#back in like s8-10 the only thing getting me through it half of the time was the thought that dean fucking dies at the end of the show and

[sammygender]

normally i have enough of a complicated relationship with dean that thinking about his death in the finale doesn’t make me too unhappy but sometimes i’m like. man. he never even got sober…… we deserved to see old man dean drinking non alcoholic beer. sigh

[sibylsleaves]

About the Buck Tommy break up: If they do break them up, when do you think that would happen? How long would they date for? I feel like they might keep them together for all of the next season.

Yeah I kinda think I agree? and like i'll remind you i'm like. 50/50 on buddie canon ON A GOOD DAY (i'm 100000% FOR IT, i'm 50/50 on them actually doing it) so. even assuming buddie canon is definitely where they want to take the story i could definitely see Tommy sticking around through s8.

(another cut because idk how to shut the fuck up)

For one, he's a recurring character so he's not going to be in every episode anyway. which means even if he's there for all of s8 they probably only have like 8-12 episodes to actually develop that relationship arc. For two, they seem to have forgotten how to develop Buck as a character without putting him in a relationship (see the mess that was his arc in s6...the girlies were spinning their wheels so hard and throwing everything against the wall to see what would stick) so they have every reason to want to keep him in said relationship for most of the season purely for story fodder.

I'm hopeful they'll find a way to continue developing Buck's sexuality arc without it being all about his relationship, but honestly i'm not banking on it. (my kingdom for a queer first responders group...a great way to also introduce some new tertiary characters plz & thanks!! more Hen/Buck also plz & thanks!!) i think the buck/fatherhood storyline (his desire for it, his realization that he almost but not quite has it already?) is ALSO something that could be built out in s8 and i would loooooooooove to see it (and could, as already mentioned, lead us to the eventual Buck-Tommy breakup).

anyway you didn't ask me about Buck storylines LMAO so back to your point. They have let's say 10-ish episodes over the course of s8 to really develop the Buck-Tommy relationship so I think them breaking up at the end of the season makes sense. and given that unlike in other seasons they're starting with a LOT of ground to cover in terms of other storylines (Captain Gerrard, Bobby returning, EDDIE & CHRIS, Councilwoman Ortiz, Hen + Karen + Chim + Maddie as coparents, etc etc etc) I wouldn't be surprised if Buck and Tommy continue to take kind of a backseat in the first half of the season. Like I think we'll see Tommy around and we'll get a few one-off storylines about him/their relationship but that's it.

And let's say things go exactly the way I want them to and we do get an Eddie feelings realization while Buck and Tommy are still together. I think we need at LEAST half a season to get Eddie there, probably even more, just because he's got SO MUCH to go through next season (i am hopeful the Gerrard arc only takes up 1-3 episodes MAX--unless they do another big disaster season opener--and then we get a Christopher reunion by mid-mid season, ep 6-7. They do often like to do big emotional set piece episodes smack dab in the middle of each half, like Tomorrow in 6a and There Goes the Groom in 7b).

THEN we also need time for Eddie to pine. For a good half season, at the very least. So yeah that easily puts us at the end of s8, just in time for Buck to have his own feelings realization, perhaps in the aftermath of some dramatic season-ending storyline, and then break up with Tommy at the very end of s8. Leading to mutual pining at the beginning of s9. Or they could drag it out even further, especially if they get an early renewal again. I wouldn't be opposed to that.

Obviously this is like. Sibyl's Dream Scenario. aka what would happen if ABC hired me as the showrunner. What they actually will do in the show I have no idea. And a lot of it also depends on LFJ's availability (like we all know that's exactly what ended up happening with Natalia and why she got unceremoniously dumped offscreen). I know he's on another show as well, but I get the feeling he's going to make his 911 stuff a priority as much as he can because he's gotten a LOT of attention for this role and from what i can tell has seemed genuinely enthusiastic about it.

[oviids]

pls share some of your spn fic recs 🥺🥺

ok, a few things first:

followers and mutuals who do not have supernatural brainworms, kindly avert your eyes

i don’t normally rec or even read much fanfic any more but this is a CRISIS ok (cont.)

there is so. much. content for deancas out there and i have incredibly high standards, several ancient ao3 bookmarks, can speedread, and want to spare you guys the experience of wading through it all.

i also have a section for spn femslash since I was pretty into that back in the day (sadly a lot less fan content for this :/)

I don’t really like au’s or pure smut (I honestly usually just skim or skip those scenes) so if you’re mainly looking for that kind of thing this probably won’t be very helpful to you. jsyk.

i’m not great at describing stuff but i’ll do my best, i’ll also try and add tw’s when neccesary.

i wil try and keep updating this with any other decent fics i find, feel free to rec stuff too since i’m like 7 years behind.(edit 1/25/21) this is getting looooong so i’m going to start making another list on my spn blog rather than update this one

(edit 1/3/21) since this has gotten pretty long i’ve added rating/approximate word counts and marked my particular favorites with an asterisk.

Dean/Cas fic:

So Says The Sword*** - explicit/85k. FUCK its good...au/time travel where dean is not pulled out of hell by cas and says yes to becoming the michael sword. honestly could serve as an alternative to actually watching the show, if you want to get into dean/cas without actually doing that to yourself.

Fata morgana.*  - teen/6k, pst s9 finale. very bela centric and i love it, she finds cas looking for dean in hell.

Redemption Road -misc/600+k. an incredibly long fic from a collaborative writing group back in the day. canon divergent from the end of s6 on, has a cool take on godstiel and the leviathans, as well as the lovecratian mythos connection. ngl when i reread it i only made it about 28% in but imo the casual reader can actually stop around there, the rest concerns a lovecraftian apocalypse that is still good (i think i don’t remember it very well) but not required to enjoy the first half. if you prefer i have an ebook version i can send you on gdrive.

Someone Who's Feeling For Me* - mature/45k, s12. they run into lisa braeden and dean thinks cas is into her while cas thinks dean still likes her. treats lisa way better than the show ever did and the miscommunication is pretty funny rather than annoying.

a turn of the earth - mature/95k. time travel fic where cas from s10 keeps showing up in deans life from a few years before s1 to right before the hellhounds take his soul.  slow burn, good character study, and at one point cas punches the dad in the face and it rules.

On the Wings of War - teen/85k, canon divergent s5. dean accidentally becomes the Horseman of War. plays fun, fast and loose with biblical lore, michael has some rights.

Named - mature/95k, alternate s5. EXTREMELY blasphemous in a fun sexy way. manages to predict metatron almost to a T. there’s one major character death and its literally jesus christ, everyone is very sad about it and it sets the rest of the story rolling. an alternate interpretation of cas’ mission to raise dean from hell which had me on the floor. ngl its kind of misogynistic at points, but its from 2010 and tracks with late oughts-2010 spn (sorry anna the author did you dirty here:/).

The Girlfriend Experience - explicit/15k. uhhh i don’t normally rec or even read smutty stuff unless someone i know is specifically asking for it but this has stuff like sam trying to be a good ally and dean thinking holding hands with cas is ‘kinda gay :/’ minutes after having gay sex with him.

i crippled your heart a hundred times - explicit/19k, s8. cas confesses his feelings and dean spends a long time getting his head out of his ass about it. truly hits different after the actual confession, despite being written six years early it feels like its actually what could have gone down more or less if the writers weren’t talentless demons who hate us.

My Roots Take Flight** - mature/125k. reverse au where cas is a hunter and dean’s an angel...OR IS IT???? an alternate retelling of s4. tw for briefly being set in a psychiatric hospital/the hospital being mentioned somewhat frequently throughout the fic, plus more references to torture in hell and heaven than usual.

The One Thing You Can't Lose* - teen/4k.you know those posts about how cas is a super-strong super-tough ancient warrior but he just lets dean tug him around because he likes it? thats it thats the fic.

Hands, From Which All Things Are Built - teen/14k, post s8′s ‘goodbye stranger.’ cas is on the run with the angel tablet but keeps in touch with sam and dean by text, he and dean still manage to be terrible at Actual communication.

Autrement, Danger - or, The Account of an Exceedingly Long Day - mature/30k, post s11. a monster that takes the appearance of your soulmate leads to some wild miscommunications and dealing with years of repression, also dean gets to see cas’ true form which is always cool. tw for non-graphic mentions of underage sexual assault/sex work.

Down to Agincourt - mature/explicit/900++++k, endverse continuation. endverse!cas survives his encounter with lucifer and discovers another time-displaced dean from s7. i’ve only read the two of four parts but its really good, veeeeery slow burn, has a lot of fun oc’s and takes a rather surprising but (imo) entertaining and intriguing turn into Hellenic history and mythology. usual tw’s for endverse/endverse!cas but nothing graphic, it’s actually pretty light-hearted (relatively speaking of course).

Nothing Equals the Splendor** - explicit/8k, THEE finale fix it fic you’ve been waiting for! posits that the entire final episode was just a (very bad and lame) djinn’s vision.

like moses and batman and james dean - explicit/31k, post s8. explores dean’s trauma and internalized homophoba from his technically canon experience with sex work and its impact on his relationship with cas. the sex work itself isn’t really shown in any detail but it’s still a relatively heavy fic.

Crazy Diamonds - explicit/25k, s4/alternate s14. fresh-out-of-hell dean and dean from 10 years in the future are displaced from time and sent to each other’s present.

where the weeds take root - explicit/30k. au where the men of letters kick them out of the bunker and they accidentally move out into the country, get over their codependence and semi retire. featuring chicken coop building, sam volunteering at a dog shelter, gardening, and blissfully mundane domesticity.

No Resting Place - teen/6k. djinn dream fic, switches back and forth between cas’ dream of being married to dean and retired from hunting to the aftermath when he wakes up. tw for brief mention of suicide since, y’know, djinn dream.

any port in a storm - mature/52k. post s8 finale. cas and dean have to pose as a couple going through a rough patch for a case and actually deal with their emotional baggage, cas struggles with being human and metatron is up to stuff.

all this and heaven too* - explicit/7k. in the author’s own words ‘...a love letter to every trans person who ever projected onto Dean Winchester.’ absolutely unzipped me emotionally and theologically, its just. so good. tw for very brief mentions of internalized transphobia/dysphoria.

Because it is* - mature/6k, finale fix it. killing chuck does not bring back anyone back and the winchesters spend a very long time dealing with what they’ve lost, cas and dean SOMEHOW still manage to have signifigant communication issues even after the confession. tw for suicidal thoughts/brief attempt.

Vena Amoris and Other Old-Fashioned Bullshit* - teen/4k, s6. when cas fell for dean it automatically soulbonded/angel married them, shenanigans ensue when dean finds out during the angel’s civil war. funny and actually written back when s6 was airing so cas is still (or at least pretending to be) kind of an OP asshole which is fun.

Rinse, Repeat - teen/3k, s8. angsty character study of cas as he’s reprogrammed and trained to kill dean. not really dean/cas since its just cas’ pov of canon events but its beautifully written and ends with him snapping out of it through the power of love (also now a canon event!).

Emergence - explicit/59k, canon divergent after s11. dean meets a hunter he only recognizes as their friend claire novak’s missing father, but soon realizes he might be the answer behind the mysterious void in his memories and feelings (aka everyone’s memories of cas are completely wiped away for three years).

Cuckoo And Nest - explicit/10k, early established relationship/character study, cas tries to figure out how he fits into dean’s life and space in the bunker.

Build a Home* - teen/20k, canon divergent s12. sam and eileen are cute and turn the bunker into men of letters/hunters hq and everyone but cas moves in, mutual miscommunication issues and pining ensues.

Down in the River - teen/5k, early s8, cas prays to dean in purgatory while sam and dean try to figure out a way to get him out.

Teaching Poetry to Fish* - mature/52k, ?? BC through the entire series/canon divergent s14 and 15. retelling of crucial scenes throughout the shows timeline from cas’ pov, feat. actual fish and poetry.

the minor fall, the major lift - gen/4k, post confession/finale fixit. dean goes into the empty to save cas and runs into several old friends (and enemies).

With the Kisses of His Mouth* - teen/3k, gen later seasons. dean and cas keep kissing by accident.

Remaining Grace - explicit/109k, alternate s6. au where cas asks dean for help with raphael and dean, of course, does. tw for temporary major character death/semi-graphic depictions of alcohol withdrawal.

The face of heaven.* - teen/10k, au, dean is a regular guy and cas is a fallen star (think ‘stardust’, kinda).

Stories Are Made of Mistakes*  - teen/5k. newly human cas has trouble getting used to a human body and humanity in general, but still figures out that he and dean are A Thing before dean does.

Hurry Up And Wait - mature/21k, canon divergent s12. a fairyland and quite possibly LOTR related case comes up and dean goes full fanboy, mary is introduced to the wonders of the peter jackson adaptions, many references and comparisons (including between cas and dean’s ‘friendship’ and arwen/aragon). also charle is still alive and has just been doing fairy stuff this whole time.

There Are Many Things - explicit/28k, s9. cas is extremely lonely/touch-starved and trying to figure out this whole human thing, as well as where he and dean stand after being kicked out of the bunker.

It's A Long Life to Always Be Longing - teen/40k, post s11 finale. amara helps dean by putting him in a magical coma so he can finally get some much needed rest and show him possible futures for him, sam and cas. meanwhile sam and cas go on a roadtrip (or several) to find componets for a spell to wake dean up. really good sam and cas friendship, they actually talk about their shared lucifer trauma and stuff.

Non-Photo Blue - gen/2k, s4/5/alternate s5. fifty moments from cas’ memories of dean.

Tall Grass - explicit/57k, canon divergent post series. cas becomes the ultimate plant dad. feat the wayward sisters gang, cathartic character growth, fun oc’s, domesticity, and lots of actual botanical info-dumping.

on vessels - no rating/gen/2k. established dean/cas, cas tells dean about how he used to imagine what it would be like to have him as his vessel.

search for tomorrow on every shore* - teen/11k, post-finale (extremely derogatory). some angels in jack’s new heaven act out and dean gets temporarily resurrected in 2003 and runs into his younger self.

Architecture of the Minotaur’s Heart - explicit/45k, very canon divergent post s1. dean’s new house seems to have a life and mind of its own, while in his dreams he sees glimpses of a world and apocalypse that never came to be and an angel that looks strangely like his mysterious neighbor, cas. loosely inspired by the book house of leaves (which i highly recommend for fans of weird horror).

The Distance Of The Setting Sun - explicit/17k, post s5. established dean/cas relationship, team free will finally takes advantage of cas’ abilities to go on vacation around the world.

diamond star halo - teen/5k, s11. dean lets cas use him as a temporary vessel while he recovers from rowena’s spell, sam is a long-suffering third-wheel.

Make Known** - teen/16k, s6/7. dean struggles to understand how cas could have become his enemy and whether he ever truly knew him in the first place.

blunt little instrument* - mature/1.4k, post finale. dean finally confronts his father in heaven, very cathartic.

my heart a compass*** - teen/10k, post confession. the empty forces cas to re-experience his most regretted moments while dean tries to snap him out of it and bring him home.

A Crash Course in Someone Else's History - teen/11k, s6. cas from the very start of s4 is brought forward in time by s6!cas to distract the brothers from his and crowley’s plans.

The Cuckoo Father - mature/8k, s7 au. the woman who found cas in the river post-leviathans does not marry him bc he was sent to her by god or whatever, but actually identifies him as jimmy novak and sends him back to claire and amelia.

The Dead Dean Clause* - teen/5k, post alt s5 ending. team free will celebrates surviving taking down lucifer by getting blitzed, cas lies to a cop and gets an impromptu driving lesson. title/description sound dark i know but it’s actually very funny and light.

Suck It, Judy Garland - mature/20k, s12 (after the ‘i love you...i love all of you’ episode). cas and sam have to pretend to be a couple for a case and dean is NOT happy about it.

By Daylight and In Dream - teen/16k, s5. pre-dean/cas, dean invites cas to use his dreams to hide from the other angels. tw for very brief mention of a memory/dream of alastair sexually assaulting dean.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven - mature/22k, post-canon. an actually happy (if sometimes bittersweet) heaven endgame written several years ago, though some details are rather eerily similar to the show’s ending.

heaven is a place on earth* - teen/2k. dean’s pov of some of the times cas left him behind throughout the show, and one alternate ending where he finally gets to stay.

I Cleanse The Mirror - teen/20k, alternate s6. dean’s body is stolen by an ancient elemental and his soul has to hitch a ride in cas’ vessel.

an exploration of gender; angelic*** - mature/4k. *oscar isaac voice* lets get into angel gender politics!! aka cas is trans.

Zenith - explicit/33k, s9. after 9x06 an angry witch curses cas with the ability to see supernatural beings and human souls.

La cucina. - gen/3k, alt s9. dean goes wild helping a newly-human cas find out what kinds of food he likes, or the early s9 domesticity we deserved!

Dean Winchester, Cocksucker at Rest***** - teen/7k, post-finale. john and mary finally come over for dinner and john reacts to dean/cas in a rather predictable fashion. SOOOOOOOOO good omg, its so funny and a little sad and very very cathartic. part of a series that has a few other really good short fics.

The Way You Didn't Go - teen/5k, s15. coda to 15.09, dean has nightmares about the moc!cas timeline.

On Drowning - teen/28k. dean saves cas after he nearly drowns, they both try and deal with the physical/mental fallout (aka the fic where thee iconic “you only touch me when you think I’m dead or dying” originates). tw for realistic depictions of drowning/triage/misc medical information.

The Thirty-Six Questions That Lead to Love* - mature/13k. claire has dean and cas pretend to be her gay dads for a case and they play the titular 36 question game, get mistaken for swingers, and birdwatch, among other things.

Assorted F/F stuff:

Deep Breaths* - mary/ellen, au where mary said no to azazel’s deal and let john stay dead, still becomes a milf.

Like Rebel Diamonds - krissy/claire, they become hunter gf’s on the hunt for cas to kick his ass for taking jimmy. not-so-stealth dean/cas as well.

To Ash and Bone - anna/ruby, same author as the previous fic (p much all of her stuff is good from what i recall). au where ruby is a witch and helps anna when she’s cursed.

Holy Clockwork Angels - jo/ruby, STEAMPUNK au with very cool worldbuiilding.

At Day's End - jo/anna (my fucking KINGDOM for more jo/anna content, the dean/cas parallels are allllll there), au where they are both at the camp in the endverse and gfs.

these posts - ok so not actually a fic but i’m now obsessed with this hannah/meg dynamic.

Tagelied - mary/ellen, the true story of how ellen got into hunting before angels interfered.

Hell's Bells** - meg/abaddon, alternate s8/9 where meg survives crowley’s attack with sam’s help and teams up with abaddon (who she has a sk year old crush on) to take back hell.

The Ecstasy of the Rose - anna/ruby, anna travels back in time to escape heaven and becomes a signifigant part of ruby’s old human life.

Angel Underground - anna/jo, kind of an urban fantasy au with a very intriguing premise (sadly its very short, i’d love to see more if this ‘verse).

Clover, Flame - billie/mary, billie was always the reaper that showed up to take mary after her death(s) over the years.

Drag Me To Heaven - anna/ruby, a variant on the ‘last night on earth’ thing with dean.

Come Home* - jo/anna, canon-divergent au where anna is the new waitress at the roadhouse and helps jo set up a (probably not really) haunted house for halloween.

[un-pearable]

OH YEAH i forgot to send my season 10 thoughts. so like, not too much to say here honestly, because the season is like 4 episodes long. this season is definitely by far and away my most favorite season since the soft reboot. im so very delighted they brought back seasons one and two classics such as "living with evil lord garmadon who tried to kill us all last week and its really awkward and also he is the pettiest person alive" and "lets go crawling to garmadon to fix the problems which were too much for us to handle".

also garmadon has a conversation about the meaning of life with some complete rando and it is definitely the highlight of the entire season. the entire past three seasons combined, even. frankly all the suffering i went through back when i first started s8 was worth it for these like 45 seconds alone. i laughed so hard and am now obsessed with this concept.

im just going to copy paste my live discord reactions because i dont have that much to say. well i do have a bit to say but its more on irrelevant, tangentially related things as opposed to the season itself since it was relatively straightforward

also btw the writers really need to find a better way to make cole relevant than "killing" him. frankly. he deserves so much better than what these writers are giving him

this season. this season btw the writers did something that made me REALLY proud of them. i was so pleasantly shocked i was baffled i was FLOORED. okay so at the beginning of the season jay briefly brings up the tornado of creation that they used back in like seasons 1/2 a handful of times and then proceeded to never use again and frankly its been bugging me for the past few weeks that they just. never.... did anything with it, at all. and i was even MORE annoyed that they brought it up bc i knew that we werent going to use it because these writers hate spinjitsu now apparently.... but. i was wrong. they used it at the end to beat the snot out of all the oni and i was. i was losing my mind i was so shocked i was so surprised i was so proud. live reaction here

also, on other ninjago things i have been pondering for the past few days: how much, exactly, oni blood does garmadon have?

like ok because the fsm was half oni half dragon (despite having a human(? they never show his face but garmadon and wu look human so ……. ????? presumably) appearance) and then in the episode that they reveal the whole oni dragon thing in, its super implied that garmadon got the oni blood and wu got the dragon blood but 1) they both look human and 2) why doesnt garmadon have the horns/teeth. also when garmadon and lloyd go into the weird cloud stuff garmadon is 1000% sure he'll be fine because he's oni, but he says he doesnt know about lloyd bc lloyd is only part oni, but technically isnt garmadon only part oni as well ??? they also, notably, say that lloyd has both dragon and oni in him so that would mean that garmadon ALSO has dragon in him so clearly he isnt pure oni but also when everybodys beating the snot out of the oni army the leader dude seems to think that garmadon is pure (?) oni so. WHAT. also also did the fsm just like create garmadon and wu out of nothing (and, if so, bro why did you dump the evil blood into one of them you simply couldve Not Done That) or did they have a mom. i want to KNOW

also question number 2: …………………………. why does garmadon have four arms when he gets resurrected. one of the oni masks gives the user four arms but none of the other oni have four arms, and also in season 1 garmadon says he has four arms because he needs to be able to wield the four golden weapons. i think. maybe. it was something along those lines. either way when he was in the underworld he only had two and after he got out he manifested them out of nowhere so why the heck does he have four arms again

also. btw since this entire ask is basically just about garmadon i think its time to pull out this message i sent to goose right when i started ninjago again and like... yeah i know myself too well

i have also started s11 i've gotten like a few episodes in and honestly incredibly jarred by the massive tonal shift AGAIN (like bestie i was JUST getting used to the last one give a girl a BREAK) and ... things that will probably not get adequately wrapped up or addressed despite the fact that i DESPERATELY want them to be because now we're going back to fun and stupid adventures and not acknowledging ANYTHING from the past 3 seasons: 1) the old tea lady, just as a concept. she didnt really contribue that much to the plot but i have so many questions. just like in general. shes an oni but doesnt seem to have any inclination to destroy things. why is that. how did she die/is she dead. garmadon seems to know her despite not having interacted with her prior on screen - how? she knew the fsm so like was she garmadon and wu's weird aunt??? why did the writers decide to make her exist when she barely has any narrative purpose?????? who the heck is this lady honestly 2) lloyd's trauma rollercoaster, just in general, but also more specifically regarding harumi. at the end of s8 its heavily implied that lloyd is going to have trust issues from this point on but then its never brought up again, and now its really never going to get brought back up again. for the past three seasons lloyd has been miserable and horrifically upset and been retraumatized so many times but now he is just. fine. hes happy now i guess. and realistically we're not going to go back to any of that. and im ANNOYED about it. 3) jay and naya getting engaged (????????????????????????????????????????) 4) garmadon's entire subplot, just as a thing. honestly i would not be surprised if they just left him Like That for the rest of the series. it kind of seemed like they were angling to bring him back to seasons 1 & 2 garmadon (or... something. either way they were going somewhere with that, definitely) during s10 and we are probably going to just drop that again. 5) garmadon & wu being half oni/half dragon. or 1/4th oni 1/4th dragon (and also lloyd's oni/dragon heritage) because, as previously stated, i am HORRIFICALLY confused on this entire front, but either way that never really became relevant in any meaningful way and im annoyed about it. its like they were going to do something with it and then… never really got around to it. honestly i was kind of expecting lloyd to get a mini arc abt him wondering if he's going to end up like current garmadon in regards to the oni blood thing but then it………. never happened. thanks, ninjago writers

also, the team voltron human rights violations i mentioned making jokes about

thrilled that garmadon gets to be fun again... your big bad being the comedic relief is the trope of the century. let alone him doing that by just doing normal ass things. also incredibly funny how much your conversations have been mirroring mine lately asdkjffj. garmadon sells the dad-visiting-the kid's-first-place-after-moving-out-and-messing-with-the-thermostat wonderfully. but the thermostat is the controls to a logistically impossible flying crime-fighting ship.

garmadon. saving girls from complicated relationships one accidental and incredibly awkward interruption at a time. lets be real you can't tell me misako and wu would have worked out at all garmadon was doing them both a favor /j. also great work with the screencaps i desperately want that to be a new meme format

yes yes YES the return... the tornado of creation is such an artifact of ninjago's earliest plans to be just 40 minutes i'm SO glad it got its due.

ah yes,, predictability my old friend. i went into rejoining the fandom expecting to latch onto The (Allegedly) Normal Ones and yeah. i did. the garmadon appreciation came completely out of left field for me though but im VERY glad it did. highlight of my year. the garmadon and lloyd dynamic could keep me in the fandom singlehandedly if I didn't already have incredible amounts of brainrot about zane.

aside from the incredibly valuable human rights information (that is making my night) i think the biggest takeaway from this thrilling round of psuedolive-blogging is the series' perfect new tagline:

thank you wu. great work buddy.

[halsteadshailey]

So you are seeing someone?

upstead fluff/angst one shot

Hailey meets someone while working with the FBI in New York but when she comes home to her partner, her best friend, how long will that relationship last?

can also be read on wattpad or ao3

——

set at the beginning of s8 after hailey gets back from ny (i’m going with hailey being in new york for 4 weeks bcos i’m not sure if they ever told us how long she was supposed to be there but i know tracy she was supposed to be in more fbi eps but cldnt bcos of corona , sorry if this is wrong)

*slight language*

——

For the first couple of weeks that Hailey had been out in New York to work with the FBI, her and Jay had FaceTimed religiously. In the morning on the way to work, whenever they could both catch a break at the same time, and on their drives home, most importantly though, once they were both home and settled. It was as close to ‘their thing’ they could get after a long day of work while separated by hundreds of miles.

After about 14 days, Jay was starting to notice something different about Hailey, they were calling less, even her texting game was off. She was starting to be busy more frequently in the evenings and her texts had become rare, short and sweet.

On the Wednesday evening of her third week away, Jay decided to bring it up while they were on FaceTime.

“Hey what’s been going on over there?” he questioned “I feel like we haven’t talked in ages”

Hailey’s brows furrowed a little as she struggled to think of what to say, anything to say to avoid Jay finding out about Liam, she wasn’t ready to tell him and definitely not over the phone when she wasn’t even sure how serious things were.

“Yeah, sorry about that, we’ve had lots of tough cases, I’ve been working late” she said.

Her partner knew she wasn’t telling the truth, he could always tell. However, he didn’t want to push, it wasn’t worth it after the long day that he’d had and he knew that Hailey would tell him whatever it was when she wanted to so he settled on saying:

“Don’t work yourself too hard” with a chuckle.

The two spoke for a little bit longer after that, Jay telling Hailey about all the weird things Kev and Adam have been up to and Hailey realising how much she misses her Intelligence family, not that she would ever tell Jay that.

A few days passed and all the interaction that the detectives had had with one another was through text, but when Saturday came around Jay needed to change that.

It was around 10:30pm when he shot her a text:

‘Hey, I know it’s late but I just got home from a tough case and was wondering if you’re free to call?’

Luckily for him, Hailey replied to Jay’s text only a few minutes later by calling him.

“Hey how are you?” she said when she saw that her partner had connected to the call.

“I’m ok, just needed to do our thing i guess” the emphasis Jay put on the ‘our thing’ was slight, but it was there. “How are y-“ he paused.

“What?”

“You’re wearing make-up, you never wear make-up, am I interrupting something? A date?” Jay teased.

Without thinking, Hailey replied with “As a matter of fact, you texted me just before dessert so it was actually perfect timing”

Jay froze, trying to process that words that he just heard. It’s not like he thought that Hailey wasn’t allowed to go on dates, he didn’t own her. But he was jealous, a lot more jealous that he would care to admit. Deep down he knew that it was his fault, he’d had feelings for Hailey for a long time and didn’t do anything about it because ‘nothing good comes out of a workplace romance’ or whatever bullshit he had told himself.

“Was it not going well? If you wanted to get out of there before dessert I mean” he clarified.

“No, no, it was going great. I just meant it made an ok place to stop so I could check on you” she responded.

“I’m sorry, you shouldn’t have left, if I had known I wouldn’t have texted” Jay said, in an attempt to clear the air. Their conversation had become quite stale and neither of them were willing to accept that it was just awkward.

“Jay, stop” Hailey said, causing her partner to crack a small smile. “If you need to talk to me after a bad case, that’s the only place I want to be. I’m always here for you, even when we’re this far away” the last part was delivered with a bit of scorn.

“Thanks Hailey, and you too” he said, lifting a little bit of weight off both of their shoulders as they began to flow back into normal conversation.

Another week had passed and Hailey had told Jay a little more about Liam, but only if it came up in conversation so currently all he knew was his name and his job and what his coffee order is (he’d heard Hailey getting it for him while they were on FaceTime). She quickly realised that Jay didn’t enjoy listening to her talk about him so she tried to keep it lowkey.

During her last few days in New York, Hailey and Liam came to the mutual decision that they wouldn’t take the relationship any further. They had a lot of fun while it lasted but they both knew that long distance relationships were a lot of effort and with the jobs they had, it would just but impractical.

While she was waiting in the airport for her flight back to Chicago, Hailey found herself saddened by the fact that her and Jay hadn’t texted or called for a couple of days so she opened her phone, pulled up Jay’s contact and called it.

No answer, so she texted.

‘About to board my plane, just wanted to check in’

Jay sent a response quickly.

‘Sorry, deep in a case. Have a safe flight, text me when you land’

She decided to shrug it off but Hailey knew something wasn’t right.

The journey felt like years but after her flight and a taxi ride home, Hailey was finally back in her own apartment in Chicago. It was 2am when she arrived so when she reached her bedroom she quickly changed and got straight into bed, falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The next morning she got up, easily slipping back into her normal routine and went to work. Voight had had offered for her to take a few days to get settled back into Chicago and sleep off the jet lag but she politely declined as she just wanted her normal back.

The day went pretty slowly, no major cases, but Jay was acting different and Hailey knew it. When she first showed up at work she got warm welcomes from Trudy and the whole unit but nothing from Jay, they barely said two words to each other all day that weren’t work-related and it was making Hailey a little upset.

Since they had spent most of the day doing paperwork, the team got sent home at a reasonable time. Adam and Kim left together closely followed by Kevin as Voight silently worked in his office.

Hailey entered the locker room where she knew she would find Jay, and she was right.

As she hesitantly walked through the doorway, Hailey spoke. “Can we talk?”

Jay wasn’t facing the door when his partner walked in but, upon hearing her voice, he quickly adjusted his positioning on the bench he had planted himself on to grab his stuff from his locker so he was looking at her.

“Sure” he replied softly, pretty confident he knew what she wanted to talk about.

“Come over to mine in about half an hour?” Hailey asked.

Jay nodded in response and they both grabbed their things and walked to the parking lot together.

They walked in silence but it wasn’t their usual, comfortable, silence. The air around the two was stiff. Either way, it wasn’t long before they reached their cars and headed their separate ways.

Almost exactly half an hour later, Hailey heard a knock at her door. She got up from her position on her couch and went to answer the door, knowing it would be her partner on the other side.

“Hey” Jay said with a weak smile as Hailey opened the door and he walked inside.

He set his jacket on one of the hooks by the door as he always did when he was at her apartment and made his way to her couch.

Sitting in silence on opposite ends of the furniture both detectives waited for the other to talk first and after a few uncomfortable seconds, Hailey decided that it was probably fair for her to talk first seeing as she was the one who wanted to talk to him and she invited him over.

“What is going on with you?” she asked, not wanting to beat around the bush, just getting straight to the point.

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh come on Jay, don’t give me that crap. You haven’t spoken to me at all since I got back from New York so I’m sorry for assuming my best friend would have more to say after I left for 4 weeks” Hailey rebuked at Jay’s easy response.

“I guess I figured you’d wanna catch up with the team rather than talk to me seeing as we spoke to each other so much while you were over there” he said but Hailey knew that wasn’t the truth.

She started to get angrier but did her best not to show it and kept her cool.

“Well that’s a load of bull” she snapped. “We both know that over the second half of my trip we barely spoke, compared to the first two weeks anyway”

“Oh and thats my fault?” Jay jabbed back, beginning to feel anger rise in himself. Still, they both sat in the same spots on the couch and neither raised their voice.

“Well is it mine?” Hailey replied.

“More like your boyfriend’s” Jay murmered without thinking.

Hailey couldn’t believe what he had just said.

“Is that why you’ve been weird for these past weeks?” She asked “You’re jealous of Liam?”

That word ‘jealous’ played with his head but Jay didn’t reply, still regretting even bringing it up.

“Not that its any of your business, but he wasn’t my boyfriend” Hailey hissed and moved her body to a much more upright position, but keeping their eye contact. “It was a two-week fling, it didn’t mean anything” she continued with a quizzical look on her face.

“Wait so you guys aren’t together anymore?” Jay asked, a little taken aback by what his partner had just said.

“No, we ended things the day before I left because we agreed it was just a bit of fun and neither of us had the want to try a long distance relationship.” she said while relaxing back into the couch again.

Silence fell in the room for a moment as Hailey waited for Jay to say something but instead he just stayed where he was and his brows furrowed.

“Is that really why you’ve been acting weird?” she finally asked when she realised Jay had no intention of speaking.

Still not saying a word, Jay shrugged his shoulders a little embarrassed that he had even made this into a thing, it’s not like he could control who Hailey was dating.

“Oh my god will you please say something or I’m abut to get really mad” she exclaimed with a little more volume.

Jay had no idea what he could say without confessing his feelings right there in the middle of her living room so he kept his mouth shut which really pushed Hailey over the edge.

“Jay” she scoffed “for fuck’s sake what are you doing? You’re in no place to act like this because of a guy I dated for like a minute, last time I checked this partnership wasn’t an exclusive relationship and I can date whoever the hell I want” she began to stand up and continued “Just because you’re not looking for someone doesn’t mean I can’t be”

In reality, both of them knew exactly who they really wanted to date and it was none other than the person right in front of them at that very moment but neither were ready to admit that. Or so they thought, Jay’s mind had other plans.

“Who says a haven’t already found them?” Jay whispered, loud enough for Hailey to hear.

That was the second time this evening that Jay had said something that was meant to be kept in his head. ’God I really need to think more before I speak’ he thought.

“What?” Hailey asked, sitting back down.

“I didn’t mean-“ Jay began.

“So you are seeing someone” Hailey cut in.

“What?” his forehead creased “no, I’m not seeing anyone” he said truthfully.

“But you just said you found-“

“You, Hailey” and he did it again, Jay spoke before he could stop himself. However, this time, it proved to work in his favour, as a large smile appeared on his partner’s face.

For Chicago’s best detectives, both Jay and Hailey looked pretty stupid right now. But not stupid in a bad way, stupid in a huge-smile-on-your-face-don’t-know-what-to-say way.

For a second, they both remained still, not entirely sure what had just happened and where to go from there. Then Hailey made a spur of the moment decision and launched herself at Jay.

First she put a hand on his cheek and that was quickly followed by her placing her lips to his and pulling her leg over his knees so she was sitting in his lap and they were face to face.

Without ever breaking the kiss, Jay’s hands momentarily explored Hailey’s body, mainly moving up and down her torso, whereas Hailey kept both hands on his cheeks or gently around his neck, softly touching the hair on the back of his head.

Both were very content as it felt like the whole world was slipping away and they were all that existed. Hailey could feel a huge smile on Jay’s face as they kissed and it only made hers grow wider as their tongues intertwined and they bit at each other’s lips.

Though they had exchanged no words further than Jay implying that Hailey was all he was looking for, neither of them felt it was necessary.

Since they day they had met, the two had gone from strangers, to partners, to best friends, to admitting they trust each other more than anyone else and would follow each other blind. But they had always been Hailey and Jay, and thats exactly what they were that night, nothing had changed between them apart from the enormous weight that was their unspoken love for each other was lifted off their shoulders and they were just Hailey and Jay.

[takaraphoenix]

Grey’s Anatomy: Review

Took me four months, but I have successfully watched all 16 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy - and what there is of season 17. Figured it deserves some words.

HOLY SHIT I LOVE THIS SHOW? SO MUCH?

(To set the appropriate mood for this and give you a TL;DR.)

That being said to open it up, it is most definitely not flawless. So let’s start there. For me, the one big flaw it has is really the writers’ cuckolding kink. So. Much. Cheating. And - worse than the cheating plots - the cheating apologism. They echo the exact same sentiment so often, that cheating is only one mistake and humans make mistakes. That’s... at one point, that stops being a plot device and starts to be very telling about the writer, to be quite frank.

That being said, let’s roll out the positive. And let’s kick it off with something that relates to all the cheating; so many forced love-triangles, but they usually don’t include toxic rivalries. It’d be so easy to have the men throw punches over the women or the women pull hair and scratch each other’s eyes... so many other rom-drama shows do it already, after all. But, honestly, the two lose ends on the love V (because these things ain’t triangles) usually have such a good dynamic with each other, ranging from civil to friendships to deep mentor ships - Meredith and Addison, Mark and Jackson, Cristina and Teddy? Seeing these dynamics, quite frankly, makes having to sit through a love-triangle-nonsense actually more than bearable.

The most impressive thing about the show is, to me, the amount of rep on it. I mean sure, the main lead is white and I’d estimate half the overall cast are white, but even from the get go - in 2005 - the ratio of white actors versus actors of color in the main cast was five to four. And they’re not background or side characters - I mean, two of them are, aside from Meredith, the only ones to still be around on season 17. They all have their own plotlines, their own relationships and troubles and struggles. It’s not just the Meredith show, not by far.

And beyond that, the queer rep on this show is... honestly mindblowing? I mean, seriously?

They introduced their first queer character in season 2, in 2005, when other procedual dramas that aired then in large parts just... never... added queer characters. And sure! Joe was only a recurring character and not a main character, but he was recurring for six seasons, he recurred a lot, he got established, he and his husband partook in the plot. And, again, this was just the beginning, back in 2005.

They’ve since then steadily broadened their horizon and become more inclusive.

Recurring and main character wise, we’ve had 5 lesbians, 5 bisexual women, 4 gay men and 2 trans characters over these 17 seasons. That’s a very solid list, honestly. If I look at other shows, again especially procedual dramas that are still largely aimed at a more conservative audience, the fact that we’ve had actual queer storylines in every single season since season 2? That’s amazing.

Even more so on the one-off characters, to be quite honest. Just... casually, this patient has two moms, this man is visited by his husband, here the child of the patient is nonbinary, look this patient is in a polyamorous relationship. Sure, those are only the one-off episodical characters, but you have no idea how much that matters too.

I know I’m repeating myself with this, but especially when compared to other procedual dramas, where the characters are often only queer when it’s important to the plot. He got beaten up and ended up in the hospital because he was gay. She got killed because she was trans. They’re motivational and important to the plot (and also usually used to victimize the characters).

The fact that this show, even 10+ years ago already, just... included queerness as part of our reality, included it casually, positively and repeatedly - really, it’s not just like it’s one episode per season like it’s some obligation, it happens a lot? For no actual needed plot reason, she just has a wife and she’s just happily married to her wife and that’s it, because queer people exist.

And I just, I struggle to express how much this casual rep means to me? And how it becomes even more amazing if you consider how long ago it started? And if you add to it the steady prominent recurring/main character rep?

Sure, it’s not perfect - the majority of their characters of color are black; it’s not overly diverse when it comes to what characters of color it included, it took forever to include the second Asian character and the first Muslim character and it could feature a broader variety of ethnicities, just like it could offer a broader variety of queer experiences, I mean it took them forever to introduce the first mlm main character and they have yet to include a bisexual man, I’d also just love to see an ace character or a polyamorous character, to paint a contrast to the sex-obsession and cheating plotlines - but... it’s doing more than many others and I do think it deserves praise for that and it keeps improving. They didn’t just add Erica and Callie as the first wlw couple and then stuck to only having two queer ladies on screen at the same time and never more, just constantly replacing Callie’s girlfriend. They kept adding more, they keep adding more.

Now, on to my absolute favorite thing about this show.

Because, let’s make one thing clear, I hate cheating and under other circumstances the amount of cheating on this show would have driven me off it ten seasons ago. But despite all of the very forced romance drama and sex obsessed allos on the show, that is not the show’s main focus.

This was never mainly about the romance. It’s always been about the platonic relationships first and foremost. Romances changed and broke up and got complicated, but what prospered were the friendships and found family relationships.

Cristina and Meredith are the defining relationship of this show. They are... friendship portrayed in a way I have never seen friendship portrayed before. The writing on their dynamic is just amazing.

And when Cristina leaves the show, the shift to Meredith-Alex and to the sister-dynamic between Meredith, Maggie and Amelia really works.

Personally, after watching the show, I’ve come to divide it into three arcs, each with a Part A and a Part B.

The first arc of the show - spanning seasons 1 to 5 - are about Meredith, Cristina, George, Izzie and Alex. And they explore the dynamic between those five and the individual relationships between them all, so very well. This was really found family done right.

Arc 2 is what I dubbed the rebranding arc - seasons 6 to 10. In Part A (s6 to s8), we got the focus on the Mercy West merger, ending in the horrific plane crash. While Part B is what I call the outfall, season 9 dealing with the outfall from the plane crash and season 10 being all about that Meredith-Cristina outfall.

I love Arc 1 a whole lot, it’s really good. I think Arc 2 is good too, especially the plane crash and its outfall were very gripping and well done, but I do think that this middle part earns the dub as rebranding because it feels like the show itself is trying to find its footing, trying to figure out a direction after MAGIC graduated into residents (and, inevitably, fell apart with the death of George and the departure of Izzie). It’s a bit unfocused on where it wants to go and I still loathe the big misunderstanding nonsense of season 10 (but am glad that Meredith and Cristina rekindled before Cristina’s departure).

Arc 3 is the sisters arc, where the Meredith-Maggie-Amelia dynamic rules, with a more uneven split between A and B, because A spans seasons 11 to 16 for me and is lovingly dubbed the Merlex arc by me, while B is just... season 17; the corona pandemic is really shifting the tone and focus and it coincides with the departure of Alex.

I’m more mixed on it than I am on the other two. For me, Cristina and Meredith just are the heart and soul of the show, so despite just how brilliantly they handled that all, I still miss them (though I greatly appreciate the fact that she still regularly comes up through phone calls, texts, etc). I greatly disliked Alex’s departure (which is a rant of its own).

On the overall, I would actually rank them in order - the first five seasons were my favorite, followed by the awkward middle because it still added brilliant things to it regardless, and despite coming in last, I do also love the second half of the show with the sisters in the focus.

I do admit that I had high hopes that Jo would become Meredith’s new person in season 17, considering the tremendous growth their relationship had - especially considering how Meredith crawled into Jo’s bed and was the one to coax what had happened with her mother out of her; that was “my person” behavior, quite frankly, and I also thought that Alex’s departure might bring them closer. I truly did not like Alex’s parting words to Meredith that she’s always been her own person.

Well, duh. Meredith Grey is an absolute badass. Which, also a thing I love a lot about this show. She is so incredibly strong and brilliant and takes care of herself.

But the point of her having her person was never that she needed someone else to stand in for her; it was to have someone around whom she didn’t have to be that strong. Someone she could come to to be weak around, someone to have her back when everything became too much. You just... can’t do that for yourself. So that sentiment was just incredible rubbish and I will be very mad if they truly have her embrace that nonsense, because she deserves someone like that.

Lastly, let’s talk romantic relationships. Very broadly, I assure you - I wouldn’t even have the patience to tackle them all, I mean seriously everyone has had sex on this show, or so it feels (no but seriously, the amount of overlapping ships on this show is ridiculous).

The only note I do have on that is that... nothing lasts forever. Quite frankly, the most “endgame” ships on this show are Richard/Catherine and Ben/Miranda (which, bless them, those two are literally my favorite of the canon ships). Everything else is just... fair game? They change, they break up, even if you absolutely hate a ship - don’t worry, it’s gonna end soon.

And occasionally, that... is even more rewarding than seeing a couple you do like get together? I mean, honestly, watching a ship you dislike for x reasons and then having them break up on screen and a character actually listing x reasons to the other’s face? Very carthatic.

I also have to mention the adoption positivity; Meredith and Derek adopt a child, not as a last resort after all else has failed, but simply because they fell in love with that little girl, Ben and Bailey took in Joey, because they have big hearts. So often, adoption is only shown as that very, very last option after you wasted thousands of dollars on all other biological options and then it is like a tragic compromise or something. Seeing them just... fall in love with this baby and adopt her and love her is so refreshing?

This show is just... really, really good? The writing is brilliant. I mean, this show made me laugh more than some comedies have? It’s funny, poignant and... not overly dramatic? I mean, of course it’s dramatic - it’s a drama. But it’s more... grounded. Even with some outstandingly extreme things happening, it is still very down to Earth, compared to other dramas that feel the need to go higher and more bizarre each season. It’s incredibly consistent, it includes so much rep and actual plotlines for every character, it really draws out relationships - familiar, platonic, romantic - in such great details.

I just really love this show.

[morganas-pendragons]

Best Carol/Melissa Episodes

So I got bored in Quarantine and I was so moved by Look At The Flowers that I decided to make this list of the best episodes that either feature Carol/Melissa as a lead or she plays a large part in them. I haven’t seen S1-2 since like... 2014 as they’re my least favorite (i know i’m sorry but i did include honorable mentions) but I’m so freaking proud that I couldn’t not make this list. Here we go! Feel free to add to them! ** means they’re my favorite performances of Melissa! I do mention some scenes that are also with Norman/Daryl as he is a LARGE part of who Carol is. If you think it’s ‘’shippy’’ which it might be, don't read it. I worked on this for almost two hours. 

season 1

- for real, what woman keeps a grenade on hand? That was it. That was where I started paying attention to her. 

- also, the scene where she digs the pickaxe into Ed’s head? I think Daryl and I both fell for her then. 

season 2 

- the honorable mention!! the barn scene in which carol learns the fate of her daughter. I don’t remember most of s2, but this one I do. I think this might’ve been the first point in the show where I was like, “Hey Google, how to protect someone who isn’t real.’’

season 3

- walk with me: We get to see how Carol has changed during her time on the road after the farm and how much she’s learned. This is also, unfortunately, the last time we see her for a couple episodes until Daryl finds her in the cells below. 

- hounded: daryl finds carol. It’s sweet, it’s warm and soft and there’s alot of reunions and alot of mourning over T-Dog and Lori. 

season 4

- Carol has become a leader in her own right for this season. She teaches the kids how to defend themselves during the ruse of a story time and takes on Lizzie and Mika as her own after Ryan is bit. 

- indifference: After killing Karen and David to stop the spread out a virus, Rick takes it into his own hands to banish Carol. This one hurts too because it’s quite obvious why she did it. She did it to protect herself and the people she loves, but sometimes that’s just not enough. 

- the grove: emmy emmy emmy emmy material. Holy crap, I CANNOT stress this enough! This is the make or break episode for Carol as a character. There’s beauty and devastation and anguish all wrapped up into 45 minutes. This should’ve made Melissa well known. This should’ve won her multiple awards, and it didn’t. But we know. We know. 

season 5 

- sanctuary: this one goes down in history for multiple reasons, and most of us know them. 1.) Caryl reunions galore. Even if you don’t ship it, that moment is so, so sweet. 2.) If it weren’t for Carol, your fave would be dead. That’s literally it. 

- consumed: OOF. Really. 

- The back half of season 5 after the arrival at Alexandria is hilarious to me. Because these people are so sheltered from the darkness and the cruelty of the outside world that Carol takes on their own persona to blend in with them, to know the naivety of these people and to hide easily among them to get what she needs. This is also how she befriends Sam, who probably reminds her of Sophia which is why she’s so cruel to him. 

season 6 

- jss**: ‘’Miss Peletier, you are an honest to goodness hero.” No. Freaking. Way.  I remember watching this episode and rocking back and forth on my heels in anticipation because up until this point, I think this might’ve been one of the bloodiest moments in the show - and right in the center of it all is Carol - who is now of the mindset that, ‘’hey, we need to kill, we don’t have a choice.’’ and she portrays the internal struggle behind all of this so, so well. The scene with Melissa holding the body on the stairs was what won me over for this episode. It’s very much a merciless 45 minutes. 

- no way out: Carol is not a lead in this episode, but Melissa is very heavily influenced between this one and the previous because of her confrontation with Morgan. I remember how angry that made me, having to watch him bodyslam her (a former domestic abuse victim) against the floor. Outside of Carol, this episode is one of my favorites in the show. 

- not tomorrow yet/the same boat**: Carol moreso plays a bigger part in the latter as opposed to the former, but these two episodes really showcase two things: Her heart to protect her family (IE: A now pregnant Maggie) and her deteriorating mental state. Outside of The Grove, I think this is one of Melissa’s most powerful performances. it’s also the only female led ep in the show  

- east**: I cried the first time I watched this. Carol vs The Saviors, #2. This episode breaks between Morgan and Rick going out to look for her (HENCE ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE QUOTES ABOUT CAROL: “That woman, she’s a force of nature.) I don’t think I really understood the power behind the eyes in the midst of television until I saw this episode. I can’t find the gif, but I’m sure most of you who’re reading this know what I’m talking about. 

- last day on earth**: again this episode shifts between perspectives as TF is trying to get Maggie to Hilltop for her pregnancy complication, but Melissa is stellar here. Carol doesn’t want to love because if she loves, she has to kill, and she attempts to manipulate one of the survivors from the massacre into doing what she can’t: taking her own life. She just wants to go, and Morgan won’t let her. This one is a bit darker, and the episode as a whole is not my favorite, but it’s definitely up there in my favorite performances for Melissa. 

season 7 

- the well: if there was ever an episode that would show you that Melissa aces comedy, it was this one. This is meant to be an introductory to The Kingdom, but the hilarity behind the way Carol talks to Ezekiel is so entertaining. It’s kind of hard to believe she ends up marrying the man (we’re not going into shipper discourse here, friends) but this one also shows you something through Carol’s eyes: The differences between people and walkers and her desire not to kill. She wants to hide, and she does. 

- new best friends: Daryl lies to Carol about what happened in the clearing with Negan. This one is so so heartfelt. It’s deeply intimate. It showcases two people who’d move heaven and earth to ensure the safety of the other, both physical and mental and emotional. Norman and Melissa aced this. I can’t say it more simply then that. 

- bury me here**: I love love love love love this episode. The entire thing is a metaphor, but I love it anyway. If I remember right, this is also the one where Morgan tells Carol about Glenn and Abraham. Remember what I said about the power behind a look? This is another instance in which Melissa shows she is the master of this. 

- carol spends alot of the time at the kingdom for the rest of the season and i cannot really remember any more memorable performances for this garbage, as they took my fave and reduced her to a side character for this and most of s8.

season 8 

- the only performance i will give any credit to in this season is 8x04, which is Some Guy. I barely remember the rest of it. Minus the moment where she finally saves a kid - Henry - instead of losing one. And a heartbreaking moment between her and Morgan that I also barely remember. Case in point, S8 was and still is garbage. 

season 9 

- 9x01-9x05 all have Carol in them because whenever Angela Kang took over the show, she had the brilliant idea to actually use her lead women as leads. Season 9 feels like an eternity ago and I can’t remember if she took over before or after AL signed off, but my point remains. Between Carol’s loyalty to Ezekiel because of Henry, (who she has now taken as her son), and their marriage, and her short stint as the leader of the Sanctuary as Negan is in confinement, there’s something in Carol here we haven’t seen in years. It’s something akin to peace, or as close as she’s gonna get to it. 9x03 and 9x04 (particularly the conversation b/t Rick and Carol) are my favorite of this cluster for her. 

- I almost dropped off after 9x05. I thought that was it, I thought that was gonna be where I ended. Nope. This woman - AK- took this show and made it what it had been and I’ll never be able to thank her enough for it. 

- Who Are You Now: I only remember this one because of the scene where Carol and Henry are in the carriage - side note: I really need to go back and rewatch this season again - but one of the things that caught my attention about the after of the bridge was how the relationships b/t parent and child are approached as significant. They’re not the future. The adults are building for the future of the kids. Michonne/Judith, Ezekiel/Henry and Carol/Henry. It’s sweet. Very sweet. 

- Stradivarius: this is a very Caryl heavy episode, but we find out something here: Even with being married to Ezekiel, Carol has still gone out to see Daryl where he resides by the same river that took Rick. Henry sees the relationship between him and his mother. It’s as obvious as the nose on your face. This one is just adorable. I love it. 

- The Calm Before**: Ow. OW OW OW OW OW. You want more pain? Here you go! Carol faces the dark truth as she crests the hill that holds her worst nightmare: Henry has died. She’s lost another kid. You wanna restrain yourself from breaking through the TV to comfort Carol for the umpteenth time as she breaks? Cool. That’s what you get here. 

- The Storm**: Split apart by the death of Henry, Carol and Ezekiel no longer remain married. She gives up that fairytale - one of the happiest she’d ever had - and begins wallowing in her suffering over the loss of her son. Heartbreak and grief do not come easily to her. They never have. Can you imagine being suffocated by things you’ve never talked about? Can you imagine having to live every day with your grief? Well, look here... that’s exactly what Carol does, and you want to know who her guiding force is? 

It’s Daryl. 

season 10 

- I remember when Season 10 aired, I watched the first episode in Kenya and loved it. I’d heard something about how PTSD was a BIG factor in the progression of the story throughout this season, and as someone who wants to go into mental health counseling, I was so intrigued by this that every single episode kept my eyes glued to the TV. Carol is the lead female now besides Michonne, but I’m gonna tell you every single favorite episode of mine anyway. 

- Ghosts: Carol makes a mistake and fires at Alpha when they meet her at the border. She wears a mask that’s so composed it’s almost hard to see the heartbreak beneath it, and that’s the point. She’s not considering her life. She’s considering vengeance for the life that was taken. This is a constant circle for her. Alot of people are tired of this arc and I get it, I do. But the difference between this one and the three seasons previous is that we’re meant to get to a resolution now. This episode broke my heart. Especially the last scene in the gym. 

- Bonds: Another Caryl heavy episode. I love this one. It’s very lighthearted compared to the rest of the season. 

- Open Your Eyes**: This one is utterly terrifying and eerily reminiscent of the one in S2 where Daryl interrogates Randall. Carol, having just brought back a Whisperer from her escapade with Daryl, interrogates him to find out the location of Alpha’s horde without any real consideration for the people around her. She also uses Lydia for her own personal gain, and I’m not gonna lie - Even though this one is one of my favorites because of Avi Nash (WHO WAS SUCH A GOOD ADDITION TO THE SHOW I LOVED HIM AS SIDDIQ) This episode made me so angry because of Carol’s motives. 

-  The World Before**: And when I said I was angry, this episode turned it all into heartbreak. This one remains one of my favorite of the show and of Carol for one very specific reason: The scene in the woods between her and Daryl. 

As someone who has never done grieving well, this scene hit me so. hard. She’s so set on this path of vengeance and blood that she’s neglecting a very real truth that she has never done well: talking about her burdens, talking about the pain and if she does that, if she acknowledges it, then she will hurt. 

- Squeeze: I don’t have to talk about this. I just have to show you. 

Ow. Please, please let her heal. I’m so tired of seeing her hurt. 

- 10x11 and 10x12 don’t really have Carol, and neither does 10x13, but she’s there. We see her a couple of times, we have a conversation or two. Let me get to the penultimate moment. One we’ve waited for years to see and which next week will give us the rest of. 

- LOOK AT THE FLOWERS*****: You can be a Carol fan for five minutes or five years and still somehow managed to love her MORE after watching this one. There’s a couple reasons why this one is probably in my top 3 for both Melissa and Carol as a whole. 

1. I have waited years to see Negan meet Carol. JDM has made it very clear how he feels about MMB and I knew, I knew, that once this interaction happened I would not be disappointed. I should’ve realized she was the one who let Negan out, but I didn’t. That entire first scene is gold. 

2. This entire episode is just.. art. The fact that Carol’s darker side takes the form of the being of her hatred - Alpha - is fitting, and it’s also the first time we’ve really gotten an actual dialogue about multiple things that have formed her character for the last several seasons: The Grove, the loss of Sophia, Ed... It’s heartbreaking to see because she keeps telling herself pushing people away is better, it’s better to be alone because there’s no one to burden, and the darker side of her asks a very simple question: What do you want? 

Her answer is clear, at least to her. I want to be alone. But the fact that the darker part of her, the one that keeps calling out on Connie, doesn’t agree. No. There’s something deeper. Something she’s too afraid to acknowledge. 

3. That whole final scene. Wow. I’ve watched it like four times because Samantha Morton is just so good as Alpha, as Carol’s dark counterpart, trying to mock and taunt her into doing the one thing she never was able to do herself: Dying. This episode is dark because of this realization. “Look at the flowers’’ is akin to ‘’It’ll all be over soon.” but instead of choosing death, instead  of choosing the one thing that would let it be over, she chooses life. She essentially chooses to fight for herself which she has not done in YEARS. The minute she acknowledges that it’s never too late (FOR WHAT?? HM??) the demons disappear. I think that this point into 10x15 will give us two things that every Carol fan is desperate for: Healing for Carol (FINALLY!), and a resolution to this endless arc of suffering. 

Also... Why do we think that Daryl is the one who ends up welcoming her home? Why is he the one who opens the gate? 

Long story short: I love this character. I love Melissa McBride as she is one of the most down-to-earth, humble and compassionate actresses in Hollywood. It’s a shame she’s not gonna be recognized by The Academy because if ever there was an actor/actress on this show to win, it’d be her. 

[malyen0retsev]

Gendry’s arc this season isn’t about being a Lord. It’s about Arya.

I fully realise this week has aged us all by about a hundred years, so sanity went out the window for a few days, BUT, now we’ve all calmed down somewhat I would just like to point something out. 

Gendry’s rejection has a lot of people saying the only reason he was brought back was to make him a Lord, and that’s his arc this season. But that’s just wilfully choosing to ignore the actual way Gendry has been presented to us this season and is another reason why Gendrya is far from over yet. 

Every single one of Gendry’s scenes thus far in S8 are either shared with Arya or about Arya - the exception to this is literally just the Battle for Winterfell, where, interestingly, he is placed side by side with Sandor, who consistently keeps showing up next to these two characters. I ELABORATE.

GENDRY’S SCENES THIS SEASON:

1) Gendry arriving alongside Jon and Dany and the royal parade. Who’s perspective are we seeing his arrival from? Arya’s. What does Arya do upon seeing him again? Smiles happily. 

2) Gendry in the forges, scene opens with him giving Sandor an axe he’s made for him. Sandor being presented as this interesting ‘Light vs Dark’ juxtaposition against Gendry for Arya that we keep seeing. Sandor leaves, and this leads into his reunion with Arya, where jokes are made referencing their previous dynamic as children, she requests a weapon, and a flirtation and attraction is established.

3) Arya seeking Gendry out in the forges. She is eyeing him up, and he is flirting back with her. Asks him about her weapon, “It’s strong enough” flirtation. But alongside the flirtation is Gendry being the first one to actually show genuine care for Arya, knowing she’s not afraid, but wanting her to be safe. She responds by throwing the knives at the wall, and Gendry at this point is clearly very very attracted to her, staring at her in awe. 

4) Gendry seeks out Arya to give her the weapon she asked him to make for her. Stands in the shadows somewhat in awe of her archery skills now (as obviously he knew her when she was still learning with Anguy) before revealing himself. They have a conversation where Gendry reveals he’s Robert’s bastard, says what happened with Melisandre (a site of trauma for him), and opens up about how many sexual partners he’s had. All personal stuff.

5) Arya and Gendry sleep together, and it’s very obvious from the way Gendry looks up at her that this physical attraction he now has for her, blended with the trust and care they had established as kids, has turned into him being very very much in love with her now.

6) Gendry appears at the front lines of the Battle, arriving late - ha - with Sandor. The juxtaposition of Sandor with these characters continues. We then have the rest of the Battle of Winterfell. 

7) Gendry is looking around the Dinner Hall trying to spot Arya. Is sat with Sandor, again (for someone who claims to dislike Gendry so much, Sandor doesn’t half enjoy turning up around him all the time) and Gendry awkwardly takes a drink and asks Sandor if he’s seen Arya. Sandor looks at him with borderline despair-judgement, sees through this facade immediately “That’s where your head’s at” “I just want to thank her -” “I’M SURE YOU DO.” implying he knows something’s going on with them; and he lowkey approves of it.

8) Gendry gets up to start to actively look for Arya - and en route is accidentally legitimised. Yes, that’s a sentence we can actually say. ‘Accidentally legitimised’. This legitimisation finally gives him a sense of place. But the legitimisation itself isn’t what is important, it’s what he immediately does after.

9) Gendry frantically charging around the courtyard, pushing people aside. He was already off to go and find Arya, and now he needs to find her.

10) Gendry finds Arya, tells her he has been legitimised and kisses her. He then tells her she’s beautiful, and he loves her, and proposes marriage to her. He hasn’t grown up in the higher classes. He doesn’t understand what the term ‘Lady’ means. He has never viewed Arya as anything lesser than him - if anything, he views his Lordship as finally making the two of them equal. And Arya knows this, but has unfinished business, the system still scares her, and so she rejects the proposal; but kisses him as gently as she can, as reassuringly as she can. She doesn’t reject him, she rejects the structure he’s asking her to marry into.

Every. Single. Scene. Has been about or with Arya.

That to me is not an arc finished, and it’s also not an arc to me that shouts ‘THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS IS GENDRY BECOMING A LORD’. It’s an arc about two people who haven’t seen each other in years, have reconnected, and are in the process of falling in love with one another. Gendry is in the next two episodes. Arya’s with Sandor right now, who has been presented as somewhat of a contrast mediator in this dynamic. This arc is not over yet. Because if it was, it would render Gendry in the final two episodes entirely useless. This is a new arc which began this season. If it wasn’t important they wouldn’t have made his entire storyline be about it.

Oh and additionally - Joe literally said that Gendry’s storyline this season is very much about reconnecting with Arya, and that the only thing about the Lordship that matters is the place on hierarchy it finally gives him. Those comments are very in line with Gendry’s arc not being tied up with the Lordship, but being tied up with Arya.

[ectodog]

it’s the 4th anniversary of the premier of vld which of course means i have assembled a rough timeline for my descent into voltron special interest hell. it goes something like this:

- june 10 2016: vld season 1 premiers. i am none the wiser

- january 20 2017: season 2 comes out. this fact is irrelevant to me

- august 4 2017: season 3 happens. still not entirely sure what a “voltron” even is

- mid-august 2017: one of my friends cosplays keith. that’s cool. who’s keith?

- october 17 2017: season 4 arrives. that’s fine i guess

- march 2 2018: season 5 has entered the building. i am vaguely aware that i have known people who watched it at some point. the fandom is apparently “terrifying” but i survived homestuck, so i scoff at the concept and go on with my life

- june 15 2018: season 6 drops. i see a bunch of cool gifs and pretty fanart. coupled with the hype i have absorbed from the lead up to it, i wonder if i should give the show a watch

- june 16 2018: i start watching vld. two (four) episodes in and i love it. i can already tell i’m a hunk kinnie, and this brings me no end of joy

- june 28 2018: within two weeks, i have caught up entirely. i am thriving in the post-s6 hype

- july 20 2018: at sdcc, the Big Reveal happens. shiro is gay. he is a disabled main character of of colour in a wildly popular show for kids, and he is kind and brave and the pinnacle of masculinity, and he is gay. no matter your shipping opinions, this is incredible news and it’s hard to Not ride the high, so why bother trying? they show a trailer and announce the release date for season 7, and within hours a bunch of booted recordings of s7e1 are floating around online

- july 23 2018: my interest level has gotten to the point where i need to make a separate twitter for it, so i do. (fun fact: as of today, less than 2 years later, said twitter has over 7300 posts on it. my main, 4x that old, has ~30k)

- august 10 2018: season 7 is online at 1am my time. im selling at an artist alley all weekend, starting the following morning. i binge half the season anyway before passing out, and completely avoid the internet until i can watch the rest later that day

- october 5 2018: at nycc, the trailer for s8 and release date are revealed. i immediately book the announced day off work because i know i will want to watch the entire thing at once the second it’s out

- mid-october 2018: “leaks” of s8 start appearing online. pretty much no one in the fandom believes them, because no one Likes them. they seem ridiculous. people start making “leakverse” fanworks to feed some of the finale anticipation into, including me. no one really thinks they’re plausible at all

- december 14 2018: season 8 airs. i post a quick but heartfelt fanart before gearing up for 1am. it starts, and i cry. the first time they form voltron, i cry some more. things keep happening, and i keep getting tears on my screen, and i have to pause and start it over and over, but i live tweet the whole thing anyway. the leaks were... real. i come out of it unsure how i feel, exactly, but i am exhausted from the marathon and so immediately pass out

- the same day, after some sleep: im upset and confused as to why the finale season was so hollow. i see im not alone. it’s a rough week, feeling like something i love so deeply let me down so much. i realize it’s only been 6 months since i got into it - but, clinging to a deep sense of betrayal, i cry some more anyway

- the immediate aftermath: there are petitions and accusations of censorship and conspiracies about where the “real” s8 is. it’s hard not to get caught up in, or at least dragged down by, the lack of hype. no one who worked on the show says anything for days, weeks, months. fix it fanwork starts cropping up, and i surround myself in them. none of the excitement from before is there, not the same way it was. i start a new and highly ambitious piece of art out of spite. it’s left unfinished

- january 2 2019: lion forge releases the third volume of vld comics. no one really cares. i certainly don’t

- the intermediate aftermath: it becomes clearer by the day that the season was, simply put, a failure and a flop. no one liked it. kids cried over it and parents had no idea how to explain it to them. the fandom and community dim for a while, but i keep immersing myself in the trove of fanwork that already existed, and i start trying again to make some of my own

- may 29 2019: lion forge comics announces that they are not renewing their license to make more vld comics. that, coupled with the abysmally rated final season, seems to be the nail in the coffin for this iteration of the ip. there won’t be anything else official for vld. somehow, this sparks a renewed interest in me. despite everything, im more dedicated than ever before to preserve and proliferate my good experiences. i know this won’t be a blip in my history as a fan, so i’m determined to be happy with it, as best i can be

- the rest: is, as they say, history. as of now, i have something like 20 fanworks of my own in progress for vld. my ao3 bookmarks number in the 100s, and my to-read list is at over 250. ive made a concerted effort to be more active and engaged in the fandom, because it came so close to fizzling out, for me and maybe for everyone, but it’s brought me so much goodness that i cant and Won’t let that happen, not without a fight

it’s been just under 2 years since i decided to watch voltron on a whim. and it has honestly become a central part of my interests and identity in that time - but for the majority of it, it’s been because of fandom and fanworks, and that’s maybe what made it stick so well to begin with: the creative, varied, amazing parts of it that no network mandate could have offered on its own

this started as a way to catalog my journey into and through vld but honestly it kind of became a love letter to the fandom (at least, my corner of it). that’s what’s made these last years so special - what’s made them simultaneously fly by and feel like a solid constant. a dedicated, talented fan base who are capable of so much more than the constraints of the source material

it’s amazing to look back on, and incredible to keep looking forward to. we’ve all been told - “go, be great”

we have been, and continue to be. like the stars, and like my love for vld, it’s inevitable

so thank you all for the years of “great”. 🖤

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Predictions and Musings for 10b (Mostly Musings ;D)

Okay, let’s talk predictions. The big question everyone is asking is whether I think we’ll see Beth in 10x10, or, more broadly, when I think we’ll see her.

I’m not willing to rule out that we’ll see her in 10x10. If we do, I think it will be minimal. Like an after-the-credits scene where only the audience sees her, but none of the characters do. That said, as we head into 10b I’m feeling more and more like she won’t actually surface until the season finale. Again, not ruling out 10x10, and I’d be happy to be wrong. But that’s not my strong, gut feeling either.

I’ll explain why. And I’m going to frame this post in terms of clocks. We’ll talk about the clock in Edwards’ office in 5x08, the 10:16 clock in 7x08, and how I see the rest of the season playing out.

Let’s start 7x08. I’m not sure how me and my fellow theorists even got started on this, but we’ve been discussing it for the past week or two. It may just have been that someone (it really wasn’t me) remembered the clock.

So here’s the thing: when Daryl escapes the Sanctuary in 7x08, he runs into Dwight’s room after a vat of pickles spills in front of him. He hides there for a time before escaping. Behind him, when he runs down to the corridor is a clock that read 10:16. Now, during s8, most of us were still hoping Beth would appear sometime during or near the end of All Out War, so we weren’t seriously considering S10 for her reappearance at that time. So we weren’t sure what the clock represented.

Now, as we’re in S10, and we’ve had all these ridiculous clues that she’s about to reappear, the 10:16 clock becomes really interesting. Because 10x16 will be the season finale of this season.

Remember that in this scene, when Daryl goes into Dwight’s room, there’s a ridiculous amount of Beth symbolism. He eats peanut-butter, he looks at the chess pieces, several of which are reminiscent of Grady, there are fish on the wall (water), we see his scars, etc. And of course this is him escaping his imprisonment, which has heavy parallels to Beth being imprisoned at Grady. So everything about this scene screamed Beth.

But let’s talk specifically about what happens in front of the 10:16 clock. Daryl is trying to escape and some Saviors who are evidently handling food supplies drop a glass jar of pickles and it breaks, spilling across the corridor. That’s why Daryl runs into Dwight’s room. These Saviors talk about cleaning it up and he doesn’t want to be seen. He waits until they’re done cleaning up the mess and the corridor is empty again before making a break for it.

So, do you remember what’s up with pickles? Via the St. Nicholas/Pickle story (X, X, X) there should be three resurrections at some point. Daryl’s “I Never” line in Still about Santa Clause probably points to this. What Santa Clause/St. Nicholas will bring him is a resurrected Beth. 

(We also had a big emphasis on pickles during S7 via Eugene.)

But the myth says that St. Nick resurrected not one, but three boys/children/people depending on the version. I’ve theorized that the three resurrections will be the three remaining death fake out couples. (Glenn is dead for real, so not him.) I think the resurrections will be Beth, Rick, and Ezekiel. We haven’t seen Ezekiel’s death fake out yet, but I still think we will. And per Jerry’s shoe thing in 10x09, I think he’ll be involved.

Do all three resurrections have to happen simultaneously? I don’t think they HAVE to, but they COULD. And given that there’s a good chance that Beth and Rick are in the same place (helicopter people) I think there’s a good chance they will.

But the point here is that Daryl sees the pickles in front of the 10:16 clock. The way I’m interpreting that is that St. Nicholas will bring Daryl his gift at least in episode 10x16. So that’s why I think it’s less likely that we’ll see actually see her in 10x10.

Also, @wdway​ found something interesting in Slabtown that may support this:

“This is the scene where Beth has just come from Dawn's office and she is stopped in the hall by Dawn. It's always been strange about how this number was featured. I also want to point out the envelope type hang on the door if you enlarge it you can see that it's a pink (Pink Theory)…. Back to the number 5+5+6=16. So we have a 16 there's no true way of knowing if it's directed to this episode 16 or not.

Let's play around with what 16 and what these numbers in TWD world might look like as far as episodes. In s5e16 Conquer. In s5 series episode 56 was Self-Help. (Both very Beth-centric symbolism episodes.) Looking at 16, series number 16 was s2e10, 18 Miles Out (Beth’s suicide attempt). S1e6 was TS-19, the episode where TF was at the CDC eventually blew it up. (For this reference, see @angelthefirst1’s meta HERE.) By the way in the little library in the facility during a scene with Lori and Shane there is a 10-10 clock in the bookcase.”

But what does that mean for 10x10?

Well, let’s talk about the clock in Edwards’ office in 5x07. We’ve never done a very convincing job of figuring out what this clock points to. The hour hand points to the 10 while the minute hand points to the 8. Again, back in S5, we were definitely NOT thinking this pointed to S10. So there’s that. But even if we do so now, it seems to point to 10x08, the MSF. And MAYBE that’s a thing. I think there’s one way it could be, but overall it’s not terribly convincing. More on that in a minute.

But here’s the thing:

I actually think this clock may point to episode 10x10. Let me explain why. Warning: it involves math.

Due to Jesus’ death, we figured out that an hour represents a season as a whole, rather than the individual numbers pointing to episodes. That doesn’t work as there are only 12 numbers and 16 episodes. We saw the 9:30 clock behind Jesus and Carl in S7 and Jesus died in 9x08, which was exactly half-way through the hour/season. So I got out my trusty calculator and did some math. I tried this several different way and WAY over complicated it for myself. The easiest way to do it is this:

If you divide 1 hour 16 ways (by 16 episodes) each episode would be represented by 3.75 minutes. So if they want to point to something in episode 8, they would do 3.75 minutes multiplied by 8 episodes and you get 30. So they would point the minute hand of the clock toward 30 minutes (as they did with Jesus) to represent something happening in the MSF (episode 8). I hope that makes sense.

If you’re a visual person, check out this pie chart. If the minute hand is pointed at the 8 (40 minutes) then you divide that by 3.75 minutes for each episode, and you get roughly 10. Now, it’s not exact. It should be pointed at 37.5 minutes rather than 40. And honestly, it might be. This clock is very blurry because it’s in the background, and it may point to slightly before the 8. It’s just too hard to tell for sure.

Hence, I think this clock points to 10x10.

Now, anyone who reads @frangipanilove​’s posts knows her theory is that the 10x10 clock actually points to 10x11 for various reasons. (Read HERE). And I can totally get behind that. I don’t know how it will all play out but she’s got some amazing evidence and it won’t bother me at all if this is actually pointing to ep 11 rather than 10. What she and I have kind of settled on is that both episodes (10 and 11) are sure to be super-important.

Different clocks truly do need to be interpreted different ways. For example, the 10:16 I mentioned above. Applying the number system I laid out above to it doesn’t produce anything specific. So I really think that clock, which reads a time of 10:16, literally points to episode 10x16. For the 10:10 clock, this system KIND of works. It obviously wouldn’t point to 10x10, but it would be 10x02 or 10x03. Both those episodes had lots of TD symbolism in them, but nothing much beyond that. But of course 10x02 plays into your 2 and 11 theories, and the fact that 2x10 was 18 Miles Out.

And then there’s THIS POST about how the time 10:10 on a clock has historically represented when certain famous assassinations happened. So, it’s possible we shouldn’t be reading into the numbers on this clock at all.

I can totally see tptb using different systems for different clocks, specifically to throw us off and make the symbolism insanely hard to interpret.

But what will be in episode 10 and/or 11?

Obviously this is all speculation, but let’s return to this scene in 5x07 and some things I’ve mentioned earlier in the week. Beth goes into Edwards’ office to ask what medicine she needs to give Carol to save her. He tells her, and then she walks into the dark tunnel/hallway. They also talk about Beth having the “key” to the drug locker.

So I’m thinking what we’ll get in 10x10 or 10x11 is the “key” to where Beth is and it will have a lot to do with healing. Part of it is healing Carol. (I’ll talk more about Carol tomorrow because there’s a LOT going on with her right now and it ties directly into Beth’s return.) But I know a lot of people have theories that Beth will bring a cure for the zombie virus as well. I don’t harp on that overly much, but I think it’s a real possibility, especially with what we know of the helicopter people and them purifying water. So this scene in Edwards’ office was a direct foreshadow of when/how/in what manner Beth will return.

For me, I think it will be directly tied to Connie. I’ve been saying since the beginning of the season that 1) Connie would get a death fake out. We’ll have to wait and see what Daryl finds, but I think this episode was the beginning of Connie’s death fake out. I think he’ll either not find her and Magna at all (just gone) or else maybe he’ll find blood and her sling shot or something else that makes him think she’s dead. Eaten by walkers. So I think he’ll believe she’s dead and for him it will be a major replay of Beth’s death.

So if anything along those lines happens, I think that in episode 10/11 he’ll find out that she’s alive and where she is. You know how I keep saying he and Carol will jump on his bike and go look for someone, and I’ve said I think it will be Connie? Yeah, it’s really kinda happening that way, guys. I can’t say for sure they’ll go on his bike, but much like back in S5, they’ll leave together to go find someone who’s (most likely) been taken hostage by another group. In S5 it was Beth. Here, it will be Connie. And we’ve solved the problem of why Carol would go with Daryl: because the cave in was her fault and she has super-heavy guilt over it.

And I think Connie will end up where Beth is in some way and will help bring Beth back to Daryl, fulfilling the symbolism from 10x01 where she brought Dog to him on the beach. So I’m thinking we’ll learn Connie’s whereabouts in ep 10/11 and while it won’t be about Beth in an obvious way, it will lead to her. And maybe Daryl will finally come face to face with Beth in 10x16. That’s what I’m hoping for, anyway. But again, these are just predictions and could prove to be wrong.

More random-but-compelling evidence for 10x16? This also from @wdway​:

“While I was looking at all this from I remembered something that I played around with a while back and I even mentioned it I think to you guys but now that it's closer to us it might mean more. At the end of the episode Coda we have the fire truck and that number on the side the 82. Coda series number = 59. 82+59= 141. S10e10 will be series number 141.”

This may not entirely fit into what I said above, but maybe we’ll learn what happened to the fire truck, or just what happened during the missing 17 days, in episode 10x10? No idea. Just a thought.

This is more general, but in terms of episode structure, consider this: Beth disappeared in ep 8 and the music box woke up in ep 10. I know Connie won’t technically disappear until ep 9 but the catastrophe leading to it happened in ep 8 and Beth was technically in 5x09. So having Connie “show up” again in some capacity in ep 10 makes sense. Just saying.

One more note: given that we are already experiencing a death fake out for Connie, and that I think she’ll end up where Beth is, and by extension, where Rick is, it has occurred to me that she might be the third pickle resurrection, rather than Ezekiel.

Maybe.

Overall, I still lean toward Ezekiel. Why? Well, mostly because he’s one of the four death fake out couples. And while I love Connie, she’s not AS mainstream a character as Ezekiel. I don’t think she’s had enough time on the show, enough depth of character to qualify as the 3rd pickle resurrection. But I also mentioned Jerry because of the shoe thing in this episode. And of course Heath and Jadis/Anne are still missing as well. So there might be several minor character returns that go along with the three big ones. But I still think overall the big ones will be Beth, Rick and Ezekiel. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Okay, other predictions.

Episode 14:

As I said, I’ll talk more about how Carol fits into all of this tomorrow, and there are a lot of ties, but here are some basic speculations about 10x14.

We know people often die in episode 14 of a season. (4x14: Mika and Lizzie; 5x14: Noah; 6x14: Denise, etc.) Some of my fellow theorists have thought for some time that Father Gabriel will die before Beth returns.

Why? Because he’s the embodiment of the Sirius symbol.

Okay, this becomes a really interesting discussion about the Sirius symbolism and the characters who embody it. Remember the Sirius symbolism has to do with dogs, stars, and having only one eye. I can’t think of a character who embodied the Sirius symbolism in 5b, after Beth was shot. Noah, perhaps. Honestly, nothing about him screams Sirius to me. Other things to do with Beth symbolism? Yes. But Sirius, not so much. Although there is that shot of him looking at the blue dog collar in Them after they eat the wild dogs.

In S6, Denise showed up. She had both eyes, but there was a motif about her glasses and her being kinda blind. Not to mention, she died by being shot through the eye.Though she didn’t died BEFORE Carl lost his eye, she died soon after. She also saved his life. 

At that point, Carl, with his one eye and many ties to Beth, becomes something of a Sirius embodiment.

In S8, Carl dies. And right about that same time, Father Gabriel loses his sight in one eye, in an episode that ALL kinds of callbacks to Still, Alone, and Coda. Since then, he’s been the embodiment of the Sirius symbolism.

See why we suspect he might die before or right around the time Beth reappears? 

It’s also interesting to note that he was perhaps the last one to speak her name. He talked to Maggie about her in Them, and while we saw Beth in Sasha’s flashback in that, and since then in the portraits hanging at Hilltop over Maggie’s desk, no one has actually said Beth’s name since FG did in Them.

In other words, the last person to have spoken Beth’s name is now the embodiment of the Sirius symbolism.

Other stuff on episode 14:

It’s important to note that we don’t KNOW any of this stuff about episode 14. People in the fandom are simply speculating on it. We know there will be an episode entitled “Look at the Flowers” and given that that phrase was so heavily emphasized in 4x14 with the girls, it would make sense for it to be the title of 10x14.

This from @wdway​:

“People have been speculating for the last couple of months that episode 14 will be the episode at the hospital that was used in Slabtown. We also have had sightings of the King in the city which makes people think it might have to do with the story line that has been set up with his thyroid condition.

I want to show you a shot that's taken from earlier this season where the king is on the Hilltop radio waiting for Carol to come and he's going to tell her about his condition but before she gets to the radio he stops and leaves. This is a shot of the radio.

Look up the number at the top the very top one is 145. Now we know that the comic book issue of 45 is when Andrea wakes up from being shot in the head. And here's the radio set at channel 145 and the King is about to talk to Carol and it's concerning a medical issue. You probably know what I'm about to say serie number 145 will be S10e14.”

To me, this also backs up the idea of Ezekiel’s death fake out. The 145 ties directly to Andrea’s death fake out in the comic books.

I’ll end there. I think I’ve rambled enough for one day.

Disclaimer: I wrote this over a week ago, before Ep 9 even aired. So yes, I know that due to spoilers, some of the stuff I’ve written above is already invalid. For example, it doesn’t look like we’ll see Connie in 10x10 or find out anything about the missing 17 days.

I didn’t want to change anything in this post, partly because I’m lazy 😋 and partly because, as far as these being possibilities we’re considering, they’re still valid, even if they don’t happen in this coming episodes. Just think of them as food for thought.

So, thoughts?  😉

[nightqueendany]

The Original Final Season 7 - Preface

Okay guys. I’m still polishing up some of the later episodes, but this whole thing is almost done. And as motivation to make me finish the later episodes and publish them, I’m going to give you Episode 1 today, in a post directly following this one. If you do not see the link just yet, simply refresh this post and I should have put it in place, pending no issues with my Internet connection.

I’ve talked about this A LOT. What follows below and in subsequent weeks (I’m going to make you guys suffer, I’m going to put each episode out weekly) is 1) my explanation for WHY specifically I believe there was an “Original Final Season 7” and also, 2) WHAT I believe that Final Season contained.

NOTE: I will refer to the actual show events of Seasons 7 and 8 as “show canon” and will refer to my speculation as “Original Final Season 7.”

*Disclaimer because I have this weird feeling I’m going to get bombarded with anons asking me for links to “the original scripts” or interviews where this is all mentioned or something:

THIS IS ALL MY OWN SPECULATION. NONE OF THIS HAS BEEN PROVEN TRUE. THERE ARE NO “ORIGINAL SCRIPTS” FOR A FINAL SEASON 7...THAT I KNOW OF.

Alright, now that that’s taken care of, I’m gonna lay this out here for you guys. (Parts of this may get fanficky but whatever, this is what makes the most sense in my mind based on what we’ve got on the table).

(Also note, this series will be really really fucking long because it includes what I *think* the original Season was, and evidence from aired episodes as to why I think that, along with long-winded, detailed descriptions of scenes, etc. Sorry not sorry)

Here is how I went about this speculation to determine what I believe was likely the “Original Final Season 7”:

1) I looked for instances in the series as a whole where plots were never finished OR scenes/lines were either retconned or never paid off  - i.e. Dany’s S2 throne room scene script clearly saying “snow” and in 8x06 it’s now ash - post Emmy script release note: the script may say “snow” but remember, it’s the same day as the attack on the city from 8x05 when it was sunny and super hot outside. Either the script was changed just to make it say “snow” OR it was snow in the 8x06 episode, but D&D literally changed the fucking weather just to make it snowing in Dany’s throne room scene when King’s Landing hasn’t had snow since 7x07. Either way, something was retconned and it’s fucking idiotic and hella obvious.

2) I examined Seasons 7&8 specifically for the same things - scenes/lines never paid off or left unfinished/unexplained, i.e. Yara’s line “somewhere the dead can’t go” when this was never needed because the Night King was defeated in one episode; also all the baby talk between Jon and Dany and Dany never being pregnant in show canon.

3) I looked for instances in the series where a plot was “undone” in a very short span of time. Meaning, something that could have taken seasons upon seasons for buildup but was scrapped or easily deconstructed an episode later or same episode - i.e. Jaime/Brienne finally getting together in 8x04 and Jaime leaving Brienne that same episode; also Theon rescuing Yara from Euron’s ship very easily in 8x01 when she was a captive for most of Season 7.

4) And lastly, I looked for things that have been said/mentioned either in show canon or by cast/staff that ignores something previous that is a contradiction of their words - i.e. Jon pledging to Dany in 7x06 after she already said she would help him and Jon in 8x01 saying he gave up his crown so Dany would come help OR Dan Weiss saying in 7x05 that Dany isn’t mad and isn’t her father and then in S8 naming Dany the “Mad Queen”.

There are many of these instances in the series so it wasn’t hard to map out a rough outline of what I believe the “Original Final Season 7” was.

So, why do I even think there even was an original, final Season 7 outline/possibly even an entire Season of script? Why do I think this a likely possibility rather than me just being a delusional Dany Stan who wanted a different ending for my fave?

Back as early as 2013, after season 3 ended, the number 7 was being thrown around. Seven seasons to finish the series.

[Producer Frank] Doelger said: “[The number of series (seasons)] is being discussed as we speak. The third season was the first half of book three, season four will be the second part of book three. George RR Martin has written books four and five; six and seven are pending....I would hope that, if we all survive, and if the audience stays with us we’ll probably get through to seven seasons.”

Keep in mind, at this same time, D&D had also JUST had their meeting with George about the series endpoints.

“Last year we went out to Santa Fe for a week to sit down with him [Martin] and just talk through where things are going, because we don’t know if we are going to catch up and where exactly that would be. If you know the ending, then you can lay the groundwork for it. And so we want to know how everything ends. We want to be able to set things up. So we just sat down with him and literally went through every character.”

Vanity Fair, March 24th, 2014 (LAST year being spring 2013)

So this meeting on the series conclusion took place right when D&D were just polishing up the scripts for Season 4, before filming began that summer). A year after their meeting with George, (the same 2014 Vanity Fair article), D&D apparently played with the idea of an eighth season, but that could have just been the reporter’s speculation.

In other interviews, they were fairly adamant about 7 being the “magic number.” And back in the very beginning when Dave and Dan first started Thrones, they always said they imagined the series taking 70-75 hours to tell the story - so again, the equivalent of 70 episodes or a normal full 7 Seasons of 10 episodes each).

With the major complaint from both last season and season 8 being that it felt “rushed” however, people may wonder how the hell the series was supposed to conclude after Season 6. However, when you think about it, Season 7 being the final season doesn’t seem that odd if it were originally going to be a regular 10 episode arc. The final two seasons only totaled 13 episodes anyway, so really, it’s just three fewer episodes than in the version that we got. And if some episodes in the final Season 7 were over an hour long, the series as a whole would easily reach that 70-75 hours D&D always talked about.

So, what was the original 10 episode final Season 7 supposed to look like?

Season 7 Episode 1: ?

Season 7 Episode 2: ?

Season 7 Episode 3: ?

Season 7 Episode 4: ?

Season 7 Episode 5: ?

Season 7 Episode 6: ?

Season 7 Episode 7: ?

Season 7 Episode 8: ?

Season 7 Episode 9: ?

Season 7 Episode 10: ?

To figure out the outline of the 10 Episode Final Season, let’s start near the end.

ONE FINAL BATTLE

Author George R.R. Martin, whose series of novels forms the basis for Thrones, had revealed to the duo the broad strokes of how his Song of Ice and Fire saga secretly ends, including a description of an epic FINAL BATTLE that’s been teased from the show’s VERY FIRST SCENE. But this climactic confrontation was miles out of reach for a series that cost about $5 million per episode. “We have a very generous budget from HBO, but we know what’s coming down the line and, ultimately, it’s not generous enough,” Benioff said.

EW

When Entertainment Weekly interviewed D&D back during the filming of Season 3, D&D made it sound like George had planned only ONE final battle - the battle between the living and the dead. Not two battles, one with the living against the dead and another later battle with the living against the living. Just ONE.

(Also should note, this says the FINAL BATTLE was teased from the show’s FIRST scene, which contained the White Walkers but not Daenerys. Daenerys didn’t even appear in the episode until sometime much later meaning the “epic final battle” was about the White Walkers, not Dany burning down King’s Landing as we got in show canon).

Both the books and the show begin by showing the audience the threat beyond the Wall. This is the main threat. This is the main event. The Game of Thrones doesn’t matter and is a distraction for both the audience and the characters. In GRRM’s original outline, he explicitly says that the greatest threat to the realm of Westeros is the Others and that there will be one final battle.

So this was our original “Episode 9”. Literally and figuratively. Episode 9 is always supposed to be the episode where the craziest thing happens in the entire season - Ned’s death, Battle of Blackwater, Red Wedding, Battle at Castle Black, Dany flying away on Drogon from the fighting pits of Meereen, Battle of the Bastards.

The only exception to this could be argued to be Season 5 as Jon Snow is killed in Episode 10, not episode 9. However, the change in structure of the season was probably the biggest clue to the audience that Jon wasn’t going to stay dead, as they had never ended a season on a cliffhanger of the death of a major character. We’ve always been given one more episode afterward to process said character’s death.

If Jon were going to die and stay dead, he would have died in Season 5 Episode 9, because of this pattern: Season 1 Episode 9 - Stark death (Ned). Season 2 Episode 9 - Battle (Blackwater). Season 3 Episode 9 - Stark death (Robb). Season 4 Episode 9 - Battle (Castle Black). Season 5 Episode 9 - no Stark death (where there should have been - and a Battle was in Episode 8 - Hardhome). Season 6 Episode 9 makes up for the flaw in the pattern where we get a Battle and a Stark death (Rickon).

Ergo, based on George’s original outline, D&D’s previous statements about George’s plan, and the pattern, 7x09 was the original Battle for the Dawn. So that’s what I’ll call this episode.

Season 7 Episode 1: ?

Season 7 Episode 2: ?

Season 7 Episode 3: ?

Season 7 Episode 4: ?

Season 7 Episode 5: ?

Season 7 Episode 6: ?

Season 7 Episode 7: ?

Season 7 Episode 8: ?

Season 7 Episode 9: The Battle For The Dawn

Season 7 Episode 10: ?

I don’t want to give the entire season away just yet, as I’ll be posting each episode in full detail, but I will fill in one more “event” from the outline above.

In the 7x06 Inside the Episode, David Benioff said something that I’ve always found very interesting.

“The whole path of the show, in some way, had been trying to map out all the episode endpoints and with this one, it was the dragon opening its blue eye. And realizing that the Night King has finally gotten his own weapon of mass destruction.”

This statement really made me think because a) it tells us how D&D planned the series - mapping everything out by episode endpoints. And b) Benioff doesn’t say “the ending of the penultimate episode of Season 7.” He just says, “this one.” So this tells me, if anything, D&D had always planned to kill Viserion and have the Night King raise him as his mount. BUT it also tells me this was always meant to happen in 7x06, regardless of when Season 7 ended….either at an Episode 7 or an Episode 10.

Season 7 Episode 1: ?

Season 7 Episode 2: ?

Season 7 Episode 3: ?

Season 7 Episode 4: ?

Season 7 Episode 5: ?

Season 7 Episode 6: ends with Wight!Viserion opening his blue eye

Season 7 Episode 7: ?

Season 7 Episode 8: ?

Season 7 Episode 9: The Battle For The Dawn

Season 7 Episode 10: ?

So what does each episode of the “Original Final Season 7″ look like? The following posts will be my rendering of a final, ten-episode Season 7 with explanations as to why certain events happen and why they’re likely based on the show canon, Seasons 7 and 8.

Without further adieu, here is what I believe to be the Original Final Season 7:

(Links to come weekly as I post each Episode, if link does not work immediately, just refresh a few times until it does. Two episodes today as Episode 1 is very short and familiar, Episode 3 next Tuesday!)

Original Final Season 7: Preface Post (Current Episode)

Season 7 Episode 1: Family, Duty, Honor

Season 7 Episode 2: Greywater Watch

Season 7 Episode 3: The Last of the Dragons

Season 7 Episode 4: Dragonglass

Season 7 Episode 5: The Storm

Season 7 Episode 6: Summerhall 

Season 7 Episode 7: A City Fit For A King

Season 7 Episode 8: Protectors of the Realm

Season 7 Episode 9: The Battle For The Dawn

Season 7 Episode 10: ?

[thelawyerthatwaspromised]

But What Does Cersei Want? [some spoiler content]

I have some tinfoil-y finale season speculation based on SOME unconfirmed spoilers but I’ll tag spoilers anyway...but the gist of this is:

What does Cersei want and why might that matter immensely?

Ok here’s the summary before I get to every detail...because I doubt every detail comes to fruition exactly anyway. The overall idea is more important.

I think Cersei will cooperate with Tyrion in a kidnapping plot against Sansa to 1) secure the North through marriage between Sansa and Tyrion; and 2) secure Cersei’s claim to the Throne through a forced marriage between herself and Jon.

Admittedly that’s kinda wild. Here’s a rundown on why I think this could really actually happen. Some of this is based on spoiler content, MUCH on the foreshadowing in the series:

1) Cersei has a loose grip on power;

2) Cersei wants to fulfill Tywin’s mission of a Lannister dynasty;

3) Tyrion wants power and a stable position of power;

4) The Sansa/Tyrion marriage was referenced in a strange way;

5) Tyrion is on the outs with Daenerys so his influence is waning;

6) RLJ super duper matters;

7) There’s a [LEAK ALERT] rumor that Bronn has been sent to kill Tyrion;

8) There have been rumors for more than a year of a Sansa kidnapping;

9) There’s a strong rumor of Tyrion on trial in one of the last episodes;

10) There’s the Tyrion “love triangle” from the OG outline;

11) It explicitly places Sansa as the YMBQ

Ok I have to stop. There are so many reasons. Here’s what I think happens (Any part of this based on a spoiler is marked [SPOILER] because it’s just not yet determined to be true or not but it fits with the theory so well):

Dany’s Fragmented Alliance

Just how badly things go for Dany in the North is yet to be determined however the early outlook is, at best, cloudy with a chance of meatballs. We already have seen her relationship with Tyrion deteriorate to the point where one of the most common predictions is that Tyrion will almost certainly betray Dany in some way. 

This isn’t unique to the Dany/Tyrion dynamic, though. Multiple parties are shown to be combative with Dany early in the season according to [SPOILERS]. Assuming that there’s fragmented relations between Tyrion and Dany, it’s highly plausible that Tyrion will see his position of authority severely hampered by the darneded Northern Fool Jon Snow.

Tyrion maybe looking for greener pastures.

Meanwhile Back at Cersei Headquarters

[SPOILERS] It’s rumored that Bronn is sent by Cersei to kill both Tyrion and Jaime. Pretty much makes sense. Plausible enough that I have no real reason to doubt that it very much could be true. In fact it would be kind of weird if Cersei WEREN’T trying to do this.

Assume, also, that Cersei is very interested in a face to face meeting with Sansa Stark...whom she still believes had a part in killing Joffrey. There’s a revenge factor for Cersei when it comes to Sansa that just really isn’t there for for anyone other than Tyrion and MAYBE Jaime.

Cersei may want Tyrion dead and Sansa brought back to her or dead as well.

The “Twist”

Assuming Bronn is sent to kill Tyrion and successfully infiltrates wherever Tyrion happens to be located...what do you think Tyrion would do?

Bargain. Plead. Negotiate.

It’s what he does. It’s what he always does. Think back to how Bronn came into his service in the first place. Think back to how Tyrion acquired the Hill Tribesmen when they wanted to kill Tyrion. He always has a plan (based on his name) to get himself out of trouble. 

Even if his show counterpart is more angelic than his book version, this is something that’s consistent with the portrayal of Tyrion. He doesn’t use a sword, he uses his mind.

So how can Tyrion talk Bronn out of killing him when refusal could have big consequences for Bronn? By dangling something that would improve Bronn’s station AND something that Cersei would very likely be interested: control of the North. Through Sansa. His “wife”.

Tyrion reasons with Bronn. “Don’t kill me. Because I can make your situation much better. How would you like to be the man to offer Cersei something she covets: the North.”

The Logistics

Tyrion will have been up there at least long enough to see Sansa’s importance. She’s always been referred to as the “key to the North”, after all. But now he gets to see her really proving it. The Lords of the North showed quite a bit of loyalty to Sansa in S7 so the audience already has knowledge of their faith in the Lady of Winterfell. Tyrion sees this and might recall to himself the fact that his marriage to Sansa wasn’t ever quite “resolved”. In fact, her marital status has been quite the subject of conversation from multiple parties the last few seasons. So this fits her storyline pretty logically.

So Tyrion, facing the prospects of death, offers Bronn a plan to take Sansa and himself back to Cersei. Tyrion gets to stay alive and keep his head. Bronn gets to deliver two traitors “to Cersei’s door” (ala the Dragonpit entry conversation). 

Tyrion gets a twisted revenge on Catelyn Stark for his kidnapping/arrest in Season 1 at the Inn at the Crossroads. Tyrion has something to offer Cersei: spare my life, renew my marriage with Sansa, you will gain the North.

Bam.

Is that it? No...there’s more.

R+L=J

So who here thinks RLJ is kept secret from the world for S8? Those few of you in the back can see yourselves out. The new is going to spread. And I think Tyrion will know it.

So imagine. You’re Tyrion. You have this great proposal for Cersei that would keep you alive because it would benefit Cersei (which is the only reason Cersei would do anything). You’re in a good situation now. You also have another bit of info that would probably interest the current Queen of Westeros: the beloved half-brother-turned-cousin of Sansa Stark is ACTUALLY the heir to Rhaegar Targaryen...none other than Jon Snow.

Now flip to Cersei’s perspective. Cersei wants power and longevity. She wants to have a Tywin-like impact. She has Tyrion and Sansa to secure the North. What other leverage could she gain? Control of the line of succession for herself. She could get Jon Snow.

If we assume Jon very much cares for Sansa...we have a scenario where Cersei can threaten something very dear to Jon’s heart unless he cooperates. Jon becomes a target to Dany (because his claim exceeds hers) and an object of desire for Cersei (because Cersei’s claim is strengthened by ‘acquiring’ Jon’s AND she could be in possession of Sansa - a very good reason for Jon to comply).

So Cersei tosses this proposal at Jon:

- Lay down your arms - Accept Tyrion’s marriage to Sansa - Accept me as your Queen and marry me;

- or-

- I will kill Sansa.

Now, THAT is leverage. It would guarantee a mini-Lannister dynasty. It would cause the North, the Vale, and very likely the Riverlands to yield.

Why wouldn’t they just toss Sansa aside and allow maybe Arya or Bran to takeover once again? BECAUSE THE STARKS ARE A PACK.

None of Jon, Arya, or Bran would ever allow for Sansa to be disregarded. It goes against the whole narrative of the family. It goes against Robb’s response to Ned’s imprisonment and execution. It goes against Jon and Sansa’s mission to reclaim Winterfell and their unsuccessful effort to save Rickon.

The Lone Wolf Dies But the Pack Survives.

Except it’s used against them here...for a time. 

What Does This Look Like in the End?

Full disclosure, I don’t have it worked out exactly how they overcome this very tough situation. Maybe I’ll add a part two before the season starts. But I think this has a very strong possibility of happening.

Here’s what I think would eventually happen:

1) Jon and his allies foil the plan;

2) Jon and Sansa rule Westeros;

3) Tyrion is put on trial for his role

4) KL ends up getting blown up by Dany so they don’t even rule from KL in the end

But Why Does This Work Symbolically?

There are SO many plot threads this ties together:

1) Tywin held a grudge for Aerys’ refusal to accept his idea for a Cersei/Rhaegar betrothal;

2) Tyrion is a villain in the OG outline and involved in a deadly feud with Jon over his Stark sister-turned-not sister;

3) Sansa would actually BE the YMBQ if a temporary betrothal to Cersei were accepted by Jon only to be foiled later and result in a Jon/Sansa marriage;

4) Tyrion offered Bronn lands and titles in the North before his trial by combat but Bronn turned it down because Tyrion didn’t know where Sansa was;

5) Jon riding to KL to stop Sansa from being married to a Lannister would show him saving her from a marriage in a way that Robb was unable to do for Sansa;

6) Jon going with a plan would show him learning from the mistakes of his REAL father and brother;

7) It fits Tyrion wanting the North and having a reasonable-ish reason for staking his claim to the North (”Cersei would have killed us both otherwise!”) but finally paying for all he’s done........like murdering Shae in cold blood.

8) It illustrates the importance of Sansa as the Key to the North.

9) Sansa in the books always longed for her hero to ride to save her from the tower. Here she’s grown and become wiser and yet women in Westeros really STILL are vulnerable...and Sansa would get to learn first hand that someone does exist who will put her first and do whatever it takes to keep her safe.

I could go into the million reasons why this works with regard to the dynamics between Jon and Daenerys but I feel like I need to get the basis of this theory out first and then maybe I can expand upon it. 

Honestly, I got so excited about the possibilities of this theory that my first post hear is probably sloppy and a little disjointed, and in dire need of refinement but I had to get it out there.

Don’t be surprised if I come out with additions in the near future.

[dragonofyang]

From the Sock Puppet’s Mouth

Well folks, good news and bad news.

Good news: the ABTV interview on March 4th confirmed for us that WEP is the reason for the last-minute changes and that certain things were fought tooth and nail for until they came down and axed it.

Bad news: WEP is still using the EPs as their meat shields to hide behind, and despite not being really able to refuse, Joaquim Dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery still said some fucked up shit in this interview and the one before. And we probably should gird our loins for the next interview with Let’s Voltron!

But Yang, why in the fuck are we not going after the EPs, then?

The answer to that and why this is happening is three little letters, my friends.

NDA.

Non-disclosure agreements.

AKA the bane of your existence. And ours. And almost certainly JDS, LM, voice actors, animators, and literally anybody who has to comply with the season 8 we got back in December and the resulting fallout.

These are fairly standard in lots of situations where you’ll be working with confidential material, stuff like stories, military paperwork, movie production, that sort of thing. They generally tell you that you can’t spill the beans until a certain date when the contract expires, or when the information becomes public knowledge and the need for secrecy is lifted. Pretty standard in the entertainment business, keeps people from getting spoiled to trade secrets or important plotlines and ensures that you can trust your employees with whatever you need done for the project in question.

One other thing that these pesky little pieces of paper do is give your employer (say, the owner of a franchise or a superior officer), the ability to order you what to say just as easily as what not to. Don’t believe me? Look up interviews with the people who were in The Last Airbender (yeah… THAT movie). During production and when it was new, they all said how excited they were to work on the movie and be a part of it, but once those magical dates came by to free them of their legal obligations, they spilled more tea than the American revolutionaries did back in Boston. As soon as they wouldn’t get sued, they changed their tune about working on TLA.

Sometimes you just don’t like a project, sometimes your boss is a dick, whatever, but the fact is, if you sign one of those little things titled “Non-Disclosure Agreement”, you are bound by law to say whatever your boss tells you to. It’s very much a “they say ‘jump’, you say ‘how high’” situation. The only time this sort of shit doesn’t apply is if it implicates you in a crime. So like, your boss can’t embezzle money and then tell you to say you did it, or that you helped, or whatever. If it means you’ll get pressed charges, then you’re free to stand up and say “fuck this noise” and leave.

But JDS and LM aren’t being forced to admit to a crime, as heinous as some of what they’ve said in the past two ABTV interviews was. I’ll admit, I saw red the first time I heard the interviews on February 25 and March 4, but ya know fuckin’ what? That was the goal. Those interviews were meant to be a targeted blow against those of us in the VLD fandom who want the real s8 and for the characters to get their stories told correctly, rather than the slipshod stoic nonsense that ultimately created a story with zero meaning.

WEP/World Events Productions/Bob Koplar holds the Voltron intellectual property. JDS and LM are their puppets right now because unless they’re ordered to admit to a crime or otherwise break the law, they could be ruined legally, financially, and closed off from their trade. Would it be nice if they stuck to the scruples they displayed back when the show first started? Fuck yeah. I’d love it if they said, “screw it, here’s the real s8 with the heroine’s journey and the parallel storylines and the ending you deserved to see and get catharsis with.”

Fact is, they can’t, but we, who have never signed an NDA with WEP, DreamWorks, or Netflix or whoever the fuck else is involved, can.

They’re lying, yes, and they said despicable things that would make anybody’s blood boil, but the fact is they’re just the unfortunate human shields that will let WEP get away scot-free and it sets a very dangerous precedent about what happens when a story is being told and someone up top doesn’t like what they see. The narrative LM and JDS are being told to spin is that when the writers left, they went ham and ruined the story and that the real season 8 would be worse than the concoction we got on December 14. LM and JDS have said awful shit as WEP tries to demoralize fans and chase them off from going after the original season 8 and deflecting blame off where it should be aimed. But why would they have to write a story that’s animated and would have been completed before the writers left? LM said it herself that animation is extremely ahead of schedule compared to releases, and if you’re a fan of HTTYD like myself, you’ll know that the third movie’s release date had to be pushed back multiple times to account for the animation schedule because they failed to accurately project when it would be complete, and so pushed it back as opposed to releasing a shoddy product.

It’s simple enough to realize that the story being spun is just logically fallible and factually untrue, but because so much of what’s been said has been attacking the fandom, it’s easy to believe it. I almost wanted to believe that, too. It’s easy when there’s already a face and a name to blame. It’s harder to dig through stinging nettles, even if you know there’s a pot of gold under it all. Luckily I brought work gloves and have friends who know how to wield gardening shears.

We knew before that there was last minute edits to season 8, and @leakinghate did an excellent breakdown of that here in case you want to settle in for a nice read to see what should have been. But the interview on March 4th confirmed multiple times that the problem with the changes and story didn’t come from the EPs or even Dreamworks. The pushback came from the IP owners. JDS says so right toward the beginning, about 12 minutes in when he’s talking about Adam and Shiro’s romance. JDS and LM both discuss how it was the IP owners who gave the order to change an already-storyboarded and approved plotline for Shiro, which directly negates their tweet on March 1 claiming that the store has no creative control and the letter Bob Koplar wrote to a few fans, also written March 1, which claimed the same thing and seemed intent on absolving him as a responsible party for s8. Sure, the person tweeting and the person handling orders might not have to approve things, but that account and the store are both owned by WEP, which is easily proven if you dial WEP’s number. But the IP holders got discussed multiple times throughout the entire episode, more towards the first half than the second, which is when what they’re saying gets really screwy in terms of logic and what they’ve said before and general bullfuckery. Until JDS and LM are thanking the hosts for the unprecedented two hour interview and JDS says, “I don’t agree with myself” at 43:03, they were thanking the fans and apologizing for what happened and explaining that it wasn’t them or Dreamworks, but rather the IP holders who were pushing back.

Don’t believe me?

Click to 12:10 of the March 4 interview. JDS talks about Adam and Shiro’s relationship and how it was originally meant to be portrayed, and at the 12:50 mark he says that they got pushback about their relationship, not from Dreamworks, but from “other controlling parties with Voltron.”

Click to 18:52, where JDS mentions how they didn’t have the position as being creators of the IP. He also points out that, “We were, for all intents and purposes, like, started as a show for boys 6 to 11 to sell as much toys as possible.”

Does that phrase bother you as much as it bothers me?

Because it should.

Ever since VLD ended and the fans started pushing back against what got published as season 8, the EPs have been silent, at least for the first two-ish months. They didn’t say a word anywhere publicly about the show or if they liked it, because their NDAs probably had an “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” clause. Generally, that’s the case because part of your job is to build good PR and hype up your project. Don’t believe me? Look at how they were after literally every other season, they came out immediately saying how much they loved it and how much they hoped the fans would too, and when there was pushback about Lotor’s abuse and the colony plot they were like, “please trust us, we want to do his story justice” even when it probably would have served them better to remain silent.

Not with S8.

Until these interviews, nobody talked. And when they finally did start talking?

They all kept saying the same things.

“This is a show for boys and their dads” and “this is a show meant to sell toys to little boys.”

At no point before this did anybody on the production team say anything even remotely related.

You can look for yourself, but I guarantee you won’t find anything. “Boy toy show” has been the go-to phrase for everybody ever since the silence around season 8 broke, and it’s not their words.

It is, without a doubt, from the IP holder.

We were promised that Lotor’s arc would continue and that “there’s a lot that is at play in his brain and his mind,” in the GeekDad article about him. Narratively, Lotor and Allura were meant to foil Zarkon and Honerva/Haggar. We should’ve gotten an alchemist-versus-alchemist showdown and a cool Lotor and Lance arc. Many things that were built up in seasons 1 through 6 were dropped, and if you refer back to Hate’s meta “Seeking Truth in Darkness”, you’ll find her analysis on what was cut, why, and the plot she pieced together based on the inconsistencies in the details of the season 8 that got released. In the latest interview, JDS said, “We were just trying to break the trope, our own trope. You know what I mean? Like Voltron was its own trope and the sort of little nook that we inhabited was, like, sort of boys toys was its own weird tropey situation.”

And despite all this talk of family and love and complexity and breaking barriers, we received two things from December 14 and on: VLD season 8, and silence.

Complete and utter silence.

The VAs were trotted out to face the wrath of the fans at SAC Anime 2019 and there was nary a word to be heard from the EPs, Dreamworks, WEP, Netflix… Nobody had anything to say about the final season of Voltron. The VAs even commented that there were things they were and weren’t allowed to say. And if they wanted to say anything, their NDAs and general social etiquette prevented them from saying whatever was actually on their mind, because I guarantee you nobody happy about the season would have kept silent. Even when all the season 7 backlash happened, JDS and LM asked us as a fandom to please wait and see, because there would be narrative payoff.

Which is why the latest two interviews with ABTV are all the more rightfully infuriating.

In the February 25 interview, LM specifically says that the initial pitch was to kill everybody, everybody would die and that would be the end of it, and that they had to back off from that. After the broken promises of season 8, that’s pretty damn believable to a fandom who’s rightfully hurting and grieving what could have finished a great show. But then with this March 4 interview, she says that she wanted to go Sailor Moon with it and have Allura come back as a baby after sacrificing herself. Kind of hard for those two stories to mesh when the person LM says would raise Allura would also have been one of the ones to die in the initial pitch.

So what exactly is the truth there?

Frankly, I think neither of those ideas is the truth. At least completely.

Why? A) It sounds like a super early pitch idea and B) because their general behavior disagrees with every interview leading up to season 8. Because if LM and JDS were proud of this product that got released, they would have said so and behaved as normal, if maybe a little more reserved due to fandom backlash. Because they wouldn’t be silent and only coming out with interviews after two months and several of #TeamPurpleLion metas that poke massive holes in what exists of season 8, CallVoltron has been sending letters, and #FREEVLDS8 garnered over 30,000 signatures. WEP has been trying to do damage control ever since we as a fandom started putting two and two together about where these disastrous last-minute changes came from, and only when the petition got updated to include WEP as a point of focus did WEP start trying to discredit the fans and meta writers who were coming too close to the truth. Here is a complete list of everything that’s happened since December 14, to give you an idea of just how wild of a ride this has been.

One main consistent thing throughout everything that’s happened since season 8 dropped is that everybody from the EPs up is lying, whether by omission or outright or through someone else, people have been lying like mad. WEP doesn’t want you to know that they own the IP and have strong input, despite confirming it by liking a tweet on February 13 and how you can be directed to their store if you call WEP’s phone number. WEP doesn’t want you to know that they gave the original season 8 the axe. WEP got scared that we got close and so they trotted out their EPs after two months of silence to try and break those of us hunting for the truth. These two interviews, which, mind you, came after what was scheduled to be the last one.

The official story continues to fall apart with every word of these last two interviews, too. JDS says that they were crafting the epilogue for season 8 during the aftermath of season 7, but according to him they completed season 8 back in June.

Again: which is the truth?

I stand with @leakinghate and the rest of #TeamPurpleLion and think that the original season 8 was completed back in June, but that the backlash from s7 and the general disapproval of a story of empowerment caused the truly-eleventh-hour edits to s8. The EPs are being forced to lie to you due to their contracts, WEP wants to keep hiding and lying and calling their customers liars and mocking them. But the funny thing is that the more intricate the lie, the harder it is to keep it straight versus the truth, as evidenced by how JDS and LM seem to be confusing what was in s8 versus what was pitched versus what they were told to say.

So what’s it all mean, then?

It means you should be watching and writing letters and calling WEP and calling them out publicly whenever WEP and Bob Koplar lie to the consumers and customers that express dissatisfaction with their service and their products.

WEP forgets that there is more to fandom than diehard dads and young boys.

The more they ignore the majority of their consumers, the more money they lose, the more faith they lose, and the less people will want to follow their future projects (like if they decide to do an MFE spinoff). Let’s Voltron is coming up with a new episode with JDS and LM, and they’re hoping to get it up soon. I’d just like to remind y’all that it’s scripted and pre-recorded, it’s not live, and it benefits from being the official Voltron podcast and has to keep good relations with WEP in order to retain that status. So don’t stop calling, write letters, hell just leave a Facebook or Twitter review of the business to express your satisfaction or lack thereof with how WEP treats customers and its show and everything. After all, the road to s8 is paved with honesty.

@felixazrael @leakinghate @crystal-rebellion @voltronisruiningmylife

[azurehyn]

I hate to sound like a toxic 'fan', but there's probably no other way to describe this, because this is a rant of everything I personally found wrong with Voltron, as a fan who does love the show but isn't blind to the fact that...they fucked up.

I know someone's going to say "well if you don't want to be a toxic fan don't post stuff like this" well excuse me but fuck off, i need an outlet after that emotional trainwreck

If you're here for positive allurance you ain't gon get that

If you're here for positive klance you ain't gon get that either

Because why? This season was a fucken mess and screwed most us over. Hello and welcome to my poor and angry Ted Talk

They shouldn't have introduced so damn many plot points and leave over half of them hanging

They lied? Multiple times? Example: was Keith's suicidal moment properly addressed like they said it would be?

THEY FUCKEN BAITED US WITH KLANCE. IF YOU WEREN'T GOING TO MAKE IT CANON WHY DO ANY OF THAT SHIT?? LM AND JDS I AM GODDAMN LOOKING AT YOU

Lance being Altean? You handle that well with good clues scattered throughout the seasons and DON'T EXPLAIN HOW HE IS ALTEAN TO BEGIN WITH?

Lotor. Was. Wrong. I'm turning to @astralscrivener on AO3 with their fix-it fic because yeah Lotor's arc was good one but felt fucking off because he deserved a redemption arc and I DON'T SEE THAT ANYWHERE

Rift monsters anyone? There is a whole beautiful avenue of story there and y'all just left it hanging

Allura was also kinda wronged? Her character started off inherently hating Galra and quick to jump to the worst conclusion about them. What Lotor did was shitty af, but the way Allura handled that entire situation invalidated her growth from hating Galra for being Galra. If she had properly grown as a character and the writers/showrunners actually showed that, she maybe would have reacted differently to SHOW it, to show that growth. This is just my personal opinion, the situation might have ended up the same either way, but i dont like how it was handled.

Call me a Klance fan for hating on the show but i am never going to get over or forgive this; KLANCE WAS WRONGED AND WE WERE FUCKING BAITED. I feel like many Klance fans wouldnt be as bitter as we are now if only we werent fucken BAITED

Tim Hendrick is the real MVP

Which reminds me; how is it good rep to show us Shadam, and we only know it's Shadam from the comic-con because it is not even PROPERLY PORTRAYED IN THE SHOW ITSELF that this is a gay relationship which could/would have been construed as roommates/friends NOT LOVERS, kill Adam so that so that we know little to nothing about him, then AT THE END OF THE SHOW pair Shiro with someone, again, we have little to no connection to? I feel like Dreamworks or whoeverthefuck was trying to squeeze too much rep into one single character, with Shiro being Japanese, disabled, mentally scarred from his trauma, oh and also gay but still a great role model. Look, i have no problem with Shiro being any and all of the above, but as has been mentioned by others, they relied too much on our love for Shiro, and tried to fit in too much rep in a single character when it could have been evenly spaces out between all or more than (1) one of them.

You know something ain't being done right when a plethora of fanon is lightyears better than canon. Again, dont get me wrong, i do love the story of vld, BUT that does not excuse the smell of the stanky shit they pulled multiple times.

...y'all there's 200k word fics out there better than what the beauty of Voltron derailed into

They had a chance to be a groundbreaking american animated show in terms of represention and instead they chose to skate close to the ground instead of shattering it by screwing up on multiple accounts.

LANCE WAS A WASTED CHARACTER. SO MUCH POTENTIAL, BEAUTIFUL POTENTIAL THAT WENT TO COMPLETE AND UTTER SHIT

As a hardcore Klance shipper, i say Allurance would have made more sense and sent a better message if it wasn't some half-assed shit sprinkled into s7 and shoved down our throats in s8. By making it canon you're essentially saying its totally fine for a guy to make repeated attempts on a girl when she's said no, and he'll eventually get her through dogged determination. LANCE WAS A FUCKIN REBOUND. WHY SAY HE'S GOING TO BE SOMEONES FIRST CHOICE (do not @ me about The Feud) THEN GET ALLURA TO 'CHOOSE' HIM AAAAFFFFTTTTEEERRRR LOTURA BECAME A CANON THING???

"Better an open-ending for Klance than a definite no possibility of it" bitch the fuck, don't bait us with Klance and make it such an obvious ship from FUCKING SEASON 1

"You'll be happy with the lgtb rep" *insert most deadpan expression in existence* does this look like the face of a happy camper

If you could make Korrasami a thing on freaking Nickelodeon, how did you fuck up so badly with Klance on NETFLIX?

"Voltron was targeted at 7-12 year old boys" KIDS WERE SEEING THAT KLANCE WAS HAPPENING. MY 6 YEAR OLD BROTHER SAW IT AND THE KID'S MORE INTERESTED IN FOOTBALL THAN LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE IN LIFE

Unrelated but also related: if the Dragon Prince doesn't deliver on the GOOD lgbt rep they promised within the next 1 or 2 seasons, i am never trusting any american animated show that throws out the "oh we'll have lgbt rep just you wait n see" bone ever again

As someone who identifies being both demisexual and bisexual (demibi? Because apparently demigay Keith is a thing which just hurts now), i am sorely disappointed by, and hurt by voltron. The show isnt even bad! Its a good fucking story with good characters, a number of whom were utterly wasted. I think the whole mess vld derailed into in later seasons could have been avoided if they just didnt try for any romantic angles. Because, as they said, this is a show for 7-12 year old boys. Do you really think boys that age give an actual shit about romance.

Do you guys who read fanfics notice there is no 'fix-it' fics for the first 3 seasons? Those only turned up season 4 onwards. Does that say something? Hm...

I am just so angry and SAD and disappointed with THIS being the end to our journey with voltron. Just what the fuck. I know there's the comics but it's kind of not the same? And after what happened with the show i am wary about the comics now too.

Fucking KICK forever, fuck all of you haters and shit writers of the latter seasons, and bitches i can say that because I AM A WRITER AND HAVE BEEN ONE FOR 10 YEARS, I CALL IT LIKE I DAMN SEE IT

Finally, to end this rant, I leave you with what Tomoe from Kamisama Hajimemashita (dub) once said: I AM SEETHING. SEETHING WITH PURE RAGE.

*sits back and prepares for the hate*

[blogwirelesschargers]

Best Wireless Chargers 2020 – Buyer’s Guide

My girlfriend recently bought a wireless charger for her Samsung phone. She was really excited about it. And, if I’m being honest, I was too. The world needs fewer wires, and the whole wireless-charger thing has been a long time coming.

Unfortunately though, the charger was a lot slower than we thought it would be. The LED lights were annoying, too – they were so bright at night that they lit up her entire room. It made me wonder if we’d just bought a bad brand, and if there were better wireless chargers out there.

Which of course is when I decided to write a review article on them!

1. RAVPower – Best for techies

In my mind, the biggest selling point for RAVpower’s Fast Wireless Charger is its sleek design. It’s one of the most futuristic looking chargers on our list. When I put a wired charger next to a RAVPower, I feel like the RAVpower is an artifact left behind by a time traveler from the 24th century. That’s how good the design is.

The RAVpower is a Qi-certified charger, meaning it works with a fair number of devices, including the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, the iPhone X, as well as the Samsung Galaxy S7, S8, S9, S7+, and the Note 8.

But, to be honest, as good as it looks, this isn’t the fastest wireless charger on the market. There are some seriously fast wireless chargers out there. At the upper end, some will charge your phone at a rate of 15-watts. On the lower side, we have wireless chargers that will hobble along at a speed of 3.5-watts.

That being said, the RAVpower charges compatible iPhone devices (including the 8, 8 Plus, and X) at 7.5-watts. While this falls in the middle of the range of 3.5-15, it’s actually above the mode of our set. What I mean by this is, more than half of the devices I looked at charged Apple devices at 5-watts or less. None of them charged faster than 7.5 – so while the RAVpower isn’t the fastest on the market, it isn’t bad.

Because of the different designs between Apple and Samsung devices, Samsungs can be charged faster than Apple products. The RAVpower charges compatible Samsung devices (including the Galaxy S7, S8, S9, and the Note 8) at 10-watts. That’s faster than three of the other chargers on our list, slower only than one, and as fast as the other five.

What I Like

The very first thing I absolutely love about RAVPower wireless chargers is the design. These are some of the most futuristic looking chargers I have ever seen. You could buy one for nothing more than the pleasure of having people asking you to tell them more about your cool new gadget.

The RAVPower’s design lets it dispense heat about 15% faster than similarly priced chargers. I personally don’t like the idea of a hot phone or charger during the charging process. With all the reports of batteries exploding, I’m always afraid it’s going to blow up.

The RAVPower also protects your phone against some of the common problems that occur with rechargeable batteries: overcharging, overvoltage, and overcurrent.

Overcharging happens when you let your device charge too long. The battery is full, but power still gets pumped in. This can damage a battery, ruining its ability to hold a charge. RAVPower’s technology allows the charger to see that the battery is full, and to reduce its charging rate to a trickle.

Similarly, the RAVPower protects against overvoltage (when the charging delivers too much power for your device) and overcurrent (a power surge).

All of these capabilities are bundled up under a proprietary technology known as HyperAir. To be honest, these are standard things you will find in any wireless charger worth its salt, but there’s something extra that HyperAir technology does that makes it truly stand out: it is capable of detecting your iPhone instantaneously because it shares the same fixed frequency program that your iPhone has. That means that as soon as your iPhone is within a minimum range, it starts to charge straight away.

What I Don’t Like

Okay, the first thing I really don’t like here is the fact that the LED on the charger will stay orange no matter whether my iPhone is standard charged, fast charged, or fully charged. With Samsung Galaxies, the LED turns green. This is because of the difference in how the iPhones and Galaxies communicate with the wireless charger.

Your phone also shouldn’t have casing thicker than 3 mm or the wireless charger won’t be able to charge it. With many other chargers, the maximum width is 4 or 5 mm. When it comes to phone cases, that extra allowance can make a huge difference. Don’t put anything between your phone and the charger either, because that will also keep it from charging. And that includes metals and magnets. In fact, magnets might mess up the functioning of the wireless charger; I really feel like they could have done a little more as far as the resilience and robustness of the charger is concerned. It’s probably great for a home or office where it’s going to sit by a computer and you know nothing’s going to hurt it. But if it’s in a common space – in a dorm or a shared office – the chance of it being damaged is a little too high for my blood.

2. Choetech – Best for frequent use

The Choetech approach to wireless chargers is pretty interesting. They wanted to make a versatile charger – one that can do a little bit of everything pretty well – and that’s what they delivered.

As the name implies, Choetech designed the QI Fast Wireless Charging Stand as… well… a stand. This allows it to be easily used while your device is charging. Other designs on the market include mats (which allow multiple devices to charge at once) and pucks (which can only charge a single device that is lying flat). You can imagine how much easier it would be to use your phone when it’s at an upright angle, as opposed to lying flat on your desk.

What I Like

Let’s take a minute to get back to the fact that this Qi-certified wireless charger is a stand. It allows you to place your phone in either landscape or portrait modes. That way, you can use your phone in whatever way the app you’re running demands. Meanwhile, the wireless charger will be filling it up with juice.

There is an LED strip at the base of the charger that tells you what mode it is in. When it glows blue, it means the wireless charger is in standby mode. When it glows green, it means your phone is charging.

For compatible Samsung devices (the Galaxy S9, S8, S7, S7 Edge, S6, and S6 Edge, and the Galaxy Note 9, Note 8, and Note 5), the charging rate is 10-watts. I find this works great. I can use them while they’re charging without draining the battery so much that it stops actually charging.

I also like the considerate design. You might think that, because it is a wireless charging stand, the charging area will be a little restricted. However, the design involves two coils, which means it has a much wider charging area than expected. Place your phone in landscape or portrait position and it will still charge.

This wireless charger also features charging and temperature protection, due to the clever circuitry in the device. It has anti-slip rubber feet for more stability.

What I Don’t Like

For those charging the iPhone, you will notice that the 5-watt rate is anything but speedy. In fact, if you have your GPS switched on, or any other app that places heavy demands on the phone’s power, then don’t expect your phone’s battery to get full anytime soon.

I didn’t like the fact that it doesn’t come with an adaptor right out of the box. That means I had to go hunting for an adaptor with the right specifications in order to use it.

While this is a Qi-enable device (meaning it can charge many different kinds of phones), I didn’t like that some phones had a hard time charging. A Nokia, for example, has to be placed in a special way for it to charge at all. Move it from its sweet spot and it won’t charge.

I have to advise that you first make sure your phone is supported before buying this charger. You should also check if the phone casing is less than 4 mm.

3. Seneo – Best case-friendly charger

Seneo is one of the world’s leading brands, with over 2 million customers. Of course, Seneo insists that all of these were satisfied customers; I decided to be one of those customers, have a look at their Qi Certified Wireless Charging Stand, and decide for myself.

It comes in a really cool and sleek design. From what I saw, most charging stands come in the same windsurfer design with only two real distinguishing features. The first is in the charging real estate. How many charging coils it has, and how they’re arranged, determines the size of the stand. The other distinguishing feature is in the design of the LED light that tells you whether the phone is charging or not. This one was a lot like the rest, but I liked the fairly glossy black on it. It just looked a little more ‘refined’ than the rest.

What I Like

As it turns out, the Seneo is a pretty good wireless charger (maybe those 2 million customers really are satisfied, after all!). As with most chargers, the Seneo has two modes, 5- and 10-watts. But, with the Seneo, the numbers of watts isn’t the whole story.

The 10-watt mode is – and if you’ve been reading this article through, you’ll know the answer here – for the Samsung Galaxy suite of phones and tablets. That includes the S6 onwards and the Note 5 onwards. The exact list is on their page.

That of course leaves the lower, 5-watt mode for iPhones, including the 8, the 8 Plus, and the X. 5-watts is on the low end of charging rates on our list. However, Seneo claims their connection is “more stable,” and promises faster speeds than other 5-watt chargers. They compare their charger to some of the 7.5-watt chargers that are on the market.

I didn’t quite get what they meant by “stability” – a stronger connection between the charger and phone maybe? Or something internal to the charger?

I never did figure that part out, but I did learn, through use, that it does a better job than other 5-watt chargers. In a few hours’ time, my iPhone went from 10% to 100% despite the fact that I was constantly messaging my girlfriend. I didn’t really put it through its paces by using a more intensive app, like a video or game. And I kept my GPS off. But still, compared to other 5-watt chargers put into similar conditions, it did better.

It comes with all the standard features. It’s Qi-certified, so it’s compatible with both Samsung and iPhone phones. It has temperature protection, voltage protection, short circuit protection, etc.

But maybe the real highlight for this charger is its case friendliness. It’s on another level. Your phone’s case can be up to 5 mm thick (though the optimal thickness is 4mm). The highest on our list. This is the difference between having to take your phone out of its case, or not. You still can’t have any clips or magnetic backings – magnets especially mess with wireless chargers. But I loved that I could leave my phone in its case, set my phone on the charger, and not have to keep adjusting it so that it sat right over one of the charging coils in order to get it to charge well.

What I Don’t Like

As much as I would like to corroborate their claims, I really don’t think Seneo’s charging stand is comparable to a decent 7.5-watt charger. It did seem to be better than the average 5-watt wireless charger. And it may be better than some of the cheaper 7.5-watt chargers. But it certainly didn’t beat any of the good 7.5-watt chargers I tried.

Another downside is that this charging stand isn’t made for any other phone brands on the market. You should either have an iPhone or a Samsung.

I also don’t like the fact the package does not come with a Qi 2.0 or 3.0 adapter. You have to buy those separately. That is something I didn’t like about pretty much every charger on this list, but that doesn’t excuse Seneo.

4. Pleson – Best value for your money

Some of my friends spoke highly of Pleson’s Ultra Slim Qi Wireless Charging Pad. I decided to borrow one of theirs, and give it a good comparison. And I have to say that, if you made a graph of the wireless chargers in this list with affordability on one axis and great features on the other, then Pleson’s pad would sit as a blip above the best-fit line.

What I Like

The biggest difference between Pleson and other brands is the charging rate. The Pleson comes in at a whopping maximum rate of 13.5-watts. That’s up to 1.4 times faster than similarly priced chargers on the market. My girlfriend loves it too. She is an absolute social media junkie and so she needs a charger that will either charge her phone super fast or handle heavy phone use while charging. The Pleson is a puck, so she has to wait for her phone to finish charging before she can use it, but it will charge her phone to 100% in an hour at the most.

I also liked the “intelligent identification design” – the LED light turns green when the phone is charging. It seems like such a simple thing to engineer charging lights into these devices, but not all of them do. You will also have to use either a QC 3.0 adapter or the original adapter that comes with your Samsung phone.

But let me say that I like more than just that the Pleson has a light. I also like the light’s design. Most wireless chargers try to do too much when it comes to notifying people of the charging condition of their phones. There use too many beeps and blinking lights. If the only thing I cared about in the world was the state of my phone’s charge, that might be fine. But I’m usually working or sleeping, and I try to minimize the number of beeps and boops and blinks in my life. But Pleson doesn’t come with any of those. In their own words, their LED light is designed in a ‘humanized’ way.

I want to know when my phone has finished charging, but I don’t need a constant reminder. Pleson has recognized that, and engineered their LED to turn off after 10 seconds. For me, that’s perfect. I pop in my phone and it flashes green briefly to show me that my phone is charging. Now that I know that little fun fact, I don’t need to constantly see the light or hear any annoying sound.

Another good thing with Pleson is the 3-year warranty. The standard warranty in the industry is 18 months. There is a charger on our list (the Ellesye) that offers a lifetime warranty. But Pleson’s 3-year warranty is a testament to how confident the people behind this brand are in the quality of their own technology. On top of their warranty, they also promise a 60-day money-back guarantee.

What I Don’t Like

One problem is that the fast mode is only available for the Samsung Galaxy suite of phones and tabs. That doesn’t even include standard charging Galaxy phones like the S6 and the S6 Edge. You will also have to settle for standard charging other Qi-enabled phones like the Google Nexus 5 and the Google Nexus 6.

For iPhones, the Pleson becomes rather surprisingly lackluster. With top speeds of 13.5-watts for Samsung phones, you would expect something like 7.5-watts for iPhones.

The Pleson is a puck charger. A puck charger is the manufacturer’s way of telling you that you can either charge your phone or you can use your phone, but you can’t have both. Why do I have to make a choice, Pleson?? Pucks are the literal, physical embodiment of that saying about not being able to have your cake and eat it too. While the charge rate for my iPhone isn’t horrible, I have to wait for it to charge completely before I can go through my messages and see what I missed. In the meantime, I’m cut off from the rest of the world and actually have to talk to people and take up hobbies like drawing with pencils like it’s 1999 again.

I also don’t like the fact that this charger isn’t very case friendly. Any phone case thicker than 2 mm will give you some serious problems when you try to charge your phone. You would also have to take off the back of the phone if it is metallic. This charger is completely intolerant of metal.

5. Samsung – Best for Samsung users

Of course, this party wouldn’t be complete without a proprietary charger by none other than Samsung themselves. The Samsung charger is on the pricier end. Adding that to the fact that Samsung has been a pioneer of wireless charging, we would expect it to deliver some pretty great features.

You might worry that, since the charger is by Samsung, it is only compatible with Samsung phones. Luckily, that is not the case. This charger is compatible with any Qi-compatible smartphone, including the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X.

I am absolutely awed by this charger’s unique futuristic design. Words won’t do this justice – when I say that it’s two discs coming together at an almost perpendicular angle, and that it looks like a cross between a puck and a stand, I make it sound like something Frankenstein might have made. But, if that’s the case, then this would be Frankenstein’s third generation device, when all the nuts, bolts, and seams have been hidden, and instead of a horror story it’s a romantic sci-fi.

Now, even though it looks like two pucks, it is a stand, to be sure, but the back of the stand is large and circular, like an oversized puck. I think that is intentional, to increase the charging real estate so your phone can be placed in pretty much any orientation and still charge.

What I Like

When I first saw the Samsung wireless charger, I went through a bit of cognitive dissonance. I love the fact that they didn’t overlook the ability to place your phone in either landscape or portrait mode when charging. That means you get to use it as much as you want and still get it to charge. There are puck models of the Samsung wireless charger which are much simpler and do not have this advantage, but the stand version is as fast as any charging stand you find out there.

I also love the fan on the device, which does an incredible job of dispersing heat. That means you don’t have to worry about either the charging stand or your phone overheating as you charge it.

The charging rate on the Samsung wireless charger is 9-watts. Now, before you frown at that, I can say that the charger still charges a phone very quickly. I don’t exactly know what kind of engineering went into it, but they managed to make their 9-watt fast charging system feel like the 13.5-watt Pleson. I tried my girlfriend’s Samsung Galaxy S9 on the fast charge. It filled up at the optimal rate even while she was chatting and posting on social media the whole time, and with her GPS on. It was just something else.

Even at the standard 5-watts that iPhones get, mine was able to charge in just a few hours. And that’s while I was using it – I was checking messages, had the GPS enabled, browsing social media. All of this, of course, requires that you have a regular type C USB charger for the fast charging and a regular QC 2.0 adapter for the standard charging.

The LED light is multicolored and comes with a pleasant and faint glow to tell you what the charging status of the phone is. With most stands, you expect the LED light to be rather obvious and at the front of the charging stand. However, with the Samsung, it’s a lot more subtle, being located under the circular puck at the bottom of the stand. And not having a bright LED light glaring at me is something I appreciate.

The one I used had two coils, which allowed me to charge my phones in whatever orientation I wanted. There are models of this same charger that come with 3 coils, instead of 2, so you get to charge your phone even more easily due to even more charging real estate. Of course, it is Qi certified and will charge your phone as long as the phone is Qi enabled.

What I do not Like

For the most part, the only thing I did not like here was the fact that this charger is not very case friendly. The official number may be 3 mm, but sometimes, even that might give you issues charging. To be safe, make sure the casing on your phone is less than 2 mm thick (or, be prepared to take your phone out of its case every time you want to charge up).

[janiedean]

back to the light (a celebratory fanmix for jaime lannister’s lost and found character development), because the new S8 picture made me emotional. half crack and half serious.

[download on mediafire] [listen on playmoss]

1. why aren’t you dead? - bon jovi

You told me you loved me, ‘til death do us part So tell me there's a tombstone where there used to be a heartYou said you couldn't live without me So why aren't you dead? Instead of six feet under you're in someone else's bed There's just one thing that I can't get through my head You said you couldn't live without me so why aren't you dead?

2. so what? - p!nk

You weren't there You never were You want it all But that's not fair I gave you love I gave my all You weren't there You let me fallSo, so what? I'm still a rock star I got my rock moves And I don't need you

3. I want to break free - queen

I want to break free I want to break free I want to break free from your lies You're so self satisfied I don't need you I've got to break free God knows, God knows I want to break free

4. stronger - britney spears

Hush, just stop There's nothing you can do or say, baby I've had enough I'm not your property as from today, baby You might think that I won't make it on my own But now I'mStronger than yesterday Now it's nothing but my way My loneliness ain't killing me no more I, I'm stronger

5. forget her - jeff buckley

Well my tears falling down as I try to forget, Her love was a joke from the day that we met All of the words, all of her men, All of my pain when I think back to when Remember her hair as it shone in the sun, The smell of the bed when I knew what she'd done Tell yourself over and over You won't ever need her again.But don't fool yourself, She was heartache from the moment that you met her

6. the wrestler - bruce springsteen

Have you ever seen a one-armed man punching at nothing but the breeze? If you've ever seen a one-armed man then you've seen me Then you've seen me, I come and stand at every door Then you've seen me, I always leave with less than I had before Then you've seen me, bet I can make you smile when the blood, it hits the floor Tell me, friend, can you ask for anything more? Tell me can you ask for anything more? These things that have comforted me, I drive away This place that is my home I cannot stay My only faith's in the broken bones and bruises I display

7. my back pages - bob dylan

In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand at the mongrel dogs who teach Fearing not that I'd become my enemy in the instant that I preach My existence led by confusion boats, mutiny from stern to bow Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now

Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats too noble to neglect Deceived me into thinking I had something to protect Good and bad, I define these terms quite clear, no doubt, somehow Ah, but I was so much older then I'm younger than that now

8. I lost it - lucinda williams

Are you heavy enough to make me stay I feel like I might blow away I thought I was in heaven But I was only dreaming I think I lost it Let me know if you come across it Let me know if I let it fall Along a back road somewhere Money can't replace it No memory can erase it And I know I'm never gonna find Another one to compare [...]

Never take nothing don't belong to me Everything's paid for nothing free If I give my heart Will you promise not to break it?

9. the outsider - shooter jennings

But I have my own heavy load A bitter kiss has been bestowed Upon the son of a rebel saint

And I am the outsider A horse with no rider I am a fighter When the darkest day is done And I am the survivor Not laying down and die-er A long distance driver And I will overcome

10. open all night - brian fallon

And all this must've been comin' a long, long time, 29 years of nerves on fire Nobody came and nobody saw, made a wreck of myself with the headlights on Worked these hands straight down the bone, carried the weight until the weight took over Ended up standing at a fork in the road with you

But I don't need time to think about it I don't let reminders get me down like before But you know I used to know you Back when local bars and your crooked heart was my home, mmhmm... And I will never know the town where you finally settled down With the top back on a Cadillac and your sunglasses on And you can't make me whole, I have to find that on my own But I held you, babe, a long, long time ago, and we were open all night long

11. sigh no more - mumford & sons

Love that will not betray you, dismay or enslave you, It will set you free Be more like the man you were made to be There is a design, An alignment to cry, Of my heart to see, The beauty of love as it was made to be

12. back to the light - brian may

Back to the Light Back to the light Back to the streets that are paved with gold Back to the Light Goin' back to the land Where the sunshine heals my soul On and on Searching for a clearer view Winning and losing an inner war Wonder what we do it for Though the road seems never ending Hold on to the hope I'm sending through

13. I will survive - gloria gaynor

But now I hold my head up high and you see me Somebody new I'm not that chained-up little person and still in love with you And so you felt like dropping in and just expect me to be free Well, now I'm saving all my lovin' for someone who's loving me Go on now, go, walk out the door Just turn around now 'Cause you're not welcome anymore Weren't you the one who tried to break me with goodbye Do you think I'd crumble Did you think I'd lay down and die?

Oh no, not I, I will survive Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I'll stay alive I've got all my life to live And I've got all my love to give and I'll survive I will survive