#His explanation would include a flashback to this scene

[foxgonyoom]

Yo remember this guy?

What if they’re how the main cast fix Wukong’s scroll piece?

Like so far I’ve been thinking that they’re the villain behind the scenes, the one pulling the strings to follow through with some master plan, and I still think they’re gonna turn out to be evil and who’s manipulating events.

But they’re also our only possible lead on how the gang are going to fix Wukong’s scroll piece, mainly because they seem to have some sort of knowledge of the scroll, having been able to access it. Thus, they might be someone that the main cast goes to in order to fix Wukong’s scroll piece. That, or they pop up out of the shadows offering their aid.

But yeah it definitely seems like they’re gonna be the way that the gang mend Wukong’s scroll piece so they can free him again.

[queerfables]

The Rules of the Twist

Given the themes of deception and sleight of hand in Good Omens season 2, I think most of us agree it's at least possible there's some kind of twist waiting to be revealed in season 3. We're bouncing around a lot of theories, but I wanted to take a step back and look at the general shape of what we might expect.

The big twist we've seen before in Good Omens is Crowley and Aziraphale's body swap. (Okay, technically it was an appearance swap. But that just doesn't sound as pithy.) Rather than anticipate an exact repeat of this trick, I'm considering the swap as a sort of model. What does it tell us about the rules Neil plays by when he pulls a twist in this story? What clues can we expect, and what can we not count on? Sure, there's no guarantee that a season 2 twist is going to map exactly onto what we've seen in the past, but I think it's a reasonable place to start. Take these as guidelines and take them with a grain of salt, but if you're sorting through all our fascinating Good Omens theories and trying to decide what you think, you might find them helpful.

So then, what are the rules?

Broadly speaking, Neil plays fair with twists. He foreshadows and includes enough hints for the audience to make a reasonable guess at what's going on, or at least to look back after the reveal and go, "oh, of course". But he still keeps some cards close to the chest.

During the body swap, there are two big gaps in the information we're given:

Key events happen off screen The swap happened between scenes, during a time that it was only suggested, not confirmed, that Crowley and Aziraphale would be together. The transition between these scenes also used film and tv conventions to make that passage of time "invisible" - we see Crowley and Aziraphale get on the bus, and then we see them in the morning going about their days separately, and we're conditioned to think nothing important could have happened in between.

Key tools (eg abilities, items, information) haven't been shown before The swap was not something we'd ever seen Crowley and Aziraphale do, and it wasn't something they'd ever talked about either. It fit comfortably into the established world building but it hadn't been specifically signposted as a possibility.

The other big twist that Good Omens pulled was the romance between Gabriel and Beelzebub as the explanation for Gabriel's disappearance from heaven. Both of these information gaps are involved here too. The offscreen event is obviously the meetings between Gabriel and Beelzebub that lead to them falling in love - up until Gabriel's flashback sequence, the only indication they'd ever met each other was a brief conversation at the airbase during Armageddon. The tool that we haven't seen before is Beelzebub's ability to create a fly vessel for Gabriel's memories (protecting him in much the same way that Crowley and Aziraphale protected each other with their body swap, in fact).

These are pretty big gaps, really. And given that Neil knew there'd be years between seasons 2 and 3, I expect he would have leaned pretty heavily into them if he wanted to hide something. So how do we predict a twist if we can't know where it is and haven't seen what it might involve?

Unanswered questions

This is the big one. Looking at where the furniture isn't, you might say.

What's interesting is that the questions that point to a twist aren't usually subtle or ambiguous. For the body swap, the two converging questions were: what did Agnes' last prophecy mean, and how could Crowley and Aziraphale survive their executions? In season two, some of the unanswered questions signposting Gabriel/Beelzebub were: how did Gabriel lose his memory, why was he carrying a box, what was the significance of the song he kept singing, who was he at the Resurrectionist with...

I think guesses about upcoming twists are most convincing when they seek to tie up loose threads from the show. For this reason, I'm a little skeptical of theories proposing the kiss between Crowley and Aziraphale involved some kind of twist. It isn't impossible, I just don't see any unanswered questions there. (Savvy readers may note that I too have speculated about a twist hidden in the kiss. I do find the possibility fun, but it's not a theory I'm seriously committed to). If I was going to really buy into one of these theories, I'd want it to explain one of my big unanswered questions other than "but how could they get into a fight that hurts me so deep in my soul?" That's definitely a question I have, but not technically a mystery.

It's worth noting that in the case of the body swap, we were initially given a false answer to the question "how did they survive their executions?" The angels and demons watching attribute it to Crowley and Aziraphale having "gone native", believing that their natures had fundamentally changed, making them immune to holy water and hellfire. It might be the case, then, that some of the apparently resolved questions this season warrant further investigation. Is there more to the story of Gabriel's disappearance than we know, for example?

2. Unexplained details

If examining an unanswered question is looking at where the furniture isn't, then this is where we take all the pieces of furniture piled up in storage and see if we've got anything that fits. Everything is fair game here: script, acting, music, props, sets, costumes, editing, camera angles, audio effects, visual effects, everything. If it's on the screen or coming through the speakers, it was put there on purpose by multiple teams of highly skilled and attentive creators all working together to create the final product.

I think you could probably do an entire meta on all the little details pointing towards the season 1 body swap, but here are some of the big ones:

"Crowley" sees the restored Bentley, but takes a taxi instead of driving it

"Aziraphale" circles "Crowley" when they order their ice creams, the way Crowley more typically moves around Aziraphale

"Crowley" says "tickety boo", an extraordinarily Aziraphalean phrase

The collar on "Crowley's" jacket is a beige tartan rather than its usual red

There are general differences in the ways David Tennant and Michael Sheen embody the characters throughout the swap

Similarly, Gabriel and Beelzebub's romance has lots of small details pointing to it. The big one that keeps showing up is the connection between Gabriel and flies. He mentions them and interacts with them repeatedly, and although it isn't obvious at first glance, there's a fly in the box that he carries to the bookshop. This all culminates in the reveal that it's the same fly, Beelzebub's gift to him.

Here's the problem, of course: if everything in the show is intentional and crafted with meticulous attention to detail, how do we know what actually matters? This is why I think it's so important to look at the unanswered questions first. There's a joy in seeking out Easter eggs and connecting all the dots, and sometimes you might strike gold this way, but there's also a lot of noise in the signal. It's helpful to know the general shape of what you're looking for, so you'll know when you've found it.

You can reverse engineer this. Start with details that jump out at you and then look for a puzzle they might explain. This works, but it's a little easier to get lost in the weeds, struggling to sort out what's significant and what's a fun reference to another piece of media or a hint to a question that's already been resolved. Going back to the twists we've already seen on this show, the unanswered questions around them were really big and obvious, so I think it's a good idea to ask: if I hadn't noticed this detail, would I have thought this was a mystery that needed solving?

Okay, but what do we do with this?

Well, maybe nothing. These criteria can't confirm or rule out any theories, after all. I'm laying it out like a rubric but it isn't really, I'm just describing a few storytelling patterns we've seen before and making some rough guesses about how they might show up again. If I were really serious about this I'd probably take a look at other examples of Neil's work and see how well my model holds up there, but the truth is I'm not really familiar with enough of his other works to do this. (Confession time: I was always more of a Pratchett fan).

The main reason that I've laid everything out like this is it informs my thinking when I stress test my own theories, and I figured other people might be interested in it. I'm also hoping it will help me to be able to refer back to this when I write meta in the future. For my own purposes, I find a breakdown like this helpful because it gives me a sense of how a writer approaches their story, where they'll tip their hand and where they'll hold things close. It's no guarantee and it wouldn't be any fun if it was, but in a lot of cases we're not aware of our own patterns, so it can be surprisingly illuminating.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

You wanna know what I just realized....You know how in chapters 1-4 MC/Yu kept asking Crowley to go home. But Once Chapter 5-7 they stopped asking to go home and gave up. Why? Did they just change their minds once they got friends or did they just give up on trying completely until Orthro put it back in their brain? Or Did they just gave up on asking adults period?

Oooh, interesting topic 🤔 I went back in each book to see when instances of Yuu asking about going home were brought up and (shockingly) this actually happens very little, maybe a few times max in the main story (not counting the prologue):

***Main story spoilers (INCLUDING book 7) below the cut!!***

In 1-19, Yuu does NOT ask Crowley; Crowley is the one who brings the topic up. He claims he is in the library to research a way to send Yuu home, and definitely is not reading the latest edition to a new novel before anyone else (which, come on, we all know Crowley is just giving a convenient excuse for himself). Crowley's presence here is then used to inform us of a way to dethrone Riddle via duel.

In 2-4, Yuu DOES ask Crowley when summoned to his office. Crowly then says he is busy preparing for an inter-dorm Magift/Spelldrive tournament, so he hasn't made any progress for Yuu. In 2-14, Yuu also wonders about when they will be able to go home while talking around the campus at night, but does not discuss it further with others.

In 3-6, Yuu does NOT ask Crowley; again, Crowley is the one to bring up the topic when trying to get Yuu to convince Azul to stop his shady dealings. He uses their rising food bills and all that "effort" he's putting into researching as a means to guilt trip Yuu into agreeing.

In 4-2, Yuu DOES ask Crowley if he's actually researching. This occurs because Crowley is all decked out for vacationing in a tropical destination, so Yuu of course questions whether he's doing any real work. Crowley defends himself by saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do!" and that he's broadening his knowledge base by researching in a southern region.

After book 4, there are no new explicit or even implied scenes of Yuu asking Crowley anything about home. However, 5-33 does feature a flashback to the prologue in which Crowley is struggling to find Yuu's home on a map.

There isn't really a strong mention of Yuu going home in book 6, unless you want to count Yuu talking to Mickey through the mirror and wondering what's on the other side.

7-10 and 7-11 has Ortho to concluding that the mirror with Mickey could be a "connection" to Yuu's original world, and can thus serve as a route home.

Most discussion of Yuu going home is concentrated in the prologue (as it is an important piece of the set-up and explanation for Yuu's presence in Twisted Wonderland), as well as book 7, when the issue becomes very relevant again. There is the occasional instance of Crowley using "oh, there might be information here about a potential way home" as an excuse to rope Yuu into an event's story (ie Glorious Masquerade), but nothing meaningful ever comes from it. These are just contrivances to bring Yuu and Grim along for a more immersive self-insert experience.

If you want a boring answer as to why Yuu asks/seems to care so little about going home and stops completely by the start of book 5, I would wager it's the metacontext. Even in books 1 through 4, Yuu going home is mentioned like maybe once and then is dismissed for the rest of the book. You’ll also notice that in these instances where Yuu going home is mentioned, they are almost immediately then used as a springboard to propel the problem of the week onto them to resolve. Yuu going home isn’t a plot point for most of the main story, it’s a plot device to force Yuu into an OB boy’s path.

There is very little urgency granted to finding a way home because you, the player, WANTS to be in this magical world even if Yuu, the actual in-game character, may be uneasy being away from their friends, family, and home world. Yuu's unease is most likely not depicted or not frequently brought up because it would interfere with the player's enjoyment of the escapism to another world. These desires very obviously clash with one another. However, because the game itself is trying to tell you its story, it has to provide a reason (no matter how nonsensical it is) for there to be no progress made in the search (thus keeping Yuu in Twisted Wonderland), and that reason often happens to be Crowley's incompetence. This is not true of all iterations of Yuu (as the light novel has a strong focus on Yuuya’s anxieties about being in a new world), but it must be this way specifically for in-game Yuu since they are the most easy one for players to project into.

If you're looking for a meatier answer, consider this: book 5 is the turning point in the main story. Before book 5, Yuu seems to defer to Crowley for finding a way home. They don't really wonder or investigate into this area on their own. By the start of VDC/SDC training, it's mid to late winter, or about halfway through the year. Given that Yuu is incentivized by the promise of renovations to let the NRC Tribe boys use Ramshackle as their base of operations, I get the impression that maybe Yuu thinks they'll be stuck in Twisted Wonderland for longer than initially anticipated. Rather than an "I give up", it feels like a "boy, this is taking a while so might as well upgrade the accommodations and make myself as comfy as possible while I wait it out" This thought is helped by the fact that book 5 is also the first time when both Yuu and Crowley don't mention them going home, but also nothing disparaging or hopeless is referenced. As I've said before, we still get a flashback from Yuu which is centered on them going home, so it's clearly still a topic on their mind. It's just not consistently shown to us so as to not interfere with players self-inserting or to avoid making the gaming experience not fun by focusing on Yuu's distress or worries.

Many other significant things happen in book 5 which makes it the "turning point": Malleus reveals his true identity to Yuu, Grim finally going a little feral from the blot stones, and Yuu seeing and speaking with Mickey clearly. From there, Yuu starts thinking about the mirror and how it could lead into another world. They begin to take more agency in their own return, later confiding in their friends about Mickey and what he means for them.

Book 6 mostly glosses over Yuu going home because... well, let's be honest, there's a lot more immediately at stake with six students being kidnapped and experimented on. Yuu's focus and concern is on getting them (and especially Grim) back safely. They weren't thinking about themselves or their own situation back then, they were thinking of others.

Going home returns in book 7 because it has story significance once again. Yuu going back to their own world adds to the growing dread and sense of loneliness that our OB boy for the evening, Malleus, feels over Lilia's departure. It helps to push him closer to the brink of snapping. What's more, this contributes to the overall themes and questions that book 7 poses: those of farewells, change, and leaving friends behind. These are sentiments that Ace, Deuce, and Grim discuss in 7-17, and they parallel Malleus's own anxious thoughts. In all previous books, Yuu's own quest to get home is not closely tied to the themes of a particular book, or it simply was not relevant to mention (it would disrupt the ongoing conflict or pacing).

Finally, to more address each of the specific things asked by the asker (since I know the information in this post is sort of all over the place and might be hard to match up to each question):

[Yuu] stopped asking to go home and gave up. Why?

Yuu did not frequently ask about going home to begin with. (Again, likely because on a metatextual level, the story needs an excuse for Yuu, ie the player, being present in Twisted Wonderland and experiencing its happenings.)

At that point, it comes down to individual interpretation as to why, but personally I believe Yuu realized that the solution was more complicated than just poofing up a portal home, so they decided to make themselves comfortable while they waited for updates rather than keep asking only to be constantly disappointed. Later on, events going on around Yuu become too hectic for them to focus on their own wants.

Did [Yuu] just change their mind once they got friends?

Wouldn’t this imply that Yuu didn’t consider Adeuce and Grim “real” friends until the start of book 5??? I just don’t think that’s true; they were friends way before this point, not hanging out with each other for convenience’s sake. Why would they sit together at lunch every day? Why would Yuu try to help Ace make amends with Riddle? And why would Ace defend Yuu when Riddle insults their upbringing? Why would Yuu try to free the idiots of their anemones at the risk of going homeless themselves? Why would Adeuce use public transportation to go all the way from the Queendom of Roses to Sage’s Island because of a SOS text from Yuu? The same logic goes for the Ramshackle Ghosts, who are very friendly with Yuu and Grim. They play games with them, tell them about the school, and even do Yuu’s chores for them while they’re held hostage in Scarabia.

I also think gaining friends isn’t necessarily a strong enough reason for Yuu to renounce their old life and suddenly be committed to staying. Yes, it can be said that this could change depending on individual interpretation of Yuu—but assuming a very basic backstory, a regular person would not be so quick to forgo their old friends, family, etc. I don’t think new friendships are a significant motivator for Yuu no longer asking about home.

Or did they just give up on trying completely until Orthro put it back in their brain?

Yuu didn’t stop thinking about going home just because they stopped asking about it. Post book 4, they are shown to have flashbacks to earlier discussions of going home. Yuu hardly ever expresses thoughts about their original world or wanting to go back (most likely to not break the self-insert immersion of their character), so it’s easy to perceive this as “Yuu gave up completely/Yuu forgot about it until book 7”.

Or did they just gave up on asking adults period?

I believe Crowley is the only adult Yuu really asks about finding a way back. I doubt Yuu actually thinks all adults are as useless in this endeavor as Crowley is, but we aren’t ever shown Yuu communicating in this manner to other adults. Crowley is the only “required” adult to interact with on account of being the headmaster typically forcing you into the plot anyway. In conclusion (I know I keep bringing this point up, but it’s because I truly believe in it), this is all probably done for convenience and/or to allow the player to fantasize and imagine themselves or their own Yuusonas navigating these circumstances. They don't want to constantly keep the story gloomy by having Yuu angst about how they miss home or how badly they want to go back. They want you, the player, to enjoy the world and the people of Twisted Wonderland and never want to leave, even if it may be contradictory to what Yuu themselves fails to express in the narrative. This is 100% intentional, and it's made clear because it ties in very deeply with the themes in book 7, which is when the idea of Yuu going home becomes extremely relevant again. Book 7 creates an analogy between a digital pet that Malleus owns and how sad he is that its lifespan has to end, that the digital pet is just "fiction designed to amuse". This is also true of what Twisted Wonderland (the game) is. The player is in the same circumstances as Malleus, who is too attached to his fiction and doesn't want to let it go.

As much as the game's structure encourages self-inserting, it cannot be denied that, ultimately, the perspective of the player ≠ the perspective of Yuu. The player does not actually have to worry about never returning home or being stuck in a foreign world, at the mercy of strangers (which, if not for entertainment purposes, would be something truly terrifying to deal with). The player is glimpsing into this other world for fun and can step away whenever they want. Yuu can't.

askhdvasoydvuealalf I know this was a lot, but I hope it made sense and properly communicated my thoughts ^^

[randomfoggytiger]

Mulder's Alien Baby Baby Trauma In-Depth (Part XV): Making an Effort

In the last part, Mulder was able to see (for the first time since his abduction) that Scully hasn't, won't, and will never give up on anyone she deems "worth the effort"-- and that, he concluded, included him.

This being the case, it seems he's made it his mission to prove that she, too, is worth the effort.

Mulder Tries

After Monica Reyes assists in the arrest of the alleged culprit of Luke Doggett’s murder, Mulder finds Doggett by Scully’s bedside; and silently orders the other man into the hallway. Though angry at this exchange-- and angrier at the world and its injustice-- Doggett relents and follows him out, jaw clenched tightly shut as he moves as far away from his partner's partner as possible.

Unbeknownst to Mulder, the latter was in the grips of his own PTSD flashback-- the day his son’s burnt body was discovered. The episode connects clear and blatant dots between his journey to belief and Scully's (including a cursed scene transition, here); but we are also left to draw a few obvious conclusions: Doggett lost his son and was assigned to the files while Mulder gained a son (a baby of unspecified sex, at this point) and was blocked from the files. Both men suffer from PTSD, to varying degrees; and both men are thrown together in the latter end of Season 8 to protect Scully and her baby-- a redemption of their own past losses. (And while these parallels, ideas, and themes are intriguing, it would be nice if they were properly fleshed out in their execution.)

Doggett's anger evaporates in the hallway; and he stuffs his hands in his pockets, slowly nodding as Mulder immovably explains, "She just fell back to sleep."

Head down, he says, "I just wanted to check to see how she's doin'." But that's not all; and Doggett exhales before further stating, "'Course I'm here with this other thing-- we, uh, we caught this killer Jeb Dukes. He's in the ICU. He may not make it."

Mulder runs his tongue over his lips and swallows-- a nervous tick-- while the other agent finishes. Despite everything he's been through, those profiling skills are still spookily intact: "And now you're wondering if there really was a connection?"

Doggett doesn't answer, not wanting to admit his doubts; but he doesn't bother to deny it, either. There's a defensive, curious stance in his stooping shoulders and sideways-upright glance, as if he is inviting Mulder's opinion while shifting away from his scrutiny. In short, Doggett is posturing: pretending to be rationally stable while adrift and looking for guidance.

Never one to leave others floundering or in pain, Mulder decides to act on Scully's insight, and offers an olive branch: he opens up.

Looking down at first, he begins, "When I, uh, when I first came to work at the FBI, I worked at Violent Crimes."

Agent Doggett knows where this is going-- former cop that he is-- and turns his head to the side as Mulder gently drones on.

"I saw the worst of humanity. I saw monsters."

At this, Doggett looks up, trying to guess if 'monsters' is metaphorical or literal.

"And I wondered how they became that way. How these men became so evil. I know, there were--" Breaking off, Mulder shakes his head, shifting through past testimony and reports, "--Psychological explanations: victims of their environment, victims of their parents. But those scientific explanations were never truly satisfying.

"And I began to think," he confesses, moving one hand to wave it around briefly before recrossing his arms, "of evil like, like a disease. You know, it goes from man-to-man, or age-to-age-- most of us walk around thinking we're incapable of any acts of evil. And we are. Y'know, we can stifle that momentary urge to kill, or to hurt-- we have some kind of immunity to it."

"But I think it's possible that there's..."

Again, he trails off, lips pressed tight as he weighs his words. "An occurrence in somebody's life-- a tragedy or a loss-- that leaves them vulnerable." He further gentles his voice when Doggett's face pinches: "And all of a sudden-- at that point in their lives, when they're weakened-- they're open to evil. And they can become evil."

Agent Doggett's skepticism peaks through as he fills in the blanks. "If that were true, then what you're saying is, is... this man we wheeled in here tonight is effectively evil. Same evil that killed my son."

Mulder maintains Doggett's level gaze, swallowing-- not denying the other's conclusion.

"You really believe that, Agent Mulder?"

"Nah," Mulder cracks, a genuine smile shyly peeking through-- the first around Doggett. "I'm not really a good test for questions like that. I'll believe almost anything. Y'know?"

Doggett snorts, acknowledging the joke and chastising himself for grasping at this explanation.

"You may never know," Mulder reveals. "It may be like Agent Reyes says--" an acknowledgment of Monica's instincts, as well as a channeling of Doggett's attention to the other agent, "--it may be random and meaningless: who it affects, who it goes to."

"What if it isn't?"

"Well then you'd be seeing something that I don't, Agent Doggett": and what a conclusion-- Mulder is steering Doggett to trust his own intuition. It neatly attempts to shred Doggett's reliance on Scully or himself, and to plant a seed of faith in his own instincts (or Reyes's instincts of his instincts.)

Doggett walks away, unable to accept that possibility; and Mulder remains fixed by Scully's door, knowing where he belongs and decisively staying there-- a journey the other agent is still struggling through.

She Is Worth the Effort 

“Mulder, you never fail to surprise me.”

The scene opens on Scully, perched on a couch with a pizza before her, and Mulder sneaking behind her to hide his surprise present again. Hands on her belly, she turns her head to try to find him, slowly, contentedly continuing, “I just wish I felt like eating it.”

Nonchalantly, he swings around the couch with plates, napkins, and silverware in hand-- silverware, for pizza?-- flippantly assuring, with a comedic lilt in his voice, “That’s cool-- we can just wait for the cheese to congeal and eat it later.”

After sitting and noticing her reluctant smile, Mulder deduces, “You miss your regular pizza man, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Scully pouts as her partner slumps and defeatedly lets the silverware drop to the table. 

Mulder is trying to become everything Scully needs: friend to her associate, father of her baby, and delivery boy of her favorite pizza. His efforts, however, are stymied by the new ropes he’s still learning-- forgetting, in this instance, to ask if she would like a pizza fresh from her release; or even if she can eat one. When he realizes his carefully crafted plan falls through, he slumps: Scully’s pizza boy wouldn’t fail because he would know when she needed one. And while that isn’t an entirely logical train of thought, it’s one that’s easily suggestible. 

He takes this failure to heart, caving in and avoiding her eyes as the “Aha!” moment turns into a heavy “I should have known this” thud. 

Scully, however, has an ace up her sleeve: revealing her expert rouse with a subtle, “That’s okay, he’s coming later.” She’s so pleased with herself that she fails to hold back a smile, outright giggling when Mulder catches her humor and returns it with a mock-stunned expression. 

Both visibly glow and twinkle while connecting over this simple couples’ joke-- the second they’ve shared since his return, and the first that is levied back-and-forth with equal, humored fervor (post here.)

As Scully’s giggle turns to a chuckle then peters out, Mulder reaches behind her for the stowaway surprise. (An aside: Scully looks down at her belly before her partner shifts, as if her laughter brought on an unexpected bump of movement.)

He keeps his face focused on her, watching her curious eyes track his hand (knowing his partner loves presents, posts here and here); and stays still, mouth wide in anticipation, as she gasps with delight. 

“Bet you forgot about that, didn’t you?”

Shaking her head as emphatically as she can, Scully insists, “No, I didn’t, actually. I thought about it a lot, while I was lying in my hospital bed.” She spares him an assuring, more somber glance while methodically tearing the package open, as if to say you and your efforts were not forgotten, despite my compounding worry and troubles. 

Mulder, meanwhile, loses a touch of his joy, eyebrow twitching, eyes tightening, throat swallowing at the acknowledgment of her recent hospitalization.

But he tries to school his features and zone back into the moment. Her words-- “Wondering what on earth you’d given me”-- help; but it still takes effort to shake off, with a bounce, that darker mood. 

“And?” he prods, voice intentionally buoyant. 

The present is revealed; and Scully is immediately touched, mouth opening in shock. Face pinching, she whispers then croaks, “Oh, Mulder,” swinging the doll around between them to study it intently. 

Pleased, he asks, “Is it what you imagined?”

Eyes squinting, she states, “Not even close.” Sensing there are layers of meaning behind this gift-- and that her partner is continuing a reemergence back to his former ways-- Scully looks up and breaks into a smile.

Mulder leans forward, drinking up this freer atmosphere between them. “Oh, my, that’s the wrong doll, actually.” His face slips near the end of his tease; and Scully calls him on it-- to the delight of them both-- by pretending to swipe at her partner with the toy.

He dodges, and they both fall into a fit of gleeful chuckles and giggles. 

It’s Scully who switches up the mood first, pivoting suddenly into, “But then that’s the other gift you gave me, Mulder.” She looks up from the doll, staring at his softened, tentative expression: there is a hesitant bracing there--not of having to own up to fatherhood or claim this baby, but of wondering what she’s going to say next; and what she expects him to say in response-- before he relaxes with a tender smile.

And she, as always, throws him a curve ball: “Courage. To believe.” Scully looks down, shy, but decides not to dodge Mulder’s natural assumption entirely: “And I hope that’s a gift I can pass on.” Again, she looks up, lips pursed in a smile, eyes locked as Scully draws their attention to the baby: content, and confident.

And that’s an interesting statement: not only does this imply Scully is having a baby (because obviously) but it also implies she is directly tying something intrinsically Mulder to this child-- meaning, this child will be, and was going to be, connected to him no matter what. We know both know the baby is his, and that Mulder wasn’t jealous or resentful of his child (posts here and here); but what I find more fascinating is that there are multiple, subtle clues that Scully would have raised her baby as Mulder’s child (Skinner’s “he’s not the last” in Deadalive; Scully’s blue mourning-but-moving-on sweater, post here; and her pointed remark in this scene.) This is the first time she’s confessed her intentions to her partner; and that points to how personal this decision is for her-- Scully confessions don’t come lightly; and don’t come willingly to anyone, at all, unless that person’s a Mulder.

Mulder takes this revelation in stride, staring at her bump in contemplative silence before re-locking eyes and nodding. 

A split-second one-two-three happened there: 

His eyes slid lower, taking in her words as they came to rest on their child. 

His eyes snapped up, a wild, possessive, purposefully stilled gleam in them. 

His eyes lowered again as he nodded and twitched an eyebrow: I understand and That’s not all I gave you wrapped up in one. 

Scully, being Scully, catches this one-two-three. She begins petting the doll’s hair, an attempt to work through the happy, vulnerable emotions that are nearly breaking from her control. The camera fades out as she masters them; and that is the end of Mulder and Scully in Empedocles.

NOBODY GETS THERE ALONE

I'd be remiss if we didn't compare this sweet and affectionate moment to the last time Mulder gave Scully a gift. There are quite a few parallels, actually.

In Tempus Fugit, Mulder takes Scully to their frequent hangout, and loudly sings along to and claps afterwards with the staff's "Happy Birthday" cheer. (In fact, he continues clapping long after the staff leave and the patrons drop off.) Then, he made sure she had something fun to nibble on (either because the local provided it or because he sneaked in a Snoball) while opening her niche gift. Like Empedocles, however, their moment is interrupted by tragedy and more tragedy (Max's and Pendrell's death; Scully's abruption and Luke's killer's case.)

Alongside these parallels, the mechanism for each gift remains the same: to do things right. In Season 4, it was spurred on by Mulder's fear of Scully's cancer and realization of the depth of his feelings (post here); in Season 8, it is instigated by Mulder's return and stabilization after his death. In both cases, Mulder wants to make up for lost time: birthdays (in dog years, he parries) and fatherly moments missed.

And Scully figures him out-- already had him, probably, when he showed up at her door with something from his mother's, post here-- both times, smiling and puzzling over her partner's presents, divining their oblique and askance meanings. "Teamwork" in Tempus Fugit and "Family" in Empedocles.

Mulder's gestures themselves paint a broader, more evolved picture of his feelings for and commitments to Scully. During the cancer arc, Mulder ran and ran and ran headlong into work or self-recrimination or anyplace where he didn't have to acknowledge Scully's death (they both did, post here.) During the pregnancy arc, Mulder returns, despite his PTSD and doubts and fears, after an abduction (This Is Not Happening), after his "death" (Deadalive), after the failed DOD mission (Three Words), after Doggett and Reyes's case (Empedocles), after the black oil rig (Vienen), after a begrudging trip to help Doggett (Alone), after trying and failing to do the right thing (Essence-Existence.)

An important note: the writers carefully picked and chose what present Mulder picked and chose each time. A NASA commemoration medallion in Tempus Fugit pointed to his hope alongside Scully and the fathomless, though largely unspoken, value Mulder placed on their work together. Their partnership, Mulder said, is a gift; and one he needed (needs) to see things through. It was a sentiment Scully didn't hear voiced until Fight the Future, but it's one he was acutely aware of since their separation and her abduction in Season 2. A cloth doll from his mother's pointed to the day Scully was by his side when he lost sight of the answers and would have lost his closure if not for her truth. It was a different time in their partnership, one that didn't require them to step around the danger between them. In both instances, his presents were a symbol of their relationship beating back the darkest hours: her cancer and their hope, his mother's death and his closure. And there is one last meaning to this gift-- the most glaring one: an extension of the Mulder family trinkets to the next generation of Mulders.

CONCLUSION

Empedocles is wrapped!

Thanks for reading~

Enjoy!

[sylvestris123]

The mystery of Muriel

I have a lot of questions about Muriel...

The first is: Why is it that we see Muriel and Aziraphale interacting with each other during the minisode "A Companion to Owls", but when Muriel turns up on the doorstep during the present time, neither of them appears to recognise each other?

There are several possibilities here:

It was a long time ago, neither of them recalls the other.

I don't like this theory much; it's the simplest explanation, but if A and M are supposed to be strangers in the present, it would have been a lot easier to cast another person as "unnamed scrivenor" in the Owls flashback, or use one of the other angels for the interaction in that scene.

2. Both of them do recognise each other, and both are going along with the charade.

I just don't think M is devious enough to carry this off! They can't even keep up the "I am a human being" act for more than a minute before slipping up.

3. Aziraphale does in fact remember Muriel but is pretending to go along with their "I am a human police officer" spiel. Muriel doesn't remember Aziraphale.

This explains A's behaviour but not M's. I would have thought that they are more likely to remember A than the other way round. A has met thousands of people in his time on Earth; M confesses to Crowley that they see almost nobody in their day-to-day job, so almost any interaction with others would probably be memorable.

Also: would the other Archangels send down somebody that they hope will be incognito if they thought that person might be recognised?

Unless...M has had their memory wiped at some point after the events in the flashback.

4. Another "unreliable narrator" moment. Aziraphale does not actually remember who checked the contract with him, just that it was a scrivenor. And the only scrivenor he has seen recently was Muriel so he sees that face in his memory.

This is possibly the most plausible explanation to me...I can't really think of why else the Archangels would send somebody that they thought A might recognise. (Although they don't seem to be that sharp in Heaven - maybe whoever made the decision to send M wasn't in possession of the brain cell at the time).

Next question: How many scrivenors are there, actually? We have only seen Muriel, and they are 37th class, implying 36 categories above them exist. If there are lots of "Muriels" there is even less reason for sending that angel specifically to Aziraphale.

Is there just one in each class, each representing an angel who has had a memory wipe, maybe?

Next question: Muriel GLOWS. They outshine every other character in every scene that they are in, including all the Archangels, Aziraphale and Jim in his innocent state. What's that all about?

The only other person who comes close to M in terms of brightness is Saraquael...

I'm certain that it is not only relevant but important...

Any ideas?

[they-breasted-boobily]

Ways the plot of tua s4 could have been improved while including a lot of the same storyline:

It goes without saying that a 6 episode season was too rushed for even the shitty plot we got given, but I'll mention that these ideas would have worked better for an 8-10 episode season. Or maybe you could use them for fics or comics- I'd love to see them!

1. The careers and new lives of non-powered umbrellas: While Lila, Klaus, and Viktor had decent set-ups, the others seemed out of place. Diego's personality and desire to be a hero would have been better suited to a mall cop or traffic cop, where he feels undervalued and underutilised, rather than just beaten down as a delivery driver for jokes about peeing in a bottle. Luther only mentioned Sloane a couple of times in the entire series- with more than 6 episodes, it could have been possible to give flashbacks of him trying to get back to her, but her not recognising him and not being romantically interested. Not sure what changes could be made to his job or housing though. Allison's setup was mostly fine, but we really should have been given an explanation for why Raymond left- maybe lean into the horror of being taken from your time and timeline raising a daughter you suddenly have? Five would not work for the CIA except as a double-agent, either that or he would be retired as a fishing supplies store owner. Ben is his own whole point later in this post.

2. The marigold sake shots: I feel like this plot point added to Ben just being an asshole and scapegoat for the entire season, which could benefit from major changes. If left relatively unchanged, the fact that Klaus threw it over his shoulder could have led to greater implications if it landed on an unknown person behind them and gave them powers. This person could have been the subject of an episode or two as they were tracked down when it was necessary.

3. Ben's character: While s3 Sparrow Ben was a dick, he was not as edgy, conceited, or self-absorbed as he was in s4. I think it's fine to start his arc with him leaving prison, but making the crime as major as crypto fraud (just because you think it's funny) makes it much more difficult for him to seem likeable and relateable to Jessica or anyone else. If the crime was something more minor, or he was framed/unfairly jailed it could set up a revenge/redemption arc from the get-go. With his relationship with Jessica, it would have benefited from being more of a slow burn, or if the gradual unnatural obsession had more than 6 episodes to build up.

4. The subway romance: While I can almost understand why it was Five and Lila due to their history working together and especially using time travel together, I think if Five needed a romance (which I don't but show writers can't stand having one member of the main cast never being in a relationship), it should have been someone he met while on that 7 year subway adventure (probably an older woman) and settled with in Strawberry Tradwife timeline while Lila keeps looking for a way out for the sake of her children. Lila would find the journal a few months later and using both it and the subway map, get back to Five because she still needs his powers to get entirely out of the subway system. Could you imagine a scene with Lila trying to convince Five to leave the peaceful Strawberry Tradwife life he's always wanted after dealing with the trauma of being stuck in time twice?

5. Klaus's return to addiction: I think Klaus's arc could have definitely benefited from the season being longer. If there was a slower burn towards his addiction returning and his confrontation with Claire and if she stressed more that he didn't need to go down this path again, it could have really been impactful. The ghost sex trafficking thing was gross but if that was the only way to get him buried alive then so be it, because having him in a situation where he would have to directly face his trauma from the mausoleum and become stronger would be so good for the sendoff of his character. Maybe that could have been the point where he learned how to levitate?

6. Reginald and false memories: Why was the fact that he's literally not human and crafted this timeline so he could have as much power as possible (including a militia town) not explored at all? The plot should have revolved a lot more around at least verifying what he was saying about marigold and durango, if not about handing him a final defeat for this final season. Everything around him killing Ben led to huge plot holes (why wouldn't Klaus know the truth from Ben's ghost? Ben easily could have been spared and only Jessica shot. Why was Jessica being in a squid never explained?). While it's interesting to see the Umbrellas all give a brainwashed explanation for Ben's death, it couldn't be something as blatant as that, because Klaus would have to know even if everyone else was brainwashed. The brainwashing is an idea with promise, but it should have been something like Ben and Jessica being consumed by the giant squid together because Ben went against orders.

What other things could have been changed? I personally liked the CIA subplot, especially as it taught Diego to appreciate his family more. I also found Jean and Gene and the Cleanse conspiracy theorists to be fun new mini-villains.

[emberwritesinsight]

"Your sister's as cute as you are. And as easy-going."

I was going to make a "why did he say this, what's wrong with him" joke, but actually let's unpack this? Fully inviting people to help me unpack this- it's Utena, I'm sure I'll miss something.

The thing that jumped out at me upon first watching this scene is that it's really blatant flirting. "You and your sister are equally cute", he says, just having had sex with said sister.

And I initially couldn't figure out why he did this! Like, this whole scene is about baiting Miki into dueling, the sex with Kozue included. But this? This moment where he straight-up hits on Miki? I couldn't make it fit.

The best explanation I can think of is that flirting with Miki is, like, a show of dominance. "I'm going to compare you to a girl I just had sex with, what are you going to do about it? Nothing. I have the power here." It makes Miki feel more helpless- it also makes him feel some other things, if this shit

is any indication*, but I think the point is less "give Miki the most confusing and twisted bisexual awakening in existence" (although I do think Touga would find that funny) and more "treat Miki like an inferior".

*I am only slightly joking. Like, Flashback Touga doesn't repeat the flirty line, just the stuff about the Rose Bride, but the fact that he's being framed like That in Miki's mind, even though there's also the image of him leaning on the piano with his shirt off that actually happened and would be way less suspicious to linger on... I'm sure there's more to it than just Miki being thirsty, but I think that part is definitely there.

Also, as a younger guy with similar-but-not-yet-as-severe sibling issues, Miki is objectively the best candidate if Touga ever decided he wanted to have his own Touga- that is, Touga in relation to Akio. I don't think Touga ever even tries to go through with it, but this might be laying the groundwork for a similar fucked-up apprenticeship. Make Miki want to be Touga and also stir up some sexual feelings and the Yikesfest follows.

[bereft-of-frogs]

ugh I think I have another #Theory, this time to the solve to the 'how to kill a Jedi without a weapon' riddle, I truly must be stopped --

I think people are off-base assuming it's with the Force, because I feel like Mae would have already figured out choking/lightning or whatever, I believe the Force counts as a 'weapon', and clearly the poison was a weapon (see: Qimir after 'so you did it, you killed the Jedi without the poison) so I do think it's metaphorical rather than semantic. I believe the theories that it's about corrupting a Jedi to the dark side and 'destroying the dream' are closer than any 'it's because she's meant to do it with the Force/her bare hands' or 'it's about killing an unarmed Jedi' (though that second one has potential, why else is she grabbing for the lightsabers but leaving them after they're dead?). But another solution could be destroying the Jedi's legacy.

I think they're going to frame Sol as the rogue Jedi who trained Mae.

I have like, so little textual evidence for this. This is probably as out of thin air as the 'Vernestra/Indara is the Sith' theories so maybe I who live in a glass house shouldn't be throwing stones about how much I dislike those theories after proposing this one. But I'm really thinking that only Sol is going to make it out of the forest battle alive next episode, aside from Osha and the Sith crew, and there's going to be some kind of chase that leads them away. So Vernestra shows up on Khofar (the lightwhip scene in the trailer is almost certainly Khofar) to find the bodies killed with a lightsaber and everyone else gone.

I think they go off and unpack whatever happened the night of the fire on Brendok, there's all kinds of confrontations/fights/reveals/etc in episodes 6 & 8 (episode 7 is definitely the Jedi POV of the flashback) and the season's going to end with at least Sol dead (maybe Mae too) and Osha turning to the dark side to become the true acolyte. It was already set up last episode that the Order doesn't suspect the Sith, they're pretty convinced it's a 'rogue Jedi' who trained Mae, and Sol did some kind of shady stuff during that meeting. (Not including himself on the list of targets, keeping Mae and her survival a secret.) Even I sort of started to suspect him, but I think that's a red herring, just to set up why Vernestra might end up distrusting him. So Vern's feeling kind of weird about the secrets Sol's kept about Mae (because it's more than just 'he thought she died', Yord said even the existence of Mae didn't end up in Osha's file), but she still trusts him and there are innocent explanations for all this she writes off, so she sends him off with a bunch of other Jedi to go get Kelnacca. But now the whole crew she sent out is dead, clearly killed with a lightsaber (they know Osha doesn't have a lightsaber, and reasonably suspect Mae doesn't either considering Indara was killed with a knife, Torbin poison, and she left their lightsabers behind), and Sol's gone...I think it's fairly reasonable suspicion especially if later Osha turns up as the acolyte.

(There were a couple early things that seemed to deliberately set her physically apart from Mae, the marking on Mae's forehead and her tattoo. Why would they do that if the Jedi believed the identical twin thing right away? Why would they need some proof of their identities unless there's a second role reversal and they need some other way of telling it's Osha and not Mae?)

So yeah in this Sol -- ray of literal sunshine, good Jedi, kind person -- gets his legacy destroyed (one apprentice dead, because I'm pretty convinced Jecki doesn't live out the season, though I'll be happy to be wrong -- the other turned to the dark side) and his reputation tarnished by accusations of being a rogue Jedi training dark side assassins. There you go, you've killed a Jedi without a weapon.

And I feel like this would fit the kind of meta narrative they've got going on, as sort of a mirror of what happened to the Order as a whole at the end of the PT, heroes transformed into traitors.

I have no additional evidence for this. My theories are not spiraling at all. I love weekly releases and am being very very normal about having to wait between episodes. :) so normal *vibrates intensely*

[krafterwrites]

Ok, time for the one post I'll make about Sonic 3 itself now that it's out. Since there's already a full recording of it available online, I'm going to write down my "live reactions" (I already know basically everything that's going to happen, but I'm sure there's at least one or two small surprises left) below the cut so I can get this movie out of my system and move on

The first lines of dialogue are a "Cops love donuts" joke. Off to a great start

A gambling ad popped up right as Shadow broke out and started attacking people gljkdfgh

4 minutes in and they've already used the leitmotif of Live And Learn 3 times

Shadow being sopping wet and miserable is pretty cute

Ace already said this but wow they really did ruin the "Talk about low budget flights line", Sonic saying it feels soooo unnatural and shoehorned in

Unless it's for a really good sequence, I don't understand the point of playing a licensed song for literally 10 seconds

Wow the opening fight with all three of them against Shadow is super short

I'm glad that the gun isn't just for show and he actually gets to use it

I seriously cannot get over how stupid Shadow coming from a meteor is, the entire POINT of his character is that he was created. He was born to be the ultimate lifeform, to be a cure for Maria, to bring hope to humanity. Him just randomly showing up instead of specifically being created undermines his entire identity. Also, Gerald creating Shadow is incredibly important to his identity as well. It's almost impressive that they managed to fuck up so much with a single decision

The dialogue has already made me cringe a few times but that was definitely the worst instance so far. I wish they would stop

YIPPEE OFFICER DOWN!!!

Walters having a photo of Team Sonic in his jacket that was taken like 5 minutes beforehand so Rockwell can pick it up to illustrate that she thinks Team Sonic killed him is kind of strange and unnecessary

I thought that the show Eggman was watching was another gambling ad for a second

Eggman said boobs. Sure why not

I forgot that they're allowed to swear a bit

I thought they were going to reference Among Us when Stone said imposter. I wish they did, it would've been an actually acceptable pop culture reference

I'm kind of torn on the flashback montage with Maria. It feels a little too silly and lighthearted, but it is cute to see her and Shadow do a bunch of childish stuff together

However, her not being terminally ill and also not spending her entire life in space is dumb. Those are both very important to who she is, and consequently, who Shadow is (he was initially made to be a cure for her, and her love for the planet that she never got to see is what motivates him). I know both of these are consequences of them making Shadow come from a meteor, but there was literally no reason for them to do that, especially considering it messed up him, Gerald, AND Maria. Why would they make that choice when it doesn't add anything and has such a high cost

The Biolizard puppet is cute, though. They should've actually included it (along with Rouge, Amy, and all the other things they omitted), but I guess it's better than nothing

Oh god Gerald is here. I was thinking "So far this isn't as hard to watch as I thought it would be" but it's probably going to get significantly more painful soon

That was a Family Guy cutaway gag

How is a bunch of loose popcorn still in pristine condition after 50 years of sitting out in the open

That was a bad fourth wall joke. Also get on it, this has been going on for like 2-3 minutes

So if we're meant to believe that Shadow's quill is what kept Gerald alive, can Shadow basically just grant people immortality at will? Or is there really just no explanation for him living longer than any human should be able to

I'm glad that the scene of Eggman and Gerald doing stuff together in VR didn't go on for that long, because it felt like the scene of them meeting felt so dragged out

For a split second I thought the music was using the leitmotif of Dreams Of An Absolution, but then I realized that its Green Hill

The puppet only has like 15 seconds of screentime but it's still SO unnecessary

Shadow saying "revenge guac" is stupid but it did not make me cringe like some of the other lines have so far

Tom using the hologram tech to disguise as Randall... Not my place to speak so I'm not going to say anything, but I don't think that was a good idea

Pointless extended bit of Jim Carrey doing comedy with himself number 3. And I know there's at least one more after this. Why did they have to focus on him so heavily

YESSSSSS thank you Shadow, we all wanted to see that happen. Keep up the good work

I hate that Wade got to appear at all, but at least his screentime is brief

It sucks that we just get Gerald saying "It's not about what Maria wanted, it's about what they deserve" to convince Shadow to get revenge, because that's the opposite of how he motivated Shadow in SA2, he made it seem like revenge is what Maria wanted

When I first saw the commander trying to wrestle away the gum through a leak, I laughed my ass off. It's so stupid. Also I knew they would be cowards and not actually show her getting shot, but it's still annoying

Maria not actually getting to say her last words to Shadow, on top of him not being made by Gerald, really is a one-two punch of completely destroying his SA2 characterization (and his characterization in general). It's insulting to Maria too, how do you manage to take away agency from a character who's entire narrative purpose is to die for the sake of another character's backstory

Also, now that the plot has moved into space, I can say with even more certainty that there truly was no reason for them to use Tokyo and London instead of San Francisco. The only thing gained from using Tokyo is the Chao cafe, and the only thing gained from using London is about a minute or two of basic pop culture references. I'm pretty sure they only picked them because they're two of the most famous cities in the world, which is dumb

I hate that Shadow's arc is about letting go of anger and not seeking revenge, that's completely different from what his story is in SA2, they're barely comparable even on a surface level. His actual arc is about being unsure of who he is and why he exists, being used as a tool for revenge by Gerald, and eventually breaking free of that programming to discover that he was created to bring hope to humanity

The Eggman vs Gerald stuff is the stupidest shit ever, and it's made even worse by the fact that it keeps interrupting the Sonic and Shadow scenes

I hate to say that when I first saw Gerald's death through a leak, I (involuntary) burst out laughing. It's supremely stupid and I do not like it, but it's just so absurd that it's hard not to react in some way

The moon thing kinda makes me mad tbh. This movie loves to make references to iconic things from SA2 instead of actually adapting them

The finale is pretty cool visually, but conceptually, it's a really big downgrade from the original. It's comprised of a super form battle between Sonic and Shadow, a cartoon slapfight between Eggman and Gerald, Sonic and Shadow easily blasting through a bunch of GUN Hunters, them blocking the laser while it gets steered away with an actual steering wheel, and then Shadow physically pushing the ARK away by himself. SA2 featured everyone except Shadow working together to reach the deepest part of the ARK as it hurtled towards the Earth, Shadow rushing in to fight the Biolizard while Sonic and Knuckles neutralize the core's energy, and then Sonic and Shadow being forced to go super after the Biolizard fuses itself to the colony in order to continue Gerald's plan, ending with them both using Chaos Control together to put it back in place

I was going to write a summary after I finished watching, but honestly, Eggman took the words right out of my mouth when he said "It's been a real drag. Thanks for nothing" and then died in an explosion

[breckstonevailskier]

"Jumanji" speculation

This is the synopsis for the upcoming sixth episode of Gen V (source).

My guesses are that:

"Emma goes to find Sam" - Seems like she probably returns to Godolkin's campus since we last saw her in episode 5 with Sam at the drive-in, calling the others to warn them about Cate.

"Marie, Jordan and Andre are forced to see things from Cate's perspective." My guess is this will be a limelight episode for Cate with a fair number of extended flashbacks that illustrate just how Cate came into Shetty's control, and also probably give us more Golden Boy as well as tell us just how Brink fits into this all (and why exactly Golden Boy killed him). Since Cate clearly is wracked with guilt about wiping their minds, it would make sense that she'd want to divulge everything she can to regain their trust. There was a preview shot in episode 6 of Cate's eyes looking pretty bloodshot, suggesting she restored all of their memories, not just Andre's.

"Dr. Cardosa makes a breakthrough with a mysterious virus, and Shetty makes a terrifying request with dire consequences." We're definitely going to be seeing follow-up to the scene that Shetty had with Cardosa in the Woods corridor. Definitely seems like he wants Marie's blood to perfect his virus that can control Supes (which I personally think might also tie in with why Cate was under Shetty's control, given her particular powerset).

Edison Cardosa: [Sam] nearly killed my family, Indira! He's far more trouble than he's worth, and Golden Boy is dead anyway. The point is, I'm done with Sam. He's not my problem anymore. I'm tired of babysitting psychopaths. Indira Shetty: Babysitting psychopaths is literally your job. Edison Cardosa: Those kids found out about him! Indira Shetty: Those kids have been handled. They won't be a problem. Edison Cardosa: Come on. You know it's just a matter of time before they find out about everything else we're doing down here. I am this fսcking close to perfecting the virus, a viable way to control them for good. But if they discover that? I'm not paid nearly enough to die for this shit. Indira Shetty: So you want a raise? Edison Cardosa: No, that's not what I... Indira Shetty: So why don't you tell me what it is you do want? Because we both know you're not going anywhere. Cutting up Supes and seeing how they tick is a skill that won't quite shine on your LinkedIn profile. Edison Cardosa: I want the girl. Marie. Her abilities are the rarest I've ever seen. She doesn't understand how powerful she really is. She's the perfect subject, could speed up my timeline. Indira Shetty: She is special. But no. You're not the only one interested in Moreau. She has a benefactor, and because of that, she's strictly off-limits. For now.

This will probably include some explanation as to what Soldier Boy might be doing in this show. But then there's the question of who Marie's benefactor is. It's probably not Shetty herself because I don't see why Shetty would refer to herself in the third person, so it's probably someone else within Vought or associated with Vought. Could be Victoria Neuman (since we will see her in person in one of these episodes), but I like the theory that Marie's benefactor is Stan Edgar. As New Rockstars pointed out, he's got a history of taking interest in orphaned Supes from Red River who accidentally killed their own parents (can't be a coincidence that we actually saw Marie's picture briefly on the computer screen when Hughie was at Red River investigating Victoria's past and uncovered her connection to Edgar; Victoria's and Marie's parents also died in similar fashion); he'd want a new asset in the wake of Victoria's double cross, and seeing as Edgar was the one who signed off on Payback betraying Soldier Boy to replace him with Homelander back in 1985, it would make sense for him to have a contingency plan up his sleeve (and be secretly coordinating with Shetty and the many other insiders he probably still has within Vought).

[nalyra-dreaming]

Thanks for answering my ask! Re the trial-louis-lestat choice.

I understand what you mean about picking up on the clues, but clues are not enough to make a canon. Season 3 will hopefully bring more clarity that would be much welcome! One of the reasons why I am being wary and not yet believe that these theories will come to fruition largely has to do with the season two revisits.

They chose to revisit two scenes, one of which quite literally dichotomized the fan base (and actually turned some fans away from the series altogether). During the wait for season two people were swearing up and down that the revisit would set this right somehow and that there were hints (lestats immaculate appearance during the drop etc) that this did not take place at all and it was a fake memory inserted by armand.However that did not happen and in 2x7 the drop became accepted canon. (They may add more explanation behind the why of it but that's another thing to theorize about)

Instead the revisits were shown to be the two moments of truth during the sham of a trial and they were focused on lestat being made to appear more vulnerable and indeed more like the "victim" like the narrative the script was trying to push. Not sure if these crucial moments showing louis to be unreliable had to be shown to us in the middle of a script meant to lynch him, but then again it falls in line with the overall theme of the episode and season two 😅

I fully agree with you that the manipulation from armand played a huge role in louis' psyche and choices, I do though get the feeling that the writers wanted to sort of muddle his character too and show he is part of the problem with the choices he made in his relationship with armand and lestat. Having both parents have a hand in claudias death is also A Choice (slightly raised eyebrow here).

Either way I really hope that by season 3 they don't take the he- said- she -said route, and we get both flashbacks and backround information! There is much more to explore behind these events (especially where leatat is concerned) and I really hope they go for it!

Thanks for reading!!

Hey,

sure :)

You’re right, clues are not enough to make canon, but… that’s the point. We do not have CANON yet. We do not have the truth... yet.

The writers said in November 22 that they would revisit, and yes, you are right, a lot of people - myself included - thought that would be more … let’s call it direct.

But they chose the very subtle approach there once more, AND they chose to return to the books in setup, something I did indeed not anticipate.

Season one was like a breath of fresh air. Making Louis more, pulling up the so-called subtext, breaking the book structure up and also the setting, as well of the backgrounds. They incorporated things from multiple books in s1 alone already: IWTV, TVL, QotD, Memnoch, Merrick and Prince Lestat.

I had expected that they would continue like that, but they returned to the book structure, and quite… closely too. That expectation I was wrong about, and subsequently also about the (depths of the) reveals, granted.

Because: By returning to the book structure they also returned to the narrative views for a while longer at least, to the uncertainty of what Louis knows - and what he does not know. Which goes for the audience as well.

I think, I, like a lot of people, had expected different for s2. And while I loved s2 in general that part has left me disappointed, as said before.

I said it before, I think the drop happened as it stands now, however I fully expect them to go back to those minutes, add context, and if I'm right the dragging outside will have significance in later seasons. But, you HAVE to remember - what you have seen of the trial, was also a memory. An edited memory, to a large part, because we do have the trial script. And that is, right now, our only source of actual proof which contradicts reliably.

So right now I am interpreting it all within the clues we got. You said it yourself, some things do not match.

By now I am quite sure that they will continue like that - to write clues in, but will not care to spell it all out.

And, as said before, >I< would have preferred that another way. It makes the show very clever, yes. It makes it intricately layered, also yes.

But it also makes it so much harder to get truth, and while this show is probably made better for not giving us said truth, the fandom would desperately need it, imho.

[zacki0gaming]

Trying To Analyze Cintagon’s Backstory In The Season 1’s Finale

I know haven’t got a lot of analyze posts to say about the TPC series, but I want to actually fully talk about Cintagon’s backstory here, including truth of Pentellow’s mother, the Green Tree of Life’s conversation, etc. It is because I definitely know it’s still terribly written to this day for me…

Scene Overview

So apparently, Cintagon’s story discloses crucial information regarding Pentellow's origins, her mother's fate, and his own paternal relationship to her. It revelation serves multiple narrative purposes: it elucidates Pentellow's background, contextualizes Cintagon's challenging past decision between the Green Tree of Life’s request (we will get to this bullshit part later…), and establishes a profound emotional connection between the long-separated father and daughter.

Analysis

Cintagon’s Revelation

Lines:

"It was before this pink virus existed."

"Your mother died from giving birth to you."

"So your father was going to raise you like any parent would...But..."

"He had to give you away to someone else."

Setting the Context: Cintagon starts by mentioning a period before the Pink Corruption Virus was created. It contextually shows how this backstory is gonna playout later on within this discussion.

Grief and Responsibility: Cintagon’s statement about Pentellow's mother dying at childbirth, introduced a profound sense of lose as Cintagon's use of "your father" in the third person creates initial distance, building suspense before revealing his true identity to Pentellow.

Conflict and Duty: The word "But..." introduces a turning point, highlighting the internal conflict between his parental love and his sense of duty, evident through his promise to raise Pentellow like any other parent would.

Pentellow’s Curiosity and Shock

Lines:

"Why?"

Innocence and Curiosity: Pentellow's single-word question encapsulates her confusion and longing for understanding of her seeking the truth about her past and more about her family's background.

Cintagon's Explanation and Vulnerability

The Backstory’s Dialogue:

"The tree of life told him to. It said his daughter will become the second caretaker, and will succeed at it. If he's willing to give you to someone else. He was devastated. He thought he could never see her again... Until now. I can finally tell you why I had to give you away."

Forgive me for my stupid computer pen writing skills here....

So basically, this flashback represents Cintagon's vulnerability through the Green of Tree of Life's request in order to have his daughter, Pentellow to become one of the Caretakers. It is testament if he is wiling to give his daughter to someone else. So, remember the promise Cintagon made to take care of his daughter like any other parent would?

Emotional Devastation: This will get heavily influenced and destroyed here, humanizing the depth of Cintagon's long-lasting emotional toll for sacrificing his chance of taking care of his daughter in order to have her become one of the chosen ones.

Revelation of Identity: By saying "I can finally tell you why I had to give you away," Cintagon reveals his true identity as her father, blending relief, regret, and a desire for reconciliation.

Alright, here’s the main fucking problem here…

I don't mind Cintagon being Pentellow's father, but the overall execution of this main storyline arc needed more improvement. It was so underwhelming, rushed, and poorly-written. The initial episodes of Season 1 (1-5, and possibly 6) primarily felt like we were focusing on Cube and Cyan's characters when they basically became caretaker and hero in the first few days. But however, this sudden shift to Pentellow's backstory on searching for her long-lost family feel somewhat abrupt and disconnected.

The buildup to the realization of Cintagon's role as Pentellow's father lacked subtlety, with foreshadowing that was overly transparent. By the conclusion of Season 1, Episode 9, when Polyhedron stated, "Oh, you need to find this guy named uhhhh…. Cintagon," the revelation had become quickly predictable, diminishing its potential impact.

Now we talk about the backstory here. In essence, the Green Tree of Life makes a highly controversial and seemingly unjustified decision, instructing Cintagon to go fuck himself to cease all of his parental responsibilities towards his daughter for a period of 24 years. Let me say this AGAIN...! "A FUCKING 24-YEAR TOLL." I don't like this because The Tree's request was just so unreasonable and poorly justified. Like, the Tree was just seeming to disregard Cintagon's paternal role and emotional well-being, not wanting him to actually take care of his daughter for no fucking reason WHY…!

Overall, this main story arc for Pentellow appears to have been implemented hastily, resulting this storytelling experience with so much of wasted potential. Pentellow dosen’t get a whole lot of character development, Cintagon’s backstory was poorly-explained with the Green Tree of Life being so nonsensical and out of character for the sake of being a asshole toward Cintagon.

Alright, that’s all I’m gonna say here. See yall in my next rant post.

[neuroticbookworm]

Understanding the Core Four of La Pluie

Last Saturday, I screamed into this hellsite about the brilliance of La Pluie episode 10, and in the last couple of days, I read many amazing metas from my fellow La Pluie fiends that broke down all the well-executed dimensions of this episode (keep an eye out for this week’s La Pluie meta roundup from my pal @lurkingshan). When we last saw these characters in episode 9, Lomfon was running the hamster wheel in his brain, trying to figure out how to navigate his situation of hearing Saengtai (and Patts) when it rained. Tien was nursing a crush on Lomfon, and Tai and Patts had made things official and were stronger than ever. Then came episode 10, which turned everything upside down and left us speechless.

I loved and enjoyed every aspect of this episode: acting, plot development, cinematography, screenwriting, and more. But the one that blew me away the most was how the motivation and drive behind each character’s actions were perfectly in line with the character traits the show has already established. I initially wanted to write this post only to explore these traits, but after observing the La Pluie fandom discourse for the past week, I expanded it to include my defense of why every character in the La Pluie Core Four "deserves" the resolutions the show is poised to give them in the coming days.

Tien:

When Tien enters the pivotal conflict scene in the rain, he walks into a kiss between his brother and the guy he has a crush on. Absolutely heartbreaking. We see him stand still on the side, while Patts rushes to push Lomfon away from Tai and punch him repeatedly in the face (though not hard enough, as my friend @bengiyo argues here, and I fully agree. That ass-whooping should've been harder and longer). And after Patts and Tai walk away, Tien faces Lomfon, who just recklessly messed up the lives of everyone around him with no regard for anyone's feelings.

Here’s a quick list of Tien’s personality traits that were on display in this scene:

Tien is calm. He is pissed, he is rattled by the events, and yet he starts with a pretty calm "What did you mean?"

Tien is logical. He immediately counters Lomfon's explanation about his hearing loss and him being Saengtai's soulmate with, "You liar. I'm speaking now, and you can hear me."

Tien is a good communicator. He clearly confessed his feelings to Lomfon and how he thought his feelings were reciprocated, even when his heart was in tatters. He managed to be the most open and honest person out of everyone involved in this mess, and he hadn’t even done anything wrong. We would’ve completely understood his actions if he had just walked away after cussing out Lomfon, but that’s not the Tien we’ve seen and adored for the last nine episodes.

Tien is brave. He had been developing feelings for Lomfon for a while, and he thought his feelings were reciprocated. Being vulnerable and confessing your feelings to your crush is a nerve-wracking experience in its own right, and yet Tien confessed his feelings after Lomfon had just kissed his brother, potentially ruining any possibility of a relationship between them. For that alone, he is one of the bravest sonsofbitches I've seen in a BL so far.

I was not expecting to be surprised by Tien in this episode. I don’t exactly know what I thought his reaction would be to the Lomfon-sized wreaking ball I knew was coming, but I had only anticipated a heartbroken Tien. Instead, I got a Tien who was the only level-headed and rational person in this fight. And all of these wonderful traits were already established in the show's previous episodes:

Tien is one of the calmer Saengs. We have seen each of the Saeng brothers handle their parents' split very differently in the flashbacks. Saengtai and Saengchan are usually in tears and are physically reactive, whereas Saengtien and Saengnuea are the ones holding them back and comforting them.

Lomfon is not the only one who ran experiments to understand his feelings. Tien is also logical (albeit less neurotic and more sensible than Lomfon), and he worked through his sudden feelings for Lomfon after they held hands in the classroom by holding hands with his friends. He’s also open to opinions from others, as he talks to Tai about his feelings. Which makes him…

A good communicator. Tien also calls out Tai’s reluctance to communicate with his mother rationally, and to try and understand her side of things in the divorce and her relationship with her boyfriend, Nu.

Tien is an excellent subversion of the "playful and less mature younger sibling" character because, while he is easy-going and playful, he’s also the most emotionally intelligent and mature character out of the Core Four. Moving on to his elder, albeit much less emotionally mature brother, Tai.

Tai and Patts:

I’m analyzing Patts and Tai’s actions together because this way it’s easier to compare their words and actions towards each other in this episode, to their relationship dynamics that were established previously. The explosive fight and the subsequent breakup were shocking, but smart cookies like @lurkingshan, @bengiyo, @shortpplfedup and @ginnymoonbeam posited in our conversations, before the episode aired, that it was time for Patts’ frustrations and insecurities to rise to the surface. And boy did it rise up. This conflict between the primary couple has already been extensively analyzed by @lurkingshan here, so I will add my little observations on how Patts and Tai’s behavior in this fight is supported by the writing of the show so far.

@ginnymoonbeam has shared her thoughts on Tai’s avoidant personality, here. I want to add that Tai is also incredibly stubborn and hard to please. His father says so, to Patts during their dinner in episode 5.

The phrase "seems like an understanding person" is very telling, five episodes later. Tai also has the propensity to see life in black and white, especially when it comes to romance. His faith in soulmates is broken the moment he witnesses the end of a soulmate relationship. There is no room for explanation, as evidenced by his decision to ghost his soulmate for 2 years, and his coldness towards his mom, whom he has decided is the sole villain in their parents’ divorce. Simply put, he reads too much Nora Roberts (check out @syrena-del-mar’s excellent meta, La Pluie meets Nora Roberts).

Moving on to Patts. First off: no Patts hate is allowed in this house. I do not condone violence, but I also think the reasons behind the display of violence deserve to be talked about without the air of dismissal surrounding it (@shortpplfedup backs me up on this, here).

Patts had been understanding of two years of silence from Tai, and had been incredibly patient while working and finding solutions to Tai's fears around relationships and commitment. All the emotional labor in this relationship had been done by Patts, he verbalizes his desires and thoughts every time and is often left hanging by Tai, in silence. After Patts and Tai’s (supposed) heart-to-heart in Doi Mae Pliang (shout out to @indigostarfire and @lurkingshan for the incredible observation that Tai chose not to verbalize his answer to Patts’ question "Do you want to be my faen?", here and here), Patts must’ve felt that they are finally on solid ground, after years of uncertainty.

When Tai lied and hid his plans with Lomfon at the park, Patts must’ve felt devastated. And when he saw Lomfon kiss Tai, he finally snapped. He took out his anger on Lomfon, but as @bengiyo observed, Patts still managed to not leave a single bruise on Lomfon. His restraint is a sign that his frustration is not directed at Lomfon, but at Tai. Patts’ anger and Tai’s refusal to communicate openly escalate the fight further and further, until all the tension breaks at Tai’s room, with Patts agreeing to break up.

Something that stood out to me in this conflict is that the escalations were so well written that they did not feel like they were being done just for the sake of moving the plot along. Every question thrown at each other’s faces and every furious answer spit out in response felt natural and fluid. When Patts shows up at Tai’s door, he is not there with the intention of picking the fight back up. The first thing Tai asks Patts is, "Are you drunk?" and Patts tells him that he is not. They both know and understand how horribly this can go if one of them loses control. When Patts asks him "You still love me, don’t you?", Tai infuriatingly responds "This is exactly why I don’t want to talk to you".

And we see Patts getting angry at his response, shouting this:

To which Tai responds with this:

Tai did not utter those words to aggravate Patts. He truly believes that in an ideal, happy relationship, the couple must be completely compatible, so totally in sync that they will know all the answers to the questions that didn’t even need to be asked. Tai stumbled into a clear understanding of the Patts-Nara mess in episode 8 and told Patts that he was not mad about it. He did not ask questions or demand answers from Patts. Sometime during his deadly trek up Doi Mae Pliang, Tai decides that their love is enough to conquer whatever the universe throws at them. Not understanding, not communication, but love. That’s why Tai shuts down every time Patts demands an explanation; he thinks needing one means that Patts does not love him "the right way". And when Patts finally blurts out "Let’s breakup", we see him immediately absorb the weight of those words and backtrack. But for Tai, this is the final proof he needed to confirm that Patts is not right for him. So, he thanks Patts for the time they shared together and shuts the door in his face.

I sincerely hope Patts holds his ground and does not apologize unnecessarily to Tai. Tai is 100% in the wrong here; he needs a stern talking-to from someone who understands both Tai and how love and relationships actually work (my money is on Tai’s dad), and then he needs to do some very difficult but necessary introspection about his understanding of love. When he is finally done and realizes that he has made a massive mistake, I hope that Tai is the one who seeks out Patts to reconcile.

And finally, the messiest mess of the Core Four…

Lomfon:

Sigh. Oh Lomfon, you fucking disaster. I’ve been wary of you, I’ve been fascinated by you, and now I want to buy a ladder so I can climb on it and ring your head like a fucking bell till you forget the “How to acquire Tai in ten easy steps” list you have in your head.

There is no question in my mind that Lomfon fucked up spectacularly. He orchestrated a date with a man who was already taken, proceeded to reveal the truth about his soulmate connection in the most dramatic and emotionally destabilizing way possible, and then kissed him. And he does all this in the midst of developing feelings for this man’s brother.

Folks, I now have a confession to make. The nearly 2k words I had put before this section were to gently lure you into an "In defense of Lomfon" post.

The two major criticisms I’ve seen so far that are leveled against him are that he has disregarded Tien’s feelings and that he has been grossly manipulative in how he chose to reveal his soulmate connection to Tai. I will try to tackle both of them with an objective lens. My goal here is not to pose an explanation or argument for every shitty thing Lomfon has ever done in the show; it is just to present Lomfon’s traits, stripped from the (rightful) anger the fandom feels after the events of episode 10, so I can understand and accept the redemption the show might give him in the coming week.

Before I get into the specifics of the defense, I want to focus on the Keychain Acquisition scene we finally got in this episode. We see Tai run after his dad, and Tai suddenly notices Lomfon, who is focused on the papers in his hand and wearing headphones, about to walk into a busy street. He rushes to push Lomfon out of the way, tells him to be careful, and then runs after his dad again. From the moment Tai touches Lomfon, to the moment Lomfon looks up only to see Tai running back, this whole interaction takes about fifteen seconds. I counted them. Fifteen seconds.

When we watched this scene, @lurkingshan and I could not believe how absurdly mundane it was. The show has been teasing a connection between Tai and Lomfon for weeks, and this is it? Tai pushed him out of the way of a moving car and shouted an obligatory "be careful, it’s dangerous" in Lomfon’s general direction before going back to his own problems. But that’s all it took for Lomfon to decide that this mystery stranger is his "first love". He did not even get a proper glimpse of Tai because, by the time he looked up, Tai was already running. I wonder how much of Tai’s voice he actually registered, given the fact that he had to rip his earphones off first and that he was disoriented from being pushed to the ground.

I understand that teenagers have wild imaginations, but even for them, this is a level of delusion that is only achievable if any and all human contact is rare. I have held hands and gently pulled and pushed friends and family members out of the way countless times in my life while crossing a busy road. If Lomfon had saved the keychain as a reminder of the day he almost died before a kind stranger saved his life, this would be a completely different post. Since Lomfon attaches such an intense meaning to an event that is so commonplace (the showing-kindness-to-strangers part, not the almost getting-hit-by-a-car part), all this scene shows us is that Lomfon is utterly and pathetically lonely.

I’m not just reading this from the keychain scene. Since this show has some very clever writers, Lomfon’s "Social Loner" status is established from the very first episode. Before Tien meets Lomfon at the bookstore, we see Tien interact with his friends and his brother. In contrast to this, when we see Lomfon for the first time, he’s alone and is immediately picking a fight with Tien. Which leads to Lomfon meeting Tai for the very first time, and Tai intervening to break up the catfight. Tien even says this to Lomfon:

Remember when we were theorizing about Lomfon potentially knowing Tai before this incident, after the Keychain was introduced in episode 7? Because in episode 2, when he meets Tai at the coffee shop, he talks about Tai’s articles? And we were thinking, there’s no way he just stalked this person online after meeting him for about 2 minutes, just because he took his side. Nobody would be that obsessed, right? Right? Nope. This boy is really THAT obsessed, because he does not have a single friend who can take his side on a daily basis and normalize this experience for him.

With this information, some of Lomfon’s actions start making a little bit more sense, as his social isolation must make him very inept at reading normal social cues and emotions. He may fancy himself a logician, but he cannot factor feelings and emotions, his own or otherwise, into his calculations. I intentionally only used the word "obsession" when I talked about his feelings for Tai, because I know that he’s not pursuing Tai because he felt his heart flutter in his chest. He’s pursuing him because: 1. Tai took his side in the bookstore argument; 2. He then went home and stalked Tai on the internet and figured out that he’s a writer, which was interesting, because he likes... reading, I guess? (I’m feeling physical pain due to second-hand embarrassment from typing that sentence.) and 3. He found out that Tai has read some of his favorite books and figured that they must have the same passions and interests.

And here is my defense for the first criticism: When we consider just how little time he must’ve spent in his entire life, thinking about other people and their problems (because he must have the heartfelt and intimate connection it requires with only a rare few people), Lomfon does care for Tien. He held Tien back when he was recklessly rushing into a storm to save his brother. He calmed Tien down with very persuasive arguments that were both logical and empathetic. He respected Tien’s opinions enough to discuss the concept of soulmates with him twice (in episodes 7 and 10). During their discussion in episode 10, Tien tells him he doesn’t know whether he would choose his soulmate or someone he likes. After the scene, we see Lomfon sitting alone, ruminating on this thought for a few seconds. He asks his friend and possible crush for advice on what to do, and when he doesn’t get a concrete solution, he decides to give his way a try. And we see him make the call to invite Tien to lunch and a day at the park.

And what exactly was he trying to accomplish on this date, you may ask? Well, to paraphrase @bengiyo, he just wanted to run an experiment for "The Foot Pop" theory from The Princess Diaries. Matters of the heart are not something you can distil into equations. You either have to let the desire fully confront you, let it cloud your logical brain, and bravely let it guide you into your next steps. Or you can open up and be vulnerable about it with the people closest to you, ask for their opinions, and then take a decision that’s a bit more informed, yet firmly rooted in what you want based on what you feel. Both of these options are foreign to Lomfon. He has never solved problems this way, nor has he witnessed someone solving problems like this. So he recklessly kisses Tai, to prove to himself that all the calculations he had performed on his and Tai’s compatibility were right. He kisses Tai, and when he does not feel the butterflies, he pulls back, sees Tai’s stunned face, and immediately realizes that he has made a horrible, horrible mistake.

You know where he should’ve run the experiment, for better results? Riiiiiight here:

gif by the ever lovely @liyazaki

It could’ve been so simple and sweet. This loser just had to take the route that would cause the most damage.

Moving on to the second criticism that Lomfon is shady and manipulative in his actions in episode 10. I agree, he easily could’ve found a much less dramatic way to talk to Tai and Patts about this shared soulmate bond situation. But taking this straightforward route takes a lot of social courage and nuance, which Lomfon clearly does not have. If he and Patts had not been staring daggers since the moment they laid eyes on each other, the solution to their soulmate problem could’ve been calmly discussed at a table over breakfast. Since Lomfon decides to posture up to Patts as a romantic rival, with Patts already on edge about his intentions with Tai, Patts brusquely tells him to stay away from Tai. Which does not help matters one bit, and leads to Lomfon making all the wrong moves straight into disaster.

The biggest questions that were constantly in my head after this fiasco were "How the heck is Tien ever going to forgive him?". "Is a happily ever after even on the cards for Lomfon and Tien?". "Will it be believable and realistic if the writers give us one?".

I do not want to speculate on how the writers may choose to end this arc, because I want to ponder these questions purely based on what we know so far, without an ending of my choice already in my head, so I don’t skew my arguments to fit.

Lomfon may believe that Tai is the one who is most compatible with him, but he could not be more wrong. We have not seen any interactions between them where their personalities complement each other. We only see Tai in these interactions through Lomfon’s obsessive lens. But on the flip side, we see that Tien is rational and emotionally mature enough to give Lomfon an honest chance to explain himself and apologize. If Lomfon takes the time to look inward and understand his feelings for Tien, he will then convey them with sharp focus, and without any ambiguity. Because, let’s be honest, Lomfon is many things, but he is definitely not the type to prattle. And for Tien, who is also a straightforward and no-nonsense communicator, this approach might be the first step towards understanding and eventually forgiving Lomfon.

I know that I am skirting around a lot of Lomfon’s major fuckups on this road to redemption, but as I stated before, I’m not here to explain away all of his mistakes. I know Lomfon has some serious introspection and atonement in front of him. The only way he can ever hope for forgiveness is if he goes into this journey without hoping to be forgiven. He has to do it for the people that he has hurt, with no expectations in return.

Lomfon is not irredeemable. Does he deserve all the hate he is currently getting from the fandom? Yes. Did he deserve the ass-whooping? Hell yes. Will he also be worthy of Tien’s (and our) forgiveness if and when he reevaluates all of his actions and apologizes to him? Absolutely.

Shoutout to @lurkingshan, @bengiyo, @shortpplfedup, @wen-kexing-apologist, @ginnymoonbeam and @kyr-kun-chan for discussing their La Pluie thoughts and opinions with me, which helped coalesce my thoughts into this post.

Tagging @blmpff on request

[actualbird]

Luke Pearce and Conditional Faith: When Does A Skeptic Believe (or When Does He Want To)?

wc: 1.4k

obligatory disclaimer that these are just my own thoughts and interpretations. spoilers ahead for: SSR Shape Of You (the summer breeze card), SSR Overflowing Thoughts (the sott card), SSR Twinkling Eyes (the skadi card), and Main Story 9. 

Luke is a skeptic. 

I feel like anyone who is familiar with his stories knows and fully accepts this fact. While he’s a very emotional and warm guy, when it comes to like, his general view of Reality, he is the type of person to believe more in facts, science, evidence, tangible proof, and empirical explanations. A lighthearted example of this is in Luke’s Sweet Chapter Personal Story 3, where he and MC were investigating that abandoned school that everybody said was haunted by spirits and Luke calmly proved that it was nothing more than faulty circuitry. And in the same scene, MC fondly remembers how in their childhood, when other kids were telling ghost stories, Luke would just exclaim “THAT DOESNT MAKE SENSE” and spoil the fun of the spook. He’s such a STEM guy, it drives me nuts. 

And his skepticism doesn’t just happen there. It pops up over and over across a lot of his stories, and not just in terms of the supernatural. In general, Luke is a skeptic of anything that can’t be empirically proved, including: folk beliefs, spiritual things, the divine/gods.

(sidenote 1: which is REALLY interesting given what I brought up in a previous analysis I did about Luke and Catholic Guilt. Like, so much of his mental framework and morality is something very familiar to the kinds of ways-of-thinking you’d see in this religion. And yet he’s not religious. god gives the biggest ironies to his most skeptical soldiers, or something).

So he’s a skeptic, that’s clear. 

Except it isn’t, because there are times when he does believe in faith. Or wants to believe in it. And these moments are made so striking because of Luke’s general disposition towards skepticism, which is why I’d like to do a deep dive of When Luke “Skeptic Extraordinaire” Pearce Decides Or Desires To Believe.

(sidenote 2: just a disclaimer, all folk beliefs, spiritual things, the different kinds of divine/gods are all obviously very different from each other and I’m not saying that they’re conflate-able, DEFINITELY NOT, but just that in Luke’s stories specifically, they Do serve the same purpose to him; they're something he doesn't believe in)

But before I go into when he Decides Or Desires To Believe, I wanna first tackle why he Doesn’t.

The first reason for why Luke is a skeptic is just his general inclination towards empiricism (things are proven via experience and experimentation) and rationalism (things are proven through logic and reason). Like how it happened in the abandoned school scene I mentioned before. And it makes sense for Luke. He’s a STEM guy, but he’s also a detective. Proof matters, and proof creates reality. 

But another reason is more personal. Sometimes Luke doesn’t believe because of a sense of Betrayal mixed in with a “Fuck It, I’ll Do It Myself” mentality. 

In SSR Overflowing Thoughts, the AU shows Luke originally being trained to be a temple priest while MC was originally trained to be an assassin. But after seeing the sheer suffering MC had to withstand day after day even after praying to the for a peaceful life, Luke took her place and then later remarks “If gods truly exist, then why didn’t they help you despite all your prayers?” and in the flashback, he says “If she dies one day during training [...] then I’ll stop believing in the gods.” 

Here, Luke’s non-belief is due to what he expects higher powers to have responsibility over; taking care of good people. While this card is an AU card, I think it still carries over to regular-Luke because of Luke’s very strong sense of morality, of good and bad. If higher powers are good, but they allow bad to happen, then they can’t be good, or they must not exist in the first place.

So someone else has to do it. In SSR Overflowing Thoughts, it was Luke who saved MC, not the gods. And in SSR Shape of You, during their childhood, Luke had gone missing during the festival to seek the Land God to make a wish to erase himself from existence because Luke believed he was a burden and was robbing MC of the love of her parents buuuuut in the present, Luke remarks that he himself will be the one to repay all the love he had robbed her of.

In a way this is an honestly pretty noble kind of non-belief. There’s a cynical aspect to it, but Luke doesn’t just go “gods aren’t real, cowabummer”. Instead, it’s more like “there are no gods to do the good we want to see in this world, so we have to do that good ourselves.” 

So those are what leads to his non-belief, which is 99.9% of the time. But the few times he does the opposite were interesting because Luke only tends to do it under two circumstances.

1) I Want To Believe In This Because I Love You

Two cards I wanna talk about here: SSR Twinkling Eyes and SSR Shape Of You (again, not sorry, this card is so important to this post and also to mE PERSONALLY AHVKHS). 

In SSR Twinkling Eyes, Luke was his usual skeptical self at the whole local faerie folk beliefs up until Peanut’s messing up that faerie house meant that under the belief system, misfortune might fall upon MC. 

In SSR Shape Of You, at the very end of the story, he releases lanterns that are all wishes for MC’s benefit.

In both these cases, whether or not he truly believes or simply Wants To is up to debate, but it is clear that he does ascribe to actions under something that requires faith due to his love for MC. 

What happened to Luke the skeptic? He’s still very much there but there’s caveats now. He’ll ascribe to a degree of belief if it means keeping MC safe, if it means ensuring her safety and happiness in the future. Which is so fucking sweet and tender, fucking hell, Luke “I’ll give the divine a chance if only for you” Pearce, OOOAAAUUUGGHH.

But where there’s light, there’s also dark. Because sometimes his reason is…

2) I Want To Believe In This Because I Hate Me

Two stories I wanna talk about here: SSR Shape Of You (this card is a legend, mentioned 3 times in this post alone…) and Main Story 9

In SSR Shape Of You, the entire reason Luke even looks for the Land God (thus implying that, if even for one night, he did believe in the god) was due to self-loathing. He saw himself as a burden, he wanted to wish he never existed and that nobody would remember him because he was convinced his mere presence caused bad.

In Main Story 9…..hoo boy, Main Story 9, HAHA. At the very end of the chapter, we see a flashback where Luke—a little bit after the mission where he was the only survivor—has this exchange with Aaron

Now, it could be argued that this is more psychological than it is spiritual (this whole thing smacks of unaddressed PTSD, after all) and while that Definitely is a factor, it’s key to note the language used here being specific: spirits, gods, believe. 

And why does Luke want to believe? Why does he wish it was real even if his usual inclination is skepticism? 

Because he’s guilty. He’s so guilty. And you only ever feel guilty when you think you’re in the wrong. You only ever apologize when you think you’re responsible for wrong.

He wants to believe because he thinks himself a sinner and that only afterlife can grant him a chance at absolution.

That’s the flipside of his belief. Either he loves another so much or hates himself too much. 

So like, now that we’re here, what does it all “Mean” then? Ehhhh nothing much tbh jHVKJ. It just Struck Me. It’s just something I really liked seeing because it’s such a genuine and human kind of ‘hypocrisy’; no matter how rooted in reality we are, when we’re driven by intense emotion (positive OR negative), we’ll grasp for more.

More what? More Anything. More answers, more possibilities, just…More. Sometimes intense emotion makes Just Reality feel like it isn’t enough to explain or address whatever we’re feeling. 

When Luke is pushed by his devoted love or by his intense self-loathing, the limits of tangible empirical reality just don’t cut it. He’ll believe or want to believe in something more.

[sebaztianlovesgeek]

Who do you think will die in future chapters of Black Butler?

I know I've already made a similar post theorising over how Black Butler will end but I'm very interested in Black Butler fan theories at the moment.

I'm gonna be explaining who I think will die in the future and why, some may have more detailed explanations than others since sometimes I just have hunches a character will die and sometimes I have better reasons to think so and I may also go into how I think they will die.

(warning: spoilers for a lot of the story)

1. Elizabeth Midford

There are 2 main reasons I think Lizzy will die, 1 is that I just have a hunch, Lizzy is a sweet girl but we've seen that no matter how sweet you are in the Black Butler universe there is a huge chance you will die (cough cough Agni).

And also there is a bit of foreshadowing in episode 6 (I think) of Book Of Circus. During one of fake Ciel's monologue flashbacks it shows him sitting on top of a throne with dead bodies of familiar characters beneath him. Most of the characters are characters who had already died before then such as Madame Red and Vincent, but when rewatching that scene I realised Lizzy was there as well. Could that be foreshadowing Lizzy will die in the future?

Maybe the next time she sees the fake Ciel he'll try to kill her as revenge for basically pretending to be the real Ciel, therefore Sebastian will have to come in and protect him, maybe even killing Lizzy or the least severely injuring her (and after that Undertaker could turn her into a bizarre doll or something)

2. Soma

This is definitely more of a hunch than evidence. Soma hasn't been in the manga in almost 100 chapters and we haven't seen him since 2017, the last time we saw him he was grieving over Agni's death.

I'm pretty sure he'll come back since it's not really like Yana Toboso to write off a character and never bring them back unless they canonically died or something, we've seen characters not appear for a while and then return (like majority of the grim reapers, Fred Abberline, sometimes even the servants like Meyrin, Finny and Bard if the current arc doesn't focus on them much and more on other characters like Ciel and Sebastian)

If he does come back I have a feeling he may die, I'm not really sure how though, like maybe he'll mistake Real Ciel for Fake Ciel and will be like "wait a moment why isn't Ciel wearing his eyepatch?" Or something like that and real Ciel will assassinate him to avoid suspicion.

Speaking of Real and Fake Ciel, I wonder how Soma would react if he found out all about that. I mean him and Fake Ciel are basically best friends, would he feel betrayed? Or if Fake Ciel explained why he did it would he forgive him?

3. John Brown, Charles Phipps and Grey

Sorry for including 3 characters in one, it's because these 3 are a trio and I feel like they'll all die for the same reasons.

So, if you haven't noticed or haven't watched the non canon parts of the black butler S1 anime, there are a lot of hints to what happens in the future of the manga despite most of the anime being released prior to those events.

Examples: an animal based servant (in the anime it was Pluto, a dog man and in the manga/canon parts it was Snake, who looks like a snake and can talk to snakes), the servants backstories (while some changes were made in the anime, all of the backstories were mostly the same, Meyrin was an assassin, Finny was an experiment and Bard was a soldier in a brutal war) and Undertaker being revealed to be a grim reaper

Due to all of this I have a theory that John, Phipps and Grey are all angels. Why? Well in the anime Queen Victoria had a servant dressed in white named Ash who was later revealed to be an angel and was the main villain of season 1.

What does Ash have in common with John, Phipps and Grey? They all wear white and they all work for the Queen, they also started out as characters you probably think weren't as important to the story but then later became antagonists.

It also gives Charles Grey more of a reason to stab Sebastian in the murder mystery arc, maybe the whole time he knew Sebastian was a demon? And maybe that's why he wasn't so suspicious when he found Sebastian was alive on the Campania.

I've also sensed that both Grey and Phipps had a bit of a grudge towards Ciel and Sebastian. At first I thought it was because of what happened in the circus arc (which is why the whole murder mystery arc happened), but even after Ciel proved himself they both continued to be a bit iffy around them... Again could this be because they know Sebastian is a demon?

Ash died at the end of season 1 after his evil plot to purify the world by setting London on fire (yeah I don't know why either season 1 had a lot of plot holes) since John, Grey and Phipps are all possible alternative versions of Ash I'm about 90% sure they'll also be killed by Sebastian.

4. Queen Victoria

Sort of the same reason behind why I think John, Phipps and Grey will die, except for this one I have less evidence.

Unlike in the anime, there hasn't been very much foreshadowing that Queen Victoria has made a contract with her 3 angelic servants or even knows they may be angels. However near the end of season 1 in the anime, Ash kills her because she became impure since she didn't want to be cleansed after the part of her body that was Albert began to rot.

I'm not sure if that'll be the reason for her death in the manga since unlike the anime her grief over Albert is usually played for comedic affect (like when John Brown used a doll of Albert to cheer Victoria up) but maybe there will be another reason. If she doesn't know her servants are angels but later finds out, they may kill her. Or maybe she'll just be killed by Ciel and Sebastian for some reason.

5. Real Ciel

I think the majority of us theorize he will die, he's a bizarre doll after all and almost every bizarre doll in the story has been killed, also he's sort of one of the main antagonists now after he exposed Fake Ciel for pretending to be him after death.

Again I'm not sure how he'll die exactly, but I'm about 90% sure he will die

[cantsayidont]

December 1990. As Tim Truman conceived it, the HAWKWORLD miniseries was not intended to obsolete previous Hawkman stories, but when DC decided to continue the story as an ongoing series, senior management insisted that it pick up in the present, effectively rebooting the modern Hawkman rather than just updating his origin. This Annual sought to paper over some of the resulting continuity problems while also addressing the similarities between the Golden Age and Silver Age Hawkman, something pre-Crisis stories had just shrugged off. Ostrander's solution was to establish that Katar Hol's father, Paran Katar, had been a Thanagarian scout on Earth decades earlier (under the name Perry Carter), had surreptitiously helped Carter Hall to develop his gravity-defying Nth Metal, and later took the concept of Hawkman and even Carter Hall's emblem back to Thanagar as inspiration for the Wingmen. Ostrander further explains that the Golden Age Hawkman had been a member of both the Justice Society and the Justice League:

(The "1953" reference in the second panel is an error; the events to which it refers (first recounted in "The Man Who Defeated the Justice Society!" in ADVENTURE COMICS #466) took place in 1951.)

In the text pages, editor Mike Gold explains candidly why all this was deemed necessary and the various options the creative team had for addressing it. This wasn't an ideal solution, and several points still remained unexplained (like the presence of Hawkman and Hawkwoman in JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL, which Ostrander tackled later). Beyond that, building a story around the need to rationalize a continuity issue is seldom very edifying, and the contrivances involved (including briefly sending Katar and Shayera back in time, where Katar meets his own father as a younger man) clash uneasily with the tone of the HAWKWORLD series. By far the best part of this Annual is the scene where Wally West meets Shayera Thal and so aggravates her that she immediately starts punching him in the face — not just once, but three times, until Katar reins her in — which has nothing to do with the continuity stuff.

From a story standpoint, I think retroactively removing Katar Hol from the original JLA is regrettable mainly insofar as his HAWKWORLD origin would have given new dimension to his clashes with Oliver Queen. Unlike the previous version of Katar, a knee-jerk reactionary who was ultimately fine with fascist dictatorship as long as it didn't personally inconvenience him, the Katar of HAWKWORLD is by Thanagarian standards a dangerous leftist, full of seditious ideas about social equity and civil rights. However, the most radical leftist on Thanagar is still somewhere to the right of Barry Goldwater, so Oliver would undoubtedly still be appalled by Katar's politics in ways Katar would find perplexing. That would have been a more fun dynamic than trying to shoehorn Carter Hall into the role of Oliver's neocon antagonist.

However, none of that was really on the table in 1989–1990. DC's later obsession with maintaining the sanctity of the pre-Crisis JLA hadn't yet materialized; at this point, the Giffen/DeMatteis Justice League books were riding high, DC regarded the old JLA as a relic that had outlived its commercial usefulness, and the JSA had been discarded (ostensibly permanently) after the Crisis. So, the only thing this Hawkman retcon really needed to achieve was to rationalize why flashback scenes might occasionally picture Hawkman with the original JLA, and this explanation did accomplish that much.