[aaajmachine]

It's subject to change, but based on the writing so far, Francesca hasn't even shown an authentic desire for children. Anytime she's mentioned it is in the context of "John wants children, he needs an heir, it's my duty to provide that to him as his wife" & then her guilt over not succeeding. Which is already an infertility story in its own right! They could leave it there, & it would have been addressed. But yeah, I don't know what approach they'll take. While Fran could discover a true desire for motherhood and have to come to terms with it not happening with Michaela (unless future ward plot), it seems just as likely she may realize it's just another societal expectation that doesn't actually suit her. I'm good with whatever!

Oooo, & I do also wonder what Michaela's feelings about motherhood are! Complicated, no doubt! Then imagine if Micheala & Fran settled into opposite feelings about it. Fran, growing up overwhelmed by a house full of siblings while knowing motherhood was her duty. But then discovering, wait, she doesn't actually have to do that??? Michaela, coming from a smaller family & knowing she'd never be able to make her own because of who she is & making peace with that. But wait, now she has a beautiful wife, something she never thought she'd have, & she suddenly starts feeling a certain longing when she sees children...

So basically yes to all of this.

Francesca just wants to fit so perfectly in a box that's not made for her and I love that Violet can see right through it.

And my baby Michaela has never imagined that she could actually live a life where she was not only accepted but truly loved by someone and their big ass family.

She gets to experience sisters and multiple brothers plus nieces and nephews galore. Seeing everyone together, the children with Francesca could bring out a whole new side of herself that she was expecting.

Ugh, the layers in this is ship are so amazing. There's just so many ways for their story to go.

[dyingnome]

so i heard there was going to be archery on season 5 of bridgerton...

[baldtrix]

“You cannot understand what it is like being newly married, desperately wanting to be a good wife, all the while feeling constantly inadequate, like there is something wrong with me.”

I don’t think the Bridgerton writers could’ve summed up comphet better than in this scene with this exact wording. The fact that Francesca KNOWS that something is not right but can’t put her finger on it.

I love that they didn’t portray Francesca as completely clueless in her journey to where she is going to end up in season 5, this pre-build up, especially this scene, shows that she is fully AWARE that her feelings for John, her marriage, her expectations for herself don’t line up with what they should be.

Even though it’s so painful to watch as a queer person because it hits too close to home, this anger Francesca feels is basically repression before she even realizes what is going on with herself. Some sort of shield protecting herself.

And the fact that she vents to Michaela about this is probably because she can feel that Michaela possesses some type of freedom that Francesca doesn’t have and it works so freaking well because they’re basically two sides of the same coin.

The scene where Francesca will come to realization in season 5 will probably be so beautiful, i genuinely can’t wait for the new season.

Franchaela my darlings you’re so nuanced and so beautifully written.

[thecrumbez]

Happy Pride Month to those two women dancing together in the foreground of the boat scene in Godzilla (1954).

I’m sorry your romantic foibles were overshadowed by a big ass atomic lizard thing.

[erratic-dragon-fruit]

out of the tags with you

[clover-fell-over]

day 6 of drawing my favourite queer characters for pride month!

today i drew max chapman (a league of their own)

[heartunderthefloor]

Gods, i hate the parenting in this show so bad. Maybe they think they're trying but it's still authoritarion, just in a smaller flavor.

[alright-fuckhead]

[alright-fuckhead]

MICHAELA STIRLING Bridgerton Season Four

[anticlockfoolish]

In my opinion, the firefighting side of VFD's biggest flaw, at least by the time the Baudelaire orphans encountered them, isn't that they're too morally grey in their actions, but that they don't act enough. Sure, in the Sugar Bowl Gen's youth, they were committing all sorts of shady acts, either of their own volition or on the orders of their higher-ups— stealing tea sets, assassinating minor royalty with poison darts, etc. etc. But a few decades later, the old generation had mostly disappeared, and the remaining members of the firefighters were probably so traumatised by the things they did and the things that were done to them, that they decided the best course of action was not to do anything at all.

Instead, like the open eye of their insignia, they watch. They observe, and they collect information, which is fed back into Dewey's sub-library, in the hope of one day, eventually, bringing their enemies to justice. In that way, their organisation became more straightforwardly noble than it was in the past—but also significantly less effective. This weak, toothless version of the firefighters, unwilling to commit the morally dubious actions of their past, staunchly sticking to the moral high ground, is now no match for the firestarters, and is rapidly being destroyed.

They're no help to the Baudelaires, either. It's heavily implied that VFD were closely watching them since the very beginning of their series of unfortunate events, taking photos, writing reports. Surely, at some point, someone could have grabbed them by the ankles and rescued them.

And then, finally, the big day arrives, the day where all their enemies will be brought to justice. Despite being a secret organisation, operating outside the government, the Firefighters put all their hope into the justice system to solve their problems. And when the Baudelaires reveal the truth to them, that the evil of the world is at the very heart of justice itself, they refuse to take their blindfolds off. For once, the organisation with an eye as their insignia, that has done basically nothing but sit back and watch as everything goes wrong, refuses to see. They're just as useless as everyone else.

[feal-the-grinch]

The thing is, I really like Fran’s take on quiet love. Perhaps love can indeed be quiet and not hard fought. Perhaps Fran was in love with John, in a quiet way. It'd be a beautiful thing to show, that love does not indeed look the same for everyone. Some people are perfectly content just existing in silence together, and it doesn't have to make sense to anybody else.

However, there's one scene that, for me, undermines that statement. At their wedding, after their first kiss, Fran lowers her head, and she seems so… lost? Disappointed? As if that kiss wasn’t quite what she’d hoped for. To me, this is the strongest argument there is for claiming that Fran wasn’t in love with John, because otherwise, there would be no reason for that shot to exist.

But then, all that talk of quiet love loses its meaning. In my opinion, the creators of Bridgerton have backed themselves into a corner, because whatever happens, people will ask either, "Why emphasise that they shared a "quiet love" only to reveal that it wasn’t romantic love for her?" or "Why show that she was lost after their first kiss, without ever addressing it again, if both of them really were in love?"

As far as I’m concerned, the only way these two scenes could logically coexist would be if Francesca had made that statement not because it was true for her, but to convince her mother—and herself—that it was. It was also very close to her truth, as she does indeed love John. He was more than a husband to her; he was her best friend, with whom she shared unique qualities, which allowed them to get on wonderfully well. This would mean, however, that this ‘quiet love’ statement was never anything more than a device to drive Francesca’s story forward, and that would render this speech ineffective in terms of its message, despite it having undoubtedly resonated with many. It kind of sucks on that front I guess, but that's the only way these scenes seem to make sense together.

[wowsillies]

Something that I find Fascinating is that the show reproduces John’s death from the book beat for beat EXCEPT for one very curious detail.

The lead up to John’s death goes like this:

Francesca, Michael and John spend time together exchanging conversation —> Francesca, Michaela and John spend time together doing their puzzle and give us the cute final piece foreshadowing

John has a headache and retires for a nap. Same in both.

Michael/Michaela and Francesca spend time alone together. In the book, they go for a walk and chat. In the show, they make another puzzle offscreen.

Francesca goes to wake John up. She screams.

Now here’s the difference: in both show and movie, Michael and Michaela hear the scream and react. But. BUT! We don’t see Michaela go up to Fran and John’s room like we see in the book. There, Michael sees Francesca sobbing and knows upon seeing John’s body that he is gone. We see that grief and that immense, unbearable loss through his eyes.

In the show, we see Michaela react to the scream. We see her walk off camera, stunned and even frightened… and the episode ends. The next time we see Michaela, she’s curled up and quiet and the stillest we’ve ever seen her on the floor of the sitting room, dressed for her dearest cousin’s funeral and completely unprepared.

And I just find that so odd because on every other aspect of the scene they recreated the beats even if not the exact circumstances (puzzle vs walk, for example), so it stands out that we didn’t get that Michaela scene equivalent. From a filmmaker standpoint, it’s a good point to end the episode on. It’s not their season. It’s good drama and good character work to get right to Fran’s processing grief, which is the centerpoing to ep7.

But that’s the thing, isn’t it? We haven’t yet seen Michaela through her own lens yet, we haven’t had glimpses at her full interiority as a character. Almost all of her scenes are viewed through either Fran or John’s lens. The only time she’s Alone and Unobserved that we see is when she hears Fran’s argument with Violet. The bulk of her character work is definitely coming in season 5, which will center her as a proper lead.

So my theory is that they’re saving this scene. That we will see this in flashback during s5 as we explore Michaela’s character. This is Michaela’s greatest loss. It’s her dearest cousin. It’s looking at his body and knowing that’s not John anymore. It’s the crushing, sudden weight of losing him and her world going upside down as a result. Look, it’s material that could be right up there with Anthony’s flashbacks to his mother’s “Edmund should be here!” speech when Hyacinth was born.

It could be SUCH A PIVOTAL SCENE FOR THEM!! It would be DEVASTATING!! My bets would be on episode 2 since it tends to be the romantic lead flashback episode. And I could be wrong! But I would Love to be right on this

[disce-stuff]

Looking at my old TCH fanart, I probably made this the third time I watched the film, it's been like 4 years.... I'm still suffering

[pinayelf]

so i was thinking. they implied that john knew michaela's a lesbian, and that he loved and accepted her wholeheartedly. it seemed that michaela was putting out that she would be a spinster with john's approval (aka some protection from a male relative bc sexism still exists in this world) in order to prevent others and male suitors from pushing her into a marriage

for that time, it's the best way she can live as a lesbian without having to be with a man

but when john dies, not only does michaela lose the one person who fully accepts her for who she is, she lost the person willing to shield her from being married off to a man

[closetcasefranchaela]

just had a “are these heart palpitations????? is this a stroke???????? wHAT AM I EVEN FEELING??????” reaction to Masali’s new photos jeeeeeeeezuuuuussssss

[closetcasefranchaela]

Dionne Smith continues to feed us 😍❤️

[badgirlgonewild]

MASALI BADUZA for Swooon

[shipsa-hoy]

[chrisfromthefreakingspace]

Francesca worshipping those beautiful Michaela's thighs ♥