#Feel free to speculate and theorize on this stuff!

[maydays-medbay]

Discovery...

When you found an exploration-class vessel on your radar a couple joors ago, you couldn’t help but feel as though you'd stumbled on something big. Now that you’re standing in the command center you revel in the satisfaction of being on the brink of discovery. It’s not every cycle that you get to step foot onto exploratory vessels! Thankfully this one must’ve been off-radar and left untouched for as long as it’s been inactive.

The ship is very clearly abandoned, the hull falling apart and the interior faring no better. The command area is a mess of wires and scrap metal, save for the main terminal. Score! You internally cheer as you pad over to the command desk.

Cables are sparking, which is a good sign. Well, not a good sign per se, but it does mean that there’s at least power still somewhere in the ship. More than likely just residual energy after being dormant for so long.

You pull off the main panel of the terminal and assess the damage. It’s not pretty, but it’s salvageable. You get to work.

After a few minutes of fumbling (and shocking your sensitive digits) you manage to reroute the remaining power to the console. For once you’re able to put your mechanical engineering knowledge to use. You smile proudly at your work.

A blinking yellow light flickers on the terminal, before the entire system boots to life. You can hear the hum of electricity crackling beneath the paneling separating it from you. You can feel it beneath your servos. The blue glow of the screen (finally) booting up makes your circuits pulse with curiosity and excitement.

The screen is now covered with data, some entries very recent- the newest being only a few joors old - and the oldest dating back a few hundred years, though they were heavily corrupted. Some are data logs, others are audio files. A few of them, the most recent of them, are documents with accompanying audio logs. 

It would take days to sort through the plethora of information and data, but something about the newest entries interests (or perhaps alarms?) you the most. They were sent within kliks of each other, with the small notes reading out their contents frantic and filled with grammatical errors. Almost as if they were sent in a panic, or in a rush at the very least. 

Nobody has been in this ship in over one-hundred solar cycles, give or take, so they must’ve been sent through a transfer. Risky- considering the high amount of data sent over at once, but the files seemed relatively intact for what they’re worth. 

The first one, ominously titled “Clock’s Ticking” is the shortest and is a simple audio log. If there was an attached document, it isn’t anywhere in the system now. 

After a good once-over, you press play. A voice crackles to life. They sound exhausted, desperate, and…defeated. Pity fights its way through your chassis as you listen.

“There’s no time. Barely any left at all, and with what’s happened…if there’s even the slightest chance that someone could receive this, then I have to take it. It’s a risk- and a big one at that, but it’s not like I’ve got much of a choice. To anyone receiving this, my name's Fireskimmer, an XZ Class Exotreader who joined an exploratory crew to chart unknown space a few cycles ago. All was well, for a while. Until we were raided in the middle of a routine mission, one of those we always considered no-risk. I…I am the only survivor. The rest of my team didn’t survive after those mechs raided our ship. I…couldn’t help them. By the time I got to them they were gone. Husks. Torn apart like scrap. But nevermind that, it’s not important. This crew of…pirates? Zealots? Fanatics? took me captive and I’ve been in their hold for the past…frag, I don’t even know how many cycles long now. Time blurs together when you're kept behind metal walls where light is nothing but a concept. My internal clock was damaged during their attack on our ship. I don’t know how or why they’ve let me live this long, perhaps for their own sick form of entertainment, but I do know that my time is running short. I’m low on energon, and my position will be found soon if my deteriorating condition doesn’t get me first. That’s why I have to send you these files. My offline won’t be for nothing, it can’t be. I won’t let our fate befall the next crew in line.”

[ficticiousdelicious]

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez

He's back to f-ck sh-t up!

...but what's with those cool new duds?

!! Spoilers for Bleach will be discussed in this post. !!

^ manga chapters 624 and 625

Hnnngh. Something I find a bit interesting about Grimmjow aesthetically during the Thousand Year Blood War arc (manga and anime) is the change of his clothes. Not only do I personally like the new design but the new clothes seem to suit Grimmjow pretty well. I can appreciate the detail of Grimmjow's sword Pantera still being kept on the same [left] side as he seems to be right-handed. He even kept his signature jacket (how many of these does he have left when they keep getting ripped up???) but, sans weapon and jacket, the rest of his clothing is different. HOW, WHEN and WHY though?!

.

Context of Destruction's return:

Grimmjow returns in the TYBW arc by fighting a quincy that was picking on Urahara and friends in Hueco Mundo. From this all we see is the edge of his sword. Next Grimmjow tries to waltz into Urahara's tent when he heard Ichigo talking via projector, and there we saw the edge of Grimmjow's old hakama uniform:

^ manga chapter 518 and anime (TYBW part 1) episode 8

After this first visual reappearance we get another event: a location transition to some ruins in Hueco Mundo that could include Grimmjow with hints about his location and attire, especially from the anime which shows Grimmjow definitively:

^ anime (TYBW part 2) episode 1

From the anime, we get a decent visual clue about Grimmjow here - after Orihime and Chad's group have arrived at the ruins. As Orihime and Chad talk, there is a figure lurking behind them wearing a cloak who has a sharp, masculine jaw and if you look very closely you can see Grimmjow's unique fancy new shoes in the shadows. So Grimmjow's clothes have changed since arriving at the ruins.

^ manga chapter 544

In the manga however, Chad finds Orihime at the ruins with two or three figures behind him that are hard to recognize: If the figure on the left is Grimmjow, then Grimmjow is probably still wearing his hakama uniform upon arrival to the ruins. We don't get very definitive clues about Grimmjow from the manga here.

Based on these two perspectives though, considering them together - since the manga seems to be the group's early arrival at the ruins and the anime seems to be a little while after arrival at the ruins, it's a safe bet that Grimmjow changed his outfit once the group arrived at these ruins in Hueco Mundo.

.

WHERE are Grimmjow's cool new duds from?

Well, since it doesn't seem like Grimmjow is using a power to have a different appearance, it's reasonable to assume that Urahara provided everyone special new clothing since we find out later that he definitely did this for Orihime from a hilarious discussion about her new clothes (manga - 589). Urahara has proven that he is intuitive enough to design suitable and physically fitting clothes with mysterious properties for people. In terms of Grimmjow's clothing, this seems to be the most solid theory. And I wouldn't say the clothing is a 'free gift' since everyone in Urahara's group that changed clothes also helped fight in the war, gearing soldiers with armor and weapons is a thing. Urahara is a tactical guy and he puts a premium on arrancars' value in the war (manga - 552; anime TYBW part 2 - episode 3) since quincies don't steal their resureccións.

For another theory's sake, Grimmjow's clothes could also be from what's left of stuff in Las Noches, the palace in Hueco Mundo. A theory that Grimmjow could have raided Las Noches and maybe even a quincy camp then made a stash somewhere, and maybe he did, is kinda fun but feels less likely to explain his new TYBW duds.

.

Grimmjow, my dude, WHY the new look?

I'll start this with a big ol': we can only speculate unless Kubo tells us in Klub Outside or something. Why Grimmjow's clothes are different in the TYBW arc feels like the hardest thing to theorize over.

Though Grimmjow fought a quincy right away when he returned to Bleach, his old hakama uniform didn't look shredded when he tried barging into Urahra's tent (manga - 518; anime TYBW part 1 episode 8 - above). So why would Grimmjow replace his clothing? It's probably not because of that first quincy fight regardless. In the past a different Espada, Szayel, actually left his opponents to change his clothes (manga - 276; anime - 164) so arrancars have the capacity to be vain. However, Grimmjow usually fights until he's wearing tatters of his uniform. He has never seemed like a particularly vain guy nor sentimental, but he does seem cunning, practical and intentional among other primal, brutal and abrupt qualities. He loves a strong opponent in a fight, is difficult to control, does seem to hold grudges and dislikes pity. As long as Grimmjow didn't feel too tethered or pitied he might accept things and deals that Urahara could have offered...if those were beneficial to Grimmjow getting what he wants.

^ manga chapters 280 and 624

If it fits, I... Grimmjow's New Outfit Design:

The duds fit the dude! Wherever Grimmjow's clothing came from it looks practical in make and style. IT'S KINDA LIKE A ONESIE...BUT HE WOULD MAIM US FOR SAYING THAT even though he looks killer in it...so we'll just call it a 'bodysuit' instead because it's hard to see if it's two pieces... Heh heh. He wears his signature jacket from his old uniform over his new bodysuit. The lower part of the bodysuit even has pockets for him to stuff his hands in, as seems his habit. The white belts are a cool touch and Pantera is still hitched to his left hip seeming to give the belts purpose. His shoes...god. If a man is going to wear heels those are it. The shoes are the flashiest part of Grimmjow's outfit. One could argue that the jagged guard around the toes and the one at his heel could help protect his feet.

Overall Grimmjow's new outfit is pretty streamlined, not a lot of flappy snag hazards, but it has several sharp/pointy accents. The new design feels like a reflection of his agile but vicious demeanor with some hollow flare. His new outfit is curiously the same color scheme as his old Espada hakama uniform...but why? Well, Grimmjow probably isn't wearing it to be sentimental since he previously made defying Aizen a habit and attacked arrancar on his own side multiple times. Yet, the colors are the same and we still don't actually know why!

A fun little theory about why Grimmjow kept his old uniform and accepts the same color scheme for his new clothing could be that since quincies are trying to take Hueco Mundo away from hollows and arrancar, Grimmjow might feel like wearing these are a sign of defiance. He is said to be a little territorial and absolutely defiant. This is just a theory though.

^ manga chapters 279 and 625

Driven by SCARS. Details of the Design:

In the deep v-neck of Grimmjow's bodysuit we can still see two significant scars on his torso. One is the scar that Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho attack gave Grimmjow (manga - 211; anime - 121) and above it is a second scar which Nnoitora's Santa Teresa inflicted on Grimmjow (manga - 286; anime - 190). Grimmjow overtly states in his third fight with Ichigo (manga - 279 - above; anime - 165) that he has purposefully kept the scar from Ichigo. The scar from Ichigo is clearly a bit special ('a reminder' in some translations) and the second scar from Nnoitora happened right after Grimmjow and Ichigo's grand third fight. Maybe Grimmjow feels similarly about both? This is probably as close to sentimental as canon Grimmjow will ever get. Those scars seem important though. Grimmjow displays his scars instead of hiding them...and if he wanted to hide them he certainly could have, but he hasn't. Pretty badass to do that intentionally.

.

Does Grimmjow like his new clothes? Enough to wear them. lol Otherwise who knows. He seems much more interested in picking his next fight and doing other...Grimmjow things...you know, like being a bit of a loner and devastatingly handsome!

ALL manga and anime images here are © Bleach - Tite Kubo

[team-avia]

Okay so my insomnia is really bad so I’m going to force you to listen to my raving and rambling about RL theories because I saw some old promotional stuff and now my mind is galaxy braining right now

SO HERE IT GOES

(Sorry if this has been brought up before btw and is old news)

Obvious potential spoilers!!! Beware everyone else!!!

This motherfucking promo image is the source of my thoughts, especially after playing Cass’s and Bella’s demo. Particularly the symbols used for every character:

Cassandra: obviously an prodigy actress and star of the department but the further we get into her demo we realize there’s more behind the diva persona than meets the eye— hence the symbol, while classic in theater, can also reflect her emotional state and her need to cover it up with smiles and arrogance. Her nightmares and sense of commitment to potential romantic lovers maybe be a symptom of a more deep reason.

Bela: THE HEART like bruh obviously it in reference to whatever Miranda did to her before the game started—being heartless and what not. And how she’ll eventually regain her ‘heart’ if we go down the route right.

Daniela: so far she’s seems normal, well adjusted, and tame in comparison to her sisters. Key world being SEEMS. There’s definitely something broiling beneath the surface with her and I bet it has to do with her family troubles and her always putting on a brave face. Hence the rose but the notable thorns beneath it. Every rose has its thorns and what not. Idk if it has anything to do with the rowdy crowd she associates with.

Angie: the doll obviously fitting her RE origin and over all her personality, sweet, kind, and maybe bombastic. But look closely—there’s a tear on the doll’s face. Like Cass (and maybe Dani) she has a mask—aka being a party animal and overall alcoholic. It may have something to do with being Donna’s niece and I’m assuming Claudia’s daughter. But where’s the latter???? I’m sensing a dark back story here and her maladapting to her mother’s death.

The last three are the hardest to theorize because we haven’t seen much of them in the Demos but I’ll slightly theorize here:

Donna: the recluse of the campus is pictured with a syringe. Could be a nod to her RE origin being with her pollen/hallucinations but could also have to do with why she’s so shy and introverted. Maybe in the similar vein to Angie’s, what with her sister and what not.

Alcina: Wine is an obvious choose to use for her. Bitch loves her red. Idk what else to pull from this. Again hard to speculate with no demo introducing her. It’s giving wine mom energy and not in the fun way.

Miranda: this bitch has some fucking powers or something—giving hag in the swamp vibes and doing shit to people. Bela with her heartlessness (and maybe Cass’s nightmares?). Also Mia being a witchy gal and giving Miranda a gift that’s warm? Hella sus. The Corvus skull is obvious to her RE origins but also a nod to witchcraft and supernatural things. Also a symbol of death. Bitch be brewing shit idk.

Anyways those are my thoughts. Idk how accurate this is and, based on how old the pic is, could be completely wrong. I’ve spent too many hours thinking on the Demo for it to be healthy so this was a long time coming.

Feel free to cuss me out for how wrong I am. I just needed to get my thoughts out there.

Make sure you take care of yourselves! Love you guys! Stay safe and healthy!

I DONT KNOW HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS WITHOUT SPOILING ANYTHING BUT

thank you for noticing the little details 😭 ❤️ ive been waiting for someone to notice HAHAHAHA

finch

[callmegaith]

I'm sorry for using your askbox as the "scream into the void" button but that's what people have been doing apparently (although it is interesting to read you answer people's asks).

Anyways I just read your last ask and realized how little I know about fandoms in general because what the hell is fandom hierarchy. My experience with fandom (any fandom, not just rl) is reading fanfiction, looking at fanart and occasionally doing some of my own fanart and maybe some small scale theorizing/speculating (although I actually have no clue what else is there to fandom). What does fandom hierarchy even mean is it like whoever has more social media followers or something? Do people in fandoms interact with each other often enough to know where each stands? I'm so confused

no need to apologize! please feel free to send anything u want at any time. We all need to scream into the void sometimes.

In some fandoms there are like "groups". The more popular people are on top. You can say its like the cool kids club at lunch break during school. ""Cool kids"" sit with the ""cool kids"" and only interact with other ""cool kids"" and yeah, generally they're the people with more followers and the ones who gain a lot of attention or are well known and well established in a fanbase. Then it moves down to "casual" fans who engage with the fanbase or have a ""position" in the fanbase thats... well, casual, they create stuff but are generally not as well known. And then people who dont interact with the fanbase but like the media and simply enjoy consuming the content the fanbase makes.

honestly I dont like this sorta thing, but it does exist in some fandoms. And I do really hope it doesnt exist in the RL fanbase. I been here for a long time and never felt like we have that pyramid structure but like I said, maybe I'm just blind to it and it really depends on who you ask.

I find it hard to understand too. I don't know a lot about fandom science. I sorta just create stuff and talk to anyone who wants to talk to me xD but this is my understanding of it

[dinoburger]

I scraped as many forums as I could find for more info and theories on Eastward, I know a lot of folks were as confused as I was so I wanted to compile everything I could find and remember - hopefully it clears things up a little more

consider this a work in progress, I might correct or add things, will also try to add sources where possible - a lot of stuff is just so scattered and there's so much info that it's hard to do

also, if anyone has anything to add, clarifications, other observations etc., feel free to mention them here, this is just a general rundown of all the info I could find and what's relevant

Mother, Charon and the MIASMA

Mother and Charon were created in tandem, one to purge humanity and the other to rebuild it from scratch every time

the ultimate goal of Mother, Charon and the human factories is to create the perfect version of humanity

human pods can create totally custom human beings, but this isn't enough

Mother was created for and is used to power the human factories

there's a line of dialogue that implies the older Solomon was actually in charge of Mother before the sea captain, Cap'n Pam took her from him

(this could confirm that Solomon is indeed some kind of harvester, or was supposed to be but decided to protect Ester City specifically - the Rocket Knight Legion also talks about being afraid of the MIASMA so it's at least known about before the time loop is set in place)

Mother was actually fairly close to the Rocket Knight Legion during her time living in Ester City (to the point where Sam feels sad about them, even when she hadn't known them long herself)

at some point after knowing the Rocket Legion, Mother must have become embittered towards humanity again

I found where the "53 cycles" comes from! This little tidbit, so yes it seems like at the least, Whitewhale Bay has seen 53 total wipes from the MIASMA

Sam

the prevailing theory about Sam and Mother is that the pods that created her are scattered all over Eastward, Mother's immortality is secured by having herself cloned and then using her psychic abilities to project her consciousness into the new body

(Charon may also be tied to sustaining Sam's immortality somehow? we've sort of seen this through Alva, being cloned and spread throughout the land after Isabel somehow merges her with Charon, she becomes a free-floating spirit type thing, idk I guess there are also canonical ghosts so that might not be as much a side effect of Charon, who the fuck even knows)

this works with the aforementioned information about Mother powering the human factories

using a huge burst of her psychic energy in Greenberg is speculated to be the reason why she temporarily lost her memories of there too

John

John is in his 40's

it's theorized that John is selectively mute due to his lack of dialogue, there are instances where it's implied he talks though and one instance of Sam suggesting that John reads to her (it shows that he can talk circumstantially)

New Dam City

Isabel was genetically engineered and created in a human factory, this is confirmed in a dialogue between her and Solomon

Alva and Lee's grandfather came from Ester City and invented the Buddha fan

(This likely makes Lee and Alva siblings or cousins - it's not 100% confirmed as the Wiki calls them childhood friends, but they grew up together under the same roof from a young age and both refer to their grandfather as their grandfather)

(We do not know anything about Lee and Alva's actual parents though, so they may very well be adoptive grandchildren - Hillman says something to the effect of "I don't know what your grandfather saw in that boy" to Alva, perhaps backing up that Lee was taken on rather than already biologically related)

Isabel was also picked up by Lee and Alva's grandfather (it seems like this was later down the timeline, Lee and Alva were likely a bit older when she was introduced, which is why her relationship with Alva seems more romantic in nature than familial)

Lee, Alva and their grandfather used to live in Oldtown when the two kids were small, their grandfather's old house is adjacent to a human factory that Mother complains is damaged beyond repair and has specimens missing

this is where we can assume Isabel was found and how the grandfather managed to save the people of Oldtown before the MIASMA struck, by learning when it was coming and vandalizing the factory

(I don't know if it's confirmed whether the grandfather is dead or alive, Alva talks about "borrowing" his mansion but it's never really delved into I don't think)

(man I don't even think we get a clear explanation as to why the slime breeding furnace was needed or how the cure that Alva was trying to make was supposed to work)

Solomon

the original Professor Solomon created the time barrier to "protect" Ester City, keeping everyone trapped inside

the younger iteration(s) of Solomon are most likely clones (old Solomon has been trapped inside Ester City for possibly thousands of years? he does manage to survive for a while outside the time loop though meaning either he does have the tech to sustain himself for that long, or even old Solomon is a clone of a much much older Solomon)

(I believe it's never made clear whether there are in fact two younger Solomon clones running around - one in New Dam and the other in Ester City's time fog - or if time shenanigans cause the initial young Solomon clone to have aged and forget Sam and John)

young Solomon, Sam and Isabel are all depicted with some form of psychic powers (young Solomon levitates, Sam is obvious and Isabel can create projections of herself seen in the penultimate fight) - and if the clone theory is correct then all were also created in human factories, perhaps insinuating that the ultimate form of humanity is supposed to have powers of some sort

in the final fight with Solomon he talks about "the other one", he knows the duality of Sam's existence and her being possessed by Mother (likely what spurs him to instigate the final attack on the party to force Mother back into control)

Ester City

Guy is the original creator of Earth Born, he also created something called an "emotion chip" designed for the robot citizens of Eastward (I guess to process emotions more naturally?)

Livy engineered the Sandrupes that populate Crockpot Isle

the Time Isles (I believe that's what the island location out from Ester City is called?) also have what look to be the same crabs as the ones found in Crockpot Isle

the Finale

I think there's essentially two theories about what really happens in the ending, after Sam sacrifices herself to destroy Mother

riding off the former theory, future Sam is another pod clone (likely one who is no longer possessed by Mother, or possibly a reformed version of both Sam and Mother that just doesn't have her memories yet)

the second one is time shenanigans of some sort, Sam managing to alter time itself during her sacrifice

a lot of this was just what I could scrape from Reddit or stuff that's in the game

I'm also crediting this essay for bringing up the psychic stuff mainly because I did not notice it

[tealeafconnoisseur]

Ideas, theories and speculations for the next avatar series.

Okay so I can't stop theorizing and speculating about what could happen in the next avatar series. I also have a ton of ideas for new subbending styles and just need a place to let it all out.

Heads up there will be lots to read and it's gonna be all over the place. I'll try to structure it to the best of my abilities.

Feel free to add your own ideas (^v^)

Anyway.

Speculations

Let's begin with my speculations for the new series.

Legalization of bloodbending

While blood bending is extremely dangerous, I believe it could have many medical benefits.

Considering how blood bending is used to turn other people into puppets, making them move at your command, what if that is used to help a paralyzed person move? Like during some type of physical therapy. Maybe a bloodbender who is paralyzed from the waist down, could learn to walk using their bloodbending.

I can also see bloodbending being used for Dialysis or to limit unwanted blood flow during surgery.

Or bloodbending as cpr if someone's heart stops.

I know that with healing, being one of the subforms, that literally brought Aang back to life, all this probably won't be necessary but I still find it interesting to explore how bloodbending could actually be useful.

Perhaps healing is a form of bloodbending.

Anyway. I speculate that maybe bloodbending would be brought back in the new Avatar series, maybe it would even be legal by that time and we can see it being used in non malicious ways.

Science behind bending

Since the new series is supposed to take place during an age similar to our own, maybe the actual science behind bending would be explained or at the least explored.

Like how are benders different from nonbenders, what enables people and spirits to bend the Elements?

Maybe some scientist would try to invent something that allows nonbenders to bend an element.

Those could be antagonists for the new avatar. Because their work would go against what the spirits intended and to research, they probably wouldn't use the most humane methods and experiment on the spirits and element bending animals. Maybe they would even try to capture one of the lion turtles.

New subbending types

This leads into my next paragraph. My ideas for new subbending styles that I could imagine appearing in the new series.

Specifically new subbending styles for air and fire

Plasma bending

Plasma bending is a subtype of fire bending. Lighting and fire are made of plasma. Maybe a powerful firebender could learn to bend pure plasma, essentially allowing them to shoot lasers and cut through stuff with a plasma beam. Not sure how realistic that is in the avatar universe but it would be cool. Maybe this type of bending would require intense concentration and body control, more so than lightning, so it's a lot more difficult to master and even learn. This would make it nearly uncontrollable and very dangerous.

Gas bending

Basically airbending but Airbenders are able to control any type of gas. This has also been somewhat proven right by the chaos gremlin Meelo, who literally bended his own gas.....

Maybe aur benders, knowledgeable about the attributes of different gasses, could bend them to their will.

I suck at chemistry so I can't really name any examples, except maybe extinguishing a flame with nitrogen.

Anyway. Those are my ideas so far. Feel free to add to this list or debunk something I listed. I'm really curious of what you think.

[mneiai]

Looking for some more people to follow

Thought I'd just throw this in the Jon Snow tag and see what comes up because why not?

Looking For:

Fan of book!Jon (but also show stuff is fine)

Thinks Ghost is the Best Boy

Likes to speculate/theorize

Fine with me going off about the Others, the Bloodstone Emperor, the old Targs and Starks totally being monsterfuckers, whatever ridiculous vague thing appeals to me at the time

Multishipper/not into Just One Jon Ship (unless you're a Satin/Jon truther, of course), you'd never identify yourself by a major shipper term. Rare shippers especially welcome!

On that note: okay with slash and, of course, incest (this is ASOIAF fandom, I really don't know how anyone isn't, and yet). Also okay with trans headcanons/characters.

Does NOT believe N+A=J or the fisherman's daughter theory, or any of the in-universe simplified theories, is the truth of Jon's parentage (fine if you don't mind them, but really tired of watching people running in circles)

Understands this is not an offer to write you free fic or a request for "criticism" of any of my fics

Anyway, feel free to reply here or whatever. You can check out my fics for compatibility of interests if you'd like first lol

[misfxts]

It was Iris's birthday and she wanted to visit a flea market that was in the city. Kurapika didn't want it to feel like a normal day where she had to go out with her bodyguard, so this time he decided to leave his black suit aside and instead wore sneakers, a comfortable pair of pants, a shirt, and a sweater over it, letting the collar of the shirt peek out over it. He grabbed his old white crossbody bag and carried with them some snacks and basic stuff. Unable to control his own impulses and interest, it didn't take long for him to get hold of an old book that had caught his eye. Soon, another item had caught his eye. "Hey, Iris, check this out" He felt weird calling her by her name and not Adelaide, or Miss Adelaide, but that day he wanted to feel more like a good acquaintance or even a friend and not the bodyguard her parents hired. Kurapika crouched down in front of an object, looking at it with two large, curious eyes. “It’s a Roman dodecahedron. These copper alloy pieces, found in various provinces of the former Roman empire, all differ in size and rarely show signs of wear to suggest a specific use. The absence of depictions in art or literature of the time leaves their function to speculation by archaeologists. Isn’t this interesting?” He let out a small laugh, something that was almost unusual to hear from him, yet he felt comfortable and in his element. “Have you found anything interesting? Do you want to stop for something to eat or a coffee?”

@skarletchains

Iris was glad that Kurapika was willing to go to the flea market-- she had assumed as much, given it was pretty low stakes. Very doubtful they'd run into any unruly fans... they'd be more likely to get into a scuffle if they eye something that someone else thought they laid eyes on first, but that was about it.

The first surprise of the day, which was kind of a gift in of itself, was Kurapika in more casual wear. To say she wasn't surprised to see him in that type of outfit would be lying-- she was very surprised. She'd try her best to mask the expression on her face seeing him the first time.. she might not have been very good at it.

Soon, the second surprise of the day came at the flea market. Kurapika referred to Iris by her first name. She did a double take because she wasn't sure that she heard him right but no, she was right. He did do that.

She didn't have much time think about it as her attention was quickly caught by the dodecahedron. Crouching down beside Kurapika with her eyes brimming with curiosity.

"Oh wow..! I-I never expected t..to find one here..! That's incredible M...Mmmmm... Mister Kurapika..!"

Iris wanted to try and refer to Kurapika without her usual 'Mister' at the end of it, but unfortunately it was a habit hardwired into her since she could talk-- not easy to get rid of. She compromised by saying it quietly.

"I-It certainly is..! I've seen people theorize it b..being a candle holder, or even a sundial..! My f..favorite theory is t..that they're used for knitting gloves.. I-it seems so simple doesn't it..?"

"Um.. w-well I found this glass display case I-I really liked..!" Iris presented the box, smiling. She thinks on his next question. "Ah.. I s..suppose we should before we head back.. um.. ooh! M-maybe we should try and find somewhere that h..has one of those free birthday items around here..!"

What a fun day it's turning out to be so far.

[frigid-moon-fall]

I've gotta hit at least one accurate detail eventually with my dumb speculative D2 stuff. It will be an emotional journey when I find out which. But I'm also not very good at theorizing apparently since everything I thought was going on in DC was absolutely not happening at all and in fact had been replaced by gigantic bad retcons. >:| So maybe I'm nowhere close with literally anything I've ever thought of.

For the people who already know the finer details of D2, I wonder how amusing or cringey all the crap I've said has been. Like, feel free to tell me. Just don't spoil lol

[borkthemork]

The Wu Whereabouts Theory

Now that people are getting hyped for the month countdown toward Amphibia Season Three’s release, I am going to be talking about a theory my friend and I talked about over the past few months, and it’s time to buckle up because we’re going to be tackling this theory from a production, character design, and semantics perspective.

And why these specific factors? Because the theory revolves around these three characters.

And why I believe all of them are related in some way.

Now, you might ask yourself: Bork, how in the hell are these characters related? The old woman character doesn’t seem to have any semblance of features relating to Marcy. What about the dad, are you going to explain the dad? Are you pulling my leg?

And to that, we’re going to have to start small. I’ll first explain why the character on the right seems to be an important character to the story, how all these characters can be connected through deliberate design/semblance, and then I am going to hit it out of the park with the probability from a logical perspective with what the intro and past Marcy interactions seem to give us on why everyone is where they’re currently at.

Especially where Marcy’s father is currently located.

This theory is very, and I mean, very long, so hang on to your seats as we dive into my thoughts about where Season Three might lead us.

And credit goes to @CynDavilaChase on Twitter because she made me realize the probability of this theory in the first place.

And with that, let us begin!

Section One - Who’s This Woman?

With animated introductions, I think one of the big things I noticed with Amphibia Season Three’s intro is that it’s heavily serialized. Compared to Amphibia’s introduction with Seasons One and Two, there are a lot of animated scenes found in the sequence where the story is already being told in a narrative.

You get shots of Anne being introduced to her house, you get new important characters introduced in a lot, there appears to be insight into future events such as Anne getting a moped while being chased by government agents or the massive monkey robot chasing her through the alleyways.

A lot of the intro is prioritized over its serialized format, and that means the characters seen and animated in the foreground have to be important characters or else the studio is basically wasting time focusing on a background character that will never be seen again.

Of course, you get some sliding shots like with the construction workers or the beach scene with the beach-goers but that’s only for a second and they’re not truly the forefront.

But during the shots between 0:29 and 0:49, the sequences we see include a lot of what appears to be important scenes with important characters that will play some role in the story itself.

There are no parts in the sequence where background characters are put in the foreground. Each bit of the animation needs to count, it needs to tell a story of what’s to come and what the audience can anticipate to see.

Now that begs the question:

Why is a supposed random background character in the foreground?

We got some reason as to why the engineer lady looks important since she was in a shot full of important or supporting characters, but why her??

Sure, one could argue this shot could just be indicative of Andrias’s invasion, but there are numerous other ways to show that there’s an invasion without putting too much animation effort on one background character, especially from a composition perspective.

Pardon the messiness, I had to do this quick, but look at how all three ladies are lined up.

The far left grandma, when following from her head to the the front lady’s creates a line that not only creates a sense of direction for our eyes to follow but follows the more significant and foreground character of all three. Look at how the dragonflies occupy most of the top of the frame while the two older women stay in the marketplace’s form, and how this leaves the younger woman to be abruptly placed in the open — creating a visual that this character in particular is more important than the rest in the shot.

Check the way the characters move their eyes when the scene happens too: the background characters quickly look to the right, then the woman out in the open then directs her eyesight to the skyline, where all the dragonflies are flitting by.

Now, I’m not a storyboard artist or composer, I could be wrong on how the crew created this scene all together, but regardless it is still so odd to put emphasis on a background character in the front and then just leave it at that.

She has to be important in some way, and this is where I want to talk about character design.

Section Two - All Related or Am I Just Racist?

When it comes to character design we need to talk about how the character designers make sure to give Anne some form of semblance to her parents, and in this case, she looks a lot like her mother.

They got the bushy hair, the same skin tone, eyebrows, etc. And with her dad you could even see that Anne got her fluffy bangs from him specifically. Only one shared genetic trait, however.

This is deliberate, we know that for sure, and that is why I need to make this very clear as we transition to the similarities found in Marcy and the theorized characters, and why I believe they’re related in design. Mainly because the concept of race and appearance could be quite a debacle and I wanted to make sure that all of you know I am not assuming things out of naivety, and if I am, feel free to get my ass.

Other than that, let’s look at them again.

And here I shall compile the appearance stuff that each character seems to have.

With these three characters they seem to connect to one another with one genetic trait, but if one looks closely, there comes the question of the older lady (who I will just call Marcy’s mom at this point) and why she’s vastly different to Marcy when it comes to skin tone, hair color, and hell — if we look between Marcy and the engineer — why these two characters have vastly different hairstyles compared to the woman.

Even though I could give speculation and some doubt to the engineer and Marcy’s mom being related, and on first glance I couldn’t do the same with Marcy and her mom either, but then I did some digging and realized something. I can connect Marcy and her potential mom in one way — hair design.

Marcy and her mom both share the same poofy hair, it’s just that one is more short and the other is allowed to grow out in a nice little nest.

Don’t believe me?

They got the same floofy bangs with that specific hair line.

And when Marcy was little, Marcy appeared to need a hair tie because her hair was growing out, and it looked like this.

If we consider that what Marcy’s hair tie is holding up might be her bangs — bangs that might cover her eyesight from how floofy it is — then if you removed the hair tie then she and the woman would have a very similar looking design hair-wise.

Even with these hair similarities, however, there is still inquiry as to why Marcy is vastly different compared to her mother when it comes to skin and hair color, and here is where I go into some speculation to piece all of it together:

Marcy actually carries the appearance of her dad more than her mom.

Her dad has olive skin and black, straight hair, while her mother harbors tan skin and floofy, brown hair.

It’s this one piece of speculation that basically slides everything into place, but regardless it’s still speculation and one that I cannot confirm or even argue much about due to the nature of genetics and the limited info we have. But with this piece set in place, we could start to create the argument that maybe, just maybe, these characters are related.

But if they are, why do we only see Marcy’s mom and her supposed sister and not her dad?

Why do we get no indication of Marcy having a sister until Season Three?

How do we put all of this together?

Section Three - Distance and Finance

I rewatched True Colors numerous times when it came to understanding and interpreting what I could with the limited Marcy-centric flashback we had. I even went through episodes such as Maddie and Marcy, New Wartwood, and a lot of other episodes just to fit everything into place. And I think I have a good indication as to why this family is the way that it is.

First off, we’re going to be talking about Marcy’s dad and his new job out of state.

California is a very expensive state. And as someone who lives in California, the housing crisis and the ability to even stay in a house/dorm without sweating over the idea of being bankrupt is a very real thing.

So it is a curious thing that one of the reasons that the Wus had to leave came out to moving out-of-state due to a new job offer, one that infers a lot more money and probably a more stable living environment.

You could even hear the dad saying “Marcy, you have to understand!” when Marcy runs out, meaning that there’s probably a good reason as to why the parents believe that the move is essential, and I am banking on the idea of money for a number of reasons.

One, living in Los Angeles is expensive as hell.

Two, the coping mechanisms Marcy has makes sense if finance is the main comeuppance.

Three, the background art.

And four, why this girl has straight A’s and a PSAT book.

We already covered number one, but let’s take a look at what I mean about coping mechanisms.

Marcy Wu’s many flaws come from what looks to be the fear of being alone, and the fear of being seen as unvaluable and worthless; that if Marcy doesn’t prove herself lovable and essential to the people around her then she gets anxious and will do anything in her powers to make the people around her like her or stay with her.

She will omit information, move along objectives through passive and indirect persuasion, allow people to assert their will over her because they said so and, most importantly, does all of this because she fears the consequences when she gets outed or rocks the boat. Because rocking the boat means people will get mad at her, and she appears to try to avoid that situation of vulnerability like the plague until it all culminated into True Colors.

She is terrified of getting hurt. She is terrified, specifically, of consequences — punishment through stress, frustration, the people she loves looking at her differently because of the mistakes she’s made, etc.

Why do I say this? It’s because if we look into Marcy Wu with her pre-Amphibia self, a lot of these fears could be placed into that middle school scenario very well. Marcy Wu plays videogames and loves fiction because it is a form of escapism or happiness away from stress; she has this intense curiosity to basically anything of interest and uses that to thrive with getting straight A’s and an overall very solid record, but there’s still a probability that high expectations or making the people around her love her comes through said status of being the smart one (after all, she prides on her intellect, and sees it as essential to basically surviving the day to day).

Look at Marcy’s flashback in True Colors. She’s a middle schooler but is studying for the PSAT, which is mainly held in High School, and I’m no expert but I don’t think you read that stuff for fun or at least study it that early.

And I find it interesting that that’s the first shot we get of Marcy before we dive into her parents’ argument — education, studying, the expectation of high scores.

And then when you remember that Marcy is the least athletic of the girls, the thrift shop’s street she retreats to away from her parents is not that faraway from her neighborhood.

And this street, is messy as all hell. And with the revised background art for this area, nothing about the place changes but instead gets emphasized through more shots of how rundown it all looks!

The fact there’s a bail bonds building behind Mar-mar also doesn’t reassure me in the slightest.

So here’s where we are: Studying, getting good grades, a serious financial situation, lives near a rundown section of the city, high expectations, and the evaluation of one’s worth through intellect and academia.

What we are witnessing is a nuanced family situation. If we go by the assumption that the three girls’ lives are not only vastly different in personality but upbringing, then on an income scale, Anne would be middle income, Sasha would be high income, and Marcy is low income.

Her family’s struggling to be stable in a city that they can’t afford to live in, there’s a very high emphasis on good grades and education in the household, and the situation is so bad that her dad would take the proposal of a higher-paying job out of state than finding a similar job out in the city.

However, in this household’s struggle to have a better life, the parents had to focus on their children getting better living than them, and this means Marcy had to live in an environment where the biggest source of reward and praise is through intellect, academics, the approval of the parents.

And I could probably assume that this focus on finance also lead to very rough patches where Marcy was unable to be encouraged over stuff she loves like C&C or videogames, since the level of attention is low compared to the amount of happiness and pride her parents get when she gets an A+.

Especially when we consider that in the dialogue we hear from Mr. and Mrs. Wu, her dad is more assertive while her mom appears to care but doesn’t seem to go against her husband’s tone, so a lot of the probable issues might’ve come from Marcy wanting her dad’s approval and her mother never standing up for her when he became frustrated.

That would make a lot of context with Andrias even worse in retrospect, because that means the moment a male adult figure decided to care about her and give attention to what she loved, then Marcy fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

And could you blame her?

Now, let’s finally get a glimpse on one other character I’ve been neglecting in this essay.

This gal! Because if Marcy and her are somehow related, then we need to question why she was never mentioned or why she wasn’t involved in the conversation between Marcy and her parents.

I’ve done a massive theory post about this already, but the biggest probability comes in the design itself, since if Marcy’s sister went through trade school to be a mechanic/engineer then there’s a high probability she’s in her mid-Twenties. And if we consider that Marcy is 13, then Marcy would’ve been born when her sister was 12 or 13, and ultimately leave the household when she turned 18.

This means Marcy would’ve gone on with less contact from her sister for 6 years, and that’s a lot for a developing child.

It’s not improbable for Marcy to have lost contact with her big sister, or at least had lesser time to meet up with her due to work, college, or her own adult life now that she’s out of the house.

After all, in Maddie and Marcy, I find it very interesting that out of the advice Marcy could’ve given to Maddie about siblings, Marcy tells her that even though Maddie is the older sibling and is allowed to have her own life she suggests that maybe she should make some time for her sisters occasionally. Almost as if this was a ditto moment for her, that she understands but also had a good example of a sister who made time whenever she had the chance.

On more speculation terms, it would be cute to think that the reason Marcy has so much fire and spirit toward her fiction and love for games is because of her sister. After all, Marcy harbors the same interest toward engineering and robotics, it wouldn’t be a stretch in the imagination that perhaps her sister encouraged her to keep on going with what she felt passionate for regardless of their parents’ lack of response, to basically be unapologetic of what she loves, and this mantra kept her going for a lot of her life even when her sis went for trade school.

But let’s go on a side note here. I find it quite interesting that the character design of Marcy’s sis is also very telling, because not only does it tell a supposed story about who she was in the aftermath of graduation, but we could find a way to also put the theme of income and finance into her story as well.

Let’s be real these two are partners in all the way — from mechanics to engineers to straight up girlfriends, these two basically have their own business going on and I find it interesting that none of them just go with robotics or mechanics as a full-time thing, it’s mainly two jobs rolled up into one.

Why is that? There is some speculation that maybe they’re specialists and work in a very science-related area, but it seems highly likely that their main jobs are being car mechanics by day and robotic expert nerds by night. After all, the city can be hecked with money so I wouldn’t be surprised if they did two jobs at once to keep the lights on. I could also see them doing freelancing to repair or experiment with engineering projects since they take more money than actually makes in most cases.

Overall, money plays a big part with the family, and culminates to what I like to call a Massive Shitfest TM when they get alerted over the girls’ disappearances.

Section Four - Massive Shitfest Boogaloo and Where They Are Now~

In the aftermath of their teleport to Amphibia, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wus had a big argument over Marcy and what should be done in the aftermath. Really, the family still needs to take that job because of finance, people are blaming each other over who pushed her to the brink, and then you have Marcy’s sister — who was probably out of the loop but probably knows how it was in the household — getting added into the mess of what just happened and adding her grief into the mix.

It is a blunder, terrifying and could break apart a family if I’m being honest. but what comes through is this:

People have now become stubborn in the Wu household, and no one is going to back down.

And what I mean is that Mrs. Wu, devastated by what happened ever since the argument in True Colors, will stay in Los Angeles out of grief and a supposed hope that Marcy would return. While Mr. Wu, determined to keep the finance going and keeping everyone stable and safe, abides by Mrs. Wu and decides to go out of state regardless, bringing back a flow of money to keep the Wu household stable through the aftermath.

It would make sense as to why Marcy’s mom is present in the intro but not any suspecting candidates for the dad.

Or how we see that there’s two older ladies with her in the intro. They might actually be close relatives who moved into the household out of the obligation to comfort Mrs. Wu but to also keep her company throughout this dark time in her life.

After all, when one loses a child, a lot of prior relations start to unravel as the status quo changes, and we are definitely going to see Anne confront the Wus and Waybrights when it comes to upbringing and home life.

But really, it is all up in the air. With Season Three around the corner, I am excited to see what the story has in store for us when it comes to the deep-diving into Marcy’s home life. She might’ve had a nuanced family life. She might’ve had abusive parents, perhaps no sister at all but a lot of relatives who grieved for her.

But with this theory out to the public, thank you all for reading along with this massive beast of a post, and I hope we get to see Marcy out of the aloe vera sauce very soon!

[aoitrinity]

Why Do I Have to Feel Like a Fucking Conspiracy Theorist -- OR -- How I Find a Semblance of Peace on Sunday Night

I’m also going to start this out with a GIANT DISCLAIMER.

I am about to theorize about what may have happened to the SPN finale. I have absolutely no insider knowledge. I am merely speculating here based on the panels and a bunch of Twitter and Tumblr posts that I have been reading over the last few days. If you are not in a good place to read such things, TURN BACK PLEASE. Go take care of yourself and your mental health. You and your feelings are valid and deserve to be handled gently right now.

Additionally, if you are here to give me shit for being unhappy with the ending, please walk away as well. I am here to reach out and share my feelings with people who might be struggling to make sense of something that upset some of us in very deep-seated ways. I am not here to bother you or critique you or tell you that you’re lesser because you liked the ending. If you felt it was good, then go enjoy it.

Long-ass post beneath the cut, everyone.

Alrighty folks...I debated whether or not to do this because I have been spiraling down the hell that is the SPN finale since Thursday. The travesty of what happened to our show--to this beloved show that seemed to have been so perfectly and precisely written for at least four years that it had basically already paved its own tarmac on which to land its plane and we all thought we knew exactly what we were going to get. And then we didn’t. We had a nigh Cas-less and entirely Eileen-less ending. We had no goodbye between Cas and Jack. We had Dean dying young after finally finding his freedom, only to ascend to heaven with no one but Bobby. We had the weird, weird, weird incest-y death scene. We had the bridge crane shot thing because...sure. You do you, Robert Singer.

It was so terrible, so truly awful, and I couldn’t seem to square any of it with anything we had known going in. I tossed and turned and cried and didn’t eat or sleep all weekend. I spent hours just reloading tumblr and twitter, going to the Misha panel, reading and reading and listening and trying to figure out what the fucking hell is going on because I needed to know exactly where to direct my anger. And after a fuckton of talking with @winchester-reload, I think we have at least a very plausible theory about what happened here--I’m laying it out below as much for my own peace of mind as anything else, because otherwise all of these thoughts are going to continue to spin around in my head for weeks and I won’t be able to do jack shit.

Now to start off, unfortunately I do think Dean was slated to die from the beginning of this season. I don’t know WHY they thought that was the best way to go, and I wish they had listened to Jensen on this one. Part of me wonders if it was an order from on high based on the discussion between Becky and Chuck earlier this season--the writers knew it wasn’t a great choice, but they were trying to signal to us that we should feel free to write our own endings to the story because they’d be better (I can wax poetic on the signs of why many of the writers probably wanted Dean to live, but that’s another post). I’m not defending that choice by any means, just laying it out there that I think they didn’t necessarily all want to kill Dean like they did.

However, what I THINK I can explain now is what happened with Misha and why we got so jerked around with Cas’s story. Consider what we know (I can’t immediately source all of it, but I did my best):

At the end of episode 15x19, Lucifer has been returned to the Empty after being killed AGAIN. He talks with Cas. Maybe harasses him a bit about Dean, idk. But then...Jack shows up. New God Jack. And he picks up Cas and pulls him out of the Empty, leaving Lucifer behind, because seriously. Fuck that guy (also leaving behind his abusive father is character growth for Jack, so yay for that).

-Misha was contracted to film 15 episodes this season. He was only in 14.

-Misha told Michael Sheen he had to go back to film 1.5 episodes after the shutdown in March. (Starts at 6:13)

-Misha was in Vancouver during filming of the finale.

-Mark P said at Darklight Con that the last scene he filmed was with Alex and Misha (and Mark P was only in episode 19).

-Misha implied that he was present for various filming moments, including Dean’s death (start at 35:15), and said that it felt like a “mini-reunion.”

-Various sources have mentioned that Jimmy Novak was supposed to be in the finale.

-After episode 18, Stands tweeted a fan who was angered and hurt by Cas's death that they could talk about the “bury the gays” issue after the finale aired.

-In episode 19 we know there were takes of the parking lot scene where the only thing fans observing could hear was Dean yelling “CAS” at Chuck (fuck I can’t find this one right now, but it’s definitely out there)

-Also in episode 19, we had a very strange, awkward montage at the end of the episode.

-In episode 20, we know there were a FUCKTON of missing scenes

-We also had no opening montage, but three other separate montages.

-Carry on My Wayward Son was played TWICE, back-to-back at the end of the episode.

-Episode 20 was shorter than normal and had surprisingly little dialogue. The pacing was VERY strange.

-The cast and crew has been almost completely silent about the finale since it came out. When they have spoken, it has been with an awkward excuse of “Uh...COVID?”

-Samantha Ferris has specifically noted that, despite the Harvelle’s being back in play and a big heaven reunion having been planned pre-COVID, neither she nor Chad Lindberg received any such invitation to return.

-Cas and Dean POP Funko figures were pictured together in a replica of Harvelle’s in 15x04.

NOW with all of this in mind (and I’m probably missing some stuff too because there is so much--feel free to add on to that list), please bear with me because here is what I think we were SUPPOSED to get POST-COVID (after it was determined that the reunion couldn’t happen because of the virus):

In episode 20, we start with our NORMAL OPENING MONTAGE, like always. It traces everything that happened during the season. We are reminded of Cas. The confession. Rowena. Eileen. Jack. Billie, God, the Empty, all of it. 

Things then follow along in the episode where they did up until Dean dies and wakes up in heaven. After his conversation with Bobby, he drives off to find Cas (who, in the script, was listed as “Jimmy Novak” in order to protect against script leaks--who wouldn’t want to do their best to avoid spoilers about the finale with the wrapping of a fifteen-year show?). He does indeed find Cas. We get Dean’s end of the confession. Hell, maybe we even get a kiss. And then Dean sets up his new heaven home in the recreated Harvelle’s. Maybe Cas even fucking moves in. 

Years pass. We get Sam having his life on Earth (still can’t explain why they cut Eileen and couldn’t even have Sam signing vaguely to the blurry brunette in the background; if anyone wants to take that on, go for it). Eventually, Cas tells Dean that it’s almost Sam’s time. Dean takes Baby and goes to meet Sam at the bridge. The cover of Carry on My Wayward Son plays during this much shorter sequence. End of episode.

But that’s not what we got. Instead, much of what I just wrote about was excised from the episode. The remnants were stitched together after shooting had been wrapped. Filler was added in the form of montages and long, unnecessary extra shots to get the episode to something approaching a reasonable length. 

But why? Why would they spend all that time and money and quarantining on Misha, only to almost completely cut him out of the finale? I struggled with why the fuck the CW would want this mammoth show to go down as the greatest queerbait in TV history when they had the chance to do something truly beautiful and monumental with it? It couldn’t just be sheer homophobia, right? Well, I think that factored into it, my friends, but here is where my head is at right now.

It was about cold, hard cash.

Now I could be wrong, but this is what I’m thinking at the moment: Supernatural is going off of the air. Supernatural, the CW’s cash cow for fifteen years. Sure there is still money to be made on blu-rays and merchandise and cons...but they need people watching their shows. They need that sweet advertising revenue. And you know what show they have about to premiere? A show that could, potentially, bring with it a chunk of that SPN revenue?

Walker.

And if any of you know anything about the original Walker Texas Ranger, you know that the show was predominantly a show about a very heterosexual white man being very excessively heterosexual. And for SOME REASON over the years, many of the execs at the CW still seem to think that this show, Supernatural, is really attractive to a lot of middle-American white men...whom they desperately want to watch this new show with this guy from Supernatural that they already know.

Now here’s where COVID fucked us. I think Destiel was greenlit by TPTB, at least in SOME form, before COVID. But then the pandemic happened, and they panicked. They got the cut of the last two episodes and watched them in their original, probably queer form. And then, the execs at CW looked at the economy. They looked at their cash cow, about to make its journey to the great beyond. And they looked at this new little calf Walker that they were so desperately worried about. And they made a choice.

They decided that it would be too risky to take the step with Destiel. They were worried about frightening off their ever-so-valuable hetero male demographic with the possibility that a traditionally masculine man in his 40s could be in love with another man in an overt way. It was homophobia mixed with greed, spun up by fear for their revenues because of COVID.

So they called in Singer, possibly Dabb, although I wouldn’t be surprised if they went straight to Singer. They told them that Destiel had to go: executive orders. And the only way to make it go in a way that removed any trace of what had been there was to rewrite what happened to Cas and cut him out from the last two episodes entirely. It was too late to reshoot anything. They had to just cut and stitch and fill with bullshit montages. 

They removed the scene at the end of 19, probably because Cas and Lucifer discussed Dean. All that was left of Misha there was his voice on that fake phone call. They may have cut other things too, but I would bet my life that they cut a scene from the end of the episode and replaced it with that very strange montage. Then they moved onto 20. They cut out every scene with Cas. And left in only two platonic mentions of him, neither made by Dean. They tried to imply that Cas might show up in Dean’s heaven at some point, but that was as far as the editors could go in the time they had. They filled in with montages, awkwardly long shots, anything they could do to fill all of those missing scenes.

And they even had to take the opening montage, because literally everything in it pointed to Cas being there at the end of it all. They wouldn’t be able to leave out his scenes, they were too critical to the season. They couldn’t cut his confession without raising eyebrows. So they cut the whole thing and moved “Carry On My Wayward Son” to one of the newly-added driving montages at the end. Which is why we awkwardly had both songs play back-to-back--again, such a strange choice unless they were out of options and couldn’t exactly buy rights to a new track or compose anything else.

And so we were left with the shadow of the finale that we deserved, that Cas and Dean deserved. We were left without resolution or happiness or words. Bobo told us the most important thing about happiness is just “saying it” and our characters were silenced without anyone ever knowing the truth.

I think the writers might have known and been given the new party line that “Misha never filmed, he couldn’t, sorry, it was COVID, no one’s fault!” But I don’t think most of the cast even knew it had happened until they watched the finale on Thursday with us (though they might have been confused why the bit from 15x19 was sliced, they could reasonably have assumed it was a time thing and also BL episodes don’t make sense anyway). Why do I say that?

Well, first of all, Misha started sending out a bunch of excited texts to fans with some old BTS pictures about an hour before the show started airing on EST. He also wanted his children to see the episode, his YOUNG children. Why would he show them such a traumatic episode if their Dad wasn’t in it? What if it was because he wanted them to witness what was going to be a monumental moment in queer television history that their DAD got to be a part of? And then that was all dashed.

Which is why I think the cast and crew went almost completely radio silent the next day. I don’t think they knew. And based on how they have been acting on social media since then, I think many of them are absolutely furious, but they have been silenced because of NDAs, because they want to find work again in a cutthroat industry, because they don’t want to bring down the hellfire of Warner Brothers Entertainment upon themselves. So the most we have gotten is a little acknowledgement from the MERCHANDISING COMPANY trying to validate our pain (god bless Shirts, she is a LIFESAVER) and a response to my salty tweet about keeping good stuff in the closet from Adam Williams (the VFX coordinator) that seemed to acknowledge the validity of my complaint.

Then there was a scramble behind the scenes, I would bet my life. Talking points were fed to the boys who had panels today, to CE, to all the cast and crew:

Toe the party line. Misha never filmed. This was always about COVID. Do not mention Destiel. Do not mention Dean’s feelings for Cas. Do not promote the Castiel Project or anything that validates the idea that this was anything less than a superb ending.

And that is why we have heard so little from the cast on this front, and what we have heard has been muddled and contradictory. That is why the writers are saying nothing. That is why we have been left adrift.

Now before I close this out, I do want to say that I really, genuinely do not think this was on the writers at all. I feel like they tried to give us the best ending that they could, in a writers room that we know is notorious for splitting along party lines about the overall story (BL and Singer, who have always been about the brothers and their man-pain vs. Dabb and the rest who always seemed to want more for them and for Cas). I think they did everything in their power to at least end with Dean and Cas happy together. If they could give us nothing else, they wanted to give us that. And then the network took it from them. From us. From everyone.

For the sake of fucking money. 

And the WORST PART OF IT ALL, for me, is that in the wake of this disaster, the fans have been left to try and figure out what happened. We have had to wade through a mire of conflicting information in the midst of all of our collective anger and grief over this garbage ending of a show many of us have loved and even relied on for YEARS, all the while wondering if we’re just fucking crazy, if we have all fallen collectively into the hole of conspiracy theories. That hurts ESPECIALLY badly because we have taken so many hits over the years from other groups on social media saying we were crazy for seeing things that weren’t there (especially Destiel), for writing meta and analyzing tropes and believing the evidence of our eyes and ears. The network has made us relive that entire nightmare WHILE processing our grief for a show we wanted so badly to celebrate and which instead we now have to mourn.

So again guys, I cannot prove that this is exactly what happened at all; this is simply my idea of what may have happened. But right now, it’s the most sense I can make from this mess, and to be honest, the act of typing it out has helped me enormously in my processing of it all. I feel like I can see more clearly, like I know where to target my outrage and where to direct empathy. I feel like just fucking maybe, I might be able to do my job tomorrow without bursting into tears at random moments. 

I really hope that this post has helped some of you to, in some small way, process this too. We get through this the way that Misha told us at his panel this morning, the way the writers have told us to do all season long...we throw out the story God gave us and we make it better. We write our characters the happy endings they deserve. 

We save them.

One last thing--if you have not already, please consider channeling your rage into a donation to one of the five causes our fandom has put together to pay tribute to our beloved show and to mourn the ending it should have had:

-The Castiel Project

-Dean Winchester is Love

-Sam Winchester Project

-The National Association of the Deaf

-The Jack Kline Project

[triangle-strategy-notes]

When you pick up Roland’s wanted poster, it states that he’s 20 years old. Based on that info and maybe speculation, how old do you think the other characters are?

Aha okay so I’ve thought about this a ton! Like you’ve probably noticed, Roland seems to be the only person with a canon age, so a lot of it is speculation, but I do have my own guesses that I’ve been putting together based on in-game info.

In this list I’ve got, I differentiate the canon stuff from my Subjective Opinion by tacking on a “SO” label, and I’m assuming that all of these ages are from the beginning of the game. If I’m missing anyone you’re curious about, or if I got any lore stuff wrong/missed any lore stuff, feel free to let me know.

Readmore for spoilers--many of them are pretty significant, and they span a lot of the routes/character stories.

Piccoletta: (SO 13 years)

Quahuag: (SO 14 years)

Jens: (SO 28 years) (SO 17 years)

Edit: After watching his recruitment character story, I noticed that he’s referred to as “Young Smithy” before we learn his name, and Serenoa also calls him “lad,” implying that he’s a fair bit younger than Serenoa himself is.

Cordelia: less than 20 years (SO 18 years)

Cordelia is younger than Roland, who’s 20 like you mentioned. Given her maturity + everyone’s relative acceptance of her betrothal to Gustadolph, I usually range her between 16-19 years old, but I don’t think there’s anything in canon that gives a firm lower limit for her age.

Thalas + Erika: (SO 20 years)

I headcanon them as twins, but as far as I know there’s no in-game evidence for this. I feel like somewhere it’s mentioned that they’re younger than Frederica, but I also can’t find a source for that. Edit: via @miraclebean in the notes, “Frederika's character bio says she's the eldest daughter, so at least Erika is younger.” Thanks!

Roland: ~20 years

This is stated explicitly in that wanted poster you mentioned, which I’m pretty sure you can pick up during an exploration phase in Wolffort demesne before choosing whether to give him up or defend him. If you want to say he was 19 at the very beginning of the game and had a birthday somewhere between then and the Aesfrosti invasion, you could, but otherwise 20′s a hard number.

Trish: (SO 21 years)

Serenoa: (SO 24 years)

Hughette: (SO 25 years)

Given her status as Roland’s retainer, I’m assuming she’s older than him. But given the softly-implied feelings she has for him, I wouldn’t say they’re too far apart in age.

Frederica: ~30 years old (SO 26 years)

I have a lot of thoughts on Frederica! Lady Orlaea was theoretically handed over shortly after the end of the war (I forget when this was mentioned in-game, but in some of my personal notes, I have that Lady Orlaea was handed over to Hyzante because they threatened to otherwise pin total responsibility for the war onto Aesfrost). This would make Frederica at least 30 years old. But, just going purely off vibes, it feels like she’s closer in age to Roland/Serenoa, who I imagine are somewhat younger than 30. So, I theorize that, while the ceasefire was put in place 30 years ago, figuring out the finer details of blame and compensation stretched on for several additional years during peace talks, allowing Lady Orlaea to stay in Aesfrost longer, and therefore for Frederica to be younger than 30. But if you’re going for lore accuracy over vibe accuracy haha, I’d put her at 30.

Frani: (SO 28 years)

I imagine he was born after the Saltiron War and is also older than Serenoa, but I can’t find any source that proves that.

Dragan: (SO 29 years)

I headcanon Dragan as being born shortly after the end of the war, but that’s not stated anywhere in canon.

He makes a lot of references to being part of the ardent youth, so it makes sense that he’d be on the younger side of the cast.

A fun fact about Dragan + Avlora: during the exploration phase before the tourney, he talks as if he’s never met Avlora before, or at the very least doesn’t know her very well. However, during her character story, Avlora claims that Lord Svarog took her in when she was orphaned. If you’re assuming that Lord Svarog personally helped raise her, it’s weird to think Dragan and Avlora have never met. My explanations are a) that it was more of a “Lord Svarog served as a benefactor and ran the orphanage Avlora was in” scenario, b) Dragan was raised somewhere away from Twinsgate, or c) there was a significant age gap between her and Dragan, and they weren’t raised at Twinsgate at the same time. 

Anna: ~30 years (SO 30 years)

During one of her character stories, it’s said that she was adopted by Benedict after the destruction of the Jackes clan, which was said to be during the Saltiron War. She’s described as being swaddled up, so likely only a few months old at most. That’s about 30 years + how many years before the end of the war that you think the Jackes clan’s destruction took place, which I put towards 0-1, assuming it was towards the end.

Milo: (SO 31 years)

Sycras: (SO 32 years)

He’s married with two young kids, as shown in Roland’s ending. 

Decimal: ~30+ years (SO 32 years/3 years)

Decimal was created as a prototype for the Hierophant, who was created sometime during the war by Lyla Viscraft after the last Hierophant died. This would have been sometime around Lady Orlaea’s escape, so whenever you’d place that, that’s how old Decimal is. However, given that Decimal doesn’t seem to have stayed with any of his few masters for very long, I headcanon that he was turned off for some significant amount of time during this period, giving him a physical age of 32 but a mental age more like 3.

Exharme: (SO 35 years)

Exharme is considered a young and upcoming minister, so it’s definitely possible he’s younger than even 35. For me, I think my 35 estimate is influenced pretty heavily by his English VA, who seems to voice him as older.

Avlora: ~30 years old (SO 38 years)

The most defining fact with Avlora is that she’s stated to have been orphaned during the Saltiron War, which should put her lower limit at around 30. But some other things to consider:

If you pick to negotiate with her when you recapture Whiteholm Castle, you get a side story in which she argues with Thalas and Erika and Thalas remarks that she’s an orphan who doesn’t even know her “true name.” It’s unclear what this means—it could imply that she was too young to speak at all at the time she was orphaned (which would mean someone else, perhaps Lord Svarog who took her in, named her Avlora) or it could just mean that she was old enough to know her first name, but not her family name. In any case, I’m assuming she was probably three or younger when she was orphaned.

In her character story, she also mentions that she “never knew her parents,” which further supports that she was pretty young at the time.

Knowing all that, I put her upper limit at something like 38 (30 years + the duration of the war + 3 years old), and her younger limit at around 26 (30 years - the duration of any potential peace talks + 0 years assuming she was a newborn). Like Anna, Avlora likely doesn’t know her own age, so that’s pretty flexible as well. 

A fun fact about Avlora + Dragan (already wrote this under Dragan, but cross-referencing it here): during the exploration phase before the tourney, he talks as if he’s never met Avlora before, or at the very least doesn’t know her very well. However, during her character story, Avlora claims that Lord Svarog took her in when she was orphaned. If you’re assuming that Lord Svarog personally helped raise her, it’s weird to think Dragan and Avlora have never met. My explanations are a) that it was more of a “Lord Svarog served as a benefactor and ran the orphanage Avlora was in” scenario, b) Dragan was raised by his mother somewhere away from Twinsgate, or c) there was a significant age gap between her and Dragan, and they weren’t raised at Twinsgate at the same time. 

And as a special note on this one, I know a ton of people ship Avlora/Cordelia, and I think there’s a valid argument to be made that the writers intended Avlora to be younger than she lore-wise has to be (in general the TS timeline is pretty inconsistent, so I’m not sure they were all on the same page haha). I personally like putting her on the older side of the cast and imagining her relationship with Cordelia as more of a familial/mentoring one, which is where my 38 comes from, but that’s probably not the popular fanon age for her haha. Given the way TS doesn’t give us a firm age for anyone but Roland, I think we’re all entitled to a little artistic license. If you want to imagine her as younger than 26, you could probably put together a justification for it, so go with whatever else floats your boat.

Gustadolph: ~35+ years at the least (SO 35 years)

Another weird one! The biggest two things we have for Gustadolph’s age are a) during a cutscene you get if you give up the Roselle, he says he remembers some stories that Lady Orlaea told him as a boy, and b) when he’s telling Avlora to go kill Landroi, he says, “[Landroi] had the pluck to fire at your master during the war. Do you think you can best him?” This could arguably be about Groma (who’s implied to be a mentor to Avlora) or Zigmunt or someone else, but from context it seems as if Gustadolph is speaking about himself. With those in mind, I give his age an approximate range of 35-45: at 35, we’re assuming that Gustadolph really was a child at the time he spoke with Lady Orlaea but that Falkes also shot at a child, OR at 45, we assume that “boy” referred to a teen, and that Gustadolph maybe fought in the war at some point.

I’ve gone towards the younger end of the spectrum because it makes me feel marginally less terrible when I think about Cordelia’s situation. If you want to lean into that, you could also use my Lady-Orlaea-stayed-through-the-peace-talks theory and make him more like 30 or something (although that does lend itself to Landroi shooting at an actual infant after the ceasefire, so you gotta pick your poison I guess!).

Ezana: (SO 36 years)

Medina: (SO 37 years)

Julio: (SO 38 years)

Silvio: (SO 37 years)

I don’t think we ever get any explicit confirmation that Silvio was in the war, so I’ve got a headcanon that the original Lord Telliore was Silvio’s father, and that Silvio is his air-headed son. If we assume that Silvio fought in the war, he would likely be around 50 years old.

Sycras: ~23+ years old (SO 30 years)

In Roland’s ending, it’s shown that Sycras is married with two young children, so assuming they’re at least 5 and that he was married at 18, I put his minimum age at 23, but you can assume his kids are older/younger, or that he was married older/younger as well.

Corentin: (SO 45 years)

Tenebris: (SO 45 years)

Patriatte: (SO 47 years)

Maxwell: ~35+ years (SO 47 years)

Maxwell is one I’ve definitely overthought, because despite him being Glenbrook’s finest warrior, I haven’t found a line yet that says he was involved in the Saltiron War. It seems like if he were in the Saltiron War, they would have talked about it a little bit more, the way they do with Regna and the three high houses. I’ve put his minimum age down as 35, assuming he was at least 20 when he began training Roland around an estimated age 5, and that it’s been 15 years since then, so 20 + 15. However, that might be a little young for him to go gray, assuming that isn’t his natural hair color—a quick Google search tells me that mid-40s is when men usually begin to go gray, and Maxwell’s braid seems to be fully that color. So you can easily imagine him as being older but that his involvement in the Saltiron War isn’t publicized for some reason (perhaps because he changed his identity/name when he donned his mask?).

Geela: ~50 years (SO 47 years)

Geela doesn’t look terribly old, but assuming that Frederica was really born at the end of the Saltiron War and is 30 at the beginning of the game, and assuming that Geela had spent some time studying in both Hyzante and Aesfrost, she was maybe 25-ish when she began teaching Frederica at a young age (I’m guessing 5, like with Maxwell and Roland), which would give them 25 years together as mentor/pupil, which brings us to 50 years old in total. But if you go with my peace-talks theory, and assume that Frederica is a little younger, you can play around with that number.

Travis: (SO 52 years)

He’s old enough to have a relatively old daughter.

Flanagan: (SO 54 years)

Erador: (SO 54 years)

Lionel: (SO 55 years)

Hossabarra: (SO 55 years)

She says her son Theo died in the war, and that he would “be a man grown now” during her character story. Assuming she was an adult when her son was born, and that her son was killed as a child, 55 seemed like a good number to me (30 years for the war + 20 for her age at Theo’s birth + 5 year old son).

Lyla: ~50+ years (SO 56 years)

Lyla’s the one who developed Decimal/the Hierophant automaton, which means she likely had to be at least 18 at the time of the last hierophant’s death, and it’s possible that she was already a minister (or at least a renowned scientist) if Idore trusted her with the task. That’s 30 years + maybe 2ish years for the time between the hierophant’s death and the end of the war + whatever age you think she developed Decimal at, which I put at 24. That feels like a young age for a minister, but taking into account that she’s Quahoug’s mother, who seems to be a child or young teen, it’s hard to make her much older than that, since that would put her at well over 40 at the time of his birth.

Regna: 51+ years (SO 55 years) 

Regna doesn’t really look that old, but he was the one who worked with Zigmunt to instigate the Saltiron War. So assuming 30 years since the war + Regna being at least 18 when the war began + the war itself “raging on for many years” which I’m assuming is a minimum of 3, that gives us an overall minimum of 51. I headcanon the war as about 5 years long, and Regna as being 20 (Roland’s age) when the war began, so 30 + 20 + 5 gives us 55. 

Symon: 51+ (SO 57 years) 

A lot of the same reasoning as ^^ Regna, but I think of him as a little older, the way Serenoa seems a little older than Roland. 

Landroi: 51+ (SO 67 years)

A lot of the same reasoning as ^^ Symon and Regna, but given his appearance and authority, I pin him as older.

Sorsley: (SO 60 years)

Benedict: (SO 60 years)

I imagine him to be older than Symon, but otherwise I’m just going off the white hair.

Kamsell: (SO 63 years)

Svarog: (SO 68 years)

Idore: (SO 74 years)

He was a prominent figure during the Saltiron War, and appears to be older than most of the cast. I assume he was about 44 at the end of the Saltiron War.

Groma: (SO 75 years)

It’s implied that she’s older than the majority of the cast, and I’m going with 75 assuming she was 45 at the end of the war, and that it’s been 30 years since then.

Archibald: (SO 81 years)

It’s implied that he’s older than the majority of the cast. I’m assuming he was 51 during the first Saltiron War, and that it’s been 30 years since then.

[shortkingvi]

if you all will afford me the time to consider and speculate and theorize about wrestling, i’d like to get these thoughts written down somewhere regarding the recent teaser promos and who they might be about

so we know SOMEONE is coming and all signs point to edge but like,,,,,,,,,, that seems lazy and underwhelming considering he’s only been gone a few weeks. so it feels like all the overt edge symbolism is a partial red herring; YES, it’s edge. but it’s someone else too

bray wyatt’s twitter is always so fascinating to me because he uses it incredibly intelligently. recently, he changed his bio to this:

VKM - vincent kennedy mcmahon. interesting to use a quote that seems very much like what they said when they “released” him (which i’ve speculated from the beginning might’ve been a semi-work or at least a mutual departing for a small period of time to give him creative freedom and build up hype)

he also tweeted this:

which is much in line with what he tweeted back in may:

locks and keys and doors. locking something up and needing to free it. seems very suspicious considering this still being used as the thumbnail on the most recent teaser:

so, theorizing on all this, my best guess is that edge is bringing back some help to deal with the judgement day which’ll create a really dark, interesting feud should the TV-14 switch be true. summerslam is also TV-14 and is also coincidentally the PPV the fiend has his first match on 👀👀👀👀 vs finn balor 👀👀👀👀👀

it all fits very cleanly together and makes much more sense than it just being edge alone because that seems super lackluster.

the writing at the end of the teaser looks a LOT like the let me in writing too:

that “i am coming to” was an unfinished phrase. what if it’s ACTUALLY “i am coming TOO”? what if we’ve been seeing two people in these teasers the whole time?

whatever it ends up being, i can’t imagine it’s edge alone. and i think that it sets up SO perfectly for the return of a very different, even more dangerous version of the fiend/bray/wyatt6. it’ll shift things entirely if it IS this especially going into the rating change.

exciting stuff

[jugularbeat]

Chapter 3 Bonus Boss Speculation

So, we’re all wondering and theorizing about what Chapter 3 is gonna be like, as expected. Unlike the unpredictable Chapter 2 dark world where we couldn’t even explore the room beforehand, we actually have a confirmed place and time. One of the aspects of this theorizing is speculation about the new bonus boss, which is always interesting, so I’ve decided to list some of the potential candidates here.

Just to get it out of the way, the mysterious “Mike” (Hawk) probably won’t be the Ch.3 Bonus Boss. Jevil mentioned Queen in Ch.1, who turned out to be Cyber World’s main boss, so we’ll likely see this pattern continue with Spamton mentioning Mike.

Anyways, I’m going to start off with an unpopular but interesting candidate: the book of hymns. It’s close enough to the main fountain and its holy nature connect it to a few things. For one, there’s the Sky Mantle that protects from Electric and HOLY attacks. Two, if chess theory is true, it would imply a connection to Ch.4′s boss, a bishop.

Of course, there are a few problems with this. The book of hymns wouldn’t exactly fit in a TV world, and its unlike the last secret bosses which were unwanted. (Jevil is the Joker playing card which is taken out of the deck for many games, Spamton is unwanted spam mail) A counter for the first point is that there are many book adaptations on TV, but I don’t have anything against the second point.

Another unpopular and... unorthodox candidate is the How to Draw Dragons book. Its unwanted (Toriel mentions it being a debt) and it would be a pretty funny (and awkward..) boss, but that’s about it. The book is much further away from the main fountain and, once again, its a book and probably wouldn’t fit in a TV world. However, since there’s no door between the first and second floor, the darkness of the fountain would probably spread and potentially bring the book to life. I already mentioned the counter for that second point.

Last but not least, there’s the trashcan/what it contains. Its closer to the fountain, unwanted and has connections to the Dreemurr stuff if it does hold those blasted bouquets from Asgore. Another thing the trash has got going for it is the optional quest where you can give another bouquet to Toriel, who in turn gifts it to the trash. This is interesting, because we haven’t yet had a bonus boss who is directly able to be interacted with like this in the light world. The only problem is that, once again, it probably wouldn’t fit in a TV world.

Thank you for reading. Feel free to point out anything I missed.

[erosia-rhodes]

Top 9 Newbie thoughts on Supernatural after Six Months of Madness

I started watching Supernatural a week before the series finale, and full disclosure, it was only because I heard about the gay angel. I loved me some Good Omens, so I decided to check out a series my only previous thoughts about had been, "Is that show still on?" In the past six months, I've watched about fifty percent of the episodes scattered across all fifteen seasons. I've also spent time following the bonkers-in-the-best-way fandom on Tumblr, and here is what I have learned:

1) Everyone who loves Supernatural also hates Supernatural

No one is capable of praising this show without also trashing it. Supernatural is as awful as it is awesome. Watching Supernatural is like hate-fucking your nemesis against a wall; you're totally conflicted about it, but it's enormously pleasurable and you know you're going to do it over and over again. No one has a pure, untainted love for this show. They only have complicated emotions. This is because…

2) The fact that the show needs to be fixed is an essential part of its appeal

Strangely, if this show were better, it wouldn't be as popular. If you love a show that is perfect, you watch it once or twice or thrice, make a bunch of memes, and move on with your life two years later when you find something else to hyper-fixate on. If you love a show that's broken, you spend the rest of your life obsessed with fixing it. It's the crooked photo hanging on the wall that yearns to be straightened (because, you know, this show is bad at making things straight). It's the stray dog you know would be adoptable if you fattened it up and socialized it with your other dogs, and just like some people can't stop rescuing animals, Supernatural fans can't stop thinking about how to fix a show that isn't great, but could be with a flea bath and a trip to the groomers. Supernatural fans are not fans of the actual show, but of the show they imagine it could be, one that only exists in an alternate universe. They are in love with the Platonic ideal of Supernatural. That's also the reason why…

3) The fans understand the characters and themes better than 95% of the people who worked on the show

The people who watch Supernatural have thought about it way, way, way, more than anyone who produced it. I have read complex essays about what the color of people's clothing imply and how the state of the Impala reflects the state of Dean's mental health and other things I'm certain this show did not do intentionally. People can find depth in the shallowest aspects of this series. Any random fan could explain the complicated dynamics of the Winchester family and the overriding themes of the series better than most of the people who worked on it. That includes the LGBTQ stuff, which leads to the fact that…

4) The show is simultaneously too gay and not gay enough

On one end of the spectrum are fans who are offended you would dare to suggest one of the Winchesters might like kissing a boy and they'll shove you in a locker and duct tape your butt cheeks together for it. On the other end of the spectrum are fans who think it's odd that every episode doesn't end with two attractive men dry humping in a dark corner of the bunker library. No one is happy with the level of gayness on this show. It's always got too much "No Homo" or too much queer subtext, which is why I've concluded that…

5) The audience this show wanted is not the audience they got and they are resentful of it

The original pitch for this show targeted a male demographic who’s into toxic masculinity in a non-ironic way. It was about bros and beers and muscle cars and shotguns and hot chicks who will be killed to further the man's storyline. However, when making that show, they accidentally created a show that attracted female viewers who liked speculating about the queer subtext of each scene while looking at pretty men with traumatic backstories fight back their man tears. The show depends on the unintended audience segment to survive, but is bitter about it, which they remind you of time and time again by killing the female and non-white characters and toying with endless queer-baiting. It's like the writers got a plane to Rome, ended up in a gay nightclub in Amsterdam instead, and even though the canals and tulips make it a lovely city to visit, they wanted to go to Rome, damnit, and they'll never let you forget it! I also suspect that…

6) The people who made this show were at constant war with each other

This show has such a split personality. Sometimes it leans into the gay stuff and other times it makes fun of it outright. Sometimes they'll introduce an interesting side character that could make the show more diverse and then they'll slaughter that person for practically no reason. Sometimes they praise free will and other times they force people down pre-destined paths. The writers feel like a dysfunctional family stuck at Thanksgiving dinner endlessly squabbling with each other—who then had to write a TV show together over dessert. That's why it's such a weird hot mess. The show's unevenness makes me think that…

7) Some people's attachment to the show can only be explained by the fact that it imprinted on them when they were young

Some fans have mentioned they started watching Supernatural when they were kids. It's a pretty common experience to go back and watch things you loved when you were a kid and realize they were…not so good. Your memories of them are far better than the reality of them, but you cling to them anyway. The shows you watch when you're young imprint on you in a way you never forget. Supernatural fans are like a baby duck who looks up at a cat and assumes it’s their mother. Then that cat slices open their poor little hearts, leaving them wounded but not dead, forever be toyed with in agony. The only relief is that…

8) The fandom is batshit insane in the best way

I started following the Supernatural fandom on Tumblr in November of 2020 and OMG, it was AH-MAZE-ING. It was total insanity. I didn't understand half of what was going on, but it was more fun than a yard full of puppies doing zoomies. People were posting detailed PowerPoint presentations theorizing how the series would end, citing extensive physical evidence like the background in Misha's hotel room. People learned election results through Supernatural memes. Destiel went canon every other week. When the Spanish dub was released, Tumblr literally crashed! Obama's Twitter was following a Destiel account. There was a Twitter wedding for Destiel on Valentine's Day, which made the one-month anniversary on Pi Day.

It's been a ride, y'all. I have no idea how you guys survived fifteen years of this. The fandom has been so much fun that I actually sat down and watched more than 100 hours of this show so I could understand everything better. It's like the show is an extension of the fandom instead of vice versa. If anything sums up Supernatural for me, that's it. It's all about the fandom and the show is secondary to that. It's like the fans willed the show into existence as part of some partially botched spell. And part of that twisted spell is that…

9) The show will never die until someone finds its bones and burns them

This show has been off the air for more than six months now and it keeps trending on Tumblr consistently. Misha recently trended on Twitter simply because he was at the Oscars. That was it! He didn't even do anything there, he just attended, and some people figured it out by the reflection in a photo posted by someone else! And just as I was proofreading this post, Destiel started trending again because John Cena is a stan or something? This fandom is crazy and unpredictable and I love it like Dean loves pie! If there ever does come a time when this show stops trending, that will be the moment when they decide to reboot it or revisit it.

There is a lot more I could say about this show, but these were the elements that seemed most unique and bizarre about it. I wouldn't say Supernatural is a ride-or-die fandom for me, and I have no intention of watching another 100 hours of this series, but it's been hella' fun to drop in for a while. The show is just as much a dysfunctional mess as the Winchester family and I guess that's why people love it, right?

[scripturiends]

law school episode 9 musings

warning: very very long post ahead. i have a lot of thoughts.

hey folks — how we feeling about episode 9?

given that there are so many plotlines in the show, i’m afraid i won’t be able to extend my analysis of the episode as far as i would like, but there are three characters who stood out to me the most last night that i’d like to talk about for now:

kang dan

there’s a lot that we got to uncover about her thanks to professor yang’s trial. if i’m piecing it all together right, the basic summary of what led to her disappearance goes like this:

she was a volunteer for assemblyman ko’s campaign, but upon discovering that he was spreading fake news about his opposition, dan reported him to the authorities (i’m guessing not just the police but also the media) and became a whistleblower. assemblyman ko tried to buy her off with money, but she refused, so he attacked her where she’s most vulnerable instead — by using her family.

i’m not completely sure about this (please feel free to correct me!) but it’s either byeol is (1) the twins’ half-sister, or (2) their stepsister? it’s so hard to tell, especially since korean terms can get lost in translation in the process (i watch on netflix, if that helps). but anyway, sol and dan’s mom married someone who was abusing her, and in exchange for dan’s silence (and her fleeing), the husband signs a contract that he would stop hurting his wife.

so that’s the backbone of dan’s story. however, this still doesn’t answer a lot of things, like where seo byungju or lee manho fits into the equation, the whereabouts of their mom’s ex-husband, or why dan was sent into boston in the first place.

i usually don’t like theorizing, but i do have one: there is an ivy league school located just outside of boston — harvard. (it’s technically in cambridge but you know, i’m taking liberties here.) professor yang said in passing one episode that he thought he saw dan when he went to the school for a seminar or a talk or something. could it be that assemblyman ko offered her an education at a top school in exchange for her silence? it could explain why she gave it up all so easily. what if she took that topnotch education as a chance to prepare, so that when she came back, she had much stronger leverage to take assemblyman ko down, given the knowledge and network of connections she’ll have earned in that school?

the theory’s plausible but i might be overestimating assemblyman ko’s kindness — unless he’s insanely desperate, he might not give a damn about dan’s education. it actually benefits him more if she stayed uninformed, but still. let me know what you think about it.

yoo seungjae

in this episode, we learned a little bit more about how yoo seungjae was able to hack into the professors’ laptops, and they also confirmed some of our previous speculations about him: that his wife yujeong was an ob gyn, and so was he, and that they were trying for a baby. unfortunately, i find it all to be a bit lacking in substance. i was hoping we could get down to the nitty-gritty of why he did what he did.

i say this for one important reason: i don’t know about you guys, but i would never make such a stupid mistake in undergrad, let alone in law school. seungjae has gone to med school, so we know that he knows the repercussions of his actions. why would he go to such lengths? sure, he found an opening, he was tempted, and he took it. but he didn’t just do it once, he did it multiple times, and those offenses add up (hacking, stealing exam papers, and cheating). surely he must know that something like this can ruin careers even before they even start, and not only would he get kicked out of the school, he would also get blacklisted from the industry once he implicates himself. so we understand why he’s so hesitant to testify (especially now that his wife is pregnant).

but why did he do that in the first place? we could say he’s insecure about his skills, but he’s survived med school. how much harder could law school be for him? i just don’t think that the payoff is worth the risk. what must be so important for yoo seungjae to do all of this for? what does he get in return if he successfully pulls it off and gets straight As during his entire time in law school? who is he doing for?

i hope it runs deeper than just wanting a ‘good future’ for him and his wife and their baby or something — because he could just as easily do that as a doctor. there must be another reason he went into law.

still, though, and this is just a personal opinion, even if i did find out his entire backstory, there’s no way i could ever defend him. we see in the show how his guilt builds up (from observing how kang sol A studies so well, to his conversation with jeon yeseul in the hospital), but at this point there is no more excusing what he did. not that i ever condoned it in the first place.

we’re still in the dark about a lot of things regarding yoo seungjae. hopefully by the next episode, we get something. but until then, he is still a shady, shady man to me.

kang sol B

her screen time in this episode was short, but i still wanted to highlight her because she is pretty much a ticking time bomb.

she’s in a tight spot right now because even if she testifies about having seen the sugar packet, the prosecutor will just twist the argument by saying she colluded with a murderer just to cover up her plagiarism.

and now, seo jiho needs her help, probably for something related to his case with prosecutor jin. in exchange, she puts pressure on him to ‘confirm’ that she didn’t plagiarize in middle school, since they were schoolmates and rivals.

there may be more to this plagiarism issue than meets the eye. who knows, we might find out later on that she actually didn’t plagiarize? but given what i know now, i have no reason to believe that she didn’t. i don’t blame her specifically for that, seeing as she has to pay for the consequences for something that her awful mom forced her to do. but now that the mess has been made, i want to see how she cleans it up.

kang sol B is a very elusive character to me. the scary thing about her is that she’s on no one’s side but her own. and that’s why i think she’s a ticking time bomb.

~

bonus: han joonhwi

so that’s all i have for the serious stuff. as a bonus, i’d like to talk about han joonhwi and his four (4) children jeon yeseul, seo jiho, kang byeol, and min bokgi.

one of my friends brought up how it’s so funny how he’s somehow just at the right place at the right time all the time. this happened when he ran into kang sol A when she was looking for yeseul (i still think they were on the phone with each other beforehand but this is just my shipper self talking — truthfully, if the focus was shifted towards that phone call without divulging who it was, i have a feeling it might be more important later on), and when seo jiho confronted prosecutor jin. adding his elevator conversation with kang sol B, i think it just solidified what we already know: han joonhwi is a very compassionate person. but he doesn’t sacrifice his own personality just to appease them — he recognizes that these individuals have agency, and he’s just giving them the little push they need to make them realize what they need to do.

i also felt the need to bring up kang byeol. the show does such a good job of ensuring that all the solhwi scenes that we get, no matter how indulgent and “fanservice-y” they might seem, actually have a deeper purpose. again, i could go on and on about what each solhwi scene has actually contributed to the development of the plot, which is exactly why i love them so much! because all of their scenes are so meaningful. but anyway, it’s nice to see han joonhwi care so much for his, ehem, future sister-in-law.

and for min bokgi — this scene was so short, but i absolutely loved it so much (i tend to pay attention to the throwaway scenes): min bokgi is going off about how yoo seungjae is acting weird, and he says to joonhwi, “hyung, you should call him.” and joonhwi responds with, “sure. eat your food.” it’s such a fatherly thing to do and it’s such a great contrast to bokgi’s dynamic with sol A, with whom he’s so loud and vibrant, moods that both match their personalities, but with joonhwi, who is more subdued, he’s like a little kid in need of rescue from an older brother, or even a dad. ah, i love it so much. min bokgi is such an underrated character. i wish he had more screen time. (if he doesn’t get a central ep, well, you guys know where i’m going with this, right? it means i’ll give it to him myself.)

~

so that’s it for now! i’m sorry i went on rambling again, but if there’s anything noteworthy in this post that you think is worth discussing, please do tell! if there’s anything that you found thought-provoking in the episode that i didn’t get to touch up on, let me know as well!

i personally don’t make any theories about the overarching plot myself, seeing as by the time the new episode comes out, we get fed information that renders the theory useless. still, that doesn’t mean we should stop coming up with our own ideas. sometimes, the theories are more interesting than the canon itself.