#and we're like yeah that seemed like foreshadowing

[winepresswrath]

genuinely though show louis not killing lestat is completely unforgivable. book louis just, you know, doesn't particularly want to kill lestat and so he doesn't. deliberately deluded himself into believing it would never come to this. nevertheless participates in swamp motion, and also arson. show louis knows that lestat cuts him slack that is not afforded to claudia, agrees with claudia that lestat needs to die if they're going to be free, commits to the plan, and then goes "nah" at the last second?? they are immortal. the reprieve louis offers lestat is a probable death sentence for claudia. that is your daughter-sister louis!!! unfortunately i am in the business of forgiving the unforgivable and he seems very sad. however when the armandening comes i'm going to be furious.

[darkcircles4lyfe]

it's a story about hands (reprise)

Yeah, okay, today's the day.

I gave my blog that title for a reason, you know, and it has loomed over me for years because the hand motif is absolutely everywhere and you could go on about it forever.

Maybe that's something I'll never actually attempt to do, but this chapter, we reached a breaking point.

Before I continue, I need to give a big, big disclaimer: I do not have a physical disability, so I'm not able to speak about that from the standpoint of representation as a first-hand perspective. I have at least listened to enough disabled people to know that fictional characters who become amputees only to miraculously gain their limbs back is, um, a trope. Disabled people in general being "healed" is a conception we would really prefer to avoid here. Not to call people out, but I don't think we're giving enough space to acknowledge that.

I don’t feel comfortable making the judgement call about what should happen. I’m leaving that open. I also don't want to downplay people's emotional reactions. Honestly, I don't know if I can accurately define the line between acknowledging real pain vs. ableist pity. But I’d like to talk about the possibilities of what could happen. Other characters have definitely gotten permanent disabilities as a result of their hero work, or even just the side effects of their quirk. But, for better or worse, I don't think this case is really about representation. Not that Horikoshi won't do that justice. He might. What I'm saying is that's not his purpose for having Izuku lose his arms. It's meant to be symbolic, so we can explore what it means. The other thing I’m keeping in mind here is that Horikoshi is notorious for playing with our expectations, like, alllllll the time. I mean, just take a few chapters ago for a classic example. Eri appeared at the end, and we all assumed she was about to take some sort of action to save someone with her quirk. Then, immediately following, we were given an explanation for why that wouldn’t be happening. And now it’s clear he wanted to do that “fake out” not just as a silly cliffhanger prank, but specifically so we would know not to suspect that Eri could be the miraculous solution to Izuku’s loss of his arms. Rest assured, there is no easy way out of this.

The expectation at play in this particular instance is an old one. It’s very understated, but its subtext has burned so brightly, you’d be a fool not to notice it. It sits with anticipation like one half of a call and response. Man, I was so certain. Lots of people still are. I was really looking forward to printing the panel where it happened onto a t shirt and wearing it proudly. All the hand motifs in this story radiate thematically from a single moment, the one that started it all for Izuku.

It raises all kinds of questions about the act of saving, who needs saving, why, what does it mean, what are the dynamics of power, politics, honesty, exploitation, compassion, pity, disdain, sacrifice. Katsuki has dealt with many of these since he first rejected Izuku’s hand. While Izuku was the one who was convinced Katsuki would keep on rejecting him…

…Katsuki was the one who kept that moment in his mind all these years and eventually came to regret it.

Katsuki is the one yearning for that hand-hold, the one who has imbued it with so much more weight than it ever originally had. Izuku, in contrast, does not allow himself to dwell on what he wants. To illustrate this difference, we need to look at another piece of foreshadowing:

Ugh, do y'all remember when lots of folks were complaining about how there never seemed to be actual consequences for Izuku's destructive treatment of his own body? I don't blame them, I was concerned and confused about it too. There were several "fixes" along the way. Recovery Girl healed him, but left a physical reminder. Then he started training to fight with his legs… sometimes. Then he got support items. All of these were unsatisfying non-conclusions because they didn't present Izuku with a lasting enough impression to change in a meaningful way. They didn't address his core, his origin.

Of course, that all changed this chapter. Now it looks like our frustration was inflicted intentionally. With the current context in mind, all of these moments look more sinister, like this day was always gonna come because they kept putting bandaids on a deep emotional and psychological wound. The problem is pretty much spelled out for us here:

As Katsuki put it, he just doesn’t take himself into account, ya know? He doesn’t care what happens to him. And he lies about it, to keep others from worrying, to keep them safe. To keep them from returning the favor and putting themselves in harm’s way for his sake. His motivations are noble,

…but what about the little boy inside Izuku? Who saves him?

This is all about Izuku giving himself up to the point that he literally has no more to give. The thing is, I bet he saw this coming. He knew his limits and decided to keep going anyway, because his personal safety and wellbeing are not important. Now that way of thinking has come back to bite him because the fight isn’t over yet, and he’s already made his sacrifice. So now we know who will be more distraught over this. Not Izuku—Katsuki.

It’s not about Izuku becoming disabled, it’s about how Katsuki wanted to use the intertwining of their fingers to communicate that he would never let go. Never stop valuing him most. Never let himself make the mistake of rejecting him again. Never let Izuku be so reckless with his life. To say: “we are in this together.”…if only Katsuki believed he deserved to be able to say such things. To reach out his hand would have been the ultimate way to simply imply them and let Izuku be the one to decide. Then, to feel their hands clasped together would be more than either of them dared hope for, but so beautiful, so right. A moment they’ve waited their whole lives for.

Yeah. That’s what we were expecting. We’ve been so comfortable. Horikoshi gave us all the signs. He tempted and teased us over and over. BUT. You know he does this thing were he gives us a desirable, completely plausible and simple thing to look forward to, and then he snatches it away. And THEN he replaces it with something much better, something we were not expecting at all because it seemed too good to be true. That’s exactly what happened when Himiko snatched Izuku away, and we were robbed of the chance to see him and Katsuki fight together. In hindsight, though, I’m glad things went a different way because now there’s so much more depth and angst on display. Likewise, in the present moment, we may consider how, as one door closes, another opens.

As wonderfully meaningful as the hand-hold would have been, perhaps it is still too simple a resolution for Izuku, for his and Katsuki’s relationship. Tbh, it could have been done like 100 chapter ago. At this point, there’s so much more potential. There are a couple of ways it could go. If Izuku stays armless, Katsuki will be forced to use other methods to get his point across. He’ll have to do something else, or say what he means, or both. Yes, I’m talking about what you think I’m talking about. If I say it, I just might jinx it (lol), but I mean it. I’m being serious. Either way, if Izuku did get his arms back in the end, I’m sure that it wouldn’t be an easy fix. It would be hard-won against Izuku’s self-destructive mindset, and/or by Katsuki’s conviction. Again, I say this knowing it is not meant so much as a representation of disability, but as a representation of Izuku’s greatest character flaw taken to the extreme. I know this might sound harsh, like, hasn’t he been through enough? I get that, but… I’ve said it before and I say it again: Izuku is stubborn as hell.

I wish I had a resounding final note to end this on, but I kinda don’t. I’m not sure what’s best. Now we just have to wait and see what Horikoshi has in mind.

[ghouly-boiiiii]

The potential for Ghoulcy to be canon may be more likely than y'all think...

Honestly, if it were any other IP I would say there's no way, but this is Fallout we're talking about. A franchise which prides itself on indulging in the ridiculous and absurd scenarios it can come up with.

They've already done it in the games. Hancock is a romance candidate for your character in Fallout 4 and he's a ghoul, so like, the idea of pairing a human with a ghoul is not a new idea in the franchise.

Plus, I feel like there has been some potential actual foreshadowing for it in the show. Not just Norms husband talk in the beginning, but the fact that Lucy is a very frisky lady and not squeamish in the slightest both lend itself to the possibility. Now, that could all just be for the funny, but they do seem like very oddly specific choices on the writers part.

As for Max, I think the line the doctor says, "Will you still want the same things when you've become a whole other animal all together?" is gonna be pretty relevant here. Lucy thought she was gonna find her dad, then go back to her vault and live happily ever after with her LITERAL knight in shining armor. But now that she knows the truth... that probably doesn't seem as appealing as it used to be anymore.

So yeah... probably still unlikely BUT I don't think it's at all out of the realm of possibility. I can definitely see the creators going in that direction just to be funny and shock people, but maybe even more so if they find out there are fans who are actually into it... 😅 I mean who knows? I can dream...

But yes, I know. Maybe this is just all wishful thinking, but I don't care. I'm gonna ride this train til it crashes and burns!! Ghoulcy forever, baby!!

EDIT: I just wanted to quickly add that Walton Goggins also talked about how he and the creators deliberately set out to try and make the Ghoul "kind of hot" (which they obviously succeeded at, because here we are lol). And while, sure, that may have just been for freaky fans like us, there could be another reason if their intention from the beginning was to have a romantic arc with The Ghoul. Gonna give us that whole Beauty and the Beast trope, Fallout edition y'all haha 😃

[vidavalor]

Leave the Gun, Eat a Damn Cannoli

Satan to The Metatron like...

And Aziraphale all like...

And Satan all... going with me is not actually a choice, really, Az, I mean, wait 'til I actually get to the 'offer you can't refuse' part...

You ever see 'The Godfather', Az? I know you have.

You remember the film producer that wouldn't give Johnny Fontane the role in that movie? Do you remember how The Godfather forced his hand? The producer was a bit tough to crack at first until they realized what he loved more than anything in the world, remember?

His horse.

Do you remember what they did to get that guy to play ball, Az?

They killed the horse, chopped off its head, and left it in the guy's bed when he was sleeping. He woke up soaked in its blood and screamed the house down. It's one of the most notorious and disturbing scenes in cinematic history. Don't worry, though-- we're gonna do that shit a bit more symbolically here. Think of it as more of an allusion to the film than a literal recreation.

Your horse is Crowley. Amusingly, both euphemistically and symbolically. He's who you love more than anything else. We can also get in his head because he's a demon so there's that bit of the "horse head" in here as well, just for dark amusement.

Instead of killing him, though, which will just tick you off and make you harder to tempt to Hell and get out of the way for Armageddon 2: Armageddon Returns, we're gonna make you an offer you can't refuse:

Crowley's safety.

Yeah, I'm going to show up as The Metatron and tempt you by offering the one thing you would never refuse--no matter how slim the odds of the offer being true seemed-- because you have no choice. You would do anything to keep Crowley safe. Anything. Your unconditional love would be beautiful if I weren't evil incarnate and all that.

I mean, of all the nebulas for my stooge to reference, right?

Just FYI-- we watch more than Mary Poppins down here. This bit below is from 1941, so, really, Shax ghost-wrote part of the novel and film, apparently...

The show we're in has been telegraphing allusions to this film as a thing for awhile now, actually, Aziraphale... you rejecting oranges in 1601... Gabriel and the spilled tomatoes out of the wooden crates in the marketplace in 2.01... the fact that he then spent a chunk of S2 taking a nap in your house after betraying us, so, that Luca Brasi Gabriel was doing a form of, well...

...sleeping with the fishes...

...but really, ya know, the strongest suggestion of all this The Godfather referencing was when those writers of our show told us how it was tied to how you wind up going Down-- way back in the first episode. You foreshadowed it, actually...

You said it yourself then, Aziraphale:

Yep. That's the idea.

[laufire]

just finished watching "never fear", and episode of the new batman adventures clearly based on "fear for sale", a post-crisis!jason story. so of course, I have some thoughts!

both share the premise that scarecrow has invented a new toxin that removes fear. the episode then deviates from the issue in several ways, for example with the choice of the targets: comics!scarecrow offered his drug to athletes, tnba!scarecrow went through a middleman who offered it to scaredy cats who wanted a leg up in life (btas had a plot about scarecrow using his classic fear toxin on athelets while dick was robin though, so I get why they wanted to switch things up). another difference is in how early bruce is dosed with the anti-fear toxin AND the way it affected him. the biggest one is jason's role versus timmy todd's, though.

as a sidenote before I get into the meat of it: this episode does also showcase the little ways in which they differ in personality. timmy todd fits the *idea* your average middle-class person would have of a street kid lol. not necessarily in a bad way, always, but to me it's telling that jason's academic enthusiasm and artistic inclinations seem nowhere to be found in timmy todd.

but let's get into it. in the comic, jason and bruce are at the racetrack and they help rescue a driver whose car was catching on fire (bruce goes for him, ordering a nervous jason to dose it with water). later jason is dosed with classic fear toxin (and sees a burning bruce disappointed in him) and gets kidnapped by scarecrow and used as bait. scarecrow has also dosed batman with the anti-fear toxin, hoping to see him destroy himself out of fearlessness, but obviously bruce pulls through via some impressive feats. the comic ends with this image that just. yeah we're gonna forget about the unintentional foreshadowing for a moment because OUCH.

detective comics #571

in the show, bruce gets dosed early on, and it makes him dangerous. it, specifically, removes his fear of killing. timmy todd, the only other bat in the episode, has to task himself with stopping bruce. and he's very proactive about it, vis a vis comics!jason's more passive role. and very effective! he ties up bruce, he doesn't fall for his trick when bruce pretends he's seen the error of his ways, frees himself from some cuffs in the *very brief* time he's subdued, and gives batman the antidote, stopping him from killing the scarecrow. bruce validates his choices at the end of the episode, telling him he did the right thing.

this is the first time I've seen some comics!tim in timmy todd, though it's two-fold. I think one half of it could be and probably was intentional, while I suspect the other half is a matter of the show's creators developing similar goals as comics!tim's writers in an organical manner.

the first half is this: "fear for sale" was telling a story about bruce as a father and caretaker, and about jason as his child and charge; "never fear" was following the idea of comics!tim as a jiminy cricket figure, someone who stops bruce from "crossing the line". the context is different (inner conflict vs. external influence), and timmy todd does it in a timmy todd way and not a tim drake way, because their personalities are notably different. but the idea is there.

the other half is, timmy todd, just like dc comics when they created robin!tim drake, had writers that wanted him to be more proactive, to more *independence* as a HERO than the role of robin afforded post-crisis!jason.

this, as I said, I don't think it was tnba's writers "grabbing" a trait from comics!tim. mainly because it was not a trait only afforded to tim, although he is who perfected it. batman and robin are a duo but, although I'm not an expert on this era, dick already left gotham and had his own team and his own adventures as robin, separate from bruce. and pre-crisis!jason was also more proactive in his role, insisting on his role as partner, etc.

it's curious because bruce has that infamous scene where he tells gordon to basically treat jason as an adult because of how his difficult life experiences had made him "mature", the comics at this time very much do not treat jason as an adult, imo. even later, when starlin comes with his own agenda, I would maintain that: he doesn't see jason as an innocent kid, but neither, obviously, as Batman's Partner with everthing that comes with it.

and just... it's definitely something I've felt before, but this episode makes me feel more than a little mournful for what could have been, you know? mournful for what jason could have been, had he been allowed to really mature into the role, and enjoyed the perks that came with it.

[not-having-an-eldritch-blast]

OK, this theory has been percolating in my head for a while, but it's a little long and far-fetched so bear with me.

We're all aware that Protocol has a lot to do with Alchemy, although we don't know exactly what, yet. So I would be surprised if it didn't bring up two of (arguably) the most famous Alchemists:

Nicholas Flamel, the creator of the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, also known as the Elixir of Life.

And Victor Frankenstein. I'm sure we're all familiar with his work. He may be fictional, but who's to say his story wasn't inspired by reality in the Protocol Universe?

Both Alchemists have something in common... creating Life (hello, human transmutation).

With that being said, what if the Magnus Institute wasn't trying to turn its test subjects into Avatars? What if it was trying to create the Perfect Avatar?

***TMA AND TMAGP SPOILERS BELOW***

This brings me to [ERROR].

We know it emerged from beneath the Institute. We can assume it's the one Compelling people to live their worst fears and give their statements... and the tape recorders seem to follow it around, which sounds a lot like our dearly beloved Archivist.

But it can't be Gertrude or Jon. (For one, it's a different voice actor entirely.)

What if, instead of "marking" an Archivist with Fears, the Magnus Institute was building one?

I know it doesn't sound like the Eye to be so hands-on, but we also know the Fears don't work the same way here. It's likely they're more connected than before... and it DOES align with the Stranger and the Flesh to do something like that.

This is where the argument gets incredibly shaky (as if it wasn't already), but I still want to mention it.

Let's consider the fact that according to the ARG spreadsheet, Sam had the highest marks.. so why wasn't he chosen? But what if he was?

A lot of people have locked onto the offhanded mention of "at least it wasn't both legs" as meaning Sam is an amputee. If that really is true, we can assume he lost his leg in an accident... that could have been orchestrated by the Institute.

Yeah, I can hear myself. I told you it's a wild theory.

But the one last thing I'm gonna tack onto this theory is RedCanary. We all focused on the fact that RedCanary apparently lost their eyes after going to the Institute because that's what we expected from Magnus. But maybe that last piece was supposed to foreshadow, almost undetected, that it's the body pieces they're collecting, not scars.

It WOULD make for a stronger connection, right?

[radigalde]

Fear level counting: Fencing Club part 1

Just like with Polo club, getting to the club location will give you +1 if MC has attention phobia.

Unlike Polo, you can get -1 in the same segment by the grace of Lorelei foreshadowing looking at flyers (#I glance at the crumpled flyer tacked on to a nearby movie theater wall that's hanging on for its dear life.). This option works regardless of phobias and anything else.

Asking Adrian about the weather (#"So, nice weather we're having, right?") will give you -1 fear, and unless MC considers Adrian to be a stalker, there is another -1 in the same package.

In the same way, the following options from the light chitchat branch will give an unconditional -1:

#"So, how has your day been?" I ask Adrian.

#"So, how do you think you'll do in your match today?

And those will give -1 unless MC considers Adrian to be their stalker:

#"Adrian, your glasses are blinding me."

#"Adrian, your beauty is blinding me."

In other branches each topic about creepy stuff will give +1 fear:

#"There was a murder/mauling during my last work shift..."

#"Let me tell you about this strange dream I just had..."

#"So I was recently mauled by an invisible poltergeist..."

#"It seems that my apartment may be a little bit haunted..."

You can kind of cheat a bit and pick #I launch into a long involved story regarding my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. or its silent alternative #I silently whip out my thirteen-page description of my past day including all details regarding my past work shift, my nightmare and strange injury, as well as the current haunted atmosphere of my apartment. It will mark all creepy topics (murder, dream, wound, apartment) as discussed, but at the price of only +1 fear instead of total +4.

In murder discussion there are more options to gain/reduce fear:

Reporter MC can get -1 for suggesting the link between Midnight Mauler's victims and missing Caleb (#"I have to wonder if this is somehow connected with Caleb Degar's missing person case.")

Restraunt workers is going to get additioinal +1 simply for mentioning the murder.

Computer programmer will get +1 if in the midst of murder discussing they decide to talk about grim reaper (#Go into a long-winded diatribe over how the Grim Reaper comes for us all (but especially you with your luck).) hile having death phobia.

Security guard MC is fucked in this topic:

Mandatory +1 plus another +1 if they have blood phobia or death phobia, and another +1 if they have childhood accident (all three increases can stack).

Another mandatory L +1 after the initial set of responces ("Nooot. Enough. Leeeft.")

You can negate it a bit with -1 claiming that it's fine (#"It's nothing at all."), but that comes with denial increase and potentially corruption increase.

Telling Adrian about the crime scene will give +2 fear with #No, I'm not going to run away. I tell Adrian exactly what I saw in that parking lot. or +1 fear with #"Sure, I'm fine. And I'll give you the whole scoop. It went like this..."

During the discussion of wounded arm or haunted apartment, agreeing to go to a motel (#"Yeah, maybe a night in a motel will do me some good.") will give -1 fear.

While Adrian is freaking out about MC's mauled arm, choose #"What? I find this situation perfectly normal." and then #I'm not being sarcastic. while not being a clodcuckoolander (less that 5 cuckoo options chosen beforehand), overly sassy (sass stat is less than 45) nor nonchalant (option #I give a nonchalant shrug. after showing your wound) for getting -1 fear.

Or just choose #"It's fine." to unconditionally get the same -1 fear and once again increase your denial stat.

In the discussion about haunted apartment pretending to be okay (#"It's fine.") will give -1, but at the cost of denial increase.

After talking about nightmare or apartment MC with fear phobia is going to get +1 fear, but only if their denial stat is less than 3.

In the actions branch (#I believe actions speak louder than words.) standing closer to Adrian (#I sidle closer to a certain fencer waiting in the nearby doorway.) will give -1, but that counts as flirt.

Furthermore, taking his hand (#I reach over and take Adrian's hand.) will give another -1.

Spooking Adrian during the discussion of intrusive thoughts (#Thiiiiis iiiiis completely riiiidiculous.) is going to get you +1 fear (as well as corruption increase and probably dead Zain), but this fear increase has a lot of conditions to happen:

MC has attention phobia;

and MC is not silent and didn't choose more than 4 silent options in the previous conversation;

and Adrian learned about some of the creepy stuff before this point;

or MC is a security guard and talked about their job beforehand (murder topic).

Starting the Apocalypse topic (#Ask about the apocalypse.) for meta reasons (#"Pure unfiltered meta knowledge.") will give you +1 because fuck you, I guess.

Asking Adrian about creepy things (#Ask Adrian if he's experienced anything strange lately.) will give you +1.

You can counter it with yo mama joke (#"Yes, and it's your mother. She's disappointed that you haven't properly washed your socks lately.") for -1 and denial increase. Or enable it further (#Well, I wasn't before but now I am!) with +1 in case if MC has attention phobia. Or increase it even further (#I swear I saw something down that hallway.) with another +1 if MC already saw strange things in the corridor beforehand, and MC has fear phobia or spiders phobia.

A patter joke (# Ask how much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.) will give -1 fear.

Unless you decide to end the conversation prematurely (before you go through 4 topics), there are additional stat changes during interim spooky moments:

Mandatory +1 after 4th topic, once club members begin to grumble about broken swords ("Brenda briefly reappears on the practice floor. "What's with this handle?" she complains as she holds up a new foil.").

Another mandatory +1 after 6th topic because of a creepy shadow in the hallway ("There in the dim shadows, something crouches in the middle of the hallway. A huddled lump nearly the size of a man with blind white eyes staring back at you. You startle and blink.").

This one can be negated with -1 with #Perhaps it was a shadow?, and that won't even increse you denial stat, how sweet.

Or you can just scream (#I shriek like a banshee.), attracting a crowd and getting +1 if MC has attention phobia.

This club has no horses to feed, so, the "free" option of fear reduction for MC is to feed themselves. Via vending machine (#I decide this is the perfect time to indulge in some overpriced merchandise from the nearby vending machine.). However, unlike the alternative from the polo route, this segment is not an intermission in-between various topics, but a single option in the conversation (which you can return to up to 7 times). Each option from the vending machine gives -2 fear, meaning that the max reduction would be a mind-boggling -14. It may bite you in the ass during Zain saving, because that requires less than 7 consumed snacks. But you still can pick 6 snacks, getting -12 fear and being able to save Zain (if the rest of your stats are high enough).

At the end of the conversation there is mandatory +2 due to spooky clattering sound. MC with greed vice has none of it with their immediate -2 though, while MC with fear phobia has +1.

During the search of a safe place to change into training equipment, go to the regular changing room (#I head off towards the changing rooms. That's what they're for, after all.) and then try to fix the door knob (#Try and reattach the knob back to the door.) for -1 fear.

In the same room cuckoolander MC (4 or more cuckoo options picked beforehand) can dabble in foreshadowing (#At least there isn't an obstructive barricade in our way.) for -1 fear.

[picturejasper20]

I just binged watched the whole FOP ANW today and I saw so much symbolism and foreshadowing...

But one of the biggest things I noticed is the museum episode was similar to the Irep introduction episode. I have a feeling the museum episode is going to be similar to the season finale we're getting when Dev and Irep try taking over fairy world.

I know there's a theory going around hinting at a possible romance between Hazel and Dev based on Prime Merdian and the photo of Antony and his best friend. Just it really stuck out to me when Antony said to Hazel he was scared to tell her he liked her.

I just hope the show gets that season two, because there seems to be a lot of stuff I doubt they can wrap up in the few episodes left to air.

I think the Season 1 finale is going to be similar to the museum episode, yeah.

Dev teams up with the anti fairies and they take over the Fairy World-Hazel, Cosmo and Wanda go there- shenanigans happen- Hazel saves Dev from a dangerous situation (?) and they both talk- Hazel and Dev work together to defeat the anti-fairies.

Interesting the idea that Hazel and Dev have something going on between them? I prefer them to be friends but i think it could be cute if Dev developed some crush for Hazel over time, i can see that happening. I think that is something that could be saved for Season 2, because there are other things going on at the moment to explore that aspect of the characters.

And yeah, there is still Dale as main antagonist that has to be dealt with. There is Hazel's school principal that has been getting suspicious of Hazel. Characters like Jasmine and Winn have space to grow, etc. I would be great if the series got a second season since it has been pretty good so far.

[aquaburst3]

I read a post where OP listed off all of the reasons why they don't see Mallyuu being possible in canon and believes that Malleus would be in a politically arranged marriage to a powerful fae of high status. I strongly disagree with OP. Even as someone who isn't a huge Malleus stan or has their Yuu shipped with him.

Okay, sure. If we're looking at that possibility from a strictly dogmatic historical and realistic lense, then I agree that statement would be correct. But we're not talking about the possibility of a real life marriage for a crown prince here, but about a fictional one in a Disney game. In that case, I think it's possible. Because...

I don't think game has such a law actually put in place. The game never mentioned it. The closest thing are that stupid council, who could be overthrown or put in their place, and Lilia saying that "Malleus can't enter a marriage lightly" during the Ghost Marriage event. (Far as I'm aware, I've tuned out most of Book 7 since it's mostly just one stupidly long flashback.)

If such a law did exist and Malleus was in a canonical arranged marriage, wouldn't the game have brought it up by now? (Yana sucks at foreshadowing and laying down this shit, but come on! That's too much even for her. xD)

Yuu brings some things to the table. They are human. Malleus marrying them would help with diplomatic relations between the fae and the humans. With how isolated the fae are in that world, they kinda need it. They also survived several overblots and would've saved Malleus' life, which is worth something.

I'm pretty sure that his grandmother could pull a Sultan and just change the law if such a thing is in place. She's one of the most powerful fae in the world, so what she says goes. She could easily put that council in their place if she must.

Dragon eggs in canon can only be hatched by true love, either platonic or romantic. (Even if I think that whole thing is silly, but that's beside the point.) If Malleus was in an arranged loveless marriage, he would never be able to produce an heir like the council wants, even if he has an AFAB/cis female partner. If they want any kids from him and he marries an AFAB person/cis female, it must be someone he loves like Yuu. If he marries someone AMAB or cis male, then he can just adopt or use a surrogate.

If we bring mythology/folklore into this, it's even more possible. The fae criteria for marriage is focused more on how talented and attractive the human partner is, that's it. There are plenty of stories where fae "spirit away" normal human women and men away to marry fae royalty. I imagine the fae in TWST are similar.

As for the life span thing, I think either Malleus will pull an Edward and let Yuu age normally or have the human partner drink fae aging potion. (I went with the latter in my own writing in a general sense. Again, shipping my Yuu with Jamil.)

Even if he was in one, he would find a way out of it. One of the biggest tropes that the Disney brand stands for is "true love conquers all". While the form of that love changes, that idea remains the same. The game shattering that by making Malleus be doomed to be in a loveless arranged marriage forever would go against what the brand stands for, so it seems highly unlikely. The fact that the game is also tapping into the otome market makes it even less so.

So, yeah. While I don't think MallYuu will ever be canon, I think a union between them is quite possible. It's fanfiction. Do whatever you want.

[nalyra-dreaming]

Hi Nalyra!

I love your blog (it keeps me sane and feels like such a safe space). And so I wanted to get your opinion on some 2x06 things I noticed.

Namely, it really felt like the writers were setting up more groundwork for DM in this ep?! And I say this with pleasant suprise because I wasn't expecting it?

For me, the inclusion of more of Armand's backstory (that he has never made a fledgling despite how old and badass he is) as well as some of his fears/philosophy (that he doesn't have trust/faith in the longevity of the maker X fledgling relationship) serves as such important groundwork for why it would matter if Armand were to ever turn someone! Without those stakes being introduced to us, there would be diminished emotional payoff if Armand were to ever turn someone.

This way it is gently foreshadowed/set up in the back of our minds that circumstances would have to be really extreme for the powerful and wisened vampire Armand to ever be convinced to Turn someone. He is too mistrusing of it. And if they are introducing that concept to us, that makes it classic foreshadowing. (Like, I felt the anticipation rise before I even clocked why.)

Daniel's big reaction to finding out Armand never made a fledgling is to emphasise the significance of that revelation for the viewers. But it is so sneaky and all the more perfect because it is *Daniel* reacting to that revelation. If you know, you know, right? It feels like one of those moments deliberately set up for people to go 'oh shitttt!' to on rewatches once the Things are Done lol.

THEN add onto that all the mystery being set up about Daniel's apartment and the access Armand and Louis have to it somehow. And mix in Jacob's ambiguous words in the post-ep Insider about both Louis and Daniel being Kept things for Armand *throughout the years*...

I am not going full delulu with these things, right? The set-ups feel so clever... However long it takes to use them...

(All that being said, I didn't appreciate the other foreshadowing about Raglan saying shit like if only he could Body Swap with Daniel he'd be running the Talamasca... That better just have been hinting at Raglan's story in general. No matter what, we're in danger, gurl. Lol)

Hey!

Glad you like my little corner!!! 💕

No, you're not going full delulu, I do see it exactly like that. A lot of little hints, a lot of groundwork. Whatever happens, they set up the importance of it all with this.

Daniel who will be Armand's only fledgling... and the complicated feelings Armand has on that are already clear. We now know there is a lot of history, and we know that... Louis seems to have been involved, too, in some kind of fashion.

I adore how they are setting it all up. It's definitely done for the book fans, because... yes, if you know, you know^^ And if you don't... it will probably fly over one's head.

And the thing with Raglan... yeah. ... I mean, there's a lot of canon possibilities. But... yeah. They're going there^^

We better brace ourselves^^

[imperatorcaesaraugustus]

we come now to that most special time of the week, the time or ThoughtD: Thoughts on HotD. today we look at season 2 episode 7

my favorite way to have a conversation is on a beach shouting at each other from 50 feet away

"my father is no one of consequence" how long do you plan on keeping that fact a secret, Addam?

"under the sheets and in the woodpiles" i see we're taking this idea away from Jace (or away from mushroom, depending on what source you believe) and giving it to Mysaria

also, woodpiles? i get sheets, but why woodpiles, specifically?

Addam putting in his 2 weeks with Corlys because he got hired at a new job as Dragonrider

Corlys just saying "well done" instead of "i'm proud of you" or "i care about you, son" or "i can't believe you're a dragonrider now that's incredible"

Muppet Tully's dialogue inside with Daemon sounds off to me, like they re-dubbed it over or something

i really like this Tully lad. masterful politician

some people have expressed boredom with Daemon's continuing situation at Harrenhal. those people are wrong, this is great

this whole dynamic between Larys and Aegon is nowhere in the book, but it makes so much sense as an addition and i love it

Alyn saying "I am of salt and sea" couldn't possibly be foreshadowing for something, could it? wait... is it? how far chronologically is this show going to continue? will there be time to pay that off?

"I'm going to bed" "um, when are we going back to the castle?" "oh, maybe never" nightmare camping trip for this poor kingsguard

oops Rhaenyra, it seems you've uncovered Jace's bastard trauma!

"if lowborn have dragons, it takes away my best claim for the throne" yeah, huh, it's almost like the power of kings is based solely on the arbitrary withholding of power from vast swaths of the population. a point that would have been made even more strongly if you hadn't cut Nettles from the show

Mysaria's agent looking very... inconspicuous... in that bright red cloak

"oh, you know, i'd definitely love to claim a dragon, it's just, oof, my leg's been acting up" love this man

"nah, do it though" love this man's mates

Hugh is Saera's son? that's so cool!

okay, for those unfamiliar, Saera Targaryen was one of King Jahaerys' daughters, aunt to King Viserys. she was involved in a scandal where she was sleeping with like three different minor lords, so Jahaerys sent her off to become a septa. she escaped and ran off to Essos, where she became a sex worker in one of the free cities (i think Lys? or maybe it was Volantis?). super interesting character, love that she's being referenced here

i... i have no idea what to make of what Alicent is doing

the dragonkeepers are going on strike

Vermithor looming out of the darkness is so cool. i love his design, too. it's very asymmetrical

at first i thought Rhaenyra was straight-up leaving. turns out she was moving up to the balcony, but still

holy fuck that went badly. like, obviously most of these people weren't going to succeed, but damn

Ulf just running off into the caves where the dragons live as if there's not going to be more dragons in there

i'm not as big a fan of Silverwing's design, but it is distinctive which i appreciate. this will be relevant in the next scene where i immediately recognized her very triangular head

Ulf gets a dragon and immediately goes to the worst place he possibly could have gone, King's Landing

all in all, another episode i really liked. can't wait to see what comes next week

[brooklynisher]

I just went through and analyzed the lyrics for A Life Of Un-Delightment!

And let me tell you it is depressing.

To summarize, I believe A Life Of Un-Delightment is about a robot that originally had a very positive outlook on life, but as time goes on, and as life gets tougher, this robot begins to lose this positivity and succumb to depression.

It's a song about a hopeful robot losing hope.

The white text will be the lyrics, while the blue text is the analysis!

Enjoy!

In the morning I wake up to the sea breeze (Oh-ah-oh!) I can’t feel it but I see it in the trees (Ok!) My skin of metal glistens in the sunbeams (Oh-ah-oh!) I can’t feel it but it radiates through me (Oh yeah!)

The first few lines set the scene. This is from the perspective of a robot. But despite being a robot and unable to feel, they embrace positive environment. This robot may not feel anything physically, but they can definitely feel something emotionally.

As I stand there my coat blowing and skin reflecting I sight the small things that make this world for me

This robot robot wants to live a happy life, which explains their attempt at finding joy in little things. This also vaguely foreshadows that this robot isn't living their ideal life.

All around is a life of un-delightment (Oh-ah-oh!)

A life of un-delightment! This robot is living a difficult life!

When I wake up it’s waiting there for me

Whatever challenges that they must deal with they expect to occur every single day

Can you feel it, this life of un-delightment?

The robot then asks for relatability as if to ask if they're alone on this.

I can feel it all through my metal being (All through!)

Regardless of if you can relate or not, the robot declares that they feel life is difficult. Even though they are a robot and robots aren't supposed to feel anything.

Ooo yes, I must confess, I can see the sunshine

There's a difference between the lyrics here and later. Here they use the word "Confess" as if to say they did something wrong. This implies that they think it's wrong to find joy in these conditions. Whether it's because they're a robot who isn't supposed to feel, or because the scenario doesn't seem right for good feelings, is unknown.

Tossed into churning gears, I can see the wind fine

This describes a very specific situation this robot has been in. Whether it's literal or not, this situation is tearing them apart, but despite all the badness of it all, the robot still finds something good about it. The wind is blowing fine! The world is still spinning! It's not so bad even if you're being ripped apart by gears.

But oh no, I must have shown, too much of my ways How I have some good days, out of the haze

Suddenly, this positive outlook on life is turning against the robot. We're not told how, but the phrase "Oh no, I must have-" tells us that the robot must've accidentally caused a problem through their positivity.

When the sky clouds and sheds some tears of joy now (Oh-ah-oh!)

The robot's still holding onto this positive outlook on life. Even though rain is commonly associated with sadness, this robot tries to make it about something good! Who says tears have to be sad? Who says only sad people can cry?

I can’t feel it but they drip right off of me

This robot still can't feel anything physically , and it's looking like they're starting to have difficulty feeling anything emotionally too. Before, all the good things would "radiate" through them, but now they're dripping right off. They're trying to see the brighter side of things, but they're struggling to believe it.

A boom of thunder, a buzzing bolt of lightning (Oh-ah-oh!) I can’t feel it but it sizzles all through me

The robot's ability to feel emotionally is not lost, but now they're more likely to embrace these negative feelings.

As I stand there my coat soaking and skin vibrating

The robot is in a really rough spot right now. Vibrating and soaking wet, yet they're not going anywhere. They're just succumbing to these negative feelings.

I sight the small things that make this world for me

But there is still hope. The robot doesn't want to succumb to these negative feelings. The robot's still seeking out joy.

(Chorus skip)

Ooo yes, I must profess, I can see the rainstorms

Before, the robot had to confess, as in admit they were feeling good, as if they felt bad about it. Now the robot needs to profess. As in, openly admit that they see the world in a more depressing view. This time, they don't feel like they are wrong like they did last time. As if to say they were doomed to feel this way.

Fallen to the short circuits, I can see lightning form

The robot continues to feel these difficult emotions as we're given another example as to how. The robot is breaking down. Emotionally or literally is unknown.

Oooh no, I must have shown, too much of these ways

The robot is no longer claiming "these ways" to be their own. Yet they still feel that showing "these ways" was the result of their downfall despite not being on purpose.

How to have some okay days, out of the haze (Here we go!)

The robot's positivity is dwindling. At most, the bot can hope for an "okay day" because "good days" must seem impossible for them at this point in life.

All around is a life of un-delightment If I wake up, it’ll be waiting there for me

The robot is either suicidal or just completely hopeless. They're no longer expecting themself to wake up the next day. At this point in time, life is either so difficult to the point where the robot cannot tell if they're going to live tomorrow, or that this robot doesn't want to live tomorrow. Because the robot no longer says "When I wake up" but instead "If I wake up"

At least, that's what I've gathered

[aachria]

EXAMS ARE FINALLY OVER FUCK YEAH 🗣

I did good in everything im pretty sure!! Except geography. When i tell you i did not write a single word. I just left the page blank. But i did good in everything else!! And since im officially free to do wtv without worrying abt school i thought i could share some of my - not so much theories but kore like predictions and thoughts and stuff.

Okay so basically first of all im rlly curious to meet rayleigh cuz ive been wondering how much grunkle has affected the roger pirayes beyond what we saw.

Also im like convinced that ed is gonna end up on that execution stand. Or they get send to be with grunkle during the timeskip which would be really interesting to see.

Im also curious of if marineford will happen at all but everything with Ace seems too peaceful and we haven't called him in a bit so. Ed is not nearly as important as ace in the eyes of the marines but they are somewhat related to a lember of Roger's crew and they're wanted and a supernova so im feeling ed might replace ace if just for the fact i want to see Luffy tell Boa he needs to save his spouse. It would be very funny written from you im sure.

Ed will most definitely end up in a desperate looking situation in which they're almost enslaved. The foreshadowing in chap 104 was real and it will happen.

Ph also i made ed in gacha life 2 so

I'M PROUD OF YOU!!!!!!!!!!! I almost failed geography at school. I never learned t he rock cycle. But also the only high school class I've ever passed with 100% was travel and tourism, which I mostly attribute to my psychotic ass learning every single country in Europe and Africa and intimidating my teacher with my talent. So.

I LOVE RAYLEIGH. GUYS I LOVE RAYLEIGH SO MUCH. He was so much fun to write goddamnit I adore that old man. Also GRUNKLE??? We're calling him GRUNKLE NOW??????

Whaaaat? Would I put Ed on an execution stand?? Would I do that??? And me putting Ed in desperate situations and using foreshadowing? Doesn't sound like me at all.

Also Ed is such a cutie patootie that's adorable.

[kamiko1234]

Okay done with chapter 10 starting with chapter 11 of The Lightning Thief, and normally I planned on not making a post on every single chapter BUT, I do have some changes/additions in my traitor theories.

So first off, Annabeth is the traitor. SO far has the most prove in the book imo (which is till meager), but I REALLY don't like how she told Percy that they HAVE to not get along because of their parents. Personally I just think that's more proof for my "Annabeth is the traitor" theory.

She was pretty nice to Percy pre-claiming, and on the bus she did fully intend sacrificing herself for him. But she also seems to have this very deep anchored world view of how their parents should affect them and their actions.

So, I modify my theory : Annabeths a traitor, but will get a redemption arc. The reason for the betrayal stays the same, her mom and her rivalry with Poseidon. And Annabeth would think that she NEEDS to betray Percy bc she's the kid of her mom.

So instead of being a malicious traitor, she'd be more like a tragic, indoctrinated villain who needs to be shown to do better ! It most definitely would be interesting.

HOWEVER, this is based of the reaction of another friend when I talked to them about my theories and they reacted very...... weird. After some time I threw in Grover being the traitor more as a joke and while not SAYING anything, that silence was SHOUTING.

So, Grover being the traitor. Canon proof ? Not rly there. Would it be one hell of a plot twist ? YES. Could be bitterness maybe ? My impression was that Satyrs were sort of servants or atleast bellow halfbloods in some way. I could deffo see him getting worked up over that.

Then however he did have a close relationship with Percy and a GOOD reason to stay loyal to get his license. So may I present : Multi-book build up of Grover betraying Percy.

With that I mean, should Grover be the traitor I think he wouldn't betray Percy in this book. Chiron said smth about prophecies having double meanings, so I assume they can be kinda wacky. Imagine Grover slowly building resent against the demi gods for how they use his ppl as tools/servants, and betrays Percy/the halfbloods as a whole in a later book. It could be a cool moment where the thing mentioned in the first book comes back around !

I do however admit myself, that theory is a WILD. Like, WILD WILD. And my only thing to go off on is the silence of my friend and the emoji's they send as a response. Take that theory with the BIGGEST grain of salt.

The third option I think possible : The traitor isn't gonna be Annabeth OR Grover, but will be a character later introduced. Comes from me starting to think that Annabeth could be a bit obvious with the whole sudden switch in how she acts with Percy making it a bit obvious. And the Grover theory being borderline crack.

That option would be my fav, since tbh I don't RLY want Annabth to go villain (even if the redemtion arc would be juicy as hell) but I also don't want Grover to start resenting his friends.

Logically speaking I do think it's Annabeth more likely than Grover tho. (Considering I now have theories for both being the traitor we're basically back to square one. Kill me, please.)

ON ANOTHER NOTE; apparently it's quite common for the author to describe scars as ugly looking and evil. (Thanks to the wonderful user who gave me that info !) Which, first off, YIKES. Not good, like at all.

That fact does however help me with my theory, since it allows me to safely eliminate one character for sure now. Luke !

I mean, I already didn't think it was him. The only thing that made me peek up was when he was described as evil-looking in that one paragraph. But if that (sadly) apparently is a norm, then it more likely than not wasn't foreshadowing.

So yeah, it's not gonna be Luke so I can just start to safely ignore him in my traitor theories. (Not like I ever considered him a real candidate in the first place, he's just safely eliminated in my head now)

[demodraws0606]

AS YOU LIKE IT and Rui Kamishiro

"As You Like It" a song made by Eve is pretty much canonically Rui's theme song designated by colorpalet. I don't think I need to explain why as it stands out among WxS's discography while being linked with Rui a lot in general like him being the only with an alt vocal.

Now I'm gonna dissect some of the lyrics (ignoring the lyric distribution, this time because I don't think it ads too much ?) and explain how all of it links to Rui's character while also throwing in a little bit of speculating in there as I think the song could potentially foreshadow Rui's arc coming forward.

Also I know the song was definitely not written for Rui and this technically damages my analysis in some ways HOWEVER the fact colorpalet completely gave up on their usual normal choices for WxS pick to pick THIS SONG obviously matching Rui's character (and also shoving it in multiple after live shows) means this song is worth of analysis.

ANALYSIS TIME :

We're starting off strong, I think these lyrics go well with how Rui was in the beginning. He seemed apathetic/indifferent to the things around him, he clearly had given up connecting with anyone around him.

Crying over these memories obviously refers to how Rui is constantly hurt by his past weither knowingly or not, the memories of people rejecting him pretty much is still wound that is healing for him.

This could obviously be in relation to Rui's relationship with WxS, Rui says later in a QnA that the most stressful play for him was the RMD one. He constantly lives in fear of being rejected and his relationship with WxS is an act of courage for him.

"cause we shouldn't stand still, right ?" first ding on the disbandement arc counter

"Life is a sham" again very much a reference to his middle school self, and the "don't say you can't do it" is rlly vague but also I believe has multiple meanings.

People have bailled on Rui multiple times saying they can't do his production, but also Rui now was in situations where he withdraws from situation due to trauma like in wonder halloween where he "couldn't do it". "Don't say it's too late" Could be talking about middle school Rui's mindset, who had given up despite still waiting for someone to understand him.

Both could also be a reference to the disbandement arc as well

WxS forming and Rui being at first reluctant to join due to fear/past trauma

Now the "meeting of my selves" could be a reference to Rui's emotions but I think this a very specific line that could end up being foreshadowing towards something.

Asahi/Sakaki both seem to have links towards Rui as a character so it is possible, especially with the idea of conflicts with the different selves that this could be a reference to that (both side character linked to Rui ends up heavily challenging him and his beliefs in some way possibly ?)

"We steadily close the gap/But we remain far apart" could potentially be some ominous WxS foreshadowing but that's grasping at straws

Hmm.

Hmmmmmm....

Anyways !

*LOUD DISBANDEMENT ARC COUGH*

Okay obviously I don't need to explain how this relates to Rui's character. Rui right now still has Asahi looming in the background as the future of WxS still remains uncertain.

This one kinda has two conflicting ideals for Rui

"No meaning to being humble and respectful" could be related to Rui's tendency to be overly humble sometimes despite his extraordanary, he's very much a perfectionnist. He's also just overall very self critical, people reacting negatively to his directing made him feel like there was something wrong with him and that's just how he continued to view himself.

"So bye-bye to my embarassing dreams" Rui often chastises himself for wanting more, he's very similar to Emu in that way. His dream of wanting to have friends or his dream to stay with WxS both were "embrassing dreams" to him.

There are some other sus lines but since I don't have a good grasp on them so these will be the last one and uhm.

Yeah those specific lines I feel like is foreshadowing towards Rui's trajectory.

Because it's weirdly fitting in Rui's weird spot right now right ? He's becoming better, he has improved in so many ways but there are things that are definitely not improving with him (aka his feelings about greedy, his overworking tendencies and overall emotional repression). There are still issues with him brewing in the background and by issues I mean Asahi.

So yeah this was very rambley and I'm sleepy but As You Like It is Rui's blorbo song and colorpalet likes this blue and purple grape way too much.

[smalltownrobin]

I'm having a moment where I feel like I'm looking way too much into things but also that I am an absolute genius. You can decide which one I am.

So I'm remembering this funko shot listing pic they gave us back in november.

I still couldn't tell you what I definitely think is happening in this shot (apart from a very interesting theory of a collective Vecna trance a la that hotel episode of doctor who where they all have to deal with their darkest fears in this maze of hotel rooms, much like a "crawl" in d&d would suggest, but this isn't about that idea), but I do think knowing what we know at this point about what's being filmed for s5 (and more importantly WHO has filmed together), I think it's quite telling.

Walk with me for a second.

Based on things definitely confirmed about filming and potential leaks that could or couldn't be true, these groups are what I'm fairly certain about. There's been a couple rumours of El and Lucas working together this season trying to save Max, and they're next to each other. We've seen Joyce and possibly Will filming together, and they're next to each other. We also know from multiple photos and blatant spoilers that Robin and Will have been filming together quite a bit (swallowing my own opinion about that, let's just say I'm not totally thrilled), and they're next to each other. Whether Robin and Joyce have filmed anything together, idk. Then finally we know from both that pre-vis shot and the last photodump that Nancy, Jonathan, Steve and probably Dustin have filmed together in Steve's car, and oh look they're all together.

Right, Vickie. You will have to hear me out on this one. It may in part be my own desire to have Vickie actually involved in the bloody plot this time, but as far as we know about what they've filmed so far, Max is still in a coma. Vickie does not have a funko, and the Max funko in the shot seems to be furthest away from everyone, but closest to Robin, AND is faced down. Maybe they could have used Barb as another ginger girl to use as her placeholder and I'm being delusional, maybe that really is Max out of her coma fully functional by the second episode (cos oh yeah this shot is supposed to be within the first two episodes) and she's just faced down for the heck of it, but for the purposes of my current thoughts, we're going to assume it's supposed to be Vickie.

So based on all that, this is what I think could end up being some groupings for s5, at least for a little while.

They don't have to be permanent (god I HOPE they're not permanent cos why are you separating stobin again), but we could get these neat little three groups of four for at least a couple episodes maybe.

Nancy, Jonathan, Steve and Dustin, pretty certain have something to do on that farm in Steve's car, although half that pre-vis said jancy were in the upside down so maybe the car splits in half, idk. If so, rest in peace Steve's BMW.

Robin, Vickie, Will and Joyce, not a clue what they're doing, but if they are one big group they seem to be switching between downtown hawkins and the farm set again. Real world or upside down, idk.

Then El, Mike, Lucas and Hopper, not a ruddy clue couldn't tell you a thing in all honesty. We know both mileven and Hopper have filmed at the radio station, but so has everyone, so they might have absolutely nothing to do with whatever mini plot this may end up being, if it is one.

Whether this shot DIRECTLY links to how these groups end up grouped up, idk but it seems likely. Whatever is even happening here could lead into it, or it could just be simple foreshadowing of some sort. Maybe my groupings are wrong, maybe I'm talking out of my arse, irdk.

Sorry I feel like that was long, I am one of this planet's ramblers I cannot keep on topic and I say things in WAY too many words, so well done if you read it all, you're mad.