#It destroyed me with just a preview of another episode

[buttercupshands]

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

“Rings of Power” 2x07 - Speculation and Clues 

Now that we established the “leaks” are fake, let’s get down to business and speculate next episode, for real this time.  

What’s confirmed for Episode 7? 

According to the director, it will be an Elrond-centered episode 

Battle of Eregion: Orcs (lead by Adar) vs. Elven army (lead by Elrond) 

Adar and Elrond share a chat (“You cannot defeat me in battle” Adar warns Elrond)

Arondir joins the battle 

Annatar and Celebrimbor ("what have you done to me?"/“finish the Nine, and I’ll spare your city” )

Elrond at Khazad-dûm with Prince Durin (asking the Dwarves to help in the Battle of Eregion)

Galadriel and Celebrimbor emotional exchange

Want leaks? These are the real leaks.

My guess is this dynamic (Battle of Eregion/Elrond and Annatar/Celebrimbor) will be the core of Episode 7, with Arondir side plot. Maybe Isildur and Theo, as well.

Annatar & Celebrimbor - "Who are you, truly?"

From the preview teaser, we know the “what have you done to me?” scene will take place in 2x07. So, it’s almost certain that Celebrimbor will discover Annatar’s true identity in this episode. He also finds out that Eregion is under attack, while Sauron/Annatar promises he can spare the city if Celebrimbor completes the Nine rings of power. 

Two possible scenarios here: 

Celebrimbor finishes the Nine, and only then he discovers Annatar is actually Sauron. This would mean that Annatar/Sauron would still pretend to be an emissary of the Valar when Celebrimbor finds out Eregion is under seige; 

Celebrimbor discovers Annatar is actually Sauron. Then, Sauron blackmails him into finishing the Nine rings of power.  

I'm betting on the second option.

Mostly because we, the audience, have yet to find out that the “miraculous mithril powder” Sauron gave to Celebrimbor in 2x06 isn’t mithril at all. My guess it’s Sauron’s blood (we saw him performing blood magic in 2x06), to mix into the alloy of the Nine rings of power, to bind and enslave the future ring-bearers to his will and create the Nazgûl (the “Ringwraiths”). And thus explaining why the Nine work differently from the Seven (the Dwarves’ rings of power won’t bind them to Sauron’s will, but create greed and lust for gold).  

I think Celebrimbor will discover this, and that's why he tries to destroy the Nine (to stop Sauron). And, when we see Celebrimbor crying on the trailer, I think it’s after he realizes what he has done; not only at being deceived, or Eregion being under attack, but mainly because he gave Sauron the means through which he’ll conquer and enslave all of Middle-earth.  

Celebrimbor will finish the Nine, and he will try to destroy them, only to find out he can’t.

Will Sauron take a hold of the Nine in 2x07 or 2x08? 

I'm betting late 2x07, because 2x08 has a lot to deal with and many plots to close, and prep-up for Season 3.

This might be a wild guess, but I think Sauron is talking about Mirdania here, and she might be the one who gives him the Nine, bringing full circle as to why Sauron has been earning her trust and loyalty all season: for her to do his bidding, no matter what (causing fraction between the smiths, preventing Celebrimbor from finding out about the attack on Eregion, etc.). Will she leave with Sauron? I don't think so; his eye is set on another prize. She’s R.I.P. for sure, and probably won’t even survive this episode. 

And this scene might actually be Sauron peacing out of Eregion with the rings of power, at the end of 2x07.

Elrond/Adar - Battle of Eregion

From the preview teaser and the trailers, we already know how this will go down (somewhat). In some teasers we’ve seen Elrond with a wound on his face, I think this will only happen in 2x08, and not in 2x07. 

We also know Elrond will go to Khazad-dûm, and ask Prince Durin to provide aid in the Battle of Eregion. I think he’ll see Durin giving a speech to the Dwarves in 2x07, and King Durin III being against helping Eregion, but they won’t show up on the battle just yet (more on that later).

This will probably happen before the Elven army faces the Orc army, because logic.  

This attack somehow stops (probably because Adar will flaunt Galadriel in a cage), and Elrond and Adar will have a chat (as we’ve seen in Episode 7 preview). 

Adar will warn Elrond that his small Elven army can’t stop the Orc legions. My guess is he’ll use Galadriel as bargain here. As I’ve speculated before, Adar already expressed to Galadriel, in 2x06, his desire in knowing what comes after Sauron is defeated and the fate of the Orcs, seeking out a truce between Elves and Orcs, which would allow him and his “children” to live in peace, in Mordor. I believe he will propose this to Elrond, too. 

However, there might be a plot twist in this scene, because every character wants Sauron destroyed: and in 2x07 Elrond might have to choose between saving Galadriel or stopping Sauron.  

Elrond & Galadriel - Elrond's Choice

As I’ve already speculated in Part 1 of my “Last Temptation” megathread, and with 2x07 being an Elrond-centered episode, it makes perfect sense for this to be the moment when he has to uphold the promise he made to Galadriel, in 2x04. And this is exactly what I’m guessing will happen, and the majority of the people on my "People's Choice" Poll are way off mark here. (Or I am, we'll see).

This scene from the trailer is, indeed, Elrond touching Galadriel’s face, at the Orc camp. And it will mirror the first time they were introduced to us in 1x01, but on reverse and sorrowful, because instead of greeting each other, they are saying farewell.

My bet is Elrond will allow Galadriel to remain as Adar’s prisoner, probably to lure Sauron out, in the hope they might save Eregion still, and stop the Orc attack on the city. Plot twist: it won't. Adar is so consumed by his desire for revenge against Sauron, he won’t stop the battle.

Ironically, the clue is in the actual trailer. 

My guess is this scene will play out like an actual goodbye between Elrond and Galadriel, because they believe they both can/will die (we, as the audience, know they won’t, but we can’t look at things that way). And no, there won’t be any kissing on the lips, for f*ck sake. Anyway, it will be a very emotional scene, nonetheless.

And this is why the showrunners decided to throw the Galadriel/Celebrimbor scene in Episode 7 preview, to make it seem it’s Elrond who frees Galadriel from Adar and the Orcs.  But now you’re asking: if we see her in Eregion with Celebrimbor, who lets her out from Adar’s captivity?  

The answer is: Ghûl, the Orc and Adar's wingman, wingorc? Winguruk? The Orc from whom Adar practically rips the war horn from at the end of Episode 6, to give out the signal to the Orc legions, to attack Eregion.

And now you’re thinking I’m out of my mind here, but stay with me. 

Throughout the season, this Orc is the most fleshed out, and has a lot of screentime for him not to do anything relevant to the plot. He’s terrified of Sauron’s return, doesn’t want to go to war, and he’s the one with a family (meaning he has motivation and an character arc).  

He has already shown interest in Galadriel, in Episode 5; he’s the one who tries to cut out a lock of her hair, when she arrived at the Orc camp.

Ghûl's gaze also lingers on Galadriel as she’s being dragged away from Adar at the end of Episode 6, warning Adar that an attack on Eregion is what Sauron truly wants, and that he’s taking his bait. And she’s completely right here, because we saw Sauron planting the seeds of this battle into Adar’s mind in 2x01.  

So, yes, this is my guess, and I've seen other fans have picked out on this as well.

And why an Orc being the one to set Galadriel free is also important to the story? Last season, we saw Galadriel expressing some weird and genocidal views on the Orcs, going as far as vowing to Adar she wouldn’t rest until every single one of his offsprings were dead. Now, we know this won’t happen, and even after Sauron’s defeat in “The Last Alliance” war, there are Orcs on Middle-earth and Mordor (their kingdom) still exists. Galadriel will remain a central part in all of this, throughout the entire story. So, being released by an Orc would certainty contribute for her to broad her horizons and dilute her “black and white” views, and might come into play later on in the story itself.

Galadriel & Celebrimbor

From Episode 7 preview, we know that Galadriel will reach Eregion and reunite with Celebrimbor. Some could argue this scene is actually another one of Sauron’s deceptions, but I don’t think so. My guess is this scene will happen near or at the end of the episode, and Sauron/Annatar has already left the city by then. Sauron and Galadriel won’t reunite in Episode 7 (this will only happen in 2x08 because it’s one of the climaxes of the season).

Charles Edwards (Celebrimbor) has confirmed "Rings of Powers” isn’t following the canon where Celebrimbor was in love with Galadriel, and there is no build up or any foreshadowing for this, so we can scratch the eventuality of any “romantic” undertones happening in this scene.

By the time this scene takes place, I'm 99,9% sure that Celebrimbor already knows the truth of Annatar’ identity. What will these two talk about? Sauron, his plans and the rings of power. Galadriel promises Celebrimbor: “I won’t let you face him alone”. 

There are several possible scenarios here: 

Sauron fled Eregion after Celebrimbor discovered his true identify, but will return to collect the rings of power (like in the books);

Sauron is still somewhere at Eregion when this scene happens (or they believe he is);

Galadriel is talking future here (“Sauron already left with the rings, but if he eventually returns”/"We'll get the rings back and stop him", etc.);

Galadriel is talking about the effects of Sauron’s deceptions and corruption on Celebrimbor’s mind.

This scene will also be important to give extra motivation for Galadriel to go seek out Sauron by herself at the finale. By witnessing first-hand the extend of Sauron’s plans and what he did to Celebrimbor, she’ll go on a hunt for Sauron with a mindset of killing him, next episode.

I’ve already talked about this several times, but it’s always important to remember: in the finale, Galadriel’s plan will be to kill Sauron (probably using Morgoth’s crown + Nenya, as I've speculated before), and there is no doubt in her mind.

Hence the plot twist in “The Last Temptation” scene, and I already shared my theory on the most likely scenario to happen to make her snap her out of her murderous spree (and, as I’ve already said several times, I’m not a huge fan of this myself, but it's what seems most likely to happen giving the foreshadowing and clues so far).

What they will leave out for "next time"?

Celebrimbor's fate. *Spoiler alert*: I'm sure everyone in the fandom knows, but Celebrimbor will most probably die in 2x08.

I can be wrong, but I have the feeling we’ll only see the Dwarves joining the Battle of Eregion in Episode 8. Either way, my bet it’s the showrunners will “deus ex machina” them, and have them arriving when everything seems to be lost and that all Elves are going to die (pretty much like the Knights of Rohan in Battle of Helm's Deep in “The Two Towers”).

I don’t think we’ll see Númenor again this Season. Only if it’s Isildur plot, but it’s almost certain he’ll not join the Battle of Eregion, and just “hang out” with the human Southlanders.

The Stranger arc will be in Episode 8: when when he’ll earn his wizard staff and be finally revealed as Gandalf (because, let's face it, everyone saw that coming from a mile away). And I’m kind of disappointed, because I was hoping for him to turn out to be one of the Blue Wizards.

Unsure if the “Dark Wizard" identity will be revealed. And, no, he’s not Saruman, for f*ck sake, Saruman is one of the Istari and a member of the “White Council”, and he only joins Sauron after “The Hobbit” timeline. I can be wrong, but I’m guessing they’ll leave that “mystery box” for next season, and, most likely, only reveal who the "guys in the masks" are, and why they serve him.

I’m betting we’ll only see the Balrog of Moria in Episode 8, too, and it will kill King Durin III (like in the books, earning its nickname of “Durin’s Bane”). There will be no Balrog in the Battle of Eregion, because Sauron can’t control the Balrogs (they are the same kind, both corrupted Maiar by Morgoth, so he can’t command them, and that's why the Balrog of Moria never joined Sauron's forces).

Just a warning: all comments concerning the fake leaks will be deleted, because we are doing serious speculation in here.  

[zabala0z]

TMA S3 makes me want to cry and like shake around the characters in a fun box. Anyways hi!!! I’m here like 5 mins later.

MAG 102:

“I’ve been trying to give you the information you need”

“Sure, when you’re not bashing its head in with a pipe” GAGGED.

I want to know what happened though with Helen and Jon???? Like did they talk, what did Jon do?? I need to know. Is Michael like fully dead? I guess he can’t die really. I can’t fully grasp the situation with Michael-Helen-The Spiral.

Anyways, I guess that’s why Not! Sasha was going to the wax museum. That’s where the Unknowing will happen. Cannot blame Melanie for trying to kill Elias again. I’d do it too. So, this French guy had like a pretty similiar situation to Jane Prentiss, with the whole “bugs love me and I love them, etc”. Crazy Gerard and Gertrude worked together??? The weirdest duo ever. Goth guy and old woman. I wanna know Gerard Keays deal. I need to hear his voice

Not much on MAG 103. Guess that’s why Gertrude went to New Zealand. Jon is cooking up a plan with Daisy and I’m praying it goes well. Another meat statement. Whatever the meat entity is, I want nothing to do with it. I also realized that when Leitner mentioned his assistant getting consumed by like a pile of meat, that’s like connected to MAG 18. Toby Carlisle. I’ll edit that post. (EDIT 9/2: I just realized when reading over MAG 58 that the cannibalistic guy is named Benjamin Carlisle. Jesus. This meat theme went through generations. Ill edit that post as well)

MAG 104: Sneak Preview

I hate this so much, I want to like give Tim a nice blanket. Everyone in this podcast needs a damn blanket.

The fact the theatre was destroyed by fire twice makes me think The Desolation had something to do with it cause y’know fire. The clown being Joseph Grimaldi is interesting. A real person being applied to the podcast, I think that’s cool. I mean bros dead it’s a free real estate. Also I’m a bit worried about Tim and his “mild” suicidal tendencies now.

Didn’t glean much from MAG 105 but a lot of death (of course, it’s about war) and like the undead. Xiaoling was sweet. Interesting the institute has a sister institute?? I hope they come up more

MAG 106: A Matter of Perspective

Oh hey, it’s the other guy from Personal Space! Apparently he didn’t have a better time than Carter Chilcot. Pretty sure this is another like The Vast statement y’know. The whole nihilism thing. I want to see Manuela’s story because it was said her fingers were burned, her eyes were red and she was withdrawn I believe so clearly something happened with her. No idea what was blocking the stars.

Elias. I swear, I swear I hate this man so much 😭 the fact Mealnies dad was in Ivy Meadows (MAG 36) is unlucky. Smoke inhalation would’ve been the better death. God I love Melanie like leave her alone Elias

Anyways! That’s all I got. I stopped taking my daily synopsis’s of every episode because school started up and while I love this podcast, I got things to do unfortunately 💀 so I’m just relying on my brain and my 10/10 memory.

[prncssguya]

episodes 29&30 thoughts

i’m so glad fei jie is ok and we finally got shadow’s identity! (he’s the younger brother of some guy i don’t remember). but i was just complaining how we don’t see enough martial arts fan xian and then their fight happened. the choreography was amazing! fan xian probably wouldn’t have lost if his internal energy wasn’t so chaotic

when chen ping ping was talking about how grudges simmer and grow the hate inside you, he was definitely talking from experience. you can tell it kinda hurt CPP to hear fan xian accuse him of wanting to kill him (sir what do you expect haha i love their interactions). he’ll manipulate and lie to him but killing him is crossing the line! i think he might also be frustrated that FX isn’t recognizing the danger of the emperor (he keeps reminding him to be cautious, no one can guess the thoughts of the emperor). or perhaps fan xian has come to realize there is no “figuring out” the emperor, he is just going to deal with situations as they come.

the emperor continues to amaze and terrify me. between his secrets and the way he thinks up these incredibly convoluted plans, mei chang su would be impressed. so from my understanding, there were two planned assassinations. CPP was the architect of shadow (under the emperor’s orders? idk i was confused on that part. or did CPP really want to kill?) and the other planned by the emperor himself to test fan xian and other princes of their loyalty while at the same time eliminating political nuisances. he’s also hiding how powerful he is (did you catch the prince’s reactions? they don’t know their father at all lol). i’m more concerned about his plans for fan xian. did he actually try save his life out of a selfless desire to save his son or was it for a more pragmatic purpose like he doesn’t want to lose his connection to the divine temple and any other talents fan xian may have inherited from his mother? both could be true, these are complex characters and i love that.

i liked the scene where the doctor is telling the emperor about fan xian’s condition. with the emotional music in the background and the crescendo when the emperor decides he will try to save FX. i felt for a moment he may not be a complete monster (for a moment). good thing fan xian had another solution.

since fan xian’s meridians are destroyed and the only one who knows how to restore them is ku he, i wonder if that will be explored in s3. in one of the earlier previews, it shows fan xian on a ship with lin wan’er staying behind idk idk i’m excited

[woodsfae]

Babylon 5 S03E16 War Without End: Part One previous episode - table of contents

From the preview image that Tubi chose for the episode I see that Sinclair's back?? My old friend!! As well as our first glimpse at Minbar outside the Grey Council chambers, I believe! It's beautiful: very sculpted in a sort of sci-fi Rivendell way which fits the Minbari's space elf vibe. 

Entil'Zha is being presented with a sacred box, which has waited for over 900 years..in which there is a letter for Jeffrey David Sinclair! Dun dun dun. Prophecy is real, Babylon 5 is a high fantasy as much as it is sci-fi. 

Another prophecy, this one of the sci-fi variety: Babylon 5 gets a transmission of Ivanova calling for help, saying "they're killing us." 

This show gives me so many fanfic ideas and I haven't looked to see if anyone else has done them yet, because I'm avoiding spoilers. So I really don't go looking for info on B5 or interact with fandom works much. But this episode reminds me that I keep toying with the idea of an AU where Sinclair never leaves at the end of s01 and the whole plot plays out with him. I miss him, he got into my heart so fast and I had no inkling he was leaving the show till well after I was attached. 

It's nice to see Sinclair has had Minbari friends in his time running/recruiting/training the Rangers from Minbar. 

Partner just asked me what my predictions were for Sinclair and then when I went on a ramble just stared at me and told me to write it down. So here: my prediction of Sinclair's fate. In a separate post, because it's a bit too much of a tangent.

I've paused for long enough for only being six minutes into, so we're going to move on now, but if you wanna hear meta thoughts on what I think might happen with other characters end games, I could ramble about it.

Ivanova: this recording is fake. my analysis is based on logic: I didn't do it, ergo it is fake. Garibaldi, living for some sci-fi shenanigans: what if it's time travel.

They have Garibaldi positioned poorly before a dark path in the backdrop and it looks like he has one, huge pouf of hair sticking out one side of his head, lol.

Sinclair's back on Babylon 5! Zack Allen is in plainclothes, so perhaps all staff have the option? Or Zack wasn't invited to their special senior staff matching uniforms? 

Delenn being a drama queen. It's one of the qualities they hire for on the Grey Council. 

Lennier: "It must be done or the dream will die, and countless others will die."

o m in o u s

Eight days since the last Vorlon attack, per Marcus. 

Sinclair looks so good in Sci-Fi Rivendell clothes. Eeeek, I missed him, I love it. 

Oh it's Zak? Zap? Zathras? Yes! Zathras! Wow, I wasn't sre he'd be back, let alone that he'd be in shenanigans with DraalPlanet, OR that DraalPlanet would be doing something with time travel! 

And Sheridan! Is also wearing Minbari fashion! Some very snazzy robes over his uniform. 

Ivanova's message from the future is so grim. The captain is dead. "They" are coming in all over the place. External cams: Shadows. The Shadows have weapons lock. Explosions. Seems pretty straightforward and I bet it'll play out exactly like that with no twists. :P /hah

As Sheridan is doubtlessly about to find out, it's always going to be a normal evening when you are asked to swear you trust someone with your life before events can commence. 

Delenn has a powerpoint presentation about the Shadows. And a battle where the shadows were driven from their home, Zha'Dum. But the Minbari were losing at the time. Until Babylon 4 appeared! Delenn says without Babylon 4, they would have lost the war. 

Even while Babylon 4 was in construction, the Shadows attacked to destroy it. And the White Star was there! Delenn says they must go through the temporal rift that Draal is widening, protect B4, steal B4, and send B4 around in time. End Presentation! Everyone agrees with her flawless logic. And because she brought receipts in the form of video archival footage from DraalPlanet's surveillance system: Epsilon 3. 

That I didn't see coming, either. But like Garibaldi, I am so on board for the sci-fi hijinks. 

Oh, Delenn's plan goes farther! She and Sheridan will take B4 on the entire time travel trip and personally fight in the historical fight against the Shadows. Ten thousand years ago, right??? Damn, Sheridan and Delenn are going to stride through time and strike titanic, decisive blows in a war that felled entire species of sci-fi space gods!! That's so fucking epic. 

Ivanova is floating the idea that she was calling for help from an alternate timeline. But Garibaldi thinks it's the timeline they're planning now, where they take B4. 

I'm sure that SInclair's quippy references to Sheridan are super funny, but sadly I do not get the references. 

Zathras is here again. I...don't get Zathras. He's ehh funny. But extremely plot useful! Sinclair is meeting Zathras for the second time, but for Zathras it's the first time. But Zathras is well-informed, because he's very super honored to meet Sinclair and Sheridan, but also that's on the list of things Draal told him not to mention. 

Ahh, this Sinclair has already lived through the destruction of Babylon 5! He's already experiencing the world nonlinearly and is trying to do differently on this loop - damn! Or he's having visions from an alternate timeline but at some point you gotta agreee those are almost the sme thing, structurally, experientially, and thematically.

Time travel requires the use of devices that act as anchors. Zathras is handing them out and they're all being clipped visibly on a belt or sash, thus guaranteeing that someone will lose theirs. Sinclair? 

Aww, Sinclair sees Delenn and Sheridan holding hands and smiled. That makes me wistful for the Sinclair/Delenn endgame that exists in my personal, unwritten AU. 

Garibaldi is due an arc of making good, upstanding decisions and not doing police brutality so it hits extra hard when he blows up with Babylon 5. Or he makes it two more seasons, idk. I wouldn't mind if they lost a few characters and he was one of them.

Especially not if we could swap him for Talia back. I can't decide if I think she (or her personality that got overwritten) will be back or not. 

The White Star has been ugraded with Vorlon skin, so it deflects attacks better, which Sheridan affects to be unimpressed by.

Garibaldi guesses "Hello, old friend," as the password which Sinclair used to lock a goodbye/sorry video Sinclair left for him. Which makes me softer for Garibaldi. That's what I think of when I think of Sinclair, too! 

Oooo, Sheridan's time stabilizer got hit and now he's unstuck in time. Space is big. Hope he lands on something with an atmosphere. Delenn can pick him up later, I'm sure.

Sheridan always automatically turns to Delenn for backup, but Sinclair automatically turns to Ivanova, and I love that. 

Sheridan just time traveled to the future where Londo is the Emperor of Centaur! And it's "just in time to die."

Are they currently losing a war in the future? Perhaps Centaur is now a holdout in the war for existence against the Shadows in an alternate future and Sheridan will be meant to save the future as well as the past? 

So funny how taken aback Delenn is that Sinclair speaks Minbari now. He lived there! Marcus, who was being trained as a Ranger there learned Minbari as what he implied was a necessity. But Delenn is so surprised. Their heart to heart is so sweet. *shipping intensifies*

Back to the future! Sheridan and Londo seems like he's blaming other people for his own support of the Shadows' agenda coming back to bite Londo and Centaur in the ass. "Ohhh if only you'd joined me in collaborating I wouldn't have had to face any consequences!" He'll get everything he ever thought he wanted and learned that being Emperor lost him everything he'd ever cared loved.

That's a pretty good hook and a cliffhanger. And a ton of interesting information was revealed! It's too late for Part Two tonight but I pinky-promise I will watch it tomorrow. I wrote up some predictions after I did a Sinclair one and an other-characters one before I watched...

War Without End: Part Two

[tatasoom]

PREVIEW IS PLAYING WITH US [2]

... not actually playing, but fooling SO DAMN HARD. P'Aof is going to destroy our hearts even more this time! Let me tell you secrets of episode 6!

Well, episode 5 made me so emotional invested that I still have a lot to say. However we need to move on (like Day with his feelings for August) and prepare ourselves for episode 6. I needed to rewatch all materials many times to find some evidence, because everything seemed pretty obvious (running), but when I found what I found... Fasten your seatbelts, my friends.

As we already know next episode will be about Day starting training after P'On's visit. Let me take a moment to say that I'm so happy for this man: it seems he's dating that girl from Tinder yay!!

Just one little disclaimer: this time I don't have enough material for proper timing predictions, so I just give you a bunch of random situations.

1: August visiting Day

It's Converse vs Vans, haha! We'll see August who came to visit Day. Mhok is trying to be protective, but let's be realistic he doesn't have any rights to decide whether August can come in or not. That's why August will see Day. It'll happen definitely after that P'On's invitation to enjoy running race next month. Mhok will bring Day's sneakers. Just to end up having August near again, ah...

2: Wanna have a dinner?

This is the most exciting part of the preview. They will spent this day with August, three of them with Mhok being a third wheel (I have a theory that it's P'On who invited August to join running race, don't ask me why, I will be happy to be wrong...) However later, when it's dark outside and there're just two of them again, Mhok is definitely trying to ask Day for a date. Even though they both know that there's another guy who Day have feelings for. Maybe it turned out that those feelings aren't there anymore? Interesting!

3. Happiness or sadness?

I know everyone is waiting for these scenes with sunset (or sunrise?) and Day and Mhok being extremely close to each other and Mhok placing his hands on Day's hands looking with those loving eyes like Day is the most beautiful form of sun in the sky and who even cares about those sunsets and sunrises... But there's something tricky!

First of all Mhok will give Day something like... vitamins? Or maybe it's medicine for... for what? Also it can be that pill for someone with a hangover haha.

Now you can ask me why the **** I ended such a beautiful compilation with P'Aof teaching Jimmy smoking like a pro. I also have a question: why rehearsing smoking in this clothing at night if everything was so sweet and Mhok is trying to quite smoking because of Day? Last time we've seen Mhok smoking was like... 4 episodes ago? And he didn't take that cigarette even being nervous about Day and August's date. What if something went wrong after such a wonderful scenery?..

Also I need to mention this:

So maybe after Phojai's words Mhok decided to tell Day something more?.. So many questions.

4. Turning point

They're gonna spoil us with another wholesome moment of Mhok giving Day something that makes Day shine brighter than the sun.

And then I've noticed something.

Same T-shirt. Brown hoodie from another part of this episode. Coincidence? I think this word isn't about P'Aof's style.

Yes, next episode we'll face heart wrenching scene of Day discovering he's gonna lose his vision completely. Maybe it will be the last part of the episode or even the end of it. That's why I was so afraid of writing this prediction, I just... I just don't want this scene to come, but it's already episode 6 and we have this information about 180 days after all... Huh, that's hard.

5. Bonus with Night

Do you remember this flashback scene where Day came home after discovering he's visually impaired now? Asking mom not to tell anyone what happened to him.

What we haven't seen yet is THIS:

Day thinks that Night is fooling him and everyone around. In Day's head Night is trying to take everything from his younger brother. Day's memory keeps that scene with mother, but without Night. It's time to have a look at Night's truth. Don't you think he looks extremely upset, worried, maybe feeling guilty? What happened before that car accident, Night? What did you do?

That's all for this episode. I know that there're a lot of small things like reading that "Last Twilight" book or another running training that should happen too. Let's enjoy it on Friday without thinking too much.

I also have some words for Day and Mhok developing feelings. It seems they're both not each other's type. I mean they both used to love others on their own terms.

Day likes to dress up, to look cool and it's really important for him that his crush is also looks good. Mhok don't like to be 24/7 with a person he likes and prefer showing his attraction by fixing different things. Already noticed? This time Day is developing feelings for someone he can barely see and moreover who can see Day in his worst - clumsy, dirty and even naked (okay, it's not the worst, but it's embarrassing as hell). This time Mhok fell for a person who he need to spend all his time with and he can't fix Day's eyes no matter how good technician he is.

It's hard to be in love as an adult. Sometimes it's not about love at first sight, not about same favorite songs, not about similar social status. It's a deep bonding with care and respect. And I want for Day and Mhok to be able to tell each other 'I love you' on daily basis without shame or hesitation, without fear❤️

Thank you sososo much for reading. I tried this investigation to be as short as possible, but it turned out we still have a lot of bread crumbs. Of course there's a chance I'm wrong and have crazy theories at 3 AM while writing the main part of this investigation. And what if I'm not? Friday is coming!

[notallthoseinheadspace]

Some long rambling speculation on the last couple episodes of The Bad Batch below the cut.

(If any of it doesn’t make sense please forgive me, today’s round of chemo fucking flattened me.)

Going off my other post about how I do suspect CX-2 is Tech and Omega is Force-sensitive (I don’t know how to embed it and I’m too tired to figure it out right now, I can edit this when I don’t feel like I could be slipped through a letter slot) I’m caught on how Omega said that last time she escaped she had help. That was Crosshair.

She doesn’t know he missed, but she has to know there’s a chance. Even though his hand was steady after he started meditating with her, that sort of problem doesn’t get fixed overnight. So I’m still wondering if she had a backup tracker on her that wasn’t scanned - or, in a callback to the scene in the mine, she and CX-Tech had a heart-to-heart in the ship. Maybe she knows she has help coming separate from what we the viewers know.

The previews showed Hunter in what looked like a single-person vessel (the one they were in didn’t have a fully glass cockpit? Well, transparisteel. You know what I mean.) which suggests to me that they get into the base and wind up in the base’s fighter craft somehow?

(I’m fully expecting Hunter to do a sacrifice play. I hope he doesn’t succeed. I want the whole Batch together and happy again.)

The Cavalry mentioned in the last episode title seems like it would be a callback to their first appearance in TCW - Wrecker says ‘the cavalry has arrived!’ as he’s stepping off the ship to greet Cody and Rex - which gives me hope that the cavalry in question is not only the reunited Bad Batch but also Rex and Cody coming to their aid.

Another scene I can imagine happening and would love to see: Crosshair taking a shot at CX-2, who falls, helmet dramatically rolling away to reveal a scarred Tech - who, after a long moment of shock and horror, opens his eyes to groan out ‘Crosshair, you missed.’

Presumably the station on Tantiss will be destroyed - by the Zillo beast we saw the shadow of? By Wrecker and Crosshair planting explosives and then detonating them with one of the signature ricocheting shots? (Please not by someone pulling a Hevy. I am tired and everyone has enough trauma, Echo especially.)

Ideally the Batch would be presumed dead and Hemlock and all his research would be destroyed so there’s no reason for the Empire to continue searching them out, and they can retire in peace (although I do see Omega seeking out more training and involvement with Rex’s clone rebellion once she’s older - and I really fucking hope we get a series of that. Echo is my favorite, I would genuinely like to see him onscreen more. Also, we never did have the story behind how Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor wound up in their mobile fishing home. I’m fairly sure it’s horrible and tragic and I want it anyway.)

What they’re going to do with Rampart is baffling me - he doesn’t seem to have realized that his surviving this escapade is entirely reliant on Crosshair’s goodwill. Y’know, the guy he relentlessly dehumanized and never let eat a full meal and seems way too comfortable casually pushing around. (What is the way Crosshair is holding him when he stumbles in the ‘negative’ scene? It would make sense for Cross and Wrecker to be restraining him but it’s so weirdly tender?)

So, in very rambly conclusion, my speculative theories:

- CX-2 aiding Omega and revealed to be Tech

- Callback to the mine cave scene with Omega and Tech talking

- Cavalry is Rex, Cody, Gregor (and possibly Wolffe? Unless they are giving us a Clone Rebellion series and Wolffe joining Rex is covered in that)

- Crosshair’s tremor comes back, but as a positive (doesn’t kill his brother!)

- Deaths include Hemlock and Hunter (I don’t want Hunter to die. I just have a feeling. They’re not going to kill Omega and killing Crosshair at this point in his character arc would just be bad writing. Redemption equals death is a sloppy, lazy trope and it doesn’t work when someone’s already doing the work to redeem themselves. I’m unsure about Wrecker, but I can see him pulling a Hevy to let the others escape.)

- Emerie turning on Hemlock enough to help the children escape but not escaping with them. I have no guesses on Nala Se. TBB has pushed to make her a more sympathetic character, but it also seems like her imprisonment is weakening her a great deal. If I had to guess, she will try to tell Omega what Omega’s mutation is but die before she can finish, setting up Omega to research/train etc in any possible sequels/later appearances.

If this makes no sense blame the Taxol, if I’m right about anything blame the dodgeball.

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super 061

“Who are you?”

“I’m you, but stronger.  Furthermore, I’m substantially more verbose, though you may find this difficult to accept.”

“Indeed, for I have amazed even myself on occasion with my propensity to ramble endlessly on a given topic.  Though my diction flows like clear waters across a mountain stream, woe be to any who seek to quench their thirst for meaningful conversation, for I provide only minimal insight in the magnitude of verbiage I employ.” 

“Yes, I quite agree!  I have often noticed how my own thoughts and feelings seem quite trivial when diluted beneath the deluge of my interminable speech.  Though I begin with a point I wish to make, I continue to belabor it, adding word after word, clause after clause, like a builder stacking bricks upon a great tower reaching up into the heavens.  And yet, though the great temple is unmatched in splendor, the thought which it houses is so minuscule as to require only a tiny fraction of the space.”

“It is a remarkable similarity we share.  Perhaps, it is a good omen.  Yes, for if you are another iteration of myself, and we truly are of one mind in fact rather than spirit, then we both share the same dream of perfect justice for the entire universe.  A world finally freed from the shackles of evil, released from the fuzzy handcuffs of corruption, and loosed from the kinky chastity belt of mortals, who stain the cosmos with a taint so profound it disgusts me to speak of it.  And if our dream is to be fully realized, then what other outcome can there possibly be, save for a universe where only we two remain as its population?  In such a divinely pristine creation, a creation restored to its rightful essence, our tendency to prattle endlessly will not be abnormal at all.  For such holy voices as ours will be the only speech heard throughout the cosmos.”

“This is nice.  I feel like we’re really vibing here.  Do you want to go somewhere and get a coffee?”

“Oh, fuck yeah.  All Gowasu ever let me drink in this stupid place is tea.”

Okay, so we’re fifteen episodes into this stupid saga, and we’re finally going to get the origin story of Goku Black.  I probably need to write a separate thing where I compare the Zamasu Saga to GT, and I think what I need to do is like a side-by-side with the Baby Saga and the Shadow Dragons Saga, because those two arcs are the most similar to Zamasu’s whole storyline.  I couldn’t decide which one would be more appropriate, so maybe a three-way thing to decide which is the worst.  The point I’m getting at here is that no matter how bad and dumb the Omega Shenron fight got, at least he didn’t have a stupid secret identity on top of the rest of it. 

Okay, so let me set the stage here. In Episode 59, Beerus destroyed Zamasu for attempting to assassinate the Supreme Kai of Universe 10.  This action would have led to Zamasu securing Gowasu’s Time Ring, the Super Dragon Balls, and Goku Black.  So Beerus believed that by destroying Zamasu before he could do all of that, then Trunks’ future world would be at peace. 

That hope was shattered in Episode 59, because the next episode preview clearly showed that nothing had changed in Trunks’ world.  And yet we still had to wade through Episode 60 to find out the long way.  Lots of debate over how time travel works, and now we’re in Episode 61, and we’re still going over this shit.  And the good guys will have to go back to tell Beerus he’s wrong, so we’re spending a lot of episodes on this one plot point. 

So up until now, the good guys had believed that Zamasu had used the Super Dragon Balls to create Goku Black as a henchman, but that’s not it at all. Goku Black is Zamasu, having wished to swap bodies with the real Goku. 

So who’s this green asshole who’s been helping him this whole time?  Well, he’s Zamasu too.  Specifically, he’s the Zamasu native to this timeline, just like Future Trunks and Future Mai and Future Yajirobe.  When the “main” Zamasu successfully switched bodies with Goku, he used the Time Ring to travel to this alternate timeline, where he found his counterpart and recruited him for his plan. 

Goku Black knew that this other Zamasu would share his frustrations with mortals, so he found him, killed his version of Gowasu, and explained what he wanted to do.  Overcome with fulfillment, the other Zamasu embraced his alternate self. 

All right, but that only explains how Future Zamasu got in on this bit.  How can Goku Black be the same Zamasu that Beerus destroyed in Episode 59?  Simple, it’s because of the Time Ring.  At least, that’s what Goku Black says.  The way he remembers it, no one was there to stop him the day he killed Gowasu.  So he took the Time Ring, became Goku Black, recruited Future Zamasu, and made him indestructible. 

I pulled up the subtitles for this, just to make sure there was no confusion, because this part has always irritated me.  Beerus spent like an episode and a half insisting that his way would work, and that his divine status overruled the empirical evidence Trunks had witnessed over the years.  So was Beerus just talking out his ass, or did he just overlook a detail?  

The dub implies that the Time Ring protected him from the causality effects of getting destroyed in the past, but that doesn’t add up, because Zamasu wasn’t wearing it when Beerus destroyed him.  But Goku Black is wearing the Ring now, and he has been for the past seventeen years.

I think that’s what the idea is supposed to be.  Beerus’s whole argument was that he went to the Zamasu of a particular timeline, the only timeline where he met Goku and developed his obsession with Goku, and destroyed that Zamasu.  In theory, this should have a “Marty McFly Effect”, erasing Goku Black from existence, no matter what he does in the future or which timeline he goes to.  And because Beerus is a Hakaishin, this doesn’t create any new timelines, like when mortals change the past like Trunks has done. 

Episode 61 seems to be suggesting that Beerus’ plan could have worked, except he didn’t know that the Time Ring protects the wielder from changes in his own history.  I guess that property would make sense, because the Supreme Kai who uses the Time Ring would need a way to be able to observe and interact with future events without potentially creating new timelines.  For example, Zamasu killed that Barbari warrior 1000 years from now.  I’m pretty sure that change in future events isn’t “locked in” or anything, and if someone were to destroy Planet Barbari in the next thousand years, that wouldn’t create a second timeline where Barbari survived so that the one poor dope could get murdered by Zamasu on schedule. 

And I guess it makes sense that Beerus failed to take the Time Ring’s powers into account, since only the Supreme Kai of each universe is authorized to own and use them.  Zamasu never even heard of the Time Rings until recently, and he was supposed to be training to eventually assume the office of Supreme Kai.  It figures that Beerus, a Destroyer, wouldn’t know everything about how the Time Rings work and what they do.  

In short: If Beerus had any influence over the rules of time, it was canceled out by the Time Ring.  And since Beerus only knew to destroy Zamasu because he saw Goku Black wearing a Time Ring, he can’t unring that bell.  There must have been a version of Zamasu who successfully obtained the Ring and became Goku Black.  Beerus cannot undo this.  All he accomplished was to branch the timeline so that in one branch, Zamasu no longer exists. 

In the other branch, Goku Black continued with his plan, as seen in this flashback.  He used the Time Ring to jump ahead one year, gathered the Super Dragon Balls in Age 780, and wished to swap bodies with Goku.

This left Goku trapped in Zamasu’s body, and in this timeline, Goku has never met Zamasu, or even heard of the guy.

Then Goku Black teleported to Earth and killed the Goku of that timeline. 

And he killed Chi-Chi and Goten too.  No surprise there.  After that, he went to the Universe 10 of Future Trunks’ alternate timeline, recruited the Zamasu native to that world, jumped ahead one more year with the Time Ring, and used the Super Dragon Balls a second time to give that Zamasu the indestructible body.

Then they went to the Future Trunks timeline and started carrying out their Project Zero Mortals thing.  First they destroyed the Super Dragon Balls, then they started hunting down all the other gods in the twelve universes.  This would ensure that there would be no one to stop them as they destroyed all other life in the universes.  Wait, how the hell did they kill Jiren?   And Broly?

Finally, the duo saved Earth for last, and they invaded one year before the events seen in Episode 47.  Black says they’ve specifically reserved Earth for the grand finale, because they wanted to make the people there suffer the most out of everyone. 

See, they thought about all this and decided that Earth is the root of all of this.  Specifically, Trunks and his time machine, since his tinkering with history led to the creation of alternate timelines, which is what led to Zamasu being introduced to Goku in Episode 53, which resulted in Zamasu becoming Goku Black and kicking off Project Zero Mortals.  So when you think about it that way, Trunks is responsible for all of this.  If he had left well enough alone, Goku would have died of a heart virus and Zamasu would have never met him.

Actually, that doesn’t quite add up, but this post is running longer than I wanted, so I’ll try to explain what I mean later.

So I think I’ve covered all of the backstory stuff.  Now let’s talk about the fighting in this episode.  It sucks.  Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks got their asses beat the last time they came here, and the only thing that’s changed is that they remembered to bring some senzu beans.  Not that it matters, because the baddies quickly overwhelm Vegeta and Trunks, and corner Goku.  They tell him the bit about how Goku Black killed Chi-Chi and Goten in his origin story, and Black stabs his hand-energy sword through Zamasu and into Goku while they talk about this. 

And that gets Goku all fired up, so he raises his power and starts going on a tear.  Okay, so there’s a difference of opinion on this scene. 

On the one hand, you could say: Hey, cool, Goku’s had all he can stands, and he can’t stands no more, and he’s gonna kick some ass because he loves his wife and kids.  I can’t dispute that.  This is a factually accurate statement. 

However, on the other hand, this scene is dumb as hell, because Goku’s powering up while he’s got an energy beam sticking through his liver.  Remember when Vegeta got stabbed this way and it didn’t kill him, but it kind of took him out of the fight for several minutes?  Then he got up, went Blue, and fired a Final Flash anyway?  Then he passed out until he got a senzu bean later?  Yeah, well, that was really fucking stupid, and now we have Goku doing the same bullshit, only faster.  He doesn’t even wait around for Black to pull out the beam.

Also, what exactly did Goku do to turn the tables here?  He was already in his strongest form, so what has he powered up to?  He’s just Super Saiyan Blue Goku With a Hole In His Liver, and somehow that makes him stronger than he was before, when he didn’t have a hole there.

Like, he’s a house of fire in this scene, and it looks cool, I won’t dispute that.  It’s kind of nice watching him dominate Black and Zamasu like this... except...

Black just suddenly decides it’s time to start winning again, and he turns the tables on Goku without even trying hard.  

So why is this hurting Goku when the gaping hole in his torso didn’t?   Also, is one of those beams going in his dick?  Why doesn’t Goku just power out of this like he did before?  He’s still mad about Chi-Chi and Goten, isn’t he?

See, this is why this saga sucks.  They tried to do this “Power Awakened by Rage” thing like they used to do in DBZ.  Toddler Gohan vs. Raditz, Goku turning Super Saiyan for the first time on Namek, Gohan turning Super Saiyan 2 against Cell.  These are all classic moments, and this episode tries to borrow some of that magic. 

Except it’s all wrong.  Toddler Gohan ran out of gas pretty quickly, but he still hurt Raditz enough for the others to finish him.  They didn’t just have Raditz instantly recover from all the damage that headbutt did to him.  And Super Saiyan 2 Gohan didn’t just start getting his ass kicked when it was convenient to the plot.  He never stopped being angry at Cell, and his power never wavered.  Cell got stronger, but not strong enough to prevent him from getting his just desserts. 

Here, I think the idea is that Goku Black provoked Goku on purpose, then allowed Goku to pummel him a while, because somehow that helps Goku Black get stronger, like he claimed back in Episode 49.  So I guess he was just toying with Goku?  Which kind of makes Goku look like a total geek here.

But the rotten cherry on top of this moldy sundae is Goku screaming at them before he attacks.  “’Cause now I’m mad!  I’m really really mad!” 

Seriously?   That’s what they came up with?  “I’m really really mad!”?

I mean, why stop there?  Why not have Goku shout “I’m really really really mad!”?  It’s pathetic.  I forgot what he said in the subtitles, but I’m pretty sure it was equally unimpressive.

Okay, so after they take out Goku, they move on to Vegeta and Trunks, and that’s when they try to make this out to be all Trunks’ fault.  And this makes Trunks mad.  In fact, it might make him--dare I say it-- really really mad. 

In fact, the way everyone’s reacting, it’s like Trunks has never been this mad before.  He may have surpassed a level of anger beyond really really mad.  Can it be?

Trunks has ascended to becoming really really really really mad!  Like, these guys killed his mom and destroyed his whole world.  They also attacked his girlfriend several times.  But when they said a bunch of dumb stuff about time travel, that’s what pushed Trunks over the edge. 

So the episode ends on this new power-up, so I guess this is the one we’re expected to take seriously, but it’s a little difficult to care when we just saw Goku do the exact same thing and get his ass kicked.  I mean, Trunks’ form looks like something new, sort of?  But even if it were legit, they completely undermined this story beat with the whole Goku thing they did. 

Okay, enough of Episode 61.  Let’s try to push forward.

[clubfluffer]

Random AOS thought after episode 8:

How they gonna end it all in two eps I don't flipping know? I kind of hope we get another series because I feel like we haven't learnt everything about a lot of these characters. Like, if they can't get LJW and GJY back I'd totally watch a series about Go Won (who is OBVIOUSLY not on the dark side I mean come ON) becoming king and finding his wife. I mean, if they couldn't get JSM to do this series cos of other commitments, I'd totally be down to see her as Buyeon and maybe getting together with GW if she comes back fully? And I cannot be the only person who watched the last episodes wondering who they could cast to play Yul's father, who everyone seems to be terrified about? Just give us more!!

Speaking of Go Won, I'm going to believe he and Uk have come up with some plan to basically get Jin Mu and destroy him and his secret organisation, because in this episode GW specifically asks if he's going to be introduced finally and we see this in the previews. ALSO I like the idea that the Uk that we see at the end of the ep may be a figment of her imagination but WHAT IF GW managed to get a message to Uk about Buyeon/Naksu going into Gwido, so he can get to her? I mean, they mentioned the door randomly opening to let Uk in at the beginning so who's to say someone/something did the same to Gwido? Rewatching the bit when Naksu shows up, it does feel like GW is surprised by her coming and wondering how the hell he's going to stop her getting hurt & let Uk know about it. Before that as well, when Jin Mu is praising GW for getting Uk to leave and they have that conversation about protecting those they love which is then repeated by Uk when he talks to Park Jin about who his target it. Sounds like a part made by the two to take Jin Mu down! *crosses all my fingers*

Is it just me or did anyone else notice how Naksu's eyebrows got darker the more she became comfortable with her memories? And this look she gave Jin Mu was absolutely 1000% I Am Going To Fuck Your Shit Up, Jin Mu, You Little Shit. Not once in any of the previous episodes has she imbued the spirit of assassin!Naksu as much as she did here, eyebrow raise and everything!

Can't wait for Uk and Naksu to have a fight over who had the biggest jealous strop over themselves once everything gets sorted out lol *ignores any hint of a unhappy ending*

I had other thoughts but ngl a lot of them disappeared when I went back to rewatch the start of the episode lol *fans self*

[eliasappreciator]

attempting to compile comprehensive Elias appearances & information sources for Me, a guy with Problems

Mentions:

Angler Fish (1), Page Turner (4), Dreamer (11), SCheating Death (29), Taken Ill (36), Burnt Offering (37), Butcher's Window (49), Binary (65), Thought For The Day (68), The Coming Storm (91), Lights Out (98), Another Twist (101), Creature Feature (110), The Eye Opens (160) [also kind of an appearance? yknow. his statement!]

Appearances:

The Bone Turner's Tale (17) [briefly], Infestation (39), Human Remains (40), Lost In The Crowd (48), Observer Effect (60), Burning Desire (67), The Librarian (80), The Eyewitnesses (82), Possessive (84), Body Builder (90), Nothing Beside Remains (92), Lights Out (98), Nesting Instinct (102), Sneak Preview (104), A Matter Of Perspective (106), The Show Must Go On (116), Eye Contact (120), Remains To Be Seen (127), The Architecture Of Fear (138), The Panopticon (158), Parting (194) [plus either 193 or 195]

details under readmore

appearances details

MAG 17: starting at 7:50, "miss hearn has lodged a complaint." we get a "jonathon!" and the famous "I'll be more lovely." [also a mention in the final comments]

MAG 39: starting 13:52, Elias and Sasha discuss the Jane Prentiss attack as it happens.

MAG 48: starting 20:50, private disciplinary meeting between Jon and Elias regarding his paranoia.

MAG 60: 15:50 disciplinary hearing again

MAG 67: starting 19: 34, argument about the tunnels.

MAG 80: brutal pipe murder

MAG 84: starting 20:26, Elias offers Melanie a job

MAG 90: starting 3:15, talking with Tim about his unauthorized leave

MAG 92: reads a statement, pleasured exhalation. he is there from the episode beginning onwards.

MAG 98: starting 21:55 Melanie tries coffee poisoning him (Elias and Jon drink their coffee the same and this is "a fair assumption" for some reason)

MAG 102: from beginning 3:10. "I admit I may have overreacted [by beating leitner to death with a lead pipe]"

MAG 104: starting 25:10ish, Elias announces himself with "knock knock" aloud

MAG 106: starting 24:48 onwards, Melanie performance review.

MAG 116: from beginning, showing Gertrude's tape about the Mechanical Turk & the previous attempted stranger ritual.

MAG 120: dream narration

MAG 138: Martin goes to see him in prison

MAG 127: starting 24:20, meeting with Basira.

MAG 135: starting 20:34, meeting with Basira again regarding Jon's trip into the buried.

MAG 138: Martin goes to see him in prison

MAG 148: from beginning, Basira beats Elias up for keeping Jon's pulling statements out of unwilling strangers a secret.

MAG 194 [or maybe 193 or 195]: yknow the one we find him in the panopticon. all spooky-like. Jon says this place wasn't made for him, it was made for Jon.

mentions

MAG 1: in opening

MAG 4: 29:51 about making the leitner search a top priority institute project

MAG 11: 22:17, regarding Gertrude's death

MAG 17: in final comments Jon notes that Elias would tell him to watch and record, and not interfere with events.

MAG 24: in final comments 22:44 about the calliope organ

MAG 29: starting at 23:19, about his time working as a filing clerk in 1972 (two decades before Elias began working there, a year before James Wright even became Head of the institute, meaning he actually witnessed these events from the skull of Richard Mendelson).

MAG 36: a little bit after 21:37, Tim asks Jon about a delivery Elias was also enquiring about. he asked "a couple of questions".

MAG 37: at around 3:01 Jon mentions Elias giving him "advice" to destroy the table that binds the Not-Them.

MAG 49: starting supplemental 24:58. "used to be something of a pothead" comment as well as comments about his employment history.

MAG 65: about trouble installing security cameras in the archive. starting 24:05. follow through for Tim saying "Elias doesn't care," and "he should've fired you weeks ago" and also a heart wrenching Sasha mention

MAG 69: starting supplemental 22:41, literally just Jon saying "short of confronting Elias" with regards to his tunnel explorations

MAG 91: starting 17:40 for Jon character moment leading into mentioning Jon suspecting Elias for murder. Actual Elias mention starting 18:49ish ("first [Jon] then his creepy boss"), 19:18 for "I think it was Elias" about the murders.

MAG 96: in supplemental Jon talks about being annoyed with Elias & believing him to have led Jon to breekon & hope's Newcastle depot, & Elias "isn't big on micromanagement"

MAG 98: 3:40 onwards. just very briefly, about him requesting Martin continue recording statements because Jon is too inconsistent about it at the moment.

MAG 101: elias is addressed from the beginning until Michael appears. there's also Jon making gagged noises to entertain throughout.

MAG 110: we find out he can't see things when occupied (didn't know about Martin knocking over papers during performance review)

MAG 139: starting 22:57 about Elias killing Gertrude

[writing-for-life]

I heed your call and arrive with an ask! What’s something you’re looking forward to in season 2? Are there any standalone issues from the comics that you particularly want to see adapted in the show? (For example, I am absolutely DYING to see A Parliament of Rooks…especially after someone here mentioned that Lucienne seems to be taking over some of the Eve role [being a bit more like the “Mother of Ravens” in the show]. If I see Lucienne telling the story of Adam’s third wife I think I will simply faint. 😂)

Thanks so much for the ask!

At this point, I’m just desperate to watch it—I’ll take everything they give me 🤣

I love Season of Mists, so I’m definitely looking forward to *that* slap right across the face (and I’ll be very angry if we don’t get it). Plus, I need Cluracan in my life, he’s just such a disaster I love to hate (I actually love him). I *need* him to stumble out of a castle bedroom after getting drunk-railed all night, and I’m not ashamed to admit it 🤣

I want to see what they did with AGoY, because at this point, I can only assume it will be changed a lot. I want to know if we get Thessaly, or if my aimless hunches are maybe right and she’ll be replaced with someone else (which would also tie in with the overall assumed change of the arc).

I can’t WAIT for Brief Lives, and I’m so giddy at the possibility we’ll get it sooner rather than later (and of course it’ll totally destroy me, I just like to hurt myself I guess). Delirium is my second favourite to Dream, closely followed by Desire (I know, not the usual order 🤣).

As for the standalone issues: I wonder if we’ll get A Midsummer Night’s Dream because it’s so important for the overall arc, but if I’m totally honest, I can take it or leave it (that might surprise people, but I’m really not that fussed about it, and a short reference weaved in somewhere else would be enough for me. And now people can holler at me for the sacrilege).

Fables and Reflections is just so rich, I would love every single story to be frank. And I said this about Lucienne/Eve a while back, so I’d love to see The Parliament of Rooks.

Three Septembers and a January has always been a favourite because of the sibling dynamics, and I hope we get it one way or another.

I also love Soft Places (it’s one of my favourites) and would love to see it, but I’m not sure if we’ll get it.

Then of course The Song of Orpheus (which we’ll definitely get, and we’ll definitely get Thermidor, too) and Ramadan, although I’m not sure if the latter works that well as live action.

If we count Fear of Falling as part of Fables and Reflections (it was a Vertigo Preview), I’d love that, too. I think it would make an awesome one-off, even half an episode with something else (maybe with Soft Places? I think they’d work together).

Yeah, as you can tell, I have trouble deciding 🙈

[geneeste]

Genie's SG-1 Rewatch: Singularity

Season 1, Episode 15. In which I have a VERY unexpected reaction to the setup to this episode, and then cry.

PREVIEW:

6:42 THIS IS WHY YOU DON’T PUT A LITERAL WELCOME SIGN ON A PLANET ANNOUNCING YOUR PRESENCE JFC “Dear Bad Guys, the SGC has an outpost here on this defenseless planet, please come kill everyone in it and send a doomsday device in the chest of a cute, traumatized little girl to destroy the SGC and all the stuff in a several-mile radius, kthxbai”

6:46 And now I’m getting upset that I don’t think they ever deal with the fact that it’s essentially their fault Hanka showed up on the Goa’uld radar at all And not in a “sometimes our presence has unintended, unforeseeable consequences” kind of way but in a “We were homicidally negligent in our treatment of this planet” way

5:10 Yay Singularity A nice palette cleanser after Hathor, ugh Lol Daniel “it’s black and it’s a hole” This man is a PhD

5:11 I love Sam’s spiraling hand gestures describing the matter entering the black hole Very cute, if dangerous

5:12 “Actually, it’s called the accretion disc” That’s my man, Jack Not just a pretty face

5:14 HEH Daniel’s slow on the uptake there Again, this man is a PhD

5:15 HEE Sam backing Jack’s knowledge up I loooooove it And I love them Sassy squared “Not initially” ew jack

5:17 Okay, hold up though — is this the first (and I’m pretty sure the last?) time we get this like road sign for a planet?

5:18 I am very confused by this thing, because I don’t think you’d want to advertise the SGC’s presence on this planet (HI GOAULD, WELCOME TO HANKA, ENJOY YOUR STAY!) And people from the SGC would certainly know who FROM THE SGC would be there

5:19 What is exactly the point of this highway sign aside from memorializing whoever Douglas McLean is (of blessed memory, I’m sure, not trying to be mean to this person)

5:20 What a weird ass thing to put here

5:22 Teal’c spidey sense is tingling Oh no poor guy I’m glad that they’ve put Daniel through at least some basic emergency protocols He springs right into action there

5:24 So one of the things that Mr Genie and I talk a lot about is that the US military would not send just 4 people through through an alien device to unknown territory

5:26 And I also have trouble suspending disbelief a little with remote bases on other planets because it’s veeeeerrrrry unlikely there’d be just a handful of people in these places ever So like SG1 showing up and wondering where everyone is...is just not something I think would actually happen

5:30 (Another random aside: I also sometimes wonder why they picked the Air Force as the managing service for the Stargate and not, say, the Army — I get it’s the most technology-oriented of the services and I am definitely biased toward them, but the USAF doesn’t really do infantry. I would have expected to see them either hand field operations over to the Army or see Joint Operations established waaaaaay earlier)

5:32 PM Oof they’re all dead I knew that was coming, but still, that sucks

5:33 WHY IS JANET’S HAIR DOWN AND WHY IS IT DOWN OFF WORLD The military doesn’t care if you’re pretty! JFC

5:34 Although yes, damn Janet is pretty Don’t distract me, you’re out of uniform!

5:36 Ugh is that a kid? I hate that (I mean I know other kids must have died but of course it upsets me to see it) 5:37 Do we ever find out if Cassie has any siblings? I wish we’d gotten more of her backstory

5:38 I feel like the story of her life before Sam and Janet was pretty thin considering this calamitous thing that happened hahaha Teal’c is making that face!

5:40 (I always thought it was RDA that said this, but apparently it was Michael Shanks who once took Chris Judge aside and was like, “you’re a handsome guy, why are you always doing that thing with your face???”) TEAL’C IS SO GENTLE I LOVE HIM SO MUCH My heeeeeeaaaaaart 5:41 Oh Sam, please stop telling the little girl who’s entire world was basically just murdered that everything’s okay

5:43 I like that Sam gets to be soft in this episode So often characters like hers don’t get to be soft without being punished in some way for it 5:45 Okay, so here’s the thing though I get why Sam would feel that SGC died for nothing if they didn’t study the black hole BUT I don’t understand the argument she’s trying to make about the rest of HANKA At this point there’s no reason to believe their deaths have anything to do with the phenomena so her curiosity comes across as really callous and selfish

5:49 That was a good bit of camera work, seeing the gate room from Cassie’s perspective It came across as pretty daunting

5:50 Oh my god Sam, why in the world would you think leaving a little girl whose WHOLE WORLD HAS JUST DIED in a concrete room on an unfamiliar planet by herself?

5:51 This isn’t even “never been a parent before” stuff, this is BASIC HUMAN DECENCY STUFF

5:52 why is Janet’s hair STILL DOWN It is way past her collar I don’t know why this is bugging me BUT IT IS REALLY BUGGING ME

5:54 Sam drawing herself into Cassie’s picture so she knows she’s not alone kills me every. time.

5:55 Y’all ever think about Cassie was trapped by herself on a planet surrounded by the corpses of everyone she ever knew

5:57 I hate that we didn’t see the real consequences from that in the show

5:57 PM sighs forever at this shows ongoing inability to handle real fallout on screen like 99% of the time

5:58 PM The scene with Jack explaining black holes to Teal’c is very funny but totally pointless Couldn’t we have skipped this and dealt with emotional stakes instead Did we just need to remind everyone that Jack and Teal’c are still on the planet? Lol

6:01 I love that silly grabby hands thing Sam does to Cassie in the infirmary Very much something I might do to make my kids laugh

6:02 Oh Cassie

6:03 “What? What do I do?” Aaaaahhhh Sam I feel ya honey, it’s the worst

6:04 Why are they doing CPR though? Is she not breathing? They didn’t say Cassie wasn’t breathing I’m confused Okay, so now she’s intubated that was fast Not sure what’s actually wrong here but it sucks all around

6:06 There’s...nothing attached to the breathing tube Why is it there Did they mean to place an airway? I AM VERY CONFUSED BY THIS DRAMATIC MEDICAL SCENE 6:13 Okay, not for nothing, but: if the show had chosen to pivot to Janet and Sam: Adoptive Moms/Life Partners Who Solve Mysteries, they would have had at least one viewer That viewer would have been me

6:14 I know this is a serious moment but this shot with that blue lighting is very flattering to Janet, Sam, and Daniel

6:15 Okay, I’m sorry, hold up again How exactly are they visualizing or trying to remove (or whatever it is they’re doing) Cassie’s chest bomb thing? Did they cut her open??? Is it minimally invasive surgery? What exactly is happening here 6:18 Are we saying it’s an intelligent tumor/bomb I never got this part of the story 6:20 This is a really sweet moment between Sam and Daniel Daniel is actually being kind and supportive and I love him for it Good job, Daniel

6:21 I love that Jack is enthusiastic about studying the black hole But I am a little annoyed that they let him enjoy this without making fun of him for it And that he gets to be proud of his knowledge of astronomy While Sam is so often set up and then mocked for her expertise/belittled for enjoying nerdy things  BUT WHATEVER I’M NOT BITTER

6:42 THIS IS WHY YOU DON’T PUT A LITERAL WELCOME SIGN ON A PLANET ANNOUNCING YOUR PRESENCE JFC “Dear Bad Guys, the SGC has an outpost here on this defenseless planet, please come kill everyone in it and send a doomsday device in the chest of a cute, traumatized little girl to destroy the SGC and all the stuff in a several-mile radius, kthxbai”

6:46 And now I’m getting upset that I don’t think they ever deal with the fact that it’s essentially their fault Hanka showed up on the Goa’uld radar at all And not in a “sometimes our presence has unintended, unforeseeable consequences” kind of way but in a “We were homicidally negligent in our treatment of this planet” way Like, I am kind of appalled now because I can’t unsee it Did they never talk to Cassie about this? Jesus Like holy shit this is several levels of terrible that I never thought about before

6:56 That is some amazing resolution on that telescope (not satellite, lol)  (Apologies, I’m pretty salty tonight)

7:00 And now I’m feeling very conflicted about using this little girl’s trauma as drama fodder for Sam Damn, I am looking at this ep in a whole new way (And also. I don’t buy Sam’s ‘military’ excuse for having to be detached. that doesn’t make sense to me at all)

7:02 Stepping back from the hella problematic setup of this storyline (and HOO BOY IS IT A BIG ONE), lots of potential Sam/Daniel shippyness in this ep I see solid friendship here but I totally get why someone would see a ship instead

7:05 Oh, so now you’re okay with sending additional backup to defend against one little girl but a few guys to protect an entire planet and probably a million dollar’s worth of equipment after you’ve broadcast your location to your deadliest enemy is fine Got it (Man. I am genuinely surprised by my reaction to this ep. Oof.) 7:10 I am begrudgingly acknowledging that this is a good shot of SG-1 I want it on the record that I am lodging this note on their attractiveness under protest 7:11 Heh “What about the abandoned nuclear facility at—“ “Right!” I suspect that bit of dialogue was inspired by military PA’s standard response to questions about nuclear weapons facilities: “I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at ____________.” @sharim28, 7:13 Hahaha yes convenient cut off Very smooth @geneeste, 7:14 So smooth Sam holding Cassie while she sleeps in the back of the truck is legit heartbreaking stahp I don’t want to feel things while I’m mad at you, show 7:16 Aahhhh Sam already knows she won’t be coming back up when Jack offers to take Cassie You can see it in her face That is some great acting by AT and MY HEART And I swear Jack has an inkling too It’s why he’s so insistent about the time 7:17 And that eye contact between her and Jack as the elevator doors close GAH Stupid show.

7:18 “Please, go back to sleep.” STOP IT I MEAN IT

7:19 This really is difficult to watch Poor Sam. Poor Cassie. Poor everybody.

7:21 Ahhhh Sam DON’T CRY SAM 7:22 That Jack switches from Captain Carter to Sam is just chefskiss.gif

7:23 So I love both the fact that Jack is desperately ordering Sam to come back up AND that Sam is desperately ignoring him Also perfection 7:24 (Don’t think I’ve forgotten the shitty thing you did show I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN I’M JUST TAKING A BREAK) Jack’s not leaving MY HEART 7:25 And also I love SG1 but of course Jack wouldn’t leave Cassie’s “I love you” really does feel earned here and that’s hard to do in such a short amount of time A testament to AT’s acting chops because I’m not feeling particularly charitable toward the writing right now 7:26 More great camerawork on Daniel and Teal’c I wonder who directed this ep

7:30 Mario Azzopardi — he hasn’t done much I recognize now. Peter Woeste on cinematography. Good work sirs. More good camera work on the guys 7:31 “We could have been wrong about the time.” “We could have been wrong about what would happen.” I love the drama but I’m mad about it 7:32 He switched to Sam again! I can’t wait to listen to this podcast ep of Chevrons Locked 7:34 PM Yes Daniel’s celebratory slap at Teal’c HA I love it 7:35 Why are we insisting on putting Sam in mom clothes Although I’m loving Teal’c's fashion

7:36 “A mother’s instinct, perhaps.” “Subtle, but no.” That is such a great little moment between Teal’c and Sam

7:38 Jack not so subtlety ushering the dog and the guys away

7:38 So sweet Big old softy Pretty sure that dog is walking Jack, but whatever

7:40 Sweet ending

7:41 I will never look at this episode or the whole storyline leading up to Cassie’s appearance the same way again, though Phew. That was an unexpected ride

7:42 Um. I just looked it up. Katie Stuart (Cassie) is a year older than me. Wut. the actress is frozen in my brain at 13 so this is very weird to discover

[god-whispers]

jul 22

week in review  - headlines

"behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me." psa 40:7

‘Reduce Population’: Kamala Harris Verbal Slip-Up Corrected By White House Vice President Kamala Harris mistakenly (?) suggested that one of the goals of investing in clean energy is population reduction.  

Are You Willing To Starve For The Greater Good? Central planners are pulling double shifts. Contriving plans and proposals to control what you consume, how you travel and cook, where your money is spent, and much, much more.

Globalists Suggest “Finance Shock” And Climate Controls To Launch Their Great Reset Central banks and international banks are now suddenly more concerned with carbon taxation and global warming than they seem to be concerned with stagflation and economic collapse. Likely because this was the goal all along and economic collapse is part of the plan.

America’s Religious Landscape in the midst of a Continuing Exodus, Devotion of True Believers Remains High And of those regular church attendees 82% say they are optimistic about the future of their congregation, and 89% say they are proud to be associated with their church.

She’s 47, anorexic and wants help dying. Canada will soon allow it. An expansion of the criteria for medically assisted death that comes into force in March 2024 will allow Canadians like Pauli, whose sole underlying condition is mental illness, to choose medically assisted death.

Court hears another case that wants to censor 10 Commandments “The Supreme Court already settled this debate. Displays that are part of the history and tradition of America, like the Ten Commandments, are presumed to be constitutional,” said Lea Patterson, counsel at First Liberty.

Pure Evil. Latest Disney Production Is Cartoon About a Girl Who Inherits a Ritualistic Killing, Blood Drinking Cult from her Father Praise Petey is set to premiere July 21st at 10pm ET/PT on Freeform with the first two episodes. Then, two episodes will drop weekly following the premiere, and will be available on Hulu the next day.

Hong Kong Warns Of Japanese Seafood Ban If Fukushima Dumps Nuke Water Into Ocean Last week, the UN nuclear watchdog gave Japan the “greenlight” to dump ‘treated’ radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima plant into the ocean. The plan upset China, the biggest buyer of its seafood exports, and has since sparked concerns in Hong Kong.

Climate engineering is a real and present threat to humanity For geoengineering expert Dane Wigington, climate engineering is the greatest and most immediate threat against humanity.

Are You Willing To Starve For The Greater Good? Central planners are pulling double shifts.  Contriving plans and proposals to control what you consume, how you travel and cook, where your money is spent, and much, much more.

BREAKING: Government Reports prove Pfizer & Moderna purposely manufactured Deadly Batches of the Covid-19 Vaccines An investigation of official U.S. Government data, provided by the Centers for Disease Control, has revealed that extremely high numbers of adverse reactions and deaths have been reported against specific lot numbers of the Covid-19 vaccines numerous times.

The Chinese Communist Party is rewriting the Bible …A possible sneak preview of what a Bible with socialist characteristics might look like appeared in a Chinese university textbook in 2020. The rewritten Gospel of John excerpt ends, not with mercy, but with Jesus himself stoning the adulterous woman to death.

13 Nations agree to engineer global FAMINE by destroying agriculture, saying that producing food is BAD for the planet We are now being told that producing food is bad for the planet. To “save” the planet, globalists insist, farms must be shut down across the globe.

Store Food While You Still Can, Because 2.4 Billion People Already Do Not Have Enough Food As This New Global Famine Accelerates Global food supplies just keep getting even tighter, and global hunger has risen to extremely alarming levels.  People on the other side of the world are literally starving to death as I write this article, but most of us in the western world simply do not care about the millions that are deeply suffering because the mainstream media hardly ever talks about what is happening.  But the truth is that we are feeling the impact of this global food crisis too.

Here Come The Grasshoppers… It was just a matter of time before the grasshoppers joined the party.  In 2023, global crops have been devastated by plague after plague.  Farmers in the U.S. and elsewhere have had to deal with seemingly endless drought, unprecedented heat, nightmarish flooding and horrifying outbreaks of disease.  In fact, citrus greening disease is one of the primary reasons why the orange harvest in Florida is on

Preparing to Wage a Nuclear War? Nuclear Attack F-16 Fighters to Ukraine The United States has begun a training programme for the Ukrainian Air Force in the use of F-16 fighters.  They are conventional dual-capable and nuclear fighters.

Britain on lockdown alert as new killer virus which kills 40% of victims ‘certain’ to reach UK …Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) – which kills between 10–40% of people infected – has been identified as a major threat to public health.

Global Alarm: Governments now believe there’s a link between COVID-19 Vaccines, Antibody-Dependent Enhancement & Immune System Degradation …almost two years later, the authorities have quietly decided to begin an investigation into Covid-19 vaccine induced Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome and Antibody-Dependent Enhancement after scientists around the world, including many from Harvard and Yale, were forced to admit a debilitating suite of problems have been appearing hours, days or weeks after a Covid-19 vaccine has been administered.

BEAST MODE: Colorado Begins Mark Of The Beast ‘Proving Grounds’ As Amazon One Allows Payments With Your Palm At 11 Whole Foods Locations My daughter Megan..sent me a text message with some crazy photos late last night about her incredible experience at their local Whole Foods store in Colorado. She went to check out and noticed, for the first time, that her Whole Foods was now using Amazon One for payments, and one of the options offered to her was to make a palm payment. Today it’s a payment through the front of your hand, and very soon it will be a payment through the back of your right hand or forehead. Guaranteed.

Google Is Testing An AI Tool Named ‘Genesis’ That Will Create News Stories Using Artificial Intelligence And Be Disseminated Through The Legacy Media Of course, the old joke about the legacy news media has long been that the stories are written with artificial intelligence because it’s not real news, going all the way back to the original fake news known as ‘Yellow Journalism’. But all that is about to change. The global dominators at Google are working on a new project, codenamed ‘Genesis’, that will use AI technology like ChatGPT to write news stories and articles for all the main fake news merchants. And the fact they’ve named it ‘Genesis’? Don’t get me started.

Top economist: Central bankers are planning CBDC currency implants ‘under your skin’ A central banker reportedly told economist Richard Werner there are plans to issue CBDCs that ‘look like a small grain of rice,’ to be implanted under the skin.

CDC confirms COVID Vaccination caused shocking 338x increase in Cancers & AIDS-Associated Diseases Official data made available by the U.S. Government and Centers for Disease Control strongly suggests that fully vaccinated Americans may be developing Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome or a similar disease that is decimating the innate immune system.

George Michael could 'return' to touring years after death -- as hologram... Pop legend George Michael tragically died in 2016, but his former Wham! bandmates Shirlie Kemp, Pepsi and Andrew Ridgeley like the idea of an ABBA-style hologram show

Young adult woman gets just 90 days in jail for aborting viable unborn child, burning its body A Nebraska young adult will serve just 90 days in jail for using abortion pills to abort her unborn nearly 30-week-old child... Detectives later learned the Burgesses had disposed of the baby's remains twice — before burying them a third time after burning them.

[dreamingofcalliope]

𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖉𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖒 𝖌𝖚𝖆𝖗𝖉 {𝖕𝖗𝖊𝖛𝖎𝖊𝖜}

When a woman sets him free at the cost of her own life, Dream vows to honour her sacrifice and lay her to rest in the Dreaming, once it is restored... only things don’t quite go to plan when she reawakens unexpectedly.

Pairing: Morpheus x Reader (no y/n used)

Warnings: graphic violence, blood, angst, major character death. basically all the same nasty stuff that happened in the first episode xD

A/N: a little preview of the first chapter of this story! I have no idea how long said story will be, or whether it’ll be all different instalments, I’m just kind of going with the flow right now. It is a fusion between the Sandman show and ideas from the Old Guard (which everyone should go watch too bc amazing)! 

Gif made by me!

The first shot split the air with a crack, even amidst the sound of shouting, and the splatter of red across the glass of his prison was uncomfortably familiar to Morpheus. 

His heart had not been inclined to hope for help since he had lost Jessamy, and though it still did not now, the similarity of the moment his loyal servant had been struck down was an uncomfortable weight.

The second took the woman to her knees, in a pose not unlike those who supplicated before him in the past, his subjects, in search of an audience with the King of Dreams and Nightmares, while her hand clutched at the new wound spilling red down the front of her body. Her eyes held his gaze, as it had since she’d found her way into the basement a few minutes earlier, and with the weight of resignation in his throat, Morpheus accepted he would now bear witness to another passing. 

Yet it was not shock he found in her features, surprise at a life cut short, rather she seemed… focused; on living, he supposed even as she pitched forward like a puppet whose strings had been cut, until she reached for the binding circle beneath his cage. He dared not look too long, to linger on the markings that had helped keep him prisoner all this time, even now as she reached for them, but the hope bloomed in his chest heedless of the cost of the act. 

The woman would die here, of that he held no doubt, yet that seed of hope sprouted that perhaps her sacrifice would not be completely in vain. In fact he swore it. 

If she were to set him free, he would see that sacrifice honoured.

Another shot came; he unconsciously echoed the flinch she gave but she did not falter. With her own blood coating her hand, and, he suspected, what little strength she had remaining, she swept across the markings; distorting the edges enough to destroy the power they contained. As he watched her head fall and the light die in her eyes, for the first time in over a century, his power spilled beyond the edges of his prison. 

Like a limb tight from disuse, he stretched his influence towards the guard whose gun was still raised. A push and more shots came, this time at the barrier separating them and finally it gave way, shattering under the joint pressure. 

He was free.

Once the guards were taken care of, and his jailers sufficiently punished, Morpheus approached the still form of his saviour. With gentle hands, he gathered her close and stood, escape and his promise at the forefront of his mind; he would not leave her body at the mercy of any servant of the Burgess family. A mixture of emotions; gratitude, sorrow, anger, relief, all warred inside him as he turned towards the swirling portal that would finally take them home and allowed it to carry them away from his prison for good.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[pharawee]

I’ve yet to gif this ep’s spicy scene but maybe I shouldn’t do that when I’ve had 2 cups of glühwein and it’s already past midnight - the perfect conditions for another Big Dragon episode review.

To save me some time screencapping I just recorded the ep while I was watching it so excuse the subs. Or maybe they’ll even come in handy, we’ll see. I cropped them out for my gifs but I’m too lazy to do it here (I say but I’ve cropped out the gagaoolala logo 🤡).

This ep starts exactly where we left off last week (actually, there’s some overlap again - why are you doing this, Star Hunter? There’s only 8 eps of this show!) - only now we see some of Mangkorn’s perspective. It’s still pretty sketchy. I mean, you could have just... not let that girl half undress you while you told her you’re not interested.

But okay. You already said it, you and Yai are both womanizers and apparently old habits die hard.

But it’s Mangkorn’s face when Yai in his fit of jealousy hits far too close to home that really gets to me:

He’s looking almost pained. But of course, Mangkorn being Mangkorn, he’d just rather lash out instead. And Yai, being understandably hurt, doesn’t see it for what it is. He probably thinks Mangkorn is feeling guilty.

Which leads to Yai pushing and Mangkorn pushing back (it seems to be his favoured approach when it comes to Yai acting out).

And then, “If you want me to delete those videos, you have to come home with me.” Which at this point is a very convenient excuse, I guess, because Yai gets to ask himself the following:

And the answer, predictably, is:

Because, honestly, this is probably a lot easier to deal with for them than having to think about their relationship as a whole.

Coincidentally, Mos has said that for him the love scenes were easier to do than scenes in which he had to cry etc, since he could just get into the moment and “be” his character. He would be embarrassed before and after the take since there’s crew around but let go completely when the camera was rolling.

Plus, the camera work is gorgeous - all shaky and raw and in and out of focus, interspersed with light and shadow and spots of red.

I can see why this is Bank’s favourite scene.

I can hear LITA’s Rain screaming in the distance. Phayu would never!

It’s the next morning and the audience is literally wearing rose-tinted glasses. And so are Mangkorn and Yai. This has got to be their honeymoon phase (and look, the yin/yang carpet from the trailer makes its first appearance!).

I love how Mangkorn’s house - where he lives alone since his parents live out of town and don’t visit very often - is all cosy and warm. Compared to Yai’s condo it feels really inviting and personal, like he’s got it all figured out (spoiler: he hasn’t).

The product placement was of course kind of on the nose but unbearably cute. Plus, I’m addicted to Tao Kae Noi so I’m not even mad.

And I love the way Yai immediately gave in when Mangkorn mentioned his mother. I really appreciate how the dialogue in this show isn’t just surface-level. There’s so many things going on, especially since both Mangkorn and Yai are characters who say so many things with so few, conflicting, often hurtful words.

Which is why this honeymoon phase can’t last.

(Oh, and tbh I love how the blackmail video is more of a footnote in this ep. The less said, the better. But yay for showing us the cute MosBank sticker again 🥰 )

Mangkorn’s mum makes a really awkward 1-minute appearance just so she can embarrass her future son-in-law. And then, she just vanishes again because she’s a good mum and read the room (which will probably come up later, judging by next ep’s preview).

Next, Yai goes all overboard and decides to give the place a good dusting. Idk if it’s always this untidy or if he feels guilty for destroying at least two semesters worth of architecture homework. Park and Pong make a short appearance in all of their pink and blue glory but somehow it looks even more untidy when they leave.

But look at them in their little color-coded outfits. Cutest bodyguards ever!

And what is this?

Oh no, it’s the dreaded “maybe I’ll go abroad for a year” trope rearing its ugly head. Don’t do it, Star Hunter! There’s only 8 episodes!

I appreciate the continuous bj jokes, though (so this is what Mangkorn ordered for you?🥴).

No more rose-tinted glasses. Now there’s a heavy red plaid on the bed.

Negl I honestly half-expected Yai to find engagement announcements in the drawer but of course that would have taken away from their fight later.

I’ll get to Hong and Nadear in a bit, please bear with me. Let me just say they’re unbearably cute with their matching bracelets 🥰

Then there’s this - the complete opposite of their Tao Kae Noi-sponsored breakfast (more yin & yang, I guess). And while maybe Mangkorn is right to say that Yai doesn’t listen, it’s really unfair for him to expect Yai to read between the lines when - and Yai is right about that one, too! - Mangkorn is keeping a lot of secrets. He keeps all of his problems to himself and just kind of stoically accepts them. Which maybe works with his family, but it doesn’t work with Yai.

And tbh it really got to me when he accused Yai of being selfish when Yai has outright offered his help no less than three times (once in the last ep) because he sensed that there’s something that’s worrying Mangkorn. Is he maybe naive for offering that help? Sure. But at least he’s reaching out.

Mangkorn is throwing “selfish” around like it’s an insult, like it’s really supposed to hurt - when, yeah, someone like Yai probably needs to be a little bit selfish in order to figure out what he wants. That’s not a bad thing.

I really feel for both of them. I feel for Mangkorn because he’s so used to going it alone and keeping his problems to himself, and I feel for Yai because he won’t face his problems (case in point: he later runs off again rather than facing his dad and his dad’s new gf).

But I’m glad that this time the uno-reverse card backfired on Mangkorn big (lmao) time.

It’s really convenient that P’Nine has a rooftop bar.

And look, it’s Tung!! 🥰 And his character is having the worst day at the job ever, but somehow he knows the exact song that Yai is going to sing.

I don’t even mind the singing, though, because I was a fan of ISBANKY the singer before I was a fan of Bank the actor so this is like, a major stan moment for me.

If it isn’t the consequences of your own actions, Mangkorn...

And again he just rather keeps to himself instead of reaching out. Have you learned nothing (probably not, there’s still 3 eps to go)?

Oh, wait, is this supposed to be Yai, his sister and Nine in the photo?

It’s really tragic how Mangkorn triggered Yai’s bisexual awakening. He could have eloped with Nine years ago.

I would recognise this ikea blanket anywhere.

Okay, but I need a moment to just stare at Big Thanakorn because he’s literally perfect. We might not survive a show with him as the lead. He’s too powerful. 

I wanted to screencap Jet & Jame’s appearance but it’s too short and this review is already too long. Just know that I love them both very dearly.

Okay, parallel time!

In this ep we have three couples seated at a table, with Nine and Yai being almost an exact repeat of Hong & Nadear, at least in the beginning. Only, while Hong immediately understands and gives in to Nadear, Nine misunderstands and tries to fix it by being his charming self.

And while Nine and Yai seem more relaxed compared to Mangkorn and Yai, Yai’s conversation with Nine remains superficial (and a safe space) while his conversation(s) with Mangkorn are anything but.

That being said, Nine remains the MVP for treating this cute little caterpillar like the most precious thing it is. He even carries it outside 🥰

I need another moment. 🫠

Oh, how the turntables.

Nine & Yai look so good together.

So it turns out that Mangkorn was trying to fix things by bringing food. I guess acts of service are way easier than talking. Only, uhm, yeah...

I’m guessing Nine kissed Yai first and he just needed a moment to react. Because in the book Yai is quite clear about his feelings being platonic - even if he’s all kinds of dazzled by Nine (which is understandable. He’s perfect lmao).

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

A story about hope and trust - Part 2

Welcome to the second part of the scenes that were most striking for me in episode 7 when it comes to the relationship between Kinn and Porsche.

We don't know much about the relationship between Kinn and Tawan, and yet more than Porsche. He got the introduction to Kinn's story from, of all people, the most trustworthy person ever - Vegas. So Porsche now knows that Kinn shot his ex-partner because he could no longer trust him and thought he was a mole. Even without previews of the next episode and unintentional book spoilers, I wouldn't trust Vegas an inch over.

I also think Vegas had something to do with Kinn's last relationship. "He wants everything that belongs to me."  There’s Kinn’s experience speaking from the words, experience with personal involvement that goes beyond just being a mafia executive.

Vegas is a red rag for Kinn, not only because there is this permanent competition between the two families, but also because Vegas constantly provokes him. Vegas knows Kinn, he has studied him, recognises every little nuance of change. Not only Korn can read Kinn, Vegas has also become a pro at it. What his goals are? Who knows, maybe he wants power himself, maybe he wants to get back at Kinn, maybe he just wants to destroy him because he likes it. The fact that Vegas knows Kinn perfectly well is something Kinn is well aware of. And at this point he should have let Porsche in on it. Telling him over and over again not to bother with the Minor Family and to watch out for them doesn't help. It doesn't make Porsche realise how much danger he's in simply because he's important to Kinn.

But Kinn is not ready for that. He wishes to trust Porsche. Remember the scene in the crevice after Kinn apologises to Porsche, he says there should be no more doubt between them. It's a promise he couldn't keep. He is still too attached to the betrayal that happened to him. He can't quite open his heart yet. He would have to reveal himself to Porsche, expose his fears and his transgressions, offer him his throat, so to speak. Trust takes time, especially when you have lost it through trauma. It means work and to assume that just because you have spent a few days in the forest and are on cloud nine will be enough to heal all wounds is naïve. In a world where you have to earn everything, where you always have to fight for your position and your life, where anyone can betray anyone and you can never really be sure, trust also has to be earned. Kinn cannot yet trust Porsche the way he wants to. Kinn is constantly reminded that Tawan betrayed and weakened him. The two strongest male figures in his life keep alluding to this. His father, who uses Tawan to keep Kinn obedient, and his enemy Vegas, who uses the memory to watch Kinn suffer.  

The only ones who do not use Tawan to influence Kinn negatively are his friends. Te advises him, "Don't replace someone with another one." Porsche is not Tawan. Te tries to tell him that whatever happened with Tawan doesn't mean it will happen again with Porsche and that he should give Porsche a chance, give himself a chance to be happy again. When making decisions, one likes to go by the opinion or voice that speaks most like one's heart. And Kinn is in love, he wants Porsche to work out, and then he finds out from Pete that Vegas is making a move on Porsche...

Pete sees the two of them talking, in fact holding hands, even though it's Vegas who pulls Porsche away. And then the contact with Pete breaks off. The spiral of thoughts begins. Kinn is jealous, possessive. What does a hothead do in a situation like this? He crashes the party. Especially when it comes to Porsche, which has fallen into the hands of Vegas. Vegas is the red rag for Kinn, the person he wouldn't trust with anyone.

In the bathroom we see Vegas forcing himself on Porsche. I do think Porsche was drunk. But I also think he sobered up abruptly when he realised the threat. I know this from my own experience. When the adrenaline kicks in, you sober up quickly. Porsche has become a little wary as a result of his last conversation with Vegas, but not yet so much that he could have taken his perceived good nature in offering to help him take off his T-shirt as a first step in the wrong direction. But he is uncomfortable, you can see it in his look.

When Vegas wants to have his way with him, he tries to push him away, to twist out of the embrace and protect his face. Even though there is a certain attraction coming from Vegas, Porsche is not ready to betray Kinn. Vegas' attraction to Porsche does not necessarily derive from a sexual one. Rather, his nature is attractive to Porsche. Vegas is caring, friendly and easy-going towards him. Exactly what Porsche is attracted to. He liked the Kinn in the forest, found him cute, his easy-going manner and the possibility of seeing him as a friend. He doesn't like the mafia boss Kinn that much. Every time Kinn plays the cool boss to him, Porsche's expression darkens. But that kind of attraction doesn't mean Porsche would willingly give Vegas what belongs only to Kinn. He knows, for Kinn, kisses are something he shares only with his partner, for whom he has feelings that go beyond the sexual. His kisses belong to Kinn as Kinn's belong to him.

Kinn enters the bathroom in this situation. His entrance is accentuated by the yellowish image. Just as sunbeams can break through clouds, Kinn bursts into this scene, powerful and forceful. And here the colour choice of the scene is chef's kiss. Yellow stands for power and prosperity. For strength and the sun. For warmth, but also for malice. The malice in which Vegas is immersed in the sexual assault on Porsche.

The raging jealousy that Kinn feels envelops him in an all-encompassing green in the scene where he turns the gun on Vegas. Green, the colour of jealousy and poison. Jealousy poisons the mind. Vegas kept pouring droplets of this poison into him. At the hospital, when he brought Porsche the flowers, when he tried to poach Porsche as his bodyguard, when he pretended to Porsche and the rest of the bodyguards that he was the good Samaritan among the mafia bosses. How far Vegas knew he was being watched by Pete and Arm and how far he thougt they would report back to Kinn is hard to say, but I fully believe that he expected Kinn to catch them. But not so quickly. He underestimated Kinn and his feelings for Porsche. He shouldn't have come until Porsche was getting nauseous under his hands and it would have destroyed Kinn to see it.

After Kinn and Porsche are finally alone, an interesting dynamic develops. Kinn leans over Porsche, making himself bigger, gaining control of the scene and of Porsche. And Porsche smiles at him. He is happy to see Kinn. He is happy that Kinn has saved him, that he has rushed to him like the knight in his fucking shirts with the top buttons missing to free him from the clutches of Vegas. And in the same way he flirts with the gaze, is eager and open to see what happens next. And is startled by the direction in which the situation drifts.

"What the fuck were you doing?" The sentence that brings Porsche back to reality. He tears his eyes open, looks at Kinn in disbelief, searches with his eyes for the possibility that he didn't mean what Kinn had just thrown in his face. But then comes the slap and the repetition of the reproach. Kinn is transported back to his past, seeing only the treason, the betrayal of his partner. Something that the colour green also stands for. Unfaithfulness, the poisoning of trust.

But how could Kinn do otherwise? He is programmed to expect the worst from everyone, to see betrayal everywhere. Of course Porsche had to get involved with Vegas. Why should Porsche be the exception? So far, everyone has betrayed him. Kinn can't see the big picture. He can't see past his blind jealousy.

Porsche doesn't put up with it anymore, pushes Kinn away, slaps him hard and looks so hurt. He knows physical pain can't hurt Kinn that much, it's too far from his heart. So Porsche reaches for another weapon. He expresses how much Kinn has hurt him, how much the lack of trust hurts him. With tears in his eyes, he spits at Kinn: "I shouldn't have loved a crappy guy like you". And here two things happen at once. On the one hand, Porsche tells Kinn how he feels about him, that he loves him and thus gives Kinn the security he needs so much, and at the same time he withdraws this affection/security from him again. And that's when it clicks with Kinn. Porsche is just as vulnerable as he is. He is just as trapped in this situation as Kinn. And when Porsche wants to escape the situation, Kinn can't let him go, because then he wouldn't have a chance to prove himself worthy of Porsche's love.

So he holds him back, presses him against the mirror, but not to dominate him, but to calm the situation. He barely holds him, puts his arms against the mirror, gives Porsche the option to leave the situation at any time and if Porsche had left, Kinn would have accepted it. The dynamic has changed again.

Porsche in the situation makes himself small, protects himself, not knowing what exactly is coming next. Will Kinn cross the line again, just as Vegas, or Kinn himself a few weeks earlier? But he chooses to trust Kinn, so he waits. And Kinn sees his old self there in the mirror, the self he doesn't want to go back to. He wants this new beginning with Porsche. He remembers the promise that no doubts should lie between them and Pete's words that Porsche is sensitive and that he should approach him with calm and patience. Kinn gives them both time, recognising the fragility of the situation. If he goes the wrong way, he loses Porsche and his new self. And here is the place where it all happens so strikingly. A bathroom. Vegas could have taken Porsche to his place, dropped him into a cosy bed, but he didn't. The place is the bathroom, the most intimate of all rooms. The place where you get naked and are at your most vulnerable. The place where one is unprotected. The possible future of Kinn and Porsche is as vulnerable as we get to see the unprotected emotions on both of their faces.

Kinn chooses the right path. Before he gets any closer to Porsche physically, he apologises, recognises the mistake he made, acknowledges that it wasn't Porsche's fault and that he reacted wrongly. He gives Porsche even more space, leaves the next steps to him. Porsche doesn't leave, instead turns and looks at Kinn. Tells him that he doesn't intend to run away from the situation, that they are in it together, but also that he is hurt.

Kinn leans forward, kisses him not on the mouth but on the chest, literally bows to Porsche, thanks him for his trust and thereby underlines his apology.

And after they kiss, he lets Porsche grab his throat, finally making himself vulnerable to him, willingly, handing him back the control he didn't have the first time, nor with Vegas a few minutes ago. I don't mean D/s control, but simply control over his own sensations, his own emotions his own fucking will. And Kinn nods at him, explains that it's ok, that he's safe, but also asks if he can move on. D/s does not mean that the Dom pounces on the sub in every situation and just takes what he wants. It is a very delicate structure built on trust (just as any functioning relationship should). Both have to trust each other so that neither crosses a boundary of the other. It could have been that Porsche didn't want to go any further, that the past few minutes were too much for him, that he might be distraught and not want to have sex. And that would have been fine and understandable, and that's why it's so important for Kinn to ask, to reassure himself. To get the willingly consent Porsche couldn’t give last time.

And Porsche's response is so wonderful and tender. He embraces Kinn's face with his hands and pulls him into a kiss. Such an intimate gesture. He is telling Kinn that it is all right, that Kinn is safe too. Porsche is not going anywhere, he is as much in this relationship as Kinn. He chooses Kinn, he trusts Kinn.

And where just a moment ago there was sadness and pain in their eyes, now pure euphoria enters. Kinn is beaming from ear to ear, absolutely ecstatic that his love is reciprocated. Bliss is the word that describes it best for me. And in the end, Kinn didn't lose Porsche, he was able to take this step together with Porsche, to build a new foundation for their relationship. That's what green also stands for. As yellow-green for the new beginning and rebirth and as the sole colour for the balance of head and heart, and for hope and trust. Kinn has opened his heart to Porsche, left his old self behind in the mirror, and made love to Porsche with hope for a different future in which he finally allows himself to trust. Overwhelmed by the many emotions he can now finally allow himself, Kinn cries and Porsche pulls him close, holds him tightly in his arms, gives him the security and safety that Kinn needs as much as Porsche needs it himself.

And now, overwhelmed by all the emotions that this scene triggers in me, I go have a quick cry myself, think about how Kinn grabs Porsche’s neck in the last gif and hope that the two of them will be a team from now on.