#an extremely unlikely to have happened coming out scene but I thought the idea was funny nonetheless

[hollowflight-propaganda]

The Copperhead situation from that one MudWing short story in a nutshell

Copperhead: Guys? I need to tell you all something...

Egret: Well, go on and spit it out!

Possum: Yeah. Nothing you say could change our opinion about you.

Copperhead: Well... the truth is I like guys-

Egret: You were worried about us not liking you for being gay!? We'd never!!!

Copperhead: Wait-

Bayou: We support you! :)

Copperhead: But I didn't-

Sawgrass: Absolutely. There's nothing, and I mean nothing, that could possibly undo our unbreakable sibling bond.

Copperhead: I'M MOVING OUT TO LIVE WITH MY HOT RAINWING BOYFRIEND!!!

The Sibs: ...

The Sibs: You WHAT?!?!?!??!

[protect-namine]

this post is about qiao ling. but first, I want to talk about the power rangers of this show.

so. I'm really glad YE2 is putting the triple star warrior mirroring in a more interesting context

because that's clearly the intent and it's not like it doesn't make sense back in S1, but the actual execution of that mirroring seemed shallow at best with just S1 knowledge

(look! qiao ling even bought cake of them in the S2 finale)

I think it's because I couldn't quite place qiao ling's role in this until now. she's the star of wisdom, but she's the one who is the most out of the loop and lacking in knowledge... or so we thought. but with the S2 ending giving her tianxi's ability, and YE2 showing that it's a pattern for her to keep relevant information, then yeah, it's starting to make sense. the triple star warriors really are their character arcs.

star of justice, bringing hope (cheng xiaoshi's kindness being both a strength and a weakness that can either uplift or endanger other people; "even if you don't see hope, it doesn't mean it's not there")

star of courage, conquering fear (lu guang timelooping himself is the most extreme response to fear he has over cheng xiaoshi's death)

star of wisdom, serving knowledge (qiao ling and the burden of knowledge that she keeps from people out of guilt or protection)

and they really do need to overcome all of that to get the good ending.

anyway, I just think it's neat. I thought the triple star warriors mirroring was cute back in S1, but now I love it even more knowing qiao ling's place in all of this. I actually love this trait about her. she is always taking care of other people and has "big sister" vibes. she's the one who actually goes out of her way to find clients for shiguang to help and hearing their clients' troubles, even when she had no idea how their abilities worked. she's the one who truly connected with tianxi and knew how to communicate with her — even better than cheng xiaoshi could, and cheng xiaoshi was the one who actually got to live as tianxi.

it's in her nature to care for others, but it's also her biggest flaw. much like lu guang, in her desire to keep cheng xiaoshi safe in her own way, she hides relevant information from him. and the act of secret keeping causes her to keep doing it out of guilt too — as we've seen in the doudou case. it's a very human trait to have.

it puts the earthquake arc in a new context. a young cheng xiaoshi went to qiao ling, distraught over the possibility that maybe his parents died in the earthquake. young qiao ling, wanting to comfort cheng xiaoshi but also knowing that her parents were advised that it's safer for cheng xiaoshi to not go to bridon, tells him that his parents are probably somewhere "far away" and wasn't caught in the earthquake. this isn't just words for the sake of comfort. she has reason to believe this is actually true.

she's in a tough spot when S3 rolls around, because she should, by then, know about cheng xiaoshi's death, if not possibly everything that happened in bridon (through tianxi's power/memory transfer). unlike lu guang, who is dead set on timelooping himself as a way to fix things, qiao ling is in a precarious spot.

should she honor aunt shao's wish and keep cheng xiaoshi safe, which she also wants? or should she tell cheng xiaoshi information he rightfully should know, thereby allowing him to exercise full agency over his own future, even if that future has the risk of death? and whatever she chooses will affect lu guang too. what is the wise thing to do here?

on that note, others have pointed out how this recontextualizes S1E1 cheng xiaoshi talking about his parents. looking back, it's insane to me that S1E1's opening scene (not the dive rules, the one after the op plays) has cheng xiaoshi saying, "I won't go anywhere until my parents come back. if you drive me away, I'll hang myself here! then your father will never get a new tenant."

(it's looking like whatever he learns in bridon won't carry over to the cheng xiaoshi of S1, but I digress)

he says this, and both lu guang and qiao ling are sitting there calling him a childish idiot, all the while harboring knowledge about his parents that cheng xiaoshi doesn't have. (lu guang also has the extra knowledge of cheng xiaoshi's death and what happened in bridon at this point probably, but this post is not about lu guang)

like... in S1 this could just be seen as a little "haha okay so this is exposition and this is their dynamic" scene but now... man. qiao ling knew all this time, in this scene, where his parents might be. she knew during the earthquake. she knew while they were renovating the shop.

I understand the reasons behind it, and in her eyes it probably was the wise thing to do. but when S3 comes around, should she still keep hiding it, like she did with the doudou case? when she confronts lu guang about his memories, what will she do?

I have hope that she'll bridge the two boys together. we saw how her strength has always been communication and delivering words. she is the person the clients look to. she is the person that gained tianxi's trust and knew how to meet her where she's at. she is the person who knows cheng xiaoshi and lu guang best.

here's hoping that she can overcome her guilt and desire to protect cheng xiaoshi from himself, and become the star of wisdom the show wants her to be

[onigiri-yuuta]

Movie Night with (some of) the JJK guys!

Featuring! : Gojo Satoru, Yūji Itadori, Megumi Fushiguro, Toge Inumaki, Yūta Okkotsu

Note! : Hi guys I had this idea in bed last night :P I hope you guys like this! Sorry for not including the older guys (except gojo) I literally do not know what to write for them :( Ignore grammar mistakes, my English is dying these days <3

Gojo Satoru

I feel like he's gonna be SUPER annoying.

Keeps on talking throughout the movie.

Passes comments on how the the protagonist could've done something else in the respective scene, or how they should've acted in some situation.

Scoffs when something bad happens saying everyone saw it coming.

Pretends to be the greatest movie critic out there.

Absolutely says he could've done a better job.

Asks you what you think about him being an actor.

Has huge jumpscares during horror movies but totally acts cool about it.

But he cannot escape your teasing after he actually screeches like a banshee.

Finishes whatever snack you choose for yourself after he finishes his.

Gojo also devours the whole popcorn bowl while ranting on about how bad the movie is.

Will tell you that your taste in movies sucks, and then laugh.

May or may not stop if you glare at him <3

Yūji Itadori

He's a sweetheart okay :(((

Since he's watched basically every movie ever, poor baby has a hard time not spoiling it for you.

You're sitting there biting your nails in anticipation, and then out of nowhere Yūji is like "Is it the part where…" and that makes you want to pull your hair out.

Is genuinely sorry for spoiling the movie for you, but you sigh and tell him it's okay as long as it won't happen again.

It happens again <3

Though a rare occurrence, if it's a movie he hasn't watched yet, he'd be super invested.

Like he's so quiet you forget he's beside you.

Unintentionally eats all your snacks in the heat of the moment and only realises it when he puts his hand in the bowl and grabs nothing.

Is sincerely sorry again.

Offers to go make you snacks, or sprint to the other end of the city to bring you whatever he chowed down.

You assure him it's fine <3.

Oh also, if the movie has a sequel (or if you're watching some drama with him), he totally convinces you to watch the next one.

Binge watches everything with you until the both of you notice the sunlight peeping out from the closed blinds.

Feels bad about making you stay up all night, but it's okay as long as you tell him it's fine!

Megumi Fushiguro

Super quiet throughout the movie.

You have to check on him to make sure he isn't asleep, but you find his eyes glued to the screen, extremely concentrated.

Though he does occasionally share his thoughts on the scene with you.

Is actually the one who prepared the snacks beforehand (because he knows everything about you <3).

Will share his snack with you if you keep on staring at whatever he has in his hand.

If you ask him to bring you something from the kitchen, it'll take some convincing.

Though when he gives in, he asks you to stop the movie and not watch it while he's gone.

Even though it's literally a few seconds, he thinks anything crucial to the plot could happen.

I think if he's too interested, he'd ask you to play the sequel/next episode.

Unlike Yūji though, he stops after a few episodes because he starts feeling tired.

Convinces you to go to sleep as well saying he'll watch the rest with you later.

Toge Inumaki

OKAY SO!

You decide to watch some horror movie with him.

Scoffs and acts like the bravest human being out there.

Claims he's played Silent Hills and FNAF, so nothing scares him now.

That's a big fat lie.

Is clinging on to you throughout the movie.

Has the biggest jumpscare when something pops up unexpectedly.

You get scared too, but when you realise his reaction you burst out laughing.

Whines when you tease him about it, but it's just SO funny.

If you're watching something normal, he's going to note down points he wants to discuss with you later.

Or just notes down his review of the movie.

Also eats up everything and is not sorry about it.

Though if you get upset he apologises and quickly runs to the kitchen and brings everything he finds.

Like Yūji, makes you watch every season or every sequel till morning.

Again, is absolutely not sorry about making you stay up the whole night.

Thinks it was totally worth it.

Offers to cuddles you to sleep, but you tell him you aren't used to this "gamer" routine.

Gets offended and goes to sleep without you <33

Just kidding!! Or am I?

Makes it up to you by doing your chores for the day.

Might also bring you a small gift since he feels bad for messing up your routine.

You tell him it's fine but still he promises cuddles to help you sleep even better!

He's a troll but he's a sweet guy <3

Yūta Okkotsu

Another sweetheart :((

You should make him watch Studio Ghibli movies with you.

It's either that he'll cry eventually, or he'll love them so much, he's going to ask you to watch them with him ten thousand times.

But anyways!

Asks SO many questions.

Thinks that his questions are bothering you, but you tell him it's fine because if he doesn't ask, he won't understand what's happening.

If you're watching some suspense movie, he's going to get so frustrated.

Has his arms crossed and his gaze is fixed on whatever is happening inside the screen.

Is totally bewildered when something he didn't expect happens.

Like his jaw literally drops and turns to look at you in shock.

You think it's cute <3

Unfazed by horror movies, Rika had scared him enough for him to be like this <3

Takes mental notes if you're watching something romantic.

He sees the most corniest thing and then thinks that he should try it out with you someday.

Aww that's so sweet <3

Barely eats anything throughout the session.

Only eats when you offer him something because he'd forgotten about the snacks.

Yes I love him okay bye <3

[paradoxcase]

Chapter 25 of Nona the Ninth

So this chapter has a broken Gideon skull, which in this book seems to mean people being deceitful, and something is definitely up because Gideon is like 2-3 times as much Gideon as she normally is in this chapter, and I don't think that's an impression I only have because I've recently been through 3/4 of book full of Nona POV

Throughout this chapter, Gideon is referred to as "the corpse" or "the corpse prince" frequently, and I just feel like I should point out that we've gotten to the point where there are actually two different walking and talking corpses in this scene and both of them could plausibly be referred to as a prince. Even though Naberius's body is not currently being controlled by Ianthe, Naberius himself was a prince before he died

Hmm

That's all the definitions, I think Gideon just made this one up. Also, it's not a good day when you learn a new ethnic slur from the dictionary

Pyrrha acts like Gideon said "yes" here, but she didn't. That's like, a combination of "yes" and "nope"

It's hilarious, and I think actually accurate, that she's still terrified of the needle even though she is literally immune to needles now

"Judith Deuteros for some reason" really just sums up Judith's whole role in this story, doesn't it? It also would make a great blog title for a Judith fanblog, someone should get on that

Poor Judith! It's been a hot minute since Judith actually said something in a language that someone other than Nona can understand, so I really do hope it still is Judith in her body, and not someone or something else in there now

Right, so this could potentially mean:

The whole time since she impaled herself on the fence (unlikely since Gideon was stealth-narrating the entirety of Harrow the Ninth)

The whole time since Pyrrha and Nona met up with BOE at the end of Harrow the Ninth (since BOE had Gideon's body at that point, I think it's entirely possible that Gideon's soul transferred back into it from Harrow's body when she came into its proximity)

The whole time since John reacquired Gideon's body and made his modifications to it, and possibly also brought Gideon's soul back to it at that point

She could also just mean "the whole time I've been in New Rho" or "the whole time you've been in the barracks" but obviously she's been awake for longer than that since she was around to receive medals and stuff from John

Wiktionary says a "rusk" is a "weaning food for children" but doesn't give any kind of information on what specific food it is, or if it's just a general word for that kind of food

So Ianthe can "shut her off" somehow. I'm not sure if I buy that it was Gideon's idea to come here. I don't think she likes Ianthe, I don't think she would have thought New Rho would be a fun place to be, and even if she actually wanted to go to Ninth House like she says later I don't think she could have predicted that she'd be in a position for that to happen here and there are much easier and more straightforward ways for her to get to the Ninth House if she'd stayed with John

An interesting question is whether or not she would have won a fight with Ianthe's entropy field. I tend to think not, because a literal bar of metal didn't survive the entropy field, and even though she has some, like, I guess artificial preservation from being John's daughter she wasn't immune to direct physical damage because of that and even John himself wasn't immune to being taken apart into bits by Mercy, and since Mercy made the OG entropy field I'm sure it probably works using the same principle as whatever she did to John. Gideon may still survive the entropy field somehow, but if the entropy field was still functional it would actually be a great way for Palamedes to get a blood sample from her for Tomb-opening purposes, and so I think John would be extremely against having any such thing anywhere near Gideon's body. So I'm sticking with my theory that this was Ianthe's idea. She intentionally showed Gideon's body during the broadcast, she did that on purpose, although I guess if Gideon was "turned off" during that time she might not know that

Man, thanks for nothing, Gideon

Significant things that happened in the River at the end of the last book:

G1deon and a bunch of ghosts scared Number Seven off and it went to New Rho

Augustine was eaten by the Stoma

Harrow's and Palamedes' River bubbles ceased to exist

The Mithraeum was submerged in the River and sank very far down, unknown currently if John and Ianthe managed to save it

I can't think of why any of these things would make it safe for non-Lyctors to travel safely through the River. The ghosts all make themselves scarce around resurrection beasts, but I'm sure Ianthe and Gideon's journey didn't start out in the presence of a resurrection beast and I don't think the ghosts are the reason why River travel is dangerous for non-Lyctors

Blatant lies, lmao

She's so bad at lying, she starts off with "I don't want anything anymore" and finishes with "I want to go to the Ninth House because I have unfinished business there", and I suspect both of those things are at least partly lies. But I think she's right that John would probably give her a medal for killing this collection of people at this point, including Corona I think

But I suspect that she is the one who wants to go back to the Ninth House, for some undisclosed reason, and she's not acting on John or Ianthe's wishes here. If John wanted her to go back to the Ninth House she would already be there yesterday. If Ianthe wanted her to go there, I don't think she would have put up that entropy field, and she might even have tried to do some deal with BOE where she exchanged Gideon for the Sixth House. Also, I don't think Ianthe actually gives a shit about the Ninth House or anything that happened there. And there's no one else left in John's circuit at this point

Man, when Pyrrha said she was heavy, I just thought it was because she was tall and full of muscle. How damn strong is Pyrrha, exactly?

No, hold on, let me math this

A normal adult human has 11 kg of bones. Cortical bone makes up 80% of bone mass and has an average density of 1908 kg/m3, and cancellus bone makes up 20% and has an average density of 1178 kg/m3, so that is an average density of 1762 kg/m3 over all. There are 1,000,000 cm3 in 1 m3, so 11 kg / 1762 kg/m3 * 1,000,000 cm3/m3 is 6,242.9 cm3 of bone. Titanium has a density of 4.506 g/cm3. 6,242.9 cm3 * 4.506 g/cm3 is 28,130.5 g or a little over 28 kg. Since bones usually weigh 11 kg, that's only 17 extra kg of bone, so she only actually weighs about 37 and a half more pounds than usual. She says "titanium plex", which is not a real thing, but I can't imagine that titanium plex would actually be more dense than titanium, so I think it checks out that she would just be somewhat heavier than expected and not ridiculously heavy or something like that

That's a great question that I'd love to see answered. Is the fence also going to turn out to be some kind of holy object infused with a power even higher than John?

Speaking of holes, I remember back a long time ago I reblogged that one poll that mentioned stigmata sex, and people assured me that while the stigmata were actually in the book, the stigmata sex was not. Are Gideon's holes the stigmata? Does that count as stigmata? I think it's in the wrong place, isn't it?

So, thanergy is cell death, but it seems like dead bodies radiate thanergy even if no cell death is occurring, because John's cryo bodies were generating thanergy for him even after he'd completely stopped them from rotting. So Gideon's body is somehow preserved due to being related to John, but in a way that doesn't involve being infused with thalergy as she suggests for the blood sample, because as we know from the last chapter, body + soul + thalergy = living person, and Gideon isn't a living person, so she must be missing one of those, and it's not her body or her soul. The preservation only applies to the bounds of her body, and her body is still radiating thanergy, apparently enough that it would kill the blood sample?

She got her whole childhood fantasy of a famous and powerful parent who gave her everything she wanted, but that person turned out to be John, and now she's stuck with him and Ianthe and being used as figurehead for John's military, and he spent just enough effort on her to make sure that her body can't be used against him but didn't fix the gaping holes in her chest, and the person she sacrificed herself for is missing and possibly dead, and someone else is in her body instead

I mean, Ianthe was keeping her locked up behind the entropy field. I wonder if she's had a lot of that from John, too

[cabeswaterdrowned]

I don’t want to go off in the tags of that no fandom post so much but your bisexual PowerPoint Gansey tags. The idea of Gansey not comprehending bisexuality during the road trip SO funny to me because it implies either A) post-Pynch, Gansey just thought Adam realized he was always gay, something that really assuages Gansey’s guilt about “stealing Blue” (he is So Insane) or B) Gansey fully thinks being bi is just an Adam Thing. Because he’s Adam Parrish! Of course he’d have a special sexuality just for him. If anyone would, it would be Adam!

for anyone wondering these were the tags: https://www.tumblr.com/lesbianbluesey/753538524458991616?source=shareI think both are Highly possible and hilarious, but I’m going to go with the former because I do enjoy leaning into the ‘Gansey’s repressed controlled republican parents reaaally messed up his worldview’ aspect of everything he has going on, and because your right this would totallly be something he takes as “I don’t have to feel guilty about stealing (‘stealing’ because like. there was a lot more going onto that but in his head) my best friends girlfriend anymore!” *head in the clouds from crazy ex girlfriend starts playing in the background*. Now I’m thinking about him potentially telling Blue about Adam and Ronan (since we never really see her learn about them so I think there are several ways that could have happened but one of them is through Gansey) and him framing it as Adam came out to me as gay and in love with Ronan, well first off I think Blue would be way more surprised about the latter part of that than the former, and she would also have a lot of different feelings about this revelation.

 First of all I think it would be the opposite of Gansey where she starts to feel More guilty re: their break up and wonders if saying he should kiss Gansey was homophobic of her (it wasn’t it was extremely funny and cool of her, imo), she also feels really bad that her first normal-ish relationship with a boy was with someone using her (which isn’t Not true for their relationship in a way, just not in the way she’s thinking of) and feels extra annoyed with Adam for the Ninos argument (which she should because he was out of line in that scene imo, even though I also love that scene because it’s hysterical to me for reasons I’ve previously addressed and I love when Bluedam are cunts especially to each other) now that she thinks he was never actually into her. But she doesn’t want to be homophobic, so I feel like Blue tries to be a bit Overly Nice to Adam after this for the rest of the school year and it really unnerves/scares him, and then Gansey on the other hand allows himself to be more overtly cunty with Adam than he ever has before during that time period which Also weirds Adam out but he puts it down to him going through a lot what with dying and all. This would actually explain some things about the dynamic shifts between trc and td3 if this happened… 

To be clear Blue is coming at this from the opposite end of background effecting world view from Gansey; unlike Gansey who doesn’t know he’s bi or that bisexuality exists Blue doesn’t know She is bi but does know bisexuality and polyamory exist because she grew up surrounded by it, in fact I’ve said it before but I think the reason Blue isn’t aware she’s bi is… well one reason is she hasn’t had many close relationships with girls her age who aren’t in her family due to not having had many friends growing up since she was largely othered/bullied and then grew an armor/self-isolated (I actually have a tentative headcanon that in addition to her being bullied for being generally different in her youth some of that bullying had a homophobic bent to it because of the way she dresses and what the psychics are associated with and it being Henrietta.. it just seems right, so I think that would be an influence also) but also more importantly, Orla would have been out as bisexual since she was in high school and Blue is a Contrarian tm and Can Not have the same sexuality as Orla. Just on principle. She did feel jealous sometimes watching Orla go on dates with boys and girls but put that down to just general she-can-kiss-people-without-fear-of-murder-lips-and-I-can’t jealousy. Also I feel like Gansey might be able to grasp bi women more than bi men because of a) unfortunate tropes around that time b) the 300 fox way women c) Possibly Helen who I think could be sapphic but whether or not she’s sapphic definitely thinks Gansey is gay, this is textually canon, and definitely wants Gansey to be covert about it won’t go into this more / putting a pin in that for now. But anyway I think both Blue and Gansey would be more likely to consider the other being bi than themselves, is the thing I was getting at there. 

Anyway! I definitely think that after being told of Adam’s gayness Blue immediately understands that Adam was in love with Gansey based on all of the first two books when thinking back, Gansey on the other hand does not even consider the possibility of Adam ever being into him (at least not consciously, possibly deep DEEP down there’s some wondering but repression + plausible deniability + not wanting to seem arrogant (because I do think there’s a gray area sometimes between Gansey being oblivious about certain social situations vs him just being very used to compartmentalizing and prioritizing the quest) keep this out of conscious thought). So I think both Blue and Gansey need an outlet to talk through some of their Adam feelings but know the other can’t do that for them, which leads to (not to self plug but! This might be a scene that comes up in my ‘Reading TRB’ fic at some point… since I am playing with some intentional parallels between Sarchengsey and Bluedansey there, or at least that’s the intention in the mess of everything I have going on there) them separately gabbing to Henry about their feelings re: their situationship break ups, the shifting group dynamics with Pynch etc. and I think their accounts of the whole mess are Very different so Henry keeps getting more confused the more he listens to them, he doesn’t even know if one of them dated Adam or neither of them or both and it’s very frustrating but also intriguing for him he just wants to know everything (and he has some additional context from his Gansey stalking which should be … an interesting comparison point). 

Also when Gansey learns what bisexuality he immediately goes ‘I realized something about Adam!’ Henry, simultaneously expecting this and also wary: what about him? Gansey: He only told me that he loved Ronan he didn’t tell me he never liked Blue, Adam must be bisexual that means he must have been in love with Blue because who wouldn’t be that means I’m a horrible awful person and don’t deserve to live 😭😭 Henry, under his breath: goddamnit I can’t believe I’ve been trying to fuck you Gansey: what?? Henry: __ 

this was a fun thank you!

tagging a couple other blogs who I hope will enjoy my insane spiral, at least a lil: @immaterial-pearl @crimeronan

[hoperays-song]

What are you thoughts on Suki Lane!!! She personally my favorite Sing character and I love her so much <333

AAAAAA Suki!!! I love her so much!!!! Thanks for the chance to talk about her! - <3 Gooseless

I genuinely love Suki's character and think she is actually really well utilized within the story, despite being a side character. We are able to gather a fair bit of information about her as well, and from there build a pretty plausible picture of who she is and her potential motivations for everything.

To start with, the first time we see her, it is hinted at that she is likely extremely smart. She is notably young for her position, something the main cast points out immediately, leading one to assume she must have been a rather remarkable candidate to have secured it, likely without much experience under her belt. I've mentioned before that her just being a talent scout seems highly unlikely and while that is not the point of this, if I am right, it only speaks more to her benefit that she was so promising to become a CCO that young.

Her intelligence comes back into play later, as its revealed rather naturally that she is well aware of what her boss is actually like and that she was trying to prevent more victims from occurring. That shifts the perspective of what she had been doing up until that point drastically, as she was trying to protect the troupe by scaring them off, and in a way where she wouldn't face repercussions either. In the final confrontation, Suki is seen being just a background figure in Jimmy's group until the moment to strike came, allowing her to turn on Jimmy when she was sure he wouldn't be able to retaliate, an extremely good movie considering the man is very down with murder.

She was calculated, careful, and very decisive in every decision we see her make, something that becomes apparent after her revealing her true nature. Which was wonderful as it made the audience reevaluate everything we had seen her do up to that point completely.

Another thing about her that we do know is she does very much care for the shows that she helps put on. She felt enough loyalty to the troupe to inform them of the Majestic's offer, instead of just forwarding the message (and in a parallel scene, I love those, very narratively satisfying if done right). She knows what kind of show would strive in Redshore and is set to making those happen, doing whatever she can to keep things running smoothly by her constantly checking on everyone.

We also can kinda fill in a few gaps in the Suki story with the information we are given. Suki and Jerry don't get along, why? Well it seems to be because of Jerry's loyalty and idolization of Jimmy. Suki seems irritated by it constantly, hinting towards their loyalties not aligning as well as the ending's resolutions for them. Suki is notably young for her position, why is that? Well, she could be an early graduate, as that would make sense with her intelligence and seeming ambition. This would have also likely caught the attention of Jimmy, as having a promising early graduate working for him would be a good move for him industry wise.

There is only one thing that does confuse me in regards to her is the idea that Suki is/was an antagonist. To which I say she's basically Judith 2.0. She's not a villain. She never was. She was just doing her job. And then Buster showed up and threw it into a tailspin. She didn't do anything actually wrong at any point.

Overall, Suki is a very smart and cautious character, which allows her to be unassuming until the reality of the situation hits the audience in the face and she reveals her true colours. Her character building aspects are pretty naturally displayed story wise, mostly by being woven into side dialogue, and don't seem forced or out of place. I do wish we saw more of her and I especially would like to see her interact with Mizuki, seeing as Mizuki is the theatre's social media person and Suki seems to work in that field, so I think that that would be fun!

[atla-confessions]

Tw/ slight cursing, talk of abuse

Ursa was not a bad mum, I have no idea why people think this. Yes she wasn't the best mum but having ozai as a husband and father to your children means problems are going to be unavoidable.

She saw her daughter start to act like her husband who abused her son and probably herself and didn't enable her.

Ursa did love azula, and I know everyone points out how she favours zuko but if one of your kids was constantly getting berated by your partner and the other is constantly getting praised it's kind of understandable why ursa paid more attention to zuko.

I think it's stupid to put all or most of the blame on ursa for how azula turned out when it was ozais fault azula turned out mentally unstable.

Ozai was extremely abusive, this is canon. And yes he did favour azula extremely but that was not with good intentions. He used her and manipulated her.

And if when ozai was ordered to kill zuko he was ordered to kill azula instead, I don't doubt that she would've done the same thing for her daughter. I'm pretty sure its canon that after she killed azulon she wanted to take both azula and zuko with her and leave but ozai didn't allow her to.

And with her actions after she left, with her erasing her memories of kids and everything, I find it understandable.

She was forced into a marriage with an abusive prick and her only sense of comfort or love in that situation were her kids, who she murdered for their safety yet was banished and was told to never return or ozai would hunt them down. Its understandable that she would want some relief of everything that comes with that. Her years of being the firelady were probably the worst years of her life and her only solace were her children who she thought she would never see again and if she went close to them they would be killed.

I'm not saying ursa was a perfect mum, I don't think anyone could be in that situation but I think it is stupid and just ignores canon to label her as a bad mother or abusive to azula when she is very clearly not. I'm not talking about what azula says (how she said her mother thought she was a monster or how she never loved her) as those were probably her interpretations of what happened and also because a lot of what happened occured kind of behind the scenes and I doubt ozai would not shit talk ursa in front of her kids, he was manipulative and I find it highly unlikely that ozai would not use azulas mother to further use her.

I kind of ranted so this might not make the most sense but I don't care

X

[descendant-of-truth]

I recently decided to watch the Last Airbender movie in full for the first time for analytical purposes (and as a fresh comparison for the upcoming Netflix series), and like. yeah, it's still decidedly Not Good, but everyone's already talked about that so instead I wanna write about the stuff I actually thought was interesting.

Some small things, first: despite it not really having any cultural significance, I was weirdly fond of Aang's red cloak?? Like it could've looked a little less like it belonged on a jedi, but it functions well for hiding his tattoos when necessary and makes for a cool silhouette.

Plus, it works as a good representation of the part of him that just wants to run away and hide from his responsibilities - something that the original design never really needed to account for, per se, but it still makes for a neat edition.

The movie cuts out the quirky conversation with Aang after freeing him from the iceberg in favor of him being too delirious from a 100 year coma to say anything, and on principle, this isn't. great. but the more I think about it, I think it comes down to the fact that his actual introduction to Katara and Sokka is so dry, not because they waited to have him wake up.

In fact, I think this could've worked out really well! The longer Aang takes to wake up properly, the longer everyone else has to develop an image in their head of what he's going to be like, and the bigger their surprise when this kid who was barely conscious and on the verge of hypothermia a few minutes ago starts bouncing off the walls with this big smile on his face.

The time spent at the Southern Air Temple also introduces a few things that I liked, for example: Aang actually namedropping some of his friends from there

Petition to bring back Chinto and Monae for the Netflix version

But for real, that scene just made me realize how kinda. odd, it is, that Aang never mentions any of the Air Nomads by name other than Monk Gyatso originally. We know he was friends with Bumi and Kuzon, but did he not consider any of his peers to be good friends of his?

More importantly though - just like in the original, Aang recognizes Gyatso's skeleton by his necklace. Unlike the original, however, this necklace is one that Aang made for him.

And I love this idea, but ohh boy do I not like how under-explored it is in the movie. You're telling me that they decided to have Aang make a necklace for his now-deceased parental figure, and didn't use that as an opportunity for him to connect with Katara?? The one who wears her mother's necklace as a memento???

Regardless of whether or not Aang decided to keep Gyatso's necklace, it's a conversation that absolutely deserved to happen, and despite the chances of it being extremely low, it's something I'd like to see the new version take a crack at.

Also this was just a genuinely cool action setpiece, the idea of using spinning boards as both a defensive and offensive structure for crowd control is super creative and I love it

The fight between Aang and Zuko at the north pole was also great; even though there was uncharacteristic lack of bending involved, they were able to capture a real sense of frantic energy and got some really cool moves in there that are difficult to show properly through screenshots.

Definitely one of the biggest changes to a plot beat (in my opinion) comes in the form of Aang struggling with waterbending rather than being a natural at it, and you know what? Probably my hottest take of this post is that I think this is a worthwhile angle to explore.

Water is the element of change, and in the movie, it's said to teach its benders "acceptance." On a purely tangible level, the movements for water and airbending are pretty similar, and they're both kind of "floaty" in a way. But ideologically? What part of Aang at this point in time has a grasp on how to handle change, much less reach acceptance?

He ran away from home because he was scared of all the sudden changes happening in his life. He didn't want to be the Avatar, and couldn't accept what that meant for him.

So, from that perspective, doesn't it make sense that water could be difficult for him to learn? I mean, no matter what you do with air, it's still just air, and it's everywhere. You don't really have to worry about not having enough of it in most situations.

But with water, you gotta think about what forms you can make with what you have, you need to be able to change its form from liquid to solid and back again, and it's just a lot more dynamic and weighty than what he's used to dealing with.

Combine that with just not being in the right headspace for learning after The Horrors and yeah, I'd totally believe that there's a world out there where Aang struggles to waterbend! A shame that it had to be this world, where the writers have little interest in exploring it beyond letting him make a Really Big Wave at the end in lieu of a character arc, but an idea with potential nonetheless

(Speaking of which, while not nearly as satisfying as the original finale, this shot does look extremely cool)

Overall, this was actually a pretty entertaining viewing experience! I already knew what to expect when it came to its flaws, which in turn made it easier to focus in on the parts that were interesting for me.

I went into it for a thought experiment, and it gave me a lot more thoughts to experiment with than I was expecting, so y'know what? I call that a net positive in this case.

(Also if anyone can link me to the comic adaptation of this movie, please do, I would love to know exactly what the differences are and how the art looks but I can't find it anywhere)

[321spongebolt]

Imagining My Mind in the Style of "Inside Out"

Before we get started, I thought I would take a moment to mention that the first "Inside Out" movie was released on the same month I graduated back in 2015 (Probably one of the best years of my life next to 2011). With that out of the way, here's how I imagine my own mind in the style of "Inside Out".

CORE EMOTIONS

Joy

Sadness

Anger

Disgust

Fear

Anxiety

Envy

Embarrassment

Boredom/Ennui

Nostalgia

Love

Distraction

Focus

Luck

Intelligent

CONCEPT OF WHAT MY MIND WOULD LOOK LIKE

HEADQUARTERS

Emotion Headquarters = The office where all my emotions can see and hear everything I see and hear.

Belief System

ISLANDS OF PERSONALITY

Goofball Island = Same as Riley's, with a few changes.

Friendship Island = Same as Riley's, with a few changes.

Honesty Island = Same as Riley's, with a few changes.

Family Island = Same as Riley's, with a few changes.

Disability and Sensory Awareness Island = A tame and sensory-friendly land, even though it does come at a cost of some type of risk, but nothing too extreme.

Creativity Island = A land where all my ideas would be processed. Be it OCs I've made or ideas for entertainment that either can happen or could've happened at its respective point in time.

Social Media Island = Same as Riley's, with a few changes.

Video Game Island = It would sort of be like an arcade, except there wouldn't be arcade machines. You could just visit a booth to play video games from the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 era to the current day era where we now have PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo's upcoming console (releasing either next year).

Movie Island = The place where everyone views movies I see. Either in theaters, or if I want to see a movie on my own time in either 2D or 3D.

Bakery Island = A land filled with recipes and cooked goods. All of which are allergy free. Use caution with this island. Your mouth may start to water.

IMAGINATION LAND

Similar to Riley's interpretation, French Fry Forest would be there. Unlike Riley's interpretation, my take on Imagination Land is filled to the brim with fictional characters from shows, movies, and video games I like. They serve as meet-and-greet characters for photo opportunities and autographs, just like any theme park would (particularly the Disney Parks, the Universal Studios Theme Parks, and Six Flags.). Down below are what my own Imagination Land would be like.

French Fry Forest = Same as Riley's.

Rib Fest = Annual contest event for whoever could eat the most ribs (with your choice of spare and baby back).

Personality Quizzer = Anyone can play personality quizzes, and like in "Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-it Ralph 2", when all the questions have been answered, the character that appears on stage is the result you got.

Imagination Theater = An air theater for reenacting fictional media. The stage would have wiring and harnesses for plays that involve flying, smoke machines for scenes where smoke is required (and can also be used for some rock bands) confetti cannons for either finales or other celebratory means, and of course an open backstage for actors.

Hug Fest = Loosely based on the one seen in the "SpongeBob SquarePants" episode, "Ditchin'". It's just a place where people go hug each other. Meet and greet characters show up on occasion.

Leisure Oasis = A beach similar to Walt Disney World's "Blizzard Beach" and "Typhoon Lagoon" areas. The main beach area is a wave pool, with some passage ways taking you down a lazy river. The area would also have a hotel resort where you can see the view above the water and sand, or if you'd like to stay in your hotel room for indoor entertainment and getting a good night's sleep. The water is in fact safe to swim in. Other areas of Leisure Oasis include water slides, hot tubs, spas, and even a shuffleboard pool game similar to Shuffleboard was depicted in the "Madagascar" video game, but with up to 4 players individually and 2 players for team battles.

The Soar Spot = Ever dreamed of flying? This land allows you to fly either in a wind tunnel, a zero gravity area, and a harness area for zip-lining over a foam pit and a stationary harness area for hanging in front of and/or next to projector screens to make it look like you're flying.

OTHER AREAS

Long Term Memory = Same as Riley's, but with different memories in storage.

The Vault = Like in Riley's mind, the Vault is home to my personal secrets, like my constant obsessions and love for Jenny and Kitty for example.

The Land of Hands = A forest or jungle setting where there's a bunch of arms on the ground and dangling from trees like vines. Only, these hands aren't mean, they're actually friendly. They just want to either shake or hold your hand. And there's a variety of four and five fingered hands (bare and gloved) to touch depending on which paths you take.

Think Tank = Ideas I have get stored in the Think Tank, which later be shipped off to Creativity Island for some form of a test screening.

DreamWorks (no relation to the actual DreamWorks studio, and of course, the DreamWorks Animation studio.) = The studio where dreams come true, just like at Hollywood. It's similar to Dream Productions from Riley's mind.

[k-s-morgan]

Hi! I know it hasn't been too long since my last ask about Sebastian and Ciel's manner of addressing each other (and I don't mean to clog your inbox, so don't feel pressured to reply quickly), but the question just came to me randomly – what do you think was going through Sebastian’s head when he let Ciel get shot in the finale of Season 1?

Ciel's blood forms their contract seal, the scene reflects their first meeting, he spends the rest of the episode bleeding out, and dies with perfect timing at the edge of the bridge etc. etc. It's beautiful, poetic, and I absolutely love everything it represents – this final reignition of their pact, the end of all things. It's perfect for the plot and the show.

But regardless of why the writers made this choice (to have him be shot, I mean), I've always wondered why Sebastian sat and let it happened. He could've stopped the bullet with ease, and made a dramatic reappearance just as well. We know how much he hates the idea of Ciel sustaining physical injury, so what was his state of mind? Why did he choose to wait? Did he feel fury at the guards afterwards? Feel conflicted about his actions? He didn't seem too fazed by the wound when he approached Ciel – was it because he was anticipating the end? Or intoxicated by Ciel's blood? By his darkness? His willingness to die fighting?

It's something I struggle to understand in my head. It makes perfect sense from a distance but when I try to examine it closely, I can't seem to unravel the tangle of thoughts that must've lead him to do such a thing.

Once again, I wish you and your family all the best

Hi! Oh, no problem, you know I love your asks, you always have such brilliant insights and thoughts about Ciel and Sebastian.

I think the conflicted feelings about letting Ciel get shot definitely came to haunt Sebastian later. I think the more he thought about it and remembered it, the more bothered he felt, to the point where it became one of the moments he'd rather scratch from his memory.

In that specific scene, though, I think Sebastian was torn between his absolutely insane, unprecedented decision to let Ciel off the hook by not taking his soul, letting him choose his path & enter afterlife, and a burning need for Ciel to change his mind and call for him.

When Ciel began to hesitate and stopped Sebastian from killing the Queen in France, Sebastian sensed that something is wrong. He realized that Ciel started to have doubts as to whether he needs his revenge, and despite his frustration, disappointment, even heartbreak, he chose to honor this new wish. Instead of killing Ciel like he could for manipulating the contract, he wished him happiness and left. He gave Ciel a chance to change his destiny. Sure, Sebastian knew that Ciel was very unlikely to live long like this: without help, with very powerful people and a bloodthirsty anger wanting his death, his days were numbered. But if this was what he wanted, Sebastian was prepared to stand aside.

He watched Ciel nearly die upon his arrival to London, in the fire - and I just love how sad and quiet he is there, how obsessively he watches Ciel, how he's still astonished and admiring him. He tried to stick to his more than generous decision in the palace, too: yes, Ciel was about to die, he got shot, but his death would be relatively quick, and then he'd be able to pass on and reunite with his loved ones. I'm sure it was extremely difficult for Sebastian to not react, but he was honoring Ciel's new wish, even if he despised it.

But when Ciel called for him… well, he didn't actually call physically, but he thought of Sebastian and it was strong enough for the seal to come to life. This was the order Sebastian needed, what he craved and hoped for. He looked unbothered and downright intoxicated because he was thrilled that Ciel woke up and chose him and their contract, in the end, that their game wasn't over, that they still had their last adventure ahead. Despite Ciel's wound, Sebastian was ridiculously happy because he had him back. At least this is how I always read this scene.

[fushiglow]

Is Gojo likely to return without his powers?

I'm torn 50/50 on a Gojō comeback. At first I believed it was extremely unlikely, but the more time that's passed since 236, the less sure I am. I've already said that I think the chapter is deliberately ambiguous, so I've never thought it was *entirely* out of the question. However, there are a growing number of good arguments and theories supporting a return for Gojō, and I do think a lot of strange stuff has happened since 236.

It could honestly go either way, but that's before we even take into account what a comeback would look like. Does he return without his strength? Does he ascend to godlike levels of power? Does he come back exactly the same? Does he lose only *some* of his strength to bring him down to everyone else's level? Is it a temporary or permanent resurrection?

There are so many options beyond the ones I've just listed, and I'm trying not to get my hopes up for any of them because I don't actually know what I'd find satisfying. I even worry about him coming back full stop, because it has the potential to retroactively ruin a really beautiful death scene.

I think Gojō returning without his strength is probably the best option, but I would hate it if he just rocked up at the end of the story after everything is done and dusted. If he comes back, I want it to have meaning because that's Gojō's whole thing. He'd need to have some impact on the story in spite of losing his strength, otherwise I think there's no point in bringing him back.

At the same time, I don't want Gojō's return to overshadow the other characters. I think I talked about a Getō comeback hinging on a Gojō comeback in your last ask, and maybe the opposite is also true. If Gojō could reach through to Getō's soul and help put a stop to Kenjaku from the inside, I think he *could* return without stepping on his students' toes, but is that likely? I have no idea.

Sorry — it took me a while to respond to this because 236 turned all of my theories upside down and now I literally don't know what to expect from the rest of the story. I'm just trying to enjoy the ride from here on out! Do you think it's likely?

[welcometogrouchland]

"Hunter should have gotten to kill Belos" I get the instinct and I think his desire for revenge was an important part of his development this season (learning that the things that happened to him were wrong and he's allowed to feel angry about it and want justice) but ultimately for the future showed that Hunter isn't happy when he's seeking revenge. He's angry, unlike himself, so wrapped up in his own grief that he can't reach out to the people he loves. Hunter never needed revenge. He needed a support system, closure for his loss and the promise of people who love him and a future where he can finally be who he wants.

His powers provide closure for his loss (flapjacks sacrifice wasn't for nothing, he'll never forget his first friend who's now helping him out from beyond the grave, always a permanent part of him), has a support system (first the hexsquad/Nocedas and then Darius and Eberwolf) and knows what he wants (his speech at the end of thanks to them). Whatever happened with Hunter after the scene in the detention pit where he's finally able to admit how much his friends mean to him is inconsequential, because that was the crux of his arc.

Hunter doesn't like revenge. I'm not even sure Caleb and the golden guards were ever anything other than a figment of Belos' imagination (although I love the golden ghosts concept for fanfic purposes) meant to represent the one thing that could make Belos feel guilty. And then he bullheadely ignores them, because he refuses to ever admit that he could be wrong.

This show has also rarely (if ever) championed revenge. It just hasn't. On a petty scale, yes, characters are allowed to get intentional and unintentional revenge. But this show is fundamentally very big on restorative justice and sticks to it's guns on this theme even when traditional western storytelling would deem a punitive approach the most satisfying. Because punitive approaches historically are bad at inducing change and growth (which is what this whole series is about)

It would've been a whole other can of worms to have the extremely kind boy that is hunter succumb to his most belos-like instincts (bc Belos thinks he's getting revenge for himself and for (his own, twisted idea of-) his brother for most of the series, I think) in the final minutes of his arc that's otherwise been dedicated to healing.

I get it. It's one of those things where, because of human nature (but also western nurture) and the general trends of stories like these. We want Hunter to kill him. But I honestly don't think that was ever on the cards, no matter what I may have wanted/thought before. It makes sense in retrospect to me. And it feels like this was always what the crew had planned.

Again, you don't have to like it. It's okay to like vengeance in your stories! I love a good old fashioned vengeance storyline! (though I think it's wrong to say that toh is a story that, based on what we knew before WaD aired, promoted or venerated vengeance). But I don't think it's fair to act like the writers are unintelligent for this decision. They're not. They're just coming at the scene with different priorities

[what-ive-been-reading]

Harrow the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir

One Sentence Summary:

Lobotomized nun realizes God and his Angels suck so so much.

Did I Like It?

Yes and no. I'm probably not going to read it again for a long while because of the second person writing style. Like, I GOT IT right away and I really did like what it was immediately communicating to the reader, but god damn were the third person "flashbacks" a breath of fresh air. It was like surfacing from my own personal River.

That said, Tamsyn Muir is an expert of her craft and her voice carried me through this book. On my first reading attempt right after Gideon I actually stopped reading for months because I hated the prose. Fortunately, I just couldn't stop thinking about the juicy implications and all that angst waiting for me to crack open and slurp down like so much bone marrow. It was absolutely worth it.

If you're reading the book and you don't "get" or enjoy the second person perspective: just get through it. It'll be worth it, I promise.

This book is so good it makes me feel stupider for having read it. It's like it laid bare all my inadequacies with my own writing. This is a good thing. I think it's still distinctly Upmarket, but it sure as hell isn't Commercial. Many sections are downright Literary.

In short: if you liked Gideon, you need to read it. Simple as.

Would Another Me Have Liked It?

God, probably not? There's a 50/50 chance pretentious teenage me would have thought this was either revolutionary or pretentious. It's kind of both, and that's what makes it so good. It plays it all with a straight face.

I think 17 year old me would've put it on the same shelf as House of Leaves and The Gunslinger. Do with that what you will.

Expanded Thoughts:

THE IDEA OF THE PROSE DRIPS WITH ANGST AND CONTEXT BUT UGH

Undead bees are such a cool concept and I think that it paints what could've been a very boring and samey concept (world devouring space monsters) in a really unique way. Hive structure, colony orders, cooking vibrations, and having your mind fracture when you look at them all works SO well.

Unlike the first book, the humor landed much better this time for me. Again, I still think Gideon the Ninth was funny but sometimes it tried a little too hard. I do not feel that way about Harrow the Ninth.

Much like the first book, nothing here is surprising but that's okay. Some people I talked to about reading the book seemed shocked that I had figured so much out so instantly? Like, I do find that weird but I think it's very much a reader issue rather than a writer issue. Tamsyn Muir doesn't seek to surprise you. Tamsyn Muir hangs the Sword of Damocles above your head and occasionally gestures towards it as if to say "Eh? EHHHH???" while you worry about when it will eventually fall.

For real, just read the Dramatis Personae of these books and you'll figure out like 50% of what's happening, which makes figuring out the rest while reading easy. You have Uno. It literally comes free with your XBox.

I respect Tamsyn Muir's dedication to putting these two kids through the wringer. Honestly? I hope they never meet.

I WAS absolutely wrong about the girl in the Tomb. I thought that was going to be Nona but very clearly that is not the case. Excited to see what that's all about. Surely Harrow isn't going to do anything dangerous. She's so stable. If I came to this series when it was still a trilogy, however, I would have made the same called shot and landed exactly where I intended.

Man this series loves dinner parties. I really enjoy how characters just get to breathe for the vast majority of these books. The action scenes are great and all, but that's not why I'm here.

The book plays with death so well. Genuinely the stuff in the River might be some of the most fun I've had with a fantasy setting in an extremely long time.

When they're explaining why THEY showed up in the River, I picked up on the plan and said out loud "There is no way this stupid poem is going to show up now" but then it does and it works and it was EXTREMELY impactful. Christ what a finale. Ortus, man. What an excellent expansion for a character.

Called Shots:

Have they said it's the Earth Solar System yet? I feel like maybe they have? It's very clearly Earth, right? Did they say it in Gideon and just never bring it up again? It's nine planets, dog. You really think I'll be tricked by the First House actually being the third planet? You made the Ninth Pluto.

Who's Nona? Harrow's in the river, Gideon's where she is, and there are no other Ninth House teenagers. I think we have a real One Body Problem on our hands? Although John could probably fix that Gideon issue lickity split.

The rest of the galaxy is like, normal ass people who are under constant threat from the imperialist goths. Please this would be so funny if true.

[theloopus]

TL;DR some thoughts on izzy's death via black sails comparisons

rambling here, but i keep coming back to Izzy's death and why it seems to have missed the landing a bit (and i'm not talking about the rabid Izzy fans who have completely lost the plot, i'm talking about the general reaction from actual normal people being "...wait, what?")

and, not to make everything about Black Sails, but i think it's been useful mentally to compare it to Charles Vane's death—they're actually very similar character trajectories, broadly speaking; an antagonist and generally unlikeable guy turned ally, made through the course of the season likeable enough so that when his death comes you're actually bummed to see him go. and you don't really see it coming (unless you do), you expect them to get away until the last minute, but at the same time it makes sense, thematically, because they represent a very specific version of piracy, and their deaths signal the end of the Golden Age of Piracy.

but whereas Vane's death seems to be generally met with shock, Izzy's death is met with confusion (which is a very different thing). and i think this stems not so much from the genre gap, although that does play into it (Black Sails is a gritty drama, OFMD is a romantic comedy (dramedy?)—and both series have a touch of the surreal, but BS is generally more grounded in reality, whereas OFMD tends to operate on cartoon rules), but rather from execution, no pun intended.

i do fully disagree with the take that Izzy's death was "bad writing"—the bones are there, the actual death scene was good, the themes are coherent— it makes sense, when you think about it. but you shouldn't have to think about it to know, instinctually, while you're watching, that it makes sense, as much as it might pain you or shock you at first—so the problem is execution, not writing.

obviously there's the matter of pacing, which has been discussed to death and isn't really the fault of the writers, but it's undeniable that it's one of the reasons why the idea doesn't seem to land at first. it happens too quickly, not just the actual death and funeral, but the lead-up to it. the wounding, for one—i don't know if they were intentionally going for a "surprise wound" approach ("did he really get shot? oh he did? well it doesn't seem that bad. wait, is he dying for real?"), but it just does not work here, because then instead of building up dread over whether or not he's going to make it, you just think he's hurt and then suddenly find out he's actually fully about to die only when he's like. pronouncing his last words. and then a minute later he's dead. it's too quick!

but it even goes back to before the actual death shot—the way the season's constructed, our main association with Izzy up to this point is that he's healing or whatever now, so if his death is meant to represent the end of an era, you need to remind the audience that he's supposed to be associated with that era, regardless of all his character development. this is why Vane's death works so well, imo: the very reason why he's being hanged, in-universe, is because of what he represents as an iconic pirate; and the fact that he chooses to sacrifice himself is what separates him from Flint and the others (despite the fact that they're currently allied): they represent a possible future which, albeit better, he does not fit within and has zero interest in fitting within. so he'd rather sacrifice himself, helping them with their cause while also keeping true to himself and his own view of the world (their world, the old world of piracy) and what he represents (old, classic, Blackbeard's kind of piracy).

with Izzy though it's an extremely tricky line to walk, because they wanted him to die having become a better person, free and loved, so essentially having embraced the kind of piracy that Stede represents—while also still being a walking symbol of the past, of the kind of piracy that he used to represent to Ed. again, on paper, it's doable: he is an embodiment of what piracy means to Ed, which used to be abuse and toxic masculinity (S1); then Stede turns piracy into something else, meaning acceptance and liberation and a support system (S2); but the fact is, negative or positive as the environment might be, piracy itself as an idea is coming to an end, it's ceasing to exist (therefore, so would Izzy), and Ed's journey isn't about embracing a new kind of piracy, either, it's about fully shredding it and letting go of it (therefore, shredding and letting go of Izzy) while keeping Stede (acceptance, liberation, a support system). problem being, executing all of that is a bit harder. doable, certainly, but harder, and perhaps more than the writers could chew with such a constricted budget and timetable. with the benefit of hindsight, maybe they could've crammed this into Izzy's conversation with Ricky...? it's there a little bit, if you squint, with Izzy going on with his "what piracy is really about" speech and Ricky going "you've become such a bore" or whatever he says (implying past vs. present), but, i don't know, maybe have Izzy like... talk about what piracy is really about and also what he used to think it meant, what it represented for him (and therefore for Ed) even though now he knows better, and also, very importantly, hit the final nail in the coffin by somehow sneaking in that he's piracy embodied and has no interest in being anything else, during that "our spirit will last throughout your entire fucking empire" speech, cementing that the spirit of piracy is also the spirit of Izzy himself (and therefore when piracy dies Izzy will die with is, and this will be his choice). maybe not the subtlest way to go about it, but like, not really time for subtlety when you've gotta wrap up a 60-minute storyline in 30 minutes, and they've been slapping us with DO YOU GET IT flashbacks for the entire season, so it's not like they've got the upper hand here, you know. as it is, though, those beats (and many others, as i've said before!) are missed, so (sans post-mortem interviews and tumblr metas and the like) Izzy's death feels like 1. it comes kinda out of nowhere, and 2. it serves no purpose other than to be sad. which is a shame, because it's actually a suuuper interesting beat that could've been really juicy both on a meta level and on an emotional level, if the writers had the space to set it up properly.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Thoughts on the new leaks/season 2?

As I've said before, I honestly like the idea of Melissa joining for S2. It could just be flashbacks, but even if it's not, the symbolism from S5 tells us they always planned for Carol to be part of Daryl finding Beth. So, it's a good sign in my book. Here are some of my fellow theorists' thoughts about it as well:

@wdway

Well what do you know Melissa is in France. They don't look like they're in the on their honeymoon to me though. I am not worried about this, she was supposed to be in the spinoff anyway. This only thing I absolutely do hate about this is that that gloating the Carylers are gonna put us through until, yet again, nothing romantic happens between Daryl and Carol.

Apparently the Carylers believe this is the wedding ring that Daryl gave to his beloved wife Carol. His wife, his forever love. Of course unless this photo was flipped she's wearing it on the wrong finger and hand.

@galadrieljones

It’s also possible she got married to Ezekiel! I don’t believe she’d marry Daryl that would be like marrying your brother.

Also hmmm this is interesting tho. How does she end up there?

Also why is her hair short…?

Flashbacks?

Do you know where these came from? Like I wonder if this is them in costume?

Tempted to try and find Carol in that outfit in an old episode to see if it’s possible she’s filming flashback scenes.

If I were a Caryler I’d be worried about the fact her hair is short again. We know the story of why she cut her hair. Growing it out again was like a point of pride and moving on. Why would she cut it again?

Unless okay it’s just MMB’s hair

And she wears a wig?

Anyway I am probably wrong she probably wears a wig. But yeah actually this intrigues me and like idc about Carylers.

@wdway

Remember in the last scenes of, Rest in Peace, after the year time jump Carol had cut her hair.

@galadrieljones

Omg I forgot lol

@wdway

With all the crew around them I'm sure that this is their costumes. And I think it is present time Europe.

@wdway

I guess that life raft drifted back across the ocean for Carol to hitch a ride.

@galadrieljones

Seriously tho did she follow him? Track him? I’m actually extremely interested in how Carol got there because unlike Daryl, Carol is a major troublemaker and has less moral convictions when it comes to getting what she wants

@wdway

In one of the shots above we see Daryl holding a map. Why does he need a map? He's found his true love (sarcasm). I just think it's part of all the pattern of maps we're seeing.

@galadrieljones:

If she got some sort of distress signal from Daryl while out on a fishing boat at Oceanside or something like yeah she’d shoot people and hijack a ship and sail all the way to France and continue to shoot ppl till she found him (and then she’d shoot more ppl and Daryl would have to be like CAROL STOP)

I’m imagining Daryl on the mission of a lifetime and then somehow getting word home to Carol: “I need your help. Meet me.” She would go in two seconds

@wdway

The very best scenario would be that is Beth sent her!!

@galadrieljones

(To help him find Beth ofc in a “reprise,” or another “rendition” if you will, of Consumed to the coda)

Either way would be fine with me.

@wdway

I definitely think her joining him will be a replay of Consume and we know what happened at the end of that. BETH.

@galadrieljones

Daryl gets sucked into France, Carol gets lost on a side quest re: “Diverged.” She finds Beth.

Honestly I actually love Carol because she’s such an active character like she can’t help herself, she’s always getting into some sort of mess

She guarantees excitement lol

(Just, unfortunately for the Carylers, not the sexy kind.)

@wdway

And Daryl's job is to try his best to rain her in. And Ezekiel is the only one that looks at her and believes that she represents light.

@galadrieljones

Is it a coincidence these shots of Carol leak the day after the mid season finale of Fear? Is there any doubt these leaks are all on purpose?

@wdway:

Very, very good point.

Hopefully there will be some clarifications on a lot of these things we've talked about today at this year's comic-con.

As if tptb are very aware of what the chatter is in the fandoms.

@galadrieljones

Yes and as if they have pretty decent control over what we see and when.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Really fascinating stuff, Gals. I’ve loved reading all your thoughts. I’m actually kind of excited that Melissa is there. As you said, it means that there will be a replay of Consumed, and I’ve always thought that would happen before Beth appears. I assumed they would have to change what they set up for all those years ago, but it looks like it just got a bit delayed.

@wdway

There are so many articles wanting us to believe that it's Troy, it just makes absolutely no sense that they didn't just show his face if within hours it is published in multiple articles that it was him. I don't believe it was either Emily or the actor that plays Troy. I think it was someone that would give us that very questionable debate. That blonde hair did not come from the Troy actor. Even if he now has very long hair and bleached it, his hair is naturally curly, that was not curly man's hair.

My take is that if the character Troy is coming back it's a definite a nod to someone coming back that everyone presumed to be dead because of the obvious hammer bashing wound that was shown. If he doesn't actually appear it's still the same thing, someone can come back from what appears to be have been an un-survivable wound.

How they dressed the mysterious person in neutral unisex clothing says that it could be anyone but you will never convince me that the slight show of blonde hair was not a message to TD, to remain hopeful, that Gimple has not forgotten us. And as Tarah pointed out it appeared the night before the Carol and Daryl photos dropped. Way too many come coincidences to be a coincidence here.

I just finished watching a cute, quirky movie on Netflix. Something was said that struck a cord with me and I even Googled it to make sure it was true and then I went to my husband's closet and checked it out. I had known this but it was something that most people don't really pay attention to. In the movie the guy mentioned that the girl was wearing a man's shirt. The girl asked, how do you know that. The guys replied that men's shirts (coat, sweater...) has buttons on the right side, women's have buttons on the left side.

The buttons on the person's coat are on the left. It might not seem to be an important thing, but we know that is the type of thing that tbtb would use as a hint. By the way, that's a little white button on Beth's necklace was always on the right side of the heart which would be Daryl side. She also wore the color white=Beth shoelace on her right shoe at Grady. I always interpret that as her belonging to Daryl=right, just as Daryl wore the black leg wrap on the left=Beth side, he belongs to her. I just thought I would drop in and share the thought.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Love it!

@galadrieljones

Ooh interesting, Ann. I remember I used this knowledge once to prove something in the fandom for the last of us. To me the mystery isn’t solved. You are so right that if they just planned on straight up telling us it was Troy like 12 hours after the episode aired then why didn’t they just show his face in the coda. The secrecy, the blond hair, I’m not saying it’s Beth but it’s a question that they clearly want us to ask.

@wdway

And with what I had mentioned above about the buttons, I know that's not a huge deal-breaker by any means, but why even have a garment with buttons? You see what I mean, I think everything that we were able to see in that scene was purposeful. Nothing was just thrown in half hazardly, each object was placed and shown for a reason. That's why I'd love to figure out what some of those other objects were that we haven't identified, yet.

@galadrieljones

AMC hasn’t confirmed yet. Hmm.

Obviously she’s on the show but I wonder why amc is dragging their feet.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

I can’t help but wonder if there’s some spite going on there bc the Carylers were so nasty about it. So AMC is just not going to confirm anything. After all, they said she needed a break and would be back, and the Carylers called them liars. Clearly they were telling the truth. Can’t say I blame them for turning up their noses as the online haters.

@wdway

They might be wanting to save the official announcement until comic-con, Which is less than a month away. Then again they might want to promote the first season instead of trying to promote s2 before the show ever airs. Supposedly Carol's in the last episode of s1 and will be in at least some if not most of season 2. Supposedly there working on e3 of s2 so that's assuming that they'll still be only 6 episodes to a season.

The other thing is how long do they want to wait for the real nastiness of the carylers to set in, because they have demanded, yes, I use the word demand that the character Carol have equal billing to Daryl. I typically would have no problem whatsoever if in fact they are equal leads in the series, but the minute a bunch of very nasty people demand something my back goes up.

Bottom line, I really think it's about just wanting to make a big announcement at Comic-Con. Probably bringing Melissa out so her carylers can feel good that they have bullied a network and brought her back. I know I'm being ugly, but these people really are nasty. They really want the credit for her being in s2 instead of seeing it for what it was, that she wasn't ready to commit to s1. And truly none of us will know what happened unless we're told by Melissa or tptb and I don't see that happening.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Good points about Comicon. I can't believe we're almost to July already!

@wdway

I mentioned last week how tptb are promoting the characters Origin Stories, especially Maggie and Negan's since their spin-off has begun, so after I got through watching the episode I was just checking some things out and I could not remember if I had watched Carol's Origin Story or not, so I put it on and went quickly through it.

Things I was consciously aware of was how she always referred to Daryl as her friend or even her dear friend and sometimes the fact that he's always there for her. But she never implied that there was more than deep loving friendship between them. I smiled when it came to the storyline of Carol and Ezekiel. The writer made sure that we know that there was more than just friendship between them.

It was so sweet that they showed the scene where he's wanting to propose to her, she knew that, he had written a speech but she did not want it to be showy in front of everyone else. She happily took his ring and told him that he could read his speech to her later in private. I love the fact that they included hope in describing Carol and Ezekiel's relationship, because hope isn't necessarily something she finds in Daryl, because Daryl himself struggle so with it.

They're emphasizing that hope was something that Ezekiel gave her. In s11 Ezekiel tells Carol that she is, light. Seriously, that is a description that no one else, I think in the series, would ever attach to Carol. They might say, badass, driven, caring for others, willing to sacrifice, but not light or hope.

As I'm writing this it just occurs to me that the Dwight and Sherry storyline is a replay of Carol and Ezekiel, after Henry's death. It's was too much for Carol and she needed to separate herself from the memories of their happiness and the life they had made together with Henry and she leaves Ezekiel.

And here Dwight is doing the same thing with Sherry. Which I believe might leave hope that they will not reunite again somewhere down the line. My take away from Carol's Origin Story, is all the things we've talked about for years reinforced, that Carol and Daryl love each other as friends and will forever be bound together by their friendship. There are no worries of that relationship changing going into the spinoff, it's just not even a possibility.

Another thing that I had forgotten about the Origin Stories is that after the actor/ character goes through the series highlighting their storylines then we are offered their favorite or considered best episodes. Here's Carol's episodes.

The episode, Pretty Much Dead Already, does highlight Daryl and Carol and the Cherokee Rose, but the main point to that episode being chosen imo as one of Melissa/Carol's best is the barn scene, with Sophia emerging from it as a walker.

Here is Norman/Daryl's episodes.

We can all smile at the fact that Still is presented as one of the best of Daryl/Norman's episodes. You will have absolutely no argument on that fact from me, haha. Now some people (carylers) might say that the characters were limited on how many episodes could be included in the choice of best episodes. They would be wrong. In JDM's/Negan's best episodes he has five.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Loved your thoughts here! Agree with everything you said.

[all54321]

Trauma Bonded

This is going to be a bit different than my other notes of these, but it feels better to explain it this way to me.

So, I kept seeing a lot of TCD!Scar art on Tumblr and it got me thinking a lot of thoughts about him and making an au with it. Somewhere along the way I thought about an older idea I had of Grian having a bit more trauma from Evo then I usually write, one with a bit more obvious/big effects. And I thought why not combine them in a unique way. Both Grian and Scar both have trauma from their pasts and some effects from them overlap.

Over time they slowly start noticing how the other reacts to something in an odd way, but nothing concrete. And then Scar comes across something that clearly shows that Grian has clear trauma from something, but Grian immediately shuts any conversation down. And then the inverse happens and Grian sees something that shows Scar’s trauma, where Scar gets defensive and throws Grian’s silence in his face (although he regrets being so blunt about it). The conversation is very tense but Scar does admit that he had a bad past, Grian agrees and it’s left as that.

After some time and some other indicators of their feelings over the past being similar, they start opening up more. It’s slow going but eventually they both know the other’s backstory. They also started going to each other (or calling the other) for help, which can entail anything from talking about it to just sitting in silence with another person. It does usually end up including cuddling to just feel the presence of someone else being there. They’re both a little touch starved from being in isolation for a long time, so it’s nice.

Now, onto the whole ambiguous Scarian/Desert Duo thing. Unlike most of my AUs, this one wasn’t made with romance in mind, it was definitely a more platonic thing. But after I left and returned to this AU I did want to turn it into a romantic thing, but it changes very little. I hadn’t written anything with it being a romance specific thing yet, but the idea of it was that they did eventually grow to like each other but hesitating to confess for a while. But when they do it’s a bit different, and just not extremely romantic. Everything that they did before is kept the same, it wasn’t meant to be romantic, it was meant to be to comfort and support each other. Kissing and things like it became their kind of romantic gestures, neither seeing cuddling as being that romantic. Honestly there needs to be more platonic cuddling out there and I really enjoy this AU having that. So, as it stands most things I write for this AU will be in the platonic vein of things, or just things they don’t see as romantic, dating or not. I might write a romantic scene at some point, but since I love this AU for Scar and Grian be there for each other when the other needs it, helping each other out, I will probably focus on the more platonic side of their relationship.

Aka this AU can fully be read in a platonic light but if you want to picture them as dating during any of it go ahead.