ShippersList Link: AO3 Square Filled: K4 - Amnesia Ship: Stony Rating: Teen Major Tags: domestic Avengers, character injury, temporary amnesia, oblivious Tony, getting together Summary: Clint always said he sees better from a distance. Does amnesia count? Word Count: 1353

-----------------------------------

Title: E.D.I.T.H. Collaborator: celtic7irish Link: AO3 Square Filled: S3 - Afterlife/Ascension Ship: MIT Bros Rating: Gen Major Tags: post-Endgame, not a fixit, ghost Tony Summary: “Dammit, Tony,” Rhodey muttered, “what the hell were you thinking?” “I was thinking that I shouldn’t have listened to the wizard,” Tony spoke up from where he was walking next to Rhodey, his footsteps eerily silent. “There’s always another option. I just didn’t have time to find it.” Word Count: 2734

-----------------------------------

Title: The Cat Crept In Collaborator: Lacrimula_Falsa Link: AO3 Square Filled: A4 - Cat!Tony Ship: Steve & Tony Rating: Teen Major Tags: fantasy AU, witchcraft AU, magic AU, familiars, fluff and humor Summary: There where two things that had always made Tony's existence needlessly difficult: his big heart and his insatiable curiosity. Never had that been more apparent than when he not only became but stayed the familiar of an unbelievably incompetent witch. Word Count: 2161

-----------------------------------

Title: Bubbles Collaborator: mariana_oconnor Link: AO3 Square Filled: K1 - Bathing/Showering together Ship: Stuckony Rating: Teen Major Tags: bubble bath, no sex, nonsexual intimacy, fluff Summary: It's been a hell of a day, Tony, Steve and Bucky take a bath together to unwind. Word Count: 863

-----------------------------------

Title: Z-z-z Collaborator: Lacrimula_Falsa Link: AO3 Square Filled: T2 - Sharing A Bed Ship: Stuckony Rating: Gen Major Tags: drabble, fluff Summary: Tony's secret superpower is being an adorable sleeper. Word Count: 100

-----------------------------------

Title: Cherry For Two (And Something New) Collaborator: Lacrimula_Falsa Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - free square Ship: Steve & Tony Rating: Teen Major Tags: Wreck It Ralph fusion Summary: Power-ups and nostalgia. And something new and shiny. Word Count: 638

-----------------------------------

Title: Let The Present Wash Away Memories of the Past Collaborator: celtic7irish Link: AO3 Square Filled: T3 - Flashbacks Ship: Pepperony Rating: Gen Major Tags: flashbacks, past character death, Tony feels Summary: Watching the coming storm, Tony finds himself trapped in memories of the past. Lucky for him, he's surrounded by those that love him. Word Count: 859

-----------------------------------

Title: Everything and Nothing Collaborator: lbibliophile-mcu Link: Tumblr Square Filled: T1 - Jealousy Ship: none Rating: Teen Major Tags: drabble Word Count: 100

-----------------------------------

Title: Pilot and Mechanic Collaborator: MagpieWords Link: AO3 Square Filled: S1 - a still from the MCU of Tony sitting underneath the torso of the armor while he works on it. Ship: IronHusbands Rating: Teen Major Tags: IM1, physical health issues, fluff Summary: The slow kiss jolted apart and Tony gave a manic grin.  “You.”  “Me?”  "You’re a pilot and you’re the only person I trust with my tech. You’re perfect.” Word Count: 7508

-----------------------------------

Title: Wrong About You Collaborator: MagpieWords Link: AO3 Square Filled: T3 - Missing Scene Ship: Tony & Natasha Rating: Gen Major Tags: BroTP, missing scene, beginning of a friendship, Avengers Tower Summary: Missing scene for how Tony Stark goes from being spied on by Natalie Rushman to being teammates with Natasha Romanoff Word Count: 951

-----------------------------------

Title: Ain't That a Kick in the Head - Chapter 7: You Never Can Tell Collaborator: Faustess Link: AO3 Square Filled: T1 – Marriage Ship: Bucky & Tony, Bucky/Maria Hill Rating: Mature Major Tags: dad Bucky, deaged Tony, BAMF Maria, protective Bucky, Tony needs a hug, enemies to friends, pre-relationship Summary: Nearly six months later...  Tony wasn’t hiding. Of course, he hadn’t spoken to Bucky since last December and hadn’t talked to Maria since February. It had been months and the humid heat of this mid-August evening didn’t help his nerves at all. How do you apologize for being such a jerk to the people who raised you? Word Count: 16,459

-----------------------------------

Title: Trust Me, I've Tried Collaborator: MagpieWords Link: AO3 Square Filled: R5 - Prison Ship: Tony & Natasha Rating: Not Rated Major Tags: Endgame compliant, major character death, purgatory, PTSD, coping, alcohol, afterlife Summary: Hell wasn’t a cave in the desert. It wasn’t a wormhole in space. No, hell would have been this massive, empty house, all by himself. “We never stood a chance.” Word Count: 3000

-----------------------------------

Title: Villain Meatloaf Collaborator: Lacrimula_Falsa Link: AO3 Square Filled: T1 - Interrupted by SuperVillains Ship: Stony Rating: Teen Major Tags: drabble, weddings, supervillain Summary: Bad timing, Victor. Word Count: 100

-----------------------------------

Title: My Own Brew Collaborator: celtic7irish Link: AO3 Square Filled: A3 - free space Ship: WinterIron Rating: Gen Major Tags: coffee shop AU, college AU, pre-relationship, Sam and Rhodey are good bros Summary: “Rhodey,” Tony whined, glaring up at the shop sign, “why are we here again?” His friend grinned at him. “Because this place has the best coffee in town,” he told Tony, for probably the sixth time in the last ten minutes. And yet it didn’t seem to be dampening his cheer in the least. “No,” Tony protested. “No. Jumpstart has the best coffee. I should know.”Rhodey grinned. “Trust me,” he countered, and Tony rolled his eyes, but acquiesced. Besides, they were already here. “Fine. But you’re paying,” he told Rhodey, who just chuckled. “Always do!” Word Count: 1005

-----------------------------------

Title: Where The Masks Don’t Matter Collaborator: MagpieWords Link: AO3 Square Filled: T5 - KINK:Dom/sub Ship: Stuckony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: Genderswap, BDSM, explicit sexual content Summary: “How ya doin’, genius?” She was supposed to be halfway to a bruised ass and an orgasm by now. “I’m bored. What else have you got for me?” Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes give Toni Stark exactly what she asks for. Word Count: 5562

-----------------------------------

Title: Make Some Noise Collaborator: MagpieWords Link: AO3 Square Filled: S5 - KINK:Hatesex Ship: WinterIron Rating: Explicit Major Tags: rockstar AU, hate sex, explicit sexual content Summary: Bucky could happily perform at this festival forever- if only the EDM group across the way would stop stealing his music. If Iron Man wont stop when Bucky asks nicely, he'll have to deal with the problem a little less nicely. Word Count: 5516

-----------------------------------

Title: Talk to the Hand Collaborator: bag_of_catZY (catZY) Link: AO3 Square Filled: R1 - [image of Tony Stark from Iron Man 1 in a tank top with his armored glove up] Ship: none Rating: Gen Major Tags: art Summary: When cornered by a Hydra agent, Tony knows just what to say...

-----------------------------------

Title: Fight Me Collaborator: bag_of_catZY (catZY) Link: AO3 Square Filled: S4 - [image of Earth's Mightiest Heroes boxing scene between Steve and Tony] Ship: Stony Rating: Explicit Major Tags: ABO, non-traditional, explicit sexual content Summary: Tony has an unusual idea of foreplay for heat sex. Steve's nothing if not adaptable. Word Count: 2899

[sometimesrosy]

i do think that b&c are gonna get together next season or at least becho is gonna break up because/for clarke, and they are gonna be explicit about it, but if nothing of this happens, what do you thinkit means for clarke and bellamy separately and together?

I can’t answer your hypothetical because I am not basing my interpretation on hypotheticals but on evidence. I don’t decide before the show airs how I will feel about the show. 

I can’t answer what it would mean unless I see the canon show to SEE what it means. Because what it means is dependent upon what happens in the show.

It’s better for you to ask me about what happened in season 5 and what that MEANS to Bellamy and Clarke individually and together. Because for that, I have interpretations. 

Because I said that Bellarke would kiss in season 5. And they didn’t.

So your question should be asked about what has already happened. 

“What does it mean to Bellarke now that b/e is still together and Bellarke hasn’t kissed even though you said it would happen this season.”

Because what I have to do is to consider my previous interpretation and assessment of what I think is GOING to happen, and to see if the canon is supporting it, or debunking it. My interpretation of what I think is going to happen is not guaranteed to be right. It never is. No one’s is. It is ALL GUESSING. The more you stick to the text, the more it might be an educated guess, but it’s just guessing. 

After watching season 5, I have decided that the season has DOUBLED DOWN on Bellarke as endgame. They have committed to that path. They are ALREADY telling romantic Bellarke, and they are ramping up the narrative tension in the romantic storyline of Bellarke. 

They did not get there yet because their intention is to make the eventual coming together of Bellarke romantically to be WORTH all the waiting. 

Please be aware, that I am not coming to this conclusion blindly. When I first heard that b/e was going to be canon, i was upset for a minute, wondering if this was the end, and then I realized that they were setting up a story to bring Bellamy’s romantic feelings for Clarke to the forefront, and that the revelation of b/e was actually the beginning of a romantic story for Bellarke-- a LOVE TRIANGLE. Which is a classic romantic story. There is no way for a love triangle to NOT be romantic. Even if one of the people is NOT chosen, it is EXPLICITLY romantic in nature. So the thing to do was to WATCH and see who was being set up for the endgame couple, and who was being set up for the romantic obstacle couple.

Which was revealed on the very first episode of 5.01 with the “what are we to each other?” question and the “we’re family,” answer and the statement of death, “nothing will change.” BECAUSE IT ALWAYS CHANGES. That is the rule. ESPECIALLY when the foolish heroes declare that it won’t. 

If the show had developed B/E in season 5, and shown their deep connection, and been upfront about the 2199 calls and honest about who he poisoned Octavia for, and if it had reunited Bellamy with Echo and then with Clarke, and we’d seen the b/e emotions, and NOT seen it with Bellarke, then I’d have a different interpretation. I would have to admit that they were developing B/e as endgame. But instead. They used B/e as a way to raise the tension with Clarke, Bellamy and Bellarke. And also with Bellamy and Octavia. B/e was a narrative tool for the main characters and the main storyline. Which the reunion of Bellamy and Clarke WAS.

NOT the reunion of Clarke and spacekru. Specifically Bellamy. And Clarke. 

We did not get Bellamy and Clarke kissing in season 5.

What we got was Bellamy and Clarke INDIVIDUALLY confronting their feelings for their partner who they had lost, and recognizing that they loved each other in a way that was romantic. Bellarke’s feelings are romantic because they were contrasted to B/E in 5.01, 5.04, 5.05, 5.07, 5.08, 5.09...oh just continuously until 5.13 where echo literally is frozen asleep and irrelevant to the story and it is JUST Bellarke, together at the end of time.

TOGETHER they didn’t know who they were to each other in season 5. SEPARATELY they had to admit their love for the other, come to terms with what it meant. For Clarke it was acceptance that this was her life and she didn’t get what she wanted, because the people she mattered had a say, Madi got to be commander and Bellamy got to be with Echo. She accepted that they were not hers. For Bellamy, it was completion. Not only did he face his dysfunctional relationship with his sister, not only did he face down his past as a warmonger and make those in power change the new path, but he also succeeded in bringing all his family home, MOST IMPORTANTLY, Clarke Griffin. 

What did season 5 mean to Bellarke as a couple?

Season 5 was EVERYTHING to Bellarke. Season 5 was, the entire season, about reuniting Bellarke, as soulmates. Do not be fooled that soulmates has been declared “non romantic.” That is a misdirect. They CAN’T be non-romantic because they have been compared and contrasted and found GREATER than Bellamy’s romantic relationship. If Bellamy had NOT chosen Clarke over Echo, if he had sacrificed Clarke to a suicide mission and turned his energy on keeping ECHO safe against his sister, I would have had the opposite interpretation. But this is pure logic.

For Bellamy, who would do ANYTHING to save the person he loves most, and HAS. We have discovered that his new world, the order of his heart goes like this.

Echo’s safety is sacrificed to Octavia. Octavia demands that Echo be banished and left to die. Bellamy fights her on it. (literally actually.) Then Octavia concedes that Echo can go work for her and risk her life on a suicide mission to take down the eye. Bellamy sends her off knowing he might never see her again.

Octavia’s safety is sacrificed to Clarke. When Octavia sentences Clarke to death, Bellamy realizes the only way to save Clarke is to take down his sister, destroy her powerbase, dethrone her, and poison her, risking her life, and risking his own life, along with his life, and his relationship with Clarke. If it works, it will defuse the situation and save everyone, including Echo and his family in Eden. If it doesn’t, everyone he loves will die. 

Instead of working with Octavia, the way he did when Echo was in danger, Bellamy burns down Octavia’s house. 

His love for Echo is sacrificed to his love for Octavia. His love for Octavia is sacrificed to his love for Clarke. Actually, his love for Clarke is sacrificed to his love for Clarke, too. Because he would do ANYTHING to save her. Risk his sister/daughter substitute for her. Risk his partnership with her to save her life. Put Madi at a calculated risk for her. Risk being killed himself to keep her from being killed. 

The person he would do that for before was Octavia. Proven in the Pilot and every season since. Echo knew it. Echo was worried that Octavia would be what came between her and Bellamy, and she was right. But that was before they knew Clarke was alive, and his feelings for her would roar back to life and actually take over. 

I just. You ask me what I think it would mean if they don’t get together in s6. I felt certain they would get together in s5, and they didn’t. And I can tell you more what it means in that season.

It means that they have transcended “getting together.” Their relationship is SO intense and epic, that it transcends any other relationship on the show. 

They do, in fact, end the season TOGETHER. Epically so. But no kissing. The kissing is much less important to their story than their soulmate connection which was explored ALL SEASON LONG. 

Their relationship does not actually fit in the real world. That may be why it’s so hard for them to get together. It’s too big for their daily situations. It’s easier to turn to someone else. And they both have. 

But when we compare the relationships, it is glaring that they are not equivalent, and Bellarke is very much more powerful than B/E. 

WE can see it in season 5. But very few have actually seen them together in season 5. The exceptions being Octavia, who called Bellamy out. Madi, who called Clarke out. Marper, who woke only them 125 years later. And a touch of Diyoza, who called them the hostage taker and his girlfriend.

When people see them together. THEY KNOW.

Next season, all the people for whom b/e matters will see them together. What is it gonna mean?

Ask me again when I see what they do with it.

[naruhearts]

13x20: “I don’t care what happens to me”-- Dean Worthless Winchester, John Winchester’s Death and Destiel

Oh my god!

I gotta say, 13x20 was an ANGSTY FEELSY amalgamation of meta and foreshadowing for the Big Finale Triad of 21, 22, and 23. It laid down S5 tones, key themes, and narrative direction, hoo boy!!! 

I’m sorry I posted late! Time-of-month sickness was an interruption, yikes.

I’d like to start with the Dean & Sam final scene, then talk about the major culminating implications this Father-centric episode specifically holds for our beloved protagonist Dean Winchester the shackled child — the Man behind the Mask (which S13 has been a gigantic narrative mirror of) — and the Destiel narrative/Cas in relation to Dean’s arc and character disposition *rubs hands together*

Glynn & Co made Dean’s axel-swinging between communication and miscommunication pretty clear to me in the last scene of 13x20, especially regarding the dialogue that people thought was character regression into Brodependency.

After sleeping on it, I didn’t see the same scale of toxic codependency from seasons ago a la ‘there ain’t no me if there ain’t no you.’ It wasn’t mutual. I saw it as: 1. more from Sam’s end, and 2. Dean’s willingness to protect his loved ones (Sam and CAS, in bold) combined with letting go and the textual acknowledgement of his low self-worth carrying over from 13x05 (the low self-worth he internalized across 99.6798% of his life course).

Firstly, Dabb’s subverting S5. 

He put independent Dean in S5 independent Sam’s shoes here, and it’s surely not a coincidence that Dean himself referenced their implosive S5 Michael-Lucifer mess: “Where we were last time we had front row seats”. S5 exhibited Dean’s Holding On vs Sam’s Letting Go, with lost Dean crawling to Lisa’s door and yeah, we know how that prickly-edged story went. It’s finally Dean Letting Go vs Sam Holding On. It’s indicative of S13 faithless Grieving!Sam re: Mary/Jack seeking his own emancipation and finding real introspective purpose away from the codependent strings he’s clinging to. We heard Sam’s “If we die, we die together”. Don’t fret, his current arc is constructed to get rid of this kind of thinking and move towards Faith!

Dean’s prepared to cut the codependent strings — already has via 12x22, and then in 13x05 (albeit in a suicidal grief-ridden manner. Speaking of, 13x20 this time shifted focus to Sam’s risk-taking re: Lucifer and the Apocalypse in itself. Unsurprisingly, we already witnessed this narrative train running in reverse -- early S13 Grieving!Dean and Functioning Sam swapped roles post-13x06 and in 13x11. Man, I am pumpin’ my fists).

Atop the bro dualism, Dean’s behaviour in 13x20 concerned me the most, saddened me the most, and intrigued me the most. 

:’( 

I may have yelled said that Dean has emotionally matured, eliminated toxic coping mechanisms, achieved an internal balance between his femininity and non-performative masculinity (acknowledged in 13x04; actively manifested in 13x16 onwards x, x), and gained a sense of non-combative communication and understanding (seen in 13x14), yet his low self-worth constitutes the biggest roadblock to his FULL personal growth.

Okay, I know you’ll exclaim: after Cas returned, Dean wasn’t depressed anymore! 

Well, that’s accurate and relatively inaccurate. Dean’s low self-worth is the central facet of his characteristic development, and it does have a guaranteed correlation with depression. Yes, you can feel worthless without being clinically depressed, but worthlessness is maladaptive and contributes to feeling depressed --> Dean’s depression. 

Dean’s case is a heartbreaking one. He’s been depressed for YEARS. He never really cared about what happened to him for YEARS = our Dean meta textualized in gloomy letters!!

Yes, the single individual -- the canon WIN -- that placed him back on the rails was Cas, his Everything, resurrecting from the dead. Cas’ return drastically mitigated Dean’s severe nihilistic depression (aka his rock bottom nihilistic grief when he lost Cas) BUT it didn’t necessarily fix his pre-existing depression.

S13 depicts Dean -- despite Cas’ bright presence -- as traveling the rails empty. There’s not enough coal to fuel his engine because he LACKS the mental faculties to appropriately cope re: trauma and give up his control. This is why he seems to oscillate between character progression and regression, and he still isn’t 100% HONEST and OPEN about his feelings. He’s keepin’ it in. There’s no healthy psychological unload taking place.

Case in point? Dean’s regressed to drinking the hard booze again; Cas FILLS the negative spaces (as he’s been doing throughout S13). Dean is not disclosing the whole truth -- not saying what he’s genuinely feeling (to CAS. I discuss it x, x, x). 

Plus, Dean’s internal worries re: Death, the next apocalyptic war, Cas’ Heavenly plans, and his respective destiny/fate (Death’s “See you soon”) just exacerbate the personal instability he’s experiencing.

And then we observe Dean’s parental duty rearing its head:

To me this is what reiterated the Brodependency being dismantled in late S12/S13 (12x22 and 13x12/15 in particular). Don’t get me wrong – Dean’s mostly let go. He was willing to leave Sam behind in 13x05 after losing the one person who textually means Everything to him. 

Dean’s psyche is at a point right now where he AIN’T okay with Sam’s risk-taking. He questions his little brother’s half-baked plans and sympathizes with the close-to-here manic desperation (again, mirroring S5 and S13 Grieving!Dean), except Dean’s low self-worth puts him in the dark position: I’m doing it, all of it, for YOU (Sam and Cas) since I don’t value myself enough to do it for ME. He further says--

He obviously does, but us, the audience, know--in dramatic irony fashion--that this is NOT Dean’s entire truth.

He values his brother more than himself, and he values CAS more than himself. He cares about what happens to CAS. Nothing Else Matters. And we’re aware that Cas canonically occupies the highest pedestal in Dean’s life, which TPTB absolutely highlighted during Dean’s grieving arc, Cas’ return, and 13x16 onwards. 

(In this scene, Dean continues to tell Sam what he’s NOT telling Cas. USE THE RIGHT WORDS.)

 Cas is the love of Dean’s life, his Everything, and his Win. I mentioned before that losing Cas a second time would destroy him.

(**Dating 101: Dean therefore cannot establish a truly healthy, mutually interdependent relationship with Cas if he has low self-worth. He’s trying, but his personal losses -- more LOSSES than wins this season i.e. AU!Charlie/Mary/Jack in AU, non-confronted traumas i.e. Cas’ death, and insecurities cripple his ability to give Cas ALL of himself, out in the open!)

Although Dean HAS FAITH (Cas), the decisions he’ll formulate to protect/save Sam, Mary, Jack, and especially Cas aren’t exactly derived from mental stability. Keeping them safe is too paramount to Dean that the choices he’ll encounter could be questionable/dangerous, putting him in the line of (sacrificial) fire. 

Sound familiar? It’s deliberately supposed to sound familiar!

Jack, TFW’s Unity/Balance symbol and characteristic mirror, even stated that ‘if he can’t keep others safe, what’s the use’?

Dean will make the penultimate save-the-world (read: save my family) decision ALONE regardless of Sam’s regressive wish to die together. And I wrote that his arc is now DIRECTLY paralleling S11 Casifer & Depressed!Cas’ S11/12 arc, especially (mis)communicative 12x19 --> 12x23 ‘I Have Faith’ Cas. There’s prevalent narrative symmetry in Dean’s arc (intrinsically linked to Cas’ arc).

“You, me, and Sam...we’re just better together” indeed, and this year’s season-ender should unite TFW like last season--unite Dean and Cas--in order to change their fates/defeat Death, but Dean’s decision will be an isolated one --> one that was foreshadowed as he faced expositional Daddy Issues™ Loki by himself. And Dean may not tell Cas, just like Cas hadn’t told Dean in 12x23 about his sacrificial act.

These vastly important storytelling threads ultimately conjoin with “I don’t care what happens to me. I never really have” as the PINNACLE of Dean’s 13-year long characterization; the progressive climax sparking his death/decay so that he can be reborn and revitalized aka THIS IS IT!! Dean’s impending death and self-sacrifice for his loved ones (CAS) = the ultimate catharsis in that S13′s narrative has finally approached the IRL scenario of 13x16 ghost kid (DEAN)’s release from father figure Bad Man -- from the negative influence of all the other literal (Loki, Odin, Lucifer, James Turner) and metaphorical (Asmodeus, Buddy, Michael) fatherly mirrors permeating this season. He’ll LET GO of everything that incarcerated him since he was 4 years old: his Blunt Tool role, control, manipulation, parental abuse and absenteeism, parental duty, the heteronormative patriarchy, and the long-standing trauma slapped on him by Alastair, Amara, and Cain.

He’ll burn the remaining pocket knife of all pocket knives tethering him to his past -- John Winchester x, x He’ll self-transform.

And Dean’s S13 death would fulfill the sacrificial Act of True Love (with Cas holding heavy weight in Dean’s decision for LOVE)--

--and S14 Winning Him Back in the subverted flavour of S10. Romance tropes abound!!

 @thetwistedwillow and @sactownbrowns3 both ignited my stomach-churning feels. This is an extremely pivotal visual. The Michael-reminiscent sword and radiant halo-like lights atop Dean’s head? Yeah, set off HUGE Michael!Dean radars. Complete moral dualism with S10 Demon!Dean--selflessness vs selfishness. Free choice (saying yes to possession) vs stolen choice (demon transformation against his will).

Secondly, as aforementioned, Dean’s harbouring a LOT of traumas he hasn’t mentally confronted, with Daddy Issues™ re: John Winchester (reflected via Dean’s solo faceoff with Loki) as his overarching undealt source of trauma.

Loki tells Dean: “The truth is, [Odin] despised me, but he was my father. I’m sure you understand. What would you do for your father?” 

And Dean stabs Loki’s hologram. He stabs the metaphorical father figure who neglected his sons. He stabs another narrative embodiment of John’s ghost, foreshadowing that Dean’s death = John Winchester’s final death. It’s time to deconstruct and conquer his influence.

(Gabriel was an extended mirror of both Dean and Sam, too. Gabe, the little brother whom deadbeat Daddy Chuck never paid attention to. ‘Ah, big bros, right? Always think they know best’ Gabe, who stabbed and killed deadbeat Loki. Gabe, who subsequently ran away from home, was used and tortured beneath Asmodeus’ control, embarked on a revenge trip, and didn’t feel good about it. Dean and Sam themselves knew what it felt like to be manipulated. While it’s true that their traumatic experiences are subjective, they share common Deadbeat Father-adjacent life courses.)

What beautiful and consistent silent storytelling!!

And oh look, narratively associated to this ^^ is the reappearance of Dean’s John-linked BAG OF EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE--

I can’t can’t can’t wait for him to let go of it PERMANENTLY! 

And of course, Cas’ death remains his immediate significant source of undealt trauma (same links above:  x, x, x)

*looks at Dean’s serious, intense, and emotionally laden expression* *clutches chest tight* *blinks away tears*

I additionally wrote something about Endverse!Cas and D/C (mis)communication a few months ago which I feel is relevant again:

And we know HUMAN Endverse!Cas was representative of that, a sad, depressed, and hollow depiction of the wrong choices for the right reasons who festers (AND DIES), in part because of Dean’s wrong choices, and also because of his own consciously uninformed, narrow-minded choices that led to this literal apocalypse of mind, body and soul.

5x04 laid down what Cas (and Dean) shouldn’t become. If both Cas and Dean (TFW) continue to fail in learning their lessons regarding healthy interdependence (where control must become equality; ignorance must become understanding; intransigence must become compromise; stonewalling must become transparency; lying must become honesty; silence must become communication), Endverse will be their life.

Thankfully, they’re learning as of S13 onwards and I’m ECSTATIC. Slow but sure progress (13x15′s conveying the shift), yet they still have to use the RIGHT WORDS.

Endverse!Dean, who never gave up his control to Cas nor listened to him, was himself consumed by the NEED over the WANT and an authoritarian means to an end. He lost everyone. And Endverse posed an ultimatum for Dean (and Cas’ own characteristic progress): keep your control forever, and you’ll have one destination–no growth, no life, no freedom. 

Full circle!

Dean Winchester must die so he can live.

And what are Dean’s WINS (plural) by dying? Saving people instead of losing people--saving Mary, Jack, Sam, and Cas. Saving the world. Reuniting his family unit. Interacting instead of performing. OUTING INSTEAD OF HIDING. HIGH DEPRESSIONLESS SELF-WORTH INSTEAD OF LOW DEPRESSIVE SELF-WORTH.

Better yet, Dean will undergo character development in relation to his loved ones (and Cas). With high self-worth, Dean’s capable of learning how to value HIMSELF independently. In turn, without personal obstacles he’ll learn how to sustain HEALTHY interdependent relationships and COMMUNICATION as well as learn how to WHOLLY GIVE HIMSELF to others (Cas).

Tell Cas he’s not expendable, Dean. Disclose the real reason YOU “needed him back”. Expose your feelings, choose Want over Need, and push away your rejection fears! Cas loves you dearly—let him know that his love for you is reciprocated. Nothing but good things ahead!!

Gosh, this post is way longer than I expected—thank youu for sticking to it! Circumstances shall get worse before they get better, and it’s totally necessary to ensure our characters meet the final demise of their prisons.

BTW, I still can’t believe we got a borderline blatant onscreen bi!Dean (and Cas insert) treat!! What’s by is by! Overall I’m incessantly praising Dabb’s spectacular work so far + Glynn and Rich Speight Jr’s craft in this ep!!

Very little sub is left in the text, my friends. TPTB are rendering years’ worth of meta increasingly explicit in S13. I can only HOPE and expect that 13x23/S14 brings us past the Point of Know Return subtextual boundaries and into full-blown textual narrative! Authorial intent EXISTS. 

**I know, I know--S14 wasn’t confirmed as the last season and S15 is fair game. The plot accordion, as per usual, re-emerges with the slight overhaul/pullback of characteristic arcs and narrative plot due to season renewals, but I’m Endgame Positive that slow progress is SURE progress. Imho Dean and Cas are so close in saying everything from saying nothing. THE UNSAID WILL BE SAID.

Bracing myself for the last 3 episodes—they’ll burn us in awesome ways!! 

[bettsfic]

do you like echo/becho? i ask because i feel like you're someone who's very good at seeing a wide variety of ships and characters in pretty nuanced ways. i personally really don't like either the character or the ship, especially after s5, but a lot of people seem to suggest that this is only because i'm blinded by love of bellarke (tbf i'm not much of a multishipper) or because i'm susceptible to internalized misogyny. personally i thought i just didn't find the whole thing well written but 1/

2/2 i do try to examine my personal biases when consuming fiction and my responses to it. like idk for me personally there was just no arc or substance for me to respond to but i thought i’d ask someone whose writing opinions i really trust so i can work out whether my dislike genuinely does just stem from me being immature or if the writing behind genuinely feels weak to anyone else?? thanks

this is a really good question and i’m going to start off by apologizing to becho shippers because my answer is very critical of canon becho (but obvs pro fanon becho, bc i’m pro fanon everything p much).

i have to tackle this from two sides: as both a critical/meta fan and a transformative one. which is to say, the critical side of me has a lot of problems with echo, but the transformative side of me addresses those problems with, “but how would i fix it?”

first i’ll tackle my issues with echo as a character. she’s been around since s2; she has a background character’s amount of depth with the screentime of a side character, which is to say i agree with you, she’s poorly written. 

take miller, for example. he’s a side character fleshed out well. every season, we know what he wants and where his allegiance lies. we know who he loves and what he wants to protect. gaia is another good example of a side character whose drives and motivations are simple enough to understand so that their screentime is in proportion to the amount of depth they possess. gaia is the flamekeeper. she holds a small but integral portion of the conflict because her loyalty in s5 is split in 3 ways: to blodreina, to indra, and to the flame. she is absolutely integral, in a small but efficient way, in resolving the story of s5.

which leads me to ask: what’s echo’s piece of conflict? she works with raven to get back to the ship, etc. she wears a shock collar and looks mean. she backs up bellamy in terms of brawn. she has a little sex scene. the season could have stood on its own without her. she could have died at the end of s4 and s5 would have been exactly the same. 

which leads me to becho.

if echo was meant to exist as anything other than a wedge between bellamy and clarke, we would have seen echo’s redemption arc. this is a woman who killed bellamy’s ex gf. who has betrayed his trust over and over again. and now for some reason we’re supposed to just take jroth’s word for it that she did ~~something to get back into bellamy’s good graces. in four seasons we have not seen a single positive interaction between the two of them, nor even playful/fond antagonistic actions a la bellarke s1. other than the mt weather rescue of s2, it has since been “you are thine enemy” the entire damn time, right up until echo has a knife to her gut and suddenly bellamy is like “lol stop you need to stick around for useless cockblockage six years from now”

the becho reunion scene i think is pivotal, because bellamy and echo are kissing in the foreground, out of focus, while clarke is in the background, in focus, watching. i think becho’s existence is solely for that scene. because i don’t think there’s anyway to interpret that other than, at worst, jealousy, and at best, “oh fuck he moved on.” 

in other words, echo is a plot device. so you’re not internally misogynistic for disliking her, she’s being objectified by the story itself. 

i would not at all be frustrated by her or dislike her if we just saw literally any lead up to their relationship. but all we get is a black hole of “TRUST US IT HAPPENED OK.” also, if bellamy expresses actual romantic interest in echo or literally any other character i guarantee me and my multishipper/poly brethren would be all over it. but we don’t get to see bellamy’s romantic interest come to fruition, because it always happens between seasons. i think this matches up with my theory that jroth has pulled a joss whedon on bellamy and his character exists only to torture The Ideal Man. but that’s maybe a rant for another time.

now, as a transformative fan, i do see plenty of seeds of potential. i’m very drawn to untrustworthy characters who slowly develop loyalty toward one person at the expense of everyone else. bodyguard characters. that alone i think is becho’s single commonality and why they’re together: if bellamy is knight to clarke’s queen, echo was lieutenant to roan’s general, and they were trapped together for years, grieving over the loss of the people they admired most. i can see – though it is not what we call “on the page yet” – the logic behind their courtship.

i’m interested in echo’s grieving over roan and how it might differ from bellamy’s over clarke, and the exploration of her actual feelings for him (which, if i were to write it would be something akin to erotic worship, a topic i’m deeply invested in exploring). i would like to see that toxic kind of love transplanted onto bellamy, and bellamy greedily accepting it because he’s lonely and desperate and grieving over his own loss. i like the potential hideousness of their relationship, the entrapment they experienced together, both in mt weather and on the ark, and how that might transfer onto the page in the hands of someone willing to take it seriously. 

i would never write them as an endgame ship because i wouldn’t be able to resolve that toxicity and therefore would only ever be able to offer them a HFN ending. if i perceive their love correctly, it’s not a sustainable kind of love at all. it’s comforting yet destructive, a vice like an addiction, i imagine. 

in short, becho has so much potential, but it’s poorly wrought and managed, and both of their characters are experiencing a massive disservice – echo as an actual character at all, bellamy as a viable romantic hero. 

[sol1056]

lance somehow feels like more of a dick after his supposed maturation than beforehand and i don't know why. it feels like a lot of things and i can't fully articulate any of them.

I think it’s because there was enough of a glimpse of the character he could’ve grown into, and it’s only worse because the reason behind his regression just isn’t convincing to me. Like Allura – who went from close-minded to working on it to snapping right back to zero – Lance’s dickish behavior was for the sake of generating conflict. Except unlike Allura, Lance’s generated conflict stuck around, until it became a punchline.  

Behind the cut: handling timeskips in S3 and S5, how Lance got bastardized, and why. 

handling timeskips

If a timeskip starts with closure, then you start with a new obstacle, new arc. If the timeskip starts on a cliff-hanger, you need to explain why it’s been however long yet this shit’s still not resolved. And if it’s not resolved, then you’ve basically robbed your audience of closure by skipping half that process.  

Remember, the creators did the same at the start of S3, where enough time has passed the team seems to be over losing Shiro. S3′s opening arc revolves around Keith’s unwillingness to move on. For whatever reason, the end of S2 was treated as though it was closure. The post-timeskip story’s conflict is not, “where is Shiro?” but “why won’t Keith get with the program?”  

S5 is pulling the same stunt. Except in S5, the players who might provide some character-driven obstacle against Lotor aren’t even present. No Keith, no Marmora, no rebels. The story, once again, is treating the cliffhanger as closure, except this time, the only players onscreen are generally fine with the new status quo. 

And that means we need a new obstacle for the new arc, something to give us conflict and tension. The problem lies in how VLD does that.

bastardizing Lance

The first is the timeskip shows the team using Lotor’s advice, which means the expected character-driven reaction – “you do remember this guy tried to kill us, right?” – has supposedly been resolved (or else why would they trust his word). The only one who got ‘Lotor at all costs’ groundwork – that we’d expect to distrust Lotor’s motives – was Keith, and Keith’s not around. So we have a team that’s getting along great, getting things done, and… have no tension. 

If Lance had been as obsessed with Lotor as Keith, his extreme distrust would make sense. But since he wasn’t, it doesn’t, and with the rest of the team seeing this as mostly great for them, Lance’s reaction ends up framed as romantic jealousy. Worse, the lack of pre-S5 groundwork means Lance has no solid motivations – so he comes across as making a mountain out of a molehill. Guaranteed to gut the tension.

The second is that while S3 invested time getting Keith to accept the new reality, Lance suffers no similar consequences in S5. The closest we get is Shiro telling Lance to stfu, and that’s not even remotely the same thing. Without consequences, the character (and the audience) is deprived of character growth. 

The third is that Lance’s distrust/dislike is carried so far, his characterization becomes a joke. Because his early-S5 motivation is so shallow (lacking groundwork or foreshadowing), he comes across as over-reacting for no reason. Because he stays in that rut while the rest of the team moves on, Lance comes across as self-centered and petty. Because no one addresses his behavior, he becomes an unimportant after-thought. 

why would you even

I didn’t enjoy watching a grieving character get shoved forward, but at least Keith was seen as crucial enough to the team that his participation was required. S5 doesn’t even grant Lance that much respect. 

Truth is, I don’t think a character (or person) like Lance is necessarily a jerk, really. Has some growing up to do, but also has potential to be a crucial part of a team. I do think Lance acts like an entitled Nice Guy in S5, but I can also see the threads that got pulled to make that happen. The EPs/writers needed tension, couldn’t write well enough to make it organic, so they put Lance in the  box. Once their need was gone, they kept Lance in the box -- and told us to laugh at him for it. 

I could put up with a character acting like a jerk if the character’s got a good reason for it. Lance became a jerk because the creators took the easy way out. I don’t like who Lance was in S5, but in the end, I like the writers even less.