#i was just rewatching the framework arc of season 4 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

worlds-most-dangerous-sandwich · 1 year

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AoS Framework rant yaaaay

(pls remember these are just my opinions :))

I recently rewatched season 4 for the third time, and I think I finally put my finger on what feels so off to me about Fitz’s framework storyline.

Just a warning: I’ll be discussing the concepts of how childhood abuse affects people, though it’s fairly vague.

The framework plays with the concept of nature vs nurture and, frankly, I hate it. The idea that simply being raised by an abuser will by default make you a bad person too is disgusting and harmful.

They were trying to make Fitz a mirror image to Ward: if Ward had only had a good influence, he would have been a good person; if Fitz had a bad one, he would have followed Ward’s dark path.

This is so disrespectful to abuse survivors, and it removes culpability from full grown adults.

We are responsible for our choices. No one else. Sure, the people we meet in our lives have a big effect on us. They can help or hinder us. But at the end of the day, we are responsible for our actions.

Fitz is a good person. He wouldn’t have become the horrible person we see in the framework just because his dad was around. If anything, I think he would have been an even more pronounced version of the Fitz we see in season one; skittish, anxious, and leery of authority.

Ward also chose his own path. Sure, while he was still a child, I can get behind the idea that he was manipulated into doing bad things. But he chose his way after that.

A sense of obligation to Garret? Sure. But even after his mentor was long dead, he still chose to restart Hydra on his own, to get revenge, to continue down a dark path.

The only way I can figure Fitz’s framework storyline in my head, is that Aida must have actively got inside Fitz’s brain and messed with him and his story more than the others. She was obsessed with him, and she lies to him after they come out of the framework (saying that everything she did in the framework was at Radcliffe’s orders, despite a large amount of it being for her own gain).

I have to believe that she altered him somehow. This would also make sense in explaining why he is the only member of the team to later develop the symptoms he did, despite many of them having their head filled with two lives. Fitz was the only one shown to not be able to distinguish the two, which would make sense if Aida had a more direct impact on his brain.

I also find this storyline frustrating because of the discourse it has created in the fandom. That it’s okay to support Ward because the framework proves he’s just a poor little baby who was manipulated.

He is a full grown adult.

Yes, I do feel bad for Ward, I do feel he had a lot of potential and I kind of wish he had gotten a redemption arc. But he didn’t. He made his choices, no one else made them for him. Infantilizing him and blaming all of his actions on Garret is not okay.

ALSO - touching again on the implication that we become bad people if we’re manipulated - this disregards how hard it is to grow up in a horrible home and still come out a compassionate and caring person. So many people have absolutely disgusting parents, and yet grow up to be empathetic, kind, and good people. Suggesting otherwise feels very dismissive and disrespectful to their struggles and trauma.

In the same line of thinking, parents can do everything right and someone can still grow to be cruel and abusive.

BECAUSE WE MAKE OUR OWN CHOICES AND ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN ACTIONS AND- 🫠

In short, Fitz and Ward’s storylines were horribly over-simplified in s4. There is so much nuance there, and to suggest that we are nothing more than a product of our environment is kind of ridiculous offensive, imo.

#agents of shield #the framework #leo fitz #grant ward #aos season 4 #aos discussions #aos #my opinion pls dont yell at me #I would love to hear your thoughts though :)#if I’ve forgotten something obvious pls forgive me. I’ve had a lot of brain fog lately #thank you for coming to my ted talk #mine #headcanons

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ao3feed-staticquake · 1 year

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Wildest Dreams Daisy Johnson

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/azlINbw

by sapphicsokas (saturnsokas)

❝ even if it’s just pretend ❞

IN WHICH . . . the looking glass is shattered under the power of Daisy Johnson’s love for her best friend.

iron man — agents of shield — secret invasion skye/daisy johnson x female agent oc coming soon

Words: 1503, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of Age of Heroes

Fandoms: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Secret Invasion (TV 2023)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Major Character Death

Categories: F/F, Gen

Characters: Original Female Character(s), Skye | Daisy Johnson, Tony Stark, Phil Coulson, Melinda May, Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez, Grant Ward, Nick Fury

Relationships: Skye | Daisy Johnson/Original Female Character(s), Skye | Daisy Johnson & Original Female Character(s), Tony Stark & Original Female Character(s), Phil Coulson & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Phil Coulson/Melinda May, Lincoln Campbell/Skye | Daisy Johnson, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts

Additional Tags: Friends to Lovers, Bisexual Skye | Daisy Johnson, which is canon to me anyway, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Character Death, plot starts in season 4 but there's lots of background before that, Slow Burn, i really don't know how to tag this fic, Resurrection, Found Family, Mutual Pining, Did I say slow burn?, they're both oblivious until death comes knocking at the door, Love Confessions, updates will come when i inevitable rewatch aos after secret invasion, Superpowers, Daisy Johnson Will Be In Secret Invasion, long fic, Star Wars References, Taylor Swift References, Title from a Taylor Swift Song, Mostly Canon Compliant, nothing too big is changed, tony stark meets lance hunter and i think it's really funny, the framework arc is expanded on, More tags to be added

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/azlINbw

#Static Quake #sparkquake safe zone #Lincoln Campbell #Daisy Johnson #IFTTT #ao3feed

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ao3feed-fitzsimmons · 1 year

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Wildest Dreams ☾ Daisy Johnson

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/19Sj0Ls

by sapphicsokas (saturnsokas)

❝ even if it’s just pretend ❞

IN WHICH . . . the looking glass is shattered under the power of Daisy Johnson’s love for her best friend.

iron man — agents of shield — secret invasion skye/daisy johnson x female agent oc coming soon

Words: 1503, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of Age of Heroes

Fandoms: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Secret Invasion (TV 2023)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Major Character Death

Categories: F/F, Gen

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/19Sj0Ls

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #Fitzsimmons #aos

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whyiask · 4 years

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okay, so. i don’t mean to rant, but can we, for one moment, talk about Agents of Shield, the framework arc? particularly Aida and Fitz?

Aida is downright abusive to him, she manipulates him and lies to him and brainwashes him to hate his closest friends. When he gets out of the framework and she becomes human, he immediately goes to her. Walks up to her, willingly. Because in the framework, he loved her. He loved her in the same way he loves Simmons. Fitz is the kind of romantic person who devotes his heart and entire soul to the person he loves, and Aida took advantage of that, removing Jemma from the picture and inserting herself into his life. Like, m’am. what the fuck. It’s like she wrote a shitty fanfic for agents of shield AU with a self insert.

He devoted his entire being to her, because he loved her so much. Only to wake up into reality, still with all of his memories of two completely different lives, and Aida is right there with open arms. He knows the framework life wasn’t real, but he remembers it just as vividly as his real life. ALSO, side note: his life was probably the most different, out of everybody. He was a completely different person in the framework, so while everyone was dealing with living two lives, he was recovering from living as two opposite people. He spent so long loving Aida with all of his being, and he doesn’t know what to do without her, just like he doesn’t know what to do whenever Simmons goes missing in the show. He is supposed to have one rock, one soulmate, one person he devotes everything to, but now he has two.

He suddenly has a rush of memories, he recalls just how she manipulated him and encouraged him to perform more and more horrific acts in her name. But he still loves her. Because Leopold Fitz loves with every fiber of his being and that love doesn’t go away overnight. So he goes to her. He walks up to her and May tells him to move out of the way so that she can shoot her, but he doesn’t. He walks right up to Aida, because he spent so long depending on her for everything- she was his rock. Even worse, once she kidnaps him and he starts talking to her alone, he starts accusing her of doing all the things she did. Perfectly fair accusations, completely true. Everything he accuses her of is true. And then- THEN. what does she say? “Every choice you made was your own.” OH PLEASE AIDA. DON’T EVEN TRY TO PIN THIS ON FITZ. He wasn’t the one LYING and TRICKING his significant other.

BUT WAIT. THERE’S MORE. Fitz is super open and honest with Aida, even after he remembers everything she did, and he does try to help her. He convinces her to help his friends, and she does. After Jemma shoots her and fitz with the icer and they are locked in a teleport-safe room, Fitz is trying to have a natural conversation with her. He recognizes that she is a human being now, not just a robot, and he attempts to help her through her emotions, DESPITE BEING HIN INNER TURMOIL HIMSELF. Fitz is out here, encouraging Aida and telling her the team could probably one day forgive her, whereas she doesn’t even fucking NOTICE the self-hatred he is going through. Fitz genuinely hates himself for what he did in the framework, and he feels like he is not capable of being loved. After everything the teams has been through, despite Coulson telling him he’s not at fault, he still believes this is the line. This is the point where the team hates him, because he hates himself so much and he can’t see how anyone else would feel differently.

He is open with her, and he talks to her. She tries to comfort him, saying “I understand how deeply you love.” He is happy that she seems to accept him, accept that he loves Jemma Simmons, always has and always will. She, on the other hand, thinks he is talking about her, rather than Jemma. When Fitz says, “I only have room in my heart for her,” Aida fUCKING LOSES IT. SHE LITERALLY SCREAMS AT HIM AND GRABS HIS SHOULDERS. Aida makes him FLINCH away from her. He is fucking scared of her, because she is so angry that Fitz doesn’t love her back.

“I chose you, so you have to choose me.” No, sis, that’s not how it works! This is the real world, wake up. Fitz tries to tell her this but she gets even angrier. SHE FUCKING SLAMS HIM INTO A WALL. SHE THROWS THE MAN SHE SUPPOSEDLY ‘LOVES’ INTO A WALL OUT OF ANGER, AND STILL EXPECTS HIM TO LOVE HER BACK. she is fucking insane.

AND THEN. SHE FUCKING TRIES TO GRAB HIM AND TELEPORT AWAY. “We’ll build a life together whether you want to or not.” SIS. MA’AM. NO. THAT IS NOT OKAY. CAN’T SHE SEE HOW UPSET HE IS? HOW VISIBLY SHAKEN AND SCARED HE IS? CAN’T SHE SEE HOW HE IS SHRINKING AWAY FROM HER AND TRYING TO ESCAPE THE ROOM?

When she can’t teleport away, she sees the devices that Fitz designed to trap teleporters. It essentially makes them stuck in the space, unable to teleport away. She gets so angry and he literally runs away from her? He runs into the transport containment box and locks the door. Because he can’t be in the same room as her. When Piper and Davis come to rescue him from the room, Davis has to hold Fitz and point a gun at Aida while backing away. Piper literally tells him, “You’re lucky she didn’t kill you.” AND PIPER IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. IF JEMMA HADN’T BEEN WATCHING ON THE MONITERS AND SEEN AIDA BLOW UP LIKE THAT, SHE COULD’VE- WOULD’VE- KILLED FITZ.

AND THEN GUESS WHAT HAPPENS!!! I BET YOU COULDN’T FUCKING GUESS. SHE ESCAPES THE CONTAINMENT CELL AND HUNTS HIM DOWN. HE IS RUNNING THROUGH THE BASE, AND EVERYONE IS TRYING TO PROTECT HIM, BECAUSE THEY KNOW HE IS ALL SHE WANTS!!! SHE IS FUCKING HUNTING HIM, LEAVING A TRAIL OF BODIES, BECAUSE SHE WANTS TO KIDNAP HIM AND BRAINWASH HIM AGAIN INTO LOVING HER BACK. WHAT. THE. FUCK. CONTROLLING GIRLFRIEND MUCH???

MY GOD. the point is, she was a manipulative and abusive girlfriend and absolutely is a lunatic and did not deserve fitz.

TL;DR: Aida is a bad girlfriend.

#my god.#i was just rewatching the framework arc of season 4 #and i had to get this vent off of my chest #agents of shield #leopold fitz #aida #aaauuuuugggghhhh i have so many feels from this show #it's a horribly good show #i don't know what i would do without it #i love it so much and it's so well done #y'all should go watch it #agents of shield spoilers #agents of shield season 4 spoilers #i'll probably do another rant at some point soon about how Deke Shaw is actually a good character #or why Fitz is the best bf ever #or about all of the goddamb trauma fitz must have #*actually all of them #they all must have so much goddamb trauma #ooh idk #i guess we'll see #we'll see where it hits me in the feels #if someone actually read all that i applaud you and am super sorry #that was so long and rant-y but fitz is one of my fav characters and deserves better #:))))))))))

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testudoaubrei-blog · 3 years

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“I’m loyal, that’s my whole thing.” - Scorpia, Season 4 Episode 6, Princess Scorpia

“Everything they taught us in the Horde about loyalty is meaningless” - Lonnie, Season 4 Episode 5, Protocol

Rewatching Season 4, I just finished Princess Scorpia. This is an episode that has always stuck with me, especially the A plot of Scorpia realizing how badly Catra has treated her and everyone else and deciding to leave. One thing I’ve been thinking about since I finished the series, though, is what this episode is telling us on a larger level. Looking beyond the character arcs and more at this show’s larger themes and message. Because this show is very much a show that says things, made by people who believe them. That earnestness and depth is one reason I keep coming back to it.

In the pull-quote above, and throughout the episode and before it, Scorpia defines herself in terms of loyalty. It is her identity - as she says, that’s what Scorpions do, they’re loyal. Her actions for three and a half seasons bear this out. When she first shows up, she tries to position herself as Catra’s new best friend, the one who won’t leave her and will stick by her no matter what. And that’s what she does, until this episode. She sticks by Catra through Catra’s increasingly villainous plots and erratic behavior. But she doesn’t just stick around. Until the portal, she barely contradicts Catra, and even afterwards, does so only furtively and immediately backs away as soon as Catra pushes back. For more than a year of show time, Scorpia has not just stood by Catra, or supported her, she’s actively assisted her in her most villainous and destructive acts. Scorpia is fighting by Catra’s side, eagerly carrying out her orders, and doing her utmost to see that Catra succeeds. But her loyalty goes beyond this practical help. Because for all that Catra loudly declares that she doesn’t need a new best friend, she consistently seeks out connection throughout the show, even when she’s at her most isolated in season 4. She needs moral support, and connection, and to know that she isn’t alone. Scorpia provides that, and keeps Catra going. Though Scropia isn’t initiating Catra’s various misdeeds, she’s assisting and supporting Catra throughout. On a personal, psychological level, the only word that seems adequate for this is ‘ennabling’ - Scorpia, sweet as she is, is Catra’s enabler. We see in the next few episodes what happens when Catra doesn’t have Scorpia’s support - she breaks down, and realizes that her actions really do have consequences, and that the affection she took for granted for so many years is something she can’t live without. But as long as Scorpia’s still around, Catra can’t make that realization.

Now I’m not going to say that Scorpia is morally culpable for Catra’s own actions. She’s not. Catra is solely responsible for her various betrayals, manipulations, violent outbursts and assorted murder attempts against...most of the rest of the cast (though being raised by Shadow Weaver sure as shit is a mitigating factor). But while Catra is obviously being a bad friend to Scorpia throughout, Scorpia isn’t actually being as supportive or helpful to Catra as she thinks, because Catra doesn’t actually need unconditional support, she needs people to be honest with her and express to her how she’s hurting them. She needs people who will stand up for themselves just as she needs to take responsibility for her own actions. This is part of why she and Adora have such a healthy dynamic in season 5 - Adora doesn’t take her crap, and Catra takes responsibility for her crap.

However, Scorpia -is- responsible for her own actions. And as I said above, she’s been with Catra every step of the way as Catra has attacked just about everyone and made war on Etheria. On a larger, political level, Scorpia is a willing participant in upholding the Horde’s oppressive system, and executing a war of aggression and colonization against innocent people. Speaking of colonization, perversely, she’s loyal to the very organization that dispossessed her and literally stole her birthright, then discarded it like a useless trinket when it was no longer useful to them. No one ever suggests ‘why don’t we let Scorpia connect with ~her runestone~’ until Glimmer does (and Glimmer’s motivations and arguments aren’t exactly forthright). Scorpia’s loyalty makes her an accomplice in her own oppression (like a bunch of the themes in this show there’s some interesting post-colonial stuff that the show doesn’t fully explore, probably because Noelle and the crew felt self-conscious about telling a post colonial story, or just didn’t know where to go with it). Interestingly, Scorpia’s loyalty to the Horde here parallels her loyalty to Catra, which has made her completely disregard her own wellbeing, which is the most obvious take away from the episode.

But I would argue that everything above shows that for Scorpia loyalty has been a way of avoiding developing her own moral compass. Scorpia repeatedly shoves aside questions of right or wrong in favor of being loyal to her friends and to the Horde. Loyalty has made Scorpia not only willing to accept her own mistreatment, but to willingly mistreat others, and to keep herself from asking any hard questions about what she’s doing or why. This is despite the fact that Scorpia is, by inclination, an incredibly gentle, kind and compassionate person. She’s willing to silence the best parts of her nature out of loyalty to Catra and the Horde. In the end, she also commits acts of violence and perpetuates the oppression of Etheria. And this is so insightful, because we see this sort of thing in our world all the time. So many oppressive institutions depend upon the loyalty of their members to keep them ‘just following orders’; so many abusive systems depend upon loyalty to stifle dissent and silence potential whistleblowers before they even speak. We see this in some of the most oppressive institutions and the worst scandals in our own society, and looking back through human history we see it in some of our nation’s and our species' most infamous crimes.

And when we look at the Horde as a system that Hordak has built in imitation of his elder brother’s empire, we see just how central loyalty is an ethos. Hordak himself is motivated entirely by loyalty to Prime - being a former clone, he spends the entire series not fully capable of accepting himself as an autonomous being (even when he acts like one and enjoys it, there’s some fucked up religious shit there that I won’t get into). He seems to have instilled this in his followers. The Horde Trio, Catra and Scorpia all hold loyalty as one of their highest values. Catra clings to it as her biggest accusation against Adora - that she was disloyal, as expressed in Catra’s perception that Adora broke her promise and abandoned her. Loyalty keeps the Horde Trio together and fighting for the Horde, and Scorpia with Catra. I think we can read between the lines and say the Horde runs on loyalty (as well as fear) and this is a very insightful portrayal of oppressive military and paramilitary institutions like armies of conquest and occupation and other instruments of state violence.

There’s another, related way of looking at how a sole reliance on loyalty as a moral framework has stunted Scorpia’s moral growth, and I think that brings together both the ways that it makes Scorpia willing to accept her mistreatment and participate in the mistreatment of others. Namely, loyalty in the Horde style isn’t just sticking with someone or something, but subsuming your own will into theirs. Following orders. Supporting your friend in what they do no matter what. Whatever you call it, it’s about turning off your own self - your self preservation, your self respect, your conscience, whatever other things you value - and just going along with what the person or institution you are loyal to wants you to do. And this is where Horde loyalty goes full circle, back to its origin - Horde Prime, the narcissistic self-made god who wishes to control or destroy everything that is not himself. Loyalty as Hordak conceived of it and as the Horde believes in it is a reflection of Prime's absolute control over all his domain.

In a way, self-determination is one of this show’s highest values (together with love). It’s at the heart of Adora’s 5-season, 3 year struggle to become her own woman and her own hero as she shrugs off one imposed destiny and then another and finally embraces what she wants. In a more negative form, it’s at the heart of Catra’s arc, as she finally accepts responsibility for her own actions and their consequences and starts working to make a world that she actually wants to live in, as well as admit to herself that what she really wants is love. And I could go on. This self-determination is existentially, obviously threatened by Prime chipping people, but it is also stunted by horde-style loyalty that demands unquestioning support and obedience.

Both the Horde Trio and Scorpia reject the Horde’s ideal of loyalty and walk away, but I think it’s interesting how they do it. Neither rejects loyalty entirely (not on the way Adora does) - the Trio, realistically, remain loyal to each other and simply walk away and walk out of the war (this might save their lives), joining the other disillusioned cynics in the Crimson Wastes. They reject loyalty to the horde and embrace a more supportive and respectful form of loyalty to each other. Scorpia leaves, but she actually comes to her crisis and makes her decision out of loyalty, and because it’s clear that her loyalty isn’t returned. The immediate situation - loyalty to Emily and Entrapta’s memory on one hand and Catra’s orders on the others - creates the conflict between loyalties that forces Scorpia to actually make her own choice rather than deferring to Catra. But she also reflects how Catra betrayed her loyalty to Entrapta, and thus how all of her friends’ loyalty to Catra is not returned.This is another point about horde-style loyalty - it’s one way - Hordak or Catra will demand your loyalty, but they feel no obligation to return it, which reflects Prime’s view of every other being in the universe as disposable. It’s only when she’s with the Princesses that Scorpia starts to find a new moral center, though sticking up for and protecting her friends remains important to her. In neither case, though, are these kinds of loyalty coming at the cost of either the Trio or Scorpia’s autonomy or ability to make moral choices of their own. In the very next episode, she says she wants to 'be A good friend' which is how the Princesses typically describe sticking together, which is a much more active and holistic concept than 'loyalty'. Scorpia confesses that she doesn't even know how, but she wants to learn and thinks the princesses can teach her.

There's another interesting counterexample to Horde Loyalty. Adora repeatedly breaks with the people around her to do what is right. First she leaves the Horde, then walks away from Catra by stages when it is clear that Catra is going to continue to harm other people and Etheria. Then she walks away from Glimmer, defies Light Hope and breaks loyalty with her supposed destiny and purposes as well as loyalty to the homelans she has never known. By season 5, Adora is loyal only to herself and the people she cares about, but she isn't constraining her will to anyone else's. For all that she seems like a rule follower Adora has a rebellious streak a mile wide, and she will do what is right, no matter what. This is what allows her to save the universe 3 times.

So the show’s argument is that loyalty is not a good moral framework to base all of our actions around. I don’t think it goes so far as saying that loyalty has no place in our ethics (being a good friend, which is such a huge part of the show, certainly includes loyalty, especially sticking with people when the going gets tough), but the show stresses time and again that being loyal to something or someone shouldn’t make you disregard yourself and what you think is right. Because it’s only by living out our own values and taking responsibility for our own actions that we can come into our own as moral beings. Moreover, if we insist on maintaining loyalty to institutions that oppress us and others, we can’t dismantle the systems of oppression that are holding us and other people down. (Yes, this is a pretty radical message, but I suspect that Noelle is some kind of anarchist? Anyway, it’s a thing.)

Okay, so that’s what I, a 35 year old, get from this kids show. I think it’s also worth pointing out that this lesson applies to younger viewers too, in their most immediate lives. Younger viewers will have had friends who didn’t treat them well, or might not have treated other people well, and who might have pressured them into participating in the mistreatment of others (this is kind of how bullying works a lot of the time). I think it’s important that younger viewers see how being a good friend never means disrespecting yourself or other people and it means a lot to me that She-Ra shows this in such a nuanced and realistic way.

#she ra #she ra spoilers #spop #she ra netflix #she ra and the princesses of power #meta #analysis #scorpia

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mc-critical · 4 years

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One of my most favourite confrontations between Mahidevran and Hürrem in the series is the one after Mahidevran sent Olga to Süleiman in episode 61. It's both fun, yet filled with meaningful character dialogue, managing to successfully deliver a thematic message that eventually finds its retroactive way, despite of it all seeming like a yet another smackdown fest by Hürrem at first.

The scene begins with their typical confrontational energy, the rivalry chemistry immediately paves its way forward. Hürrem is ready to face her for what she did and Mahidevran, while not being interested at first, goes with her flow regardless, setting the mood for what follows.

Hürrem: You've sent a concubine to his majesty.

Mahidevran: I'm replacing Valide. Pleasing his majesty is one of my duties.

Hürrem: Let God not give you other worries. Do you want to cover the lack of your femininity this way?

Mahidevran seems very engrained in her role as the head of the harem and connects it with her own desire to take revenge for her wounded pride and for all the pain they caused her. The first excuse she finds for sending Olga to SS refered to the rules and tradition that give her that right, but we know by context that there's something else going on, this was both a move driven by her vendetta and a provoked move - she decided to do this after Hü told her she's the one ruling the privy chamber and perhaps Mahidevran accepted it as a challenge to her power, because, honestly, I doubt she would've attempted such a thing if she weren't provoked like this. Hürrem, on the other hand, gives her own "interpretation" as to why Mahidevran took action. To be blunt, it sits wrong with me right from the start, because it demonstrates a huge amount of internalized mysoginy on full display and it's sad, in a way, that this is what the system encourages at the moment - you're nothing if you sleep alone in your bed, if you don't have the sultan's back. There's a glimmer of possibility Hürrem said it only to render Mahidevran vulnerable and one could understand where she comes from, since she has experienced quite a lot of similar offenses from that same person. And when a confrontation of the like occurs, her first instinct is to think of a comeback, to pull rank and highlight why she's better than her like she does in all their encounters in this batch of episodes. That hardly excuses or whitewashes this statement, though, because for a person who has been shown to fight the system and call out prejudice (even though it was mostly only she was subjected to it or it was about something that concerned her specifically), seeing that she had absorbed some of it and applies it without a second thought leaves a sour taste for me.

Mahidevran: Worry about your own problems, Hürrem. Did you really think his majesty couldn't be with other women?

Hürrem: This is impossible.

Two major beliefs of Mahidevran and Hürrem's characters come on the surface: they drive the dialogue and help the rest of the scene unfold the way it did. Mahidevran brushes off Hürrem's last statement and brings back tradition to the forefront, which begins to highlight a belief of hers that she shared with Valide, that there is a constant cycle in the harem that no one, not even Hürrem, is capable to entirely break. To Hürrem it's impossible for SS to ever have other women at this point, it's something unthinkable for her already. She feels she has fully broken that cycle.

This scene, unlike the confrontation in episode 58, has well done retroactive irony while serving the context of the episode it's in in a plausible enough way that doesn't seem showed in just for the sake of it. The context of the episode puts Hürrem in the right by showing Olga returning from SS's chambers almost immediately after Hürrem says: "This is impossible." and it's the place where this plot-line transitions to another one, leaving the rest of the confrontation to hang in the balance for a while. Maybe SS had truly given up taking other women ever since the wedding, as shown by this and SS refusing another concubine sent by Valide in the wedding episode.

However, we know that this stops being the case later on and whether it's through the decision to bring in yet another drama tool, yet another annoying stretched narrative opposition in the face of the concubine arcs, it's a fact and we could say that this scene ends up being a good enough framework to set us up for it, intentionally or not.

Mahidevran: Then why is there a concubine in his chamber?

Hürrem: What concubine? Maybe that one?

This, to me, is a demonstration of how the tables can turn in the harem at literally any moment. Meryem Uzerli's little amazing, subtle facial expression says it all. When Mahidevran asks the question, we see for a very split second that Hürrem's wondering how to refute her until the concubine appears in the heat of the argument due to sheer luck. Like, if she had already returned to her rooms before the scene occurred, it would've gone much differently! This isn't all that important here, but I love how Meryem showed a slight probability for Hürrem to lose the argument, which contrasts with all her confident remarks before and after this moment. It's just very neat stuff.

Hürrem: Many girls were introduced to his majesty. Among them, there was even a princess. Where are they now? Look around you. You will not see anyone but me.

Speaking of confident remarks, there comes another one of Hürrem's that no matter how many concubines came, they all went and now there is no one other than her. This line further sets a consistent trend of ambiguity, because she's right in the context of the episode and it encapsulates the resolution of these particular plot-lines of Hürrem and Süleiman in the season and we can get behind her words overall both in the arc and in rewatch, in spite of the retroactive irony, but she's wrong in that it's the end of her harem fights, very far from it, as season 3 and season 4 prove. She hasn't completely won yet, even though she sets the impression that she has.

What I also find interesting in this scene is the back and forth throwing of past - present - future between the two sides. They make a perfect showcase of what these characters represent, their states, their losses, their desires, their hopes, dreams and philosophies. Here, in example, Hürrem makes a reference to a part of her obstacles in the past, acknowledging that they were there regardless, but then she immediately goes back to the present with "Where are they now?". Nowhere in the scene she considered the possibilities of the future, the sheer probability that it all may change one day (as it happened, in many ways, through Firuze), focusing on the currently undeniable truth the present day presents.

That same throwing back and forth continues, but with another note which instantly places the two women against each other again:

Mahidevran: I was also loved once, Hürrem. Mustafa is the fruit of that love. Ask Gülfem Hatun if you want. She will tell you how much she suffered because of me.

Hürrem: You always tell this story.

Unlike Hürrem, who only references the past, Mahidevran laments it and takes pride in it, it being the highlight of her once beautiful life. But we know what went down afterwards, adding in the possibility that maybe, it would all be temporary and what one may have now, may change, because Mahidevran was also in Hürrem's position once. Hürrem however, calls out her fixation on the past, in a similar fashion to how she has done it before (E59: "Are you being proud of your past now? Let me remind you: You're still a slave."), what she had doesn't matter, it's the now that is important to Hürrem, which is a solid thematic note to her character arc.

Though, we have this line of dialogue in response:

We here notice that no matter how long it took for them to do it, Mahidevran and Hürrem actually had parallel arcs, in terms of letting go of the past. This line makes for such a striking revelation of Mahidevran's emotional state from her perspective that only continued what episode 46 hinted at and episode 55 directly started. (E55: "I ripped out the love I had of your father of my heart, I threw it into the sea! He doesn't matter to me anymore. Now you are the only one in my heart.") It's rather surprising that she says these words now - Mahidevran's rule of the harem is arguably her at her worst, doing what she does out of the last ounces of her wanting payback for the sad, bitter years. It's precisely what she lost that motivated her, that was a sure part of the reason she sent Olga to SS and yet, we have that honest confession, that grasp of acceptance. Mahidevran's battle with SS was lost very early on and it took her very slow and gradual development for her to accept it and by E61, she was doing the last steps to do so. She tries hard to convince Hürrem that no matter how hard she tries, there is a cycle in this harem that cannot be changed, Mahidevran has come to terms with it, so Hürrem has to do the same. In a way, she was probably trying to say that they both have been fighting a losing battle and she expresses a small amount of sympathy over it, too - she knows what it's like and it's hard, but it's like some unwritten law that it's not worth it in the end and that everyone gets affected by it, without exception. That's how she begins to look upon her present and show a hint of the future.

Out of the particular context, this line could be a very nice stronger endorsement of the franchise's themes, because, truly, no one ever got a good, triumphant, heroic ending. And it was like a cycle: everyone had to face the feelings of sorrow, grief and loss, everyone had to suffer in this time period, everyone dies. Gülfem called Hürrem's life a fairy tale in E134, but that "fairy tale" came to an end after her death. And if we leave that aside, there is hardly a breather episode even for the biggest of victories, no matter how many victories you've won, they would always "have their end", the narrative would always condemn them one way or another.

Mahidevran: One day a woman will appear and would destroy your indestructible love!

The future is finally put on the front with the scene overall and with Mahidevran herself. It's a continuation of her belief that Hürrem would be "detroned", regardless of all. Thing is, she also doesn't consider her own future, only the one of her rival's. She believes in her own victory that is opposed in the present, but would surely come in the future, a belief she holds until the end of the series. Even though I doubt the writers planned Firuze's existence right back then per say, this line sounds like such foreshadowing to her in retrospect, which makes Mahidevran both right and wrong with this quote. Firuze caused an actual continuous rift between Hürrem and Süleiman, making her doubt his love in ways she hadn't before. Nazenin comes into the picture, as well. But no one truly succeeds to properly destroy the love between Süleiman and Hürrem and they managed to prevail, despite of all the narrative opposition. She still stayed the most dear woman to SS's heart, no matter what. There is a slight possibility of Mahidevran judging the situation one hundred percent to herself here, claiming rather that the appearance of another woman would make Hürrem fall out of love with SS and destroy that, instead, just like it was with her, but since Mahidevran called the same line back during the Firuze episodes, I think she was referring to the rift Firuze would cause and how would Hü fall deeper and deeper.

Hürrem: Mahidevran, don't think of me as your equal.

This line is very telling in that Hürrem considers herself different than everyone else. It has always been a part of her character, perhaps a running reminder of her unprecedented elevation in the system she's telling us about through words. And most of the interpretations I've encountered of this line are exactly this: it is epic, badass, it is delivered in such a shading sassy way that could only be respected or applauded. However, it is just as possible for this infamous one-liner to be presented as the culmination of not only her persistent insistence to assert herself as different and special, but her continuous unwillingness to be compared to anyone else in the harem. And usually she's compared to guess who? Mahidevran. She doesn't want to even think of the possibility to be compared with her by this point (starting from E40 where after she was freed, she said: "Now I'm not equal to you." right to Mahidevran's face and continuing forward into S03 with: "I told you not to compare me to others, to Mahidevran never!" -it was something like that), but at first, which is now probably buried deep within, she feared becoming like Mahidevran. She repeated "I'm not Mahidevran!" when she was out of favor like with the Russian concubines, Mahidevran's words that she would make the same mistakes she did echoed in her head during the Isabella arc in episode 31 and earlier had a nightmare of Süleiman giving the emerald ring to Mahidevran instead of Hürrem in a completely parallel scene. (there's also the other nightmare where Mahidevran was taunting Hürrem to tell her about Leo.) Hürrem dreaded all of those things happening and tried her very best to avoid the very thoughts of it. Now, in a season nearly full of victories in her part, she had gained the belief that whatever happens, she'll always stand above the others. She wants to give off the vibe that no one would ever stop her. She has broken so many traditions and the narrative is currently rooted at her favor, all well and good, right? This line could be a mask, in a way, hiding the fear of being rejected just like the others (that doesn't completely disappear, seeing her suicide attempt in E72; also E106's menopause plot.) and striving to leave it behind her, now reaching its peak by putting not only Mahidevran, but the rest of the women into the picture, without a second of realization of the implications it causes, because well, who else was given such special attention by the Sultan? Who else was freed, who else had such a marriage, who else got out of death's door so many times, who else overcame everything, who else had a chance to "rain as fire" over all her enemies? Even though the quote applies on a much grander scale in execution, in later seasons and the way it got called back to in MCK, I feel, in this particular context, it refers to the harem and Süleiman specifically - his majesty doesn't need any other women, there is no such woman that could take away what Hürrem has and even if they stand together, they wouldn't stand a chance, because Hürrem is that massive and powerful.

The retroactive irony hits hard and here: she's right in the events of this particular episode, but the subsequent events definetly tell a different story. Hürrem's influence and power is acknowledged, especially in her last episodes, but that she's the only one capable of having such power is not necessarily true, given the existence of the SOW, some members of which reached more highs than she did, due to the evolving extent of power they could exercise in the system.

Mahidevran: Your arrogance will end you, Hürrem! One day when you're suffering in pain, I'll remind you this!

Hürrem: Mahidevran, you're not here anymore. You'll be leaving soon!

Mahidevran: You're not powerful enough for that!

The focus on the present and future is back with this quick, but substantial exchange. Mahidevran seems to count completely on what will happen in the future in the first line, while Hürrem accounts for both the present and the future, seemingly in accordance, and Mahidevran brings the confrontation back to the present, for what Hürrem talks about is currently unattainable. These lines look like a brief summary of what was established before about the beliefs of both characters: they both desire the end of one another - for Mahidevran it would happen eventually, because Hürrem would end herself in her eyes and Mahidevran would live for this moment and even witness it (and while she didn't witness it exactly, she lived and outlived them all, because there would be no death for her until they get what they deserve, a belief that carries on the strongest in season 4); for Hürrem it has already happened, but it would keep going, fueling her will to get rid of all her enemies and being in conjunction with the ongoing plot arc itself, for her attacking her enemies in all fronts in ways she hadn't before. The last line of Mahidevran's stops the dialogue between both of them for good (followed by Hürrem's smug grin), resting back on her current position, that is also how her whole set of dialogue began in the first place. Even though there was a hint of realization that she has been fighting a losing battle a while before, the part of hers that would prefer not going to the sanjack than give up now, is directly reflected on. It sets more of a parallel between how both of them are, because Mahidevran told Hürrem that arrogance would end her a few seconds ago, but now she's the one that demonstrates this same arrogance herself, starting to underestimate her own opponents yet again, simply because she rules the harem. Claiming that Hürrem doesn't have the power to send her to the sanjack by force, is true, actually, because Ibrahim interfered at the last moment, but this way Mahidevran seems to brush off Hürrem's victories completely, somehow convincing herself that she's forgotten how far has Hürrem gone and just like her rival, thinking of herself as unstoppable. (that goes on the season finale, too, where she says: "If you're powerful enough, face me by yourself!".) This attitude more or less cemented her downfall in this arc, as it would cement major flaws of Hürrem's in the future.

And then they're stopped by... Süleiman himself and I love that, because they have to stop because he comes, they have to stop because he's watching them and give him the necessary respect. Symbolically, it could be a showcase of him being the decider of everyone's fates and them having to accept his will at the end of the day.

And after he leaves, of course, Hürrem and Mahidevran prepare to carry on with their bickering, as they usually do. While that's the end of the whole confrontation, their expressions tell us it's not over yet.

It's particularly interesting, even as a confrontational scene alone: it's longer than many of the confrontational scenes between them, it speaks more volumes about the opposing sides than any other of the kind has dreamed to. While I love Mahidevran and Hürrem's chemistry, I wish there were more scenes like this one, more nuanced interactions than vitriol and constant, almost formulaic smackdowns. Because, to me, this whole confrontation, while simple at hindsight, raised the bar to what could we have had. The rivalry of the two ladies is fascinating on a thematic level and not exploring its depth further, would be a myriad of wasted opportunities.

This scene did right all you could think of: composition, soundtrack, attention to detail, chemistry, dialogue and opposing two sides on a respectful, unbiased, while narratively provoked, way. I adore the way it aged: as I said, it created a perfect blend between context of the episode/plot arc and retroactive irony and the mix of cause and effect of soapy intrigues, character exploration through lines and all the coming thematic stuff, while being filled with dynamic and fun energy. And it's absolutely sublime for it.

#i planned to only use images at first #but since Tumblr now allows only up to 10 #I had to quote most stuff #magnificent century #muhteşem yüzyıl #mahidevran sultan #hurrem sultan

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the-cookie-of-doom · 4 years

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Hi! Can I be nosey? I saw your post on outlining Liar, Liar, Foxfire, could you explain your process a little more? Especially the EVEN DUMBER VERSION? Please and thank you and love your blog! Especially the little snippets of what you're working on!

Dear nonny you can always be nosy, I love it <3

I usually put the Title: DUMBEST VERSION at the top of my docs to remind myself that it’s the first draft and it doesn’t have to be perfect. It started out as a joke with Estranged back in the end of 2018 I think, when I started the fic. Then it kind of became a thing between myself and my then beta (she thought it was cute lol) I don’t really use it for its intended purpose, since I heavily edit as I write. You’re not technically supposed to do that, but I can’t write any other way if my work is unsatisfactory; it seriously kills my motivation when I know I can do better.

Which is where the EVEN DUMBER VERSION comes in! I’ve never used that one before this, I was just frustrated because I couldn’t get my plot to work in a way that I liked lol, so I decided to go through and outline literally every scene in season 3b. (Essentially: 3b for Dummies.)

In the case of this fic, I didn’t actually use an outlining method, really, and I usually don’t. I’m notoriously bad at outlines, and any time I’ve had to do them for school, I would write the project first, then write the outline based on that. The few times I do use an outline, I typically end up veering very far off track.

So what I initially ended up doing here was sitting down with a notebook and rewatching 3b, writing down the general ideas of each scene. Mostly I intended to use it just to jog my memory while I wrote the fic. It... did not work out that way.

After struggling for a few days, I decided to type everything up into a document, splitting each section by episode. I didn’t have every scene detailed, since it wasn’t an outline for the show itself, just for the main context I needed for my fic.

Then I used the blue text for the changes I intended to make/scenes I wanted to add. That way I had a visual representation of what was my original work, and what was the canon framework, which is what I was struggling with the most. It’s difficult for me to work within the constraints of canon like that, which I why I don’t write “missing scene” fics. (RIP)

At that point, it was a matter of adding in the scenes I knew I wanted, and then fleshing out some more where I felt like I needed more original content to balance out the canon. My goal is to have only as much canon context as necessary, because I didn’t want to write out episodes we’ve all already scene.

... And that still didn’t really help. I mean it was super useful in giving me somewhere to start but it wasn’t quite what I needed yet. So I started searching around for the scripts. (Fun fact: i used to be a film major, and I still have a thing for collecting scripts). I found the scripts only up to the end of 3a so that was a bust T_T But then I found the Teenwolfwiki which has scene-by-scene synopsis and it’s amazing. Way more effective than my outline in terms of laying everything out clearly for me.

So now I’ve got my outline as a sort of guide for where my missing scenes fit in, but then I’m going through the wiki to work my way through each episode, and decide which scenes I do/don’t want to keep. Since the fic is about Mitch and Stiles, I’m focusing on scenes with a heavy focus on Stiles and Mitch (who’s Allison’s cousin here, and thus follows the Argent’s storyline). I was also unsure how mush of Malia’s storyline to include, since the person who commissioned the fic didn’t want her in, but also there was some important context she gives to the plot... but then I realized I could just... not write her scenes. That leaves it up to the reader whether that part of canon still happened or not xD (For the record, I like to think it did, but her arc ends after they get her back to her dad, He never sends her to Eichen and that’s the end of her involvement.)

Like I said, I don’t outline very often, if at all, and I tend to get off track when I do (LLF has already changed drastically from the original ideas and outline, and a lot of scenes have been cut), the way I prefer to do it is to write essentially a very long summary. I like to jokingly call them “not-fics” because they can easily end up several thousand words long. It lays out the fic in a shorter retelling, but it’s less structured and leaves me more room for deviation. I usually don’t end up with an actual bullet-pointed outline until I’m pretty far into the fic and need to organize the remaining scenes. Estranged didn’t get an outline until I was...40k into it, maybe? It was a long time.

But if you want an ACTUAL outline method, one I’ve found and liked is the 3 ACT, 9 BLOCK, 27 CHAPTER Method, which somewhat follows the Hero’s Journey, but more in depth::

Act 1

Block 1: Introductions/Inciting Incident/Immediate Fallout (Exposition)

Block 2: Reaction/Action/Consequences

Block 3: Plot Twist/Break into Second Act

Act 2

Block 4: New World/Fun & Games/Old World Juxtaposition (Time for worldbuilding, everything is still fun; Harry Potter comes to Hogwarts)

Block 5: Build Up/Midpoint/Reversal (Growing paints. The character is changing for the better, lots of character development, etc. Pivotal moment)

Block 6: Reaction/Trials/Dedication (Character has potential, but still has work to do. Yennefer during the lightning in a bottle scene.)

Act 3

Block 7: Calm Before the Storm/Plot Twist/Darkest Moment (The whump chapter; Character reaches their breaking point.)

Block 8: Power Within/Action/Converge (Stiles in Ch. 16, to plug my own fic xD)

Block 9: Final Battle/Climax/Resolution

This is a super condensed version, but if you look it up, you’ll be able to see the full explanation on byomentor.com. I found it through Kate Cavanaugh on YouTube in one of her outlining methods videos.

I’m thinking of using this outlining method for this year’s NaNo when I finally, finally write Neverland, but we’ll see. It’s pretty flexible since you don’t have to exactly follow all 27 chapters; you can follow the general vibe and idea of each blog and still have a really sound story, which I like.

Another method I used forever ago for my fic Tree of Life (and I can’t remember the name of the method, but it’s pretty basic) was to have 5 points per chapter:

Inciting Incident

Progressive Complication

Crisis

Climax

Resolution

Now it didn’t work exactly that way because ToL is a pretty drawn out fic, even despite the action, but it’s a good thing to consider. If you have an action heavy or fast-paced chapter (or if a chapter feels slow to you but you don’t know why), it’s a good thing to keep in mind to help speed things up.

But yeah, despite my research in many different outline methods, my favorite is still to write my not-fics and then outline later, if I do at all xD

I hope this was informative! Please feel free to come back if you have any thoughts or questions : 3

#cookie speaks #cookie writes #long post #sorry this got so long...#I haven't really talked to anyone in a while #lol #i like to Talk about my writing/process #it makes me v happy when people are interested in how i do htings

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wayward-wren · 4 years

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Excuse me while I get a little bit sappy. I’m probably going to dip out of tumblr for most of today - the episode airs during the afternoon over here and I need to be semi functional for the rest of the day, so I’ll watch it tonight and I want to avoid spoilers, but I just want to talk about Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD for a moment.

I didn’t watch SHIELD in the conventional way, but I’ve been a fan since almost the beginning. I was I think thirteen when I first discovered the show. Just recently moved to a new city, figuring things out, trying to make friends. It was a Sunday evening, I believe, when I walked into the living room to find Mum and Dad watching a tv show - and hey, I think I recognize that guy, wasn’t he from Avengers?

It was season 1 episode 10 the Bridge. I know because I distinctly remember the explosion and thinking ‘oh did Coulson die’ and commenting that Ward’s ded cos he got shot at (My parents informed me that he couldn’t be because he was one of the main characters.)

My brother and I joined in watching. I can’t remember exactly what had happened - I’m pretty sure Mum and Dad had seen it before, because we weren’t allowed to watch the episode with Lorelei in it since it was ‘’’unsuitable.’’’ I distinctly remember the moment I was in hook line and sinker (and possibly when I started shipping Fitzsimmons, my first OTP) - episode 13 T.R.A.C.K.S. The way it was done with all the cutting and flashbacks and mystery was AMAZING (it’s still my favourite season 1 episode I think), the Stan Lee cameo and then Skye getting shot at the end solidified to me that hey, I’m attached to these characters!

And then episode 17 rolled around and SHIELD shaped who I became. My own stories were influenced by it - a lot of the stories from when I was 14/15 and ‘’’edgy’’’ featured characters being spies, undercover, betraying the team, and looking back on it, those these were greatly inspired by Ward’s betrayal!

And then season 1 ended. I missed the show, and when on with my life. Until, I discovered a little later that season 2 had started. And my parents had been watching it. Without me.

Naturally, I was disappointed, but being the completionist i was, didn’t want to jump in halfway through the season. Plus, I thought it may be unsuitable and my parents didn’t want me to watch it.

For the next few years, I never forgot about SHIELD. I was always a fan, even though I had only really seen half a season. I would occasionally wonder if Fitz ever recovered. If Ward ever got the redemption arc I wanted him to (spoilers, he Did Not). Skye was apparently now called Daisy, and that was weird.

Then, around my 17th birthday I realized something. Season 5 was coming out soon, and apparently that was going to be the last season. And I was old enough now to have my own laptop, plus I’d watched a number of other shows.

So I binged. I sat down and rewatched season 1, relived those moments. I watched season 2 - realized Ward wasn’t going to get a redemption arch, cried when Tripp died, got angry at Simmons and watched Skye meet her parents and gain powers.

I watched season 3, screamed when Fitzsimmons kissed finally, cried again when Bobbi and Hunter left (I remember wandering downstairs in that foggy ‘a tv show made me SAD’ state and telling Mum which part I had just reached - turns out she didn’t remember much of season 3). (Frankly neither do I it’s been like 3 years since I watched it)

Then came season 4, which is still my favourite season. LMDs, Fitzsimmons angst (i mean, that’s every season though right), the Framework, Ghost Rider. The Framework is still VERY CLEARLY in my mind, even though it’s been years since I watched it.

I finished just before season 5 started, and I watched season 5 with my parents. There were many discussions of time travel while renovating my room, a few in depth conversations about paradoxes and Fitzsimmons children and how it all worked. I remember watching the last few episodes with DEEP CONCERN because I had seen Infinity War but my parents hadn’t.

Season 5 ended and I finished highschool. I moved out, and when season 6 aired, my parents didn’t end up watching it because it didn’t air in New Zealand and I found it online (they still haven’t watched it. Hurry up and put it on Disney+ pls)

I grew up with SHIELD, even though I didn’t watch it while it aired the whole way through. These characters mean so much to me.

So thank you, Agents of SHIELD.

Thank you Clark Gregg, for Phil Coulson, for being the heart of the show, for bringing the family together.

Thank you Ming-Na Wen, for Melinda May, for showing strength and how to be a strong female character who has emotions and can and will still kick your ass.

Thank you Chloe Bennet, for Daisy Johnson, for growing up with me through the show and being the character who needs her family around her.

Thank you Elizabeth Henstridge, for Jemma Simmons, who shows that a character can make mistakes and grow from them, for compassion and protectiveness.

Thank you Iain De Caestecker, for Leopold Fitz, for giving me unrealistic standards for me, for showing me that mistakes don’t define you and the darkness in you isn’t who you are.

Thank you Brett Dalton, for Grant Ward, for the character we all love to hate, for a part of my childhood.

Thank you Henry Simmons, for Alphonso Mackenzie, for a character who holds onto his faith despite all the weird crap, who is strong and compassionate, who grew into a role he never expected to have.

Thank you Natalia Cordova-Buckley, for Elena Rodriguez, for teaching me to always bounce back.

Thank you Jeff Ward, for Deke Shaw, for a character I can see myself in - the outsider, who doesn’t exactly fit in but is part of the family nonetheless.

Thank you to the cast, the crew, the writers, the directors, the producers, everyone who has been involved in this show that shaped my childhood. It feels like my childhood is dying this year, all the tv shows I watched as a early teenager are finally coming to an end. Clone Wars, now Agents of SHIELD - truely, it feels like a part of my childhood is finally leaving.

I trust the writers to give us a proper send off. I trust the actors to deliver that send off beautifully.

I don’t know what to expect tonight, but it’s going to be a ride, and I’ve glad to have been along for it!

#agents of shield #aos #aos season 7 #parting shot #a spy's goodbye #agents of s.h.i.e.l.d.#*teary salute*#long post

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nazezdha321 · 4 years

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List 5 TV shows make you feel better, then tag 10 other blogs

Thank you for the tag @aleksandrachaev <3 I don’t think I’ll list my specific comfort episodes, but I’ll list a few favorites for each show (obviously these aren’t all of my favorites, just a few of them).

Order is whatever came to mind immediately :)

Agents of SHIELD

I love this show. The first fandom you posted fanfiction for is not one you easily forget lmao. I think some of my favorite episodes would be Repairs (1x09), Melinda (2x17), and Self Control (4x15). Honestly the entire Framework arc is season 4 is *chef’s kiss*

The West Wing

This was the first politics TV show I saw. I love this show so much, especially CJ (what an absolute icon). Favorite episodes are Access (5x18), 18th and Potomac (2x21), Two Cathedrals (2x22), and Posse Comitatus (3x21).

Arrow

I started watching this TV show when I was like... eleven lmao. I’ve rewatched it so many times because it’s just one of those shows you like to go back to and remember, you know?? Favorite episodes are probably Time of Death (2x14), Birds of Prey (2x17), Canary Cry (4x19), and Green Arrow and the Canaries (8x09). Can you?? Tell I love Laurel Lance??

Firefly

I recently finished this TV show, and saw the movie Serenity, and I?? Fell in love?? I love all the episodes, but I think my favorites are Out of Gas (1x08), Objects In Space (1x14), Shindig (1x04), and The Message (1x12)? Idk I love them all asdfhjskdf.

The Great British Bake Off

Whenever I just want to vibe for a second and like not think to much about characters or plot, I turn on this show. I don’t think I can have a favorite episode because I just watch random ones so :)

This was fun! Time consuming, but fun. I’ll tag whoever wants to do this (seriously, you can say I tagged you).

#tag games

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howtotrainyouragents · 4 years

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30AOS Catch Up!

I’m not able to participate in the 30-Day AOS Challenge, but I wanted to jot down all of my answers for my own memories. Guys, we are almost there!! I’m not ready!! But I love you guys and you have made these last years and the last 30 days so wonderful!! Thank you!!

Day 1- Favorite Season: Season 4! It was tight and well-constructed, and I just adored the A-B-C arc breakdown and how smoothly they tied together

Day 2- Favorite Episode: “Self-Control”. Truly an amazing showcase of Iain, Liz, and Chloe’s acting + plus incredible fight scenes + top notch tension and suspense. I don’t get tired of it.

Day 3-Favorite Storyline: The Framework arc because I am a SUCKER for AUs, and it was so wonderful to see Ward be good, Mace be a superhero, Coulson be normal, Fitz and May be evil, and Tripp be alive. And the references to the current political climate were just a cherry on top

Day 4-Favorite Male Character: Mack, he is the definition of a good man, and he deserves a break haha

Day 5- Favorite Female Character: My girlfriend, my hero, Daisy Johnson, of course :)

Day 6- Favorite Friendship: Ugh, you’re gonna make me choose?? Coulson-Fitz-Hunter team up in Season 2. It was the Father-Older Son-Younger Son relationship none of them asked for :D

Day 7- Favorite Ship: Philinda. The way they trust! Love! Defend! They are a SoulTP.

Day 8- Favorite Noncanon Ship: Ugh, you’re gonna make me choose again?? Skimmons or Fitzdaisy. No I will not be choosing between the two. The perfect union is Fitzskimmons, obviously

Day 9- Favorite Guest Star: Am I allowed to say Stan Lee? :( I miss him, and it was such a great scene

Day 10- Favorite Recurring Character: Ghost Rider. Robbie was so powerful and complicated and understandable and good and deserved so much, and Gabriel Luna deserves his own TV show. Honorable mention to Cal, whose arc was amazing and I love and miss him.

Day 11- Favorite Villain: John Garrett. He was a nutjob at the end, but leading up to it, he was so damn charismatic and brilliant in the way he played SHIELD the way he did. And no one could chew a scene the way Bill Paxton could. RIP.

Day 12- Funniest character: LANCE HUNTER. He brought a perfect, sincere dry wit that has yet to be replicated in the show

Day 13- Character you wish would return: I’ve said this a thousand times: Joey Gutierrez. A good soul too good for SHIELD, but I would just like to know he’s doing good. Also Vijay Nadeer (Come on, @writers, you have one more season! Tie up that plotline!)

Day 14-Underrated character: Elena “Yoyo” Rodriguez! She deserve so much love. She’s strong and passionate and smart and justice-driven and unafraid to be confident and cheeky. She inspires so much of my own self-confidence

Day 15- Saddest Death: I know what is the saddest death. You know the one. The one at the end of S5. But we do not speak of it. It has been two years. We do not rewatch that scene. We do not acknowledge it. We yell at Iain for being too good at his job. We cry. That is it. Hahaha, okay, real answer: Tripp’s! The way that he went in there and destroyed the crystal to save his friend, and it was totally useless, and she wakes up just as he crumbles. DEVASTATING.

Day 16-Best Season Premiere: I was gonna say Season 1′s because it was fun and cheeky and had me hooked from the start, but... Iain stole this award for Season 3. The suit!! The confession of love!! His devastation at “Maveth”! THE SCREAMING AT THE ROCK.

Day 17-Best Season Finale: Season 5. It revealed itself and wrapped itself up so beautifully. Daisy’s fight with Graviton was truly worthy of the MCU big screen (And yes, I still think want to see Daisy vs Thanos)

Day 18-Favorite Season 1 Moment: Too many to choose from, so I’m not gonna even try. Simmons’ “Laws of Thermodynamics” Speech. Coulson and Mike Peterson’s showdown at the station in episode 1. Skye’s “God is love”. Ward’s HYDRA reveal to the team. All of Nick Fury. All of “T.R.A.C.K.S.” (my favorite episode)

Day 19-Favorite Season 2 Moment: Skye’s transformation. Favorite episode “Melinda”

Day 20-Favorite Season 3 Moment: Again, FITZ SCREAMING AT THE ROCK. Favorite episode “Purpose in the Machine”

Day 21- Favorite Season 4 Moment: The Skimmons hug in “Self-Control”. Favorite episode again is “Self-Control”

Day 22- Favorite Season 5 Moment: Daisy’s fight with Graviton, especially when she discovers the serum. Favorite episode “Fun & Games”, but dang if “The Devil Complex” isn’t a ride and deserves a shoutout on this list.

Day 23- Favorite Season 6 Moment: The ladies night fight :D Favorite episode “Fear and Loathing on the Planet of Kitson”

That’s all for now, folks!

#30aos #aos #spy's goodbye #if you read all of this #thanks for putting up with me

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agl03 · 6 years

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Throwing it back to Season 4 for this one (sorry hiatus and rewatching is making me re-contemplate and analyze old stuff): What is the regret of Fitz’s that AIDA fixed wasn’t that his father left but that he wasn’t enough for his father to stay? Then there’s a clear sense of shifting his personality “to be enough for his father” which would lead to the Doctor. Just a hiatus rewatch inspired thought I wanted to share!

Hi Anon,

Okay, this will likely open some sort of can of worms but this is my take on the whole AIDA/Fitz/Regret thing. This is my take and my option from my own watches, interviews, and reading the Season 4 Declassified. I know some out there think I’m full of crap on this one but this is my Hil and after all this time I have established a fort and am not going anywhere.

I do not question that AIDA fixed regrets for the rest of the team. All were very clear and had been set up at some point going into the Framework.

Mack: The daughter his lost and the chance to be a father/normal life.

May: Saving the girl in Bahrain

But that was in season 2 so this is the first example of what I’ll get into later about loopholes. Because based on the actions of May’s LMD the regret that should have been fixed to make her happy was exploring that romantic relationship with Couslon.

Radcliffe had AIDA fix Bahrain to get May to stop fighting to get out, not to make her happy.

So technically AIDA didn’t choose what to fix for May….Radcliffe had already done that before the others were dropped in.

Coulson: Not going into Shield and becoming a teacher.

Mace: Being the hero and leader he always wanted to be.

Then we get to Fitz. AIDA was a MASTER of manipulation, especially after she read the Darkhold and began to strive to be something more. She found loophole after loophole in her parameters and programming.

Just one example of this is when she killed Radcliffe. Her job was once to protect him, but she got him to admit he himself could be a threat to the Framework, protecting it being her “Prime Directive” and allowed her to kill him in the real world.

I will die on the hill that Fitz was her target all along. First, she needed him to complete Looking Glass The others that got tossed in were merely collateral damage/because Radcliffe said to get them. She kept out of the way for the most part. Had Jemma or Daisy been abducted as well their avatars wouldn’t have interfered at all. AIDA would have been unchallenged (Mace thought he was fighting her but she was in control). Second, she took him because she wanted what he had with Jemma, she wanted to love and didn’t understand how that worked.

So while the rest of the team had regrets fixed, Fitz’s life was manipulated to an extreme degree, starting with his Father’s presence, then later when AIDA took Jemma’s place at the Academy. She removed all of the loving and positive influences in his life and set up that world that would lead her right to where she needed him to be to build Looking Glass. And used his loyalty and protectiveness for those he loves to get what she wanted. He did it to protect her.

I’m also a bit curious because the Darkhold supposedly told the reader how to get what they wanted. So I am downright curious if the dang thing told AIDA she needed FItz or if she just decided it was him between his talents are her wanting love.

The “I thought his presence was what you would have wished for” was a load of crap, it was the ‘loophole’ she used to start her control over him, and her trying to continue to manipulate him as she did in the Framework once they were out. She had been in his head, seen the bad memories, seen all the betrayals, and seen how awful his father was. The writers also took the time in 12 to show Fitz getting the chance get the “message” from his father from Robocliffe and he walked away. Later they had the conversation between Mack and Jemma and Jemma explained Fitz had chosen not to find him. Fitz had made a deliberate choice to not find his father with the tools he has. That doesn’t sound like a regret to me…that was an ongoing choice that Fitz had made not to bring that man into his life. She gave him Alistair because his presence in Fitz’s life helped her manipulate him and get what she wanted.

The Season 4 Declassified also revealed that Alistair’s casting was last minute. So I also maintain that Radcliffe was originally going to be the corrupting influence on Fitz in the Framework. I had predicted before the Framework Arc we’d see a more morally grey Fitz influenced possibly by “you're like a son to me” Radcliffe…well, they went well beyond morally grey on me (but hey I still pretty much nailed Radcliffe’s arc…yay?) But the writers decided they wanted Radcliffe’s redemption and they wanted the shock value and immense pain of a very evil Fitz.

And at some point, it just has to be said. The writers did what they did because its how they wanted the story to go.

TLDR. AIDA used loopholes in her programming over and over to get what she wanted. The ‘regret’ she used for Fitz was merely one of many things she set into motion to get what she wanted.

#aos meta #sorry i still have strong feelings about this one

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prixmiumarchive · 6 years

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Hi Skyeward Tag

So, like, it is a unique kind of hell to finally come to peace with how much I love SkyeWard after three years of running from some sad emotions and weird Fandom Politics(TM). It’s also sort of tricky because while AOS is still ongoing, the initial fervor for SkyeWard seemed pretty effectively squashed among people I followed for AOS back in, like, S2. Recently, my best friend and some nostalgia have dragged me down a rabbit hole, and I am really enjoying myself while hating it. It kind of seems like SkyeWard fandom never died but that it sort of went underground, but upon learning that the Framework arc was even a thing I decided I needed to rewatch AOS and suffer so that I can eventually see this and also suffer.

I’m making this post in an effort to create a sort of follower train thing for those of us who are still around and want people to tag. It sucks getting really into something and finding yourself in an empty echo chamber, and I’ve seen @celticheartedfangirl making her posts about watching Agents of SHIELD unspoiled for the first time and maybe being interested in the ship. I wondered if maybe some others could rally out of the woodwork so that we can hang out and tag each other in things. Networks are also so 2014 but this is just an informal follower train thing if anyone will pick it up to help gain traction. Below I’m gonna put a little form for myself, and you can reblog the post and copy/paste/edit it to your liking so that we can make acquaintance for the purposes of tagging whether or not we follow-back.

Blank Version of Form Under the Read More.

Agents of SHIELD

I have seen through: I think I stopped watching actively toward the end of Season 2. I was sad about some of the narrative decisions being made in the show, and I was just exhausted by the shifts in several fandom climates of the time. I always meant to go back to it, but then I would get discouraged. However, recently realizations about my own likes and dislikes, nostalgia, and my best friend watching the series again have drawn me back in. I want to see the Framework arc, and I watched the first episode of Season 5 on a whim with my best friend.

Am I still watching? Yes* | No *Sort of but I’m actually rewatching.

Favorite Character Other than Skye|Daisy or Ward: Probably Jemma.

Other Ships: FitzSimmons. I am passively interested in Coulson/May. Skimmons from time to time. I used to kind of ship Skye and Mike Peterson because Skye would have been the greatest step-mom in the world and J. August Richards is attractive, but SkyeWard is my favorite ship for her.

A favorite moment/episode: I am chomping at the bit to watch the Framework arc. Honestly, the Captain America: The Winter Soldier tie-in arc is still amazing to me even if I’m disappointed about the way canon followed it up with regard to these two characters. It’s so well-acted and interesting. I also had somehow never scene 1x03 before and I think the part where Ward is teaching Skye to take a gun from someone is hilarious. “I’m a proper southern girl...” Please help.

Anything else: I’m a big fan of both canon-compliance and canon-divergent AUs. I occasionally produce fanwork and feel the itch that I might for this ship when I cautiously avoided it in the past.

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Do I also follow the MCU? Yes | No

Favorite MCU character(s): Gamora, Peter Quill, Steve Rogers, T’Challa

Favorite MCU movie(s): Guardians of the Galaxy Vols. 1 & 2, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther

Favorite MCU ship(s): Romanogers (Steve/Natasha); CATWS OT3 (Steve/Sam/Nat); Starmora (Peter Q./Gamora)

The Top 5 Other Fandoms I blog about lately are:

The Expanse - An excellent, diverse, beautiful science fiction show that everyone should check out. Recently saved from cancellation.

DCTV / Arrow - The CW DC properties. My favorite is Arrow, and I loosely follow the whole universe.

Star Wars - Honestly, I follow mostly Reylo, Finn(Rose), and Anidala content, but a general fan.

Doctor Who - I’m always into it. I haven’t quite finished every episode in the middle of S10 because I was in grad school when it was airing, so the lack of Bill content is not a lack of love, it’s a lack of knowing her as well as the others. I love all the companions a lot; you’ll never see companion-hate from me ever unless Thirteen’s companion is a jackwagon. Clara is my favorite because she is a small, bisexual, brunette teacher like me; she is my best self and bitter I cannot be her. I also like Thoschei/Twissy stuff and well honestly most things.

Shadowhunters - Maybe? Honestly this fifth spot is a toss-up and I provided it for clarity. I blog about a ton of other fandoms in a wild smattering, but I might do this one slightly more than the rest. I don’t care about Cassan/dra Cl/are except the fanlore.

Anything Else

I’m friendly, please talk to me. I’m a between-assignments English teacher. I want to produce fan content, but I wanted to know if there’s still, like, a community/audience before I get too psyched about it. Skye|Daisy is one of my favorite characters ever, and I love her very much with or without a ship. You can always blacklist anything I post that you don’t like; I tag everything. Even if you don’t follow me or anyone else who (fingers-crossed) participates in this, always feel free to tag me in related content. People are too antisocial on this blue website.

Agents of SHIELD

I have seen through:

Am I still watching? Yes | No

Favorite Character Other than Skye|Daisy or Ward:

Other Ships:

A favorite moment/episode:

Anything else:

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Do I also follow the MCU? Yes | No

Favorite MCU character(s):

Favorite MCU movie(s):

Favorite MCU ship(s):

The Top 5 Other Fandoms I blog about lately are:

Other Fandom #1

Other Fandom #2

Other Fandom #3

Other Fandom #4

Other Fandom #5

Anything Else

#skyeward #agents of shield #aos #grant ward #skye | daisy johnson #skye #daisy johnson

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