#like i KNOW she realizes shes in love with chidi in that same scene but like

[genreawareness]

“the three of us have a very important job.” “>:) to find out which us presidents were secretly gay” “No.” “ok fine, bi”

[beatrixacs]

What gets me is that XLH does have every piece of information to selflessly kill herself with the Chengying sword:

- she knows that DFQC wants to free the 100,000 soldiers in the Xuanxu realm because he promised so - if she kills herself, the soldiers will be freed, - she knows that DFQC doesn't control Hellfire anymore which makes him weaker - if she kills herself, he won't need Hellfire anyway, - she knows that DFQC needs to find a way how to protect his people because the war is coming - if she kills herself, the war will probably stop or the scales will turn, - she knows that the primordial spirit of the Chidi woman is inside the Bone Orchid, feeding on her and gradually  killing her - if she kills herself, the spirit will be freed, - she knows that DFQC made a pact with the evil spirit which is extremely dangerous - if she kills herself, he won't need it anymore.

And that's why she did it. Not only she freed him of the Heart Curse she inadvertently casted but she freed the 100,000 soldiers and saved his life from the evil spirit because colluding with it would lead to his untimely death. She wants him to live even when she can't be with him (for obvious reasons).

She, however, doesn't understand one thing: - why did he claim that he never loved her and that he just played tricks on her. She obviously doesn't believe it and evidently, she never will. And even if she eventually did believe it, it was never a reason for her to stop loving him.

And then we get the scene on the bridge in the Cangyan Sea where DFQC: - comes up with the best kind of love confession he ever could, - explains that the only way to break the Bone Orchid and save her was to stop her from loving him and that's why he lied to her and humiliated her, - thus doing basically what his father did and what she is doing at the moment.

I just... the way the realization hits her like a ton of bricks is so well told. You can see that she was already fragile and that's why she told him to stop talking. And then, he just blurts this out and it's just too much for her, too much for the mask she willingly wears. And she breaks. And it's heartbreaking, twisted, angsty and beautiful in the same time.

Wow.

[wjforever]

An interesting matter. I've thought about this for a long time, but at some moment I suddenly continued the logical chain and the puzzle pieces falling together in a new way.

I've wonder what role Siming played in Xiao Lanhua's fate. Although there is very little of her in the series, in the end we understand that she, as a goddess responsible for the fate of people (she is the literal Director of Destinies), plays a much more important, if not a key role. And, perhaps, that's why she appears only at the end and for a very short time.

And now my logical chain and some facts that, in my understanding, made Siming from a shipper of the Chang Heng and XLH pair (which seemed ridiculous to me), to the person who conducted this orchestra.

We know that Siming always told Xiao Lanhua that fate can't be changed. And yet, she helped Chidi change Ron Hao's fate. So she violated the rule. This is one call that says more about her personality.

She broke the rules and saved the dragon (and all this plot, you know this yourself), for which she was punished. This is another call. She's more like Dongfang Qingcang, who always goes against everything, than Chang Heng, who still always ends up following the rules (or destiny). And this with her position!

When DFCQ and Chang Heng go to Siming, they realize that they were both expected. Because both the firefly and the cakes are all part of the Orchid's destiny. And considering that Siming had access to her book, she could watch her just like we watch the series.

At this moment we can already understand that Siming is not as simple as it could seems.

What really confused me at first was that Siming was nice to Chang Heng, but rude to Dongfang. To die and become a goddess was the fate of Xiao Lanhua, wasn't it? Both Dan Yin and DFCQ saw these scenes in the mirror. And she could become this great goddess who visited the three worlds only because of Dongfang Qingcang. All of this was predetermined. So why is Siming so rude to DFCQ?

Yes, it feels a little like… relationship between the mother, the girl's friend and her fiance. When the mother behaves nicely with a friend, but expects something more from the bf. There is some bias. But still, it seemed that Siming preferred Chang Heng, but she was ready to cooperate with Dongfang Qingcang if it meant that XLH would remain alive.

And yet it seems that she's in the Chang Heng's team. See for yourself.

In the past, the master had behaved almost the same way our team behaved in the mortal world. She literally brought Xiao Lanhua to Chang Heng. Facts:

she knew that Orchid is not just a grass, which means that she probably didn't accidentally spoil her immortal root. The root was definitely damaged because Dongfang saw it. But the reason is unknown. Perhaps to prevent the true power of the goddess from developing and not to reveal her. And even if it was an accident, she wouldn't throw Orchid away.

• Siming told Xiao Lanhua that Chang Heng had saved her, otherwise XLH wouldn't have had such a strong attachment to Chang Heng. Because the whole first part of the series we hear that she has to thank him and later she says that she confused gratitude with love.

But all this is a lie. When Xiao Lanhua sees Chang Heng, he says he doesn't remember saving her. We think he's lying because he erased her memory and just wants her to keep her distance for her safety. But no. This is actually not the true.

When Dongfang Qingcang and Chang Heng came to Siming, they were surprised that she was a woman. At the beginning, they mistook the dragon for the god of the fates. This assumption was said by Dongfang, but Changheng didn't argue and looked like he was in shock, that Siming is a lady. It means he didn't know Siming. And there were no memories from the past, any signs that they knew each other.

In fact, this scene was unnecessary at all. It had no effect on the plot. For the viewer from the first episode it was no secret who is the master (we saw her early than our Devil). And Dongfang never got jealous of Orchid for the master. I was surprised why such an emphasis was placed on this (given that the translation killed all the intrigue, because Xiao Lanhua called the master "she"). So it only mattered for Chang heng's story.

Chang Heng became attached to Xiao Lanhua 500 years ago, after their meeting, and not because he saved her and kept watch over her fate. So he could really not have been interested in Siming Palace before and didn't know the master.

When Xiao Lanhua sees Chang Heng for the first time, she doesn't know him, but later she already knows her savior very well. Perhaps Siming told her about Chang Heng after they met. I haven't reached this point in the Chinese translation yet, but in English there is confusion with the dates when the master disappeared. However in the first episode Xiao Lanhua talks about 500 years. So Siming could told her about Chang Heng back then.

What is the conclusion? Siming actively pushed them towards each other. Initially, I thought about the words of the Turtle. It said that Orchid, unlike the others, has only one destiny. And I decided that was the point. Siming was just helping this destiny come true.

But I was haunted by one thought. It was a separate thought, unrelated to all this, but apparently in vain.

What was Chang Heng's original fate and what went wrong? This is the key question. Xiao Lanhua was supposed to marry Chang Heng, meaning he wasn't supposed to die. Well, maybe it was the fate, she saves him, all the events from the series happen and she marries him. Logically. But we remember that Chang Heng's fate changed for some reason. And it was because of this that XLH had to go to the pagoda, breaking all the laws, but for the sake of saving her beloved.

Again, Siming told her that love is not a destiny, but a choice. We don't yet know these words of the master at the beginning, only the instructions not to interfere. But then we will know them, which means Orchid knows it already.

DFCQ would have gotten out without XLH, because they failed in sealing his spirit, so Xiao Lanhua had to save Chang Heng.

But, the main question is what caused the changes in Chang Heng's fate. This happens in the first episode, and the most important thing that happened to him was a meeting with Xiao Lanhua, something out of the ordinary.

And here it is important to note the words of the song that plays when we are shown Chang Heng 's memories of Xiao Lanhua. There is a phrase there "I was afraid to meet you again, but you gave me the courage missing you once again".

So he hadn't seen her for many years and didn't know how she would react to him, given that he had erased her memory. But she, BECAUSE OF SIMING, feels grateful and shows with all her appearance how important he is to her. Chang Heng later recalled her promise to enter the palace many times. Songs often reflect the meaning of events so well. And in fact, for Chang Heng, her behavior was the impetus to act. Maybe in this moment he did something he shouldn't have. He took her flower and gave her the firefly stone. Xiao Lanhua decided that he liked her and they should be together and, of course, after that she couldn't help but break the rules and interfere in his fate. Because love is above fate.

This is the breach that started it all. I can't say exactly why it affected his fate so much, because they were already supposed to get married sooner or later. But we were told everything at the very beginning. It's just amazing in the series, really. The whole plot is clear from the first episodes, but you understand you have already been told everything after the end of the viewing, or even not a single repeat.

Xiao Lanhua quotes Siming's words that any small mistake leads to a big one and everything is very complicated and tangled in fate. Everything can change drastically because of a small thing. Maybe Chang Heng was distracted during the strengthening of the seal, for example, because he was thinking about the wrong thing.

In fact, there is a possibility that Chang Heng would have ended up finding the goddess because of Ron Hao. Sooner or later he would have found her. And there is a possibility that Ron Hao would have made a mistake somewhere, Chang Heng would have found out about the goddess, married her, she would have killed Tai Sui. And Dongfang Qingcang at some point would still have escaped from the tower after another 30 thousand years. Not a long time for them.

But if everything was like that, it turns out that Siming, the master of fate (who knows about this more than she?), did all this on purpose. By her actions, she violated the fate of Xiao Lanhua and freed out the only person who can't be defeated. One of the two immortal bodies in their time, suitable for Tai Sui. Perhaps that's why he's the only one who could change the fate of the one whose fate can't be changed. I even wonder if he has the book of fate at all, if Siming saw it and if it was in Xiao Lanhua's house all this time. It's curious that he or she never thought about it. Especially he.

At the same time, Siming could feel no worry of the consequences, because no matter how dangerous Dongfang Qingcang was, according to legend, only the goddess could stop him. Which, in fact, happened. But she did it not with force, but with love.

And with this I don't know what shows her rudeness towards Dongfang. When he begins to express regrets about hurting Orchid, Siming doesn't look at him and interrupts him just like Xiao Lanhua when she didn't want to hear about the reasons for his betrayal (allegedly, of course).

Does Siming feel the same as XLH? necessity of sacrifice for the sake of salvation. Maybe she's just ashamed, because in fact he's her victim and she feels sorry for him. Or she knows that she just needs to treat him so cruel, just the way his father did with him, and later he himself did with Xiao Lanhua. Or he's not subject to fate, unpredictable and she's angry because she can't read his fate. Maybe it's just a test. After all, Dongfang Qingcang couldn't give up his debt to the tribe, didn't try to make peace. Maybe Siming is not sure that he will overcome his ego and his jealousy, because he asks her about Orchid's wedding with Changheng and if he is not there, Xiao Lanhua may end up staying with Chang Heng. Is she trying to make sure that he will do everything right and her so complicated and long-term plan won't fail?

In any case, when looking for answers to Siming's actions, you need to think not about the latest episodes, but globally, from the very beginning. She is a figure who has been present throughout the series without actually being around. And it was she who played a main role in many of Xiao Lanhua's decisions and reactions, as the only mentor she ever had.

What the finale definitely lacked was this meeting of Siming and our couple. And maybe Chang Heng with the promised wine. That's what would be really interesting to see.

Buy me a coffee

[writefulclown]

asmo with an s/o who is way too much like him

asmo x gn reader (2nd person pov) established relationship; no nsfw, just cute headcanons this isn't about appearance or talking/acting the exact same way, but rather like... being on the exact same brainwave i just,, directly translated a phrase from my mother tongue, sorry

first off, this only works if you like genuinely love yourself to the point where you're concerned you might unironically be attracted to yourself. like you'd date your clone.

cause this is it.

asmo most definitely would. he has reached that point and probably gone past it

which is why this relationship was inevitable

good god.

everyone around you two better hold on to their pipe and glasses.

you're a couple of menaces right from the moment you first meet

he's immediately drawn to you in a way that he can only describe as "really weird"

everyone, including the two of you, find it crazy how your brains operate in exactly the same way, no matter how different you are on the outside

definitely too much of... having each other's backs and supporting each other.

he'll chew someone out and you'll be gasping dramatically to drive the proverbial knife even deeper

you're oddly in sync and can read each other like open books

it creeps everyone else out and they'll think there's magic or something involved. they get used to it eventually, but the doubt is eternal

you're very much the couple that will never ever be seen apart, especially with how clingy both of you are

you also have a dynamic where others can ask you about him (and vice versa) and you'll know the exact answer with 100% accuracy every single time. "where is he?" he went out to get presents. he should be back in about 10 minutes. and exactly 10 minutes later he'll step through the door. "why has asmo been ignoring us today?" someone threw out his face cream and a group of you were too loud last night so he couldn't fall asleep. until the culprits confess and give him a heartfelt apology, his highness will be ignoring everyone in this house. and all the while he'll be pouting behind your back, arms crossed, nodding along

if bodies ever get swapped (cause apparently that's a frequent occurrence) you'll be the absolute first to know where asmo is. it is absolutely impossible to fool you

you just get him. and he gets you

he knows exactly how to comfort you in every single situation and he knows how to show his love

he knows exactly what you need, what you want, what's pissing you off, when you need an exit from a place or situation, why you're sad, everything about you is so apparent to him

and it goes both ways. he's blown away every single time.

it's like the scene in the good place where eleanor gives chidi a tissue cause she knew he was gonna sneeze before he did, but every day, every interaction is like that.

he'll very quickly catch on to your sense of fashion as well. he understands it better than you do, even if it's the exact opposite of him. he needs to know because he needs to spoil you.

but it's deeper.

it feels like the more he finds out about you the more he realizes about himself

he feels really compelled to dig around in your mind. he wants to know the reason behind every single one of your thoughts and actions, but, unfortunately, that just reveals more of how insanely similar you two are

anything about you that makes him feel sad, like feeling like your worth is based entirely on how much people desire you, just boomerangs back into him

you're like a mirror that exposes parts of him that are so vulnerable that he feels... terrified.

because it's so scary to him, he feels the need to withdraw from you. just to stop himself from breaking down. he's asmodeus. he's flawless, everyone loves him, every single part of him is so perfect that he doesn't seem real. he's spent so long building this façade, he can't let it crumble.

but how can he not be around you? you just... get him. and he loves how safe he feels around you. he can get rid of all his walls and you'll still love him. you know the worst parts of him because you have the exact same baggage.

he lets his guard down incredibly fast because he's not stupid enough to waste precious time hiding away when he could be spending it with someone who is absolutely perfect for him in every single way.

you know things about him that even he doesn't. he's never had this level of connection with anyone and you bet your ass this man is glued to you for the rest of your life. it's a good thing you're just as clingy as him.

[zalrb]

What are the worst casted (cast) shows do you think in terms of chemistry in terms of like nothing about these shows work?

I am a fan of your blog so I know a few like Riverdale, Shadowhunters (expect for Jace and Alec), The Flash, The Originals. Are there any others?

And then what are some of the best casted (cast) shows in terms of chemistry, in terms of this just works.

Also, why do you think that casting directors get chemistry so wrong? Like Shonda Rhimes is known for working with the same crew on all of her productions and they did Scandal and HTGAWM where the cast just worked well together and the chemistry between all was so well done but now she’s doing Bridgerton where the chemistry is just not there even though she works with the same crew who cast Scandal. So, why do you think that casting directors (not just Shonda) are getting chemistry so wrong?

I read through your “Actors, Directors…chemistry between characters” and they say that it’s something you can’t fake, and it’s there if it’s there. But then why do they get it wrong sometimes? Why cast actors with no chemistry if you can feel it, or you can not feel it?

Hmm, it's a lot easier to talk about shows where it all just works, like The Bear is a cast where the chemistry is excellent

because they all riff off each other incredibly well, hitting all the points, there's a fluidity to that cast that is necessary for everything that they do with each other. For Carmy to call Richie 'cousin' even though they're not related, JAW and Ebon have to have the chemistry to pull off that kind of closeness, to be like family, where you don't feel any hesitation or distance or coldness, they just have to go there

For Syd to go through the various emotions that she does with Marcus depending on the stress level of the kitchen plus that flirty awkwardness, Ayo and Lionel need to have chemistry.

In fact, 2x06, which I consider to be the best episode of the series so far was really interesting because there were moments in the episode that didn't flow as well as other episodes because of all of the guest stars and they didn't have the same kind of fluidity and familiarity that the core cast had, which worked for the episode considering the themes of the episode but I was like, yeah it's a bit more jarring to watch the interactions because they don't have the same kind of chemistry.

Succession is another one where it just works in a way you don't think it does because it's a naturally awkward show but I mean, these are siblings

so i liked when sarah snook said they kept doing the scene over and over and then kieran asked her if he could slap her for real during one take and she said ok and so he did and then something in her reacted the way you would to a sibling and she just went after him. she was like you can see it in my eyes i just turned

and they just started wrestling the way siblings would and that’s the take they used and it makes sense because that scene is really organic.

That 70s Show, when I did the rewatch a few months ago, I re-realized that they had lightning in a bottle with that cast and there was such a commitment that I don't see in shows now

like if you want to talk about a show that really goes for it, T70s isn’t brought up nearly enough, they committed to the physicality of a scene

like in general

and I'm talking a lot about commitment and trusting your scene partner, which is definitely a part but it's not just that. Like in TGP, Kristen Bell commits to Eleanor's love for Chidi, there's a particular scene where she's insisting that they wake him up, and she's explaining why they need Chidi and you hear how much she loves him in her voice and see it in her expressions

I believe Eleanor in that moment because Kristen is committed to the scene but together they don't have romantic chemistry, it just doesn't work in that framing

I talk about the cast chemistry in Breaking Bad

Elite was a quasi-fascinating viewing experience because in season 1, everyone was paired with the people they had chemistry with that it made me forgive a lot, like, a lot of plot and narrative holes

and then from season 2 onward, they started mixing the actors up and it didn't gel as well and I was like, you messed with a good thing.

Gossip Girl was also a cast with chemistry

In terms of shows that don't...I usually block the shows out, lmao.

I can't really expand on this because I only saw half an episode, initium had Supergirl on at her place once and I had such a violent reaction to it that she changed the channel and she never changes the channel when I don't like something, she makes me stew in it (that's how I ended up watching Riverdale and Shadowhunters in the first place) but it was just ... bad, like, stilted and dry and flat, I just remember being like

It's weird to talk about Mindhunter in terms of cast because it's about two FBI agents but I remember, I couldn't get into it, couldn't get into the plot because it was centered around these two agents and they were so stiff and flat with each other and I expected a chemistry like season 1 of True Detective, Woody Harrelson and Matthew Mcconaughey worked well together, they vibed, and immersed me in their relationship, which was tense, and their case.

Regarding why and/or how casting directors/EPs etc. miss chemistry with certain casts or leads, I'm not really sure how that happens, I couldn't guess, haha.

[blog-of-reaction]

ANTMAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA SPOILERS

More unasked for thoughts on this movie. (Except this time I remember to put it on my thoughts about movie/shows blog instead of my main)

I wish the og? Kang had survived. Like, I’m sure the other Kang’s are cool, but I really liked him as the villain. Also, with Kang being the big and of phase five. (Is it phase 4 or 5? I honestly don’t know.) with him being the big bad though, I can’t help but feel like killing off the Kang that literally all of the other Kang’s were so scared of they banished him to the quantum realm was a mistake. Like, they already (most likely) successfully took down him, how are other Kang’s who aren’t as scary going to feel like much of a threat?

Especially since there will be multiple. Like, I realize the Kang we’ve seen so far could be an outlier, but I’m not so sure they wont be able to be divided against each other. (Then again, them being divided against each other would most likely cause just as much if not more damage then them working together, given the whole monologue at the end of Loki.)

Also, Cassie was great and I love her.

I’m not necessarily an expert on Modok but I liked the what they did with him. Also, the part where Scott asked “Shouldn’t it be Modofk?” was perfect. Ive literally asked myself the same thing ever since he showed up in EMH.

I really liked the family dynamic they had in the movie.

Hope and Scott’s relationship actually had like, some real substance to it this time. Granted, it is very little but their romance is still much more believable than in the previous movies. (Which I mean the bar could not be lower there and it still feels a bit like “what?” but not as much as in the previous movies. Their relationship is mostly like, subtly implied and definitely supported and kind of lifted up via the overall family dynamic everyone had, but it still felt a bit forced at the end. I am slowly coming around to it maybe though? Like, I no longer passively dislike it. Instead I passively accept it.

The side characters were great, fun to see, and I loved them. I actually teared up when torture laser beam for a head guy was killed.

There were a few brilliant scenes that I especially enjoyed or found funny.

First off, like, just put yourself in Scott Lang’s shoes for a minute. All sorts of things weird unbelievable stuff has happened in your life and now you’re in the quantum realm and you lost sight of your daughter after being captured by these strange quantum realm people. And then when he finally sees her, he sees this teenage girl with what looks like blood dripping down her chin and she just cheerily says

“Drink the ooze!”

And then the camera cuts away. Hilarious.

“Those buildings are alive?!”

“What, are yours dead?” said with genuine concern. Beautiful.

The surprise actor for Chidi and pretty much everything when it came to his telepathy.

“How many holes do you?”

*excitedly after being shot a lot* “I HAVE HOLES” and then turning into a vacuum cleaner and just straight up going eldritch something on these guys

Also, Darren’s death. My response to that entire conversation was basically to laugh and ask myself what the fuck? I’m pretty sure Darren said some of that stuff just to mess with Scott but I’m not sure.

I want revenge and im going to kill you and your daughter! “You’re being a dick.” “Yeah but I don’t know what else to do.” “…just stop” great idea, thanks. And immediately doing a 180 and helping your previous sworn enemies.

Also, Kang was great, and a good villain and I was actually like, a bit scared of him. I mean, I still havent seen Wakanda Forever (I know and I hate that about me too) so I can’t comment on Namor and while Killmonger was a good MCU villain Kang is a good villain. And like, those are two very different things. So that was refreshing to see.

Back to Kang I don’t know how the rest of this phase will play out. Like, how will the, for lack of a better term, council of Kang, react and what will they do? Besides maybe destroying the multiverse according to prime Kang. (Speaking of, the Kang in this is just like, a younger version then the one that Sylvie killed in Loki right? It’s never outright stated but it seems pretty clear.)

[whatmakesthemgreat]

What makes them great 4: Eleanor Shellstrop

A sitcom isn't usually where we go for deep characters and introspective studies on humanity, but The Good Place flips that on its head and has both. There's so much story in the good place that I refuse to spoil for anyone who's watched it so I’ll instead go into the main character, Eleanor. For a rundown on the series and the concept of her character, The Good Place focuses on Eleanor Shellstrop, a self proclaimed selfish person, who due to a clerical error ended up in Heaven, she then has to struggle her way into being a good person so that she can stay in heaven and not get punished even worse for lying about it. The way the character is portrayed is absolutely amazing down to the reasons she is why she is and to her eventual growth as a character, but for now let's start on why she is how she is. 

So Eleanor is someone who's completely selfish, that ground has been established by now, but the question is why? Nobody is just selfish for no reason. Eleanor's is completely learned from her Parents, two other dirtbags. As her parents continually ignored, lied and took from her, Eleanor began to believe that being alone is sometimes safer. Eleanor eventually emancipated herself at the age of 14, and found comfort in being alone and not caring about others. While she had friends in life, they didn't care for her and she didn't care for them, making her worse and worse. Despite her saying this, what she really wanted was to be cared about. As much as she’d say she wished she was alone it was only a shell to protect herself from being hurt by people like her family. One of the best scenes to showcase her desire for love and the hard shell that she forced upon herself is this 

As Eleanor finds herself in the good place and realizes change must be done, She obviously struggles but through the help of “her soulmate” or in actually someone else’s soulmate, Chidi the moral philosophy professor, she begins to learn how to live a properly moral life. Despite this, it's mentioned that Eleanor's status won't change due to her doing this out of the desire of self preservation and not of pure good. Despite this being the catalyst, something else changes within Eleanor. While in life, Eleanor never had a family or friends, she is beginning to feel like she actually has a semi-found family of her Chidi and two other characters that i won't mention to keep it all spoiler free. Eventually Eleanor even considers accepting her fate and going to the Bad Place if only to save the people she's grown to love from suffering the same fate by helping her.

If you havent watched The Good Place yet, you absolutely should. This show is one of the best of our times and has had a profound impact on me. Let me know if you'd like more thoughts on characters, maybe I'll do some spoiler based ones later on

[boosterthisgold]

I want to talk about The good place; season 4; "a normal girl from Arizona" part one and two

More like I need to or I'll combust into tiny pieces on someones kitchen tiles.

Cw memory loss and just me talking about being in love I guess

This wont be coherent as is anything in my head I just need to talk about it bc ooohhh my fucking shit I havent even finished it but-

Chidi's and Eleanors relationship is so important. First they get introduced as soul mates to one another only to feel the pain of not being cosmically bound. Considering that Chidi decides to help Simone recover in the afterlife only after he thinks she is his soul mate so it's safe to assume Chidi did take it to heart. But after thinking they aren't soulmates they manage to find eachother again. And again. And again. After almost dying, being separated, HAVING THEIR MEMORIES WIPED. If soul mates aren't real and Micheal assigned them to eachother to make them hurt, how come even in different circumstances they still fell in love again? Did Micheal make a lucky guess or was it just meant to be? On top of that when Chidi gets assigned a new fake soul mate, it doesnt click the same way. So it would be true that it's just that Eleanor is the one.

But of course no one can be happy forever in media or life so... Chidi once again loses all memory to help defeat the bad place and the fact they sent his ex, knowing he would be too nervous to help. Can you imagine the soul crushing pain fucking Eleanor would be in?

Imagine time and time again LOSING the person you fell in love with but this time you have to remember it. You have to see their face and knowing you cant kiss it, see their hands and know you cant hold them, look at them and knowing they don't remember every moment that made your connection special. And Eleanor can't even try to strike up a romance again because she has to pretend to be the architect, the only plan would be after the experiment is over to show him clips of memories. But that doesnt mean it would bring back the feeling as we saw Chidi's reasoning to seeing them was "that's a different Chidi, not me" while they were in Janet's void. And if she starts flirting with him after the experiment who knows if itll work or if she can hide all the memories she has of their time beforehand.

So. Not only does she have to see the love of her life walk around not remembering her, potentially falling in love with someone else, knowing this might be the last time she ever got together with him but it's also framed as a huge sacrifice on his end and she has to smile it off and is considered selfish and a bad leader when she hesitates to matchmake the guy she fell for and his ex.

Knowing you've found one another over and over again only to realize "shit...it can't happen again, can it?" How do you just pretend you're not in love anymore? I'm an amnesiac and deeply in love with my boyfriend and one of my worst fears is that if I forget I will forever loose him and that I wouldnt care that I'd loose him.

Just like in that one scene after watching their memories together before Chidi gets his wiped he says "I'm gonna miss you so much Eleanor" and she says "but you wont. That's what's so scary." And she is right. How can you miss someone you haven't met or well thought you havent met? She will miss him and she will fight for him but he wonr have the memory and feelings to do the same so he may act out of line because on his end the connection doesnt exist, accidentally harming Eleanor but probably not caring because...who is she anyway? He says "I haven't fallen in love before" after being wiped and Eleanor has to smile and say "I know." He didnt mean to hurt her, he didnt mean to be a dick but because he doesn't understand the past nature of their relationship; even a small comment that is insignificant to him is a boulder on her shoulders and there is nothing she can do. She can't hold him accountable because to him, he doesnt owe her anythingz.

What's more is that before he gets rebooted Micheal makes a compilation of memories they DON'T remembered because of the past memory cleans. Memories where they still fall in love. But they don't remember any of it. It's ironic, isnt it? How they've experienced so much joy together yet get to recollect none of it? And now the little they had is getting taken away for the last final time.

Eleanor says "weve found eachother hundreds of times. We can do it again." But I think that somewhere deep inside, maybe because Chidis ex is in the experiment, she doesn't believe that. But that line and the fact they've met eachother in so many different "attempts" as Micheal calls them is so important to me. Idk if anyone here other than me believes in cosmically bound souls but my boyfriend and I are twin flames; the same soul separated in two bodies, always looking for eachother in every life time (not inherently romantic istg some ppl r stupid) but him and I have looked for one another in different lifes, lifes we don't remember and now we have found eachother. The thought it may go away in the next life or even right now is terrifying to me. But we too have probably found eachother hundreds of times and here we are, doing it again.

How fundamentally important is memory to connections? Can you work off of feeling alone? Sure, you may have your feelings still but you won't know why you love them. You won't know what person they are. You won't know them. And how do you justify loving someone you dont know to yourself?

"What's the point of love if it's just gonna dissapear and how is it worse to not love anybody?" There is no universal answer to the question Eleanor asks Janet but my take is that its memories. Even if you loose the feeling you once felt youd still have that necklace they bough you, or that special place you had, that song they played you, those laughs and jokes, those warm years that passed. You'll still know everything that made them special, everything that made your time fulfilled. Even if you loose someone, they were still once there and as long as you have the capacity to remember them; have you lost them?

Recently I found screenshots in my gallery of people I don't remember. That's me, in the screenshots talking to them. Sending hearts and saying I love them. Talking about how funny they are and making inside jokes that I now feel very outside of. The more I looked the more my heart warmed up but the less I remembered. I felt the love. I felt everything that I did back then for them but now I can't justify it. I can't say I know them. I can't say they mean something because, well, who are they even? All of the laughter and calls and joy; why does it matter I feel nice when I think of them if I don't know "them"?

The response Janet gives is something I've written countless poems on and have never been able to pin down the feeling but this show does it well. Maybe it's my own emotional attachment or the fact I saw it soon after falling in love but it's still impactful to me more than ever.

"If there is an answer I could tell you about how the universe works it wouldnt be special, it would be a bunch of code doing its cosmic design. Nothing makes sense so when you find something or someone that does, its euphoria."

Euphoria. That's the feeling I get when I feel I'm in place. When I'm inside my own body and something begins to make sense. When I'm around my friends and I hear they are alive and well, when I remember why I love them. Euphoria. When I got together with my boyfriend that's what it was. It made sense. It wasn't something I didnt want, something I didnt see coming, something that was thrust upon me as another chaos in the chaos. It made sense. When we held hands before we were together it made sense. When we talked of growing old together before we were together it made sense. Now when I feel my heart sink when he has to leave; it makes sense. When i beg time to slow down; it makes sense. When I don't flinch at touch for the first time; it makes sense. To be lost and finally see your home street; its euphoric. A place you know. A place you understand.

And if Paradise is supposed to make sense of course Chidi and Eleanor found one another. It just makes sense, doesnt it? Finding out why you're here; would you really care for your cosmic purpose if you knew it and it differed from what your heart longed for?

It makes sense Chidi and Eleanor were in love. It doesn't make sense he has to leave once again. So maybe, just maybe, that was the real torture.

I have so many other thoughts but its work time

Bye bitchesssss

[konako]

#by far the greatest missed opportunity in OUAT was#emma swan#NOT being romantically paired with regina#so they raise henry with two moms#who are married and blah#and this is coming from someone who doesn't even ship swan queen That's just the biggest truth bomb ever though. I was a bit scared how fast that ship took of in S1 and I felt a bit iffy about it. This thing of "Snow's daughter bangs the Evil Queen for the greater good". There is a vibe in the idea I don't like. BUT the show went on. And gave us scenes with Emma and Regina. And the whole sharing-a-son-part came in. Regina's change was very slow and gradual. Emma was the outsider who didn't know all the really, horrible, murderous Evil Queen part and saw Regina in the now. And while Emma totally became Snow's kid and the mother-daughter bond between two seemingly same-age women made sense, the certain iffyness of the implications that Snow's womb brought forth Regina's true love vanished. Because they accidentally built the greatest potential relationship ever. But... heteronormativity AND Disney AND ~f a m i l y s h o w~ ugh............ like this and Rizzoli & Isles (and begrudgingly gonna add Sherlock to that list, because a list with three things is the golden standard) are THE shining examples where the best romantic storyline to tie up lies in the very obvious homo ship in the center of it. But no, friendships are suddenly important... no, if you really followed the story that sneaks up and is so good you HAVE to tell it, than you'd have to go there.

I will never stop screaming about Red Beauty as the best possible Beauty & the Beast the show could have told. But if I take a step back and set my preferences aside. No, Swan Queen would have been the true heart of the show and it is the far bigger misstep. It's a ship I like, but I'm not overly invested in. But my god, it's there, it's all fucking there. (Even SuperCorp is a harder sell, because the writers kept saying that Lena and Kara are super close friends and then forgot to write friendship scenes, but that show is terrible with a lot of different types of relationships.)

All of that! Yes!! Ugh, the world........

I’m confidently NOT a shipper of this ship, but even someone as obsessed with Red Queen as I am can see that Emma and Regina make the most poetic, interesting pair to subvert the genre. It’s right there! They wrote it!! Just PUT THE DAMN PIECES TOGETHER YOU MORONS. It sucks that all those things had to come between such a great potential and the realization of a truly good story.

They went out of their way to find some guy for Regina (ANY GUY, QUICK, FIND A FAIRYTALE GUY FOR REGINA, SHE CAN’T BE SINGLE FOR LONG OR FANS WILL START TO THING SHE’S A............. RUBY) to shup people up. Did people shut up? Of course not. People will ship, you can’t stop them. See, the second most popular wlw ship for Regina is with Ruby, a woman with whom she exchanged under five lines of dialogue. No amount of heteronormativity and forced canon “rules” will change what fans see and want. 

Now, RED BEAUTY. My god. MY GOD. Look, Swan Queen would have been the main pair, sure. The Jake & Amy, the Leslie & Ben, the Chidi & Eleanor (the nice central pairing, hopefully inspired by Michael Shur couples, a believable romance whose relationship drama isn’t the focus of the entire show). They would have been it and it would have been nice and inspired, the show would have felt fresh.

BUT RED BEAUTY would have stolen the show!!!!!! A twist in the revelation of Red being the Big Bad Wolf, THEN ANOTHER TWIST, with her also being the Beast to Belle’s Beauty??? No one would have stood a chance. It would be done. OUAT would have reached peak status of (wlw) writing. World hunger (and... thirst)  would have been solved. LGBT+ hearts would have been healed forever. 

But of course they had to...... *fart sound* 

I’m tired. Thank god for fanfic.

[disaster-ace-is-me]

hi again 🥰 just realized that the asks have separate tv show and movie questions. from that same ask list: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, and/or 27?

hi !!! fine by me, these are fun!

2. Favourite television show from the early 2000′s?

the office. i’ve watched it so much you’d think i’d be tired of it 😂

3. Favourite television show from the 2010′s +?

i feel like anyone who has listened to me rant about this show knows it’s my little pony 😂 there are SO many other shows from the 2010s that i could talk about that i love, but i’ve always got something to say about mlp!

4. Who is your favourite female television character of all time?

eleanor shellstrop from the good place. she is a mood and i love her.

5. Who is your favourite male television character of all time?

winn schott from supergirl. i just wanna give him a hug he’s smol.

6. Favourite television show of all time?

mlp

13. Saddest death scene?

neither of these are really death scenes (they are tho) but in the umbrella academy when ben fades away and in the good place when chidi walks through the door. my heart 🥺

27. Name a show that had the worst series finale, in your opinion?

okay i LOVE anne with an e but something about its finale just did not sit right with me. it was probably because it got cancelled and kinda had to be rushed, but still, i don’t like it.

[hawkland]

Dear Smut4Smut creator

Letter for the 2021 Smut 4 Smut exchange

My AO3 profile: sidewinder

Thank you for writing or creating art for me! I know I’ll be thrilled with whatever you come up with for any of my requests. (And if I babble on or have more prompts for one ship than another, don’t take that as any kind of preference. Some I just am more specific in the kinds of smutty scenarios I’m requesting/wanting at this time, but I love them all the same.)

Please consider the requested tags all the “prompt” you need if so inspired, if none of my suggested scenarios and ideas inspire you. Also, of course, feel free to combine them or use only one as you see fit! 

General Likes

Non-penetrative sex (especially in first-time scenarios). I love extended kissing scenes, frottage, mutual hand jobs, characters so turned on and overwhelmed that they come from barely being touched/before they can get all their clothes off, etc.

Romantic smut more than really kinky smut (though a bit of light bondage/restraint can be fun!)

That said, I have a definite weakness for wing!kink and tentacles... where appropriate :) 

Generally stoic/repressed/strong characters breaking down and needing comfort/hugs/acceptance of their vulnerabilities

Inverted relationship power dynamics - in the sense of a seemingly older and/or more powerful character actually being less experienced in sex/romantic relationships, or having more doubts & insecurities, and needing the younger/less powerful character to take the lead or reassure them.

In art - I really love all styles of fan art and just seeing how different artists interpret my favorite characters. Seriously, and that’s not just a cop-out because I’m crappy at coming up with art-specific prompts.

General Do No Wants

A/B/O dynamics, mating heats

animal abuse/death

anything related to pregnancy/childbirth

formalized BDSM relationships

non-canon gender identities and/or sexual orientations except gay/bi/pan for requested ships/characters 

scat/watersports

unrequested alternative-universe scenarios such as high school/genderswap/coffee shop/etc (however, canon-divergent AUs completely fine!)

Supernatural-Castiel/Dean Winchester

Fandom-specific Do Not Wants: Bad ending/unhappy-ever-after, Sam-bashing, any suggestions of Wincest

I confess I am a very new Destiel-shipper/SPN fan, having only gotten into the show late last year (post-finale.) So while I know there are mountains of stories already written about this ship, sometimes it’s nigh impossible to dig through it all to find stories that scratch the specific fic cravings I have. Hence all the prompts/ideas for them here, some of which I’m sure have been done to death already...but please humor me :)

Long Prolonged Make-Outs

Kissing All Over

Frottage

First Time Sex is Non-Penetrative 

First Time with Partner of the Same Gender

Experience - Experienced/Inexperienced

Experience - Experienced Partner Lets Inexperienced One Explore Them

Playful Sex

Morning After (Incredible Sex the night before)

I love everything about newly-human!Cas in season 9 (and Cas’s hedonistic tendencies in general). I have to imagine that, as a human, he just feels things with an intensity that angels just don’t feel, as if with human lifetimes so condensed, their senses are intensified to make up for it in a way that would be overwhelming for a hugely powerful/nearly immortal creature like an angel.

So give me any story about Cas’ exploring and fully embracing the sensual pleasures of sex (with Dean). I love Season 9 canon-divergence fics where Dean lets him stay in the bunker. Perhaps after his first taste of sex with April, Cas wants to add to his experiences by having sex with a male-bodied human/someone he deeply cares about (ie, DEAN). Dean may still be struggling with his own internalized homo/bi-phobia but it’s hard for him to resist Cas with his insatiable curiosity about how the human body works, having no filters/no taboos and just wanting to taste/touch/experience until he/they both are completely overwhelmed.

Wings as Erogenous Zones

Wing Kink

I love wings and true-form Cas as well. In fact I’m totally okay with canon-compliant, post-finale fic in Heaven if it means Dean can finally see/experience Cas’s true form (or at least glimpses/parts of it) without dying (because, you know, already dead and all that.) Otherwise, I’m always up for AUs where Dean can sense/feel/see Cas’s wings (if Cas wants him to) and they are an incredible erogenous zone for the angel. Maybe even his most powerful one.

Touching All Over

Touch-starved character overwhelmed from seemingly innocent touches

Touch-starved

Awkward First Times

Trauma Recovery

thank god you're/we're alive sex

Tender Sex with Lots of Eye Contact & Barely Repressed Feelings

Tender Sex

Shame in Sexual Desires

Room-Wrecking Sex

Reunion Sex

Characters mutually pining finally get together and have amazing sex

Desperate Sex

Sex gets paused to deal with PTSD then maybe returned to 

I’ll take all the Cas-is-back, ignore-the-finale fics that are possible. Give me touch-starved Cas after his rescue from The Empty. (Dean can be fully into immediately satisfying his needs or, for angst, still struggling with/unsure of his feelings/sexuality.) It’s tender and healing, or maybe it’s explosive with all those years of pent-up desire and needs. You tell me, I love it all!

Sex While Washing Off The Blood of Their Enemies

Sex While Covered In The Blood of Their Enemies

sex under the stars

Outdoor Sex

Car Sex - on the hood of a car

Car Sex - in the back seat

Hotel Sex

tender making out in a car

sex after a long car ride

For these tags, I’m thinking canon-divergent future-fic where Dean is getting older (maybe Cas is too, if he’s lost his grace), yet they still go out on hunts together on occasion to relive the “glory days”. (Sam’s happily settled down and out of the hunting life with Eileen). They enjoy post-hunt sex in the outdoors or in/on the car, or seedy motel, reveling in the adrenaline of the kill, reaffirming their need and love for each other. Yum.

Supernatural - Endverse Castiel/Dean Winchester/Endverse Dean Winchester 

Desperate Sex

Threesome - M/M/M

Threesome - Character/Crush/Another Version of Crush

Turned On By Violence

One last fuck before you die

Drugs - Drug Use

Time Travel - Sleeping with older/younger version of someone you know in your own timeline

Time Travel - Sleeping with older/younger self

Pairing-Specific DNWs: None here. Go as dark as you want, since it’s Endverse.

Um, yeah. Pretty much what the tags suggest. Dean knows its freaky as hell but maybe he catches his future self and Cas having sex and they invite him in. Maybe he sees it as a chance to be with Cas (even this very different Cas) like he can���t in his own time. Castiel is totally messed up over seeing the man he had fallen in love with (and fallen from grace for) as he had been, back then, and can’t contain himself now that he’s gone so deep into carnal/hedonistic pleasures.

The Orville - Gordon Malloy/Ed Mercer

thank god you're/we're alive sex

"We Lived" Kiss Reveals Feelings

Stranded - On Another Planet/World With No Way Home

Huddling For Warmth Leads To Sex

on the run together

Desperate Sex

One last fuck before you die

Fandom-specific Do Not Want: No Kelly-bashing.

I’d love something set in the alternative universe/timeline of “The Road Not Taken”, where the Kaylons have won, leaving Gordon and Ed on the run together.  Just, any kind of desperate situation where they know they could die at any moment, so they might as well seek whatever comfort, love and tenderness they can find being with each other.

Laughter During Sex

Awkward First Times

Friends to Lovers

First Time Sex is Non-Penetrative

Frottage

Something Made Them Do It

Drugs - Experimental Substance Has Weird Sexual Side Effects

Casual Sex while Secretly Pining

Laughter During Sex

Something fun and silly (and sexy), please, using any of these tags! The show just screams out for tropey “something made them do it” scenarios, be it due to aliens, alien food or drink, whatever. Otherwise I’d love a story where they realize they do have more serious feelings for each other than their (up til then) casual relationship has allowed.

The Good Place - Michael/Eleanor Shellstrop

Tentacles - Tentacle Sex

Tentacles

Xeno - Nonhuman Partner is Ashamed of Their Body

Experience - Experienced/Inexperienced

Awkward First Times 

Laughter During Sex

romantic sex

Tentacles - Gentle and Tender Tentacle Sex with Lots of Caresses and Cuddles

Fandom-specific Do Not Wants: No Chidi-bashing (but also, no Chidi/Eleanor endgame references/suggestions).

The ship/canon where I will eternally want tentacle smut! Michael seems so ashamed of his fire-squid demon form. I want him to find out that Eleanor actually finds it kind of a turn-on and would love to find a way she could...experience it. Since we know Michael can create simulations/realities (like he does in “The Trolley Problem”), maybe he can create one where Eleanor can see/experience a version of himself that won’t, you know, destroy the entire neighborhood or burn her to a crisp?

Otherwise I’m good with any kind of first-time scenario in one of Michael’s “reboots” (or later on when they’ve figured things out and are in Michael’s Neighborhood Improvement Experiment). Awkward Michael figuring out his human body’s reactions to Eleanor, them having fun and romantic sex, would definitely make my heart happy.

[miss-musings]

A hellstrop look at 4.04

Since this went so well last time, I figured I do it for this episode as well.  Because, believe me, we got plenty of material to work with here:

Right off the bat, with the magical Pictionary scene, Eleanor and Michael are once again on the same side. They are separated from the humans, but very much together. This makes me wonder whether the humans (namely John, as someone theorized last time) ever think they’re like ~together~ bc they don’t know how Architects’ lives work.

Also, I noted this in another post, but it looks like Michael’s tie matches Eleanor’s sweater again. It’s really hard to tell, but it at least looks like it’s of a similar color, even if it isn’t exactly the right shade.

I find it interesting, that when Chidi goes up to draw the picture, Eleanor moves to his other side, so that she and Michael are separated by Chidi. But, when the magical pony starts to go a little crazy, she moves back over to Michael’s side.

OK, when Michael suggests that, instead of doing an all night brainstorming session, they should relax... it flew by me the first time. But the second go around, I realize exactly what he’s doing. He sees that Eleanor is becoming a lot like he was in the first version of the neighborhood — acting crazy, neurotic, and stressed about the situation. So he recommends that they do what she what recommended he do in 1.06, which is to relax so they don’t burn out. If he had suggested karaoke, it would’ve been more obvious to us. So I think they wanted to throw us off by having him suggest something very out of character, like a slumber party.

Also, Michael, why would you want to have a slumber party? Also, isn’t that basically what an all-night brainstorming session is?

When Glenn accuses Michael of being an imposter, instead of looking at the others, Eleanor looks at Michael. Makes sense, but then, rather than staring at Glenn in disbelief or anger, Michael looks at Eleanor bc she’s looking at him.

I have to admit, that when they were having their little confrontation in Mindy‘s house, when they first bring Glenn in, the fact that Michael called Eleanor “Shellstrop” during their one-on-one was very weird. Made me wonder whether it really was him.

When Eleanor says she’s locking them in separate rooms, Michael actually winks at her. Ted Danson can’t wink!  Every time he’s supposed to wink, he just says the word “wink,” like in 2.08. That was another thing that threw me for a loop, making me wonder whether it was actually him the first time around.

Ted Danson also has such a great way of delivering the same line with two completely different emotions. He did it in 2.05. And he does it again here. Michael is only really upset once it looks like Eleanor doesn’t believe him at all anymore. Seeing her look at him with distrust is the worst punishment for him.

Also, a correction to my earlier statement:  Michael’s bowtie doesn’t really match Eleanor’s sweater. His bowtie is a straight-up blue, while her sweater is more of a dark teal. Still, there were a few scenes where the lighting was off enough that it looked very similar in color.

I love seeing Michael trying to convince Eleanor to trust him, and Eleanor becoming upset that Michael lied to her. The only reason that they’re both so upset over the situation, is because they both care about each other so much. And Eleanor has clearly put a lot of trust in Michael over the months. 

As a sidenote, I should’ve picked up on the fact that Janet was a fake earlier in the episode. When the humans are all stressed out and worried about whether Michael is real or not, Janet doesn’t seem to care. and we know Michael and Janet are very close, especially after all their time on earth. If Michael were an imposter, or even suspected of being an imposter, she would definitely care.

OK, so the scene where Michael talks about being a fire demon: Michael seems to look primarily at Eleanor throughout the entire scene. He looks at Tahani and Jason occasionally, especially right after either of them talks or asks a question, but 80% of his eye contact is with Eleanor.  He addresses her at least twice by name during the scene. Yes, I’m sure he would care if Tahani and Jason saw his real form, but he cares the most about whether Eleanor sees it and no longer looks at him the same way. Once again, it’s her feelings that matter the most to him. Also the way that Eleanor talks to him about taking off the suit, her comments sound like the type of thing she would say as a sexual innuendo. She told Chidi to “show me what you’re working with” in reference to his chalkboard in 1.05. And she says the exact same phrase again here.

Also, I love how authoritatively Michael says that he’s not going to take off his skin suit. I wonder whether he did that on purpose, so that Eleanor would find him reassuring. LOL

When he says, “There’s so much juice” the captions both when it aired on TV last night and on the rewatch via the NBC app show it as “There’s so much juice, El.” It’s hard to hear whether he says her full name or shortens it, but him abbreviating it is another weird thing I don’t think he’s ever done before. First he calls her “Shellstrop” and now he calls her “El.”

Alright, so to properly investigate this, I turned my volume really high, and really paid attention to his lip movements. He definitely says her full name. The “El” syllable is louder than the others, but he definitely says her full name. So I find it very bizarre that the captions abbreviate it when he doesn’t. 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, back to the show:

When Eleanor says that it’s convenient that Michael doesn’t want to take off his demon skin suit because he’s shy, she gives him a look up and down! And of course, Michael explains the real reason he doesn’t want his friends to see his true form, is because he doesn’t want them to look at him any differently than they do right now. Even though he’s a demon, and they know he’s a demon, he has always appeared as a human to them. So he doesn’t want them to see him any differently than as a human-like demon — than as their friend. If he appears human, it’s easier for them to believe he’s on their side, but if they were to see his true form, they would probably feel differently. Or at least that’s what he believes.

Also, I just want to point out, that when he does his little speech about how he doesn’t want his friends to look at him any differently, he looks directly at Eleanor. About 95% of that speech, he is making eye contact with her.

So, after Glenn blows up, Michael is happy, because he gets to be with his friends uninterrupted again. Eleanor points out that she still doesn’t have reason to trust him, either because he lied to her or because he’s an imposter. That is another scene in which he mostly focuses his attention on Eleanor. And he is definitely very upset based on his facial expression whenever she says that she can’t trust him.

So the scene where Eleanor goes to talk to Chidi reminds me of two important hellstrop convos from earlier seasons, when Michael was the Architect and she was the subject. The first, when she tells Chidi she recognizes his mood, reminds me of when she told Michael in 2.05 that she recognized what he was doing bc he was “pulling an Eleanor.” And then when she talks about encountering human stuff, she sounds a lot like Michael talking to her about the human stuff he likes (frozen yogurt and “Friends” the TV show) in 1.06. Granted, she doesn’t remember either of those memories, so they’re really more for the audience. The latter example, especially, shows us once again that there’s a separation between Eleanor and Chidi, as she’s the “architect” and he’s a human. To Eleanor, Chidi is a subject in her experiment (along with being an ex); and to Chidi, Eleanor is some kind of angelic / divine authority figure. So, yeah, separation.

OK, so the scene where Michael offers to blow himself up:

When Eleanor says that they’ll restart the experiment, but a part of her is always going to wonder whether that’s actually Michael any time something goes wrong...

(And as an aside, why can’t Eleanor just ask him something only Real!Michael would know... like something from their time on Earth with the Soul Squad. Does she really expect Vicky or Shawn would know everything that Michael would? She can’t ask him about the reboots, bc she doesn’t remember most of them, but why not ask him about that time they went to find her mom, or when they were in the diner and he poured ice tea on her, etc.? OR why not ask about the reboot where he asked her questions in his office? None of the other demons were there, so only she and Michael would know about it. Anyway... it doesn’t really matter bc it lead to like the best callback ever.)

So, Michael, after pondering thoughtfully on Eleanor’s remarks about not being able to trust him, offers to blow himself up. 😭

Again, 95% of his dialogue and eye contact is directed at her.

And I like how he can admit that Chidi being a subject is objectively what’s best for the experiment and, thus, humanity. He’s willing to blow himself up so that they don’t have to restart everything. (And a small part of the hellstrop fan in me wonders whether he’d rather blow himself up than see Eleanor and Chidi together again. But I don’t think Michael is quite that petty or jealous.)

And of course, WE get the call back to 1.07 with “Take it sleazy,” but they don’t. 😭

So when they’re talking to Bad Janet and Michael throws down the explode-y thing, there’s a jump cut to Eleanor holding Michaels arm. Makes me wonder whether there was a line or something there that they cut for time, where she reassured him or something.

And then, when Eleanor — not remembering the portal scene or Team Cockroach — says that offering to sacrifice himself up to help a bunch of cockroaches (AKA, his friends) is the about most Michael thing he could do.

😭😭😭



I’m dead, you guys.

And he does give her a look like “Oh, maybe she remembers” when she says the cockroach thing. Maybe it is a latent memory thing, like another M/E fan pointed out.

And just when I thought we’d be done with this hellstrop read...

They’re on the platform and Michael and Eleanor are talking, and he says all they can do is try (their best), which echos Eleanor’s words to the Soul Squad in 3.04. He’s always been paying attention to her. He’s so in awe of her and her raw humanity. 😍

P.S. I really hope that Michael and Jason brought that explode-y thing with them, because it’d probably come in handy with all the demons in TBP.



[roominthecastle]

Hello, beautiful one. Love your blog and all your insights about the recent TGP episode as it relates to M/E. Are you going to do an analysis of the episode as it pertains to our ‘ship, or at least one about the parallels between M/E and D/D? Thank you and keep up the good work. As one of my heroes liked to say, “Don’t let the bastards get you down.”

Thank you! They’ve been trying to get me down in every fandom for like a decade now but haters are usually my best motivators, so joke’s on them. ;) I don’t plan on making a separate ‘ship post bc I’ve already said p much everything I wanted (for now) in my answers to the messages that flooded in after the ep, but the ME/DD parallels? w/ pleasure! *cracks knuckles* Let’s do that one.

Eleanor and Donna are carbon copies of each other, and this episode serves as a great reminder. It’s not only their “sunbaked Arizona trash” pasts that line up, it’s also the way they left it behind, which involved “dying” and meeting the right people. Even though Eleanor doesn’t remember her afterlife journey (yet?), it matches her mom’s (and here’s hoping that she can work her way back to that happiness again). And Dave is not a Chidi or a Jason or a Tahani - Dave is a Michael.

first, a brief summary to help me stay on track:

Donna lives in Dave’s home in Tarantula (1) Springs under the fake identity of Diana Tremaine (2) bc Donna Shellstrop is dead (3), but Dave knows all along who she really is. He’s an oddball architect (4) and they met in a condemned bar (5). When she realized who he was and that tearing it down was his project, she went at him with a knife. But this antagonism switched to attraction and then evolved into a committed relationship (6).

(1) Michael’s home is the Bad Place where they happen to love spiders: they eat them, they use them for human torture, and they keep them as pets. The Fake Good Place is part of this “landscape” and, for all intents and purposes, it was also Eleanor’s home during the reboots. As Michael remarks, “We lived in the same neighborhood.”

(2) Diana Tremaine is Eleanor’s fake identity, too. Donna “wears it” in a loving, committed relationship, Eleanor “wears it” during the time when two pivotal moments occur btw her and Michael: one in the torture museum where she openly displays worry for his well-being, striking a chord w/ him, and the other is the famous portal scene where Michael demonstrates his commitment by giving her his “everything I ever wanted” pin.

(3) This is a point of interest bc both Eleanor and Donna are in a kind of in-between situation here. Donna is officially “dead” but she also isn’t. Eleanor was dead for real and then… wasn’t due to some timeline meddling. And they both turned into better people after they “died” and started a new life (or afterlife in Eleanor’s case).

(4) Dave is aware of who Donna is from the start just as Michael knows who Eleanor is from day one. They love Donna and Eleanor respectively for who they are. Also, these two have practically everything in common: occupation, general disposition, glasses, sense of humor, and, most importantly, a deep fondness for knife-wielding blonde firecrackers. Donna describes Dave as a “kind of a dork but real sweet and so fancy”. That’s Michael, too, which is why he gets picked on by other demons. Even their approach to architecture is similar: Dave is a messy screwball innovator himself (he combined a Subaru dealership w/ a burlesque club and designed the “first Hooters made out of brick” that was “sort of inspired by Monticello“).

(5) Bars are a Michael/Eleanor thing in general. Their first meeting in this Earth reboot takes place in the Desert Rosé. Dave and Donna met in the Desert Rash. The similarities are given and the slight difference btw Rosé and Rash also nicely comments on the fact that D/D is overtly sexual to the point of being seedy while M/E is - and I kinda hate this word now due to fandom over-and misuse but it’s the best one here - purer. They are variations on the same theme, though.

(6) Eleanor wanted to “physically attack Michael”, “seduce him”, “use a large/small knife”, “indecent proposal him” after she realized she was in a  condemned place, i.e. in a Bad Place neighborhood, which was Michael’s architect project. The show kindly thought of those heathens who are not into freeze-framing their way through episodes and are therefore unaware of these plans, so all this is visually and verbally alluded to in the scene where she keeps pointing her knife at him, proposes a seduction and inquires about his penis situation, linking them all up w/ Dave and Donna’s story. Michael’s gleeful reaction when Dave tells them about Donna pulling a knife on him is fitting. As is his grin when Dave remarks that he loves her “wild streak” and that he’s being turned into a “bad boy”. Despite being a demon, Michael’s deviant behavior did not flare up until he met Eleanor and then it just snowballed from there. But Dave also responds to, supports and appreciates Donna’s efforts to better herself, and the same is true to Michael around Eleanor.

Essentially, M/E go through the same emotional extremes during the reboots that Dave and Donna experience in a more condensed form and “Earth timeframe” at the beginning of their relationship. And the initial antagonism transforms into love and commitment in both cases. Everything lines up neatly here: Dave and Michael, Donna and Eleanor, and the thematic links connecting these two couples and their evolution.

There is only one thing that’s v disjointed and that’s Michael’s abrupt “father figure”  stunt. This comes out of nowhere and has no place anywhere. It doesn’t fit his character makeup and it doesn’t fit his dynamic w/ Eleanor where she is always the assertive one w/ an actual history of “parenting” and guiding him in human matters. It also has no parallel in Dave whatsoever which is very odd bc they are compared/contrasted from literally every other aspect and Dave has a daughter. This relationship and his role as a father, however, are completely ignored. He is chiefly presented to us as the dorky architect boyfriend and it’s only his v adult relationship w/ Donna that’s discussed in detail (and many of those details are also present in M/E as noted above). Similarly, Eleanor is never compared to Patricia, all her parallels are firmly threaded to Donna. There is literally nothing to pick up on btw the Dave & Patricia and Michael & Eleanor dynamics, but everything lines up btw D/D and M/E, so…

“I would have been scared if she hadn’t been the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

[starper-art]

Part 3: Janet and Michael (2x06)

These are all my personal thoughts. Reading this be ready that in this house shipp hellstrop. So.. some ideas look far-fetched because I love them, okay? I'm not responsible for the fire in your ass.

(very sad that there can not add more than ten attachments. because of that, I couldn't illustrate everything I wanted) Let's start!

The value of this episode is obvious. It has a lot of HUMAN FEELINGS in creatures that are not human \_(ツ)_/

1. Michael pauses significantly before speaking about the "true" cause of the problem.Then he reads the words about the "incompatible with objective truth" entirely, but still stumbles. Michael realizes that he could have HURT Janet when he was bad. We see him realizing that his actions have serious consequences. And he feels bad because Janet has to PAY FOR his MISTAKES.

2. Janet says Michael is wrong and she proves it(she's a smart "not a robot"). God, Michael definitely hates feeling stupid/wrong, but now he's even glad it's not his fault. A little later he got to the truth faster than Janet and was very happy and we hear it in his voice.

Do you know how he guessed ? * whispering* from his own experience, though he probably hasn't realized it himself yet..

3. And right now I want to draw your attention to the arrival of Chidi.

Michael won't even look at him because:

Janet is more important to him

there is a direct parallel with Janet's attitude to  j/t

Michael's not happy to help Chidi, but he's doing it to make Eleanor happy.

4. I can't keep quiet about  how Janet acts, when she realizes that she is not happy for J/T. The dialogue between Janet and Michael is like a conversation between two people because they both experience emotions. And we see on Janet's face a sincere confusion (not an imitation, as before).

While Michael mixed the two feelings: he's glad that Janet has evolved so much that she can feel affection(and maybe he feels more connection between them... You know.. from-for unrequited love..), but in the same time he is concerned about failures.. uhh.

5. Janet asks Michael to kill her.

Michael doesn't know what she means right away. because he doesn't even allow the thought of losing Janet at all. And when Michael hears the word "DESTRUCT" his face loses all the joy he felt.

There is a very important detail in the next scene: Michael is reading the instructions.

Michael has EMPATHY. Janet does not realize the TRAGEDY of her death, and Michael certainly remembers the procedures that await him in RETIREMENT and he looks miserable.

5.Janet persuades Michael.

He sees the spoon and freezes. Memories catch up with him. Here we see Michael SENTIMENTAL. It makes him look really human. Michael doesn't need another Janet because he feels connected to our Janet. It is NOT based on LOGIC. Because in fact what he could get from the new Janet: a new organism(not a person, not a girl, not a robot) which will run properly. But Michael doesn't need that. He needs an unstable Janet. Janet is capable of lies and feelings. HIS Janet. So it expressed the AFFECTION of Michael, which again violates the principles of demons (remember my favorite cut the price of "Existential crisis"(2х04) where Michael talks about the relationship).

Michael: None of us exist outside our jobs. We have no homes, no hobbies or relationships.

6. Bonus! For all we know, Janet was the first creature to witness Michael's neurosis, and she asked him to trust her. And he trusted.

7. Ted Danson is killing me with his facial expressions. I literally feel like it's hard for Michael when he's going to use a paper clip.

Of course, Michael's trying to get away from the real reason why he can't kill Janet. But our clever "not a girl" of course gets to the truth. And Michael was so concerned that it begins to repeat the reasons. And of course (I LOVE THAT SCENE BECAUSE "THERE ARE REASONS, JANET!!") recognition of Michael and crying Ted (And D'arcy, too) (ITS KILL ME).

8. And now these "two peasvin a pod" are sitting and one of them feels uncomfortable and embarrassed because he is not used to express his feelings (OHhhh) but in the end, he's glad he did.

Dessert:

Janet: I'm so glad we're friends.

Michael: me, too.

What we have in total:

Michael feels guilty and accepts it

Michael's empathy

Apathy(he ignores Chidi)

Hopelessness(when he realized that killing Janet made sense)

Michael's sentimental

Michael feels an emotional attachment (and violates the principles of demons)

Michael's protective mechanism (he does not recognize the truth of the reason)

Michael's crying

Michael causes empathy have Janet!(SHE STILL HAS NO BLOOD, BUT THERE ARE TEARS)

previous part (2):

[the-paris-of-people]

Ive been thinking about how when michael said chidi fell in love with eleanor it was bc she anticipated his needs before he knew what he needed. And simone calling him a cab before he even knew it was like Oh Shit She anticipated his needs!!!!!! Which might tie back to Eleanor at some point too idk just some thoughts

 I think @hope-i-dont-choke made a text post saying the same thing! I think the difference is that with Simone, it wasn’t really indicative of her character development and growth, she’s naturally generous and sweet like that, whereas with Eleanor, anticipating Chidi’s needs shows that she’s listening and learning to be less selfish. And that’s happened in every version where Chidi has had time to fall for Eleanor- he falls for her because she tries, she learns and she listens, even though it’s hard for her to do, she WORKS towards being a better person (in s2 that was the scene where Chidi realized Eleanor read on her own) I don’t know if that will happen in this season, but we’ll seeeeeeee!! :) 

[italicwatches]

The Good Place, season 2 - Episode 05

Tomorrow…Is gonna be busy. But today, at least, I’ve got some time to work with. It’s The Good Place, season 2, episode 05! Here we GO!

-We begin at Eleanor’s place, with Chidi putting the trolley problem in front of the class. One of the classic head scratchers. You know how it works. Your trolley’s brakes fail. On the track ahead are five people. You can do nothing, and they die. You can switch to a side track, on which there’s one person, but that means making the active choice to kill that person. What do you do?

-Eleanor’s questioning is remarkably…pragmatic in her own way. She wants to know about the people, and if there’s a nasty ex, or a judgmental shopkeep. …You do not. Okay, then, gotta go for the least harm. Better to live with the guilt of choosing one death than the guilt of un-choice making for five.

-Tahani gets lost in her lifestyle stuff. But, she also picks saving the five.

-Right, good! That’s a pretty common answer. But the trolley problem is interesting because of how data changes it. Say the one is a good friend of yours, or a loved one. Or what if you’re not, yourself, on the trolley, but just a bystander who might be able to reach the track switch in time? Or even, skip the trolley itself, look to another metaphor. You’re a doctor facing five people with organ failures, and you’ve got one healthy organ donor. You could save all five…If you shot the donor in the head right now.

-And so that does make things different. The raw arithmetic is the same, but the framework changes the moral quandary. And through the whole thing, Michael’s been awfully quiet. But to him, the dilemma is clear.

-How do you kill all six? His plan is a long pole arm hung out the window. to catch the one while we catch the five. …He’s wrong, isn’t he. Yep! Now write “People = good” ten more times on the blackboard.

-Chapter 19!

-After all of that, Tahani and Jay are gonna tap out and take their free hour before they’re expected at a thing…I assume they’re gonna go bone down again.

-I WAS RIGHT

-And so after their boning down, or as Jay puts it, ‘pounding it out’, Tahani is all worried about people finding out…But Jay thinks she needs to talk about this with someone. Of course, Tahani doesn’t have anyone she can go to in this place, because the only two fellow humans are the ones she’s trying to keep from finding out… (Janet’s right there, guys. Not, like, literally, that would be weird and also I have to clarify given the character but you get my point)

-Back at Eleanor’s place, Chidi’s struggling to get this stuff to stick with Michael…And aside from his attempt to form it into a rap musical, the core thing Eleanor leaves him with is…time. You’ve got time, use it. Michael’s gonna be a slow burn, but they’ll get him there. And very no on the rap musical.

-Back to Tahani! She hits on the idea that she can talk it out with Janet. And Janet even gets out a notebook and some quite frankly adorable glasses to be a sounding board slash therapist.

-New day, new scene, Chidi’s chatting with Michael about his…Complete and utter failure to grasp the ethical questions in Les Miserables. He’s relying too heavily on his concrete knowledge of how the back-end of the whole system works, and thus not doing the real work, which is about questioning assumptions.

-Back with Tahani’s therapy sessions, where Janet hits on a core element of Tahani’s problem: She has no experience with someone like Jay…And if I may interject? Tahani’s whole deal, aside from seeking fame and fortune to get all eyes on her, is sticking firmly in well-charted waters so she can memorize those charts and look like the smartest person in the room for following them.

-Speaking of Jay, he stumbles on in and Janet decides she wants to hear his side of things. Tahani, though, cuts it off with, and I quote: “He thinks I have to control everything and he has no voice in this relationship. Right? Good. Now, where were we?”

-And then she hears herself actually say it, and…Okay. Okay, she’ll step out.

-Back with Michael and Chidi, Chidi tries to get two concepts into Michael’s head: First, these things do not have concrete answers, that is their point. Second, when it comes to grappling with and explaining human ethics? Chidi knows more than you do.

-Michael’s not buying it. He’s not liking all this theoretical stuff, and so he decides they need to have a more concrete example.

-And that’s how they’re on a speeding trolley with the very real, concrete scenario in play. Five workmen on this track, one on that one! Here’s the levers! Do what you’re gonna do, Chidi!

-Chidi ends up doing nothing and hits all five. Good lesson, Chidi. What did they learn? Come on, they weren’t real people, he’d never make you kill real people. “Oh, well that’s reassuring, because some of the parts of the fake people FLEW INTO MY MOUTH!” Chidi is not having a great day.

-And, okay, back to the classroom. And fresh restart on the trolley! So, take another run at it? PULL THE LEVER, Chidi! Also this version of the problem has the one person be Henry, of the infamous boots.

-Which slap across Chidi’s face when he’s forced to run Henry the fuck over.

-The Ethics Express comes to a stop, as Chidi’s in screaming shock and Eleanor’s trying not to let her inner Michael Bay fan out too much.

-Baaack to therapy! Jay’s problem is that, fundamentally when you boil out all the jokes about his stupidity, is “I feel like Tahani’s embarrassed that I’m not some scientist who forecloses on banks.” Speaking of Tahani, cue Tahani who’s freaking out and she needs Janet. …Janet, what about couples therapy?

-She’s game! Also her upped thumb just came off, filled with helium, and floated into the air. She might be operating a bit out of protocol here and it might be making for some glitches in the physics engine.

-Let’s see how the trolley problem is going. Chidi chose to run over five Shapespeares to save one Santa Claus. Interesting! And Eleanor’s feeling like they need to call it on this trolley problem. Michael agrees.

-How about the doctor one?

-So that’s how they all find themselves in scrubs, and these five people all need organ transplants! Eleanor’s perfectly healthy! (You are so lucky that the afterlife makes that true) Slice her open and use her parts to save these patients! Wait, wait Chidi think about this, think it through man, she’s your…No, she’s your…She’s A friend!

-And Chidi takes a hardline stance. Look, in this scenario he’s a doctor, right? Right. Hippocratic oath. First, do no harm. He is not going to violate that oath. Cool, cool. …Tell the families.

-“Doctor Chidi? My daddy needed a heart transplant. Did you save his life? He was working, then a really bad man ran him over with a trolley.”

-I literally cannot outdo that. Like, my goal with these is generally to make the jokes just as punchy, to make the drama just as tasty, to get as much of the experience of the show in as possible. But I can think of no way to do better than just straight quoting that entire line right there.

-Even Chidi has to call bullshit and Eleanor realizes Michael is just torturing them. …Okay, yeah, it’s true, sorry but it was pretty fun right? …No, Michael. No, it was not. Your entire premise for why they’re working with you is that the alternative is being tortured. You have just undermined the entire justification for why you’re here, and you are no longer welcome in this class. Get the fork out!

-Chidi stomps off furiously, and Michael is legitimately confused.

-A full hour later, Eleanor checks in with Chidi…Who has been concentrating on a table of contents to help calm his nerves. It’s not working. But Chidi has decided this was all a sham from the start…But Eleanor’s got another theory she’s working on.

-Back to therapy. Where Janet tries to get Tahani to give all the things she likes about Jay. …He’s thoughtful, and kind. Deeply un-self-aware and has no reason for his confidence, but all of that confidence means he actually goes for it in the bedroom…

-But from Jay’s boiled down perspective, he tries to be nice to Tahani, and yet she’s often not very nice to him. That’s…Not okay. And all Tahani can ask for is time. …And then Janet vomits up a frog, which is very much not the plan.

-Meanwhile, Eleanor’s gone to Michael’s office and you’re doing what she used to do. You’re lashing out when you feel like you’re not good enough. You felt dumb and small, so you took it out on the teacher.

-Bullshit!

-Okay, prove her wrong. Go make it up to him, and make it right, and prove you’re better than she was. Or stay down in the mucky muck of Shellstrop conflict tactics.

-So that’s how Michael ends up back at Eleanor’s place, having done a lot of long hard thoughts to get them each something they will deeply enjoy.

-For Tahani…A diamond the size of her god damned fist, but she’s giddy. For Eleanor, you have a secret shrimp dispenser! Ohhhh yes this is good.

-For Jay? A Pikachu balloon awwww he popped it.

-And for Chidi? It took a lot of long, hard thoughts…But he figured it out. One of Immanuel Kant’s lost notebooks, plucked right from his history. Full of thoughts, and musings, and…some crude erotic doodles. Interesting guy, Kant.

-Cool, cool.

-Chidi chucks it right in the bin.

-He’s not interested in a bribe or having his forgiveness and love bought, Michael. So what DO you want? For Michael to admit that he felt lost and small and vulnerable?!

-…Well yeah.

-So, Michael does exactly that aaaand he was totally faking it if you ask me. Also, bribe or no bribe, Eleanor’s keeping the shrimp machine.

-Cut to a month later! Tahani and Jay’s relationship has become stronger, better. …And then Janet books it because an earthquake is running hard through the whole facility!

-She appears in Michael’s office because she is going wrong. Her glitches are getting worse and she can’t stop them. She is going to put this neighborhood at total risk of utter collapse. …So that’s her day, how are you doing?

-Credits!

Well SHIT