WeBuiltThePyramids

WeBuiltThePyramids

Signs you are way too deep into fanfic:

I updated this morning and was like "WHY does not have a Paige/Florence thread?" and that legitimately baffled me for like, minutes before I was like "...there is no canon reason to have a Paige/Florence thread."

FoxPhile

TFTNT!

Considering that in canon there has been almost no rapport between Paige and Florence, a Paige/Florence thread is a bit of a stretch.

WeBuiltThePyramids

We might be able to justify it as a hate thread if we allowed those. But I realized while I was paging back looking for one that all the moments of theirs that I love, save one, is in people's fanfic.

Cyclone139

We could have a thread to discuss their relationship? This could include how we think they may have been able to move forward in Season 5 and beyond. I don't think it would be all hate!

I read your latest chapter, Nicole and I really like how you have them as friends now. In some ways, I could see Paige and Florence becoming closer friends than Paige and Happy.

FoxPhile

I can see Paige and Florence eventually becoming good friends. Unlike Happy, I think Florence craves friendship, but doesn't know how to go about it.

WeBuiltThePyramids

I feel like there just isn't enough. At least when it comes to me, I know that anything I have in my head for them is either in fanfic I've written or fanfic I've read, so in that sense it would almost belong in this thread. And the little canon we did get, we could talk about that in either the Florence thread or the Paige one.

And Paige craves connection with people who struggle with connection. And Florence craves that connection, like you said. Honestly it reminds me of one of the first songs from the Mean Girls musical, and my brain has started somewhat associating it with Florence vs the team when I hear it. So for anyone unfamiliar with that story, to understand the metaphor in the song, you just have to know that the premise is "girl who has been homeschooled in Africa almost her whole life is back in the U.S. and going to high school."

The ending of this song goes like this:

And that kinda reminds me of Paige encouraging the team to accept Florence earlier on in the season, and how happy Florence got when Paige said that they were friends. That combination of them both being unable to deny their need to connect to people makes me think they absolutely could have become friends, once Paige got past her insecurities (or at least recognized them enough to understand she needed to get past them).

(Not explicitly plot specific spoilers for Go Down Together, Heidi) I tried to convey some of this - both that they are friends now/that Paige cares, and that Paige is absolutely 100% confident in both her relationship with Walter and in Florence's friendship with him, in the scene where This potential is part of why I can't get behind the theory that had the show been renewed, Florence would have had to leave to fully "fix" the team; that just feels too easy to me (though I mean, explore the heck out of it in fanfic if that's what you want to explore, I just hope it wouldn't have happened in the show) and it would sort of argue against the idea that this kind of thing can be worked through - and to me sort of says "just remove the problem and that makes it all better."

But in the case of Scorpion, the problem truly wasn't Florence - the problem was Waige stopped communicating as they should, both of them leaned on their own weaknesses, and if Florence hadn't been the one to inadvertantly drive them apart, someone else would have, eventually. Her catching feels for Walter was just something extra. And until Waige worked through the issues they had together - as well as worked through each of their own issues that complicated that 'together', eliminating the third party was only going to "fix it" until the next third party showed up. And when it comes to the three specific people we're talking about...I think they all had a really good chance of working through things and becoming real friends, no jealousy involved, so I really wish we'd been able to see that.

I did not intend to type this much but I'm very passionate about Florence.

FoxPhile

If they had Florence leave in order to "fix" Waige that would have been nearly criminal. As it was they so abused the character just throwing her in the middle when there was no sign at all that she had any interest in Walter. She was never the real problem for Waige in the first place so taking her out would not fix them. It amazes me that the writers - or whoever makes these decisions - think they could fool the fans with such a ridiculous resolution.

WeBuiltThePyramids

You wouldn't believe how many comments I saw, post finale and pre cancellation, that were like "there's really no way to fix this unless they write Florence off," and I'm like wait...is your faith in these characters' abilities to act like adults so low that you honestly think Florence leaving is the only option?

FoxPhile

I really wonder how much of that is just people not liking the Florence character and wanting her gone for any reason. Even if Walter and Florence were actually having an affair or had mutual feelings for each other, having Florence leave doesn't solve the real underlying problem.

WeBuiltThePyramids

Agreed. I think it's a combination of people not liking Florence (though a lot of people DID like her until the finale so that turnaround makes me so sad) and the fact that usually, the third leg of a love triangle ends up leaving.

Though when it's not a serious, drawn out angst storyline (which we didn't know that this would be from a Florence liking Walter perspective, since it came out of nowhere I really do think it was a crush), it can be resolved without a character having to leave. Example: on TBBT, Raj had brief things for Penny and Bernadette. Stuart and Bert had things for Amy (weaker example as they were recurring but still). On The Good Place, there were episodes that Tahani was with Jason and then Jason was with Janet and Tahani thought she was in love with Chidi at one point and they all just...got over it.

WeBuiltThePyramids

So we talk about fanfics that give us warm fuzzies. Do you guys ever get reviews that give you warm fuzzies?

Laura (ScorplingInTraining)'s last review on my most recent update says in part:

And I was like damn now your feels are giving me feels.

FoxPhile

I can't quote any, but I've definitely had reviews that had me nearly in tears from feels. When you ship a couple really hard and you get a review that makes you realize you've managed to express that and share the feelings with a fellow shipper, it's like a sugar high.

WeBuiltThePyramids

A sugar high! What a good way of putting it. Except I don't throw up after review highs

Cyclone139

ScorplingInTraining leaves lovely, in-depth reviews. She said this on my latest chapter: That really made my day!