#❬ ❆ ❭ No one gets to choose how it happens || Finn and Simon

[cathchicken]

Ok watched the new episodes, my quick thoughts: (spoiler)

I thought cake dropped the f bomb when she said “puck him up!” In the first few minutes. Sort of disappointed she didn’t tho, that’d be really funny

Episode one overall was really cute! Gave me big bee and puppy cat vibes

I like the relationship Fiona has with both Gary and Marshal. ALSO PEPPERMINT BUTLER WAS SUCH A JUMPSCARE IDK WHY

Also surprising: Hunter?? (Genderswapped human huntress wizard). It’s a different design than the one we see in the trailers! I’m not sure how to think of it yet but I could immediately sense the sort of pairing they are going for obviously with Fiona.

Lsp was lsp

Also the human lemongrabs haha

Intro theme was a banger??? Especially episode 2

Ok episode two: essentially a Simon torture porn episode like oh my god I am not kidding

He’s such a looser (sad)

Like give my man a break

I bet you could easily make a 20 minute compilation of every time Simon gets whacked in the head or punched or something, by the end of the series.

Also Simon and Marcy flashback. Gonna throw up now my heart won’t take it

He is going insane. Like his girl how cute 💕💕💕💕

Betty shrine

Choose goose but EVIL!! yes! This was hinted at in the “wizard city” episode of distant lands, and now he is back but filled with dark magic I guess.

Nothing happens with that little Fiona fangirl

FINN!!! He is very big but thr same the whole time, I am happy to see him back

Jake is dead :’(

Finn hangs out with TV now, interesting. TV even has a little tamagotchi

This episode REALLY earned the tv-14 rating. Lots of blood, but satisfying in a way. A beat up monster actually has visible injuries!!

Well also Simon his arm gets jacked up. Because it’s mandatory I guess

I have no idea what’s gonna happen to finns weird scratch, maybe nothing

Finn makes like at least two jokes about his balls and it’s so good. He’d totally be the person to think balls are funny

Huntress wizard is also mentioned in this episode too!! Not any appearances though. Finn does say he regularly meets with her though, and at the end of the episode even goes to “hang out” with her

Rebecca sugar song!!! I think!!!

OH YEAH WE GOT A BIT OF BUBBALINEEE. Nothing too important, just them having a goofy time and being happy :3

next: Simon summons god /j

Well, he does something to connect with golb, or at least his intentions. But choose goose messes up the chant by saying something about Fiona and cake.

Ok so THEORY: this summoning/portal ritual caused a portal to appear from Simon to Fiona’s world, like the chant eventually said. The portal itself (in Fiona’s universe) was specifically tied to ice, since that’s a point of simons identity. Well, the portal cake wen through was right near human ice queen, so I thought it was because ice queen was the Simon of Fiona’s universe. But cake doesn’t enter her, but just the ice in her ice cream cart. Hmmm,,,, not sure.

Ok I think that’s it for now!!

[binalakai]

i also wish people would be more receptive to relationship speculation, at the very least. there were so many moments in fionna and cake where simon and fionna’s interactions had me raising my eyebrows and thinking “wow, what’s up with this chemistry rn?” but i know posting about it to see if others also noticed would get me dogpiled lol. glad i’m not the only one entertaining the ship and its implications to/for the characters it encompasses.

also winter king/simon is intriguing as well, if only in a weird homestuck self-shipping (dave and davesprite anyone?) kind of way where both characters get to have major epiphanies bc they’re basically looking into a mirror (may be more of a funhouse mirror for winter king/simon but still works lol)

i do not ship any of these pairings, please dont take this post from a shipping perspective

i apologize in advanced if this post is said messy. its given an opening to many things ive been thinking about since the start of the show and i know i wanna come back to it in case any new developments were to happen at the final season 1 episodes tldr; Kai Talks About how much i Love Very Messed Up Pairings, not because i want them to actually be together, but because i am NOT the type to ignore Seeds That Have been Planted in canon so i will Grow Horrible Realizations i've been having out of them

YEAH NO BECAUSE I LIKE. I JUST WANNA POINT OUT WHAT'S CANON OKAY!! i think this post is like. the only one ive seen that Has Pointed out The Adventure Time Ice King/Fionna dynamic in the lenses of the Simon we have today....and even then thats just a joke post :")

because like. okay. i need people to think about this for a second: yes, ice king didn't Come With with Fionna and Cake's existence, but why in the world would he Choose to be responsible for writing it? for bringing their stories to life and showing off a world that's been living in his head? i genuinely think people don't really like the ugly side of how badly loneliness has mutated Ice King's way of thinking (i mean for gods sake the guy tries to kiss/get with anyone, mf cant even recognize the person he claims to be falling in love with). that, yeah. of course if he had a World Living inside his brain that felt so Real to him that he CONSTANTLY wished for it to not only but true, but one that would be close to him!! one that would welcome him!!!! no matter what itd be, romantic, platonic, To the point of Worship....like ANYTHING that would bring him closer to genuine Connection in his alienating experience. NOTABLY for fionna The Human!!! the human that parallels a real life actual kid that mostly has kicked Ice King's ass to eventually treating him like a Poor confused Old Lost Guy. still, i need to stress the kind of dynamic finn and the ice king have is NOWHERE near the kind of dynamic fionna and ice king have (and even with simon developments included). . ...except this time around, even when he does have his own parallel Ice Queen existing manifesting the Must Needed Rival for their universe to make sense, mutating her character into something that to make her more Vicious/Violent, making Ice King seem Nicer In Comparison and dare i say that, yeah...! some of that HAS been carried onto modern day Fionna!! who CANONICALLY has romantic feelings towards ice prince and the winter king, parallels to ice king/simon himself! just. sorry but i NEED both Simon and Fionna to like. Read Those Stories. I Need them to revisit the VERY specific stories that Ice King felt the need to tell in the first place, his and other people in their lives' inclusions. it would not only reinforce Simon's Influence in the world Period, something that he found himself doubting on ...but also I NEEEEEEDDD to see that can of worms opened. i NEED for Fionna to see for herself the people SHE'S supposed to be representing. i NEED for her to see what kind of void she's been filling in Ice King/Simon's time of existence. i NEED for her to see how big the Obsession GOT, how badly Ice King needed that outlet of escapism (and how much Simon still returns to it in the present day)

^ this moment has been living in my brain ever since the announcement of the Fionna and Cake series that Fionna's fixation on the ice prince, her life, her..everything in general, is more or less a Weird Reflection of the lives of People living Greater Lives than she ever believed to have lived, combined with how said proclaimed experiences of Magic have only been recorded by a guy who Inserted Himself in a world she doesnt even recall living in Im surprised that. hasnt been so Stressed yet in show. im prepared to eat my words if they DO come back to it. but for the time being i really wish Fionna found out how desperate Simon/Ice King was for someone to acknowledge and Desire His Existence, to a degree that would be absolutely humiliating/weird to uncover but Necessary to come back to in order to truly understand the Scope of what 1000+ years of Madness through Ostracization (from others and eventually the Self) Does to a MF

__________ AS OF FOR MY THOUGHTS ON THE WINTER KING, he alas only truly an episode to explore. but the thoughts still exist nonetheless!!! for the most part i can only truly indulge in it out of pure hilarity for its existence, while acknowledging how much im so thankful that winter king was characterized as he was n didnt overstay his welcome, as i didnt find him necessary to stay in the narrative . there's a lot of feelings i have about simon/ice king's perception of himself alone, and how most of it is Either Negative or Overcompensation Due to his own self negativity. which makes me curious on what could come of a Better Version of Himself, looking at the version of himself that has "failed" to conquer the crown the way he has, but contemplated on pursuing romantically, even for a brief moment honestly, i dont blame people for being invested in this pairing (in comparison to fionna/simon, where i cannot myself entertain it even as a joke unlike this one). it makes me curious on what the Winter King's definition of romance is in comparison to Simon's. what could even be desirable, possibly, in the eye's of the Winter King? Does the love of someone you'll go mad over truly make you a Better Person Or Worse? Simon and Winter King existing in the same room together brings up so many questions and possible ways to explore Simon's character. wayyyyyyyyyy less of a "this can be simon's way of practicing self love" thing and MUCH more of a "These Guys Kissing each other would be the equivalent of the Narcissus Tale but with a Distorted Reflection that only Represents You because the reflection Demands That of you"

[theywontletmebeprincipal]

okay I've watched Fionna and Cake and WOW I enjoyed it a LOT more than I originally thought I would.

I had to sit with the last episode for a while. Trying to decide my feelings on it, you know? My first reaction to how they painted Simon and Betty's relationship was that they did that so the audience could better cope with Simon's choice to move on. Thought about it more and yeah, I was wrong. It just removed the rose-colored glasses. I think the one thing I didn't like was Beth spelling the whole thing out, like yeah I got it. The chose your own adventure allegory worked! I got it. I like the last episode! The part when GolBetty was still protecting Simon when Scarab kept trying to fuck with him got me emotional

Winter King was the biggest tumblrsexyman bait I have EVER seen- selfcest bait and all! Pretty funny, I respect it.

Loved both what Gary and Marshall Lee were doing and what was happening with the main characters. I wasn't sure if I would be too interested in them, but fucking. I got invested in the baking!

BRO THE THEME SONG!?!?! I had only seen the one for the first episode beforehand, so the real intro was a surprise to me! I love it!

Trying to organize my thoughts is hard uuhh just I liked it and will probably rewatch it :]

1. ok the thing about the choose your own adventure allegory isn’t that it’s just that. I thought it was the one weak aspect at first too but in the ending sequence there’s a reveal that totally recontextualizes it

remember the little girl who wanted to be a writer because of ice king’s fionna and cake books? she sketches casper and nova during that sequence. casper and nova isn’t just some random allegory they pulled in — it’s HER BOOK. those are her ocs based off of the stories simon told her about him and betty, and ultimately it was that girl’s portrayal of them, not beth’s explanation, that made him realize what was going on

re: beth, I think it was at least a very interesting dynamic. simon is usually paired with characters either much younger than him or just less worldly than him, and he’s very book/world smart, so I think people tend to forget how immature he can be. ice king was just simon to the extreme after all, not to mention the way simon acts in the earlier episodes (him refusing to run from scarab because he just doesn’t feel like it is a great example). he’s a very smart guy but sometimes he gets so caught up in that that he doesn’t step back to consider anything except surface level logic. pair that with him going slightly mad with worry and I fully understand why beth thought he was shermy doing a bit

simon isn’t childish per se, but there’s a lot of things he doesn’t know because he doesn’t ever really look outside his own perspective, and I like how casper and nova illustrated that. simon has always been this sort of fatherly figure that everyone else admires but nobody else sees the worth in, he’s always trying to shoulder so much for no reason. there’s been this imagery the whole season of simon caring for people younger than him (baby finn, normal finn, fionna, astrid, etc) but he never actually lets himself be cared for. so it makes sense that him being given the grace that a kid would be given and ultimately realizing his wrongdoing after seeing himself through the eyes of a child would be a thing that happens

2. you’re so right about gumlee me too man. the scene where they kissed while pb n marcy were hurtling to their toxic codependent yuri deaths was crazy. holy shit

3. I honestly think there’s a LOT to winter king I have a couple posts worth of analysis on it. I think the idea of simon doing something so wildly unethical is very fascinating I loved watching him spiral into madness. slay

4. the biggest surprise for me I think was cake’s arc? like looking back I totally should’ve seen it coming but it was I think my favorite ongoing plotline from the show. her wishes being at odds with fionna’s presented this really interesting dynamic that finn and jake never had and the way she was a narrative foil to simon was like. ohhhh that was fucking evil of the writers . simon desperately wanting to destroy his mind and cake desperately wanting to keep hers. the way that translates into their dynamic with each other. the terrifying dawning realization that fionna might prefer her non sentient. of course it isn’t true, but it would’ve felt that way, no?

also just fucking. “everybody dies. they should get to die as themselves.” “fionna, I am myself. like this.” what if I spontaneously combusted killing everyone in a 3 mile radius. what then

[sicklyseraphnsuch]

Episode 7 (Chapter 2 Outline)

We open with Fionna, Cake, and Simon in the dead world. After the insanity that was the Vampire world, the group finds themselves in world left completely quiet and still. They get a chance to breathe.

Cake is still mad at Fionna, so she leaves. Simon tries to cheer Fionna up and Fionna asks about Betty as in canon. Unlike canon, Simon makes a complicated face as he begins recounting their story. Winter King's parting words echo in his head.

As in canon, Fionna makes the same comments but here, Simon actually takes the time to consider it. Cake returns like in canon.

They follow her to find BMO. They go to the Candy Kingdom. Cake yells at Fionna. She starts crying. Simon finishes his story. Again, unlike canon, when Fionna asks about getting on the bus with Betty, Simon goes quiet. BMO starts clapping and moves to repair the remote.

But in a move to foreshadow things to come, before BMO can proceed, Simon stops BMO from risking his life. Simon says that it will be a last resort. And now it's clear that Simon is upset. He argues with BMO, trying to take away the remote but BMO holds on, saying: "Let me do this for you!"

"No! You've done enough! I'm not gonna stand aside and let you sacrifice yourself, Betty!"

Ringing silence.

"I mean... I mean, BMO. I meant to say BMO."

Everyone stares at him. Simon catches his breath. He turns to Fionna. "I don't know why..."

Fionna shrugs. "Hey, B names, amiright?"

Simon shakes his head. "I don't know why I didn't go on that trip. I..." He walks away. "It was my fault. If I had just..."

"Simon, you're not making any sense," Cake adds. "Do you wanna maybe speak in full sentences?"

"It was my idea that brought us to the Crown. She wanted to go somewhere else, but I insisted."

"That's not fair! There's no way for you to have known about the curse!"

"Yes... But it was my decision in the end..."

"What, was your girl chopped liver?" Cake rolls her eyes. "She wasn't like me, you know. She could talk like a human from the beginning. She shoulda said something if she really wanted to go somewhere."

"But does she need to? I just... I never noticed before and Fionna brought up a good point. She always dropped everything for me. Even if I never asked her to, I should have noticed that. Why didn't I see? How could I have been so blind?"

BMO pats him gently. "You are being too hard on yourself. You are wearing glasses. Of course, you can't see very well. You needed help!"

Simon chuckles, patting the robot back. "Thanks, BMO. But we're not using your heart to fix the remote. It's too risky." He turns to the rest of the group. "There must be something we can put together. I know Princess Bubblegum had her secret stashed of tech."

"I know!" BMO claps. "My friend Jerry is super old. He might know something that we don't!"

"Okay, that sounds like a lead. Take us to your friend, BMO."

Meeting Jerry happens like canon. But the one key difference is that there's less stress because BMO is around. We also don't hear Betty's song. We just jumpcut to entering the Lich's lair. And when Jerry the Lich goes catatonic again, Simon reveals that they won't last very long in this world. So Fionna pulls out the Crown.

The ensuing argument happens like in canon. But when Simon comforts Fionna, she argues with him.

"No, it's not alright! If you're not okay, then we're not okay! That's how this works!"

"You won't even remember me!"

"That just makes it worse!"

"Just let me do the right thing for once!"

Fionna looks at Simon. "It wasn't you fault, Simon. Sometimes bad things just happen. Maybe if you had gone with Betty, bad things could still have happened."

"Bad things are happening right now!" Cake complains.

"Cake, are you really okay with this?" Fionna asks.

"If he wants to, then that's his choice!"

"So if I choose to walk off a bridge, you'd just let me?"

"We're not talking about that! And besides, I would just catch you!"

"It's okay, girl Finn," BMO speaks up. "I like the Ice King. He's really fun to play with. We can keep each other company!"

"BMO... What would I do without you, bud?" Simon pats the robot again.

"Weeeeell, now you don't have a choice anymore. You're stuck with me forever!"

"See! Simon will be fine! Being the Ice King won't be all bad!"

Fionna doesn't respond, just stares at Simon.

He nods at her. "I'll be okay, Fionna."

Fionna frowns then kneels down next to BMO. She whispers something in BMO's ear. BMO gets excited and claps happily.

"OK, I can do that. It will be like a game!"

Fionna smiles.

Cake sighs, turns to Simon. "You get me, right?"

Simon smiles. "I do. You don't need to be sorry, Cake. I'm not mad."

Cake looks away, but appears clearly unsettled. "If we had another choice... You know I'd pounce on it..."

Simon only replies with: "Take care of your sister."

Smash cut to the ritual all set up. BMO is on the Lich's knee, watching everything happen. Simon begins the ritual.

Everything happens in canon. Fionna and Cake leap through the portal. Scarab arrives. Simon is ready to put on the Crown. But his final memory is not Betty in the car, but Betty at the bus stop, sitting on the ground with him.

The song from Betty's walkman plays on the background as Betty leans in for a kiss.

Black out.

Simon's voice, "Betty, I'm sorry."

[formxrkinga]

// Tag dump

[j4gm]

Obsidian lore thread!

Sharing this thread of lore, episode connections, and Easter eggs from Adventure Time: Distant Lands: Obsidian, originally written for my Twitter.

SPOILERS AHEAD, WATCH OBSIDIAN ON HBO MAX IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY

Keep reading for the full thread!

1) We've seen bombs scattered around the Land of Ooo before, but this is the first time we've seen the word "fission", confirming that they are nukes. Although we have seen the radiation roundel plenty of times so it's pretty obvious.

2) The "magic lightning" that created the Glass Kingdom could itself have been one of the nukes. Alternatively, it could have been the catalyst comet, although Finn has no connection to this place so that's probably not the case.

3) The subtitles for the first four minutes video suggested that Glassboy was saying "crap" here. However, the HBO Max subtitles confirm he is actually saying "crack".

4) All of Marceline's classic furniture is present, but Bubblegum's influence is very visible; a doily on the couch, a flask underneath, new barstools from the Candy Kingdom, and the pink lamp in the bedroom, just to name a few examples.

5) Lady Rainicorn slippers. That is all.

6) Chocoberry on the cover of a magazine. Looks like she's been dipped in white chocolate for this shoot.

7) This is the first time we've seen Choose Goose since he appeared as "Achoos Goose" in the Elements miniseries. Last time we saw his normal form was all the way back in season five's "Blade of Grass", nearly seven years ago. Is it weird that Choose Goose was the first thing in the episode to make me cry?

8) It appears that Princess Bubblegum has not rebuilt the Gumball Guardians since they were destroyed in the battle against GOLB.

9) There are lots of familiar candy people in and around the tavern, from a variety of seasons, including Kenneth, Dirt Beer Guy, Cherry Cream Soda, a Banana Guard 500, Lollipop Girl, and Smudge.

10) Simon is of course singing "Remember You". He is also using the omnichord that was used in that episode. Interestingly, this suggests he might remember some of his experiences as the Ice King.

11) This isn't the first time Dirt Beer Guy's tavern has hosted an open mic night. He also held one in "Son of Rap Bear", and even used the same banner, although it's looking a little tattered and worn out now.

12) Simon doesn't look any older than he did in the finale. This might mean that Betty's wish made him immortal, or it simply might not have been long enough for him to visibly age.

13) This is the oversized shirt given to Marceline by her father in the episode "Marcy & Hunson". It's looking a little faded these days.

14) Bubblegum's outfit is of a similar style to the one in "The Vault", but it's not the same. The fact she's not wearing her amulet might suggest this flashback takes place after "The Vault", but nothing is known for certain.

15) There are gravestones outside Marceline's house, but these actually aren’t new. They previously appeared in “Go With Me”. So don’t worry, these don’t belong to Jake or anything like that.

16) Simon's coping mechanism would be funny if it wasn't so sad. It's going to be a long time before he fully recovers. On a lighter note, the magnets on the fridge say "M PB" which is pretty cute.

17) This is our first time seeing the outside of Elise's van. We previously saw the interior in "Everything Stays". Also, we learned from the credits and subtitles that her name is Elise!

18) Previously, it wasn't known whether or not Elise survived the Mushroom War. Turns out she did... but not for long. It's also now unclear whether the flashback from "Everything Stays" happened before or after the war.

19) A nice little timeline detail: Marceline travelling with her mother for a while explains the awkward two year gap between the Mushroom War and the events of "Simon & Marcy".

20) Here's a comparison of the parts of Marceline's song that got corrupted into the current version. The Glass People got really obsessed with the idea of the song being about coconuts for some reason.

21) PB yelling "Scree!" to summon the Morrow is a callback all the way to the season two episode "Death in Bloom", which is when the Morrow made their debut.

22) Disease is added to the long list of things that helped wipe out humanity. I wonder if this disease is related to the one that Hugo and his crew gave to the grays in the BMO special. I also wonder if Marceline is immune thanks to her demon half.

23) The mutant puppy was able to say the word "wassup". Perhaps this is a halfway stage to the talking animals that now populate the Land of Ooo.

24) Turns out Marceline discovered her demon powers before she defeated the Fool. This is the first appearance of these kinds of soulless husks since "It Came From the Nightosphere" in season two.

25) This is the first new candy power we've seen Princess Bubblegum use since she learned how to create mints and soda in "Jelly Beans Have Power".

26) Marceline not caring about the glass people is very in line with her personality in the early seasons, such as when she was happy to let her father suck souls as long as she got her bass back.

27) No Easter egg here, just an extremely good image.

28) Here's the screenshot leaked by Adam Muto last month. Like the gas station in "Bonnibel Bubblegum", the graffiti here tells an interesting story. Seems like the Land of Ooo had a bit of a Mad Max phase while the humans were still around.

29) This is (as far as I know) only the second time an Adventure Time character has ever been shown bleeding. The first was the heart monster in "The Enchiridion", but that was a lot less realistic.

30) The fact that humans survived long enough to construct a whole Fallout-style bunker confirms that the near-extinction of humanity wasn't a quick process. It makes you wonder whether any other groups made it, besides the Islanders.

31) Apart from this being one of the darkest scenes in the entire show, I like the background detail of bank notes being used as toilet paper.

32) Marceline grew up blaming herself for her mother leaving, and says she is like her dad. It sounds like Elise has told Marceline a bit about Hunson Abadeer, and is scared and angry at him.

33) This actually isn't the first time Marceline's bass has been broken. She also snapped the handle during her fight with the Vampire King. However, it's never been completely shattered like this.

34) This might be a reference to the Hall of Egress. That's the only other time we've heard Bubblegum use that word.

35) Confirmation that Princess Bubblegum doesn't have bones. I guess that counts as lore?

36) The gag of the Banana Guards slipping over each other was also done in "The Thin Yellow Line" and probably some other episodes I'm forgetting.

37) Jake’s granddaughter Bronwyn is certainly an unexpected appearance. I wonder what affiliation she has with the main cast now?

38) And of course... FINN! I would estimate he's aged about five to ten years since the finale, but it's hard to tell with Adventure Time's style. He looks younger than he did in Puhoy's alternate future.

39) Lots of people have been theorising that the tattoo implies that something unfortunate has happened to Jake. Perhaps we'll get to know more about that in Together Again. Let's not dwell on it for now.

40) A canon origin story for the shirt, plus a Bubbline first meeting! This overrides the P.B. & Marcy comic, and re-contextualises a whole bunch of the old Bubbline episodes!

That’s all for now! Let me know if you can think of anything I missed!

[jakesuit0]

The Real You Review

Finn and Jake deliver a model of the Candy Kingdom made from Finn’s saliva. It’s cool to see Finn’s spit talent still in use. Although, I’m not sure if Princess Bubblegum would have liked it. The background music in this scene “A Blip and a Bubble” is also phenomenal. Bubblegum is holding a science conference and asks Finn to speak there. She definitely knows Finn isn’t a genius and that he…struggles cognitively. She even says she wants him to speak for his heroism. Finn being a member of an endangered species is also another reason scientists may be interested. Finn still worries he’ll sound stupid in front of all the brainiacs. Is this Finn revealing insecurities about how he views himself or is he just worried about impressing his crush? I think both. It plays into his fear of his friends looking down on him for being younger and probably less intelligent. I love Jake shapeshifting into a bag for Finn to hyperventilate into. It’s a perfect representation of Jake’s role in the series.

Finn and Jake go to the library for some knowledge in its first appearance. It’s not really Finn and Jake’s kind of place. They get distracted and start making noises. I have no idea how they are able to make noises just from blinking. We learn Turtle Princess’s status as a librarian. Is the library her kingdom? Is she a princess who happens to be a librarian? Is it a Doctor Princess type deal? We’ll never find out!

Finn and Jake try going to a college for worms. Finn somehow guesses the name of an enrolled, absent student: Wormy McSquirmy. Missed opportunity to not have McSquirmy at Shelby’s party in “Little Brother”! The teacher orders the students to kill Finn and Jake for truancy. Was this scene written by someone who had recurring college nightmares? The fight between tiny worms and Finn’s finger is really cool.

It’s great to see Choose Goose again. He sells Finn the Glasses of Nerdicon in exchange for entertainment. I like how easily amused Choogles is. The glasses make you look like a nerd and make you a genius. Literally the opposite of what happened to Simon! Could the glasses have cured him? When Finn puts the glasses on, we see the Earth. It’s blink and you miss it but there’s a giant crater in the Earth. This starts a new mystery. But, it’s not hard to connect the dots considering we know Ooo is post-apocalyptic. 

Finn returns to the conference for his speech. What looks like MoCo robots are in the audience? Finn is very snobby. The one similarity the glasses have to the ice crown are how crazy, scary, and intense it makes Finn. His invention is sick. He blows two, three, and four-dimensional bubbles. He sadly skips 1D. I also wanted to see the 4D bubble’s three-dimensional shadow! The 4D bubble creates a black hole. Finn knew this would happen. He basically tried to murder all these people for the educational value. What purpose is having this education if you won’t be alive to use it? Finn's line “we are all born to die” comes from something a babysitter told Rebecca Sugar when she was a kid that stuck with her. What a strange thing to say to a small child! 

PB gets Finn to take his glasses off. It’s sweet how PB reveals that she likes Finn for who he is. Finn’s sword is turned 4D from his bubble blower. The sword looks awesome and he uses it to destroy the black hole. It’s a very clever solution and the only way Finn could have really stopped it. The destruction causes Finn to permanently lose his original, iconic golden sword, Scarlet. It’s never been called Scarlet in the series but it’s named that in multiple video games. The fandom has basically accepted it as its canon name. RIP Scarlet. Finn doesn’t ever talk about losing this sword and he doesn’t seem upset like he does when he loses his future swords. It probably doesn’t have the same emotional connection to Finn. We never saw how Finn got it so we don’t know its backstory. Whenever Finn loses a sword, it signals an end of an era in Adventure Time. This time, it’s the classic era.

The attendants end up loving the science conference. PB reads Finn’s bulleted plan. The list includes “win the heart of the princess”. Even when under the influence of the glasses, Finn was still crushing on and pursuing Bubblegum! PB indulges his crush once more and kisses him, causing him to faint.

This is the first episode in a while, not since “Ricardio the Heart Guy”, that we’ve had a plot about Finn’s love for PB. It also has a simple, nice message about being yourself.

Grade: A-

[animation-recaps-by-sean]

Adventure Time Distant Lands: Obsidian Recap

An old foe forces Marceline and Bubblegum to confront their past. Spoilers below.

That’s more like it! Maybe it’s because it’s actually about characters I care about, or the writing better. But this was so much more enjoyable than BMO.

The special begins with the never before seen glass kingdom, celebrating the defeat of the evil dragon by the legendary hero, Marceline! A young glass boy (voiced by Amethyst voice actress Michaela Dietz) with a crack is really into the story. The others mock Glassboy for his crack. He learns that the ancient forge used to heal cracks but that’s where the dragon is sleeping after Marcy’s song. To no one's surprise, he awakens the beast and drops the key running away.

The others shut the door but it would hold for long. Glassboy runs to find Marceline. After a fun cameo by Choose Goose, love Choose Goose, he finds the Candy Kingdom and hears Simon singing about Marceline. It’s kind of weird he’s singing that tragic song about losing his mind from “I Remember You’ at karaoke, but it moves the plot forward.  

Simon takes him to Marceline’s where she is hanging with Bonnie doing domestic couple stuff. It’s really nice to see these two so open about their affection. When they are told about the problem, they head out. Simon is attacked by three goons that the dragon mabe with it’s… spit I guess. They’re sentient enough to ask about Marceline.

PB and Marcy arrive at the kingdom and nobody believes that she’s the real Marcy since that was hundreds of years ago. I guess PB and Marceline forgot to tell them about the whole immortality thing.

So it turns out the song to beat the dragon, was just a break up song for Bonnie back when they broke up. Also it was really weird seeing Marceline’s season one characterization, but good continuity. So she sings that old song which makes PB uncomfortable especially when the glass citizens put two and two together.

But it doesn’t work so Marceline tries to write a new angsty song but it doesn’t do much. So while Bubblegum tries to trap the dragon with her shield, Marcy runs off to where she was hurt the most.

PB uses her elemental powers along with her scientific knowledge to come up with a plan. It’s a nice bit of character growth. Meanwhile, we see Marceline’s past. Her mother sent her to a nuclear bunker so she wouldn’t see her die of coughing blood disease. At first, I thought this was a bad idea considering how this messed up Marceline, but she did leave Marcy a message, even if she didn’t get it for a thousand years. And waking up next to a corpse would all so mess up a child. So this is mainly on Abadeer for not raising his daughter.

Marceline realizes that she can’t go back to who she was before. But those weird minions guys show up and smash her base. Marcy doesn’t take this well. Meanwhile, PB is trying to use her root beer powers to trap the dragon. It doesn’t work.

Marcy returns and admits she’s not the same person anymore and she can’t repeat her angry feelings back then. She, PB, the dragon, and Glassboy end up in the forge, when the glass people put the shield on max, causing it to become unstable. PB wonders why she even has this setting. Marceline and Bonnibel discuss how far they come and marcy sings a song to Bonnie.  This causes the dragon to think about his own life and he transforms into a weird cat dragon thing. Okay, I like the idea, love the song, but I really hate the post transformation dragon. It just looks goofy. It flies away. And Glass princess was cracked in all the commotion

It turns out that every glass person has a crack of some kind. As yes, there is a butt joke. Simon drives up with a significantly older Finn and Jake’s granddaughter Browyn. Jake is nowhere to be seen adside as a tattoo on Finn’s chest. ‘Together Again’ is supposed to be about Finn and Jake rediscovering their brotherly bond, but Distance Lands are missing with the timeline so who knows what happened to him. Also Finn is wearing nothing but a towel which he loses. He is way too comfortable being naked around everyone. I get weird vibes from him.

The episode ends with PB meeting Marcy at her concert, where she throws her shirt in the audience where Bonnie gets it. This special was great. Glassboy was a little obnoxious but he was mainly for Marceline to see how far she’s come. It must be great for the crew to write about these two as a couple after only being able to only use subtext. I admit that this wasn’t my ship back watching the show, but I understand how important to both fans and writers. Love wins.  

4/4

[gunterfan1992]

Episode Review: ‘Obsidian’ (Distant Lands, Ep. 2)

Airdate: November 19, 2020

Story by: Jack Pendarvis, and Kate Tsang, Adam Muto, & Hanna K. Nyström

Storyboarded by: Hanna K Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Iggy Craig, Mickey Quinn, Maya Petersen, James Campbell, & Ashlyn Anstee

Directed by: Miki Brewster (supervising), Sandra Lee (art)

Of all the many colorful characters in Adventure Time perhaps none has a more elaborate backstory than Marceline the Vampire Queen. In many ways, Marceline really was the writers’ gold goose, engendering complex story after complex story. By the time the series ended, the vampire’s life had in more ways than one been woven into the very fabric of the show’s mythology.

But because I am a Marceline fanboy—whose zeal for her majesty is rivaled perhaps only by Glassboy himself—I always felt like the show could have done even more with her backstory; I mean, when the series finale aired, there were still plenty of questions that had yet to be answered (What happened to her mom? What is Simon going to do now that he’s “cured”? How did Marcy and Bubblegum meet? Were they romantically involved before the events of the main series? How did it all go south?). Nevertheless, when "Island Song” played for the last time at the end of “Come Along with Me,” I forced myself to push aside this minor, fannish grievance and applaud the show for writing such an excellent character. I didn’t need for every last detail of her life to be explicitly shown on screen. I was happy.

But then, about a year ago, news dropped that one of the Distant Lands specials would really delve into the history of Marceline and Bubblegum’s relationship. In an instant, I tossed my stoic “I-am-satisified-with-what-I-received” mentality right out the window. We were going to get another Marceline episode, and it was going to dive back into her elaborate backstory!?! I could barely contain my excitement as I waited for the episode to drop.

Well, was my excitement worth it? Or was “Obsidian” a big ol’ let down—a tragic victim to grandiose expectations that were never meant to be fulfilled?

I’m quite happy to say that not only was “Obsidian” a remarkable special in its own right, but it is arguably one of the strongest episodes of Adventure Time, period.

The plot of this episode is fairly standard, as far as Adventure Time episodes go: Glassboy (a new character voiced by Michaela Dietz, the voice of Amethyst from Steven Universe) accidentally sets a giant fire monster named Molto Larvo loose on the Glass Kingdom, and Marceline and Bubblegum—who we learn have been living their best cottagecore life together in Marcy’s cavehouse—are forced to save the day. But the series’ writers take this otherwise quotidian adventure idea—a story which, at least on paper, could have easily fit in during any of the show’s many seasons—and employ it as something of a Trojan Horse, using it as a pretense to delve into both Marcy’s traumatic childhood and her and Bubblegum’s romantic history. And, boy, is it a ride!

With regard to the former story thread, the audience learns that sometime after the Mushroom Bomb detonated, Marceline and her mother, Elise (voiced this time not by Rebecca Sugar, but by actress Erica Luttrell, who played Sapphire in Steven Universe), roamed the wastelands in search of shelter; after Marceline’s mother came down with some sort of sickness, she sent Marceline to be on her own. Elise was hoping that this would spare Marcy the trauma of seeing her mother die before her very eyes, but due to some communication issues, Marceline never learned what became of her mother. As such, Marceline began blaming herself for “leaving” her mom to die in the wreckage of the world. This plot thread is perhaps one of the bleakest that Adventure Time has ever explored, and the show does it masterfully, balancing the darkness (e.g., Marceline’s mother coughing up blood) with bright spots of comedy (e.g., the "wazzup” dog) that never feel distasteful.

Likewise, when it comes to the story thread about Marcy and Bubblegum’s romantic history, the special does not hold back. We get to see “Bubbline” at its best and its worst. I have a feeling that the word “fan service” is going to be used by a lot of folks when talking about this episode. As the AV Club writer William Hughes notes, this word is usually hurled around like a pejorative, but it aptly describes the appeal of “Obsidian”. After all, this episode really is “fan service at its finest”—not only does it give the ravenous shippers the story tidbits that they have so long to see (e.g., the moment Marcy gave Bubblegum her rock shirt, Bubbline’s epic break-up), but—and this is very important—it does so in a way that is fundamentally meaningful. “Obsidian” does not feel self-indulgent, unnecessary, or pandering. On the contrary, it is overflowing with deep emotion that allows us to better understand how Bubblegum and Marceline really feel about one another. Sure, over the centuries that the two gals have bummed around Ooo, they have bickered and fought, but deep down, their love is passionate. In many ways, it is like the titular obsidian, which means that nothing short of an enchanted diamond pickax is strong enough to break Bubbline apart for good.

(It’s also quite nice that after seasons and seasons of tip-toeing around the question of Marceline and Bubblegum’s sexuality, “Obsidian” can explicitly focus on their life together, showing the two characters cuddling, kissing, and dancing. In terms of LGBTQ+ representation, it’s a huge leap forward, and I’m so happy that Adventure Time has had a part to play in normalizing queer relationships!)

Marceline episodes almost always featured a catchy diddy, but "Obsidian” really cranks things up to 11 by featuring a whole bevy of catchy songs, several of which are perhaps among the show’s strongest. The first right banger, “It’s Funny,” is the song that plays over the special’s credits. With a grunge-meets-riot grrrl feels, this track really sets the tone for the episode, signaling to the audience that we’re in for, as Lumpy Space Princess once put it, some “drama bombs.” The next standout is “Woke Up,” a brutally honest diss track that Marceline used both to contain Molto Larvo and break up with Princess Bubblegum centuries prior to the start of this episode. This song was written by pop rocker Zuzu, and it—as the kids say—slaps. Layers of fuzzed-out guitar and digitally processed vocals are used expertly to sell Marceline’s emotions and convey how, on the surface, she’s delighted to no longer be under Bubblegum’s romantic spell... even if her heart may not be so sure.

But arguably, the musical jewel of the entire special is “Monster,” a somber ballad that Marceline sings to Bubblegum when they find themselves trapped in the collapsing furnace and are facing what they believe is certain death. Written by indie pop artist Half Shy, this song is, in many ways, something of the inverse of “Woke Up”: soft, happy, and filled to the brim with a sort of love that few are lucky to receive and even fewer can honestly express. Not only does “Monster” finally cement Marceline’s real, visceral love for Bubblegum in song form (remember: almost every prior Bubbline song was either indirect or delivered by an angsty, heartbroken Marceline), but it also “tames” Molto Larvo, allowing him to metamorphose into a strange but harmless cat-butterfly critter. Just like “Come Along with Me,” “Obsidian” proves that the power of love and music will save us in the end—if not physically, then at least emotionally.

Regarding the production-side of things, there’s a lot of praise to doll out. First off, the look and style of “Obsidian” is gorgeous. While “BMO” opted to experiment somewhat with the classic Adventure Time art style, trading cel shading for an almost watercolor feel, “Obsidian” echoes the aesthetic of the original series. That said, there’s an undeniable animation bump—likely courtesy of that sweet, sweet HBO money—that lets Ooo and its denizens shine in all their glory. You can tell that Adam Muto, art director Sandra Lee, supervising director Miki Brewster, and all the members of the production staff really went above and beyond the call of duty. The episode's soundtrack, composed by Amanda Jones, as deserves a shout-out. Jones did an excellent job mixing the chiptune style of the original series with a bass-heavy rock sound that highlights Marceline’s starring role. Bravo!

As another production aside, I should point out that CN/HBO’s decision to make these specials each 44 minutes was the right call. The 11 minute format of the original series often left something to be desired when it came to plot development, as many an important episode was forced to end somewhat prematurely due to time constraints; conversely, the 8-episode miniseries format that the show experimented with during its latter days sometimes felt like too much time (Stakes, Islands, and Elements all had whole episodes that felt like nothing more than the show treading water). The length of “Obsidian”, however, was just right, giving us plenty of time to take in what was happening without ever feeling like it was dragging.

A final aspect of this episode that is worth mention is its many call-backs to previous episodes and characters. “BMO” was mostly a self-contained story that, due to its nature as a prequel in space, really couldn’t reference the Land of Ooo without feeling forced. “Obsidian,” however, throws in everything and the kitchen sink (Adventure Time superfan and all-around cool person Jagm has collected most of them here for those of you who want to see everything laid out nicely). Stand-outs for me include Choose Goose (someone who we really haven’t seen since season five) smuggling sketchy products into the Candy Kingdom, post-Ice King Simon trying his hand at open mic nights, Bronwyn as an adventurous hero, and Finn the (Adult!) Human complete with beard and scars! Of note, Jake does not appear in this episode, except as a tattoo on Finn’s chest. Many in the fandom are now speculating that the events of “Obsidian” take place after our beloved shapeshifting dog’s death. Oh say it ain’t so! Perhaps we’ll learn more in “Together Again.”

Mushroom War Evidence: Unlike “BMO,” which directly referenced the Mushroom War and its fallout (both literally and figuratively), this episode returned to the show’s roots by featuring gobs of explicit hints in throw-away lines or elaborate background pieces. Honestly, there is far too many to list here in a pithy paragraph, but some major references include: the reveal that the Glass Kingdom, like the Fire Kingdom, was created by ‘magic’ blaze from the heavens (almost certainly a nuke); the fact that Marceline and her mother wandered for a time in the debris-filled wastelands following the apocalypse; and the reveal that Marceline spent at least part of her childhood holed up in a bomb shelter surrounded by the bones of myriad dead humans. Honestly, while references to the Mushroom War have always been sad footnotes to an otherwise cheery show; in this episode, however, the references are very graphic, illustrating the sorrow and horror of mutagenic war.

Final Grade: As I said earlier, I’m a Marcy fanboy, so I’m horrible biased, but I don’t care. This episode rocked. Q.E.D.

[easilydistractedbyfanfic]

The 100 Final Season Speculation Tag

Thank you for the tag, @bellarkes-hope​! This is fun to think about and I like reading everyone’s answers!

1. Which character are you most excited to learn the endgame of: I’m not sure if “excited” is the word - more like ANXIOUS! Ha! But, no surprise here - I’m most interested in Raven & Murphy’s endgame

2. Which character are you most excited to learn the backstory of: I definitely would love more backstory on Becca Franco, which would then lead to Cadogan & Second Dawn, all of which I’m interested in. But I also want to know what Diyoza’s been up to in the Anomaly. 

3. One character who deserves a new look: Diyoza! Let’s have her come out of the Anomaly (or when whoever goes IN) looking kind of fresh and fancy. Also, same for Indra, honestly! I love Indra’s awesome look but I would not be upset to see her updated for the last season. 

4. Two locations you want to revisit: Becca’s Lab for sure! I find everything there interesting and think there’s a lot more to explore. Also lets go back to Cadogan’s Office/The Office in the bunker - there’s some FASCINATING photos behind the desk and that seal on the wall that MIGHT be “Becca’s Crypt” still seems relevant...

5. Three brotps you hope get more screentime: I would like to see Octavia & Diyoza, Raven & Diyoza and probably Murphy & Jordan (although I was amused at Murphy & Gabriel’s interactions too)

6. Who will get the happiest ending: Oh man... this question haunts me. I don’t know if anyone is going to get to be “happy” but I really would like to see hopefulness at the end of the story. I could be satisfied if Raven & Murphy die as long as they actively choose to die together. Do I want that? Not really, but it would give them autonomy over something that happens to them and characters in this world rarely seem to get that. I would very much like for Raven to be happy but I’m not sure the writers know what that IS for her any longer. A new rando dude that she’s known for 12 days doesn’t feel like happily ever after to me, soooo....

7. Which minor or new characters you want to see more of: I don’t want new characters. Let me say that again. I DON’T WANT NEW CHARACTERS. Yes, I know we’re going to get some but I don’t want to focus on them AT ALL. Now that said - we’ve already got Russell & Diyoza and I think that the two of them going up against each other would be fantastic. Also, give me Becca always and jeez can we get some more Jordan?!

8. Who will eventually snap Jordan out of the funk we see him in, at the end of 6x13: Personally I would like this to be Murphy. I think it definitely needs to be a member(s) of Spacekru

9. Who will be the first to tell Bellamy he can’t immediately run into the Anomaly after Octavia: Well if it happens right away, then probably Echo, since that’s who he was with at the end of s6. But if they go back to Sanctum to report on what happened and how Octavia disappeared, then maybe it could be Clarke. 

10. To reference Monty’s ‘do better’ mantra: Raven would be a good choice, Echo too

11. To say 'go float yourself’: Would love this to be Jordan, LOL

12. Random object or prop you would bring back for Season 7 if you could: Ohhh... well I definitely think we’re going to see more of Becca’s Notebook, and I’m here for whatever esoteric info is in that sucker! Raven is on the case! But also - man man man I really wanna see the tattoos of this world come to MEAN SOMETHING! Lemme see more of Gaia’s Flamekeeper tattoo and how it connected to Titus and the seal in the Second Dawn bunker! Lemme see if the leaf jewel Simone wore in her hair is actually the reference to the Broadleaf clan in Grounder history that I want it to be. I want to know what all those tattoos on McCreary meant and how about Shaw too. I have THOUGHT about this stuff and I wanna know SO BAD! Also - I would NOT be mad to see the soccer ball make yet another appearance! 

13. Book One storyline/reference you want to see back for Season 7: Well it isn’t a broad storyline but I really loved the Raven part of the story where she accepted that Finn wasn’t right for her because he didn’t love her “the way I want to be loved” in 1x10. That was a tough conclusion for her to come to and I really appreciated that she was acknowledging her self worth at the same time she was choosing not to hate Finn or really even to blame him. But since then she’s had a lot of self doubt, hasn’t felt like she’s that worthy of being happy, and has struggled with her capabilities (ie guilt from not being able to get Spacekru off the Ring/being willing to die because of it). Feels like s6 brought so many of the s1 personalities back (yikes) so I’d love to see Raven get her confidence back and recognize that she’s more than worthy. Heck, this isn’t a bad storyline for all the characters, really. 

14. Dead character you would like mentioned: I’m always thrilled with a Sinclair reference, but really Harper and Monty should be mentioned along with the other delinquents who died too. Also it was rad to see Pike in s6 so heck add him in and while I’m at it lets talk about Luna and “it’s not your blood that defines you, it’s your heart”! Hello, that’s relevant with all our new nightbloods, isn’t it?!

15. How do you think Hope and Octavia know each other (from season 6): Definitely seems like Octavia helped raise Hope during her time in the Anomaly. Maybe when Octavia came back to Sanctum, could be that Hope was like 12 or something, so seeing Hope come out of the Anomaly as an adult made Octavia feel so emotional. The idea of Octavia & Diyoza as either co-parents or honestly with Diyoza as pseudo-mom to both of them pleases me. 

16. How do you think it all will end?: I’m struggling not to just post a photo of that dumpster on fire that’s going around about 2020, LOLOLOL. But I mean... I’ve been burned by other shows so I don’t have a lot of confidence here. I’m really hoping for both an ending that feels at least a bit hopeful but also is true to CHARACTER arcs through the series, not simply whatever the plot of s7 turns out to be. Call me Fox Mulder but I WANT TO BELIEVE - I want to believe that humanity isn’t just some plague across the universe. So... I’ll speculate that a group of survivors is either landing back on Earth or at least heading there at the end of the show. I think we need to fix what we break, and of course that means going back to our own planet. This would not be disappointing to me, so maybe the view of a renewed green Earth is the last shot we get, but instead of just being one or two people looking down, it’s everyone who has made it back. I dunno... FWIW I haven’t rewatched shows that have ended poorly, so I hope t100 doesn’t have me abandoning the world they created. 

(Don’t freak fellow Murven fans - I will never abandon THEM! And whatever ending we get, I’m sure I’ll have some stories in response to it!)

Tagging - literally ANYONE who wants to play! And feel free to tag me because I like reading these! @osleyakomwonkru @hopskipaway @ghostmontygreen @raveniisms @jarleene @beesreadbooks @mobi-on-a-mission @arkadiaschancellor @the100-theories @kinetic-elaboration @awesomenell65 @star-sky-earth @tracylorde @johnmurphysass @mamabearsdontthink

[the-three-eyed-ravenclaw]

What I want to see this season

Since Clarke is definitely going to be stuck fighting in the hellscape of her mind to try to regain control of her body from Josephine!Clarke, she will be reliving all of her worst deeds: closing the dropship door on Finn and Bellamy, killing Finn, not warning the people in TonDC about the missile, irradiating Mt. Weather, leaving Bellamy in the fighting pits, turning Raven and Shaw in and their subsequent torture, etc. We, the audience, will be reminded of why she did all of those things and feel her pain with having to make those impossible choices each and every time.

One of the main recurring themes in The 100 (that also happens to be Clarke's personal mantra) is:

"I bear it so they don’t have to."

Not only have we seen this with Clarke, but we with almost all of the leaders on the show: Kane, Abby, Lexa, Jaha, etc.

All of these (and forgive me for saying this, but) ungrateful and hypocritical people *cough* Raven *cough* are so quick to pass judgment on Clarke and tear her apart with their words.

Just take Raven’s dialogue with Clarke in 6x04 - it speaks to how often and vigorously people shit on Clarke for her "impossible choices."

"Every time that you do something horrible, you say you're sorry. And then you do it again. Clarke Griffin and her impossible choices."

But here’s the kicker - Clarke has made all of those choices for them so they wouldn’t have to.

Any time that the group has had to deal with a decision that will have major consequences that Clarke has been around for, she has been the one to think of a way to get them out of it or has taken the action of that choice upon herself. Think about her joining the Commander’s Coalition, almost killing herself with radiation trying to replicate the night-blood serum, literally any time she has committed mass murder, or when she sacrificed herself to make sure SpaceKru made it to The Ring. Killing people has always been Clarke's last resort, but when she does kill, it’s ALWAYS because she is protecting someone else - never herself.

Clarke’s most frequent critics (looking at you Murven) haven’t been forced to make decisions of that magnitude - and yes I say forced because as our resident princess has mentioned before, "only choice" is an oxymoron. However, when the choice is to kill, or everyone you love will die, well, that isn’t much of a choice.

The closest these critics have come to a decision like that was when Bellamy came down to save Clarke, who he initially thought was Octavia, and they used the prisoners in cryo as leverage. However, when push came to shove, neither Raven nor Murphy had what it took to "pull the lever."

Now don't get me wrong, Raven and Murphy are two of my favorite characters. I love them, and like all good, 3-dimensional characters should be, they are flawed. Not being able to commit mass murder isn’t a character flaw (far from it), but it does show that they don’t value Clarke’s life as much as Clarke values theirs - because Clarke definitely would have pulled that lever. She would sacrifice her principles and even herself as long as it saves the people she loves. She has before and will continue to do so. She’s said as much in 6x03.

Russell: "He said you went to the protected compound, not unlike this one and murdered everyone inside, innocent men, women, and children alike."

Clarke: "That was different. The Mountain Men were going to kill everyone that I love - my friends, my mother - I did what I had to do to save my people."

Simone: "Would you do it again?"

Clarke: "We were at war."

Simone: "That's not what I asked you."

Russell: "Simone, please my darling, let her answer."

Clarke: "I will not apologize for saving the people that I love."

What I would like to see in the next few episodes is SpaceKru having to cope with the loss of Clarke after they have treated her like shit.

I want them to be given an impossible choice.

I want to see them grapple with the choice of having to save Clarke by committing some heinous crime. 

But most importantly - I want them to choose Clarke.

I don’t want some cop-out, last-minute choice. I want them to choose her even though it’s going against their principles - against their very soul.

I want them to feel what it’s like to "be the bad guy." I want them to know that Clarke never made her choices lightly. I want them to appreciate the sacrifices she has made for the sake of everyone she cares for.

I want to see this juxtaposed against Clarke in her hellscape as she grieves over every choice she’s had to make. I want them to feel just a little bit of the pain and self-loathing she’s lived with since season 1. I want them to see that she puts everyone else's needs above her own.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I want Clarke Griffin to stop being vilified and shit on by the people she has sacrificed everything for. I want her to know that there are no such things as "good guys," only people who are trying their best and hoping that they are doing the right thing. I want her to know that she’s not perfect and that's ok. I want her to finally start loving herself - flaws and all.

Anyways, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

[ghost-town-story]

FebruarOC Day 7: Grace

Grace was worried. Mathias was usually good at returning home when he promised he would, but it was going on two hours since he said he’d be home, and there was still no sign of him. To make matters worse, it was starting to snow again. Mathias knew how fierce Fionn could get. That’s why he had promised to be home well before the storm would hit. So where was her son? 

Grace heard the front door open, and she sighed in relief. 

“Mama, I’m home,” Mathias called. 

“It’s about time,” Grace replied, firing up the stove to begin preparing lunch. Mathias would appreciate being able to sit near the hot stove and warm up. “Nearly two hours late dear, and with Fionn coming in, you had me worried.” 

“I’m sorry Mama, but I ran into somebody.” 

Grace froze. “Soldiers? But you’re alright Mathias, aren’t you? Oh, I knew I shouldn’t have let you go. It may be a distance from Malthea, but I should have known it would be too dangerous.” 

“Mama, Mama,” Mathias soothed. “Come where you can see me please?” 

“Mathias Conrad Skyfall, I do hope you aren’t playing some silly game—” 

Grace rounded the corner and stopped short. There were far more people in her house than she had expected, but it was the sight of the two boys next to her son that brought tears to her eyes. 

“Jared? Will?” 

“Hello Aunty.” 

She could hear a trace of a common accent, but Jared had only grown into his mother’s looks as he’d aged, just as Will had grown into his father’s. 

“Oh boys, what on earth happened?” Jared came willingly into her arms as she opened them. “All we knew was that we got the news from Malthea one day that you four had disappeared into the night, but you never came to Althaan with us.” 

“Mom decided our future lay outside the mountains,” Jared replied, letting go so his twin could hug Grace. “She and Bartholomew… they sacrificed everything so we could escape.” 

“Oh my dears.” Grace squeezed Will tighter before letting go. “Then why are you back? And who are your companions?” 

“We were just passing through on business for the resistance,” Jared said. 

“Oh dears, you’re still so young,” Grace fretted. 

It’s our fight to choose Aunty, Will piped in. 

“And we ran into Mathias near Malthea, near the cemetery actually, and he offered to let us weather out Fionn with you. Of course, if it’s too much trouble we can move on—” 

“Jared Alexander Makrides, you know you and your brother will always be welcome in my house.” Grace rapped him on the head, and Jared gave her a sheepish smile. “You and your companions,” Grace added. 

“Thank you Aunty,” Jared said, and Will echoed his twin’s sentiments. 

“Well, you lot get settled in. I’ll start on lunch.” 

“Anything we can help with?” Jared asked. 

“If you inherited a fraction of your father’s ability, I want you as far away from my kitchen as possible,” Grace threatened. 

“Okay,” Jared conceded with a laugh. “But let us know if we can help around the house.” 

“Maybe later. Go get settled boys. I’ll call you when lunch is ready.” 

And Grace headed back into the kitchen, mentally preparing to feed far more people than she was used to.

~

Grace sat quietly in her rocking chair by the fire, knitting and listening to the group chatter in common. She didn’t understand a word, but she knew Jared and Will’s expressions well enough to at least guess some of the time. And she could recognize the antsy shifting and glances to the window, where Fionn was breathing his last for the year. 

Soon, the little band would be moving on, continuing their mission for the resistance. And from the way Mathias sat at her feet, she knew he wanted them gone, and the twins to stay in the mountains where they supposedly belonged. 

But out of the corner of her eye, Grace watched as Jared stared dreamily at the girl Celia, only to be tackled by the boy Finn moments later. Will laughed in his peculiar, half-telepathic way as he leaned against Rose’s legs and nursed his warm mug. 

They had found a place with the resistance, with these people, and Grace had a feeling she knew where their loyalties lay now, and it wasn’t with the mountains they’d grown up in. 

The man Ashe sighed and spoke sharply in common, standing up. 

Finn and Jared paused in their wrestling, and Jared snapped back, his tone sharp and acidic. 

“Jared,” Grace warned gently, and his gaze snapped to her, the fire in his eyes dying immediately. 

“Aunty, I didn’t know you knew common—” 

“I don’t. But I know that tone of voice young man. You are every bit your father’s son in that regard.” 

Jared untangled himself from Finn, looking at Grace with confusion. 

I think she’s warning you to be careful, to not be quite as reckless and risky as he was, Will clarified, taking a sip from his mug. 

“I—it’s just Ashe Aunty.” 

“And you should respect your elders dear.” 

“When he learns to respect us, then we’ll talk,” Jared muttered. 

Grace met Will’s silvery gaze. “Every bit his father’s son.” 

Will smiled into his mug as Jared whined and nudged Will’s leg. 

“No fair, you’re not supposed to gang up against me!” He turned to Finn, whining the boy’s name until he had his attention. 

Grace returned to her knitting with a smile. At least now she knew the twins were alive, and the fate of her old friends. And she knew that no matter what, Alexandra and Simon would be proud of their boys and the cause they were fighting for.

[travllingbunny]

The 100 6x06 Memento Mori

Another late review from me, putting in one place all my thoughts about episode 6x06, from things that everyone has talked and posted gifs about a lot (like Bellamy’s emotional state) and had different stances on (such as, how you feel about Murphy and his character arc), to things that haven’t been discussed much (like some of my thoughts on the Flame and the Sheidheda plotline).

In the end, I talk a bit about my expectations and predictions for episode 6x07, Nevermind, which many will see tonight, and that I’ll get to watch tomorrow, and the following episodes.

I have huge expectations for Nevermind, but Memento Mori was a great set-up. I have to say, much as I loved other things in the episode (particularly grieving, emotional Bellamy and the hardest decision he ever had to make), my enjoyment of the episode rose by about 100% because of the last scene. Sometimes you don’t need to be surprised by a TV show: sometimes a reveal is something you expect and enjoy all the more when it finally happens. And oh, did it deliver. The scene was amazing, with the dreamy atmosphere, cinematography, the introduction to Clarke’s mind-wall (the prop department really outdid themselves with this one!), and the wonderful music. The 100 always has great, on-point musical choices, and this season has been one of the best in that regard.

Eliza Taylor continued to be amazing – maybe even better this episode than in 6x05, as Josephine was openly Josephine in front of some characters, continued to pretend to be Clarke in several others, with varying degrees of effort and success, and intentionally put on a pseudo-Clarke persona in front of someone who already knew she wasn’t Clarke, just to mess with his mind (the last one was reserved for Bellamy). While Josephine’s Clarke-act was absolutely terrible in 6x05 – because she didn’t even know almost anything about Clarke, so she was making blunders left and right – this time (after learning a lot about her from Murphy) she was, at times, a little more convincing and almost approached some version of Clarkeness, but this only produced the Uncanny Valley effect: it was like a skewed, caricatured version of Clarke and felt really, really creepy.

One such moment of Josephine playing a skewed version of Clarke was when she was fooling Raven, Emori and Echo. She was putting on Clarke’s serious, concerned look and tone of voice (Murphy must have coached her on all of that), but her phrasing at times still should have alerted them to her flippant attitude – as when she said that the whole murder and bodysnatching thing really lit a fire in Bellamy. Maybe that hint was too subtle - it was similar to her line “the Kane problem”, which Abby noticed, but Abby is Clarke’s mother after all and knows her better. Echo was surprised that Bellamy supposedly left by himself, not just that he didn’t ask her, but also that “Clarke” let Bellamy go by himself with the foraging party – but she was more concerned with Bellamy’s safety than she stopped to think much of Clarke’s behavior (and after all, she doesn’t know her that well compared to most others).

Josephine also used the same argument she tried to sell Bellamy in 6x04 and that served as more confirmation to him that she was not really Clarke – the whole “we have all done bad things, what right do we have to judge them, so let’s just do nothing and let the bodysnatchers continue doing their awful thing”. Real Clarke feels guilty and is critical of her own actions, but doesn’t start criticizing all of her friends unprompted and talking about how they’ve all done awful things, and certainly not in order to justify tolerating evil actions of someone else! But JosephineClarke’s argument is actually one that I have seen in the fandom – this idea that “there are no good guys”, that everyone is a villain, that Clarke and Bellamy and the rest of them are just as bad as the Mountain Men or the Primes (with some BS equations between completely different things such as “well, they all murdered innocent people” – so, apparently, defending yourself and your loved ones, the only way you can, from an evil overlord society in the process of horribly killing you to use your body parts, is exactly the same as brainwashing people into worshiping you as gods and stealing their bodies because you think you’re superior and should live forever!)… so therefore, they don’t have the right to fight against evil. After all, fighting evil also makes you do things like kill people, so why do anything? Just keep your head down and don’t do anything. But the show has (in the Abby/Jackson conversation in 6x05) addressed the fact that doing nothing and letting evil happen is as bad as doing evil. And there is something incredibly meta about Josephine, the show’s villain masquerading as the show’s hero Clarke, cynically uttering these lines to deceive our protagonists and make them complacent about the horrible things she and her family are dong, just as the same morally bankrupt argument is used by some fans to defend the show’s villains.

(In this episode, we learned even more (directly and through Xavier) about how awful the Sanctum society is – in addition to the fact they bodysnatch the hosts, they call people without the Nightblood gene (who therefore cannot happen to have Nightblood children) “nulls”. Nulls are not allowed to have children and get to do the lowest jobs, and there is also the sacrifice to the trees in the Offering Grove – which is apparently also “voluntary”, in the sense of people being brainwashed by a cult to sacrifice themselves.)

Bellamy never bought that this was really Clarke, and that Clarke would argue in favor of tolerating murder and bodysnatching, but Raven and the others swallowed it. It seemed to play right into Raven’s recent conviction that Clarke is not feeling guilty over anything and is just putting on an act, and into her self-righteous streak, which was in full force, even worse than before. Do I even have to point out the ridiculousness of Raven’s line that, unlike Clarke, she never did anything she regrets? I could start listing (as many of us have over the past week) facts such as: Raven tortured Lincoln with electroshocks, Raven tried to turn Murphy over to the Grounders to be murdered by prolonged torture for a crime that Finn had committed, Raven tried to get Clarke to kill Lexa and start a war over Finn even though that would have gotten many people killed including Clarke, Raven withheld medication from dying children because of rationing (and felt horrible about it), Raven made Clarke make a list of 100 people who would get to survive in Arkadia – while simultaneously bashing Clarke over it (“choosing who lives or dies is your specialty”), Raven gave Echo an OK to kill Shaw at one point, Raven participated in many of the hard and problematic things Clarke and the others had to do – blowing up Grounders on the bridge, burning 300 Grounders who had attacked them, etc., Raven was OK with potentially killing Raven left Clarke behind to die (and Clarke ended up alone on the deserted planet for 6 years as a result) and was ready to leave Bellamy, Monty, Emori and Murphy to die in the season 5 finale… Some of these things I don’t consider wrong under the circumstances, some of these were just one of the two bad choices – but that’s also true of most of the things Clarke has done. Being angry at Clarke for her recent betrayal is something I expected and was perfectly fine with, but being as hypocritical as Raven is now, that is really annoying. So what is going on with Raven now? Like many others, I haven’t enjoyed her characterization in season 6. It’s one of the few things I didn’t like this season. Murphy has also had his annoying moments, but he also has a real storyline, one that’s not just about being mean to Clarke. Raven currently does not. But maybe, as I’ve been hoping, this is all building up to a real character development and some sort of soul-searching. We have had many indications that Raven actually feels guilty and unworthy deep inside – Sinclair’s remarks to her in season 3, Shaw’s message “Tell Raven that she deserves happiness” – and that her high horse attitude is just a cover. I hope this is something that season 6 gets to really explore and resolve.

On the other hand, it was much more enjoyable to see Raven turning her anger and moral outrage at someone who really does deserve it – one of the Primes. And since Ryker is not a sociopath or narcissist, and does have the capacity for compassion and remorse, Raven’s words are, hopefully, going to make him rethink everything and realize he can’t go on like that. He’s been raised since teenage years and surrounded by people telling him that it’s OK to move from body to body and see others sacrifice themselves for you, but he’s over 200 years old and responsible for his own choices. And feeling sorry about hurting people is really meaningless if you go on and do the same thing again, without any intention to change. That makes you a hypocrite like Russell and Simone with their “thank you for your sacrifice” mantra said while murdering people who definitely didn’t make a choice to sacrifice themselves.

Speaking of which – Josephine really is devoid of any deeper feeling for pretty much anyone other than herself.  We already saw it when she killed her “best friend” Kaylee Lee, but that was supposed to be a permanent death. Now she managed to convince her mother to wipe the entire Lee family. (Interesting that she referred to Russell as being led by the heart. The show is again going with the pseudo-parallel between Russell and Simone and Bellamy and Clarke, as in the parallel Power Couple shots in 6x03). Bye bye, four of the Primes, including one we got to know a bit better. I can’t say I feel sorry, since I think all the mind drives will have to be destroyed by the end of this season, so a definite end would be put to bodysnatching. Now there are 8 more Primes who are “alive”, but two of them are still just on the mind-drives and out of commission (the two members of Miranda’s family, whom we haven’t seen in the present), and Josephine got 4 empty mind-drives. She gave two as payment to Murphy for his part in coaching her to fool Abby and getting the others (mostly Bellamy) to decide not to take revenge for Clarke, she promised Abby one for Kane, and it still leaves one. But the other Primes would certainly not be happy if they found out about all these things – now it’s not just the fact that Russell and Simone skipped the line for their daughter, when Miranda’s loved one was next, but also that they permanently killed four of the Primes. A good way to defeat the Primes would be to start by turning them against each other. Just saying.

Abby and Murphy are two characters whose current role and actions are pretty controversial at the moment and that fans disagree on. Both of them are the most convenient target for Josephine to corrupt and get on her side due to their current issues. With Abby, the debates are mostly about whether she has realized that Josephine is not really Clarke, and is just playing along and planning to wake the people on the ship, or if she really has been fooled, which many hold against her. I’m really not completely sure, even after watching the episode twice and replaying the last shot of the scene between Abby and JC. Abby did indeed notice several weird things about “Clarke” and seemed on the brink of realizing the truth, but that time, Josephine really went for the jugular and used all the cards Murphy has taught her to play: guilt over her addiction, over cannibalism and the Dark Year, turning Jake over, failing Kane due to her addiction and indirectly causing his injury/death by indulging Vinson because of her addiction, her idealization of Kane which is a result of both love and guilt, and even her relationship with Clarke – the last card JC used was telling “her mom” that she cannot lose her. But during the hug, as we saw their faces, Josephine was not the only one who didn’t look like a loving family member: Abby’s weird, blank look could be read in different ways. And I’m sure this is exactly what the show is going for, ambiguity. We’ll probably only be sure in two episodes. Abby’s face almost made me believe the theory that she’s just pretending, but at the same time, it would be too easy if she simply goes to the ship to wake an army to come to Sanctum. Or maybe she almost knows it, but doesn’t want to admit it to herself? At the same time, Raven definitely still doesn’t know that Clarke is dead, and if Abby hasn’t figured it out, she still won’t learn it for some time.

On the other hand, it’s pretty clear where Murphy stands and what he wants, but fans seem divided over whether it makes him a bad guy, whether they hate him, and whether it is in character. I think it definitely is, and shouldn’t be surprising. Murphy certainly genuinely wants immortality – he straight up told Bellamy in 6x05 that he finds the idea appealing. While he’s always been motivated by his own survival, it used to be all about trying not to die any time soon. I don’t think it would have extended to wanting to live forever – until he died this season and saw what he thinks is “hell”. I don’t know if we’ll ever learn what he saw, or if it will remain a mystery, and just used to motivate him. His fear of going to hell is driving him, and, of course, he wants Emori as his eternal companion. (That sounded like something from vampire fiction, which is weird.) Now, that doesn’t mean that Murphy doesn’t also care about Bellamy, Raven and the others, including Clarke. I do think he was sad to learn of her ‘death’, but, of course, his reaction was never going to be as strong as Bellamy’s or Madi’s. He would only feel that way if Emori died. But keep in mind that Murphy doesn’t know that Clarke is still alive and can be brought back. From his point of view, there is no use in antagonizing the Sanctum people, and risking the lives of Bellamy, Raven, Echo, Jordan etc. and of course, Emori and himself, just to avenge someone who’s already dead. And he’s never been a person with deep ethical convictions who would care deeply about the morality of bodysnatching in general, or the lives of unknown people who mean nothing to him. I do think he cares about his friends, and that he wasn’t just doing what he needed to do for immortality, but what he thought he had to do to protect them, even from themselves –as I’m sure he thought while he was trying to manipulate Bellamy. Now, when he finds out that Clarke can be brought back, it’s only then that he will really be put into a dilemma to choose between friends and immortality/fear of death.

What can I say about Bellamy in this episode that hasn’t been said by so many other people already, both in reviews and meta and in hundreds of gifsets and videos? Even the released script pages confirmed what was so obvious. This was a great Bellamy episode, and Bob Morley’s best performance this season. While I have enjoyed most of Bellamy’s arc over seasons 5 and 6 (just as every other season), and while I disagree with fans who claim that we haven’t seen Bellamy be emotional since season 4 (he had a lot of emotional, angry, hurt, passionate, happy moments over the course of the second half of season 5), we haven’t seen this kind of outbreak of emotion in a very long time. We can only imagine how Bellamy grieved for Clarke after Praimfaya, but I think this was even worse for him – because it wasn’t her choice and her heroic act this time – she was murdered (as far as he knows), and because, after learning to love on, he got Clarke back and lost her again, just as they had finally fully emotionally reunited. And to make things so much worse, he has to look at this person who is nothing like Clarke, mocking him by walking around in Clarke’s body. Bellamy’s arc in this episode was all about his pain, grief and despair, and the way he had to be strong and reign in his anger and desire for revenge, for justice, for something other than having to be there among people responsible for these her death. I love the fact that, even shackled and tied, he managed to tear Josephine’s self-portrait. On top of it, he had to endure Josephine messing by propos(ison)ing him to “help each other get through it” (hmm) while putting on a pseudo-Clarke soft, caring face and voice (which felt so fake, like a caricature) – which made him turn around because he couldn’t even look at her. She could have almost killed him there, and I don’t even know what he would have done if she had tried, but Murphy saved him through his and JC’s manipulation of both him and Russell.

Was JC’s lack of concern over her daddy’s life just because she expected Bellamy to back down from killing him, or did she expect him to kill Russell? I tend to think she thought he wouldn’t kill him, but wasn’t too worried if he did. In any case, I can’t imagine how difficult it must have been for Bellamy to decide to spare Russell and also agree to not take any actions against him and the Primes. And just like after Praimfaya, he decided to do “What Clarke would do” and what she would want him to do after her death – survive and try to keep all of their people alive.

Now, was their decision the right one? I think that deciding not to act out of revenge, prioritize that over survival and protecting people who are still alive, and especially, deciding not to get a lot of other people killed, was absolutely the right decision, and what Clarke would also do. Clarke could do all sorts of crazy and extreme things to protect her loved ones, but she never killed anyone out of revenge. However, that doesn’t mean that going along with the Primes is the right thing. Standing by and letting evil happen is not “being a good guy”. The Primes will keep killing and oppressing people and treating them like cattle if they are not stopped. And I don’t think Bellamy being for that in the long run. But right now, I think he feels defeated and has lost the will to live, rather than just survive and ensure his people’s survival. But everything will change when he finds out that Clarke is alive and can be brought back.

In the meantime, I really want to see Jordan’s reaction. He was MIA in this episode, but I don’t think he will be happy to play nice with the Primes, not just because of Delilah but also because he does have a strong moral compass and was horrified about bodysnatching.

Is anyone still pretending that Bellamy and Clarke are just BFFs? That’s a question I keep asking throughout the show. I’m sure that, if someone were to see just this episode out of the show, they would definitely conclude that Clarke was Bellamy’s girlfriend (wife?) that he is really in love with, while Echo is his good friend who works for him and may have a crush on him. Come to think of it, 90% of the show makes it look like that. He never seemed to think of his actual girlfriend while being broken up over Clarke, and Murphy never brought her up as a motivation for Bellamy to forego revenge and focus on his own survival and the reasons he has to live. Echo gave him a brief hug to try to comfort him, but Bellamy still left to grieve all by himself, away from all of them. He also once again rejected Echo’s suggestion (she assumed they would go and fight the Sanctum people) and instead chose the “What would Clarke do?” course of action.

At this point, I’m sure that the show is intentionally portraying their relationship like that, since it’s done that consistently, especially comparing Bellamy’s relationships with Clarke and Echo all season 6 – and the scenes where Echo gets some long-overdue character development have all been when she’s away from Bellamy.  Echo figuring out that Clarke has been bodysnatched – not through JC’s behavior, as Bellamy, but based on other evidence, such as how Jade behaved – didn’t end up contributing to the plot, as everyone else already knew about Clarke, so it was there probably just 1) to confirm that Echo is indeed smart and perceptive enough not to be duped, as a spy is supposed to be, and, I think 2) to develop her relationship with Jade. These two could have an interesting dynamic, as both are soldiers/spies who define themselves by following orders. Echo threatened to kill Jade’s “master”, and during the eclipse, Emori taunted her that she was still just following another master’s orders (Bellamy now being her ‘master’) and this seemed to resonate with her. At the same time, this time, Echo showed that she does have a compassionate streak when she mercy-killed the guard who was being slowly eaten by the trees in the Offering Grove, in spite of Jade’s protests. It puts her in a completely new kind of dynamic – Jade is like an even more single-minded version of her old self. The fact that Echo didn’t kill Jade and instead promised to come back (she has to do it soon, though, before the trees get too deep into Jade!) suggests we’ll see more of that dynamic.

Bellamy had the hard task to tell Madi the news of her mother’s death. But Madi is the one person who is definitely not going to play nice and who doesn’t want to restrain her desire to “burn the whole place down” for revenge. The question I’ve seen brought up is, is the Sheidheda arc even necessary to motivate her? Isn’t an angry teenage girl with a head full of dead Commanders, most of whom believed in the “Blood must have blood” mantra, already enough? I think that Madi is going to take some extreme actions, or we are supposed to be afraid of what extreme actions she must take, and that this is why they wanted to give her an extra push – and another plot about “facing your demons”, with Sheidheda as a “devil on her shoulder” character.

The existence of Sheidheda also poses the question, why is it that the Grounders think that having the Flame in your head is a good thing for the next Commander, when at least one of the voices inside is one they fear and consider evil? When Titus said that the Flame makes the good and the bad in a person stronger – it is because Commanders literally have different voices, good and bad, inside their head. But really, how beneficial has the Flame “wisdom” proven to be, even without Sheidheda? Almost every time we learned about advice of past Commanders (with the exception of Lexa's in 5x12), and that wasn't often, it didn't seem to be good or useful advice. In 3x06, Lexa said that the past Commanders were upset with her new path of choosing to forego war and revenge. (Was it really all of them? Including Becca?) In 5x13, Clarke thought for a moment that Madi got the wise advice to not kill the prisoners of war from the Flame - but she didn't, she got it from Bellamy.  And there's something about the Flame that never made sense and still hasn't been explained. It was created by Becca to help humanity by passing on knowledge and wisdom... and Becca was the first Commander. So how come Grounders managed to forget all about technology and history before the apocalypse? That never made sense even without the Flame. With it, and Becca's memories, they should have known even more about science and technology than the Mountain Men, and that could have helped defeat them. Mount Weather people were descendants of the US government employees, and some of them may have been great scientists, but Becca was a genius scientist. How did they instead turn into a medieval-level technology warrior society that worships violence and revenge? Something must have gone horribly wrong. And the only explanation seems to be Second Dawn, which seems to be behind the Grounder religion, and probably their world view as well. (That reveal really explained a lot.)

After we found out about Sheidheda from the trailer, there was some speculation to the effect of "since Grounder culture favors violence, war and revenge, what could have set this one guy apart, to the point that he is considered the Dark Commander?" From what we learned in this episode, Sheidheda was Chaotic Evil, whereas most Commanders were trying to stick to the tradition and were being either Lawful Neutral or Lawful Evil or somewhere in between. This guy apparently said, Screw tradition, killed his mentor, and actually did whatever the hell he wanted. And, well, killing your Flamekeepers, no doubt, the exact thing that would make the Flamekeepers talk of you as a dark, terrifying presence. Flamekeepers are mentors to the Commanders who want to maintain control and influence over the charges, even if they are technically supposed to be their subjects.  And what Sheidheda said about killing your mentor before they kill you.... he may have had a point? Not about Gaia, of course, but we've seen that with Titus and Lexa. He did try to control her, taught her toxic views like "Love is weakness", which are apparently generally a part of Flamekeeper teachings. He got upset when someone else - Clarke - started influencing Lexa with ideas contrary to his traditionalist Grounder ideas such as “Blood msut have blood”… and, well, he did kill his Commander, not intentionally, but it happened as an almost direct result of his desire to maintain his control over her and her views and political actions.

The B-plot with Octavia, Diyoza and Xavier had some big revelations in this episode, with the healing power of the sap from the withered trees, the temporal flare from last episode that has apparently withered Octavia’s arm and made it look like she is 150 years old (which, come to think of it, is roughly her chronological age) and the mysterious spirals that are signs of the Anomaly calling to her and Diyoza, as it apparently once called to Xavier. Now, some people speculate that Xavier is Gabriel, but I don’t believe that. His personality is nothing like Gabriel’s, from what we’ve seen of Gabriel so far, and I imagine Gabriel is even more guilty and sad these days – nothing like Xavier’s lively, snarky personality.  I don’t think we’ll see these characters in 6x07, but (spoiler – if you consider titles of future episodes spoilers) we should learn what the Anomaly is in 6x08. I expect the bodysnatching story to be wrapped up in season 6, but I think this plot with the anomaly offers a lot of different possibilities, with its time-warping theme, and may continue to be addressed in season 7, kind of like the City of Light was set up in season 2 but fully developed in season 3.

The last scene was a perfect intro into the upcoming episode 6x07. I have huge expectations, because I have been wishing for a Clarke-centric, character-based episode like that for a long time. I love psychological SciFi stories, and Clarke fighting Josephine in her mind, while dealing with her own demons and her own past, seems like a dream. I must say, while it’s been fun analyzing and identifying various scenes and characters from the drawings from the walls of Clarke’s mind-space and various lines that were heard on top of each other and half-drowned in music, most of these are just Easter Eggs for hardcore fans. What matters most is what the show focuses on. In this episode (ignoring the sneak peeks), the scene focused on the drawing of Abby (as we heard lines from the very first scene of the show), then Lexa, and then Bellamy, which was an interesting choice. But I hope people don’t get too distracted by questions such as “which characters will be referenced and how many times”, “which past actors will have cameos”, etc. I don’t want the episode to be a clip show – I would love references to everything that has impacted Clarke, but what’s important is that it is all for the purpose of Clarke’s character development, her emotional state, her ability to fight her own demons and decide that she really wants to live and deserves happiness. And for her to be able to fight Josephine and signal Bellamy others that she is still there.

Rating: 9/10

[ravenriya]

For the love of levers (A Clarke Griffin and her levers story)

Contains spoilers for season 6

Madi smiled, seeing Clarke fast asleep on top of her drawings. Madi knows Clarke has been up all night. Some rest will be good for her.

“No…No, p-please-“ Clarke mumbled in her sleep. Her eyes scrunched up and body stiffened. Madi rushed to her and put a hand on her shoulder, trying to wake her up.

“Clarke…Clarke, wake up!”

Clarke woke up startled. Her hands reaching for Madi frantically.

“Madi?” She said “What happened? Is everything okay?”

“Yes. Everything is just as good as it was when you fell sleep.” Madi replied. “You were dreaming and-”

“Yeah, I just-“ Clarke paused. “You are supposed to be doing your homework.”

“Yeah, I was but then Jackson came by to ask if you will like to join this appendectomy he is doing in the evening. So I thought I’ll tell you.”

“God, you sound like mom.” Clarke smiled sadly. “Go now, do your homework.”

“Who sounds like mom now.” Madi rolled her eyes.

“You’re spending too much time with Murphy. He’s rubbing off on you.” Clarke said to her back, smiling.

Clarke stretches her arms. She was tired and her hurt a bit. She glanced back at drawing sheet she had fell asleep upon. The sketch brought her some peace deeply embedded in sadness. She took the paper and added it to her private sketchbook. A sketchbook that she never showed to anyone. A sketchbook filled with intricately drawn sketches of her only love.

Clarke turned over to the first page. The first time she had realised that she was not alone. That it was there for her. She still remembers the way it felt. Smooth and strong. The glassy finish and calmness that it entailed. The lever back in the spaceship in which she was sent to earth. The lever had come down with her. Had witnessed her struggles and responded with so much stillness that it filled Clarke’s insides with gratitude and respect. It did not let her do it alone. It held her hand as she burned her enemies to ashes. The sheer force and power of it amazed her.

Clarke sighed as she flipped to the next page. She closed her eyes immediately. It was the lever from the mountain. Not one of their best moments. But at least they were together. Together and powerful. It did not leave Clarke even when she wasn’t sure what to do. When Clarke pulled it, it irradiated hundreds of mountain man to save her loved ones. It bore it so she wouldn't have to. Clarke still rememberers how cold it felt. How ruthless. But it was on Clarke’s side nonetheless. So much power, yet still with her. That was the moment Clarke realised that their companionship was inevitable.

The next one, she saw in the City of light. Glittering in all its glory under the white light. It was unexpected. Clarke hadn’t anticipated meeting it there after what happen in the mountain. She had promised she would never touch it again if it meant death to people. But this time they both had grown so much without growing apart. This time it didn’t meant to kill it was their to save her. Her people. Her family. And when Becca and ALIE tried to drill their way into her head, she touched it. It immediately made her feel braver, stronger. Like they were meant to be together. She held it between her fingers and it gave her the power she needed. When she pulled it close inch by inch she felt the lightness in her head. The sense of content and love. The lever saved her once again.

Clarke wiped away the stray tears. The travel down the memory lane had taken more energy than she had anticipated. The next page was not a sketch of it. It was rather a sketch of herself at the top of the tower. If one looks closely, a wave of fire rolling in the background can be seen. The Praimfaya.

Clarke had thought she was left alone. When in fact she wasn’t. When Clarke saw it again on the top of the tower. She almost didn’t recognised it. The lever, it had grown so much. So evolved. But then again Clarke herself had grown much different. They both tried their best at the top of the tower to save her friends. Clarke knew it was the lever when she had to pull the satellite. When she had to touch the edges of the disc and pull it closer, it resisted. Clarke never understood why it had gone to such lengths to disguise itself and then resist. But somewhere deep inside, she knows the answer. The simple truth that it did not want her to suffer on earth when her friends live the rest of their lives in space. Because it wasn’t sure if this was their last moment together. But it succumbed to her wishes. How could it refuse her? How could it refuse her when she was so selfless and good? Clarke cried and screamed and fought as it went down in a ball of fire. As it wished to meet her in another life. Another time.

The fifth time Clarke met it, they both knew they were made for each other. That their whole life was a struggle to be close to each other. All the battles and sacrifices so that she could come near it. Touch it. Feel it. Love it. On the Eligius ship when Clarke found it again, she cherished it. She held it in her hand and felt the familiar connection once again. She sobbed. And it supported her. The lever never let go of her. It was ready to save her from Damocles. It got angry when Bellamy refused to come in. It wanted Clarke to pull. It wanted her to save herself. But she didn’t. So it stayed patient. It wasn’t like it will do anything against Clarke’s wishes. She was it’s queen. It’s ruler. The one it served with every atom constituted in it. The one it loved with its many forms and figures. She was it’s Wanlever.

The last and most recent drawing made Clarke’s heart break into millions of pieces. The lever that got her Mother (or her body) killed. Clarke still remembers the moment like it happened seconds ago. The grief and love etched so deep in her mind. When she had nothing and no one, the lever was there. The lever was the one constant thing in her life. And it held so much power for her. It made her so strong.

When her own mother’s mind was snatched by the primes, she was devastated. But it gave her leverage. The lever gave her leverage, ironic. It had witnessed so many deaths, floated so many people but it was their at Clarke’s command when she needed it the most. It saved her life again and more vigorously than one might think.

Simone pretended to be Abby, she might have believed her if it wasn’t for the lever. The lever in her hand vibrated, reminding her of its presence. It reminded her of all the times they had been together. All the times when humans did terrible things just to get what they want. They lie and cheat and pretend to be other people. It reminded her of all the people that were floated. It reminded her of her father.

“What’s my father’s name?” She asked although it ached like hell. And the answer was what she had known all along. A bloody fucking lie.

Simone-Abby launched herself but Clarke was too quick. She pulled it and it sent all the evil primes right out in space. But Simone-Abby clinged to Clarke. She pulled her and tried to climb back. All Clarke needed to do was push her. But for a moment, Clarke looked back at the lever. It seemed so far away. Could she do it? Could she float her own mother. The lever replied in stillness. Lowered and waiting for her. They had been through it all and still it waits for Clarke to make the right choice. The lever will stand by her no matter what she chose. It urges Clarke to choose the right thing. So she pushed taking one last glance at her mother’s face. She pushed until Simone-Abby floated away from her.

It was her will to go back to the lever that drove her to choose right. She fought and pulled herself back to it. She held it tightly and pulled it up, closing the air duct. For the next few minutes, it was just her and the lever, sitting there in silence sad Clarke sobbed for her mother. The lever stayed quite. It grounded her to reality for what was yet to be done. The lever anchored her.

And now looking back at the charcoal sketch of the lever, Clarke knew that only the lever understood her pain because they lived through the horrible things she did together. It was their for her when nobody else was, when an army of grounders attacked and everybody looked at her for a decision, when her friend’s lives were on the line, when an artificial intelligence tried to take over the world, when the world ended again, when she went back to space and when her own mother tried to kill her. It was there forever and always.

Clarke blinked out of her trance when she heard a faint knock on the door of her studio. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and opened the door slightly to reveal Bellamy standing on the other side.

“Hey,” he smiled.

“Hi,” she replied. “What are you doing here?”

“I…I have something I just wanted to drop off.” Bellamy said sheepishly. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah, sure.” Clarke opened the door wider.

Bellamy walked in to the centre of the studio, under the dimly lit chandelier. Clarke stood right in front of him, smiling slightly. They still weren’t used to these casual walk-ins. When there was no matter of urgency, no one trying to kill them and no earth was being attacked. It felt odd but nice.

“So…?” Clarke trailed off.

Bellamy held out a small packet that he was holding behind his back. It was neatly wrapped and tied by a thread in a small brown paper.

“What’s this?” Clarkd asked curiously.

“Open it.” Bellamy said. “I once saw Finn made you one of these for you…so, I thought I’ll give it a try, you know…”

Clarke pulled the end of the thread excitedly, it wasn’t everyday that she got gifts. The package opened to reveal a necklace. But when she looked closer to the pendant, it was something magnificent. Something that took her breath away. She gasped. A miniature lever made of shiny metal encased in a gold frame. She couldn’t believe her eyes. It looked perfect with little handles and everything.

“Bellamy…” Clarke said in a teary voice.

“I had nothing else to do - and it was there a metal plate in Ryker’s workshop - I thought I would make you one of these…” He rambled. “Do you like it?”

“I love it!” Clarke laughed. “But how did you know - is it that obvious?”

Bellamy chuckled. “Yeah.”

“Hey, don’t laugh.” She bumped his shoulder playfully. “Thank you, Bellamy. I don’t know how to explain I-”

“It’s okay. I get it. You don’t have to explain what you love and why you love. Besides, it’s a new world. Anything’s possible.”

“Anything is possible.” Clarke repeated and embraced Bellamy in a hug. “Thank you, for everything.” Bellamy nodded and held her tightly. She closed her fist around the mini lever pendant and held close, feeling the mental pour love in her.

May we meet again.

[moonlightsdreaming]

I didn’t like Adventure Time very much the first time I saw it.  It was an early episode, one with the Ice King and I have only the vaguest memories of what was going on, but I clearly remember how annoying I found the characters (especially Ice King) and how lol random the humor seemed and how uninteresting the art was. I don’t even remember what made me give it a second chance, but it was probably the endless parade of gifs across my dash on tumblr, the surprisingly good life advice from Jake (who isn’t inspired by the words, “Sucking at something is the first step to being kind of good at something.”?) or hilarious table flipping gifs from Princess Bubblegum, or maybe it was just seeing a lot of really amazing art people were drawing for it.  I am very much susceptible to a parade of beautiful art, after all. But I started watching it properly, probably in the second or third season, and somehow it worked for me.  The humor was internet meme-style and it fit the lore of the show (it’s modern day slang because the world basically ended in a nuclear attack and so it never really got a chance to move on culturally and the weird lingo is the people of Ooo’s slow drift from that! ohhhhhh, okay, that makes it make sense to me! I love cool theories for stuff like that!) drew me in. I really liked the characters, too.  Ice King still annoyed me, but Finn was actually really a pretty great protagonist, I loved his friendship with Jake, two guys who really liked each other, who really even loved each other.  Who liked going on adventures!  And there were lots of women around in the world and they were pretty fantastic characters, too.  Princess Bubblegum was kind and sweet, but she was also a straight up NERD and she could be furious and even kind of really mean and evil scientist at times!  Marceline seems like the typical ~2 goth 4 u~ character, but she’s actually really good-hearted and kind. And more and more the episodes would leave me literally startling out loud, “What the fuck did I just watch!?” because it had blown my mind.  The show really knew how to kick into high gear with the plot when shit started happening--I will always remember watching Finn at the Citadel, trying to hold onto his father, trying to drag him back, and losing his fucking arm for it.  I will always remember Finn climbing the tower, singing, “Baby’s building a tower into space / Space is where he's gonna find his dad / Daddy's got an arm / And Baby's gonna harm his arm by tearing it off his dad.”  Like, holy fuck, this show did not mess around.  Or the comet and Finn choosing whether or not to stay!  Finding the humans after so long!  Or how “Simon & Marcy” straight up made me cry after watching it. So many moments that were awe-inspiring for how hard they hit and how much affection this show clearly had for its lore.  And that’s what made this finale so emotionally touching for me, so very bittersweet. It isn’t just saying goodbye to an old friend (though, it is that, too), but it’s seeing Sweet P walking around in the future, it’s seeing the resolution of everything they’d built up with Betty (though, I’m hoping there are comics that resolve the rest of it, because I don’t want to leave it there!), of watching Marceline get to see Simon again, of seeing Susan and Frieda traveling around the world, of that moment of seeing the humans on the ship crossing the ocean, Minerva on the screen as Finn waved to her, and how emotional that made me. And then there’s the Bubbline kiss.  Like a lot of people, I’ve shipped those two for so very long, I was pretty sure it was at least intentional subtext, but I never thought we’d get here.  I never thought we’d get an on-screen kiss that wasn’t just a half-measure, it wasn’t just a wink and a nod, it was fully confirmed and it was in an emotionally resonant moment.  It was part of a story.  And that means so much to me, that it doesn’t matter if we have Korra/Asami and Ruby/Sapphire already, because we need more lesbian and bi women (and men, but women take a backseat to male characters so often that I don’t think that needs pushing for nearly as much) and we need them everywhere. I still think of kids growing up today who are watching these shows and seeing these women falling in love.  Who will feel seen because of this, who won’t feel like there’s something off about them because they have feelings that aren’t like what they’re seeing in the shows they watch, who won’t grow up feeling like, oh, I don’t really like girls/boys, I just ~appreciate~ that they’re nice-looking, but instead understand that, yes, these feelings are real and important and wonderful.  They’re part of epic moments, they’re part of sweet moments, they’re part of the story. It’s okay to be confused about how you feel as a kid, it’s okay not to have strong definitions for what it is you’re feeling.  And Adventure Time shows that it can be complicated and uncertain, but it’s also good. So, I cried for that, because Bubbline is important to my bi self who never had that growing up.  I cried for the kids who get to see that--whether they feel represented or are seeing something different from themselves, so that they understand those people exist and are wonderful, either way I love that kids are getting to see this.  I love that I get to see this, that this shitty world we’re currently in is slightly less shitty again. And I love it because it’s just one part of a show that I loved very much.  My love for Adventure Time isn’t just about one aspect of it, but that the whole entire show was really good.  It was batshit and clearly having a great time with itself, it was emotional in all the right places, it was trying to do good things with its characters and the lessons they learned, it was mind-blowing when it wanted to be.  And it was emotional. I cried over the romantic kisses, I cried over the family reunions, I cried over friendships, I cried because this show was always a joy whenever I got to sit down with it and I’m going to miss it very much. But what a hell of a thing it was while I had it. Thank you for everything you were, Adventure time.  I’m so glad I got to experience you.

[perispinel]

Adventure Time Finale Liveblog

Already this episode is off to a weird start, starting with a flashforward in the future with two random one-off characters and- OH MY GOSH THEY FOUND FINN’S ARM AND THEY LIVE IN MARCELINE’S HOUSE NOW!

Did Finn like die? THis has to be a fakeout about this.

King of Ooo is alive far int he future? he melted in the fire as wax remember writers? 

Oh my gosh this is why they showed the Enchiridion episode last, Mount Kragdor is back!

the king of Ooo is BMO! Wait why does he have PB’s crown... oh my god BMO outlived everybody. he is unfazed by death

BMO is kickin’ em out already, what a savage

That arm is giving BMO some flashbacks. Awww adorable!

Heh after so long BMO is having trouble remembering Finn’s name.

The plot description said NEPTR was telling the story, they faked us out totally!

Finally, more Betty! 

Finally, more Maja!

Looking at Finn is like “you die eventually. BMO has your arm now.”

Having BMO narrate the whole story makes it sound like a five year old trying to describe World War II. 

Finally Duke of Nuts, my favorite character!

Literally no one likes him, he wants to be MacGyver

Justin Roiland has work while R n M is off

Princess Bubblegum is going the Leia route of going from Princess to General

Oh no a little cake spy.

Huntress Wizard, played by Mona Lisa from Parks and Rec, did a good job getting rid of that sky

Come along with me, it is time for war you seeeee

Marceline and PB better makeout RIGHT NOW Marceline, yes, please reconsider PB Oh geez Marceline is just casually like “I saw people die PB.” Marceline be like “I felt worse” all over us

Finn is right.

W-what? Finn whatcha goin on about with nightmares? I thought he was gonna break the fourth wall

I love when a war begins with someone repeating “WAR” over and over

Yep yep there goes the banana guards. What a great plan

“You’re weird” isn’t what I’d say honestly

He doesn’t know what fruit is apparently

Lemongrab is totally piiiiiissed... Oh he’s just sad.

Gumbald literally is backing UP because of them being serious Finny boy

Hey Fern, remember when I accidentally killed ya? Good times boi

“You’re a toddler” is the cue for “I kill you or you give up”

What a great time for a commercial break. 

Okay, time for my thoughts in-between the show: this is giving me crazy feelings. Like, knowing BMO outlives everyone, regardless of the war’s outcome... wait, BMO said Finn was heroic til the end right? Oh my gosh will Finn sacrifice himself? Well either way BMO probably SAW him die, old age or not. BMO is literally the imbodement of a child who doesn’t understand the consequences of anything. Back to the show!

Nice job making me almost sad BMO.

Unconscious world? That’s crazy man.

So no war? Aiight.

Finn was all like “go to dreamworld and talk things out” and they be like “let’s have a war again”

Ooh cool, let’s get those songs for the album here

Jake is going back to his roots

Ooh let’s get Tom Sharpling up in this guys

Aww poor Fern. 

PB isn’t reluctant at all to kill someone even if they look like Finn, as long as they be an enemy. 

Oh sweet evolution Fern! 

Fern is going the toddler solution, that’s fine.

Okay Greg from Steven Universe, enjoy your appearance while it lasts.

Is John DiMaggio spending the episode in a dream state?

Pinching people in the dreamworld really wakes you up? That’s dope.

W-what? why’d they just vibrate

Fern does sound like a knockoff Finn sometimes honestly. Heh prove you’re tormented Finn! 

Oh geez this is really dark, PB had a messup life. Recreating that scene for some symbolism I suppose!

Ooh subconscious world!

Aww his girlfriend is here- I wish I spoke korean.

It’s nice his kids- oh nevermind. 

Is this symbolism for him being connected to his wife like by the sides?

Hahah we got a fart joke everyone, wrap it up! Just kiddin I don’t care either way

I bet Pb is learning what it was like living as a completely unintelligent being without any choice. Will this cause some empathy?

Yeah repressed memories must smell awful.

Obviously Fern and Finn share the same memories, but it’s cool to see them confront it Mindful Education-style

I missed Adventure Time’s art style honestly. 

Oh I get it, Fern originated from the Finnsword.

Oh wow, all of that took place in the span of one second!

PB and Gumbald are learning empathy now, are we not having a war or?

“No no no that happened next.” Good job faking out the fake out.

I love these breaks telling us small bits of lore and secrets about what’s going on that we’re not noticing. Anyway, I am excited to find out what this portal is exactly- I’m guessing Magic Man, Betty, and Maga’s weird cryptic chant is gonna cause some big bad event. Will Adventure Time end with the end of the world? I’d be mega shocked if Finn just died. Wait why isn’t Marceline in the future? Realistically she should be there UNLESS she got killed, soooo... back to the show!! :D

We saved the day! Big scary baby is definitely good!

Wait Fern is in the real world now???

Ice King was just gonna leave until he had that flashback

It is so cute seeing Betty and Simon’s past, I wwant fanart of them having a happy life.

Did I mention FP is super cute? I love Flame Princess

This is getting quite dark man. Even Marcy is scared.

PB don’t martyr yourself

Aww what a great leader, telling her army to flee in terror instead of dying without purpose!

Oooh Fern is on good side now!

Gumball Guardians are her real children

Is this even a kids episode? this should be rared PG-13 man

I hope all this rogue gallery characters still get lines. oh there they go

Heh Jake and Amethyst have some similarities don’t they

Wow what a dark end for someone, skull cracks open and innards bounce around and endanger people

Ice King is the savior! How cute

This is more epic than Reunited but that’s not fair to say exactly, one is finale and one is a special

Oh no poor bananas, so dumb

Let’s go Jake, doing what he does best and being helpful!

Did Jake explode and die?

Remember when LSP and Lemongrab dated?

Aww Lemongrab and LSP is a canon ship, only straight ship allowed for those two

Come on Ice King, remember who you and Betty are!

Ice King is reciting the song from the episode. Oh my gosh come on dude, replace at least ONE word in the song silly!

Betty is too crazy to not throw a tantrum I guess.

Maga the Sky Witch- Kill Count 1

No no no Flame Princesssss! Maybe she’s okay?

Fernnn! 

Did PB just die? Oh my glob

Oh Marcy’s going back to her roots

Okay PB is alive, it’s fine.

Marceline just had a PLanet Hulk moment right there.

Aww it’s canon now guys! Marceline X Bubblegum eternally and they kissssed! Guys they made up for so long of teasing!

Oh no I think they’re breaking them apart layer-by-layer

Ice King is Simon again, yeyyy!

I love that the moment PB and Marcy are confirmed gay for real they just have them holding each other close to prove it even more

Finally Jakei s confirmed not dead

Oh no is Jake dead, 2.0.?

Finally we have a reason BMO knows what happens. He nearly died.

Okay so... Flame Princess and Fern are taken out while Maga is definitely dead. I have a feeling Marceline might die,or else we’ll need a thorough explanation for why she’s not living in her house. Like I can tell that this character voiced by Willow Smith is Jake’s descendant but Marceline is potentially an immortal I assumed so they wouldn’t have her be gone without explanation. Then, here’s a question: is Jake about to sacrifice himself to save BMO?? Also, BMO straight-up says the world ended so I have a feeling that he wasn’t just being coy.

Oh my glob, what’s about to happen. Jake and Finnn’s home is destroyed. 

BMO is getting deep. Okay HE’S SINGING THE SONG :D

Is this about to have a Rogue One ending? How is this going to end happily?

This song is meant to be bittersweet, no way is this a happy ending song guys.

Is BMO secretly badass? CARTOON CONSPIRACY No it’s just the power of music.

Oh I get it! Discord, Harmony, Music, it all makes sense! 

Oh literally everyone sings this! along with screaming!

They got so many voice actors for this! 

Is he going to explode? Oh my glob?

Here lies Finn. he was a good man. I love him. 

“No one gets to choose how it happens. the most important thing is that we’re here together.” Nice way to make me sad twice

Is Simon going to become Simon forever? What’s going on here? Is Betty going to get her bones crushed???

Aww how cute of you Betty. not making my heart any calmer

Ooh yes he’s Simon again :DDD

Oh my gosh this is a crazy kind of ending

Oh no I’m scared now.

thanks for the reminder of The Tandem Elephant’s existence man. Okay, so... this is crazy. Simon is back, like for real, he’s not dying or anything... Betty is potentially dead... Finn didn’t die, which is dope... my eyes are watering, definitely not about to cry. I can’t believe it I’m emotional over cartoon show wow. Just knowing I have eight more minutes until it for real is all over. Maybe I’ll just like, watch it again so I can pretend it didn’t end yet? No that’d be fake. I normally don’t even cry in situations where it’d make sense so this is telling for me I guess. These commercials really make me appreciate how good the show I’m watching are. :’D Okay so, I don’t think Magi actually died, although it’s hard to tell really since I didn’t get a good look at her. I have no idea what is about to happen but I am freaking out. 

Ultimate Adventure continues now

Oh wow Betty fused with the crystal boi

Simon and Marcy, reunited for real

Imagine how much it must suck to wake up after so long of being stuck as someone else

I DON’T FEEL SO GOOD. is that a reference... Oooniverse?

Okay so Gunter is the future beard boy I guess.

Oh wow they grew a Fern. and found a new sword. 

YES HE SCREAMED. THE BOY SCREAMSSS!

Thanks for disobeying me Finn

Finn officially has the singular arm. Dope.

Future baby boy has a big beard

Finn and Jake can’t live forever, this is the past yes

Ooh the music hole is here again! Epic callback broos

Ooh the hole sings the End Credits Song oh geez

New Ice King is Gunter, old ICe King is Simon

Ooh nice glimpses of what might become of some of our friends in the future

Ooooh Lemongrab and Jake get along better. 

Aww cute his dad is going to space now

Flame Princess and NEPTR friends forever

Jiggler callback! 

Susan is here!

Normal Man is cool!

Huntress Wizard continues to be fun! 

PB and Marcy are still gay, Pep But is still edgyyyy

THE HUMANS ARE BAAAAAACCCCCKKKK

They found the sword oh glorb! 

OH WOW THEY JUST HINTED AT WHAT A FUTURE ADVENTURE TIME SPINOFF WOULD BE LIKE!

I LOVE THE FACT THAT THEY DIDN’T RESET BUTTON US BUT DIDN’T KILL EVERYBODY OR SOMETHING! 

Okay I have a lot of thoughts... that was a ffinale. It really was. It was not something I got disappointed in because they didn’t wrap up anything. It wasn’t like waiting 10 years for 10 more episodes of a cartoon. It was like epic man. I naerly teared up guys. It didn’t end with a Reset Button like some finales would- Everything Stays, but it still changed. Sorry, this post is too long for anyone to read all the way through, but I still hope you enjoyed my thoughts on the last Adventure Time episode. A zillion out of ten guys.