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#yes it’s season 3 coded but post s4
aesthetic-basicspam · 8 months
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college road trip fic filled with dad jokes, camping, angsty love confessions, and ej playing ricky’s guitar
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nowmemoriees · 1 year
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If you ever doubt of Byler being endgame remember that:
- crazy together scene was written even before season 1 was released
- El was supposed to d1e in that season
- byler has been paralleled multiple times with canon healthy couples, while milev3n has been paralelled to unhappy couples.
- asking Will to be his friend was the best thing Mike has ever done. he chose it. it was not just dumb luck.
- Will's first word to Mike was "yes", while El's first word to Mike was "no".
- They've been music and color coded throughout the whole series.
this is still relevant since Blue and Yellow code had been brought up again after s4v2 was released.
all the character's official playlists were deleted from spotify except for Mike and Will's ones respectively.
- Hawkins is not the same for Mike without Will.
- Mike and Will's friendship had always received a diferent treatment in the series, like something apart, something else.
- Mike's room/basement walls are full of Will's art.
- Mike always prioritized Will before anyone. He always apologized to Will first, he always made sure Will was okay first.
- s5 is going to include many season 2 ideas and follow season 1 dynamic. we all know what that means.
- Byler had even been developed in a deeper way in official COMICS AND VIDEOGAMES.
- Mike called Will a lot of times while he was in California, even when nobody called back.
- Mike cannot have a strong relationship with Will and El at the same time, curiously, it's always one or the other. The difference is that, one of them is not as healthy as it should be, even when they're -in a good moment-
- I've mentioned a lot of Mike's stuff about his feelings for Will when the one who's supposed to be canonically in love is Will lmao. There's like literally a ton of proof that Mike is in love with Will and... barely any of Will being in love with Mike.
- no words just this scene
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- Mike wouldn't have said ILY to El if Will didn't impulse him to.
- Mike actually loves Will's feelings, his needing and his fear of losing him. Mike was impulsed by those feelings, his whole monologue/confession was just a response to them.
- Official sources in social media like Netflix posted/commented many byler hints after season 4 was released. (and they also post some stuff shitting on milev3n, it's just interesting..🤨)
- Byler followed so many romantic tropes since season 3: interrumptions, miscommunication, uncertainty, denial, love triangles, etc. They wouldn't have done this much for a friendship.
plus: they wouldn't have spent so much money in those scenes and scenery for nothing.
- season 3 finale. 4 pics one word: realization.
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- mike & el are NOT in good terms at the end of s4. or at least, not romantically, while Mike & Will finally got as close as how they were before.
- finn & noah had to do a CHEMISTRY TEST for stranger things, something that they didn't had to do with Caleb or Gaten.
good night besties, smile, remember everyday is a new day where we're closer to finally see Byler becoming canon. :)
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findafight · 1 year
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ty for pointing out that steve graduated on time despite a severe concussion and likely limited or non-existent support (esp considering how his dad reacted to the college thing). it's also worth noting that steve had no issues passing his classes throughout high school while playing and captaining at least 2 sports (3 if you count baseball [on top of other clubs and extracurriculars] from that yearbook thing they released post s1 i think). that's not easy to do. it also irritates me sm when they harp on steve confusing the names of things as proof that he's incredibly dumb or illiterate. esp the gumby thing when it's a fucking children's cartoon. even the german vs nazi thing makes sense in the context of him having a grandfather that fought in ww2, told him stories, and probably called the nazis germans. also v hypocritical when it's not commonly pointed out that the soviets are near exclusively called the russians. yet they always conveniently forget that steve is the only reason they figured out the russian code was coming from the mall (and, going by dialogue in the scene, was specifically the person that put together that the message was coming from the mall on top of recognizing the music and being the only person to pay attention to it - i always see the realization that the message is from hawkins misattributed to dustin) and the only reason they got out of the elevator in the same season where's he supposedly illiterate and incredibly stupid bc he confused the names of things. i stg ppl that do this so they can hype eddie up make eddie feel like my enemy.
Do I think Steve was getting A's? No. Do I think for the back half of his senior year he was working his ass off to scratch C's? Yes. VERY frustrating and honestly kind of hurtful when people keep calling him stupid about it! I interpret a lot of Steve's spacier moments to post concussive syndrome, and it's actually so impressive he's doing as well as he is especially in S3, just over seven months since billy, and is finished hs. Buddy bounced back! People love giving Steve migraines as a lasting symptom of his head trauma but don't acknowledge that focus and what I call "thinking speed" are also affected. Like yeah it'll take him a minute to process what is happening and formulate a response/plan, his brain was goop a few months ago! And S4 happens less than six months after S3 so like yeah. Clearly he's not at 100% we should all be so proud of him.
S1 sort of indicates he cruises through school when helping Nancy study. He's not a model student, and while one could argue teachers were more lenient because he was on sports teams and they wanted to win, that wouldn't have applied after billy beat him because he'd have had to take a leave from the teams, and it's the eighties so some teachers would potentially have thought "serves him right for fighting".
Steve is consistently making connections to things that others aren't! With the "realizing Russians in the mall" thing he is definitely leading Dustin to the conclusion. He goes "Indiana flyer? No way" or something to indicate that it's unlikely the message was from elsewhere, and he has already realized that the transmission is from Starcourt, and wants Dustin and Robin to as well. Just because Dustin said it doesn't mean he figured it out.
(I find people also attribute a lot of what Robin does and figures out to Nancy? Robin gets the newspaper that talks about Victor Creel being possessed by demons, Robin gets them into the hospital, Robin makes the connection to music as key to saving a victim. Stobin contributions so underappreciated smh)
Steve's quick on his feet and makes sure they're able to get out of the elevator with an Indiana Jones move! Without getting caught! I once saw someone saying it's Steve's fault they were trapped at all because he was older and should have put a stop to it, but. Did they think Dustin would drop it? And not explore by himself?? Also Steve's 18. Notorious dumbass decision age. (They also don't know the Soviets are in the mall, and then don't know it's an elevator) yeah it's a bad call, but where is this attitude for Nancy and Jon trying to expose the lab in s2 that absolutely would have known who snuck in and recorded Owens (why weren't they searched?) And then disappeared them. Like if you want to do that with Steve do it with everyone who has made a decision that potentially put people in danger. Hell, Hopper's the reason the lab agents go to the school in S1! He sells El out!
The German/Nazi thing is weird like. Everybody knew who he meant. What OTHER Germans would be a connection there. Yeah it's not "correct" but also. It's not wrong either. Especially when you're right! Russian/Soviet is used pretty interchangeably in the series I think even though many other countries were considered Soviets. Gumby/gumbo is such...a dumb thing to use as proof Steve is illiterate or whatever. Only one is a real word, and it's not Gumby!! Mixing up and confusing words is a normal thing, and these are one letter off and sound similar. Shit happens.
Him connecting Henry Creel to being a clockmaker? Logical conclusion to make given the emphasis the clock had gotten. He's also the one to find the pet siders and it doesn't mean anything even those were Henry's schtick. Literally they included that to make Steve look stupid for making a connection and then getting scared by spiders in his hair and I was just sitting there nodding along like wow same king you're so smart.
Idk I don't like comparing him and Eddie this way because it's not a competition? Frustrating when people try to make it seem that way. You don't need to drag Steve to make Eddie look good? Eddie wants to graduate, and I think it's probably a combo of him skipping and also not being good at/liking formal schooling and possibly some teacher bigotry that prevents him from getting a bit of slack that keeps him in hs. Eddie's good at what he likes and cares about (he's a brilliant guitar player!) And likely doesn't focus on things that don't interest him. That's fine!! But just because he's a rabble rouser and a weird guy and poor, doesn't mean teachers, for three rounds of grade twelve, held him back for no reason.
Idk it's like. Teachers can have biases and that can influence their teaching and interactions and expectations of students, but for it to happen twice to the point that Eddie didn't pass, seems very unlikely, because most teachers do want their students, even the ones that annoy them and they don't like, to graduate. It's sort of insulting to insinuate they would get away with it for three years without any other teacher complaining? Or calling them out? There are bad teachers out there but there are so many good ones too. Saying that the only reason he didn't is because of everyone but him and then turning around calling Steve stupid when he did a near impossible task? Seems weird. Don't agree. Bad take. Acknowledge people have different intelligences and can be better/worse at formal schooling than others and move on.
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crazytogether4l · 2 years
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"Will they?" "Won't They?" Don't Worry My Loves, They Will ;)
Scroll down to see an analysis of who the heck the duffers could be calling a "will they" "won't they" couple. The first section is basically just context with some of my thoughts so feel free to read that as well! <3
On November 5th, a day before Stranger Things Day, the official Stranger Things twitter posted a thread of tweets replacing Steve's iconic 'boobies' quote (I have no idea how else to describe it lol) with various fandom inside jokes and comments like that. Here is the order/content of the tweets!
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Okay so, the ships/people mentioned in the previous tweets were Steve Harrington, Lumax (WE LOVE LUMAX, Lucas + Max), Erica, Will Byers, The Byers, JOPPER (WE LOOOVVVVEEEEE, Joyce + Hopper), Murray, Dustin (DUSTYBUUUUNNN), AN ANONYMOUS COUPLE WHICH I WILL TALK ABOUT, and then El.
I find it very interesting that they put the mystery couple directly before el, it's kind of like establishing Els independence for the upcoming season!
Now, what in the world is a "Will they" "Wont they" couple, and who could the duffers be describing?
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So this is my understanding of the basic characteristics of a "will they" "wont they" couple;
Romantic chemistry shared by both people
Relationship is threatened by all of the following;
Uncertainty
External obstacles
Internal strife
Romantic tension that remains unbroken or unresolved
Now let's compare this list to different st couples the duffers could be referring to, I'll try and remember all of them but there are a lot so lmk if I miss any! To check the criteria I will name a couple or ship, say their status and go through the criteria as it relates to each! Each couple must meet all the requirements of a "will they" "won't they" ship to be considered as such.
Which ships will I be counting? I mean, the criteria are automatically biased based on my perception of the show, so I'm trying to use solid canon evidence that the couple either is romantically involved or at least one person in the ship is romantically interested in the other. Both characters also have to be a part of the main teams of s4 like either the California (mike will el Johnathan argyle), Hawkins (Dustin steve robin Lucas max nancy erica), or Russia crew (joyce hopper neil murray). (I'm excluding Eddie because he's... well... not a contender anymore). For example, Milkvan would count as a valid ship to consider because , they are dating, but a ship like Dustin and Lucas wouldn't count (only for what I'm trying to do here, ofc I think every ship is valid as long as its respectful, everyone has their own headcanons and I support all of your perceptions of the show ofc <3) because there is no canonical evidence to support this being a possible romantic pairing in the show. Anyway, let's get started, if you have any questions on how I determined if a ship could be considered or not please feel free to message me, I love talking to all of you! Oh also I should clarify as well that I'm only counting ships that have both parties alive (with the exception of max who we aren't sure is alive or not)
Couples I'm choosing not to include (but still meet criteria to be considered): Duzie, dustin and max, robin and vickie (because vickie isn't a part of the main groups and I don't think that their relationship has built up long enough to be considered a wtwtc, however, if you disagree id love to talk about it!)
Color code: True False Is a wtwtc is not a wtwtc
COUPLE Jancy (Johnathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler)
STATUS Dating; They have been dating since season 2 when they got together after an interrogation from Murray. In season 4 they struggled with maintaining the relationship due to the long distance, but when they reunited this was mostly resolved, still some stuff was left up in the air with stancy and all.
CRITERIA (1) Yes there is romantic chemistry (2.1) No, there is no uncertainty with the validity of their relationship. While they may be struggling to figure out how to maintain their relationship, there is no uncertainty about whether or not they are in a romantic relationship. (2.2) Yes, there were external obstacles such as stancy but those obstacles have been resolved and are no longer affecting the couple. For example, will going missing and steve and nancys relationship count, but both of those obstacles have been resolved (2.3) No, there was no notable internal conflict besides shared trauma and anxiety about approaching their feelings for each other. (3) While there is romantic tension between them, the tension was resolved by them getting together and becoming a couple officially
While there is romantic chemistry, the ship did not fulfill all requirements to be considered a "will they" "wont they" couple
COUPLE Stancy (Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler)
STATUS Ex's; In season one, Nancy and Steve were in a relationship. They broke up after Nancy called their love bull shit at a high school party. There is some romantic tension again in s4, though it doesn't really go anywhere, at least directly.
CRITERIA (1) Yes, there is romantic tension. Especially in season 4, there are numerous moments of sexual tension. (2.1) Yes, there is uncertainty with the validity of the relationship. However Steve wants to have his "six little nuggets" with Nancy, but we as an audience can visually see how that future doesn't excite her. Steve still loves nancy but nancy does not love steve, no matter how much she hopes she does. (2.2) Yes, there is an external obstacle, Nancy and Johnathan are a couple so that is an obstacle that would get between them from being together. (2.3) No, there are not a ton of moments of internal conflict. Steve potentially likes Nancy again and Nancy doesn't feel the same IMO but even considering that, there is no internal conflict that is a barrier between a platonic or a romantic relationship. (3) No, there is no unresolved sexual tension, as they have already been in a relationship
Jancy does not qualify as a will they won't they couple, they have already been in a relationship, and the romantic tension was already broken so there's nothing new romantically to build up that hasn't already been done.
COUPLE Lumax (Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield)
STATUS Ex's, Romantic interests, kinda unclear lol; Max and Lucas got together at the end of season 2, when they kissed at the Snowball. They were dating throughout season 3, however, in the beginning of season 4, we see max isolating herself from the party, and therefore we as an audience understand that Lucas and Max were not together romantically anymore. It wasn't until we see them at billys grave and we also see Max and Lucas together at the Creel house (Lucas asking Max on a movie date) when we finally see them express romantic interest in each other again Not super related but this is a parallel to Jopper with Enzos and the fact that they couldn't go on their date because of multiple obstacles (like Joyce standing hop up to figure out why her magnets weren't working, and hop going to Russia causing everyone to think he was not alive anymore)
CRITERIA (1) Yes, there is romantic tension between Lucas and Max (2.1) While there is uncertainty with what Lumax's future will look like, there is no uncertainty with whether the romantic feelings they have are requited or if they have the potential to be in a romantic relationship because they already have been in a romantic relationship. (2.2) Yes, there is one big external obstacle which is max literally being in a coma lmaooo (2.3) Yes, there are internal obstacles Lucas and Max struggle with regarding their romantic feelings towards each other, especially Max. Max isolates herself after she experiences the trauma of witnessing what happened to billy and she experiences symptoms of vecna's curse, basically she's being vecna'd and that causes her to suffer mentally and therefore she isolates herself from the party, especially Lucas. (3) While there is unbroken romantic tension that came up in s4, Max and Lucas already dated so there is no new romantic tension that could be potentially broken here. "will they" or "won't they" couples are typically built up over numerous seasons, so the previous romantic history between them would disqualify them from being considered a "will they" "won't they" couple.
Lumax can not be considered a "will they" "won't they" couple because they do not fulfill all of the criteria to be considered a wtwtc, and even if they did I don't think that lumax would be the wtwtc they were talking about because they were already mentioned in Stranger Writers' thread as an official ship
COUPLE Mileven (Mike Wheeler and El Hopper)
We already know that Mileven is not a "will they" "wont they" couple because they are already in a romantic relationship, but I'm going to pretend like I don't already know that because its good practice for me to be able to be more open to other perspectives of the show and also I think its important in general to analyze the dynamics of their relationship anyway :)
STATUS Dating; (I am a passionate byler shipper so I will try and be as factual as I possibly can) Mike and El kissed towards the end of season one but didn't get together again until the end of season two when they finally went to the snowball together. El dumped his ass in season 3, Mike said "I love her and I can't lose her again" in a heated fight with the group, and they got back together at the end of the season when El said she loved him too and kissed him. In season 4 we see them struggle with managing the distance as well as discovering their own identities. Mike has trouble saying 'I love you' to el (he is discovering his sexuality simultaneously... regarding his feelings for will), and El is not receiving the type of love she wants and needs from mike. At the end of the season, we see mike and will stand together and El stands alone, which foreshadows an independent El for season 5.
CRITERIA (1) This is something that is super controversial in the fandom, and as a byler supporter I personally don't think that there is any romantic tension between mike and eleven, but I will try and look at it from multiple perspectives.
As a byler supporter, what I see is a longing for romantic feelings, especially from mike. Mike wants to fit in and his role models are nancy and his parents, both of which have been in toxic relationships and fake love (stancy) and that is all mike knows about romantic feelings. In season one people continue to accuse mike of having romantic feelings for el. When Mike first meets el, he treats her kind of how he would treat any other peer, like showing her his toys and being nice and letting her sleep in his basement. The romantic implications of that don't even cross his mind until Lucas and Dustin point them out. There is a huge difference between the was Lucas and Dustin interact with el, and the way mike does. Lucas and Dustin think, oh this is a girl, omg a girl in mikes basement. But mike is focused on finding will, and El could lead him closer to finding him. Mike claims that he has always loved el, but he literally tried to get her to go back to where she came from in their first few moments together. Like we don't see Mike actually push for El to stay until she recognizes will in that photo. Lucas, dustin, even his older sister Nancy all ask him if he likes el romantically. I think this gets in his head a lot, which causes him to kiss her at the end of the season. In season two at the end of the season we see mike sulking at the snow ball. I think mainly this kind of had to do with the fact that will was out dancing with a girl and he felt jealous feelings but didn't understand why or what that meant. That is my perception because of the headcanons I have of byler but if I'm looking at it from a mileven perspective then it was because he assumed she wasn't coming. Personally, I don't think this is why because he knew she was back in town and she was okay and there must have been some communication about whether or not eleven was actually going to the snow ball but either way she showed up and we see his face change. Then right after we see El walk in and I think he uses the shame from his jealousy to motivate him to do romantic things with el, but that could just be my opinion because thats what I believe in my head lol. For el, she only really starts expressing romantic interest in mike after she starts watching soap operas. Mike kissed her in s1, and when she sees couples kissing on the tv in s2, she has a realization that maybe that was something couples do so that means that she likes mike... right? Or does she have this thought because she doesn't have any other exposure to what romance actually looks like? Its an interesting question to dive into, and I'll go in more detail in a future post if anyone would be interested in that. I think something that is very telling is the mileven breakup in s3. This scene has been analyzed over and over again, but in general, the way she says "i dump your ass" so easily and then laughs about it on the bus with max is very telling. Like idk about you but if I was supposedly in love with someone it wouldn't be that easy to just dump them and then giggle about it a few minutes later. In s4 we see el being very inauthentic, like for example she looks at the note on the flowers that says "from mike" and then puts on a fake smile. And over the season we kind of see this fake smile start to break down until she stops talking to mike altogether at the end of the season. At the end of the season El knows that Mike can't give her the love she needs. The fact that he says I love you, which is what El wanted to hear, but she still gives mike the silent treatment after his confession and we don't see them talk for the rest of the season? Like I love you is what she thought she needed but it didn't fix anything because she knew they were just empty words said in the heat of the moment, just like how he said "I love her" in the heat of the moment in season 3. There is soooooo much to talk about, especially in season 4 and season 3, so let me know if you want more of this because I have a lot to say but I should get back to the topic of this post <3
(2.1) No, there is no current uncertainty regarding the validity of their relationship. As an audience, no matter if there is a deeper meaning or not, we know that el has said I love you to mike and mike has said I love you to el. No matter if those words are true or not, we as an audience are expected to believe this as canon and therefore their romantic feelings for each other are not uncertain after Mike said I love you to el. (2.2) Yes there have been external obstacles, however, at the end of season 4 these are all resolved to our knowledge. El is back in hawkins with mike. The only other obstacle I can think of is will, but neither el nor mike are aware of his feelings for mike, so I would save this for a potential season 5 obstacle. (2.3) Yes, there are internal obstacles. Mike is having a hard time saying I love you to el because of internal hardships regarding his sexuality, and el is not receiving the love that she wants or deserves from mike. This is the opposite of a will they won't they couple, this is incompatibility and its obvious. (3) No, there is no unresolved tension. Mike and el have both said I love you, kissed, and had a relationship, there is no tension that needs resolving anymore, if anything their relationship is getting boring at this point IMO (no hate to milevens at all you all are totally allowed to love your ship <3)
No, Mileven is not a "will they" "wont they" couple because they have already broken the tension that is needed to be considered one and they are already in a relationship
COUPLE Jopper (Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper)
STATUS Dating; I think Jopper has always been a will they wont they couple. There has been romantic tension with them since the beginning. Joyce has always been comfortable just walking over to hopper, speaking her mind. We see them start to form an emotional bond over season one. Then throughout the seasons, they get closer which leads up to hopper asking Joyce out on a date and they plan to go to Enzo’s but the plan changes when hopper disappears to Russia at the end of season 3. Season 4 they reunite in Russia and release all the sexual tension by making out in the warehouse thing. It’s a lot more beautiful than that but I have a migraine and can’t think of a poetic way to write that lol.
CRITERIA (1) Yes, there is soooo much sexual and romantic tension between joyce and hopper!!! Literally in every single season, especially season 3 and the end of season 4! Theres no other explanation needed :) (2.1) No, there is no uncertenty with whether Joyce and Hopper like each other romantically or not. We know that both of them like each other and they both have expressed romantic interest in each other. (2.2) I mean besides bob in season 2, and basically the entire world ending, there arent too many outside obstacles currently at the end of s4. Hopper was like kinda gone in another continent for most of the last season though so that counts. (2.3) Yes, there are internal struggles. Hopper struggles with grief and for most of season one and two joyce was emotionally unavailable due to the trauma of losing her son and people telling her she was crazy. Both of these characters love each other, but they are both so scared of losing the ones they love that they love, they cant bare to give all of their love to each other just to have It ripped from them all over again.
This is off topic but this inspired me to talk about loss throughout the show, which is centered around loss. Thats what its all about. The first ten minutes show a a family, a friendgroup, even a whole town that is greatly affected by the loss of a boy. Especially in season 4, I think that the major theme throughout the show was the fear of loss, especially around the idea of love whether it be platonic love or something more. Max distanced herself from the group, partially because she was afraid of causing even more pain and loss than she felt she already had. El was so scared of losing mike, like we can see her desperately trying to be worthy of his love. She wrote to him like every day, she lied to seem cooler than she was, she faked smiles to make sure everything was perfect. Mike is probably the one most affected by the fear of loss in my opinion. His best friend went missing and he thought he was dead, then el went missing, then will almost died again in season 2, then el almost died in season 4, like the amount of times mike has had to deal with the idea of his friends leaving him is very sad. I think a lot of this stems from his childhood. Will is also scared of losing others, especially his sister and brother and mike
(3) No, the tension was broken when they kissed in season 4 lmao. Also when they kept talking about their date. This was a hard couple to debate on, especially since they were a will they wont they couple in the past, but I think because they already broke that tension, and its canon that they have romantic feelings for each other and they have done romantic things together, there is no uncertainty if they like each other more than platonically. I think that jopper is like the original "will they" "wont they" couple, and then that romantic tension was broken and now they're just a slow burn romance! Ugh I love them so much I could talk about them for hours :) If anyone wants to talk about them id love to!
This was a difficult one to determine but since there is no uncertainty with whether their romantic attraction is requited, and the romantic attraction has been acted on, I do not think that they can be considered a "will they" "wont they" because like, they already DID if that makes sense!
COUPLE BYLERRR! (Mike Wheeler and Will Byers)
STATUS Best friends, potential love intrests, gay as hell; Its currently canon that Will is in love with Mike (confirmed by noah schnapp), however it is not yet canon if mike is romantically interested in will (even though it couldn't be more obvious). There is sooooooooo much romantic tension between the two, not to mention the COUNTLESS parallels between them and other couples from the show. Not only just from stranger things, but actual canon gay couples from OTHER SHOWS! Like the duffers put a lot of thought into their parallels. Its truly beautiful, like they are the best slow burn gay romance in all of tv history. Its undeniable.
CRITERIA (1) YES OH MY GOD! There is soooooo much romantic chemistry between the two! Like especially from mike.
BEST FRIENDS DONT LOOK AT EACH OTHER LIKE THAT! tHEY JUST DONT! THEY ARE BLUSHING LIKE NO BODIES BUISSNESS AND THEY ARE LOOKING AT EACH OTHERS LIPS AND THIS INTIMATE MOMENT IS BROKEN SUDDENLY, JUST LIKE SO MANY INTIMATE MOMENTS IN THE SHOW!
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Like, come on... theres just so much evidence that they are in love, not to mention all of the "intimate moments" and parallels to other couples. I could go on and on! (2.1) Yesssss there is uncertainty and loooaadddssss of it! The beautiful thing about byler is its up to interpretation. Neither of them just comes out and says out front they are in love, will uses el as a cover for his own feelings, and mike just is scared to be vulnerable about how he feels because of external and internal homophobia. Both of their romantic feelings for each other are shown not only through just words and physical communication, but also through symbols, set, lighting, music, etc. Their story is left up to interpretation because that's just accurate to the time. We are unsure if both of them love each other canonically, but we can feel it, that's the beauty of the show. We know that will is in love with mike. Thats canon. But mike, mike's story is so accurate to the struggle of growing up as a gay kid, and many adults who have grown up in the 80s have said that they identify themselves with mike and wills story! Like as a queer person who grew up with similar feelings to mike and will, its just beautiful to watch their love story unfold despite all of the obstacles they face. (2.2) EXTERNAL OBSTACLES! SO. MANY. EXTERNAL. OBSTACLES. I mean, this is a gay love story about two gay boys in the 1980's, a time when homophobia was experiencing a spike due to the HIV crisis and hate crimes and everything of that sort. And not to mention that mike is in a relationship with wills sister, so even if mike broke up with el, will getting together with his sisters ex boyfriend is kind of a betrayal to her so there's a sense of guilt or shame that's added on top of the feelings he is already having. And for mike, he has to navigate the fact that he cant say I love you to his girlfriend because he already loves will. Also he doesn't know will loves him so he assumes that he has no shot with him anyway. Not to mention all of the supernatural struggles that come with their feelings for each other. Like in season three and two, a lot of the times mike and will have an intimate moment he then feels vecna. Also the fact that will is literally being brainwashed by vecna for like half the season. Also the bullying in seasons one and two when the boys, especially will, have been called homophobic slurs their whole life. This causes shame and guilt for who they are, which makes them hesitant to acknowledge their feelings for each other.
(2.3) INTERNAL OBSTICLESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! SOOOOO MANY! First of all internalized homophobia, which mike sufferers from a lot! Its shown throughout the show in so many ways. First of all, mikes relationship with el is kind of an avoidance tactic for mike, as well as a safety tactic. He uses his relationship with el to convince himself that he is in fact straight and he does everything he can to be perceived as straight, even by himself. For will, there is so much shame that has been thrown at him his whole life. Not only from his father but his peers. He has been bullied his entire life and so has mike, they have experienced homophobia their whole lives, which has caused them to believe that they themselves are the problem. And there's a whole other struggle that especially affects mike, which is heteronormativity. The minute he showed el any kindness at all, everyone started asking him if he liked el and were calling her his bf and stuff like that. Hes lived in this headspace that in order to be seen as 'normal', he has to be straight. Like he thinks that getting a girlfriend and giving up on the 'childish' things he enjoyed as a kid like dnd is all a part of growing up. There's just so many internal struggles with both of them, especially in regard to their romantic feelings for each other. (3) No, the romantic tension has not been broken yet! There is sooooo much tension and so many scenes where they seem like they are about to kiss or about to confess their feelings, but they are interrupted by a person, a noise, etc. They are so in love I love them so muchhhh! Like for example the bedroom scene when they're like "I didn't say that" and mike is like "you didn't have to". Like that scene is a direct parallel to another gay ship that KISS after they exchange their little "cool", "cool". But for byler that tension is interrupted by the van arriving, like there are so many examples of this throughout the show! I could go on and on about byler so let me know if you want me to discuss this more :)
Yes, Byler is a "will they" "wont they" couple! While many of the st couples have fit under the "will they" "wont they" umbrella at some point in the show, the unknown romantic aspect of their relationships have all been resolved except for byler! And even if jopper counted as a "will they" "'wont they" couple, the st twt still mentioned them in the thread before they mentioned the will they wont they couple, so it wouldn't make sense for jopper to be referred to twice in the same way.
So to kind of summarize all of those words, byler is the only "will they" "wont they" couple in present-day stranger things canon, which therefore is EVEN MORE evidence that byler will be end game. Especially because the way the line is used in the first place, like steve saying that Vickie obviously likes women, and then that being true in the end, it shows how byler is also true and it will happen! I hope all of this made sense! Sorry this is pretty delayed after the thread came out, I've been so busy and also trying to add to this post as much as I could over the past few weeks haha. If you have any fun things to add or stuff you want to discuss please do! I always love talking to you all. As always, much love to everyone <3
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chirpsythismorning · 1 year
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I get your point on Mike not noticing what Will is going through but there really is no indication of him noticing things about Will all the time. Like... S3 exists. And even in S4, he's not aware of what Will is going through and we also should take into consideration that Mike and Will have not spoken to each other for months, how the heck would he even know about Will's sexuality or his feelings for him? And he did not notice Will's sensing Vecna and what was going on until Will told him that Vecna's still alive and he can sense him. Will's also the first one to sense the Upside Down acting on (him touching his neck scene) and Mike did not realize that moment, I mean, he basically is not even in the focus of that shot, the kid is basically hugging Hopper behind the scene, lol.
Also there really is a difference btwn him noticing Will just acts annoyed at the roller rink versus why Will acted that way which... he didn't realize what Will really acted that way anyways.
I am keeping an open mind and speculating here because there are signs that it's not as simple as the show is presenting it as.
Though, I do want to make it clear that I don't think it's ever been as simple as Mike fully understanding Will, specifically in the van scene.
I think all these moments between them over the years, that read as romantic coded to us, could arguably feel that way to them, deep down at least. They've confirmed that was the case for Will since s1, though they have yet to even imply that could be a possibility for Mike, despite it being the obvious direction that they're going with in the story.
Honestly, I think at least deep down, Will AND Mike are in a constant back and forth of he loves me/he loves me not, which just hits a lot different as a queer person. They're also best friends and so they're having to worry that they'll make the other person uncomfortable after realizing they misunderstood things. It's also why they (especially Mike) doubles down and ends up hurting Will, because he's so focused on not making his feelings obvious, that he basically implies him and Will aren't friends anymore (instant regret jpg.).
Yes, Mike can't know Will's every thought and emotion at all times, especially when he's not even looking in Will's direction at all. And yet I think that he's still able to sense that at least something is wrong when he is in a situation where Will is right there in front of him.
For example, we're barely shown Mike looking at Will at all at Rink-O-Mania despite them being like 3 ft away from each other most of the day, and yet he ends the night giving us a play by play of Will's emotions. We even get a shot in the van on the way back to the Byers, with Mike looking over at Will who is upset, but not El. They make a point to parallel these shots directly. And so Mike didn't look at El crying, but he did look at Will upset here AND also Will crying in the van scene at the end of the season... Okay...
There was also a post recently that really makes this concept of Mike noticing Will crying even more plausible, because it's a scene of Lucas literally noticing Max upset in the backseat, and yet he doesn't push her any further...
It's sort of a time and place situation on a basic level. Like is now really the time to confront Will crying, and talk about it, all the while they've been framing byler all season as being interrupted constantly and rarely getting a moment of privacy? Meaning a moment truly acknowledging this properly, might very well warrant no one around...
Like I said, I go back and forth on this all the time. Because I think the easiest way to write off the van scene as Mike being totally oblivious, is that Will is lying. And Will doesn't lie to Mike and so no wonder it was so easy to believe him. And so that could explain it right?
Still, I think that it's unlikely to be as simple as Mike understanding Will in the van vs. being oblivious. The main thing I get out of Mike in the van scene is hope.
Arguably, most of the GA thinks that Mike picked up on Will's feelings in the van scene, though they also assume he doesn't feel the same. So what they assume occurred, is Mike letting Will down gently. They think it's obvious Mike noticed and that he doesn't feel the same, and so that's why he's not comforting Will. Most viewers with common sense picked up on Will's behavior in the van scene as him confessing his feelings to Mike through El. Most people went damn, welp that's tragic. After all, this is the moment that finally allowed Noah to finally say It's 100% obvious Will is gay and in love with Mike. After years of them denying and gaslighting fans over speculation in regards to Will's sexuality, THIS is the moment they chose to make it clear to the audience. Just because he never said it outright himself up to this point (and still technically hasn't), doesn't mean he hasn't felt those feelings deep down the whole time? I don't see why we should completely rule out Mike also being somewhat aware, but just having doubts and is just in general scared, because that's understandable. (Sometimes, I think it's just scary to open up like that, to say how you really feel--).
I think the van scene is truly in a league of its own, separate from every moment before it because it is the moment that finally gave them the confidence to reveal the hidden (half) truth that's been going on in this show the whole time in regards to Mike and Will. And yet the Duffers STILL aren't willing to admit that there's more to it... Or are they?
That's the thing about what the Duffer's said, because if you remember what they mentioned about the van scene, it was, While, Mike doesn't fully pick up on it-- So they are basically alluding that it's not as simple as Mike understanding/not understanding. This is obviously because if Mike understood Will and yet he looked super happy, how exactly could the Duffers work around answering that without giving things away?
And so, what if it's only slightly the opposite of that GA assumption? What if the van scene is Mike picking up on Will's words being about himself (like the GA largely assumes), but it's not Mike letting Will down, it's him being relived (upon realizing the painting Will made for his crush is for Mike), confused, while also being somewhat hopeful? What if it's Mike also feeling the responsibility to wait, bc at the moment, he is still technically in a relationship with El. What if it's Mike holding back because comforting Will in this moment, who is now currently sobbing, would cause Mike to cry...? I think them blurring out Mike's reaction beside Will, as he stares at the painting is sus in terms of the possibility Mike could also be emotional in this moment, though holding back those emotions in the same way Will is, just a lot more successfully (Smalltown boy agenda is alive and well...). I mean, why else have both Mike and Will give each other the most heartfelt smiles we've ever seen them give to anyone, only to both look away with their smile dropping... Why?
I also think it's going to be a lot of mental gymnastics to have to make the GA go from thinking Mike understood Will in the van scene, but was letting him down gently, to then reveal Mike didn't understand Will, but still likes Will, but is also hearing all these things fully believing they're El's feelings, and he's smiling and looks super happy with that information? Having only one of those facts wrong feels a little more reasonable in subscribing to this classic miscommunication/unreliable narrator domino effect approach they're going for.
This reminds me of a TikTok that I saw a while back, which pointed out a specific reaction shot from Mike that I think a lot of us overlook. Even though I've been a Mike is clueless in the van scene truther mostly up until recently (I still flip-flop), what I realized after watching this was that, subconsciously, I do feel like Mike is indeed reacting to Will's emotions in this moment, and in his reaction shots he looks emotional and almost sympathetic specifically for Will's emotions in particular. Without actually breaking down what this implies, I've always felt this watching this shot and I still feel it:
And so here Will is, word for word, describing what him and Mike went through over the last year. He even uses words Mike himself used only a few episodes before, when they made up back in Lenora. We know El hasn't been pushing Mike away for the last year. Mike knows this more than Will does. It's just that Will is assuming El is in love with Mike, at least equal to how much Will loves Mike (how could she not be, that's Will's assumption here), and so he's just playing it off like that's something El is doing, when really the whole problem is that El has been doing the opposite of pushing Mike away for the last year, and yet Mike still couldn't commit with a simple four letter word.
And so my difficulty following along with the argument that Mike is clueless is that Will is clearly talking about them in this scene and at times Mike looks relieved and emotional and awestruck while hearing Will say all of this, things that fit their situation, while looking confused whenever Will mentions El's name...
I don't think it's as simple as Mike fully picking up on it, because there are contradictions at play here, and there's also the events leading up to this and what follows that could also impact what Mike thinks about this moment, over time.
But I also can't rule out Mike being hopeful. I think that's more so what it's about for me in terms of analyzing this scene. It's not that I think Mike is fully picking up on Will's feelings, or that he has ever done so at any point genuinely, but more so that I think he's partially picking up on it, and he's hoping.
I think there are certainly doubts that any average person would have in this moment, which I also think mirrors moments of hope and doubt that Mike has experienced in the past in regards to his relationship with Will.
While I know some fans think the end of s2 was the moment Mike realized his feelings, or the end of s3, I just don't think it's that simple.
I think that those moments represent the experience of slowly realizing something, but also being too scared to look too closely at it because of what it could mean, aka looking behind the curtain.
It also makes the expression Mike makes between El and Will at Nina a little more impactful. Because what we see is El and Mike reuniting, and Mike leaning in, but not as close as he could. It's quite visible he's pulling back and not meeting her halfway.
Like, Will literally spent ALL season encouraging him nonstop to tell El how he feels, and the dude can't even kiss her during this super auspicious moment? Dude literally keeps his mouth as far away as possible? Every other movie/show would have them kiss and say I love you during this reunion. Instead they make a point to emphasis Mike looking relieved that El doesn't hate him and that she wants him in her life still, followed by Mike seeking out Will almost instantly.
Also the whole, I didn't say it/You didn't have to moment was kind of unnecessary to drop in the scene where Mike poured his feelings out to Will earlier in the season (where he also said he felt like he lost Will), if it wasn't meant to allude to something deeper that will have a follow up to it. Why even have that exchange at all on the show, if not to hint at something deeper? If you're going to make a ship endgame, and have one of them noticing 9/10 when the other is upset and having them comfort them, then there's gotta be some follow through there. That line was toooo iconic for it to not be.
That's all I can think about when I see Mike smiling the brightest and most heartwarming we've ever seen him smile in the entire show, as he's hearing Will say these things. To me, at the very least, it looks like hope.
And the face he makes at Surfer Boy when Will tells him he's the heart and encourages him to confess to El essentially... that looks to me like devastation and heartbreak. It looks like Mike experiencing the worst possible case of 'he loves me not' one could ever experience (maybe Will's got it worse, I would argue that the same face he makes in response in that moment hits even harder...)
At the very least, I think Mike has been hoping, just like Will is. When it comes to growing up queer, all you have is hope and then the inevitable disappointment more often than not. Back in the 80s in a small town?? Like, it's no wonder they're both in denial they could have a chance despite getting signs there is a chance.
This is something that both Mike and Will are going through, circles of maybe this is real, only to be proven wrong. The tragedy of it all is that they both DO feel the same. And so their gut feeling is right, it's just that heteronormativity doesn't make it something they can really risk, in the case that they end up being wrong.
I will say, where I am up in the air at now is with what Mike is currently thinking about at the end of s4 as he stands by Will. If he is just realizing that El doesn't need him bc she is avoiding him, and that presumably the painting was a lie or at least not fully truthful, wouldn't Mike be upset? Instead he is very accepting of the fact that El doesn't need him and he is practically latching onto Will... And so does he know now that it's Will's feelings? Idk...
Like I said, I think that there are a lot of layers of reactions still in store, which is why it's not as simple as fans want it to be.
I am willing to guess that Mike at least hopes. I think it took a lot for Mike to stay beside Will instead of walking up further with El. I think that this is just the beginning of him accepting himself, which is why it follows directly after Mike and Hopper hug, who last hugged when Mike had a mental breakdown at the end of s2 over 'lying' in regards to his emotions about El being alive/will being possessed by the mindflayer, and who was also juxtaposed to Hoppers letter at the end of s3 also hinting at Mike's deeper feelings. They've been laying breadcrumbs so that once you have all the pieces it will be a lot more satisfying. Right now it's confusing, but that's okay because we're just along for the ride right now.
The problem I see us heading into in s5, is us now having all of these miscommunications coming to a head. Just because Mike hopes, doesn't mean he's certain. It means he's more than prepared to be bombarded with contradictions that will make both of them heartbroken and confused all over again.
The highly anticipated painting confrontation is one that I think could be crazy because Mike reacting upset in any way would obviously be a signal to Will that he doesn't feel the same... but we know that's not the case, and that it's actually quite the opposite.
At the moment I'm still on the fence, but I do think regardless what we have in store for s5 is a healthy dose of miscommunication and misunderstandings and revelations still to come (arguably the most gut wrenching bc they need to top the previous seasons), hopefully followed by more revelations and then the build up of that hope finally leading to something...
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love-byers · 2 years
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will/el/mike s2 parallel
i think everyone knows about the parallel of both el and will screaming for mike in the upside down, but i want to make a post about it because the scenes are parallels in more ways than just that
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at the start of the upside down sequence in both scenes, will and el are both on the ground and the shot is aerial. i find it interesting that el’s is upside down while will’s isn’t. idk if that means something, maybe that el was actually in the real upside down while will was only having a vision. 
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they both stand up and look around, and the shots are very similar. i recommend going on netflix or youtube and watching these scenes back to back. they are VERY similar and it’s easier to see when you’re actually watching it. (i’m 99% sure they happen in the same episode---s2e2)
it’s also cool how we’ve been seeing parallels between will and el since season 2, and now they’re the supernatural wonder twins of the show. (who are the only 2 characters with a connection to 001 and the ud)
anyways, el and will both start running and calling out for mike. very cute and sad tbh :(
but the parallel ends here. 
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el finds her own way out of the upside down. she uses her powers and climbs out. mike wasn’t there to help her, and she got out on her own. 
meanwhile, with will...
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mike breaks will out of his vision. will didn’t save himself like el, mike did. 
the mindflayer was coming after will in this scene. right before mike shows up, you can see the mindflayer coming down the stairs and getting very close to will. i can’t say for sure, but it seems like if mike hadn’t been there, the mindflayer would’ve gotten to will and carried out his plan to possess will like he did on the field. mike saved will. 
it’s not clear if it was specifically mike who snapped will out of it or if it was just external interference, but either way it doesn’t matter. the times we see will snapped out of a vision, it’s mike who breaks through to him (like at the arcade in ep 1). but im willing to bet it was mike’s voice that was enough to break through to will, since he is in love with mike. and when will is possessed and joyce, jonathan, and mike are trying to get through to him, it’s mike who gives will enough control to tap out morse code. it’s a pattern, and it’s on purpose. 
so what’s the moral of the story? el doesn’t need mike, but will does. 
i refuse to believe this doesn’t mean anything when the entire point of s4 was establishing that el doesn’t need mike anymore, but will will always need mike. we also establish that mike needs to be needed. 
so you mean to tell me mike is going to end up with the person who does not need him, when he needs to be needed, and not the person who bared their life to him and said they will always need him and are lost without him? absolutely no fucking way 
also, i want to establish once again that my point doesn’t lie with who the characters are as people, it’s with the writing. repeated visual representation of el not needing mike vs mike saving will, as well as narrative representation is meant to send the audience a message. it’s called subtext, and it’s a very real thing. that’s why jonathan saved nancy from the upside down, not steve. yes i know steve wasn’t there and couldn’t save her, but we got that plot-point & visual with jonathan, not steve. therefore making the watcher root for jancy, not stancy. 
the writers are essentially training the audience for byler becoming canon. its going to be a season 5 surprise, but it won’t be out of nowhere. cause you can rewatch the show and find things like this, and it all makes sense. 
i have a lot more to say about the writers constantly showing you how el does not need mike, but i’m gonna have to make one big master post about it because there is a LOT. 
anyways, byler endgame <3
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ladytheebug · 2 years
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9 Very Specific Things I'd love to see in Miraculous Season 5
Disclaimer: these are strictly my personal opinions, and obviously spoilers for the S4 Finale: Strike Back are below...
1. Everything L A D Y N O I R
Oops, not very specific, but there's sooooo much to unpack now that we're back to the cat and bug team. They have to rebuild their trust in one another after a season of distance, secrets and lies. They need to plan together. They need to discuss Chat Blanc. They need to lean on each other while all the odds are against them.
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Ladynoir Nation is set up to thrive and I can't wait. Speaking of these two...
2. The Guardian Trains Chat Noir to Upgrade Powers
It's essential, with only two heroes left, that the remaining heroes are at their strongest. Season 4 showed us how Ladybug was able to elevate her abilities to create charms, while Hawkmoth created mega-akumas. Maybe I've just been reading too much 'Truth and Consequences' by @siderealscribblings (major fic rec alert), but it's time for Chat to get his power upgrade. We've been told many times just how powerful the Black Cat Miraculous is. Will there be new weapons? Different magical abilities? Let's see this in action.
Season 4 was about Ladybug building out her team. Now, she needs to build UP her partner. I believe it's necessary for Marinette to step up and help Chat reach his full potential, as he is willing to do for her.
Plus, I want to see what his upgraded suit might look like. It's gonna be sick.
3. Identity Reveal IN THE FIRST 6 EPISODES
No waiting. No season finale reveal garbage. Let's get the ball rolling and get AT LEAST a one-sided reveal in the first mini-arc of the season. Maybe Ladybug and Chat Noir are putting in the work and growing closer. Marinette is seeing how much she can trust Chat to have her back in battle and in their daily interactions (curtesy of some premium Marichat nonsense).
Then they win a Miraculous or two back. Their plan works, the plan they built together and something clicks in Marinette's brain. It's time to reveal. We get the rest of the season for post-reveal pre-relationship development, dorky interactions on all sides of the love square, and the shippers get the last laugh mwahahhaha.
In summary, I want this meme: NO SLEEP. REVEAL. REVEAL. ANOTHER REVEAL. CHAT BLANC. CONFESSION. NEXT REVEAL.
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4. Adrien vs Felix Smack Down
FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT
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Adrien knows Felix betrayed Ladybug to steal the Miraculous for Hawkmoth, but Felix doesn't know that. Felix doesn't know how personally he's betrayed Adrien, or that Adrien is Chat Noir and saw him up close during the final battle.
Game of Thrones had the Cleganebowl. Miraculous has the Senti Smackdown. Yes I am open to alternative names suggestions.
Eventually these two need to duke it out, and once Felix knows everything he is going to hit Adrien with THIS:
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Adrien, honey, I am so sorry.
5. Adrien Evolves from Smooth-Brain Boi to Maximum Surface Area-Brain Boi
Or, we see Adrien put the pieces together of 'what the hell is going on in this family.' He has the spy device Felix left behind to discover the painting. He knows his cousin helped Hawkmoth, but he doesn't know why. He investigates and finds answers, because he's the spy on the inside that Gabriel will never seen coming. And when the time comes, I hope Adrien is able to confront his father.
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6. Ladybug and Adrien Establish 2-Factor Authentication
Ladrien know Felix can (very successfully) impersonate Adrien. They know Hawkmoth (even though he's very stupid) has the Miraculous of illusion. Please, kids, come up with code words or something to ensure you know who you're talking to. A secret handshake would be adorable.
7. Gabriel vs Marinette but it's stupid
One of my favorite television scenes of all time is in the Trollhunters episode Recipe for Disaster. Jim and Strickler have a literal battle at the dinner table while Jim's mom is totally oblivious. She leaves, they fight. She returns with the next course of the meal, they detransform and pretend like they weren't just trying to literally stab each other. Imagine Marinette and Gabriel rapidly feeding kwamis under the table while Adrien is clueless to the fight happening every time he leaves the room. You can't convince me that this wouldn't be hilarious.
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I know we will never have this exact scene, but I need something just as weird. Gabriel is an idiot, Adrien is oblivious, and Marinette is a walking disaster. It's what we deserve.
8. Kwami Shenanigans in the Mansion
This one is simple: I hope the Kwamis fuck with Gabe. Hawkmoth hurt the Guardian and deserves zero rights. If the Kwamis get the zoomies and annoy the shit out of him, so be it. With 16 Kwamis hidden in that house (not counting Plagg binge-eating cheese upstairs) there is bound to be some chaos.
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9. Paris' #1 Dad Goes to JAIL BABYYY WOOO!!!
Really can't wait for smooth-brained Gabe to rot in prison. NO REDEMPTION ARC. GO DIRECTLY TO JAIL. Bye LOSER!
Shameless self promo: here's a very relevant playlist.
[🗑 gabriel agreste is going to jail party - Spotify]
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In conclusion: I loved Season 4 of Miraculous and I'm so pumped for Season 5. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
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elkdiaries · 2 years
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Idk if anyone has asked this before but how do you think that they would fit byler into the season with everything going on? I’m really trying not to lose hope for Byler and ur page honestly gives me hope.
do not fear, hope-inducer is here!
based on the trailer alone, there is so much evil-related plot to look at and analyze. it all may seem very overwhelming to you and many others, and the minimal amount of byler we got in this trailer was, i’ll be honest, kind of a let down. but there is no need to worry! here’s why.
i’d like to start off by saying that the duffers have NEVER cut off a key part of the plot or left a story unfinished, despite whether the main audience likes it or not. every detail, no matter how big or small, is carried onto further seasons until it is resolved. most tv shows would not have continued to show characters like joyce, hopper and max grieving into further seasons, for example. of course they wouldn’t abandon this huge fight between two main characters (which was very romantic coded). they write things into the show with a purpose. why would they write all this byler in if they weren’t going to follow through with that story?
another point that some of my fellow theorists made was that there’s no way they’d spoil a giant plot twist like mike actually liking will to the audience this early. not only would that probably cause backlash from the homophobes, but it would make the slowburn and anticipation much less interesting.
keep in mind that generally, there weren’t any scenes centered on romance in particular in this trailer, when it comes to any of the ships or couples. it’s not just byler that wasn’t included— mileven hardly got any scenes, as did lumax and jancy. there is this one exception.
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and this is such an obvious love triangle. if they weren’t going to continue on with byler, they wouldn’t have added will in the middle here, focused on the couple in front of him and looking upset. every single glance and song and scene that’s included in this show is intentionally added. if they were going to drop byler, will would be off somewhere else in this scene, but no— he’s in the scene, and clearly bothered. with clips like these, it’s highly obvious the route they’re going to be taking when it comes to romance.
you may be thinking, “what if they just make will a third wheel, and go for the unrequited gay crush trope?” they won’t. i mean, from the looks of it season 4 will start out with will still third wheeling and being sick of it and mike having so much internalized homophobia that he’s still doing this bullshit. but then for the majority of the rest of the series, el is gone and getting her powers back, leaving mike and will alone with unresolved romantic tension (that the stranger things socials have called out! see this post.) to hash out. there is twice the regular amount of showtime to execute these scenes too, so time shouldn’t even be a concern!
as a final note, i’m going to reiterate the fact that there were not any romantic scenes in the trailer. yes, el and mike had scenes where they looked at each other, and steve and nancy had scenes where they talked, but it doesn’t mean in any way that these will be endgame couples. of course people will assume that because mike and el are holding hands that they’re going to be back and happier than ever this season. but as other theorists have pointed out, trailers are meant to mislead us! for right now they’re pleasing the main audience, but they didn’t make a point to add in a ton of romantic scenes regarding the main couples of s4— probably because they’re going to be VERY different this season. 
so again, no need to worry! the duffers know exactly what they’re doing here. they always have. <3
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tsugarubecker · 3 years
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M*****n will not be endgame
(I’m censoring that ship name all to hell in hopes that it won’t show up in y’all’s tags. If it somehow does please tell me & I will find a way to remove it! The last thing I want to do is disrupt someone else’s tag with a take that they would not be interested in reading, or that would disrupt their peaceful browsing. 💞 Please comment on the notes of this post if this is showing up where it shouldn’t be & I’ll fix that asap!)
So! Hyperfixation go brrrr, I am having some epiphanies about the overarching messages pertaining to romance/healthy relationships in Stranger Things.
I am now positive beyond a doubt that M*****n won’t be endgame. Why? Because their relationship is, in every single way conceivable, the exact antithesis of the thesis statement about romance that the Duffers are delivering, which can be summed up as something like this:
A healthy, real, flourishing, fulfilling romantic relationship is not one that two people fall into by accident or by circumstance, or because other people assume that their interest in each other couldn’t possibly be platonic since they’re “opposite sexes”. Romantic relationships with good solid foundations include things such as: choosing to enter the relationship with intention. Telling the truth to each other. Establishing trust in one another. Consistently demonstrating the willingness to be open, vulnerable, and emotionally available. Choosing each other at each fork-in-the-road moment.
The reason I give many of those specific examples as part of what I understand to be the Duffer Brothers’ thesis statement about what a good romantic relationship looks like is because we see examples of those dynamics - kind of in bursts here and there - between various couples (or people who aren’t couples yet) in the show. I’m sure you can think of instances/examples.
But to go back specifically to why M-ship-name won’t be endgame: the Duffer Brothers do plan to end this show within the next couple of seasons. Probably at S5. They do not have time to develop all of those dynamics between M & E - on the contrary, they explicitly worked, in season 3 especially, to show that M & E exhibit the opposite of many of the dynamics that the Duffers see as integral to healthy & flourishing romantic relationships.
But on the flip side (even ignoring aaaaall the extensive queer coding of these two characters for a second) - who shares many dynamics with Mike that can be said to line up with the Duffers’ thesis statement of what healthy romance looks like? Will!
Mike & Will chose to enter their relationship with intention, not just circumstance. (“I asked. And you said yes.”) They tell the truth to each other, or strive to. (“It was a seven.” “I guess I did. I really did.”) They establish/have trust in one another. (“You’re like a super spy.” “If anyone can find this thing, it’s Will.”) They demonstrate willingness to be emotionally available and vulnerable. (“Will, I’m sorry, I was being a total asshole!” “Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy.” “Well if we’re both going crazy then we’ll go crazy together, right?” “Yeah, but. What if you want to join another party?”) They choose each other repeatedly. (“Not possible.” “Are you okay? I couldn’t find you!” “Will is alive. Will is alive!”)
The way that these two embody - or are always working towards embodying - the ideal dynamics of a healthy, loving romantic relationship with true connection, is something that the Duffers have worked to show with painstaking detail over the course of 3 seasons. (Season 3 in large part showed them fucking it up because Mike was trying really hard to follow heteronormative tropes of what romance is, instead. Which clearly went super well for him Which means Mike and Will will have soft, emotionally vulnerable moments of working to fix their bond in S4, because character and plot development are necessary as we move towards the end of the show - yayyy I’m excited for them to get back to their genuine connection! - but I digress.)
What I’m saying at the end of the day is that this show could have been about M and E falling accidentally into romance but then needing to back up and be intentional. But it’s not. Stranger Things is actually already exploring that dynamic - with Jancy, Lumax, kinda Jopper, maybe Stancy, etc.
The reason that M*****n is different is that both the elaborate queercoding and the build up of ideal relationship dynamics exist between Mike and Will. And the Duffers simply do not have time to flip the whole story direction on its head now - not without it being rushed and therefore poorly executed. Nor would it make narrative sense after the intentional build up/showing of the good dynamics between Mike and Will and the not-good dynamics between M and E.
And that is why M*****n won’t be endgame - Byler will. Byler is an example which supports the Duffer Brothers’ thesis statement about what real romance is, and Byler being canon is what this show has been working toward the entire time. Exciting!
(With all this said, if there are any M-ship-name folks still reading - I’d be hella down to read an alternate version of Stranger Things where everything went differently! You know? M and E had possibilities in S1, it’s just that the story went in another direction pretty quickly - or, rather, was planned to go that direction from the show’s inception. So, I’d be down to read an AU where things were set up differently between M&E from the jump, and they were the main ship of the series who were allowed to approach their relationship with a lot of intentionality. I think that might be lovely to read. Just putting that out there!)
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asherlockstudy · 3 years
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I 've gOt yoU
After a very long hiatus (3-4years?! time flies :@@@) which I believed to be permanent since I don't have hopes for a fifth season, I found myself going back to good old Sherlock and I was happy to see I still enjoy it! Not only that but it seems that this distance from the relentless binge watching I was practicing back in the day helped me notice details that had escaped me and get a fuller picture of Moftiss plot and intentions - something I couldn't do right after S4 when I was mad at them. While I am still very disappointed at the way they finished this beautiful story, my anger has mellowed a little.
One of the things I realized right when my brain was Sherlock-vacant was that the solution of IOU on which I wasted months was hidden in plain sight, in the actual dialogue. I hope there are more people who didn't realise, otherwise if it is only me who makes the connection just now, writing this post is going to make me feel very very stupid.
So yeah, IOU means I've got you. It doesn't seem like much but it is very meaningful in its subtlety. But where is this stated in the episode, what does the code mean, what is it meant for and why is this the code chosen by Jim Moriarty?
After he is found no guilty by the juries, Moriarty visits Sherlock for tea. There he prepares him for what is about to happen next. In addition, Moriarty leaves two codes for Sherlock to decipher. The one is the binary code he taps with his fingers. The other is the IOU (I owe you) which he carves on the apple.
Well, he gave us the meaning, right? I owe you? Well, not quite. Jim plays a little game. The surface meaning is "I owe you (a fall)" but the code has both some usage and an underlying, more important reason it exists. Besides, how does Sherlock owe Moriarty anything? For more on the "I owe you" part, you can read the "I.O.U a fall" meta. I wrote it in 2016 and it is dated but I still stand by some points made there. For example, that the apple is a symbol of lust, sin and temptation.
Back on track now. Sherlock takes the case of the two kidnapped children. While in the laboratory with Molly, he keeps muttering what IOU might be. So Sherlock thinks there's more to it than just being an abbreviation for "I owe you". For some reason, Sherlock hides the IOU riddle both from Molly and especially John.
A little later, after the kids are found, Sherlock is quite shocked when he realizes the children believe him to be their kidnapper. Not only he does not understand how Moriarty achieved this but he gradually starts worrying about himself, his reputation and where all this is heading. Based on his own childhood trauma, Sherlock was probably also shocked to see he inspired terror to a child. Sherlock looks worried and grim out of the windows of Scotland Yard.
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And the IOU appears in front of him. Sherlock is scared and realizes the deciphering of IOU is indeed pressing. The IOU first appeared on an apple and the time that Sherlock was feeling bad. The third time is when police turns against Sherlock and John and they are running away.
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The dark winged angel graffiti. A fallen angel? A guardian angel? A fallen guardian angel perhaps? It doesn't matter, much.
After he has talked privately to Molly and while John is still with him, Sherlock deduces secretly what the binary code is. He then invites Moriarty there and waits. Moriarty plans a scheme to get John away - sends him to find a supposedly dying Mrs Hudson (oh yes, it was Moriarty who sent John away, not Sherlock, this is canon btw, check this)
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and then informs Sherlock he has arrived. This probably means Sherlock had already figured what IOU was before inviting him but I am not ruling out the possibility that he had an epiphany during the rooftop scene.
So then a proud Sherlock tells Jim he found the binary code and it is all over. Jim responds that the code is fake and he is an idiot. Sherlock is shaken and on top of that Jim convinces him that there's no way for this to end other than Sherlock falling to his death. Sherlock tries to threaten him but it's futile. Jim clarifies that only Sherlock's death can call off the killers because he is certainly not gonna do it.
Jim gives Sherlock a moment, during which Sherlock has his epiphany, which is none other than the realization that Moriarty once again does not mean to kill him but has planned his fake suicide. (NOTE! If you are new to my blog, I recommend reading my Analyzing the Rooftop Scene meta. It is the core of my Sherlock theory and the main reason I made this blog. Not only I still stand by it with all my heart five years later but Series 4 also reinforced my faith in it. Well maybe except for one thing which however doesn’t affect the point I am trying to make. In short, the reason Sherlock never explained to anyone how he faked his death is because it was Jim's plan and not his own. Jim did not want Sherlock dead. For detailed explanation, go to the main meta.)
So Sherlock realizes Jim has prepared his fake suicide and starts laughing arrogantly because, honestly, this is kinda telling for Jim's feelings and motives.
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Not only the suicide is fake but Moriarty also let something slip. This is turning into a good day.
SHERLOCK: (confidently and mockingly approaches Moriarty) You are not going to do it? So the killers can be called off then. There is a recall code or a word or a number... I don't have to die... (singingly) if I've - got - you!
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Jim's legit reaction:
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Moriarty: (the hell of surprised but tries to keep calm and intimidating) Oh! You think you can make me stop the order, you think you can make me do that?!
Sherlock: (extremely confident) Yes. So do you.
So IOU was the code in case Moriarty wanted to call off the killers. He planted it in Sherlock's mind along with the binary code. The binary code might have meant nothing in the end but this one did. It was the red herring and the actual solution. Which also means that Moriarty gave Sherlock the chance to work on saving his friends and beating him from the beginning. He literally gave him the code to stop his own plan. The only condition for Sherlock was to understand what the abbreviation truly meant and then convince Jim to actually say it.
Why did Jim take this risk? Well, much like Irene, he couldn't help it. Irene is a mirror for Moriarty on so many levels. I had written this meta but I saw the URL is broken. Thankfully, I have kept archives and I will re-upload it soon. Anyway, Jim used a truth as his code for losing - or surrendering - just like Irene used SHERLOCKED - because he didn't actually expect Sherlock to find this one. To understand the deep root behind all the chaos.
And Sherlock was now sure he could make Jim say it. (again recommending Analyzing the Rooftop scene for that, because I already talk about it there)
"I've got you"
I am not a NES speaker so I visited some websites to be exactly sure of the meaning and ironically this is the first thing I stumbled into:
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Yeah... what are the odds... In general, the meanings are:
I'm holding you
I'm helping you
I understand you
I saved you
I am protecting you
In short, Moriarty was telling him that he wouldn't let him die by the fall... or in general. And "I've got you" is as close as Moriarty could be honest about his deeper motives.
Even Eurus, two seasons later, does not want Sherlock dead. It is not clear if this was Moriarty's condition or Eurus didn't wish his death either. But Moriarty himself definitely meant to keep Sherlock alive. Of course, he didn't keep the same stance for the people Sherlock loved. Quite, the contrary. I love this ship but let's be real, it is not exactly a healthy romance. Moriarty's motto was "Live with me or live in pain".
Moriarty understood that once Sherlock knew his deeper truth, he indeed was risking losing and surrendering to Sherlock without being rewarded. When Sherlock tries to persuade him, what?, essentially that they can work it out together, for a mere second Jim has faith. But Sherlock can't hide his fear for long and Moriarty accepts there is no hope. He kills (let me always hope he didn't) himself right there and then because he can not compete with John and thus he will not allow Sherlock to defeat him and go on with his life. And John.
Sorry for being a broken record but I explain all this step by step with images in the main meta, this one already became huge enough.
The summary is that IOU was Moriarty's love, or predatory obsession if you prefer, or both honestly, for Sherlock. Sherlock deciphered it and made Jim vulnerable to defeat. Moriarty finally accepted that Sherlock could not be his and killed himself. Vengeance would follow with his back-up plan, in the face of Eurus.
*There is always the possibility it means "I love you". But it's more OOC for Moriarty and I honestly think they just gave it to us under our noses!
** I always add at pivotal moments that I believe Sherlock was attracted to Moriarty, was lowkey obsessed too and respected him deeply. He had already fallen for John before meeting Jim though and, of course, even if he hadn't, he still wouldn't be able to overcome his moral inhibitions. Romance is already hard enough for him with a "normal" person.
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Note
Do you have a list of first kiss recs?
Hey Nonny!
Ahhh okay, so I was initially going to tack this onto another person’s ask because I usually combine the First Kiss and First Time fics together, but then I realized that First Kiss can happen without the First Time, and I’m sorta dumb, so FOR THIS LIST, it’s gonna be mostly fics ONLY TAGGED First Kiss (I usually go “first kiss/time” if both are in the fic), so this is pretty much a T-Rated list, hee hee. So YAY another excuse for another new list hee hee!
Again, if anyone has any First Kiss fics WITHOUT the first times or it’s G/T/M rated, let us know!
FIRST KISS
See also:
First Time || [MOBILE]
First Time Pt. 2
First Time Pt. 3
His (Again) by patternofdefiance (M, 820 w. || Fluff, John Comes Home) – John wonders how he had never seen this before, never noticed before, how happy Sherlock can look, and also how lonely.
Tap by doctorcaseyholmes (G, 896 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Morse Code, First Kiss, Love Confessions) – Sherlock finds an unobtrusive way to let out his feelings for John.
First Kiss by jawnandsharklock (NR, 1,119 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss, Fluff) – "Look into the mirror. Do you see your mouth? Good. Go two inches to the right from the right corner of your mouth. Then two and a half inches up. Stop. I said two and a half inches, not five. There you go. Right there. That’s where this story begins. Or maybe that’s where it ends. Or maybe it’s all the same."
Ex by Itsallfine (T, 1,248 w., 1 Ch. || Angsty Fluff, Love Confessions, Coming Out, Exes, First Kiss, Fake Relationship, Getting Outed) – One night, in the midst of their post-case high and on the cusp of something more, John and Sherlock run into John’s ex. His ex-boyfriend.
Upon Reflection, Tenable Frippery by emmagrant01 (T, 1,299 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4, John’s Beard, First Kiss, Fluff) – John was, inexplicably, growing a beard.
A Better Fate Than Wisdom by flawedamythyst (G, 1,339 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss, John’s Sexuality Crisis, Pining Sherlock, Happy Ending, Fluff) – Nearly four hours pass between their first kiss and their second.
I love you, I say by khoshekhskitten (G, 1,576 w., 1 Ch. || Pre & Post TRF, Hurt / Comfort, First Kiss, Love Confessions) – "I love you" is a phrase that follows John Watson through his life with Sherlock Holmes.
Santa Knows by Itsallfine (T, 1,719 w., 1 Ch. || Christmas Party, Love Confessions, First Kiss, Fluff, Matchmaking, POV Sherlock, Pining Sherlock) – Sherlock and John both get exactly what they want from the Yard's secret Santa exchange. Pure holiday fluff.
There's Always Three of Us by Itsallfine (T, 1,765 w., 1 Ch. || S4 Fix It Fic/Post TFP, Parentlock / Rosie, Angelo’s, First Kiss, January 29, Love Declarations) – Sherlock takes John and Rosie out to Angelo's and gets a chance to correct the biggest mistake of his life.
Christmas by thegirlinthedeathfrisbee (G, 1,768 w., 1 Ch. || Mistletoe, First Kiss, Fluff) – John goes home for Christmas -- to the Holmes home, that is.
Want by siennna (T, 1,806 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Pining, First Kiss, POV Sherlock, Requited, Second Person POV) – When John speaks, you hear more than words. You hear the rise and fall of his tone, the comfortable quake of his laughter, the warm pauses of silence in between. When John laughs, there are stars glittering on his tongue and galaxies resting just behind his teeth, and you wish you could press your lips there and burrow into the warm sound. Part 6 of sienna’s favorites
The Stranger by LaKoda0518 (T, 1,844 w., 1 Ch. || Alternate First Meeting, Fluff, First Kiss, For a Case, Mysterious Madman, Lonely John) – John Watson is standing on the platform waiting to board a train to his sister’s after being invalided home from Afghanistan. A chance meeting with a mysterious madman turns his world upside down and changes his life forever.
Through A Glass by Mildredandbobbin (M, 2,012 w., 1 Ch. || Voyeurism, Masturbation, First Kiss) – There is an adjoining door in the bathroom at 221B that leads into Sherlock’s bedroom. The door, from the bathroom to Sherlock’s bedroom, is made of three glass, semi-opaque panels. It has suddenly come to Sherlock’s attention that if he stands in exactly the right spot in his bedroom he can see through said panels, and more to the point, can see John.
Duvet (green) by Mazarin221b (G, 2,021 w., 1 Ch. || Post-THoB, Mind Palace, Revelations, First Kiss) – Sherlock recalibrates and restructures his mind palace so it looks like 221b. What he chooses to put in John's room is a bit of a surprise, and a revelation.
The Marriage Proposal Negotiation by Goddess_of_the_Night (G, 2,161 w., 1 Ch. || Dev. Rel., Possessive Sherlock, Insecure Sherlock, Fluff, First Kiss, Post Mary) – Sherlock hasn't ever really done anything the traditional way, so of course it wouldn't bother him to propose to John even though they're not even dating. And the fact that John is already on a date with someone else when he decides to do it? Tedious.
The Case of the Made-Up Case by DoubleNegative (T, 2,394, 1 Ch. || Fake Relationship, Clubbing, First Kiss, For Science, Humour) - Sherlock takes John to a club. For a “case.” Yes, John, a case. Part 1 of The (Secret) Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
John's Drawers by JezebelGoldstone (T, 2,646 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, First Kiss, Romance, Humour) – Sherlock snoops through John's drawers and finds something. . . unexpected.
Crime Scene Procedure for Death by Drowning by paxlux (T, 2,668 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TGG, First Kiss, Sherlock’s Violin, Fluff) – He lies back in bed and listens to the notes and pictures them gathering around Sherlock’s feet like water. Part 1 of proper procedure
There'll be people By Ariane DeVere (T, 2,739 w., 1 Ch. || Friendship, Romance, Angsty Fluff, First Kiss) – There's a reason why Sherlock doesn't travel on the Underground, and it's not because he's a snob. John learns the reason the hard way. Although, given the conclusion, maybe this one Tube ride wasn't such a bad idea.
Let Go by thisisforyou (G, 2,743 w., 1 Ch. || Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, Fluff, Anxious / Worried Sherlock) – In the end, separating John's things from Sherlock's in the chaos of their sitting room is like pulling a limpet from a wet rock. Especially when the rock is clinging on for dear life, because Sherlock doesn't want to let go. Short, fluffy h/c Johnlock oneshot.
Closeted by Sexxica (E, 2,762 w., 1 Ch. || Trapped in a Closet, Panicking Sherlock, Hand Jobs, Coming in Pants, Awkward Conversations, Love Confessions, First Kiss, Fluffy Ending) – An improvised hiding spot and a bit of accidental voyeurism leave John and Sherlock in an awkward position.
BBCSH 'How To Save A Life' by tigersilver (T, 2,784 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss, Angsty Schmoop, Requited Love) – Pining, requited, and unabated spates of 'first kiss' fluff. Post Mary, AU, mildly cracky. John lays a smooch on Sherlock's nape in passing. The world does that thing it does when it wobbles and Sherlock practically falls off his own pins. Part 1 of 'How To...'
Better Late Than Never by sussexbound (NR (T), 3,021 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4 / TFP Doesn’t Exist, Sherlock POV, Love Confessions, Drunk Sherlock / Sober John, John Takes Care of Sherlock, First Kiss, Jealous Sherlock, Emotional Turmoil) – He suddenly wants John Watson out of his bedroom, out of his flat, out of his life, because he has been lying to himself these last few months, he realises. He doesn’t want John here, not with the way things are. He doesn’t want 221b Baker Street to be nothing more than rest stop John returns to on his journeys between women. He doesn’t want to play co-parent if Rosie is going to be snatched away from him and placed in the arms of whatever nameless woman du jour John lands on next. He doesn’t want to keep being so careful, so generous, so, so…
The General Idea by agirlsname (T, 3,022 w., 1 Ch. || Retirement, Promise of Forever / Proposal, POV John, First Kiss, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Soft Sherlock, Idiots in Love, Crying / Emotional Sherlock, Love Confessions) – After twenty years of friendship, John is used to Sherlock acting weirdly. But the news Sherlock finally brings himself to deliver change the carefully built dynamics between them, and John realises it's time to act.
Until the End of the World by SarahCat1717 (G, 3,049 w., 1 Ch. || Angst, First Kiss, Pining Sherlock, Oblivious John, Drunkenness) – Taking place in Season 3, John listens to an old favourite song and sorts through his memories and feelings about Sherlock and Mary.
The Sweetest Taste In The World by crossroads (G, 3,121 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss, Jealous Sherlock, Fluff, Pining, Friends to Lovers) – The sweetest taste in the world is rarely ever the easiest to come by.
On a Sunday Morning by SD_Ryan (G, 3,136 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, First Kiss, Obsessive Sherlock, Pining Sherlock) – Sherlock has a little problem. He can’t stop obsessing about John Watson.
it’s in the details by kimbiablue (T, 3,272 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, First Kiss, Pining Idiots) – Sherlock and John meet with a forensic artist to determine how capable they are able to describe each other. In which John struggles to adequately describe Sherlock Holmes, and also thinks about his lips a lot.
Wish I Was In Heaven Sitting Down by standbygo (M, 3,282 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S4, Five Plus One, Missing Scenes, Parenthood, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hurt/Comfort, Declarations of Love, Fluff, Food, John Whump) – Five times when Sherlock and John ate together, and one time they didn't. A history of the boys, in food.
Atrium by kali_asleep (T, 3,460 w. || 5+1, Valentines Day, Fluff & Schmoop, First Kiss) – Five times Sherlock gave John his heart, and the one time Sherlock got a heart in return (literally).
Water Is Another Matter by cathedral_carver (T, 3,903 w., 1 Ch. || Sick Fic, Pining, First Kiss, Heat Wave, Skinny Dipping) – He thinks it’s in trouble, his poor heart.
Last Christmas by Mazarin221b (T, 3,911 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Pining Sherlock, First Kiss) – That Earth-shaking revelation, then, leads to a problem, and one that Sherlock realizes should be solved quickly, before John’s dates turn into girlfriends or boyfriends, because sometimes girlfriends or boyfriends can turn into wives or husbands while your back is turned. Every time John hums happily at the mirror as he shaves, splashes on a little gift cologne Mrs. Hudson bought him for Christmas, Sherlock is drawn back to that night by the fire, and the way John’s touch had made the world stand still.
Five Times John Cooked Something with Peas and One First Kiss by 221b_careful_what_you_wish_for (T, 3,915 w. || 5 and Ones, Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Cooking / Food, Sick Sherlock, Music, Domestic Fluff, First Kiss) – After John cooks five dinners that slowly reveal their hunger for each other, Sherlock and John finally share a first kiss.
Jukebox by standbygo (T, 3,990 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Singing/Music, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Hurt/Comfort, Humour, Friends to Lovers, First Kiss) – After the music halls of Sherlock's mind palace get damaged by accident, John learns that Sherlock never forgets a song. Even the ones he'd rather forget. But the random singalong brings some unexpected benefits.
The Oolong Disaster by unicornpoe (T, 4,151 w., 1 Ch. || John’s Beard, Fluff, Humour, Frustrated Sherlock, John Takes Care of Sherlock, Case Fic-ish, Pining Sherlock, First Kiss, Possessive Sherlock) – John has a beard. Sherlock has a panic attack.
Because Blah Blah Blah Happy by cwb (E, 4,578 w., 1 Ch. || Fluff, Cuddles, Kissing, First Kiss, Requited Love, Pining Sherlock) – John is entirely done with the milk situation and gives Sherlock a list of shit he's pissed about. Sherlock sets out to make John happy. John is happy. Sherlock makes his own list. They are both very, very happy.
We Bleed into the Grey by QuinnAnderson (T, 4,989 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss, Supernatural Elements, Fluff & Angst) – It was stupid, really. What was the point of having an ability if it wasn't even a useful one? Sherlock would just as soon be rid of his. Until he meets John Watson, that is.
A Study in Intimacy by doodle (T, 5,183 w., 1 Ch. || WEBARCHIVE LINK || PODFIC AVAILABLE || First Kiss, Virginity, Romance, Touching) – People don't touch Sherlock Holmes, not like they touch other people. Then he meets John Watson.
Welcome Home, John by slashscribe (G, 5,504 w., 1 Ch. || Post-S3, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Awkwardness, Stabbed Sherlock, Protective Sherlock, Panic Attack (Sherlock), Self Esteem Issues, Love Confessions, First Kiss) – When John moves back to 221B, he thinks he’s the broken one, but after a while, it becomes clear that he might not be correct.
Stranded by BeautifulFiction (T, 5,798 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss, Communication / Relationship Discussion, Pining Sherlock, Sherlock POV, BAMF John, Doctor John, Case Fic, Drinking, Huddling For Warmth, Friends to More) –  When stranded on a derelict barge at high tide, John and Sherlock reconsider their friendship.
Closeted by sussexbound (T, 6,115 w., 1 Ch. || Love Confession, First Kiss, Games, Trapped in a Closet) – Sherlock and John get trapped in a closet while on a case. Some revelations are made while they play a game to pass the time. Part 1 of Intimacy
Disguises are always a self-portrait by yellowteapots (NR (T), 6,223 w., 1 Ch. || Case Fic, First Kiss, POV John, Fake Rel.) – Sherlock and John head out of town on a case of murder / suicide at a Pride Fest.
Survival Instinct by shirleyholmes (T, 7,162 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TRF, First Kiss, Schmoop, Nightmares, Fluff & Angst, Grief, Idiots in Love) – After Sherlock's "comeback" John starts obsessing with constantly making sure he's alive (checking his heartbeat etc.)
The Light of Day by allonsys_girl (M, 7,297 w., 4 Ch. || First Kiss, Angst, TSo3-Fix-It, Possessive Sherlock) – Rewrite of the end of Sign of Three. John actually notices Sherlock leaving the reception early, and chases after him. Angsty Johnlock. Happy ending, for sure. Part 1 of The Light of Day
Speak My Language by Itsallfine (T, 7,479 w., 4 Ch. || Thanksgiving, Love Languages, Love Confessions, First Kiss, John Experiments in Sherlock) – When Mrs. Hudson introduces John and Sherlock to the concept of the five love languages, Sherlock descends into a dark mood and John’s curiosity gets the better of him. What is Sherlock’s love language, and why does the whole concept set him so on edge? Part 1 of A Holiday Triptych
The T-Shirt Thief by watsonsherlocksuniverse (T, 7,968 w., 5 Ch. || Pining Sherlock, Doctor John, First Kiss, Canon Fix-It, Developing Rel., Mutual Pining) – Sherlock steals John's t-shirt from the laundry. John catches him wearing it one evening, fluff ensues with an endeared yet teasing John?
The Engine by stitchy (T, 8,294 w., 1 Ch. || First Kiss, Post-HLV, ASiP Do-Over, Sci-Fi, Time Travel) – Shortly after the events of His Last Vow, Sherlock has an opportunity to revisit the night of A Study in Pink and get some perspective on the destiny of he and John's relationship.
Never Been This Swept Away by estalita11 (T, 8,531 w., 1 Ch. || Post-TAB, Mary is Not Nice, Drug Use, First Kiss, Love Confessions) – Set immediately after TAB, Sherlock visits his brother to definitely not apologize about earlier and ends up finally learning a few things that would have been nice knowing about months ago. Mycroft never wants to deal with lovestruck idiots ever again.
High Tide by stardust_made (T, 8,540 w., 1 Ch. || Jealousy, Angst, First Kiss) – A little favour Sherlock stupidly agrees to do for Mycroft leads to John meeting a handsome, affluent man, who is going out of his way to woo him. Sherlock struggles with the situation and with his own reactions to it. Part 1 of The High Tide Series
Ravish Me by amalnahurriyeh (E, 10,025 w., 1 Ch. || UST / RST, Makeup / Lipstick, Sympathetic Sally, Experiments, Pining John, First Kiss, Face Fucking / BJ’s, Cuddling) – Sherlock is experimenting with patterns of wear on lipstick in daily encounters. John is going to go insane.
Their Great Reward by BeautifulFiction (T, 10,095 w., 1 Ch. || UST, First Kiss, Fluff) – Boxing day, in John's opinions, is the worst day of the year. Christmas is over, the tree is wilting and stripped of gifts, and there's a week of dead-time until the clean slate of the new year. However the combination of a blizzard, a power-cut and Sherlock might just make it a day to remember.
The Most Luminous of People by liriodendron (M, 10,979 w., 4 Ch. || Synesthesia, Pre-Slash, Developing Romance, First Kiss) – In which Sherlock Holmes finds out what it's like to truly want something, John Watson isn't too bad at deductions, and everything gets a bit bright for a minute. Part 1 of Conductivity
Say For Me, Love by MirabileLectu (T, 13,147 w., 1 Ch. || UST, First Kiss, Drama, Pining John, Victor Trevor) – If you had asked John this morning what the result of his quiet afternoon at home would be, discovering a truth about Sherlock's past startling enough to shift the foundations of their friendship would not have been his first guess. So naturally, that was what was bound to happen.
Licence to Kiss by fellshish (T, 13,739 w., 4 Ch. || Post-ASIB, Sort-Of Bondlock, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Mutual Pining, Angst and Humour, Bed Sharing) – Sherlock loves John, and John loves... James Bond. He only made Sherlock watch every single film. Tedious. And now John's birthday is coming up. Sherlock can't tell him how he feels, but he can organise an amazing gift: John's very own spy adventure. Sherlock begs Mycroft for a real case with some extra gadgets. And perhaps some actors pretending to be criminals. What could possibly go wrong?
On The Fence by BeautifulFiction (T, 13,770 w., 1 Ch. || Fencing, Case Fic, First Kiss, Insecure John, Pining John, Hug, Greg Finds Out) – The murder of the King's College fencing champion leads to revelations about Sherlock's past. Will it be the point that tips them from friends to lovers, or will they remain on the fence?
Hallowed Eve by EventHorizon (T, 14,750 w., 6 Ch. || First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Halloween) – It probably wasn't the smartest idea to let Sherlock choose the costumes for Halloween, but John never considered himself the smartest man in the room, anyway.
Wonderful, Etcetera. by VictoryCandescence (T, 16,955 w., 3 Ch. || Wonderful Life AU || Alternate Timelines, Brotherhood, Homophobia, Suicidal Ideations, Mentions of Drug Use, Friendship, Different TRF, Sherlock’s Past, Victor Trevor is Past Boyfriend, Depression, Hallucination, Love Confessions, Christmas, First Kiss) – Sherlock thinks everyone would be better off if he had never existed, including and especially himself. When he finds himself in a world in which his wish has been granted, he begins to think perhaps even he could be wrong – but it takes an unlikely chaperone to make him not only observe, but understand.
Let's Make a Bed Out in the Rain by theimprobable1 (M, 17,664 w., 11 Ch. || Pining Sherlock, Angst & Fluff, First Kiss, Unrequited, Jealous Sherlock, Protective Sherlock) – John is devastated after his long-term girlfriend leaves him. Sherlock helps him through it.
You're On the Air by prettysailorsoldier (M, 20,616 w., 1 Ch. || Unilock, Matchmaking, Radio, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Sherlock POV, Pining Sherlock, Flirting, Bisexual John) – The Consulting Detective and The Woman dominate the airwaves of their university radio station, doling out advice on everything from meeting the parents to sexual positions. When their ratings start to dip before the holidays, however, manager Mike thinks it's time for some fresh blood, and who better to fill in the gaps than rugby captain--and notorious flirt--John Watson? Part 1 of 25 Days of Johnlock
Another Auld Lang Syne by DiscordantWords (M, 30,234 w., 31 Ch. || Post S4, Mutual Pining, Alternating POV, Introspection, Parentlock, Christmas, New Year’s, First Kiss, Past Drug Use, Angst with Happy Ending, Drinking, Sherlock Whump) – There had been years of missed chances.
The Winter Garden by Callie4180 (T, 31,213 w., 13 Ch. || Post-S4, Retirement, Christmas, Slow Burn, Grown-Up Rosie, Parenthood, Rosie’s Cat, Angst with Happy Ending, Holidays, Beekeeping, Magical Realism, Sherlock POV, Sherlock’s Violin, Future Fic, Sussex, Honey, Magical Healing Honey, Love Confessions, Sherlock’s Scar, First Kiss, Touching, Mycroft is Dying) – As Sherlock nears the end of his career, he's given the gift of a cottage in Sussex. The honey from the beehives out back is amazing. Almost...magical.
Chaperones by MissDavis (T, 34,114 w., 7 Ch. || 11 Years Post-S4, Fake Relationship, Parentlock, Disney World, Bed / Room Sharing, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, First Kiss, Obsessive Sherlock, Insecure John) – Right. Of course. Everyone assumed they were a couple and no one would question it. John put his elbows up on the table so he could rest his head in his hands. "You want to pretend to be a couple so we can chaperone a trip to Disney World with Rosie's class and you won't have to share a room with a stranger?" "Exactly." Sherlock beamed at him. "Don't worry about the cost. The Birmingham case last month paid more than enough to cover expenses for all three of us."
we have never seen a greater day than this by Lediona (T, 36,420 w., 7 Ch. || A Royal Night Out AU || WWII / VE Day, Prince Sherlock, Soldier John, Alternating POV, First Kiss, Bittersweet Ending, Homophobia, Dancing) – Peace. At long last. It’s VE Day and Prince William desires to join the celebrations. It is a night of excitement, danger and the first flutters of romance.
Inscrutable to the Last by DiscordantWords (M, 48,842 w., 6 Ch. || Post-TRF, Alternate S3, John’s Blog/S3 is a Story By John, Divorce, Marital Difficulties, John is a Mess, Emotional Reunion, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Grief / Mourning, Pining John, First Kiss, Adorably Clueless Sherlock, Nostalgia, Love Confessions, Eventual Happy Ending) – He wasn't Sherlock, he couldn't work miracles. All he'd ever been able to do was write about them.
Given In Evidence by verityburns (M, 97,884 w., 19 Ch. || PODFIC AVAILABLE || Post-TRF, Angst, Drama, Case Fic, Romance, BAMF!John, Submissive Sherlock, First Kiss, Humour) – Coming back from the dead can be a complicated business. With a new case on the horizon, rebuilding a life is one thing... rebuilding a friendship quite another. For Sherlock and John, things may never be just the same...
Definitions by siennna (T, 101,528 w., 12 of ? Ch. || Dev. Rel., Pining, Fluff and Romance, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Fluff, Cuddles, Girl’s Night, Texting, Virgin Sherlock, Drunk Sherlock, Background Mollstrade, Hair Petting, Laying on Lap) – Sherlock’s journey in defining his flat mate and stumbling through the muddled world of emotion. {{This feels complete; the chapter count is listed as ? but I feel like it is done}}
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chicoriii · 3 years
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Season 4, Episode 14 - Sentibulleur (Sentibubbler)
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I just seen the episode today, because I wasn't looking forward for another Alya-centric one, I'm already sick of it. I did it only now when have more free time. It's the first time, since I'm a Miraculous fan, when I'm starting watching a completely new episode without feeling even a bit of excitation. I'm not gonna lie that I enjoyed it, I don't, because it's not my cup of tea. This is why this post is more about why I dislike Alya favouritism than Sentibubbler itself. But I need to clarify that I didn't enjoy the episode mostly because of personal taste, I'm not trying to say it's "objectively" bad (though opinions are never objective, only facts could be). If you love Alya's arc, it's completely understandable that you probably love this episode as well.
I thought it would be a DjWfi episode (to be clear, I haven't seen any trailers of it, only one screenshot, which was said to be from this episode, but I don't remember seeing that moment in it at all, and the ending card), but poor Nino was just a background character. This is literally an "Alya is amazing" episode in which she is saving the world with a very little help of Ladybug and even less of Chat Noir, who is treated more like an offending trash. After watching it, I see fan edits like that are even more accurate to describe season 4 (not made by me, I just stole it from Cartoon Apocalypse's video).
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Adrien was supposed to be a deuteragonist and a second main character, but Alya is much more like ones than Adrien has ever been. He has never gotten as many episodes focusing on him as much like those with Alya in a season (and we can be sure, it's not the last one) and he has never be as much the main hero in a fight against villains in any of them. Instead of giving him more screentime, he's putted even more in the background than before, because Alya needs to shine. Why they can't do it without treating Adrien that much unfair? I'm not gonna hide that I hate it and it makes me feel that maybe I should stop watching the show, since it looks like it's not something I really enjoy anymore. Adrien is my favourite character, so I'm really pissed of that Alya is stealing his role. We will see, but once I will be sure that Alya favouritism is gonna last forever, I would consider stopping watching the show seriously. Especially that doesn't go hand in hand with good writing. In this episode nothing as much absurd like in Optigami happened, but I still have one big issue.
It's not a problem with Alya herself. I'm used to like her, even if she's been annoying me sometimes before S4. But I don't know what to think about her this season, since I have some issues with her writing. I just don't like the idea of as much favouritism any of the characters who are not the original main ones, especially if Adrien is treated that bad by the writing at the same time. I would say the same if it was Kagami, who is my third favourite character in the show, after Adrien and Plagg. As you see, I like the Japanese girl even more than Marinette, but I still don't think that making her more important than the protagonist would be okay (it would make no sense, but you know what I mean).
Besides, I've seen people speculating that Alya is going to fuse the fox with ladybug Miraculous in an episode in which Marinette is akumatised (if one will ever happen). Don't you see how much unfair to Adrien/Chat Noir it is? Alya is already getting much of special treatment, more than a character who was supposed to be the next most important one after the current Guardian of the Mother Box. An episode with Marinette as an akuma should be the one in which Chat Noir is saving her without help of any other heroes, just like she has saved him alone in Chat Blanc. If there was a fusion of the fox and ladybug, it would mean that's not a story mostly about Marinette and Adrien anymore. It would make it clear that the writers are not even try to hide the fact that's now it's Alya the second most important character. Adrien could be the third one at best, Chat is only a sidekick of the Ladies, not really a hero equal to Ladybug anymore. Besides, episode like that is most probably the only chance to see Tikki using her power without a wielder. Wouldn't it really interesting to see what bad happens when Tikki is using Lucky Charm all by herself?
And to be fair, this season has really way too much Alya generally, I'd like to see more other heroes, not just Rena Rouge and Rena Rouge over and over again. I want more new Miraculous wielders and since Ladybug is calling the old ones (though she definitely should not do it), I want to see them in action too. We need to get a full transformation sequence of Ryuuko at least once. But the more episodes they are released, the less I believe it would ever happen. Good thing that they found few seconds to show Chat's sequence (only a second time in 10 episodes!), but still no Cataclysm. I wonder if they are even going to show it after season 3.
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I have no idea what writers are planning to do. If they're want Alya to be a permanent Miraculous holder who is treated like co-guardian by Marinette forever, why they write her that way? Why isn't she really noble and careful? Why all those red flags she's giving Marinette (those she always ignore anyway): like letting Mr. Ramier know that Ladybug's the Guardian now, though she asked her to keep it as a secret, or stealing a Miraculous that almost made Ladybug's identity exposed. Are any of those events be relevant later? Are they there to show that saying Alya everything about the Guardian things and giving her the fox Miraculous permanently are bad decisions? If yes, what's the purpose of Sentibubbler? This episode doesn't seem to be really significant, it's more like another one fan service for Alya stans. The previous ones were actually important, this one could be missed without much a loss for the plot. The only reason it could be seen as significant is to make Marinette letting her guard down even more. But isn't she extremely careless already? After revealing her identity, she immediately started to tell Alya all the Guardian secrets, gave her a code for the Miracle Box, as well as the Miraculous permanently, despite her identity being exposed and all the wrong things she has done. Marinette is already dealing completely reckless with Alya, there's no reason to make her even more. Besides, that dream can't be a prophetic one, right? I remember that adult Bunnix really believed that exposing Ladybug's identity is something what Alya is able to do (from her time at least), but I think it's impossible to happen in real. That's why I see this episode as the most "fillerish" from all of this's season those have been released till now. Other ones introduced new characters or Miraculous wielders at least, nothing really new and crucial happened in this one. There's nothing bad in fillers, but why another Alya-centric one? Why not focusing on a character who hasn't been favoured this season instead?
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The most stupid thing in this episode is that Rena Rouge made an illusion in which Ladybug says that she won't give the Miraculous to her anymore, for two reasons. One is that Gabriel bought that very weak lie without questioning it at all. It's clearly a plot armor. I know that they tend to make Gabriel very dumb when they need it from the beginning, but it's extremely stupid even to him. Hey, Gabriel, you know Rena Rouge's identity for some time now and Ladybug has been already giving Rena the fox few times before after her identity being exposed. Why that sudden decision? Isn't it suspect? Second is that it's been portrayed as a clever thing, while it makes Alya unable to be Rena Rouge anymore, if they don't want to show to Shadow Moth that was a lie. I'm not talking only about the battles, Rena can't be seen in public, since Ladyblog is not the only place which is showing content about the heroes. So then there's no reason for Alya to keep the fox anymore. Unless I interpret it wrong, and Marinette doesn't think it would make Gabriel stop going after Alya. But to me it looked like that and that's also make Marinette dumb anyway, because she is still unable of seeing how dangerous it is for her best friend. Alya's plan worked once, but it doesn't mean it would work again, once he discovers the lie, it would make him even more suspicious of a bond between Rena Rouge and Ladybug. Marinette is risking not only safety of Paris and the whole world, but also safety of her best friend. Why everyone is able to see that obvious thing, not only the girls but also all of the Kwamis? I'm not going to change my opinion that they are dumbing down all the characters who are involved in it and that's just bad and lazy writing.
And where's Su-Han when he's needed. I've been working on the English subtitles for the French dubbing of Furious Fu recently and now I remember that he said that he's going to observe Marinette and take the box from her is she makes a slight mistake. She's keeping making bad decisions, but he still isn't showing. That was a lie? Because if he doesn't see anything wrong in how's Marinette is dealing with her guardian duty, I'm gonna to lose the rest of my faith in the writers.
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I'm so sorry. I wanted to be active on Tumblr at least a bit after seeing this episode, but I still don't feel motivated. It's painful to say that season 4 is mostly a disappointment to me, especially that I hate the biggest story arc of it.
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greymattermaelstrom · 5 years
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NYCC 2019 Outlander  a sort of life ...
Discovered OL just over a year ago. What a ride! I think I’m still in one piece, though have a few scars! Only joined Tumblr a few weeks ago. This is my first original post for Tumblr. In at the deep end!! Sometimes I don’t know where I am on the Sam and Cait ‘are they, aren’t they’ continuum. I know I’m not alone. I have watched NYCC 2019 a number of times now, it is so good. Ginger and the cast were in fine form.
However, there is a section that I found particularly intriguing. I’m not sure why there was such emotion amongst some of the panel at this point. There are 2 full versions available publicly. The one that piqued my interest was the live stream version that I find on Facebook (not the final official version on YouTube).
 FB search: Outlander NYCC Panel. There are differing camera angles between the two versions. YT version has a long-shot of this part. The streamed version has a much closer mid-shot as per below. You can see expressions, body language and interaction between these 4 members quite clearly. I’ve watched this 3-4 min part many times and almost always notice new things with each subsequent viewing as it’s hard to focus on 4 people at the same time. So I am putting this out there hoping some may find it as interesting as I did. Apologies if this particular part has already been discussed in detail elsewhere, but as a Tumblr newb, I haven’t found it as yet. It really helps to watch the streamed video on a good screen, the bigger the better to catch it all. 
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44:38 Caitriona is speaking and her voice breaks a bit on the words: really true, when speaking about her marriage with Frank before the Stones. Please view vid around this mark for context. Duncan shifts his gaze after C says this. Sam’s foot is swinging (body language experts pls) and his eyes are getting moist and he shifts position and puts his hand to his mouth (to stop his mouth trembling?). Meanwhile, Maria is getting emotional listening to this and her eyes glint. Brave C tries to say something else but decides not to and she plays with her hair as she does when I think she feels vulnerable/emotional/unsure. Duncan claps a little and tries not to shed a tear I think. C finishes and is trying hard to hold it together. Seeing that S is a bit emotional makes it hard for her I think. I found this short bit a start of the emotions found later from 47:59 where Cait then talks about Claire not being her full self and living as a compromised woman in the 60′s without living to her potential back with Jamie. 
As Cait continues, 48:14 Sam pinches his nose and wipes his mouth and I sense becomes a little more emotional as do Duncan and Maria.
48:16 Sam thinks Cait is about to specifically describe the time J and C are apart and motions accordingly, but Cait talks about a slightly different part and you see her foot move up in recognition, like a sympathetic reflex, that she saw Jamie’s gesticulation and I think S sees this acknowledgment.  
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48:39 Maria and Duncan become more emotional and it’s on their faces. Sam is listening and watching like a hawk and he is getting more emotional. 
48:47 Sam shrugs his shoulders as a sympathetic reflex of his own?
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48:49 I don’t quite know how Cait kept it together whilst she spoke, maybe she had made that point before and/or rehearsed it - which is fine. She is quite emotional when she finishes as is Sam. Duncan is eyeing her I think, to see if she is ok? (relatively speaking). Cait does very well to recompose herself from that emotional place. That’s some heavy stuff there. I think when C says ‘ .. their hearts and their souls are ageless with each other.’ C sees Sam is emotional and that sets off C even more I think? M smiles at Cait’s last line. Why is it so emotional for the four of them? Was C tactfully emphasising her mature love view of JC (that OL is not a skin show)? She has copped a bit of flack that S4 doesn’t have a lot of intimate scenes along with her horny grannies podcast comment.
Is she saying she can’t live a normal married life (with whomever it is i.e.Tony, or Sam or someone else)? If it’s with Sam, the 4 cast members would know and empathise with the SC together narrative - that they are hiding it for security reasons and/or NDA. Or C is married to Tony and S loves C and knows he will never have her and C knows this and can see S is upset? Or he doesn’t quite approve of C and T? Are they reminiscing about the simple, heady euphoria they seemed to enjoy in the early days and things now have become so much more complicated? Or something happened but they are still fond of that time? These are just my thoughts. Happy to look at all other scenarios 
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48:55 Duncan is upset and now wipes a tear. Can’t eye-roll that one away. Sam’s eyes are quite moist. He’s trying to keep it together as does C. I imagine the pre-panel drinks have kicked in by now which can emphasis emotions. I don’t blame them for needing dutch courage for the panel. They would have been on tenterhooks about so many things. Maybe they had a choice, maybe they didn’t. 
48:59 Thankfully the next fan question is delivered quickly and a nice comment about Underarmour activewear gives SC a reason to smile and press on quickly. It was good to see SC smile at each other and regain some composure. Whatever the backstory is, I felt for them. All four smile as the fan’s question continues and they needed that. C is smiling and mirroring Sam nodding along to the irons in the fire fan question and is fidgeting with the corner of a piece of paper whilst listening which is similar to Sam’s recent foot swinging.
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49:26 Now this is very interesting! Most of us know about Cait’s head shake when the fan asked Sam ‘Do you sleep, ever?’ Duncan smiles and turns his head to SC and when Duncan sees Cait shaking her head, I believe Cait and Duncan make eye contact. D’s smile drops straight away, which C sees. D’s thinking, what are you doing? Cait’s thinking, Yes, what am I doing? D turns away with a serious face and continues his beard stroking. C’s head doesn’t move but her eyes drop in contemplation or ?. Then her head drops and she has a big swallow. She raises her eyebrows to stop a tear from falling? We’ve all done that. I’d like to really know what is happening there?? I’m sure you would also. She is emotional and shortly recomposes herself to an extent. 
The second part of the question to S was 'Do you have a particularly favourite season or scene from OL ..’? Then S takes this opportunity to tell his ‘what is Jamie like without Claire story’, again. Is he answering the question or trying to share an allegory of their relationship secrets?? Not sure why he would refer to that bit otherwise? C had possibly just put her allegory out there, so S wants to support that with his. Perhaps SC had discussed this breadcrumb code beforehand?? If not that scenario, they still appear to be alluding to something! 
49:57 Sam says, ‘He found is way back. He found a sort of life, I think’ and Cait nods with her head down. And then there was some tension relief from C and DB. Ha, Ha! And S says the Wedding Scene! Everyone laughs. Phew!
50:42 Cait gets something out of her eye a few times past this point.
51:41 Sam wipes his eye. And is still emotional.
52:15 DB gets something out of his eye. May not be anything. Could be something in the air!
These snapshots are of the streaming video and would be covered by the fair use policy I would think.
There is a lot happening in these few minutes. I’m sure you’ll find something else as well. I feel sometimes that I have invaded their privacy by looking at this under a microscope. However, it is a public event and the video is in the public domain. They know some will analyze it. That’s one reason they are on tenterhooks I think. Unfortunately, with so much conflicting disclosure and non-disclosure, we can’t really be blamed for trying to join the dots I don’t think. 
I’m trying to be reasonably objective here although it is hard for me to be totally unbiased. I just find this interesting. If you don’t, then that’s totally fine. I get that some peeps are really over this. I would just ask that any comments be as civil and constructive as possible please. Thanks. Enjoy!! 
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sanoiro · 4 years
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5x01 - Really Sad Devil Guy - Spoilers & Speculation
  Warning! There is always a possibility that certain scenes might have been mixed up under their non-respective episodes.
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I’ll be clear about all this. Do not copy and paste the speculations, If you have found the original accounts from where the bts come from use yours do not get any of the photos from here. This post was NOT written to aid fandom spongers but in order to have fun with some dear friends and as a courtesy to the fans who come across my posts. I’m not a news blog nor a source and I’ll not be treated as such.
Written By: Jason Ning Directed By: Eagle Eglisson
Jason Ning has written/co-written the episodes:
1x03 - The Would-Be Prince of Darkness
1x06 - Favorite Son
2x05 - Weaponizer
2x16 - God Johnson
3x04 - What Would Lucifer Do?
3x11 - City of Angels?
3x14 - My Brother's Keeper
3x20 - The Angel of San Bernardino
4x03 - O, Ye of Little Faith, Father
4x08 - Super Bad Boyfriend
5x01 - Really Sad Devil Guy
Cast: Tom Ellis as Lucifer, Lauren German as Chloe, DB Woodside as Amenadiel, Lesley-Ann Brandt as Maze, Kevin Alejandro as Dan, Scarlett Estevez as Trixie, Rachael Harris as Linda Martin and Aimee Garcia as Ella.
Season 4 Recurring Characters: None Officially Announced Guest Cast:
Erik Aude...Rod
Kelsey Chock...Kirby Jones
Patrick Duke Conboy...Club Guy
Joël Dupont...Lux patron
Mark Elias...Vincent Gill
Chasten Harmon...Megan Garner
Brian Majestic...Neighbor
Sierra Nowak...Emily
Jose Stephan Perez...Club Guy
Behind The Scenes Videos:
youtube
5x01 Locations:
1) LUX - Party
2) Precinct
3) The Yacht - Party - Maze (stunt) - Ella - (Ella & Maze) - Mr DOB? Money Lucifer?
4) The House - Night with Lucifer & Maze - Morning with Chloe Detective - Baby Shower - Girl
5) The DTLA Penthouse - Morning Lucifer - Night Chloe Sting  (Green Screen)
Due to the confusing titles we have ended up between friends to retitle them and this one is ‘The Gambler’ episode. The reason behind the name is because the case is taking place mainly in a high profile gambling establishment but also sets forward a very interesting concept for S5. 
Everything is a gamble and you need to be aware of what you are about to throw on the table. In my belief, the cards at our leads hands are misleading and sometimes some of them do not know what the power of the cards they hold. Pity that it’s not a card game though but a through of the dice with many unknown sides to the players. No God does not play dices with the universe as Neil Gaiman explains in Good Omens but how much of what is going on can be blamed on him? Not much in my humble opinion.
As you already know after all these years BTS is not easy on the contrary they are confusing and frustrating to no end… So stay cautious and try to have fun rather than search for definite answers. These answers may come only when the season P1 drops and if I managed to spot something correctly we were fortunate.
The first episode as Ellis said will clarify why Lucifer returned to Earth but unfortunately, we can only speculate as the bts do not give us a definite answer but we know one thing, do not expect Lucifer and Chloe to meet too soon in 5x01. For the most part, it seems like Lucifer tries to avoid her and for a very good reason. As Henderson said you cannot expect to lock an alcoholic to a liquor store for 20 years and do not have a regression.
The beginning of the episode will most probably take us to… Hell. The reason for that speculation is Ellis’ birthday cake. Yes, Ellis is an executive producer and usually, by now 5x01 should have wrapped as an episode its post-production so we assume that that scene takes place in the first 5-10 minutes of the first episode of S1.
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If the scene of that cake is not one of the S5 first scenes then probably is a cut scene from Chloe wondering how Lucifer is doing and the answer is well… he is delusional. According to Boris’s speculation we might get a similar scene like the beginning of S4 but this time it’s Chloe who works and the files pile up as well as the boxes around her office... Some bts suggest that might be actually happening but we simply cannot be sure. 
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We might also spot Gaudium on that cake but I would assume he appears like that because the delusion has not yet dropped so his real form might be a wonderful CGI. Henderson always wanted him somehow in the show so that would be the perfect time to do so…
So what has caused Lucifer wanting to get to earth? Again we do not know but it might be somehow related to the case Chloe will be working on. Of course, that relationship might not be obvious but more like the case of 5x04 where Lucifer’s connection to the case Chloe was trying to solve was purely accidental due to Eve.
Now the writers did tease that Lucifer will see a familiar face in Hell and many have speculated over that. When I heard it for the first time I thought it was Dan and I still hold that opinion mainly because Dan’s arc is more or less similar to the one of Charlotte. If a character is going to die in S5 I do expect it to be Dan even if it is for a little while, something that will lead to bigger problems later on and perhaps it will be the reason on why he needs the matching bracelet he wears with Lucifer and which appears in 5x03.
If that face is not Dan then who else could it be? Father Frank? In Hell, you may ask? Well, he felt immense guilt over accidentally killing his family and the boy’s family at that car crash so that’s where I place my next bet. In any case that familiar face is probably who shakes up things and causes Lucifer to seek something on Earth. 
My calculations on how long Lucifer is in Hell give out a 6 month period which has been confirmed and my speculation was based on that due to the babies that play Charlie :D. So what has changed 6 months later on Earth?
As we know from Lauren German fools everyone into believing she is doing well and she is supported by Maze and why not Ella. In 5x01 there is a bts which shows Chloe at a LUX party with Maze but Maze is dressed in leather and Chloe in work clothes. In the time of Lucifer’s absence, it was hinted by DB that Amenadiel has taken over LUX but fear not as LUX is the same place it always was and Amenadiel tries to imitate Lucifer’s dressing code and kind of entertainment in the establishment. At the same time if you notice the fridge at Linda’s apartment it has some photos with Amenadiel, Linda and Charlie so the domestic life is going well on that front as well for him.
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^If it’s Amenadiel it fits with the rehearsal if not then Lucifer and Chloe reunite earlier but I believe it’s Amenadiel. 
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Moving on as you know each episode has a case! Episode 5x01 features many different locations but I’ll start from Maze’s clothes at LUX. We do not know if the LUX scene is early in the episode and I would assume it is not. Maze’s clothes at LUX are seen in two locations LUX and at a boat where she is accompanied by Ella yet that’s not the murder scene.
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^That’s the main pattern I saw at LUX day of the extras wearing. 
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^Josh’s photo is upside down ;) 
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^Just a speculation but does LInda visit LUX? No idea. 
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After LUX day which lasted for over 13 hours I believe it lasted in total for about 15-16h... So it’s  big scene. 
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^Chloe shot and Lesley Ann waiting to enter the scene
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Ella’s shirt is also one of the reasons why I believe that’s at the beginning of the episode as later on, she wears a yellow and then a blue shirt during the episode. 
The murder scene takes place at a downtown Penthouse - not Lucifer’s - which acts as an illegal gambling establishment for rich players. If you have watched the movie Molly’s Game you will get what I mean. So let’s assume that murder happens there, the LAPD investigates the scene but afterwards, when Chloe is at the precinct she turns to Maze for some reason or Maze drags her to LUX. 
Note that Lucifer looks angry perhaps even dejected according to the available bts
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^No Green screen so do not expect something supernatural to happen just Lucifer infuriated giving a verbal point of how pointless everything is I presume. 
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Now call me a weird but there is a possibility of Ella being at the playing table BEFORE the murder case... or perhaps who could be the last person to see in Hell? Ella even for a fraction of a second? No idea again just a wild speculation...But I do not think that’s it... not entirely at least.. Aimee was well dressed at the following photo there... In my other speculation, Lucifer tries to get people to help him without involving Chloe at all.. Yet note that the dates they were posted on social media were different so we cannot be sure
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Now if Ella does help with the case is it too farfetched to hope that she will spill the beans about Candy to Chloe in 5x01? Dad I HOPE SO!. 
Afterwards, we see that Maze and Ella track down a rich guy on a boat. Maze is wearing the same clothes she did at LUX and I would speculate that the yacht belongs to Lee (The yacht is called the Lightbringer and is a known in L.A. yacht to rent for events etc.) with all the money he got OTHERWISE it was Lee who got killed and is the familiar face in hell and a close relative (his son?) took his fortune. You see a young black guy was hired as a guest so it is possible to assume that. There was a script page as well a blurry one but we do not know if the name was Les or Lee.. Here is the thing though... There was also a guy who looked like Jeremiah aka Lee in DTLA but I do not know if it was during the murder -if it happens there which if it does then fitting! or if he was there for his usual encounter with Lucifer...- 
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Now about that yacht...
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Now at that yacht we have Maze kicking some not so pretty behinds and we do not know how it goes from there unfortunately but I would assume that Lucifer and Maze are reunited early on that episode perhaps around the first quarter or so.
While everything happens Lucifer visits the DTLA Penthouse - Gambling establishment and he seems pissed possibly because his money was the reason Lee was murdered if we support that theory?
From there we also have a location that was shot at the WB ranch, the place where FRIENDS shot their intro scene at the fountain and which was sold by WB yet they can still use it for the time being.
At that ranch, there is a small town set which has some middle-class houses. In one of those houses, there was a baby shower for a baby girl I suppose and is where Lucifer seeks more answers. I do not know if someone bleeds or something but they had to wash the street afterwards. The scene happens at night and Lucifer again is NOT pleased. Along with Lucifer I believe that there was also Maze and I do not know if Maze was also there in the morning shots that follow with Chloe but she had her stunt with her and her presence at the stages suggest that she may have been at the precinct as well with those clothes but that’s a speculation. 
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Lucifer’s car at the lot in the main WB lot not the ranch. 
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Now do be careful as Chloe's visit in the morning might be before Lucifer’s one at night we just do not know exactly at the moment. 
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^You can see Lucifer in the middle of the shot. 
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^I believe that’s in that house at night. 
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^Maze Lucifer and the Guy?
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According to the guest's clothes I suspect that Chloe gets there in the morning and then Lucifer at night as he wears the exact same ones...
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At this point my belief is that perhaps Maze helps Chloe, then Lucifer gets involved without Chloe realising he is there or perhaps that’s the point she sees him and Maze along with Lucifer get into a fight. The suspect might have run or perhaps Lucifer and Maze protected Chloe unfortunately we cannot know what exactly is going on. 
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A third speculation at the same timeframe is that Maze is reunited with Lucifer at the penthouse and they start working together from that point. The follow Chloe perhaps even save her from the suspect as he runs and then both return at night to confront him. 
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Now there is also a morning shooting scene there or perhaps even two as we do know that Chloe as a Detective goes to ask the guy some questions while Lucifer has some action scenes at that point.
Ellis’ and Lesley-Ann’s stunts were there and took care of the scene which needed to be delivered yet, in my opinion, there was no meet up there. I do not know if Chloe managed to take a glimpse of Lucifer or not but I assume that at that point she knows Lucifer is back but he still avoids her to spare her the pain as he probably believes he will have to go back to Hell once his quest finishes.
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Fast forward we go to the last part of the episode which takes place at the DTLA Penthouse at night where Chloe appears to be on a sting operation, pretending to be a player and I would also assume that Ella is at the van guiding her through that. At the same time though we have Lucifer and Maze trying to do their own thing and Dan somewhere in the middle.
We know that it’s the final scene as there are police cars at the scene and my speculation is this.
Chloe is at the sting operation, Ella helps and Dan is also involved close by at a car. Lucifer and Maze try to gain entrance and we have a Green screen used and some wires as they were shooting two different scenes and one of them had Ellis suspended I believe from the wires. No idea if he was trying that the human way or Lucifer had enough and flew up there yet at some point the suspect break free and goes to the street.
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The last part of the episode is divided in two parts. The sting operation and the second painful part
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^ The building on the right with the helicopter landing space is the where the penthouse is located and the middle of the street in front of Hope park is where the conclusion of the episode was shot with some other additional scenes. 
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Two scenes were shot for the first time. One of them was Lucifer? lying, being levitated, using human means to climb to the penthouse? Who knows but there was a green screen behind him. Perhaps he was in the penthouse and was pushed or trying to avoid Chloe he opted to fall off? No idea. 
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Now at the same location, we have Ella with a messy ban like she was really into the game she might have been instructed to Chloe to play at the penthouse.
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Maze’s outfit makes me wonder if Maze decided to also go undercover to help Lucifer or even Chloe we will know once it drops I’m afraid. Yet it looks like she is along with the girls at the end of the episode. 
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Also see javiergame4 ‘s BTS ON REDDIT AND POSTED ON IGMUR BTS
At the end, I think that the guy who Lesley-Ann was hugging was the culprit and the one who starts a chain of events. 
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I do believe that Dan who might be in the car waiting for the sting to end up trapped with the culprit in the car and to be eventually be throwed outside the window. 
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Of course, that is one interpretation as there is also the following bts Lucifer in front of the car and then the car seems to have turned so either Lucifer is the cause for the guy’s, perhaps Dan’s injury or the reason why he is paradoxically saved. Perhaps both. You can see teh green screen be used which may suggest a car chase or something which Lucifer puts into a halt. The second car I believe is Chloe’s. 
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^The guy ends up on the street
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But someone in white seems to protect someone so we do not know what is going on. If Lucifer protects Chloe, if some power comes forward and saves Dan. 
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^The person in white next to the ambulance
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My opinion? Chloe indeed needs help and Lucifer comes forward in a scene that reminds me a bit of Lois and Superman in Superman Returns meaning that it might be him saving her that exposes his return from Hell to her. 
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Chloe, Ella - see the bun behind Chloe, and Maze in front of a dead body bag coroner bed. 
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Also Chloe appears to be in front of the guy who gets injured... Again we assume this is the end of the episode... But someone eventually DOES die as we know from the body bag and again I would assume that it is Dan. Do not ask me why I insist on that so much but I have this gut feeling he will have a short experience with Hell which will allow him to seek a second chance like Charlotte for when Death reclaims him once more. 
Now if Dan does die for a while and Lucifer has a hand in his revival it would also explain why in 5x03 or even at the end of 5x02 we have Dan and Lucifer wearing the same amethyst bracelet... Also why Lucifer cannot really leave again for the time being... 
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Additional info
We do know there is a woman guest with lines on the boat and the DTLA penthouse so I would keep an eye on her for the case.
Aimee Garcia was showing off Ella’s pens for the season and I have to admit that the screwdriver caught my interest for an obvious reason…
So has Amenadiel visited Lucifer at Hell? According to D.B.’s interview where he said that the character is currently busy so he has not, consider that Lucifer changing to a full Devil body in front of him may have not been the best memory he has of his baby brother. So in a way, Amenadiel might be deep down calm that the pieces have fallen into their place. He is of course sorely mistaken…
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does talking to an anon help about ninjago help? cuz I'm down
DHDKCKGSC YES IT DOES THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR OFFERING YOUR SERVICES
Okay now that I know I won’t be clogging people’s dashes buckle the fuck in my dude and I should stress that I literally would not be talking about this as much as I will be if I didn’t genuinely enjoy the show. I’m gonna go season by season and just Rant
S1 has the serpentine as the bbeg and like, as far as villains go they’re p lit. They’re early enough that they haven’t been done to hell, things are fresh, the characters and dynamics are being fleshed out, and all in all s1 is a pretty solid season. There’s some fuckery that gets brought up re: how the FUCK aging works and what the actual timeline of Ninjago is and how Wu and Garmadon fit into that timeline, fuckery that LITERALLY NEVER GETS RESOLVED IN A SATISFYING WAY BC ITS REVEALED IN A LATER SEASON (s8, dw we’ll get there lmao) THAT THE ONLY REASON THE FIRST SPINJITSU MASTER, WU, AND GARMADON LIVED AS LONG AS THEY DID IS CUZ THEYRE BASICALLY DEMIGODS AND ITS IMPLIED THAT LLOYD WILL ALSO LIVE FOR A LONG ASS TIME WHICH MEANS ONE DAY HES GONNA OUTLIVE ALL HIS FRIENDS AND EVERYONE HE EVER LOVED WHICH IS A FUN THING TO THINK ABOUT AT NIGHT But anyway I digress, s1 also coincidentally introduces Lloyd (he wasn’t in the pilot episodes that set up the rest of the series) and the existence of Evil Dad Garmadon.
S2 is where Garmadon starts acting a lot more Evil and a lot less Dad. He’s the main antagonist for that season, and I actually read somewhere that the show was originally slated to end after s2 which high key explains the fuckery of literally every single season after this lmaooooo. Much like s1, I really can’t find much to complain about, the first two seasons are pretty decent as far as I can remember
Season. Fucking. Three. Where the fuck do I start??? I hate season three for entirely personal reasons revolving around the STUPID GODDAMN ROMANCE WRITING. okay lemme back up and explain a thing first so, Jay is dating Nya and they’re fine, they’re going steady, aND THEN????? THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON INTRODUCES BULLSHIT LOVE TRIANGLE FUCKERY FOR ZERO GODDAMN REASON, BITCH I HATE LOVE TRIANGLES AND I HATE THEM EVEN MORE WHEN THEYRE DONE FOR NO GODDAMN REASON!!! AND THEN. AS IF THAT WERENT ENOUGH. THEY SHOEHORNED A ROBOT ROMANCE BETWEEN ZANE AND PIXAL AND I KNOW I RANTED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT WHEN I WAS ACTUALLY WATCHING BUT I DIDNT GO INTO ENOUGH DETAIL!!!! THEY MADE THE OTHER NINJA OOC IN ORDER TO PROP UP THEIR SHIP!!!!!! AND AT ONE POINT ZANE GOES “its like we were…made for each other” AND I HAD TO FUCUCJDHVE I HAD TO SCREAM INTO A PILLOW BRO, IM SO TIRED!!!! NO THE FUCK YOU WERENT!!!!!! YOU WERE MADE FOR YOU AND PIXAL WAS MADE FOR PIXAL AND IF YALLS WANNA BANG BOLTS THATS FINE BUT DONT IMPLY THAT EITHER OF YOU WERE MADE INCOMPLETE!!!! THATS AN INSULT TO YOUR MAKERS AND YOURSELVES, MOVE ON, PLEASE AND THANK YOU. anyway that season also killed Zane (for the first time, but not the last) (spoiler alert lmao) and like, not to be an emotional little shit but I did cry a bit at his funeral.
S4 is honestly one of my favorites, even though the romance crimes continue (the love triangle bullshit is continuing and honestly I maintain that Cole, Nya, and Jay should all have gotten together and in my personal canon they DID, and also Kai has a forced romance) the VILLAIN makes up for it imo. He’s campy!! He’s funny!! He’s a clown!! He’s serious enough that if he says “I’m gonna kill you” HE MEANS IT and that’s so fucking refreshing!!!! S4 is honestly 8/10 just for the villain alone, don’t like that it retconned the SHIT out of the elemental masters and how many different elements there are TO master but eh, it’s ninjago, shit is stupid.
S5 was…interesting? OH WAIT I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT S3 INTRODUCED A GARMADON WHO WAS A LOT LESS EVIL AND A LOT MORE DAD, HONESTLY I THOUGHT IT TOOK A LOT OF THE FLAVOR OUT BUT THATS JUST ME LMAOOO. anyway s5 killed Garmadon, and I was a little sad cuz I like him okay??? I just think he’s NEAT, he’s got big dad energy, he was teaching Lloyd some shit that just got DROPPED and literally was never brought up again which is honestly a theme in Ninjago. Ninjago drinking game: take a shot every time they introduce a plot point or ability and drop it at or before the end of the season. WHICH THEY ALSO DID IN S5 WITH A DIFFERENT POWER ACTUALLY, so all the ninja are masters of Spinjitsu right, well s5 introduced the concept of Airjitsu which only Spinjitsu masters can learn and it lets them FLY and they used that for seasons 5 and 6 and then they nEVER BROUGHT IT UP AGAIN EVEN THOUGH IT WOULDVE COME IN HANDY FOR S E V E R A L DIFFERENT SITUATIONS ACROSS THE SEASONS, ONE OF THEM WOULD BE FALLING TO THEIR DOOM AND MY ASS WOULD BE YELLING “YOU CAN FLY, DUMBASS” - anyway, they do that again later lmao it’s fine. But what’s low key NOT fine is they made Nya the WATER NINJA!!! Like I’m not mad she has powers, except I kinda am, she was doing just fine as Samurai X and honestly the only reason she has super special ninja powers is for plot reasons. Also Cole got turned into a ghost, but by s7 he’s????? No longer a ghost????????? And that’s NEVER addressed or reasoned away, so like. Cool lmao
S6 didn’t happen. Like, canonically, s6 ends with wish fuckery that undoes the entire season and none of the characters remember anything that happened except Jay and Nya because S6 is the season where they get back together so they remember all those events for???? Feelings reasons?????? Unclear, moving on. The actual bbeg for S6 was a djinn with a vaguely Spanish accent, and to this DAY I don’t know why they made him have a SPANISH accent. Djinn are Arabic, not Spanish!! They’re not central or South American, either!!!! Your villain design makes no sense, do better
S7 had MORE time fuckery, and retconned what happened to Kai and Nya’s parents and hmmmhmhmhmhmhm that makes me Upsetti Spaghetti :3 not just the retconning, but the fact that they LITERALLY brought them back oNLY TO NEVER MENTION THEM AGAIN!!!!!! LITERALLY!!!!!!!! Okay so at the VERY very beginning, like pilot episodes beginning, Kai talks about their dad like he died/left fairly recently, BUT s7 contradicts that and claims that both of their parents were essentially abducted when Kai and Nya were little kids, which makes me question what in the fresh fuck two little kids were doing for all those years alone. SETTING THAT ASIDE FOR A HOT SECOND, their parents were also apparently good friends of Wu’s and old war buddies (from the Serpentine wars, which is YET ANOTHER bit of the timeline that doesn’t quite add up but honestly I could make a whole other post about that shit). But if they were such good fucking friends, why didn’t Wu check in every now and again??? What the fuck was Wu doing that was so fucking important that he couldn’t have been assed to visit his friends ONCE in like TEN MOTHERFUCKING YEARS and realize “oh shit, they’re not here and there are two tiny children running around unsupervised…My Kids Now : )” LIKE????? WU YOU LOW KEY SHOULDA LOOKED OUT FOR YOUR FRIENDS’ KIDS BETTER, THEY COULDA DIED BRO!!! Uhhhh the time fuckery also results in Wu getting yeeted ahead in time a bit and the ninja gotta find him
Season. Eight. I have…mixed feelings about this one. The beginning absolutely SLAUGHTERED me, and not in a “this is so fucking funny” way. No, the beginning made me feel like I was being flayed alive with just about every episode because Ninjago was back on its forced romance bullshit and this time it was Lloyd’s turn on the chopping block. That hurt my soul cuz like, look at that mans color scheme, he’s CLEARLY alloaro, why are you forcing romance on my aro man, why would you hurt me like that, BUT ALSO BECAUSE HE AND THE GIRL HE WAS BEING SET UP WITH HAD A LITTLE HEART TO HEART REALLY EARLY ON AND IT WAS THE MOST QUEER CODED SHIT!!!! IT DEADASS READ AS A CONVERSATION BETWEEN AN OUT AND PROUD QUEER AND A CLOSETED QUEER AND THEY MADE!!! IT!!!!! STRAIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!! The only thing that kept me watching at first was wanting to find Wu, and then I started enjoying myself once Cole found a plot-relevant baby and had fatherhood thrust upon him. Everything went from “ehhhhh” to “holy shit this FUCKS” once it was revealed that Rumi (Lloyd’s love interest) wAS PLAYING HIM THE WHOLE TIME AND WAS EVIL AND HAD AN EVIL GIRLFRIEND!!!!!! LITERALLY IMPROVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THE SEASON FOR ME, I COULD EVEN FORGIVE THE WHOLE “let’s resurrect Garmadon, but as evil as possible” BULLSHIT!!!!!!
S9 is a continuation of s8, Garmadon is back and 1000% Evil, 10% Dad, but none of the Dad energies is directed at Lloyd - it’s all directed at Rumi, and honestly I could write a whole ass post on just RUMI cuz that’s honestly my DAUGHTER and I LOVE HER and I’m MAD SHE DIES AT THE END OF THIS SEASON!!!! SHE DESERVED THERAPY AND TO LIVE WITH HER GF AND MAYBE SOME CRIME. AS A TREAT. RUMI DESERVED BETTER AND LOW KEY IM GONNA WRITE A FIC ABOUT IT, BUT ANYWAY WHERE WAS I
Ah right, so s9 has the four major Ninja stuck in the original dimension with no way home, while Lloyd has no powers (cuz he almost died last season) and has to somehow lead a resistance against Garmadon (who has taken control of Ninjago City and is working on the rest of Ninjago). Actually, s9 is pretty cool. Like, the end of s8 and into s9 are low key my favorite episodes, and I kinda wanna rewatch them now -
S10 is a FUN one. Garmadon got got last season, but he didn’t DIE, so he’s in cold storage and now there’s Another Threat and he’s the only one who knows wtf they’re up against so they let him out and he works with them. The funny part is, he is still Very Much Evil and doesn’t quite Get emotions like he did when he was, uh, human lmao, sO HE WOKE UP EVERY DAY DURING THAT SEASON AND DECIDED TO CAUSE PROBLEMS ON PURPOSE. IT WAS THE FUNNIEST FUCKING SHIT. 1000000/10 MY FAVORITE GARMADON, he ended that season by literally fucking off into Ninjago and they never decided to track him down 😭😭😭😭😭and I’m so SAD about it dude
S11 has another Serpentine as the bbeg, though in the setup to that they retconned how the fucking Serpentine tribes and history work??? I think???? Also Wu was a good 150% angrier and generally Done with the ninja’s shit, which was honestly refreshing tho I’m not quite sure I liked what the refreshed view was, but whatever lmao. S11 also had the ninja get yeeted to the dimension farthest from Ninjago, and honestly - okay, so they didn’t all go at the same TIME, Zane left about a week or two before the others did but there was time dilation fuckery afoot which I’m not too mad about cuz low key it makes sense. What I AM mad about is that they didn’t play the angst up to its full POTENTIAL!!!!!! Zane was EVIL in the other dimension!!!! Okay so I’m Ninjago he was only gone for maybe a week or two, but DECADES had passed in the other one, and all that time Zane was alone and disconnected from everyone he knew and loved, with a staff that boosted his power while slowly corrupting him and Turning Him Evil to help him, and like???? The thought of Zane trying to find a way home, trying to get SOME sort of message back, while he has to use the staff more and more to help him survive the long, lonely decades, so that by the time his family DOES show up its too late??? BRO. B R O. THAT JUST HITS DIFFERENT, BUT NINJAGO DIDNT DO THAT!!! THEY MADE HIM EVIL DUE TO MEMORY WIPE!!!!!! MEMORY WIPE IS BABY SHIT COMPARED TO A LONG, SLOW CORRUPTION!!!!!!
S12 was alright. It went into Cole’s mom, touched on some of the adventures she had had, threatened another forced romance (this time on poor Cole, just leave my mans ALONE) but thankfully didn’t follow through this time, introduced cool new powers that honestly hasn’t been elaborated on since that’s the most recent season I think lmao
Anyway thanks for reading and letting me rant!!!! I have,,So Much More I could talk about, PLEASE ask me about Rumi, some of my headcanons re: Garmadon and Wu’s dynamic, the Serpentine, my top five times they butchered Kai’s character for Plot Reasons, or anything else I brought up here that you want me to elaborate on!!!
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kazamastar · 3 years
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Welcome to 2021
Ver. 2.1 - Ok. February but still, here we are. “Behold it’s me” as Logic would say. [...] I’m sorry I’m a bit shook because I started to write at 10:01AM, and it’s precisely 12:07AM, I was progressing pretty well in the process of writting and then I made a bad move and lost everything I wrote. I’m kinda mad. Really, I was this 👌 close to give up on writting it, and you can notice that the pixels are touching. But I guess the “I said I’d do it, so I’m going to do it” mentality is taking me places, once again. Even if I have to start again (that's called mental strength, take notes). And I said I’d write it baked so here I am, baked and hella motivated to do it. So, W shouldn’t help me reminding me what I wrote in the first version but nevermind. So I guess I'll put the most things I remember. I can tell there were good ideas ! I'll take this occasion to remind everyone the concept of these posts but first we will recap numbers of this year (well, more or less accurate for 2020 as I'm writting one month late) (and I'll fucking stop writting on the tumblr site and switch to OpenOffice so my next words are not lost again). 637 Nakamas (thank y'all for being here, even if I post 12847 times in a row. You're the best). 3609 posts and 23 376 likes. (109 drafts : lol it's less than a few weeks ago)
Pic : Plot twist 2. No more smile, but the return of the bowtie. (aka « The 4 days late suit » aka « I'm old enough to know better »)
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The choice of this picture was so simple. Or maybe I should have chosen the one with the mustache only I took during lockdown ? Ahah. But … this picture could almost resume the year on its own. If I'd describe it in depth and explain the context, I could review 70% of the events that happened this year (and I think I'll go for that later, interesting exercise).
So. First let me explain the goal of these sums up. Each « Welcome to XXXX » is a resume, a sum up of the year XXXX-1. I write these for me, it's a funny way to keep track of all these years. I try to describe more or less precisely what happened during the year. I allow myself to be more or less precise because I firstly write these for me. And sometimes these posts tend to be long. Especially this one. It's gonna be sooo long. Like, idk maybe highlight this line and take a few seconds to scroll down and see how looooong it is. Kinda discouraging isn't it ? Lucky you it won't go on forever though as today, as I'm writting that it's 12:23PM and I'll have to be gone at 4 or 5PM. But I think contraints make art, even if I don't like to write under any kind of pressure. But I'm determined to do it in one take. So in these posts I also write about the TV Shows, manga, anime, movies I've seen/read. Even books, as I finally had the chance to read « Le Petit Prince » this year. We all know we had time this year, don't we ? And at the end, I post a 12 songs playlist (+ songs that I discovered this year that also are going to remind me of the year). We can roughly say it's « 1 song/1 month » but it's not always true. These songs are songs I like a lot, like really (but not necessarily my favorite) but above all, they remind me of the year I'm resuming (it can also be older songs). I also post my top 3 albums of the year. I'm thinking also of detailing my choices of playlist. Maybe not explaining all of them but a few. [12:36PM. And I'm already hungry.] On the 1st try I remember I talked about the TV shows I saw. I forgot to mention it but I write in English for a few reasons. First is : it helps me exercising my English. For me, it's the most beautiful langage to talk and it's a good occasion to do so. And then I actually enjoy writting in English. And it prevents unwanted people who don't master English to read all that (as it is pretty intimate). But joke's on me, I'm conscious the people I'd like to keep away from reading this all master English, and even better than me for some of them. (It surely is the case for 27 at least, even though we all know she still won't read this lol). Yes, I never drop names in these sum ups. Or at least, some names are blacklisted. I always chose a number to nominate them they would normally recognize themselves. So, talking about English, I've seen « Emily in Paris » on Netflix. It may surprize you but I'm very interested in dubbing. French dubbing is amazing. For example I bought « Spiderman » on PS4 this year and the french voice is the same voice actor as in the « Amazing Spider-Man » (yes the one with Andrew Garfield). (UNPOPULAR OPINION : Andrew Garfield actually is the best spiderman. Or at least the one I prefer and by far). Emily in Paris is funny because I watched it in English and it kinda disturbed me that it took place in Paris but everybody spoke English. On the other hand, if you watch it in French, langages people are talking become logical (French people speak french) but you'll have to deal with the DEADLY ANNOYING French voice of Emily. And her accent. I think I just watched 1 or 2 episodes like that, I couldn't take more ?. If you have time you should take 5 seconds to listen to what I'm talking about. But it was quite a good show. It was so fun to see these streets I've been visiting for so long in a Netflix show. By the way, I think it's easy to say that I'm missing Paris so much. But not only for the tourism, but most and foremost for the competitions. Before being a tourist I was a competitor there. So, I'm missing Paris but I'm also missing karate competitions. And also just karate. I haven't stepped on a tatami for 3 weeks and it still seems like it won't get better, and we all know why. I'm curious if I could talk about this year without mentioning a very famous virus but I think it's just impossible. But this virus gave me a lot of time in March and April. Maybe less in November tho. I could finally finish The Walking Dead, which last seasons were surprisingly good. And it was so fun to watch the reactions of people on Youtube [#]. Talking about karate competitions, I also watched Cobra Kai ! What an amazing job they did there. Adding more depth to the first movie, it's funny to change perspective and see that the Daniel we were rooting for wasn't that much of a « perfect good guy » we saw (I'm not talking about the kick in the face etc). It's also funny to notice I kinda went fro Daniel to Johnny lol. But having a Netflix show talking about martial arts and value they teach to their students ? It was perfect, even more when you see that some of my students also saw it so when we were training I was refering to it they almost all got it. And it's also funny to see that it's not as Manichean as the 1st movie was. It's a 9/10 for me. If I read the last sum up right, I said : « This year 2020 I really need to watch Kimetsu no yaiba, Jojo, Violet evergarden, Gintama and i have to keep ready 7 deadly sins. » So : Kimetsu no Yaiba was dope. The anime was beautiful and the manga was very entertaining. Not a top tier manga but definitively a good one. Jojo's anime was cool but too long. I stopped after season 2 or 3 I guess ? Violet Evergarden was TRASH (and very bad for a date, if you ask me) and I didn't take time to explore the 2 others. I also saw : Assassination classroom (5/10, i couldn't finish it so i skipped directly to the last episode, was as moving as people said), Validé (8/10, with an insane final episode), No Game No Life (8,5/10, i loved it), Freaks and Geeks (7,5 but i didn't finish it, I really like the old school vibe), Code geass (7/10, great anime and great opening). I finally discovered Community and it was worth it. What a funny show. And what a pleasure to see Mr Donald Glover on screen. Makes me think that I need to watch Atlanta again. The problem with Community is the last seasons broke the 4th wall too much for me, it became painful to watch. But the 3 or 4 seasons are crazy. Another show that was even more funny : IT Crowd. I finally had the chance to see the episode of « I came here to drink milk and kick ass, and I just finished my milk ». This show is a 9,25/10. Grand Army was also a great show of 2020. Dom is an amazing character (but I already said it). Kengan Ashura was also so cool ! I think it's what Baki would have liked to become. This year I also started to watch « American horror Story » again (alone and not alone). These last seasons were awesome. I also converted Elodi to «my hero academia », it was so cool to share that. Other things I saw : SAO S4 (AMAZING, SO BEAUTIFUL), Erased, SNK Last season) ; The Mandalorian, 24's 9th season.« Queen's gambit » have been one of the greatest show I've seen this year. And I really want to say that I played chess before the show came out (add me on Lichess if you want to play with me. Same username. I'm not strong -about 1000 ELO I guess- but I'm always happy to play and learn). If you want a precise idea of my level, on the chess.com app, I can beat Emir 🇹🇷 (1000 ELO) often but I didn't win once against Sven 🇸🇰 (who is ~1100 ELO). I'm so happy talking about all these lengthen the post even more. Kinda satisfying. But I could also talk about Tekken and chess this year. I think I have a thing with dueling sports. I'm a Karate competitor, I love Tekken and I like chess. I guess someone has something to prove haha. But come on, chess is incredible. For the 1st lockdown, I was just playing (not alone) but I wanted to make progress just by practicing. And that's how I got BB 5 or 7 (yes, it means Beat By = my number of loss in a row). But at the end of the 2nd lockdown I finally allowed myself to study a little more, thanks to Youtube (once again). This is SO INTERESTING. Like the strategies, the top players. French content creators are fun but I like american ones more. Eric Rosen is my favourite. He's always calm, he often finds solutions. GothamChess is also very entertaining. You can say by how he talks he has been a teacher. He's great. So, once again on some shonen shit, I started studying more. Mid December, a kid beat me 2 times in a row. He's a smart kid, I like him. He didn't brag or anything. And then, during Christmas Holidays I spent 2 or 3 hours a day watching chess videos. I guess he hasn't been able to beat me since then haha. By the way I should play with him later on today. Playing chess is a way for me to make sure my brain doesn't let me down, like gym for the brain. At least, it's what I thought when I started but I quickly discovered that it's a game of patterns recognizing, so memory is really challenged here. I mean, in the middlegame you have to be smart to get by but at the beginning and ending … you have to know your openings. I have also thought of joining a club but I don't know if chess communities are benevolent. I also noticed that high ranked players seem to have strong personalities. And then for Tekken (yes, 3 years and a half later I'm still on this game) I'm still making progress. In March, someone made me want to play Heihachi. What a funny character. Not top tier, but fun. Leroy Smith is also fun to play. There was no offline tournament but I won one, the 1st organized by Tekken Toulouse and finished 5th at the second. It's funny to live that level of stress straight from my bed. Usually, that kind of stress making my whole body trembling is usually found nearby tatamis of Karate competitons. (Yes, these Tekken tournaments make me stressful and that's the reason I can't play Jin in tournaments). But Eddy is still a sure value. Still progressing in movement, and whiff punishing. Mishimas are getting more consistent on electrics but it's not perfect. By the way, if you love fighting games and Bruce Lee, there's a video you need to see (whoever you are) : [#]. If you're really interested in these topics, you should appreciate this video as much as I did [2:10 PM. I have eaten, but now I have the feeling that I'm late.] Btw I don't skip line to add some « length » effect. Once again I'm sorry if making it until here was painful to read, but I need to make this paragraph the least attractive I can. This line I'm writting is almost on the 3rd page of OpenOffice. And I try to avoid using emojis, so there's just text. Tout dans le fond, pas de forme. Also, congratulations for making it until here, you must be very motivated. I'm writting slowly because it's the 1st time I write this by daytime, and I swear at the begining people were harassing me ahah. It's fun because the sum up of 2019 was so short. Just with its form, you can tell how 2019 have been peaceful. I don't remember if I talked about it already but a disaster could have happened in September/October 2019. But karate kept my mind busy so the worst have been avoided. Time spent on the tatamis kept me away from overthinking about my problems. And that was a good strategy indeed. Because in 2020 it wasn't the same. If we count right. Dojos were opened in January, February, 1st half of march, reopened in September and october, closed on november and opened in December (Mon Dieu quel … CASSE-TEX hahaha merci c'est tout pour moi). It was a weird karate year. Today is the 1 year anniversary of my last competition. During the 1st lockdown, I had litteraly no desire to train. Some of you know why. But let's talk a bit more about COVID and lockdowns. The most important thing is that I didn't spent the 1st lonely. This was the most challenging time of my life, but I can say that I made it thanks to 0808 so I'm eternally grateful for that. So, if we recap months by months : January was a funny month. One thing that I thought a miracle happened (until I found out months later what a real miracle was). I also almost went into a brawl. I guess this weird ass month set the tone for the 11 months to follow. February … was one of the calmest month. I had an awesome dojo session in Balma with 0808 in February. I think there were a lot of beautiful sunsets this month. Guess our weather power was at its peak. These 3 1st months of 2020 had a lot of trainings, even if I was injured due to kumite. March and April are kinda the same for me. I won't talking long about these but I'd simply say that I'm glad that I hadn't to write to 27. So, the Miracle happened by mid April. Mid april to mid may, it was cool. We were at home but … the weather was nice, I was doing sport everyday (but no real karate trainings) and I could keep this rythm of exercising until … Half July, which is good. It's the first time in my life I'm that consistent in doing sports at home. From mid may, I started to train with Coach O. on a weekly basis. It was incredible. These days were still bliss in my mind. I was there, no « real problems » in mind, I wasn't alone, I was making progress physically … It was really great. And from mi may to end of July, it kept getting better.Indeed, I fell in love again in January and it was getting stronger by the months. It's been a while I haven't fell this hard for someone. But she gave it back to me nicely. And then … Mala suerte 3.0. This point of the sum up is funny because I do remember when I talked about mala suerte in the other sum ups. I do realize how it's always the same thing when I write those : « 1st part of the year is cool, then not cool, then cool again but in a weird way because I have insane difficulties to repair broken parts of me » but hey. This time it's not my fault. It makes me realize how cyclic all this is. So, August, September and October have been terrible and chaotic months. A level of sadness rarely reached until there. Maybe comparable to September 2018. A high level of anger also. But still, with rare occasions to train, so no occasions to let go off steam. In fact, let's talk a bit about this anger. I've always took a lot of pride in the fact that I could most of the time remain calm in a lot of situations. Plus, being patient isn't something natural but … I learned to be through the years. I was so surprised to notice how angry I became … It simply wasn't me. But the reason is simple : I really think karate brings me balance in life, on a lot of levels (and it concerns me a lot for when I'll stop competing one day …). But I realized it so I'm working on it. In 2020, I led a lot of fights, sometimes I won and often I lost, but I also avoided a lot of them. One of the reasons I think I'm not ready to be a good partner is first I think I'm too angry. I don't think I could be mean to my partner but … I think I could be annoying to deal with. But mainly, I'm not ready to better myself now. To find the good partner, you need to become a good partner first, and this is precisely what I'm not ready to become. Despite being not perfect, I'm fine that way and I know how far from perfect I'm right now. But nevermind. This is the kind of state of mind you can't afford when you're in a relationship. I'm not saying you need to change to fit your partner's ideals. But if you notice something's wrong in your behaviour/habits and don't want to correct it, you might be a bad partner (but I could be wrong, I'm not a couple therapist lol).
Oh. And that's the moment I can describe my photo to tell the story differently. So this shot was taken precisely on Sunday, 4th of October. 1302 got confirmed so we had to go to the Temple du Salin. I went there with my father and he decided to rock a bowtie so I wanted to match him. It was so fun. That was the first time we stepped in a church after « all these events ». It was a strong moment for me. So, this picture (taken by me, thank you tripod) was taken 4 days after I « took a gamble ». I took a lot of gambles this year. One memorable gamble that lead to beautiful pictures of Toulouse was on August 27th (lol). This was after our breakup. I gave her an adress and an hour, and I hopped she would come. She never came so this was a lost gamble. (So I had a great time watching « Back to the future » outdoors, on a big movie screen, but I was alone). But this time was different. I did suppose she would be at one place on a certain day at the end of September. And I gambled right because she was there. And even if the context was so particular, I can tell we had a great time. I was so ready that I put on my best white shirt, because I knew she kinda liked it. I was there to win her back but I simply failed. Guess the shirt wasn't enough. So it was funny to wear the full suit 4 days later, I was like « Dude, nice effort but it's too late  lol» (plus the Temple du Salin is on the other side of the closest bridge from her home) but I still hopped to cross her road on that day. Oh and as we're analyzing this picture, I really like the bokeh on the autmun-colored leaves. I had the luck to have a very sweet light when I took these pictures. And the post processing was really funny. I have a lot of versions of this picture indeed. But all these colors in the background always make me think of a quote I love :  « Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go » and this quote is so damn right. I discovered this year that I have difficulties to let things go. The thing is I hate injustice. I hate to see things that litteraly belong to me, things I deserve, simply run away from me. Sometimes I'm telling myself it's just my karma making me pay for all the شيطان I've done in the past. But other times I just try to convince myself to let go. It's been the 2nd most challenging thing this year. These levels of depression have never been reached before. But still, here I am. But not stronger than before. I had this conversation a few weeks ago about « what doesn't kill you makes you stronger ». To support this idea, some people might evoke the principle of « Kintsugi » as an example. But I strongly disagree about the first statement. I'm not a goddamn bowl. I take the example of my lower belly scar : it didn't kill me but it didn't get stronger either. That's the exact opposite indeed. Sometimes it still hurts even though it's been done 12 years ago (the last time it hurt was this night, almost stopping me from finding sleep). It's a personal opinion but what didn't kill me made me weaker. And I'm not just talking about physical injuries. Losing the ability to trust after all these events isn't what I'd call « getting stronger », even though « I didn't do anything wrong ». That's an expensive price. Bref. I think you can overcompensate with something else but the damaged parts may stay weak after. [3:03 PM. So I have about 1 hour to finish it. Easy.] There's one thing I wanted to talk about in this sum up, related to the fact of « being strong ». I read Blach again (you can tell by my december posts) and I started with the lost agent arc, followed by the TYBW arc. There's 2 things about it : its poetry, through the words and the drawings will always amaze me (it amazed me even if it’s the 2nd time I’me reading it), and the 2nd thing : I love how Ichigo become stronger. He lost his Shinigami powers but then found his Fullbring powers. And that is very important because he becomes strong again, but it's a different kind of strong and I LOVE THIS. It's like in real life. I was very strong in June 2012 (videos as proof), but it's not the same strong as in July 2017 or April/November 2018. June and July 2020 have been a different kind of strong. Not that I gained 10 kgs in 2 months (unfortunately) but I was exercising daily. I was getting my body ready for the supposed heavenly month of August that was awaiting me (us). Unfortunately there was no videos of karate at this period (but I made some in september!) but I was feeling great physically. In fact. This May/June/July 2020 period could be considered as “bliss” for me. Of course there was some background problems but ... Mentally I was getting back on my feet, I was deeply in love, physically pretty feeling myself. Plus on the 1st half of July i could go back to the tatamis ... I swear this level of peace and life appreciation have rarely been reached before. Well, this concept of getting stronger differently is almost obsessing me for a simple reason : I'm feeling like I'm getting older. 27 is a weird age for competing in karate. If I look back, I realize I'm older than William when he stopped (it's his birthday tomorrow!!). Also older than Zak, Teddy and so on. I guess I'll never be physically like 10 or 5 years ago but I'm really asking myself if I can be better. But as seen as the pains I go through after the trainings … It's going to be complicated. Plus I did my body wrong this year. There was pain in mars, april, august, september, october, november and december. I tried a lot of things to make it go. I tried to smoke it, i tried to sleep it, i tried to drink it also. I tried to fuck it of course but none of these things worked. But can we consider I won if only my cock still works ? Compared to 2018 : yes it is a win. And at least when I'm with someone, that makes less time crying and overthinking shit. Anyway, I also tried to smoke it really hard. And that's an habit I'll have trouble to let go but nvmd. Still, one of my 2021 resolutions is to smoke less. Also, I took a funny resolution that is : « I'm not accepting defeat this year ». And I realized only a few days after taking it how hard it will be. I'm not dumb, when defeat is unavoidable, I'll just take it. But I decided to be a real Scorpio and be more stubborn than ever. We can say it's above all pride. Same pride as Vegeta, Bakugo or even Endeavour. Really touched me when Bakugo talked about « Absolute victory ». Sometimes I find myself too soft. I'm not going to become an awful person (or at least, not more awful than I am right now). I'll still be kind … But I'll go get the victories I deserve a little harder. Talking about my age, I'm a bit deceived I have no close old friends to share the memories. Every one is kinda gone. Sometimes it's my fault, and sometimes it's just people who are shit but life's like this. Also, every year I try to think of my best encounter of the year. It's kinda hard because sometimes, you meet someone a few years earlier but you really get to know each other later etc … So I'm not clear if this should count only people met this year or simply the people I've spent the best times with. Because I received a curious message this summer and my God. What a luck she took the chance to write me. We realized a few days ago we were in the same class in 10th grade (2nde) (we saw the class picture, what a laughter we had). We get along so well. And it's the proof that 2nd chances deserve to be given. I swear that I also lost some important people this year. But I'm not fighting to get people back anymore. I've done it too much and I'm simply done. People need to realize it's a luck to be in my life. I have my ways but you'll hardly find a friend that's patient and kind as I am. But nevermind, it always makes more time and attention for the people who are here, who really care for my hapiness. Focusing on the people who are here was one of the main concern this year, for a lot of reasons. I thought I was good for selecting the good people in my life but looks like I still can improve. So I'm still letting people go off my life. [3:36PM. Guess I said mostly what I had to say. Maybe 5 pages is enough, but maybe not.] Oh I can still tell the rest of the year. November have been one peaceful month. Away from all the obsessions. Focused on me. No karate but still courses by videoconference. The weather was very sweet even tho it was November. This second lockdown was not that funny but we've seen worst. And December … had it's ups and downs. It was cool to meet my kids 1 month after all these video courses. They clearly got stronger, it was cool. I could also talk about my experience as a sensei this year because there's a lot to say. At the beginning of February, it was my last competition but also for my kids. We litteraly took the competition by storm. On était TROP CHAUDS. But then the Covid stopped us. We kinda were ready for Occitanie championship, if you forget that I was sick the week before the competition. I'd have loved so much to see how far their training would have taken them on this competition. But thank God they cancelled it, guess He didn't want to see me lose ahah. So, I've seen a lot of kids getting better. What a pleasure. Later on this year I told them that I wanted to see them become stronger than me. Seems cliché, but I'm happy they took it seriously. Of course I'm dead serious. We also talked about I will be waiting for them in Senior. Hope they'll continue until then. And above all I hope I will still be competing. I really want to have a positive impact on these kids, competitors or not. And I guess it's working. (Btw I'll surely do a post about Whitebeard soon, just to show him love). So. What lessons can we draw from this chaotic year ? Always treat your high school comrades well. Be picky about who you let in your life. Before engaging in a relationship, ask why her previous relationship ended. Trust no B. (And BBW's are heaven sent). Now it's 3:50PM and I guess I'm done. But I keep myself the possibility to add things if I think of things to add. It's 6 pages long (Arial, 12) but if I can make it longer I will.
[Friday. 00:55AM] Edit : Ok. The story is funny. I really wanted to finish that in one day. So I wrote the previous lines between 10 AM and 4 PM Wednesday knowing I would need more time, just to check and to add a few more details. And one of those Lonely Wednesday Night would have been perfect just to finish the job. So I planned to finish it on wednesday night but the fact is I forgot my computer home …. So here I am one day later. Still baked, so still in the right state of mind to do it. It gave me time to proofread myself (?) and most importantly, it gave me time to read again some of my previous sum ups. It was interesting to compare how they're all different, and also how my writting evolved. Tbh I think I'm becoming more comfortable with my English. Or maybe the more I express myself, the more I look at ease with the langage. This sum up is the longest I've ever written. But still, I'll add things because I still haven't told everything. For example, I haven't spoken about the fact that all the Kazamastar adventure might be closer to the end than the beginning. Like, I'm not immediatly done with all that. I'm still having a lot of fun here. Anon visitors are also part of the game, but it's still all fun. It also keeps my « photograph eye » opened. This makes me think of the quote «I want to be so awfully happy that I never need to write poetry again. » [#] and more precisely I'm thinking about : do I post more when I'm happy or sad ? But I noticed this tumblr kinda works like therapy for me. (And especially, this post is a therapy by itself. Wednesday I woke up feeling bad, lower belly aching and making this post really helped me going through the day.) I post a lot when I'm sad but it really allows me to get all of these negative feelings out of me. I do stylize things but I know I'm not a poet or anything. But can you imagine being so happy that you don't write again ? Would be an amazing feeling. (Indeed, I've already done it once [#]. I've ended a blog on a perfect happiness and yes it felt amazing. ) Imagine if I do it here. After all the trials and tribulations I went through, it would be a perfect way to finish this tumblr. But as I'm speaking, I think there's like … less than 5% chance that it ends happily. If it does, it could be in a long time. I have a few ideas of when and how it could end, but Imma have to keep these selfishly for myself. You'll see when we'll get there.:) Also, I'm realizing right now the things I'm adding to the text make the timestamps through the text a bit less accurate but that's just a detail. [2:37 AM] Earlier I talked about this blog being a therapy for me. But it’s not only this tumblr. This year I proudly finished another tumblr (yes you can guess I was proud as I posted about that 17325 times already and pinned a post). This was such a relief to end it after letting it still for litteraly 2 years. Well that’s it for tonight !
No transition : let's go for the explanations of my choices for the playlist followed by the playlist itself. It's kinda easy to understand why « la mienne » is here, for the first month. This “I can’t touch you I’m not allowed to” really made me think of someone and this someone came back. Incredible. The next song with a Boogie is perfect for February. Very peaceful month, really full of very good moments (in the backseat of a certain car for example). The 2 next songs are for March. These are kinda « lockdown anthems » as The Weeknd album came out right at that time and so did Laylow's. Plus « Escape from LA » have the vibe I really love from Abel. 2 next songs are for April. Dsvn really smashed when he put that « A muse in her feelings » album. (and the « Amusing her feelings » is even better but that won't happen before January 2021). The sequence between « Outlandish – Keep it going - flawless » was one of the best thing I heard musically this year. But keep it going is insane. « Meilleurs » from Oboy is … special. And so are the 2 following songs. Meilleurs is now blacklisted but it's still one good song. But I can't listen to it anymore. Maybe that's exactly because it reminds me June and July. Count me in reminds me precisely of August 8th. Btw what a funny day, very far from all expectations we built up through the years (let's remind that the countdown started with more that 400 days, but I guess patience and loyalty is not always rewarded). I might digress from the playlist one second, but on this day we were in Treilles with the guys, and thank God I had them in this moment ... That’s when I drank to heal, with “count on me” for soundtrack. For September, I hesitated between « DEUX TOILES DE MER » or « MEVTR » (which means « Meilleur d'Entre Vous Tous Reunis », the 1st stage name of Damso). Damso’s flow on MEVTR is huge. He makes a whole verse rhyme and on but … 2 toiles is more iconic. Talking about iconic, « Bande organisée » wasn't a masterpiece but a force to be reckoned with (i find this expression funny ahah). I mean, in hip hop nowadays we don't see often rappers teaming up with big groups like that. Plus on this song particularly some of them have interesing flows and a lot of energy. And you can tell it comes from the South. Not of them are goods, some are excellent but this makes a very decent track. « Route 66 » was cool, even tough it's for November (so 2nd lockdown) it gave me really lovely vibes. And I take this occasion talking about November 2020 to remind it was the 10th anniversary of Kanye West's MBDTF and I celebrated it the right way héhé. Finally, this featuring is really ending the year well. Dinos dropped an insane album, his best since a long time and Tayc also (respectively « Stamina, » and « Fleur froide »). So having them on the same track was risky but it paid very well, incredible vibe from those two combined. They could have been in the top 3 albums but some people made better than them. Trinity is my top 1 one 2020. The concept, the musics … it was INSANE. QALF was also great. It's insane to see Damso get rid of « artistic barriers » to focus only on sound and music. No communication etc … Just music. And Eternal Atake from Lil Uzi Vert because it was long awaited but also because it was perfect, also a 1st lockdown album so it helped me forget my loneliness but so much good tracks ! And finally we have the very special songs that I coudn't tell why I like them. I just love their vibes. So now is 4:15 PM and I'm offically finished but I still have to tweak it. Know I won't hesitate to add things that are related to 2020 and that come to my mind :) Thanks for reading me. Have a lovely day, or night.
2020 Playlist
Tayc – La mienne (Accoustic)
A Boogie – Reply feat Lil Uzi Vert
The Weeknd – Escape for LA
Laylow – Nakré
dvsn – Keep it goin ✨
PartyNextDoor – Believe it feat Rihanna
Trippie Redd & Russ – The Way
OBOY - Meilleurs
Kehlani - Serial Lover
Juice WRLD & Marshmello - Come and go
THEY. - Count me in
Damso - Deux toiles de mer
13 Organisé - Bande organisée
Joe Dwet File - Route 66
Dinos & Tayc - Je wanda
Spécial : Lil Tecca - Last Call  YNW Melly  - City girls
Jessame - Times we had ~ Dennis Lloyd - Never go back ~  Elliot Trent - computer love
3 top albums de 2020 : 
Trinity de Laylow - Qalf de Damso - Eternal atake de Lil Uzi vert
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