#someone save me from this show

[idealisticrealism]

If Arman is being "unmasked" at the end of ep 2 and rising from ashes this season, wouldn't it make more sense for Thony to be there instead of Nadia? It seems like he is his most authentic self around Thony and she supposedly helps him want to be a better man. Curious to see where S2 goes with these new storylines.

Hi Anon! First off, I absolutely agree with you about Arman being more of his authentic self with Thony and wanting to be better because of her. The impact she has had on him is one of my favourite aspects of the show, as is his impact on her (showing her that she doesn't always have to carry everything alone, that she can be vulnerable and put her trust in someone without it being turned against her, that she matters as a person and not just as a mother or a doctor or any of the other roles she bears, etc etc. Lbr I could go on but that's not the point of this post haha).

Secondly, I'm gonna put the rest under the cut, because lbr we all know by now that being concise is not at all my strong suit lol. (Also I'm gonna tag @vampire-time-lady, as this might address your reply from my recap as well)

So anyway, here goes.

(Warning: while there are no overt spoilers ahead, vague themes/plot arcs for the season will be briefly mentioned. Enter at your own risk).

Okay so I'm just going to put it straight out there: I definitely don't think it makes more sense for Thony to be there at his release instead of Nadia. I mean, would I have loved to see Thony there waiting for him, and then the two of them running right into each other's arms the moment he stepped out of the gate? Of course!! I'm a freakin' Armony fanatic, and I may or may not even have an in-progress fic that might just involve something along those very lines! But while that scene would be a perfectly reasonable thing to occur in the setting of that particular fic, it doesn't make sense for canon. At least, not now; not yet. I have no idea if I'll be able to explain what I mean adequately at all, but I'll try.

I guess for me, the choices that were made for that scene can be broken down into two main aspects: narrative reasons and character reasons. The narrative reasons basically boil down to the fact that the writers are telling a multi-faceted story which needs to develop over the course of a season, and also have room to grow beyond that if they are fortunate enough to be picked up for a S3 (please, TV gods, please give us a S3).

So, the writers not only needed to set up all the stuff that is going to happen this season with Chris and Fi and Thony (and undoubtedly Arman too, because what involves Thony involves Arman, and vice versa lol) as a result of Marco's death-- and it also seems like there could potentially be a developing arc regarding Luca, and his grandfather wanting to take him back to the Philippines-- but the writers also had to highlight Arman and Nadia's relationship, because with the arrival of Robert and his connection to Nadia/his meddling in their gun business, it's clear that he and his agenda are going to play a significant role in the season. So, to put it simply: right now, Armony can't be the focus, because the show isn't there yet. Armony is the destination we're heading toward, and their respective plot lines-- Arman and Nadia/Robert on one hand, and Thony and Chris/Fi on the other-- are how we will get there. Because, like I said, what involves one involves the other, and by finding their way through these challenges together, that's how they'll finally find their way to each other. Season 1 certainly set them on that path, but even with the closeness they've gained already (the trust, the partnership, the physical and emotional intimacy), there are still plenty of barriers in the way before they can actually truly be together.

Which brings us to the character reasons! The basic gist of which is: life doesn't stop happening because two people hold hands across a table! Spouses and obligations don't magically disappear because one person implies to the other that she's staying in the country because of the connection they share! Humans and human relationships are complex and oh boy do these two exemplify that. I mean, consider the context of their situation. Like okay yes, just over a week ago, Thony was brave enough to show a little piece of her heart to Arman and indicate that she had some form of feelings for him (I say 'some form', because honestly there was enough ambiguity there that he couldn't have been 100% sure that she meant romantically), and his response clearly showed that he had feelings of his own (that smile! that eye contact!! aaaahh), and for that one brief shining moment, all the Armony stars aligned and they were finally on the same page.

But almost immediately after that, her son was abducted, and then she was being pulled in two directions between chasing after Luca and getting the money for Arman, her loyalties divided. And then in a single night, Arman was attacked and nearly killed, and Marco died a sudden and tragic death which traumatised her family and still has the power to destroy them if anyone finds out. Now she feels responsible for Marco's life being cut short, for the trauma Chris is going through, for the grief and fear Fi is going through, and for Luca's loss of his father, as well as for Arman nearly dying. Plus there's her own grief-- even if it's clear that she fell out of love with Marco a long time ago and that their marriage was well and truly over before she even came to the US, he was still the father of her child and someone she once cared for a great deal, and though he might have been an asshole, he didn't deserve to die.

So the poor woman has a lot on her plate, and that's not even counting the stress of the cops, or the in-laws, or the funeral arrangements, or balancing two very separate and fairly incompatible aspects of her life, all while trying to get Arman out of jail before she loses him too (deep down she knows how much harder that loss would be to bear). She is spread so thin, and under so much scrutiny, that she wouldn't even have the freedom to go pick him up from the prison even if she felt like she had the right to-- which, naturally, she doesn't. She is all too aware that he is married, and that her own connection to him falls within strict boundaries-- that their interactions, while clearly laced with an emotional and romantic undertone, have always had to be constrained to dealings regarding the business or Luca. Picking him up from his release from prison falls under neither of those categories, and honestly it probably wouldn't even occur to her that it might be her he wants to see there waiting for him rather than Nadia. Because when it comes down to it, she really doesn't know what their relationship means, or will mean; while she likely knows that his feelings for her are genuine, she can't be sure whether they will be enough for him to want to pursue something with her, given that doing so will mean he has to give up his marriage-- bc honestly, how could she truly know if he would be willing to take that gamble on a relationship that may not even work out??

As for Nadia-- honestly, I feel for her. She is still his wife, and his partner in both life and business, and she went to some pretty great lengths to get him free. She cares about him immensely, and it's only right that she's the one to be there at his release; plus it's what all three characters expect, tbh? Even if Arman would prefer to see Thony there waiting for him, he's still happy to see Nadia, and grateful for all that she did for him. He genuinely does love her, and even if that love may have now been surpassed by what he feels for Thony, it's not erased by it. And so if he and Nadia did kiss upon their reunion, it would absolutely make sense? A kiss can mean many different things; it can be romantic, sexual, obligatory, friendly, or familial, just to name a few possibilities-- and tbh it would be perfectly understandable for him to kiss her to show her his gratitude for helping to rescue him from prison, and to reassure her that he is okay after all he went through. It'd be rather a different kiss than the one he would have shared with Thony in that moment, but like I said, the show just isn't there yet with Armony. Which is why I think we should all prepare ourselves for quite a few Arman/Nadia scenes to come, and remind ourselves that each one is just another step on the way to the Armony endgame, because each one will be a reminder for Arman of who he really wants to be with.

And okay anyway I need to stop rambling and go to bed, but thanks for coming to my Ted Talk, and I am so sorry lol

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Don't Wormy About Me.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[watchyourbuck]

sorry I gotta rant about 2x01 again bc what do you mean the second buck puts up his phone with the selfie stick and starts flexing eddie almost slips from where he was throwing combos at the punching bag bc he can’t stop looking at him SJDJDKDKSK the writers were unhinged on that ep fr

[lovesickeros]

☆ de fontaine

{☆} characters furina {☆} notes cult au, imposter au, drabble, gender neutral reader {☆} warnings angst, suicidal thoughts, hurt / no comfort {☆} word count 1.4k

This wasn't fair. This wasn't fair. This wasn't fair!

She thought, for one moment, she could put the mask down and breathe – for one moment of daydreaming, she thought she could just be Furina. She thought she would finally get to live the live she should've had in the first place, the life she threw away to play God to an audience who saw her as nothing but a circus animal, dancing to their whims. Furina just wanted to be selfish for one brief and fleeting moment..and it was gone before she could even grasp it in her hand. A comet soaring past far out of her reach.

She can barely keep her hands from violently shaking as she looks down at them – broken and bloody and more a corpse then a person – and she feels so numb she can't even feel the rain pelting against her back. None of this is fair, she wants to scream, why is it always me? But her voice is silent beneath the torrent of rain. She wonders if the ocean would take her if she sank into it's depths – just for a moment, she wonders how it would feel to finally be able to sleep at ease.

Furina is tired.

But Furina is nothing if not useful, isn't she?

So she forces her feet to move, dragging against the stone beneath her heels, and drags their bloodied body into the nearest empty building, letting the rain do the work of washing away the smeared blood following her path. The smell makes her feel sick, the feeling of it sticking to her hands and gloves makes her lightheaded, but she persists. Because Furina is useful, because Furina won't let them die out in the rain, because Furina won't stand by and just let them rot on the streets like some..pest.

Furina wants to go home. She wants to sleep and she isn't she if she wants to wake up, this time. But she keeps going anyway.

Because it's all she's ever done, and the habit sticks.

An Archon she may not be, not anymore, but the expectations of five hundred years still linger like eyes on the inside of her skull. They watch her, pry and prod at her thoughts, mocking laughter and judging eyes following her as she forces herself to dance to the song they weave with glee. Furina never stepped off that stage – she's still there, she thinks, watching the crowd stare at her in disdain as the curtain call looms above her like a guillotine. She still hears Neuvillette deliver her damnation and salvation with a trembling voice, still feels her hair stand on end when electro crackled like the crack of the whip, Clorinde's blade aimed at her like a loaded gun.

She's trapped on that stage and she never left, not really.

She hates it. She thinks she hates them, but it's not their fault. They didn't ask for this, didn't ask for everyone to turn against them, didn't ask for her to save them. Neither did she..yet here they are, she thinks.

She tries to tell herself she's in control this time, though. She can stop performing her part in this horrible, bloody play any time she wants. It makes her feel better, just for a little while, if she convinces herself she's still Furina, painfully human.

And Furina has always been good at lying.

It's the believing that's the hard part.

There isn't time for her to wallow in her own self pity, though. They're still bleeding out onto the dusty, creaky floorboards of some random, broken down house and she's just standing there as the blood stains the wood. She can fix it – she's good at fixing things. She's done nothing but fix things – try to, anyway – for five hundred years. She can fix a little wound, how hard could it be? Her hands are clenched so tight they ache as she kneels down, wincing at the creak of the floorboards beneath her heels– she hesitates just long enough to wonder if she's making a mistake before she peels away just enough of the outer layer of their clothes to see the deep, bloody gash across their chest. She tries not to think about it – it's deep, too deep, and she feels dizzy just looking at it, but she's handled worse, right?

Furina can fix it. That's what she's good at.

She doesn't feel so confident when she tries to wrack her brain for..something. Five hundred years, and a little wound stumps her? No, she had to have learned something, right? She's decidedly not trying to buy time because she's panicking, parsing through hundreds of years of memories like flipping through a book. Furina isn't made for this, not really – she's running on nothing but adrenaline and she's really not sure what she's doing, but she's trying. And just like before, it won't be enough, will it?

She'll fall short again – she'll be too late to fix it before she's alone again.

Furina was an Archon..used to be. What use would she have for that sort of knowledge? Which makes her predicament all the more harrowing and bleak. What was she supposed to do?

Furina had heard it first hand, that vitriol in Neuvillette's voice. She isn't sure she's ever heard him that..angry before. She's not sure he would listen to her if she tried, either. And that scares her more then anything. All of Fontaine was up in arms about this..imposter, yet here she was, staring down at them bleeding out in front of her, and she was trying to save them.

Why? Why is she throwing away her only chance at normalcy for a fraud? Why didn't she just turn them in?

They were dying – that should've been a good thing, shouldn't it? So why didn't it feel like it?

"Why you?" Her voice breaks as she speaks in harsh tones, grabbing the front of their shirt in trembling, bloodied hands. "Why now?" She wants to scream, to demand answers they can't give, to claw back the reprieve she was promised after five hundred years of agony..and all she can do is sob into their chest, pleading for an answer that will not come. "Why me?"

Silence is their answer, and it hangs heavy on her trembling shoulders as she cries.

Of course they don't, she thinks bitterly, no one has ever answered her pleas spoken in hushed sobs. Not her other self and certainly not them.

Furina has always been alone. Furina will always be alone.

Because Furina never left that stage, never left that moment when she looked at herself in the mirror and took up a mantle too heavy for her to bear. She always finds her way back eventually. There's no one on the other side anymore – she stands alone on a stage, waiting for an inevitable end she isn't sure will come.

"Please," She pleads through tears and choked sobs, clinging to them like they are all that keeps her from sinking. "Please don't leave me, too." The words burn on her tongue – how pathetic is she that she craves companionship from the bloodied body of the imposter? Perhaps she's truly lost her mind after all these years..perhaps she's finally gone mad. She must have.

But their presence is like the first feeling of gentle warmth upon her skin as the sun crests the horizon, like the gentle lap of tides along her heels, the sway of branches and leaves as the wind blows through them like an instrument all it's own. They are the soothing sound of rain against the window as she watches the dreary skies in fond longing, the first bloom of spring as color blooms upon the landscape like paint had been spilled across the hills and valleys.

They are like the faint spark she carefully nurtures and stokes, so fragile even the smallest wind could blow it out like a candle. She cradles it within her palms, pleads with whoever will listen – prays that someone finally listens, because if not for her, then for them.

She's failed to protect too much already, let too many people with so much trust in her fall between the cracks of her fingers like grains of sand. She won't let them go – she can't.

If nothing else, if she couldn't be saved when she begged for salvation from that five hundred year long agony, even if she never got that chance..

Furina will make sure they do.

[abnormalpsychology]

My dealer, Frank N Furter: got some straight gas 🔥😛 this strain is called “the time warp (again)” 😜🌀🕰️ you’ll be zonked out of your gourd 💯💯💯

Me, Brad Majors: yeah whatever. I don’t feel shit.

5 minutes later: dude I swear I just saw Rocky Horror rise to life from his tank at the Annual Transylvanian Convention over at the frankenstein place

My fiancée Janet Weiss pacing: Dr Scott is lying to us

[s0fter-sin]

ghost stares at the ceiling, chest heaving in a harsh pant; sweat ice on his clammy flesh and soaked into the sheet he restlessly kicks away.

ears still ringing, his fingertips blindly drift down to trail along his vivisection scar. he half-expects blood to smear in their wake. his own line of solomon, who ordered him split in twain; half of him given to a grieving mother and half left with the grieving to be.

just for both his broken halves to be rejected.

what did it make him that his mother grieved him more than she loved him? that she begged to be relieved of him more adamantly than she begged to receive him? why did his worth spill out with his drawn blood? why was his pain lesser than hers?

his hand flexes, digging into the raised scar like it’ll part beneath his fingertips to plunge into his mangled insides. no one knows the cruelty of reforming the halved; his name, his being, not nearly as important as his body when he was stripped from himself. no one knows the pain of healing and understanding losing pieces of yourself means losing your value along with them.

how many more pieces did he have to lose before he was halved once more? before his very presence incurred grief so strong it was better to be rid of him than cradle his bloodied remains?

did the infant fight himself? did he age always at odds with himself; his halves never truly whole? he hopes he wasn’t, that he was spared the loss of self; the fear that one may be welcomed over the other.

who will he lose when the inevitable comes? when he’s ripped apart again? simon? or ghost? is it better to be cursed with choice just like his mother or live with an aftermath chosen for him? does it matter if in the end, he convinces himself there was nothing of him left to lose?

his head lolls to the side and the wild buck of his chest slows. he watches johnny beside him, his face lax with the rare peace of sleep; his cheek squished against the pillow, his lips pursed as long breaths escape him.

johnny. soap. never torn asunder but two all the same.

he carefully reaches out and ghosts his fingers along the jagged scar on his chin. even in sleep, he presses into his bloodied touch. he’s never fled his half-flesh, never shies away from his gore as it spills unbidden from his cleaved torso. he holds on where his mother let him go; cups his stomach to hold his insides in place and never minds the blood that drips through his fingers.

simon will never let him become his own solomon and cannibalise himself. he will never let him question which half of him has more value; which pieces he can afford to lose before he’s cast aside.

ghost’s soap. simon’s johnny. his.

whole, in any incarnation.

[nervouspearl]

Aunt Moiraine

[puppyeared]

i feel like im not making any sense but does anyone else feel like there are stories that let u run with them and ones that spell everything out for you

[sukibenders]

Aegon, Aemond, Helaena, and Daeron looking at Alicent after she washes her hands of a war, that she (and Otto) dragged them into, and the throne, that she (and Otto) forced them to grasp/fight over even though they obviously didn't want it, and goes off to live her best life while they are all still stuck in a cycle forced on to them without their input (obviously this is about the s2 final):

[scumvillainess]

honestly i never really agreed with the popular shen qingqiu had a good shizun headcanon because if shen qingqiu actually had someone who he knew cared about him, he definitely wouldn’t have turned out the way he did in canon.

[ewwww-what]

I like to think that Gorgug hangs out with the seven the way Zelda hangs out with the bad kids. You know that horrible awkward feeling where you only know one person at a party? It’s like that but everyone else at the party is inseparable and they keep teasing you (in a good-natured way) with jokes you don’t understand, and all you can do is smile and nod and try so hard not to embarrass yourself in front of these people you perceive as way too cool for you.

[flowergleamandgloww]

the only thing i dread from the pjo series is how (most) (new) fans are going to start saying they are all from cabin 3 / 13 just bc of percy / nico same with people saying they are gryffindors / slytherins just bc of harry / draco

[heretherebedork]

I will genuinely be very sad if it turns out that Vee isn't the reincarnated Wad. I can't even deny it. The show is setting up so much to show that this about stagnation versus change and about fate and destiny and choice and how they intertwine and about the red thread of destiny connecting them and the green choice that brought them together and now has to come back and on top of that is showing us that there are people trying to keep them apart and the entire show started with San tying his soul to Wad's and what was Vee's speech about wanting people to move on after death and loss if not speaking into existence what Wad would have wanted for San? It's about a second chance, yes, and that's the joy of fated soulmates but they also have to be soulmates to fulfill that trope. Please. Please just let this be. Don't make this a Big Twist where Vee can't save San because San's promise to the goddess was specific or for all of that to not matter. This is about learning to change and grow and moving past the past but it's also about fate and soulmates and destiny and what it means when you mix the two, when you see that change is the opposite of stagnation but that tradition can still lead you to the right choice in the end if you let yourself grow.

I just want this to be soulmates. I want to see the powerful message of the story about change versus stagnation, about conservative versus progressive, about destiny versus choice in a story about chosen soulmates and how that turns itself into fate and how fate has to be chosen again and again in order for it to be fate but that still needs Vee to be Wad, it truly does, because otherwise it's not intertwining fate and choice.

The red and the green lose so much meaning if they're not being brought forward by the very concepts of destiny and choice. Just... let this be. Please. No big twist, no rug pull, just... a good story and good commentary and soulmates. Please.

[rel312]

Saw a post that started off with something like “what if Eddie and Tommy were friends first” and I was like okay this is about 911 and then all of a sudden it started talking about Steve and I was like……… it’s a steddie post, like all the Steves/Stedes and Eddies and Bucks have been confusing enough but now Tommy is in the mix???? I’m out I can’t do this anymore

[what-even-is-sleep]

thinking about Bodkin again bc I mean,,, ALL THE SYMBOLISM OHHHHHGH. i NEED some tumblr film analysis hobbyists to watch this show and tell me all the themes n such

[idk-bruh-20]

Irondad fic ideas #159

Fic set in a universe where they never reversed the snap. The world has been grieving for 8 years.

Suddenly, one of the snapped reappears, but it is not Peter Parker. It's someone else (maybe Strange, Wanda, Bucky...)

There's debate about what to do. The returned person doesn't seem to remember much, although it's possible they remember more than they're letting on. Should the remaining Avengers study them, interrogate them, let them live out a peaceful life and forget about everyone else?

The debate gets way more intense when Tony Stark finds out what's going on. They've tried to keep it from him, knowing how he'd react, and he definitely lives up to expectations.

Of course they need to find out everything this person knows. They need to bring their missing people back. They need to bring back his son.

How hard will Tony push to find out the truth? to bring his kid home?

Bonus:

At some point, the person admits that they were lying about their memories. They're here because they fell through a portal. They're from another universe.

Except... they genuinely didn't know Tony had a son? They've never heard of anyone called Peter Parker. And yes, their universe does have a Spider-Man. Their universe even has a May Parker -- she died recently, btw. And it was Spider-Man's fault.

This awful news, and the horror story Tony infers from it, makes him even more determined to rescue his kid. Once they learn how to reverse the snap, he's going to make sure he lives to protect Peter from bullshit like what this other Peter Parker had to go through.

Still, he's heartbroken for the version of his kid in this other universe. Before sending the universe hopper back to where they belong, he tells them all about Peter and asks them to find him, to keep him safe. He may or may not send some tech with videos for all of their memory-zapped loved ones too.

This fic idea was inspired by this fic by @asyouleft!