#because opening sequence I immediately clocked it

[elvenmoe]

I have the strong desire to reverse 1999 au danganronpa because maybe then I could get well written lesbians. If no else will do it I will do it myself I NEED AOI AND SAKURA TO THRIVE AS MY OG DOOMED YURI SHIP I SHIPPED THEM BEFORE I WAS INTO FANDOMS

I should calm down. Or should I??? 2.2 has me enraged and danganronpas fandom ignored yuri so I want to make everything more tragic so everyone shares my misery. (Why am I having a villain monologue rn? I am unwell) I AM IN PAIN. Physically and the only thing that could bring joy is making tragic yuri more tragic.

[zweigsangel]

ballerina!reader and chris fluff with strict ballet teacher?

you’re standing in the ballet studio, ankles aching, breath coming in frustrated little huffs as your teacher drills you yet again on the same sequence. she’s pacing back and forth, tapping her stick against the floor with that familiar, grating rhythm.

"you’re not grounded enough," she says, in that disapproving tone that’s somehow both ice-cold and like fire scraping along your nerves. "you’re light in the wrong places and heavy in all the wrong ones."

you roll your eyes, but only when she’s turned around. you don’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing how much her words bite. but she catches it anyway, glancing over her shoulder and raising one perfectly drawn eyebrow. “you got something to say?”

you’re about to mutter something half-hearted in return, something safe, when the door to the studio cracks open and chris peeks his head inside. his eyes meet yours, and just like that, a smile creeps across his face. “angel,” he murmurs, just loud enough for you to hear.

your cheeks heat instantly, and for a second, you can’t stop the little grin that escapes. you might be exhausted and sore, but the way he says it—like he really thinks you’re his angel, even here, sweaty and frustrated—melts some of that tension right out of you.

your teacher notices the shift immediately, spinning around to see what’s changed. “oh, i see,” she says, gaze sliding over to chris with that pursed-lips look. “so, we’ve got an audience now?”

“wasn’t planning on it, but if you insist.” chris winks, giving her a cheeky grin, and before she can tell him off, he’s slipping further inside, hands shoved casually into his pockets. he’s wearing that damn leather jacket you love, and he still has his skates slung over one shoulder, like he’s always ready to hit the ice if needed. he looks a bit out of place here in your ballet studio with its polished floors and wall of mirrors, but he couldn’t care less.

you can tell she doesn’t love the interruption. but she’s not gonna tell him off either. she sighs, glancing at the clock, and seems to decide she’s had enough of you for the day. “fine,” she says, looking back at you with that critical eye of hers, the one that says i’m letting you off easy. “we’ll continue this next time. get some rest—and stretch, for god’s sake.”

you breathe out, a shaky little exhale of relief, and give her a quick nod. but as soon as she’s gone, chris crosses the room, wraps an arm around your waist, and pulls you close.

“god, angel, i swear she’s out for blood.” his fingers trace along your spine, gentle but firm, and you feel that familiar warmth under his touch, the tension seeping right out of your muscles as he presses a kiss to your temple.

“you’re tellin’ me,” you mumble into his shoulder, letting yourself lean into him a bit. “she’s a nightmare.”

he laughs, soft and warm, his thumb rubbing little circles against your lower back. “well, you looked pretty damn good to me. but she’s right about the stretching thing.” he pulls back just a little, eyes meeting yours with that mischievous glint. “c’mon. floor. i’ll help.”

you groan, rolling your eyes, but he’s already guiding you down, practically dragging you to sit with your legs outstretched. he doesn’t care that you’re half-grumbling; he settles right in front of you, scoots up close so he can grab your ankle, and then starts to gently work on loosening you up, pressing just enough to stretch without pain.

“seriously, chris, i’m fine,” you say, a little bashfully. you’d been ready to drop straight to bed, not get a post-rehearsal stretch courtesy of your boyfriend.

he gives you a look, a smirk quirking at the corner of his lips. “don’t argue with me, angel. lemme take care of you.”

and damn it, you can’t argue with him—not when he’s looking at you like that, all soft and adoring, like he couldn’t care less about the sweat in your hair or the fact you’re probably a hot mess right now.

so you let him, because that’s easier than trying to fight back the smile creeping onto your face. his hands work their way down your calf, soothing and gentle, then up again to your thigh, lingering a little longer than necessary.

“this some sort of tactic?” you murmur, eyebrows raised as his thumb presses slow circles against your thigh. “maybe,” he says, that grin back on his face. “figure if i can’t come in here and defend you from the wicked witch herself, i can at least help you feel a little better after she’s done with you.”

you scoff, pretending to be exasperated. “you’re ridiculous, you know that?”

“and yet, here you are,” he murmurs, leaning in closer. his voice drops, softer. “and here i am. looks like you’re stuck with me.”

his forehead rests against yours, and he’s looking at you with so much warmth it’s almost overwhelming. but it’s exactly what you need—what you didn’t even realize you were craving after the hellish day. he’s right here, grounding you in a way no one else could. the ache in your body starts to fade, replaced with this soft warmth that only he seems able to give.

“hey,” he says quietly, still rubbing his hands along your legs, “don’t let her get in your head, alright? she doesn’t see what i see. she’ll never get it. but you’re… you’re somethin’ else, angel.”

you feel the heat rush to your face, like it always does when he talks to you like this. you try to deflect, roll your eyes, make a joke—anything to stop yourself from melting right there on the studio floor. “yeah, yeah. i’m sure you say that to everyone you stretch.”

he laughs, tugging you closer so you’re practically sitting between his legs now, his arms wrapped around you from behind, chin resting on your shoulder. “nah, only my favorite ballerina.” he presses a kiss to the side of your neck, his breath warm against your skin. “now, let’s get you home.”

he stands up, offering you his hand, and you take it, feeling the warmth and the solidness of him as he pulls you up. even with the sore muscles, the exhaustion, you feel lighter as he wraps an arm around your shoulders, holding you close as you both head out.

“i don’t care what your teacher says,” he murmurs, squeezing you tight. “you’re perfect to me, angel.”

and in that moment, with his arm around you, his words soft in your ear, you believe him.

[melancholicbat666]

The Other Woman.

You and carmen had been dating for a while, but he unfortunately didn't seem to think it was that serious. (not about cheating)

On the mornings at the beginning of it all, Carmen used to welcome you with breakfast in bed, treating you like something easily breakable, that could end up slipping out of his hand and breaking into so many pieces that it couldn't be glued back together. Several huge bouquets at home, heart-shaped chocolate, it was a cliché, but in the end it was a cliché that Carmen made, so it ended up being everything.

Everything was going well, until the day you had to ask yourself "What the fuck did I did to him?"

Awake all night, looking at the boy's feet, in the middle of the night, walking here and there. He spent so much time walking around the house, that his steps almost formed a song with a specific and well-formed sequence, everything, except sleeping with you, could be on the couch, or on top of the bills at The Beef, but it was never with you.

The next day of those many nights, when you woke up suddenly after dozing off, all you could hear was Carmen's footsteps. Going to the door. Opening. Going away. Forgetting your kiss, or maybe a "hi" via text, even if it's late. Leaving the cigarette smoke of the day.

The house was empty all day, but empty of affection for the rest of the week. So you could try to occupy yourself completely, with a quick kiss on the weekends. And more and more you could remember traditional American couples, both of whom no longer love each other, but they remain together for what they once were, for the hope of looking at that stranger and thinking: "I once loved someone who was like you."

After work, you started washing the dishes, singing as if everything was fine, and putting the damp dishes out to dry, the kitchen was a disaster, but that was a matter for Carmen-Distant, when he came back from work, to the greatest point of stress. There was also the living room, which was the same as the kitchen, especially the painting of the former owner, a clown smiling, with his eyes looking to the side in a very expressive way, perhaps he thought he was going to turn into a cuckoo clock. Carmy used to leave the day's notes there, and over time the untouched image created a barrier of dust over the post-it, and a small square was formed behind all the dust. There were no squares, just dust.

It was annoying how your own boyfriend became just a submissive thought, someone you didn't see right for a good period, that's what made you make the decision to question Carmy, and without the right to escape, or any unsuspecting nap.

-Are you awake at this time?-The blonde asked, entering the apartment, and immediately coming across the image of the living room, you sitting on the sofa with a stressed expression, with your legs crossed, but not at all courteous, more controlling.

-Awake to wait for you to arrive.-You looked at Carmen, but looked away elsewhere, biting your lower lip, then said:

-I want to tell you something, actually, I want to talk about something with you.

Carmen frowned, and his eyebrows too, setting up a series of expression lines on his face, and looking to the side, like the clown, and then at you, he said:

-Okay, so, can I take a shower first?

-Carmen, now. Please.- Your posture remained the same, and Carmen, without insisting (perhaps he realized you were stressed), sat down in one of the armchairs, close to the sofa. It was these small things in addition to the big ones that made you upset, for example, at that moment the sofa wasn't occupied, not even a little, and he preferred the armchair at the other end of where you were.

The two looked at each other for a while, until anger took its toll on your mind, and you managed to wake up and remember what you were going to do.

-Don't you realize how far away you are? how alone I am, and it's not even because I don't have anyone, I've been alone in the relationship, since some time ago. I want it to be something plural, that's why we date.

The boy's face shriveled like a fruit, if he hadn't been close to someone, you could have sworn he would cry right there, he got close, but broke your heart, when his voice was shaky.

-You know it's my brother's restaurant, I mean, it was. Sorry. I shouldn't be justifying this shit, but I really don't want you to be mad. What have I been distant about?-He dropped his eyes to the ground, redder than a tomato, and panting like a Pug.

-In everything, Carmy. You don't call me anything affectionate anymore, we no longer have hugs, sex isn't important to mention, but it has an honorable mention.-You laughed at your own speech, but the boy remained mesmerized by the floor.-I shouldn't laugh. But I feel useless, and inconvenient, like, why should I be in your life if I'm ignored? you know?

-I'm sorry. Fuck. I didn't want to be so overwhelmed.-He stopped talking, and looked at you with the kind of look you've never seen coming from him.-Damn, you're the most important thing in my life, and I'm leaving you to listen to Richie complaining all day. Can I say sorry again?

-I forgive you, Carmy. But I really hope it's not something without confidence, because if it is, it will hurt me a lot.

-It will not be. It won't be.-He got up, and gave you a passionate, delicate kiss, different from superficial and quick kisses. Looking at you, he gave a smile, which for sure, if it had a taste, would be milk chocolate. -Do you want to go take a shower? you smell like Carmen-Repressor.-One more kiss, before you could respond.

The shower was quick, the water hot, and both of them laughing at themselves. Carmen started to tell a story about when he developed a phobia of bar soaps, when he thought about the manufacturers putting their hands on something that would later go all over his body. Both laughed together, but shortly after Carmen bent over, and "laid" on your lap, with his cheek on your collarbone, his hand around your waist, and his hair touching your shoulder.

-I love you.-He said, looking up, with a smile.

-I still need a tidy kitchen, and a big breakfast in bed, to fully reconcile with you.-You said, with a serious face, a staged and sarcastic seriousness.

Note: srry if the story was horrible, its late, and I didnt even proofread the text before posting 😭

[teecupangel]

I have been violently gripped with the idea of a CODxAC Crossover, where Ghost and the 141 stumbling across an Isu facility. They spread out to search the ruins and Ghost ends up in a vast open room containing pods. There are hundreds of them in neat rows, but only one seem to contain something. Infant twins bearing the numbers 16 and 17 on their right and left shoulder respectively. On the side of the pod there is some text carved into the metal itself. '16=Clay 17=Desmond. TRUST ONLY 141'. Reading it gives Ghost a deep chill. Before he can think further on it, the pod starts to empty and open. The kids open their eyes and stare at him with eyes he swears glow, but in a blink it's gone. Must have been his imagination. The place suddenly rumbles and his radio comes to life.

"Ghost, get out of there! Think we might have activated a self destruct sequence!"

Before he can think too hard about it, Ghost grabs the kids and starts running while chunks of the ceiling falls down around him. Strangely enough the kids don't make any noise at the rough treatment or the violent shaking and noise.

---------

So yeah, thanks to Saberamane, i have gotten into reading CoD fanfics. XD I remembered your fic on it and then i was just violently gripped with the image of a baby Desmond reaching his little hands up at Ghost and when he holds Desmond up to his face, the baby just places his hands on the mask and stares at it while smiling. Anytime anyone, besides 141, tries to take Desmond or Clay they start to fuss and/or scream bloody murder, so the gangs kinda stuck baby sitting. Well, more like Ghost with Soap's help. Price is busy trying to figure out why the General(idk enough about the lore, so unnamed General it is XD) is really interested in taking the kids. They lied about them being found inside the pods and said they found the dead body of a woman with the kids, so the interest in them is strange. Plus the ominous message written in the pod seems important. Ghost hates him, gets a strange sense of... Red??? from him.

So yeah, another hyperfixation it is. XD

If this is the reboot, he started as Lieutenant General and ends up as a General. In the OG though, Shepherd was Lieutenant General until his death.

We can set it up that Desmond and Clay are testtube babies Elijah created but Abstergo was hot on his tail so he ‘tipped off’ 141 of the location and lying of its connection to a secret terrorist organization.

Well…

It wasn’t necessary a lie because 141 is trying to find the Brotherhood. In the eyes of the world, the Brotherhood is a terrorist organization and 141 is tasked with finding their operations and stopping them.

In this one, Shepherd could either be a Templar, an ally of the Templar or (use the setup of The Shadow’s Endgame) a disillusioned Assassin gone rogue.

He doesn’t immediately clocked the babies Ghost took in as Desmond and Clay. Hell, Ghost knows well enough not to officially call them Desmond and Clay, instead going nicknames like ‘D’ and ‘C’. Soap and Gaz had been calling them different names to try and find out their actual names and they haven’t hit any jackpot yet.

Shepherd is interested in taking in the kids because he learned that the facility they attacked (which was nearby the supposed village that got wiped out during the operation) was Elijah’s secret lab.

Although they all believe Elijah to be dead so the place is actually for an unknown ‘third party’.

Abstergo believed that person is the current Sage, having awakened Aita’s memories after Elijah’s death.

So the question becomes why did Elijah decide to entrust Desmond and Clay to 141?

Because he was planning to infiltrate 141 later on.

As the new recruit of 141: Gary "Roach" Sanderson

[outmakingmoonshine]

I wrote this reply a few weeks ago about the 773 tattoo on Carmy's arm that really looks like 223. You'll have to read that first because I'm not gonna explain it all again here and you'll need context to understand this post.

SPOILERS below if you haven't watched to the end of S3 yet

Right before this in Marcus's mum's funeral scene he's talking about having someone who really listen to you and pays attention to you and the camera does a not so subtle zoom in on SydCarmy's faces. Then the next scene is this one where Syd says she made the margins wider on the menus because Carmy always writes in them. We already know Carmy pays close attention to Syd and he does really listen to her even though it's like he gets amnesia right after and does the opposite of what she wanted, he does really try to listen and understand her in his own way. This an example of Syd really paying attention to Carmy immediately after being told how significant it is and how good it makes you feel. Carmy looked shocked that she paid attention to him and went out of her way to do something thoughtful for him and said "That's really nice. Thank you." Then Carmy goes on to do a checklist of the things they both need which also showed he knows her too.

Keeping the number meta above in mind, I'm not sure who first mentioned this (pls link the post if anyone knows so I can credit them) but sydcarmy both represent the number 2. In the post above I spoke about when the two 2's (sydcarmy) face each other and finally turn to take notice of each other. I'm pretty certain this scene was a small glipse of what their future together would be like if sydcarmy did face each other without anything or anyone coming between them. They become a cohesive unit, working together as one just like they were in this scene. Sydcarmy are mirrors of each other in many ways, just like the twos are mirroring each other on the clock behind them. I know one is technically a 5 but visually it's a 2 backwards and how else would they symbolize two 2's facing each other on a digital clock? Imo these numbers in this scene represent this moment being a good thing and a glimpse of what they could be, plus the whole scene gave me strong married couple vibes.

In numerology 9 represents completion/the end. The next number, 10, begins the cycle from 1 again or you could say it evolves, moves forward and keeps growing. 9 has other asociations but the core foundational meaning of it is completion. It's telling us in the end they will face each other and balance each other out, mirror each other. "Mirroring is an act of love." If that number sequence in the background of this specific scene isn't positive SydCarmy foreshadowing idk what is. This scene, the context, subtext and symbolism in it alone lets me know the sydcarmy love story and endgame is still very much on track. We're just taking a detour for now, like 99% of will-they-wont-they ships do right before the end of the story.

This shot showed directly after a Carmy/Claire opening scene in 3x05 and Carmy was laying in bed staring at it in some of the darkest blue lighting I think we've seen in the show.

I think this may even be a few shades darker than the sex scene with Claire. Imo it's because Carmy's in his darkest place now, he knows how he feels and who he wants but he can't have it. Carmy metaphorically turned to face Syd in the panic attack scene then fully turned, paid attention and listened to her in the table scene. Now he's somewhat aware of his feelings for her, tbh I think he does know but he's avoiding it because he's in a really dificult situation with Claire and he already let Syd down again after promising to be there for her. He doesn't love Claire romantically but he doesn't wanna hurt her either He's just stuck which is what I think this season was about, Carmy's still mentally and emotionally stuck in the freezer. Carmy said saying sorry to Claire was too hard and I think that's because he knows he has to tell her he doesn't feel the same way and it's gonna hurt her. We keep seeing cute flashbacks with Claire but I don't think it's because he misses her, I think it's because he feels really guilty that he lead her on so much because that's what the scenes were showing. He was acting all loved up with her and it's interesting that we the audience/Carmy never saw that last season and we're only seeing now it in hindsight. Remember the show is telling us the story through Carmy's eyes.

I said in the post above I initially thought the number 3 represented Claire and/or Marcus, but in 2x08 Carmy (2) asked Richie (3) to be the "go-between" and give Syd (2) an I love you note, literally putting the three in the middle of the two 2's so it made sense it probably represented him at the time.

And maybe it does, idk, he's been getting between them since S1 in one way or another, directly or indirectly. But it more likely represents anyone that comes between them. The third wheel so to speak.

Notice how the 2's aren't facing each other here in 2x08 because this was before Carmy faced what Syd means to him in 2x09.

And you may be wondering if the mirroring numbers represent how sydcarmy end up why isn't Carmy's tattoo 753? Well 753 isn't the chicago area code so it would raise questions why Carmy had a random tattoo of 753 so I think it was a choice to keep the symbolism but keep it subtle.

I didn't expect s3 to feel this bad (I should've tbh, this show always makes you feel the most) but I didn't expect it to go well for sydcarmy. That's why I posted this post the day before the episodes aired reminding everyone what the show told us to expect. They did warn us this wasn't gonna be a mushy gooey love story. It's not gonna be cute and sweet, it's gonna be ballbreaker and that's what Carmy's doing to Syd. He's doing to her what the NY Chef did to him. He's already making her sick, making her have panic attacks and he knows he's a "bad boss". He glanced her way when they were talking about it at the table in 3x10. When I saw Carmy confront NY Chef, for a moment I thought they were gonna have Carmy say the same to Syd one day in the future (this is how bad the whole situation felt while watching the show, it was truly horrible to watch) but I really don't think so. Carmy doesn't want to be anything like that arrogant guy so I can only imagine he'd be the complete opposite with Syd (someone he genuinely cares about) when he finally pulls his head out of his ass, metaphorically gets out of the freezer and faces the situation he's in like Cicero told him you have to run straight into it, you can't avoid it.

Even though this season was very hard to watch I think the same amount of subtext, symbolism and metaphors that pointed to sydcarmy in the last seasons is still all there. It's just more difficult to see, especially after 1 watch because there were barely any scenes that seem good for them on a surface level, they all went to Carmy/Claire. But underneath the surface a lot of the scenes imply good things are still to come for sydcarmy imo.

[atamascolily]

There's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it section of the Rebellion opening where bells flash across the screen and once I paused it, my brain screamed "Utena reference!"

Left: The Rebellion Story (2013). Right: The Adolescence of Utena (1999).

Rebellion is to the original Madoka Magica TV series as Adolescence is to Revolutionary Girl Utena, to the point where I jokingly refer to it as "The Adolescence of Homura". The primary difference is that while Rebellion eventually makes it clear that it is a continuation, not a retelling of the original, the relationship between the Utena movie and its predecessor remains open to interpretation. (To make up for it, Adolescence has a gorgeously animated and romantic dance sequence and ends with the two female leads cuddling naked and kissing, while Rebellion... doesn't.) Most of the parallels are subtextual rather than overt, but every now and then the animators give us a shot that makes it clear that Utena was indeed a direct influence.

This whole section is difficult to see because it flashes by so fast, but it also includes another shot that takes my breath away:

The windows of the castle in the fantasy theme park open up to reveal the clockwork powering it; the cogs and gears float in the celestial void, the "engine" of reality as we know it. The entire theme park is a Potemkin facade meant to disguise and distract us from the truth... essentially giving away one of the movie's main twists before it's even gotten started. This is also hinted at in earlier shots of the desert "blooming" as it is covered by an illusion, which is eventually rescinded in the final moments of the credits, but goes further by indirectly pointing to Homura as its source.

This is also Homura's hand, but it's not as immediately obvious, just like the hands puppeting the Nightmares are also hers, but with a bandage to hide the soul gem mark on her fingernail. I don't know if we ever see that bracelet again, though.

Note that although opening windows are a major recurring visual motif in this movie--the symbol of the Law of Cycles' salvation--this is different, as evidenced by the stained glass design on the panes. Here we are "looking under the hood," so to speak, in a manner evocative of Princess Tutu, one of the other influences on Madoka Magica and Rebellion in particular, in which "reality" is ultimately revealed to be controlled by a narrative represented as mechanical clockwork. I can't help noticing the stained glass in the window is round with a purple cross--reminiscent of Homura's shield and her diamond-shaped soul gem.

We also get a glimpse of the clock face, which is not the weirdest clock in this series by a wide margin, but does combine the shield/gears/time motifs nicely.

In case it's not clear, I love it when opening credits contained major spoilers hidden in plain sight and I cannot wait to see what they do with Walpurgis no Kaiten.

[lexa-griffins]

I think we need milf Lexa smut for wanheda's dagger week. What if milf Lexa sleeps with her kid's hot young babysitter Clarke

Lexa has some wild three, five and seven year olds that despite working from home, she cannot keep up with so she decides to hire a nanny from these nanny type services that focus on all day childcare.

She is home and she can help whenever needed but she can also have so quiet to work as the nanny watches the kids.

Clarke is great. She is a med student wanting to be a pediatrician so she is wonderful with the kids. She's good at arts and is always pishing for the kids to bring out their inner artist and always has activities to keep them entertained. Lexa really enjoys having her around

Clarke is, unfortunately, also extremely hot. Lexa has managed to distract herself from this mostly until the weather turned, and the sun was constantly out. With a pool and a nanny certified in first aid Lexa had no issue letting Clarke be outside with the kids in the water, up until the bikini top that although conservative still cannot hide her chest fully and the tight swimming shorts give away a little to much about what's between Clarke's legs.

And Lexa shouldn't. She is early 20s med student, funny and sweet and deliciously sarcastic in a way that makes her somehow hotter but Lexa is still almost 20 years her senior and her employer.

Still, Lexa finds herself putting herself together just to stay at home more often. So much so her oldest comments on how pretty she looks every morning, the sweet smile with two missing teeth the absolutely cutest thing to Lexa.

It is on one of those hot days. The kids have tired themselves out and have all gone for a nap. In the meantime Clarke entertains herself with cleaning up the toys from outside, still in her swimming outfit.

That is when Lexa, unware of Clarke's outside cleaning up, steps outside after clocking out early, the weather too hot for her too focus. Her old bikini, much too small in some areas, was the first thing she put on as she steps outside only to be greeted with Clarke bending over, her chest nesrly spilling out of her bikini as she empties the water toys.

"Oh sorry, Miss Woods, I didn't see you there. I was just clearing out the kids toys." She sounds out of breath the moment her eyes fall on Lexa.

"Its alright. I was just going to sunbathe for a bit. Care to join me?"

It is the offer that dooms her.

Because not ten minutes late the bottom of Lexa's bikini dangles from her ankle, her leg throw over Clarke's shoulder as the younger girl thrusts her dick inside of her with abandoned, fingers pulling at her nipple as she fucks her hard. Lexa has no idea what sequence of event got her here, but she'd do them over and over again.

A loud moan escapes her. One that Clarke muffles with her hand, hushing her sweetly.

"Shhh, quiet baby."

There is nothing between them when Clarke fills her with her cum. Lexa doesn't find it in herself to care.

By the time the kids wake up an hour later, Lexa is in the kitchen making pancakes as Clarke cuts up some fruit, both having finished and cleaned up, still a tension between them.

Nothing more happens for a week. Until another horribly hot day forces the kids on to the pool and a nap that immediately knocks them all out. Lexa had the day off and decided to enjoy it by the pool with the kids and Clarke, doozing oof before Clarke puts the kids down for their nap.

When she feels her sun vanishing Lexa opens her eyes, gasping the moment her eyes land on Clarke's hard cock above her face. She hears her chuckle at her expression, tapping the tip of her dick on Lexa's lips.

Lexa shouldn't. But she still did.

[waeirfaahl]

An attractive replica, but it pales to the original

There always was something wrong with how 5 season shows the scenes from the original seasons. In this case I'll discuss about how 5 season butchered the scene from the classic seasons. Specifically, from 1 episode of 1 season. It is the embodiment of how the authors have no idea, what made the original so good, as well as this moment demonstrates total absence of any respect to the original. From the authors, who many years ago worked on the original...

Just compare the "You might have beaten me now, but I'll destroy you in the future!" sequence — the classic show "made for kids" presented the scene more serious, logical and with tension and atmosphere, the presentation of the scene and the animation are much better, stylish and rich. Not to mention awesome voice performances by Phil LaMarr and Mako, who nailed both the emotions and the otherworldly nature. You feel confidence of Jack and how he's ready to make the final blow, to pierce Aku in his chest. You feel Aku and how he is exhausted and weak and in danger of either death or imprisoning, and how he still holds his ground and doesn't show any fear or panick, Aku stays calm, fierce and magnificent even being defeated, he already despises "the son of the fool, who brought him into this world, but rejected and imprisoned", but still stays with some kind of dignity. Also the sound design, the music (not only the vibration, but also the sound, similar to either bell or clock mechanism), ambient and various sounds like the wind and (presumably Aku's) heart-beating and silence. This sequence is nailed as adult and seriously with respect. In the "show for kids", how Tartakovsky claims.

In 5 season, i.e. in "the show for adults" this same sequence looks like an insulting parody, which tries to replicate the "pathos and simple show for kids". I mean, it looks painful for eyes due to extremely bright colors, claustrophobic presentation, cheap image and animation. Poor and more comedy-like sound design, no nuances, no interesting and elegant animation, and very bad voice acting. You don't feel that the threat, you don't feel the characters, it seems that they play on the stage, not live. They also sound as some old friends, who know each other many years and just make "fight for fun" (what makes zero sense, because that happens in the beginning and their first encounter).

And, well, the version of 5 season not only shows no respect toward the classic seasons, but also makes things dumber. The brightest example is "I disagree!" scene, because it unintentionally raises questions. First of all, look at Aku, his mannerisms, his facial expressions and how he uses the spell for opening the time portal. In the classic episode Aku, despite wounds and exhaust and the threat of either death or imprisoning, seems to accept his fate and at the same time he stays calm and magnificent and he waits for the right moment, when he can make the sudden and unexpected attack,

Aku is unpredictable and smart creature, he doesn't show to Jack even a tiny bit of some cunning idea that came to his mind. The same thing with Jack and his reaction at Aku's spell — the white rings fly to Jack pretty quickly and at the same time (i.e. all together), Jack focuses on them, Jack wasn't able to figure anything out in time, so that's why Aku's trick worked and saved him from Jack and the sword.

What in 5 season? Aku literally smiles to Jack and cunningly looks at him during this line. Like, then why Jack didn't realize immediately that Aku prepares for him some trick?!

Moreover, in 5 season these white rings fly very slow and one by one. So, why Jack didn't dodge them?! He could jump away from them and attack Aku again!

It is astounding to me, how in their "adult sequel" the authors ignore subtle yet important details that make the characters and the events with them great in "old show for kids"!

[andrew-the-lego-maniac-mandrew]

Highlights of Showing my Grandma the second half of X-Men Evolution Season 2 (episodes 10-17) -During the clown dream sequence she brought up John Wayne gacy and that is how I learned that my Grandma was classmates with one of JWG's final victims and used to live down the street from Gacy -An interaction we had during the mesmero episode Grandma: "She's(Jean) using her powers to wreak havoc" Me: "No, havok is Cyclops' brother" Grandma: "Right, then she's wreaking(pause) mayhem" Me: "Yeah there isn't a mutant named Mayhem to my knowledge I think we're good" -We both share a bit of dissappointment every time Scott opens a door normally instead of using his optic blasts to bust it open -She loved the Bayville Sirens music video -When the female cop turned into Mystique she immediately went "I KNEW IT!" -She also immediately clocked that Wanda's doctor had to be Mystique -She somehow predicted there would be something bigfoot related in the nature outdoors episode -We both lamented on how the Evolution sentinel never had a toy made of it because goddamn it's so toyetic it's got so many transforming bits -My grandma called Sabretooth Snaggletooth, then I called him Snagglepuss and postulated on the question, what if Victor Creed talked like Snagglepuss -At first she thought that the mansion exploding had to be a simulation or something -She was SHOOK, by the final scene showing Mystique disguised herself as Xavier

[pochapal]

umineko opening live reaction post

due to spoiler avoidance this is now only happening after i'm already like two thirds done with episode one BUT thanks to the magic of trusted followers giving me beautiful spoiler free links (everybody say thank you to @coolstuffiseverywhere) i can now Bear Witness:

immediately noticing from the first three seconds that this is NOT the same opening/song i'm used to skipping. umineko project starts with a shot of i think a record being played?? and then i don't know the rest

this is a very hype-building type song for sure lmao

hi beatrice

the music is very much giving getting turnt at the medieval fiefdom. i'm kind of living for it????

is this what the og version's backgrounds looked like? very dreamlike water painting quality to them

SHE!!!! SQUISHY MARIA!!!!! I HOPE YOU ARE DOING WELL AND ONLY GETTING GOOD THINGS IN THIS WORLD!!!

a shadow falling over maria....how prescient

squishy battler......nobody understands how badly i need to put this boy in a microwave

suuuuper interesting that our first glimpse of george is fogged-glasses Adultsona george before the mask lifts and we see a friendlier face

clock striking twelve + the overlay of the first twilight's sacrificial/freedom magic circle + natsuhi in the corner....much to consider

weird pulsating heartbeat effect over what i think is the ushiromiya eagle? the symbol as the rotten heart pumping the poisoned lifeblood throughout the story perhaps?

failsibling void....mimicking the dining room's seating hierarchy?

them!!!! shannon!!!!! kanon!!!!!!!! of course they're presented as part of the Sus People slideshow but that's okay because neither of them ever committed a single crime ever <3

the failsiblings have Become The Joker

more seriously thinking about the comedy mask presentation here....multiple lies and multiple farces define the ushiromiya siblings so this is extremely apt

kinzo => blood splatter => the epitaph (?) is a Very Leading sequence of images. encouraging certain audience associations from the very start.

the image effect here is really making the mansion's windows look like a stained glass relief. evocative of church imagery. thinking about this in correlation with the floating topic of christianity. of the recurring motif of faith and the demonic. of the gospel house. rokkenjima as a corrupt altar.

it would be false advertising to call you game "when they cry" and not include anyone crying in your opening

uhhhhh that's. that's. blood. on maria's sprite there. a bloody maria besides beatrice. symbolically a representation of maria's use as a pawn in the slaughter or foreshadowing some horrible thing that hasn't happened yet? hope it's the former because Maria Covered In Blood is incredibly something i don't need to think about lol.

a.....bottle? wine bottle on the beach? with. is that paper in there? a message in a bottle? really conspicuous image when compared to the western style ornate envelopes that have otherwise been the defining method of written communication in the story. i can think of a couple of things a message in a bottle could refer to/be used for as fits both the witch narrative and the epitaph puzzle.

seagull sighting!!!! after so very very long the titular umineko reveals itself

so that was the whole opening! first thought is the song is an absolute banger and i WILL be extracting an mp3 file from this video because even listening to it a couple of times is super pumping me up to want to read umineko right now lol.

second thing is that i am very interested in the sequence of images/events portrayed in the latter half the opening. the first part clearly maps onto the failsiblings argument and kinzo's demon's roulette and the clock striking midnight ushering in the killing, feeding then into everyone being upset and arguing. but then we get a bloody maria by the portrait, a message in a bottle on a calm beach and an image of a seagull flying under blue skies. some kind of symbolic representation of how episode 1's gonna end? something Bad goes down with maria and the storm breaks and we get the final word via a message in a bottle and then the seagulls cry?

this is almost certainly something that will make an extreme amount of sense after the fact but mostly right now i'm instilled with a deep anxiety for maria. there were a lot of ominous shots of her in this opening. i worry.

but yeah!! glad to have finally seen this!

[sciderman]

Okay okay I see your point on how in the comics the shock alone could kill her, personally I don’t think the shock ALONE killed her. I feel like no matter what Peter did she would’ve died anyway, either she would’ve hit the ground at a high enough velocity that her bones would’ve shattered or just her skull would’ve shattered causing her to die, or (what actually happened) is Peter webbed Gwen and the force that changed her center of gravity was so strong that it broke her back and caused her to die.

But now I bring you, The Amazing Spider-man 2 movie. HEAR ME OUT HERE OKAY!! The movie is technically a canon of its own so I will be using this as reasoning 😈

In Tasm2 during Gwen’s falling sequence you can clearly see her, her eyes are open and her body is moving, her hands are out and she is reaching for Peter to save her (like he did in the first movie when he threw her out of the window while fighting Doc Connors and caught her with his web) Gwen is actively moving and if I’m not mistaken she also yells peters name during this time.

Gwen wouldn’t have died of shock here because if she actually was in shock it would’ve started the moment Harry dropped her. With this there are still only two ways she would’ve died, hit her head, or broke her back like what ended up happening. We all know either way Peter would’ve blamed himself but I argue that a third outcome could’ve happened. If Peter was just a little bit faster and if he was less focused on Harry and the clock tower I believe he actually could’ve saved Gwen instead of breaking her spine.

I KNOW YOURE MAINLY A COMIC BLOG BTW BUT I JS LOVE THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN AND NEEDED A REASON TO TALK SBT IT THANK YOU 😄😄

thank you for this delightful ask about the horrific manner of gwen stacy's death!

oh yeah no sir no question, in tasm2 peter was just too late. gwen’s head hit the ground. you hear the sound. she hit the ground. harry took it and threw it on the GROUND.

absolutely the tasm2 movie (and no way home that followed) kind of make it clear that peter underperformed. he was too slow. but. but.

but.

i think in tasm2 it's kind of more complicated. in 616 gwen is entirely passive. to the point where she is completely immobile. she isn't aware of what's going on around her. she's unconscious before the fall, she's powerless to do anything that could've prevented her demise. it's all on peter to save her.

gwen in tasm2 – she's – she's a little different.

they kind of hammer this one home. fact is, if gwen had listened to peter. she would, in all likelihood, still be alive. peter tried. he wasn't too late. he tried to prevent it, before gwen was in immediate danger. he did what he could. it wasn't enough to stop gwen, but – what else? lock her in a basement? what can he do? gwen could have made the choice to stay out of the way and stay alive. it was not all on peter. he did what he could.

so. i don't think it's fair to tasm peter to say he didn't act in time. he in fact, acted ahead of time, gwen didn't listen, gwen got herself into trouble, and, despite peter doing everything he could, he couldn't save her. that responsibility should not have been on his shoulders. gwen should've been out of the line of fire, like he tried to do. he shouldn't bear that guilt. it was not his fault. it was gwen's choice. it was gwen's.

and unlike 616 gwen, i bet we do know what tasm gwen was thinking in her last moments.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––^–––––––––––––––––––––––––

oooooh lord i fucked uuuup why did i do it to myself ohhh god gwen what have you dooooone ouuuugghhhhh one last big fuck-up way to gooo gwen no coming back from this one ouuuuuughhhhhh

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

long and short of it. andrew garfield IS NOT GUILTY of the death of gwen stacy. she did it to herself and she did it to him.

[brionysea]

possessiongate: explained

i've been vague posting about this for a while, but after mapping everything out i think it's time for a full analysis of stranger things 4 and what's going on with mike wheeler in it

i think vecna is in mike's head. i think mike is being possessed by vecna at certain points in the season, which is why he's suddenly so weird and inconsistent about a lot of things

@dinitride-art’s post on the visuals of mike’s monologue sent me down this rabbit hole, and since going through everything for this explanation with that in mind, i'm now extremely convinced that this is intentional

i’m going to follow mike through the entire season to explain what he's thinking, what's going on in his head in general, and why it's not what the show wants us to think

very lengthy explanation under the cut!

we start in hawkins, with el's letter. it's the first thing we see. the camera only secondarily pans up to mike. then nancy suddenly barges in, seems to snap him out of something, and we immediately get the question "what the hell are you doing?", which mike never actually provides an answer to

in the second shot we get of mike, the sign above his bed is only partially visible. it reads “one w”

one -> vecna

w -> wheeler

there's an almost immediate connection, and it has something to do with el because her letter is still in frame until mike throws it away. vecna intends to use mike against el

when we get a wider view of the room, it's a complete mess. last time we saw mike's room it was immaculate. we can see daylight coming through the window in the mirror ("one way" mirror -> one is watching him without his knowledge) but his lamp is still on, implying he's been up all night

there are a lot of time references surrounding mike in this opening sequence. time -> clocks -> vecna

mike's issue with sleeping (which is later revealed as a sign that vecna is in your head) gets a bit closer to noticeable when he starts to say something that's probably along the lines of him going to bed early not mattering because he won't be able to sleep anyway, but he doesn't get the chance to finish what he wants to say. this happens a lot this season

karen: you need to go to bed early tonight. mike: why? ted: it's a 6:30 flight, michael. mike: yeah, i know, but— karen: no buts. 9 or no california. ted: and no sweetie pie.

they're already hiding mike's thoughts from us. even when we’re seeing things from his point of view, for one reason or another, we’re not allowed to know what he’s thinking despite him actively trying to tell us

ted’s comment brings up el again, further connecting her to the time references and mike’s concerning behaviour

mike is immediately not okay for some reason, from his very first scene, but it’s not in our face like max. it’s hidden. nancy doesn’t comment on the state of his room even though this isn’t normal for him. his parents kind of seem to assume that him trying to brush off his need for sleep is just him being a stubborn teenager. his grades having slipped is told to us through a joke while the same thing with max is pointed out as not normal and a sign that something’s wrong. the characters haven’t noticed, and a good majority of the audience won’t notice either unless they go looking for it. it’s all there, but it's hidden in plain sight

for this first day, mike is 100% mike. this is establishing who he is now, without any active supernatural interference. mike is over the forced conforming of last summer, mike doesn’t care about being popular, mike doesn’t care about girls laughing at him, mike is embracing his love of dungeons and dragons again, mike is shamelessly sending heart eyes the way of the cool older guy who likes dnd and rock music and shows him it’s okay to be different. this is setting up the contrast for when he starts acting like a completely different person later

because of an outside influence in the shape of eddie, mike does a few uncharacteristic things. he ditches lucas and lets someone else lead, instead of leading by example like he usually does and just telling dustin that they’re going to the basketball game anyway. he did fight for lucas in the first place, being the only one who could just say that they needed to postpone, but he gets manipulated in a direction he doesn’t want to go. this really sets the stage for what’s going on with him this season

mike is having headaches. this is another sign of vecna being in his head. i think of it like a physical defence mechanism, a sign from your body that something’s wrong, similar to the nosebleeds since they both stem from the brain. which there’s also a very small hint of when mike does this very subtle sniffing thing while sitting outside with dustin like there’s something tickling his nose

there’s the beginning of mike not really knowing what’s going on

mike: screw what? [...] what? what? dustin, where are you going? [...] come on, just talk to me! tell me things! [...] what are you talking about?

this is new territory. mike usually knows everything for absolutely no reason. he's being removed from his leadership position as the dungeon master and his ability to understand the situation is being messed with. that functionally changes his role, and effectively disables him as a character so that the season can work and vecna can win

they neutralised jonathan so that he couldn't support will and el by making him a stoner. they (vecna) neutralised mike so that he couldn't support will and el by making his mind not his own anymore

during the campaign, an argument starts up. mike doesn't take part until dustin puts his ego on the backseat to ask what mike thinks, reminding us just how smart mike really is and the effect he has on people. especially since his advice works. mike, always being more inclined to fight than run, supports dustin's plan

mike: it's risky as hell. but you're the ones on the battlefield. so it's your call.

this sounds like mike giving advice that he wants to hear himself. specifics of the campaign aside, getting told that he's smart and capable and should trust his own judgement is a major turning point in his character later on

right around the time mike would be meeting his curfew (offscreen, because we're not allowed to see that either) and committing to visiting the byers, vecna moves in for the kill and chrissy dies

mike was supposed to visit the byers months earlier but he didn't for some reason, and them coming back to hawkins for christmas didn't work out either. it's easy to find a reason why, probably money, but mike had already gotten permission from karen at the end of season 3 and money isn't a problem for them. he could have just been doing his avoidance thing, or it could be a play on the pattern of him being late to things, but i'm curious if he subconsciously knew that something bad would happen if he left and held it off as long as he could. considering mike is already acting like someone else when he gets off the plane and his clothes, which he must have put on in hawkins, are used to indicate that, it's possible vecna took control in this offscreen blind spot and made him go. the fact that it took this long for that to happen really is a testament to mike's mental strength

now we’re in california! and mike immediately starts acting weird. he’s wearing sunglasses indoors, which is unnecessary and really stands out. i also get a vibe of implied dishonesty

mike: so i kinda did, like a 70/30 split, kinda thing.

70% vecna. 30% mike. this is absolutely an intentional slip from vecna, since we know he likes just telling people his plans and feeling smug about how clever he is when he still fools them

mike is very weird towards will, which is so unlike him that absolutely everyone picks up on it. mike got over his “ignoring will” issues near the end of season 3. he looked devastated and completely dead inside the day they left hawkins. there is no way that mike, fully in control of himself, would treat will this way after seeing him again for the first time in months

argyle: that's a rad shirt, man. ocean pacific? [...] oh no, no, no. no, it's a shitty knockoff. yeah. but don't worry, i'll get you the good threads out here.

mike shows up acting fake. the dialogue points out that his shirt is fake. and a bad fake, at that, but one that's convincing enough at first glance. you can connect the dots

then argyle brings up nancy and things get awkward, but like most of the romance this season (especially around mike), i think it's meant to distract us

argyle: yeah, this is kinda awkward, man. mike: yeah, so awkward. argyle: i mean, i really thought it was ocean pacific.

it comes right back to the shirt. right back to mike being a fake. one that tricks you unless you look hard enough

things aren’t awkward because of nancy. they’re awkward because this random person who vecna didn't even seem to account for, based on the initial weird look mike gives him that really reminds me of possessed will looking at bob, called out his ploy in two seconds flat without even realising it

vecna has mike play along with the perfect, happy, normal couple ideal that el is aiming for, while simultaneously ignoring will. inevitably it crashes and burns, which vecna was probably counting on, because he knows lies like this never last

mike and will fight. mike's side involves a hurt that's based in not knowing what's going on. he looks confused when will describes the day they both just lived through (this will not be the last time this happens) and tries to just... leave the conversation. because he doesn't know what to say. because he doesn't know what will's talking about. this whole day was mostly from will’s point of view and doesn’t even touch mike’s, so we don’t even know what, exactly, mike is confused about or what he thought was happening

but will doesn’t let him walk away

will: you're mad that i didn't talk to you? seems like you made it super clear that you're not interested in anything i have to say. mike: that's just not true. will: you called maybe a couple times. it's been a year, mike. meanwhile el has like a book of letters from you.

we know mike cares what will has to say. he cares a lot. all he does this season is listen to what will has to say

it also hasn’t been a year. it’s been six months, tops. but mike and will stick to this even when most other characters talk about it normally. the only real time period in the show that matches up with what they’re saying was between seasons 1 and 2. before will got possessed. before will and mike spent an entire season joined at the hip while mike provided emotional support against the possession. which is exactly what happens in season 4, just in reverse

one line near the end of the fight hints towards mike already knowing something's wrong, despite being pretty majorly influenced by vecna for the majority of the day

mike: why... why am i the bad guy?

if this is mike — which, considering it sounds like he has to fight to say it, i think it is — it's possible that he saw/found the double meaning in argyle's comment earlier. he glanced down at his shirt when he heard it and didn’t really know how to respond to it

we saw how mike dressed just one episode ago, one day ago, and it wasn't like this. the outfit is used as an indication that something's wrong with mike. the logic of the clothes being unlike him probably opened up the floodgates for his intuition, which we know doesn't have to make logical sense for him to trust it

i’m dead certain that el heard this fight. she heard angela's group perfectly when they were a similar distance away from her, and she has a habit of hearing mike whether he wants her to or not. she seems to have very good hearing in general, possibly because of the way she was born. el knowing this will pop up again later

vecna manipulates mike's reaction to el schmacking angela, which mike notably seems confused about later and can't coherently explain. this part was very, very obvious. even casual viewers picked up on this reaction not matching up with mike’s prior reactions to el dealing with bullies

because of this preoccupation with mike, vecna has to pretty much speedrun fred's visions as this big chunk that takes long enough for the sun to set because he didn't have time to spread them out over the day like he did with chrissy. there was one individual vision, but it was relatively brief and wouldn't have left mike to his own devices for too long

this was most likely happening during the period where everyone was standing around rinkomania, on the drive home, and spilling into the dinner scene, because mike's stormy, silent judgement and bitchy glares are the most in character thing he's done in california so far

the byers and guests have dinner. mike seems normal at first, although there is another hint of a nosebleed. he quickly realises that murray's hiding something and gets visibly suspicious about it, he's still unimpressed by jonathan and argyle's shenanigans, and he instinctively questions joyce's last minute business trip but keeps his thoughts to himself, probably because he doesn't fully understand the situation and also likes and respects the byers too much to start a scene at the dinner table when he's a guest in their home. we saw this behaviour during eddie's campaign, the choice to not involve himself unless called upon while a whole lot's going on around him. this is all mike

and then mike starts a scene at the dinner table when he's a guest in their home

vecna must have jumped back shortly after killing fred. something switches, and suddenly mike's not acting like mike anymore

he makes a totally uncalled for, passive aggressive comment that upsets el further in response to jonathan and argyle trying to make her feel better. that happened on the drive home too, and while mike rolled his eyes at them, that's because they were ridiculously high and acting like it. he didn't have a problem with them being nice to el ten minutes ago. it comes completely out of nowhere. there was no indication he was even that upset about the angela incident prior to this. if anything he was thinking about his fight with will

el visibly finds mike's comment confusing for a second before she leaves to beat herself up in her bedroom, making it the second time in one day she's thought mike was acting wrong. and she's right to think that. mike only ever makes comments like this to el or will in the heat of the moment because they get special treatment. a chill family dinner where mike was previously minding his own business is not equivalent to el throwing lucas through the air and knocking him unconscious

mike doesn't eat at dinner. he's shown playing with his food and will is shown noticing it. argyle must have too because of something that happens later. mike has always done this when he's upset, dating all the way back to the first episode, but in this context it seems to be representative of him resisting something. it reminds me of his implied resistance to sleep too

joyce is confused by what’s going on, probably referring to jonathan and mike’s behaviour specifically. murray, the expert Seer of Things, watches el leave with mild surprise and then immediately looks straight at mike

murray: okay, i, uh, i sense tension. is it the risotto? everyone hates the risotto?

this is a joke, but mike is pointedly not eating the risotto in the same scene as he suddenly starts acting like a different person. it was a targeted comment. the tension is within mike. it's vecna fighting for control of mike's mind

jonathan and argyle, however, have only positive things to say about the risotto. this topic of food (in relation to mike) will pop back up later

now we’re onto the part of how and when vecna kills people that probably stumped robin when she tried to find a pattern to it. why they got an extra day to figure out max was in danger. it’s because vecna had to make sure mike wouldn’t fix things with el first. he’s still keeping an eye on the home team, because he starts opening the first gate the second they leave the trailer park, but el is his priority

mike mopes at breakfast. he still isn't eating. he's still resisting. will is still noticing, which is promising in terms of mike eventually getting help on this. but for now he loses again, just like last night, and he ends up chasing after el. he brings her food too, which as it currently stands is not a good thing. she doesn’t eat either, and i doubt she would have even if he’d brought cutlery

mike seems really confused during their conversation. he trails off a lot and talks himself in circles. it really stands out because it's so different from his usual speech patterns

el: you think i'm a monster too. mike: what? el: yesterday. the way you looked at me. you... you were scared of me. mike: no. no. no, that's not... that's... that's not true. i was surprised. maybe i was a little upset in the moment, but i mean... i'm sorry. i just... i didn't know what to do.

no mention of his comment at dinner. it's almost like he doesn't even remember saying it. he retroactively confirms that he didn't care that much about what happened once the shock wore off. and i cannot stress enough that he is so, so confused. this isn't about no one telling him anything anymore. he was there. he should know what he's talking about. but he doesn't

it sounds like he's seriously fighting to get the words out again, but cranked up to a hundred. this is probably why max got so much extra time. because mike is stubborn as hell, and every single season demonstrates how his true strength lies in his mind, and it probably took a lot of vecna’s focus to force him into upsetting el when we know how much he cares about her and he seems to be actively fighting it. it takes mike five tries to even start to say "that's not true," the same thing he said to will yesterday. but it’s such a minor detail, and they’re overshadowing it all with the love triangle drama, so it’s easy to miss

mike is usually so confident and so level headed and so silver tongued that he can get full grown adults like hopper to respect and listen to him in a crisis, so hearing him trip over his words like this is ringing major alarm bells. el looks confused by the way he's acting again because mike is truly gifted at quickly understanding and explaining situations. he's slightly worse off when they concern his feelings, but he's not this bad. the only way he'd be acting like this is if his ability to understand what's going on has been internally tampered with

the uncharacteristic hesitancy and confusion lingers for most of the scene, but it lets up a lot after "i say it" and entirely disappears by the end, where this really patronising tone comes in to fill its place that doesn't sound like mike at all. he calls el ridiculous, he tries to make her think she's making things up, he brushes off her feelings, he deflects. mike does not do this in conflicts with el. mike avoids. and mike has far more respect for el than this

mike: what, like... what is this? you know what i think of you.

this directly leads into mike externally basing el's self worth on being incredible and special and a superhero, which directly contradicts the information we already have about mike's thoughts on el's powers that they're actively drawing our attention to

in season 3, mike was the one person saying that el shouldn't have to use her powers. that she shouldn't be obligated to sacrifice everything for her friends. that she's more than a superhero or a machine. that she's a person who's worthy of protecting whether she's saving them or not. and he followed through on that when she initially lost her powers: he flipped the car when she couldn't, he made a plan to get her and max to safety and tried to protect her from vecna when they were trapped in starcourt, and months later he got a teddy bear down from the high shelf for her when she couldn't get it herself. there was no hint of mike's view of el potentially changing without her powers. none. and this show is very good at foreshadowing, so that absence is very conspicuous

the tail end of this speech doesn't sound anything like mike. there's a reason he sounds like he's fighting it

but you know who it does sound like? vecna. the guy who thinks every other human being is an unimportant nobody. the guy who says that brenner didn't matter because he was ordinary. the guy who thinks that el is on his level, whether that's as an apprentice or an enemy, because of how special and incredible and superpowered she is. the guy who wants to kill el's friends while she watches, or kill her while they watch, as punishment for turning against him. and he can't do any of that if she doesn't remember him, and she can't remember him until she's pushed into thinking that she's worthless without her powers, which is exactly what mike is putting into her head in this scene despite that not being how he sees her at all

the police interrupt before mike can get his head sorted out, and we get this

mike: everything's gonna be fine. i am going to fix this. okay? just... just stay calm and everything's gonna be fine. okay? just... all you have to do is trust me. i promise. i'm gonna get you out. i promise!

like to his advice to dustin, i think this reveals what's going on in mike's head. el doesn't want reassurance that everything will be okay. el doesn't need to be told not to panic. she's not the one panicking right now. these are all things that mike needs to hear

which implicitly makes "i'm gonna get you out" a lot more interesting. it applies to el, because she's getting arrested and later trapped by brenner, but how does it apply to mike? what does he need out of? what does he need rescuing from?

vecna focuses on max much later, after el doesn't return home and confirms that she's on her way to getting her powers and memories back. they try to hide it with the episode break, but mike immediately starts acting more like himself. he gets into an individual standoff with an authority figure representing the american government in like five minutes. that's the most mike wheeler thing he could possibly do

mike: so, what? we're just supposed to trust that you're the good guys? whoever you are?

this is mike in control of his own mind, mike who's finally acting like himself again, and he's telling us not to blindly trust anyone just because they're supposedly a good guy. he's telling us not to trust him, just like el didn't seem to earlier. because he doesn't trust himself right now. because he's been acting like someone else. if there's one thing mike is stellar at, it's tactical calls like this. this is exactly what happened when will was possessed

mike retreats upstairs to read el's letter, isolating himself. that particular habit becomes something very interesting in a little bit

dear mike, i have gone to become a superhero again. from, el

he realises that his words pushed el towards this decision, that he's the reason she chose to go back to some version of the lab, and he starts to wonder why the hell he said any of it. this kind of implies that what he said downstairs was entirely based on intuitive, subconscious knowledge, since he was pretty focused on the situation in front of him, and seeing something solid and tangible that proves there’s merit to the idea of something being wrong with him just kicked his brain into high gear

mike’s still very present in the hawkins part of the story during dear billy. they’re in mike’s space, and the way they’re hanging out without him there and not even trying to think of a plan makes his absence really obvious. max writes him a letter. max says his name twice, either independently of anyone else’s or before them. he appears in max's memory montage

we see the basement for the first time this season and it's as bad as his room. the lighting is much darker and less homey than before, there's no natural light, and the mess makes it feel claustrophobic when it’s actually a very open space. it's hard not to think that this is meant to be a physical representation of what's going on in mike's mind

as for what mike's actually doing, he has a clear head for the first time since he landed in california because vecna doesn't need to use him to mess with el anymore, and he's using it to question his own actions and words and why they don't reflect what he actually thinks

will: i… i just don't think they've actually thought this through. if this goes on for a month, or months, and people can't get a hold of us, they're gonna totally freak out. meanwhile my mom's probably having a panic attack already.

this is said by a rambling, pacing will, while mike sits on the edge of the bed, not moving, staring a hole through el's letter. it's the next day, and he's still hung up on it. he still can't figure out why he called el a superhero. this is a different type of anxiety than we've seen from mike before, because when mike is anxious he's usually the one pacing non-stop until everyone is annoyed with him. we saw that behaviour from him just last night, so he hasn't just dropped it

mike paces when he wants to fix an external problem. the fact that he's not moving at all here suggests that this is an internal one

the joyce mention can only be indicative of mike's mental space, because joyce isn't that anxious at all this season. certainly not enough to be reminiscent of a panic attack. this isn't foreshadowing for joyce, it's utilising the similarities between her and mike to tell us what he's on the edge of until will pulls him out of it

the idea of a problem lasting for months is interesting too, because threats from the upside down usually last for about a week. i think it's meant to indicate that what mike is quietly freaking out about has been going on for months, and that it’s connected to what's happening in hawkins

mike: before the cops came, me and el, we had a bad fight. we never fight. [...] but, i don’t know, this one just felt more adult.

when they got interrupted, they weren't talking about mike's inability to say he loves el. they were talking about el being a superhero

mike's confused as he says they never fight, which backs up el's confusion over his comment at dinner and his own confusion during the fight in question as mike not being in control during that conflict. this isn’t normal behaviour, and mike’s the one who started it so mike’s not normal right now

the adult comment is really telling too. it felt more adult because it was more adult, because there was an adult involved. vecna was involved

mike: and maybe i should've said something, and if i would've said that thing, then maybe she'd want me there with her. wherever she is.

the show wants us to think he's talking about the romantic conflict. but if what he's thinking about is the idea of breaking up with el, and what he's thinking about has him on the verge of a panic attack, then it can't be el because we've seen his reaction to breaking up with her before and he was totally fine. what they’re telling us is going on in mike’s head makes no sense at all

this is a trick. just like mike’s fake shirt. they're distracting us with the relationship drama and letting us assume that it's about el or will as we please, while mike never specifies that that's what he's talking about

he means the main bulk of the letter. he's talking about calling el a superhero instead of telling her what he actually thinks which is that she doesn't need powers to have worth. he's on the verge of a panic attack because he doesn't know why he said that, because he feels like he's losing his mind again, and because it physically drove el away to get her powers back at the same time as bad things are happening in hawkins. that combination usually leads to el endangering herself and mike protesting, so him driving her to it without even meaning to is definitely panic-worthy

will tells mike that he can see el again and say whatever he wants to say then, but mike clearly isn't convinced. he's not reassured. he doesn't want to hear that he's going to see el again. he doesn't actually want el to have taken him with her. because being near el means uncontrollably saying something he doesn't believe that hurts her again. this is the start of mike wanting to distance himself from el to protect her

mike significantly perks up when joking around/flirting with will and after jonathan makes the plan for them to go to hawkins (away from el), which leads into possibly the most mike scene in this entire season: the bedroom heart to heart with will

will: you're packed already? mike: yeah, i mean, i never really unpacked. thanks, by the way. will: for what? mike: for knocking some sense into me. i mean, i was being a total self-pitying idiot.

there's... a lot going on here. they bring up mike's emotional baggage and then almost immediately have him brush off his panic (a near panic attack, remember) from earlier that he never actually dealt with. both of their reactions support what i was saying earlier, that it would be ridiculous if mike was that panicked over el. not even el being in danger, just a fight with el

will definitely did the right thing by pulling mike out of that spiral and it makes sense that mike would thank him for that, but he was still thinking about it at the end of that scene before he got distracted by jonathan's plan. mike is still bottling things up. there are still things about mike that are being hidden from us

mike attributes his change in mood to will, which isn't entirely wrong. support systems do make a difference in fighting off possession, as seen with the shed scene back in season 2, and mike was instrumental in bringing will back so the opposite is most likely true. but the fact is that it isn't just will, it's that vecna isn't actively using mike anymore, and it’s that mike thinks he’s going to hawkins where he won’t be able to hurt el so he can stop worrying about it for now

mike: hey, also, about the last few days...

it was incredibly intentional that mike didn't get to finish this sentence. it would have told us too much if he did. getting an insight into what mike’s version of the first two days in california looked like would probably answer a lot of questions

mike gets distracted by will's inability to accept an apology, going against his prior, uncharacteristic behaviour of apparently noticing how will was feeling but not really doing anything about it, and we get likely the same information we would have but framed in a different way

mike: listen, the truth, is the last year has been weird, you know?

presumably he's just being dramatic again and actually means the time since the byers moved, but that's still a long time. and if things have been weird in the same way that the last few days have been weird, where he’s constantly confused and not acting like himself and not knowing what’s going on at all, that has some really sinister implications

will nods in response, because he does know. will knows what it's like to be possessed. he knows what it's like to have someone else in your head. he knows what it's like to feel like you're going crazy. he knows what it's like when someone else is using you to hurt the people you care about

mike says he feels like he was focusing too much on el and that he lost will in the process. vecna was using mike to upset el. he was pushing her where he wants her to go on the chess board. he was pushing her into remembering him so that when he tortures her he'll get the full satisfaction out of it. mike wasn't allowed to focus on will because vecna wouldn't get anything out of that

the way mike mends his relationship with will here by just being himself and caring is exactly what vecna was trying to avoid by not letting mike talk to el

they get knocked off course by the shootout, plans change, and their new goal is to find a way to el

vecna continues to leave mike alone, focusing on patrick and the nosy teenagers that are poking around his house. he wants the cali crew (and mike specifically) to find el, and just letting mike do his thing is the easiest way to make that happen

when argyle starts freaking out in the desert, mike realises while standing over an open grave that not only did his words send el away, they could directly lead to her death if anything happens to her. and he still has no clue why the fuck he said that. he freezes up again (continued indication that this is an internal conflict within his mind) as he gets caught up in that thought spiral, because he didn't actually resolve it before despite what he said to will. during their conversation on top of the car, mike connects the mystery of unknown hero agent man’s dying (lack of) words to his own situation

why didn't he just say the number? -> what the hell was going on with mike in the monster/superhero fight?

because mike still can't figure it out. he still doesn't know why he couldn’t just tell el what he thinks of her

mike: i should've explained myself. maybe then eleven would've taken me with her and things would be different, but i... will: no. mike: i didn't know what to say.

there's the reoccurring oddity of mike being uncharacteristically lost again. he didn't know what to say because he didn't know what was going on, and he still doesn't understand the fight or the things he said or why he lied right to el's face

the idea that things would be different if that fight had gone differently is an interesting thing to bring up. they're telling us it's important. the things mike said in that scene are important. if mike wasn't neutralised like this, things would be different. that's why vecna couldn't let him run wild and still entertain any idea of success

i think what they’re really getting at is if mike was able to give el a stronger hint that something’s wrong. because el is very clever, and i do believe that she figures it out near the end of the season, but it would’ve made a significant difference if she got it just a few days earlier

will: i think it's just scary to open up like that. to say how you really feel. especially to the people you care about the most. because what if they don't like the truth?

queercoding aside, that last question really freaks me out within this context. because yes, it was the 80s, but good people existed in the 80s. good people have always existed. our cast of main characters is made up of good people. none of them would hate mike for being queer, even if it's a very understandable fear for him to have. but if mike was unwittingly giving information to vecna? if he was used to push vecna's plans into motion? if he was used to cause the downfall of hawkins?

that's a much, much scarier thing to think about. because i find it more plausible that people would be angry at him for that. mike could easily think so too, even if it's not his fault. he'd certainly blame himself

then mike finds the coordinates, figures out what NINA is, and has the idea to go to suzie for help

the assumption that NINA is a phone -> the assumption that what mike wants to say is that he loves el

the reality that NINA is a computer -> the reality that what mike wants to say is that el doesn't need to have powers or be a superhero to matter

mike: now i don’t know if NINA’s a computer like joshua or owens’ lab, but unknown hero agent man, he gave us access to it for a reason. we just need to find the computer. we find owens, then we warn him. then we warn eleven. i just need a hacker.

this is a coded way for them to talk about what’s going on with mike through the connection they established between the number and the superhero fight. he doesn’t know what’s happening to him, but he knows that it’s happening for a reason. he needs to find out what the situation is and then warn el. and he can do that by going to suzie

mike’s headache from the first episode makes a reappearance when they get there. vecna’s still in his head, just dormant. mike lies flawlessly with will, in contrast to dustin, lucas and max doing a very bad job of it. they’re reminding us that mike is good at lying to make us look closer at the things he’s been saying

suzie: i’m really sorry. truly. but it looks like you came all the way here for nothing. unless… mike: unless? suzie: there might be a way. but we’re gonna need help. and i mean a lot of help.

they said that mike would find answers at suzie’s house. this is it. the scene cuts to karen looking for the kids and running down into the basement right after this, which is looking good for their relationship growing stronger next season

mike came here looking for a computer, and they end up needing suzie’s father’s computer, which is locked up in his study. they use the help from before to distract him, sneak in, and start looking for answers

jonathan: maybe it’s hidden in the code somehow? mike: what you just said makes no sense. suzie: hold your butts. i’ll just trace the IP.

someone’s going to overcomplicate the situation because mike’s head has so much constantly going on in it that even a certified genius like suzie has an initial “what is all this?” reaction to it when she sees the mountains of code on the real world equivalent. but there’s going to be a really simple solution that most of them were too overwhelmed to think of immediately

the cali crew succeed, so whatever this section is foreshadowing in season 5, it’s going to work. much better than the similar plan of this season. there are a million more distractions, everyone gets out unharmed, and the person who locked up the computer is none the wiser at the end

even with the coordinates, they have a hard time finding NINA. mike and will are on the same page but jonathan insists on rechecking the map. it's right, and they remind us that mike said as much. we should trust what he's thinking about something being wrong with him and we should trust the coded solution he just found

argyle is the one who actually finds the trail, so for some reason he's going to be really important to fixing this problem

back in hawkins, vecna plays mind games with nancy and uses her as a messenger for el too. apparently that's just a thing for the plot relevant wheelers

then there's the painting scene. which i think vecna was listening in on, but i don’t think he was influencing it

the answers they found at suzie's were that mike needs help. will gives him help when he starts spiralling about the closing distance between him and el, real help that actually gets through to him, by reminding him of who he fundamentally is. when mike is literally losing himself, that makes all the difference

the scene is also very visually similar to when will was possessed. will is being absolutely smothered in light from the window, because he's mike's light, the one max says you have to hide in to escape vecna, and when the shed scene turned into a time skip montage mike was lit in a similar way

mike: i mean, she’s special. she was born special. maybe i was one of the first people to realise that.

this doesn’t make any sense unless it’s mike looking back into vecna’s mind without realising, because it’s just not true for mike but it is something vecna would think. he was talking about how el was born special (like him) just last episode. he’s the one who told her the secret to making her powers stronger because he saw himself in her

if you zoom in on what mike’s saying, you get “maybe i was one”. was. past tense, when el was nearby. now he’s mike again

when nancy delivers the message for el, it includes seeing mike dead. vecna definitely knows who he is and he's in danger

then we find out, through el, that mike did try to call will. he tried to call him a lot. enough that dustin was sick of hearing about it

dustin: i told you, joyce has this telemarketer job. she's always on the phone. mike won't stop whining about it.

so why didn't mike say as much in their rinkomania fight? he'll complain to dustin but not to will? he was defending himself, saying it's not solely on him to maintain that relationship, so why wouldn't he say something along the lines of "at least i tried," because we all know mike can get harsh in arguments with will that he thinks are unfair

why would mike say that will should have reached out more but not say that he did try to reach out himself? he told el that he called her every night for 353 days without any hesitation, so he doesn't think admitting to that kind of thing is embarrassing. he wanted el to know that he missed her. he protested when will said he deserved the way he was treated during that argument. he wasn't afraid of will knowing how much he cares because he started shamelessly flirting and told will that hawkins isn't the same without him like two days after their fight, once he started acting like himself again

and that's the problem. because it wasn't fully mike at that point. all he could get out was "that's just not true," which was calling on our pre-existing knowledge of him to piece things together

which is exactly what el starts doing. she has a lot on her mind, but she's noticed all of mike’s odd behaviour already. this is just another thing that's so blatantly contradictory that it pushes her towards really questioning where all of it is coming from. she knows this doesn't make sense. if she heard mike and will arguing about the calls she heard mike say that he was the bad guy. that was the very first hint mike seemed to be trying to give anyone that something was wrong with him, the first real effort he made to warn them, despite not fully knowing what he was warning them of. and el's figuring it out. this perfectly matches up with what jonathan said at suzie's about the answers being hidden in the code, and with mike’s goal of warning el

we get our second elmike reunion of the season, and it's right this time. el gives him a once over when she first sees him, and she seems to realise very quickly that this is actually mike. his smile looks real. he’s wearing his signature colour. he hugs el the way he usually does. they do their cute little forehead touch thing that we saw in starcourt after vecna almost killed her. he's not wearing unnecessary sunglasses. he's not ignoring will

in contrast to the shitty knockoff comment from the airport reunion, we get this

el: oh, mike. is it really you? mike: it's me. i'm here. el: okay.

that's the most "loved one fighting off possession" dialogue ever. and there's no reason el would ask that question if she hadn't realised that he's been not mike at some point, because el isn't a character like mike or joyce or hopper or will who's had problems with not knowing what's real before

this is confirmation that despite vecna's interference, mike is still here. this is will speaking through morse code and just saying the word "here" after being given strength by mike and his family, just like mike was given strength by will. and el looks so happy about it that it suddenly makes me as emotional as the willel reunion does

then we get into the piggyback, which i think has some layers to it as an episode title. it's been said a lot that vecna's like el. not just that he has powers like her or that he's from the lab like her, but that he's like her. it's incredibly easy for me to believe that they think similarly enough to have the same ideas. using mike to get to el could be described as piggybacking

el came up with it by remembering the times she's gone into people's minds to find the source of why they changed. i think this could be part of the solution to getting mike back. it matches up with what suzie said about tracing the IP address. el will have to go into mike's mind to help him, finally letting us see everything that's been going on with him throughout the whole show. mike's role in the party is sharing vital information, so it wouldn't surprise me if he spies back on vecna like will did, especially since that was mike's idea in the first place, or shows el the way to find max or vecna's weakness

it's interesting that they keep calling it a mind fight too, because that doesn't really make me think of a fight in the mind. it sounds like a fight for the mind. and that's definitely not what happens with max, because her life is at stake, not her mind

over in russia, the adults finally hear about what’s going on

hopper: she said the doc's with the girl. and the girl went off to fight some evil in hawkins. then they all went off-grid. the doc, the girl, everybody. [...] and they're not alone. joyce's kids are with them.

mike isn't included in the group that's fighting vecna. this omission makes sense for argyle, because hopper doesn't know he exists and joyce has no reason to think he'd be with them, but there's no way in hell that mike would leave el or will in the middle of this. joyce knows that. joyce has seen firsthand how stubborn he is when will is in danger, and hopper came around to him being the same way with el by the end of season 3

i don't think this is a character thing. joyce only briefly saw mike acting weird at dinner after months of being nowhere near him and that isn't really enough to figure anything out, even for her. i think it was a very conspicuous decision for the writers to not align him with the strictly good guys’ side when they had the opportunity to

argyle making a pizza is included in the preparing for battle montage. it's funny, but it also implies that whatever happens with that pizza will be important to defeating vecna

then el and mike get their first real conversation. when mike puts the pizza box glasses on and confirms that they work, el is watching him like she's looking for something. it's only when he starts goofing around, like when he joked about his singing or made fun of himself with the M&Ms in season 3, that el relaxes and starts giggling and looking absurdly happy again. this is the way mike always tries to make el laugh. it's nothing like the lame socks joke from rinkomania

mike is literally in the dark. he can't see what's going on. el can

el: mike. mike: yeah? el: i… missed you. mike: yeah. yeah, i missed you too.

el is weighing her words very carefully. she doesn't know how much she can say to mike yet. and it really sounds like they've missed each other for longer than the few days separation, because they haven't really been together like this in months

from there mike brings up the monster/superhero fight again, and el just listens. she's feeling him out, waiting to see if he has some kind of explanation for what was going on there. because he was back to himself in the reunion scene, he was back to worrying about her safety and being relieved when she's okay. that was completely at odds with the superhero comment

argyle shows up with his pizza before mike can apologise or tell el that she doesn't need to act like a superhero for him to care about her. the pizza is for mike, it turns out, but he doesn't want it

and he shouldn't, right? wasn't food bad?

el: good. mike: it's good? what do you mean it's good? el: really good. mike: that's insane. that's blasphemous.

mike seems to think so. but then argyle and el conspire against him (and the fact that they're worried enough about him to make him eat something in the first place is really telling of how much trouble he's in), and he admits defeat and accepts more help

mike: okay, okay! no, you're right. it's good.

el says the pizza is good. jonathan and argyle said the risotto was good. will was eating at breakfast

mike wasn't eating the risotto when he disappeared and someone else filled his place. mike wasn't eating breakfast before he went up to el's bedroom and someone else filled his place. mike wasn't eating back in season 2 while his parents listed off all the ways he's bad and horrible, fundamentally, as a person. mike wasn't eating in the first episode when his parents said that he shouldn't look for will. nancy told mike that the things he likes to eat are disgusting in season 1

it was never about vecna. the food is mike. admitting that the food is good is admitting that he is good

el knows this. will knows this. jonathan knows this. argyle knows this, and he's only known mike for a week. the entire party knows this. dustin, lucas, joyce, max. even karen's catching on. ted thinks the game mike likes is lame and for nerds, but that it being called pure evil is ridiculous. nancy cried when she saw a vision of mike's dead body and used the desire to keep that from becoming reality as fuel to keep fighting

dustin told mike not to jump off the quarry. el always finds the strength to save mike. steve saved him in the tunnels. max freaked out when she thought he was dead at starcourt

mike constantly throws himself into dangerous situations with no care for his own safety. he put himself at high risk of getting shot during the shootout by physically shielding the others because he thought that would be better than will or jonathan getting shot, which jonathan had to put a stop to

everyone knows that mike wheeler is worth it. they're just waiting for him to catch up

that's what mike needs to beat this. he needs to realise that he, mike wheeler, is worth fighting for, exactly as he is. that his continued existence in this world is worth preserving. that he can't let himself disappear. fighting for his friends isn't enough, he has to fight for himself

here’s where we get into the mind fight, which mike isn’t really apart of, so there shouldn’t be a lot to say. right?

vecna: you think i don't see what you're doing? memory max: is mike a good kisser? vecna: you think i don't see everything?

no, it turns out there’s this very conspicuous placement of a mike mention in this part of the story. the dialogue in the memory montages this episode matter, and max's first one in the running up that hill scene had barely any dialogue because words don't seem to be the point for her. the point is the togetherness and joy and sense of belonging from having fun with her friends. if the point of that memory is el laughing, they could have just had that. they didn't have to include the line about mike right in the middle of vecna saying he sees everything, but they did. because vecna is watching mike, and watching el through mike

el was giving the cali crew updates the whole time she was looking for max. vecna only came for max when el said she was getting close so that he wouldn’t kill max too soon

into the red mind soup world we go! vecna monologues, tells el she's the monster, says that the whole point of this was for her to watch max die

vecna: all i needed was someone to open the door. and you did that for me. without even realising it. didn't you? and when you did realise, you chose to resist.

this would work perfectly if you put mike in this scene. mike was used to open the door to get el here. mike didn't know what he was doing. mike doesn't even need to fully realise what's happening to resist it

and now, we’ve finally reached the infamous monologue

mike asks if el can hear him a lot. the answer is yes, but she can't tell him. she can't tell him because of the vines. she can't tell him that she knows what he's been trying to say all week because mike isn't just mike anymore

mike: el? i don't know if you can hear this, but… but if you can, i want you to know i'm here, okay? i'm right here.

more confirmation that mike hasn't disappeared yet. that he's still in there. that there's still hope

then he starts getting into all the obvious lies. but the thing is, i don't think they're lies, because i don't think mike is the one saying them. mike is a good liar. vecna is giving the monologue. which means it's not a lie, it's just not true. and mike looks like he's fighting it the whole time. this is where the alternate interpretation of what a mind fight is comes in

at the end of season 3, max and mike were the ones with el when vecna chased her through starcourt. they tried to protect her from vecna. they stalled long enough to keep el from getting skewered and for joyce to close the gate. now el is trapped, max is being killed in front of her, and mike is monologuing down from the sky and making her cry. they are both being used to hurt el

el knows that mike hasn't loved her since the day they met, because she heard him say he wanted to send her back to pennhurst that first night. el knows that mike can live without her (if not happily), because he made it a whole year into her disappearance but less than a week into will's. el knows that mike's life didn't start the day he met her, because he tried to end it a few days later when she ran off and took any hope of finding will with her

it's not until mike calls el a superhero again that she realises exactly what's happening

el's reaction to mike saying he can't lose her looks like she's thinking the exact same thing. she knows something's wrong with mike, and she doesn't want to lose him either, because he was one of the first friends she ever made and she doesn't want him to disappear

mike starts parroting what brenner said about flying and moving mountains, and el looks angry. she looks at vecna, looming ominously over max, not lifting a finger to stop mike's supposedly good monologue. and then she's able to pull away from the vines

mike was a distraction. mike was keeping el from breaking away sooner and saving max and hawkins

this is what they meant by forced conformity killing the kids. mike didn't choose to conform to society's expectations of the nature of his relationship with el, he was forced into it. and max died because of it

max's plan didn't work. nancy's plan didn't work. el's plan didn't work. dustin's plan didn't work

joyce's plan did. joyce caught vecna off guard again. and it worked because she didn't tell the kids what she found out about hopper. mike had no clue what she was doing. he didn't know she was involved, and vecna distracted him before he could figure it out by himself

vecna screwed himself over. because despite all the posturing about being the superior specimen, vecna is not as smart as mike. that's why mike had to be free to find el. because mike is better than him. mike has foiled his evil plans over and over and over again. even now, when vecna's supposed to have total control, mike managed to warn el when he was only at 30% control against vecna's 70%, and he did it in a way where vecna doesn't even know she knows. vecna screwed himself over letting mike have even that much, because mike is better than him, whether he likes it or not

the gates opening -> mike urging el to wake up -> el reviving max

once again, mike is right in the middle of things that are happening because of vecna despite supposedly having nothing to do with it

the fact that he's crying is also a massive red flag. he's one of the most emotionally closed off characters on the show. he only cries when something's seriously wrong

he really is terrified of losing el, and he's spent the better part of the past week trying to figure out why he said something he didn't mean that pushed her into danger, and he just said a bunch more stuff he didn't mean, and she hasn't woken up yet, and if she never does it'll be his fault

two days later, mike is back to himself. the first thing he does is hug karen

karen: you are never going on vacation again, you hear me? in fact, you can forget about college. you are staying right here.

there’s more of mike being “here,” officially adding karen to the list of people who will probably be fighting for him in season 5

then we cut to jonathan and nancy

jonathan: this isn't an earthquake. i know. i know a lot more than you think. nancy: how? we've been trying to call you— jonathan: i know. i know, i'm sorry. we just couldn't risk contact. nancy: "we couldn't risk contact"? jonathan: hey, hey. i'll tell you everything, okay? i promise.

we know jonathan's very perceptive. jonathan sees things that people try to hide. jonathan's been with mike all week, jonathan's seen everything, and jonathan's hinting at having more answers than anyone would expect

i honestly think he has the best frame of reference for mike's normal behaviour. he's known him since he was five, he's older than him so has a better memory of certain points of his life (as illustrated by the toy up the nose story that will only vaguely remembered), and he didn't stop paying attention to him the second he stopped being cuter than his baby sister like the wheelers did

at the hospital, mike is in the same room as lucas for a grand total of ten seconds before lucas notices that something’s wrong with him

i can't for the life of me figure out what tipped him off. i have no idea what's going through his head or why he gives mike such a suspicious look, similar to el's from the pizza box glasses conversation. mike can't see lucas as he realises something’s wrong because it's during the hug, just like he couldn't see el before, which means that vecna can't see that they're onto him either

i'm confident that he was 100% mike at this point (with vecna still in his head, just dormant again), but the effect it's had on him is apparently still extremely noticeable to the people who know him very well

mike didn't seem to know that el brought max back to life. she didn't tell him, and she doesn't explain now either. he'll have to be in the dark on basically everything in season 5 for them to stand a chance, up until the point where they get him back properly, which is a major problem because mike is instrumental to figuring things out and making plans. hawkins literally fell apart without him

will looks concerned when he finds out how messy mike has gotten from nancy’s lighthearted jab about his bedroom. it seems like a lot of different people are collecting a lot of different pieces that they'll have to put their heads together to make sense of

when nancy talks to jonathan one on one again, they continue to hide what’s going on with mike behind the relationship drama. she says that she's glad jonathan was with mike first and will second, kind of as an afterthought, which is another hint towards jonathan knowing what's going on with mike

while they’re cleaning up the cabin, el not talking to mike goes from implicit to textual

will: did she… talk to you at all? mike: not much. i mean, a little bit.

this is exactly what jonathan was talking about. team hawkins was trying to call the byers, but they couldn't risk contact in case the government was listening. mike has been trying to call the byers, but they can't risk contact in case vecna is listening

i’m pretty sure this is what mike was going for in the first place. the idea of distancing himself from the group and el specifically. it’s exactly the kind of move he would pull, and it’s funny that they ended up going with what was originally mike’s plan because it’s just the best course of action. he came up with it days ahead of anyone else, based mostly on instinct and not the evidence that el and jonathan needed to collect over the week to figure it out

will: it's strange, knowing now who it was this whole time, but…

the camera is focused on mike as will says this. half of his face is in shadow, which conveys a sense of duplicity

we cut away for a second, but it comes back to mike for will to say that vecna won't stop until he's taken everything. vecna will likely try to completely take over mike's mind. possibly as a replacement body, because he knows they wouldn’t dare try the molotov cocktail trick when killing him means killing mike too. this matches up with what happened in season 2 and joyce's fear that will would cease to exist as the possession grew stronger

then the adults show up and mike gets an individual reunion with hopper, which kind of visually parallels the one with karen

hopper: you’ve grown. mike: yeah. you shrunk.

hopper’s comment puts him on the team of people who will be fighting to get mike back in season 5 too. staying “here” is connected to growth, and he’s happy to see that mike has grown, and he’s going to want him to keep doing that

mike’s part is more of the same of their dynamic from the start of season 3. mike is being annoying to show affection because hopper is one of the few adults he feels safe enough to act like an obnoxious teenager around. but hopper doesn’t get mad about it this time, he gets this fond smile on his face and initiates the hug. this is one more thing that mike’s been conditioned to think is bad about himself getting treated as good instead

hopper was vitally important to figuring out will’s possession. he was the first person joyce called and he’s the one who always figured out what will was saying when he found unconventional ways to communicate like through drawings or morse code. hopper’s probably going to do something similar for mike

[tviral]

EVERYTHING I HATE ABOUT RE3R NEMESIS

- the entire opening sequence. i think it could have been REALLY strong if they played their cards right. starting off in jill's apartment at the very beginning of the outbreak is an interesting idea, but the only thing the opening sequence succeeded at was making nemesis look EXTREMELY stupid. he grabs jill numerous times, slaps her around a little bit, AND JUST LETS HER GET BACK UP AND RUN AWAY??? (although, realistically, she should not have survived anything nemesis did to her at all. he quite literally kicked her full force in the chest and she should have died right then and there lmao but i digress) not to mention he tears off a chunk of the ceiling and causes the building to collapse on himself. good job idiot. - the rooftop scene. yet again, nemesis has jill in his grasp, LITERALLY HAS HIS HAND AROUND HER THROAT, and he fumbles. WHY. - they almost redeemed themselves with nemesis walking out of the fire all dramatically and catching a rocket out of mid air, but they immediately ruined it by having him just fucking stand there and do nothing while carlos shoots him with another rocket. - the rest of his encounters are completely scripted, and designed to where nemesis does not feel like any sort of actual threat. he cannot enter safe rooms, and he just stands outside and waits for you until you leave or he eventually fucking despawns - doesn't even get to kill brad. brad just dies via zombie bite, thus taking away nemesis' only fucking kill. - LITERALLY GRABS JILL BY THE HEAD AND THEN TOSSES HER AWAY. - misses a shot on jill at point blank with a rocket launcher. i am peeling off my skin at this point. - subway scene was decent. it's fine. whatever. reminiscent of the original. - the stupid fucking dog form boss fight in the clock tower section. the fact that they gave him a dog form at all instead of having him gradually appear more and more degraded throughout the game makes me angry beyond words. WE WERE ROBBED OF AN HD NEMESIS BOSS FIGHT WHERE HIS HEAD AND ARM BOTH GET MELTED OFF WITH ACID AND HE STILL GOES AFTER JILL. - he kills tyrell but like what the fuck ever who cares. his death literally has no meaning. - doesn't even get to kill nikolai either because they turned him into a loser lame ass "surprise" villain, so he gets plot armor by virtue of that i guess. - final fight with nemesis is laughably boring and easy on any difficulty that isn't inferno, where the boss fight is genuinely so difficult that it is near-impossible to complete unless you're an actual god at the game because ig they didn't do any actual play testing.

in conclusion: nemesis in re3r is no longer a looming threat or constant presence throughout the game. he is actually just a joke. capcom should be paying ME royalties because he is my oc now.

[pocketramblr]

Requesting some writing insight.

I'm trying to write an escape room segment in fic form. I have settled on how to write the character interactions (the overall tone, the nature of their relationship at this point) and I do have an established goal for the puzzle itself... I'd just like some advice on how to plan and implement the puzzle sequence itself.

I've never written that scenario so my advice will have a shade of "blind leading the blind" to it, but I have dnd experience and have been in escape rooms before so perhaps that balance things out.

Ok, so you have the goal for the puzzle. That's good, the next step is to figure out how many steps and mini puzzles there are between the start and the goal. I'd recommend thinking of it as a three-act structure (there could literally be three rooms, or it could just be three stages of clues, like trying to find a box, open the box, and use the correct tool in the box.)

The first act is set up, and should be a sort of tutorial showing what different clues could be. I'd recommend this stage being several clues that can be gathered in any order. For example, maybe stage one is "break into the haunted house" and the players need to get the key to the door code to get in. (Say, six digits) Maybe one clue is found in the mailbox, one in the light by the door, one under the doormat (you could put a red herring here, where the item under the mat doesn't have the correct number, but flipping the mat itself over does. If you do, keep the red herring to be a legitimate clue in stage two!). Then, a clue about the order of the digits in the code. These clues can be found in any order, and can show off how each character approaches the escape room. Who immediately starts trying to look under the doors? Who pulls out a flashlight? Who starts guessing random numbers? Who works together? Who gets really excited about finding clues, and who is very confused?

The second act is probably the longest. In this portion, the clues are more linear and lead to each other, but there should probably be a few that could be found individually. The characters are in the "haunted house" but now must look for clues- will the final act be behind the bookshelf? The piano? The clock? The painting? They don't know, but each clue gets them closer. In this stage, use anything with writing on it, like clocks or books, but also less obvious things: a set of tops where one spins differently and has the correct direction on it where the others point you the wrong way, a set of dice where one number is missing, or appears twice. In this stage, characters will probably try to go linearly. I'd recommend a bigger ending to this stage than the first one: make it a puzzle where they have to do something physical, like jump three times on a floor tile, or crank a wheel to turn a hidden spinning bookshelf, or raise or lower a chandelier. One escape room I once played ended the second stage with a puzzle where we had to find a gun and then shoot the light switch with it, which cut the lights before the final door opened, letting light back in. Slightly terrifying, very fun. An effect like that can add a lot for your characters to play with.

The third stage is going to be the most stressful. The time limit is breathing down the character's necks, they're so close to winning but they could still lose! There usually aren't as many clues in this section, and they can either be entirely linear or entirely not. You could do a mix like the second stage, but I personally feel like that doesn't mesh as well with the vibe. If it's linear, characters rush through reach one. They should be harder puzzles than the first two stages, but you can either have characters solve them quickly because they're learning, or fumble and panic and overthink. Depends on how smart your characters are, and how you want them to win- or lose. If it's not linear, it should be a collect-them-all type puzzle where they either rush over each other, or divide and conquer with newfound practice. Whatever end the second stage had, this one should be even bigger. Putting the final answer together should be interactive, though it doesn't need to be as physical as stage two. The ending should be flashy with special effects.

[thebluemallet]

My Top 10 Favorite Moments From Bridgerton Season 2, Episode 3: "A Bee In Your Bonnet"

It has officially been one year since Season 2, so please enjoy this ongoing series of posts about my favorite moments from each episode (and ignore the fact that I never finished doing this for Season 1). My favorite moments in no particular order (except maybe chronological):

10- Edmund's Final Farewell

Not everything on this list can be a "fun" moment. But this moment deserves a mention because it definitely left an impact.

This opening was heartbreaking, wasn't it? There's the picture-perfect day, the father-son bonding, and then the bee. It's a change from the books having Anthony and Violet present at Edmund's death, but a necessary one, I think. But the most heartbreaking part of the scene is when Edmund seems to realize (and accept) that his time has come--he's going to die. So he reaches out to Violet, the love of his life. And Violet understands (but does not accept) that he's saying goodbye as Anthony watches on helplessly.

9- "Is that a promise or a threat?"

Daphne has returned to the Bridgertons with Augie just in time to meet the lady her older brother has been courting and intends to marry. And she promises to help Anthony this season just as much as he helped her last year. Which Anthony doesn't take too well.

8- Mistaken Identity

The Sharmas and Lady Danbury have arrived in the country! And Kate is definitely charmed by the sight of Aubrey Hall. She can't help but take it in. And does Anthony first greet the woman he has been courting first? Nope. He makes a beeline for Kate. They banter. Newton makes his feelings known. Daphne is giving them some side-eye. Eventually, she proves herself to be the only Bridgerton in possession of the Bridgerton brain cell (or any brain cell), because she immediately clocks that this must be the woman who has won Anthony's heart.

But of course, she quickly discovers that the woman who has won Anthony's heart and the woman he has been courting, are two very different women.

7- Pall Mall

It's pretty safe to say that this sequence was highly anticipated by anyone who read the books. And we got it all. We've got Kate and Anthony being competitive maniacs and we've got the Bridgerton siblings being little shits. More Bridgertons than the book, even, since Eloise and Benedict didn't participate in the book.

It's also a series of red flags waving furiously in the wind that Edwina and Anthony would not make a good couple. Anthony's really struggling to hold on to his "gentlemanly" persona in Kate's presence and his siblings aren't helping things. Kate immediately gets along with the Bridgertons and gets into the spirit of the game. But it's clear from the start that Edwina is not having a good time. The playful music stops every time it's Edwina's turn to swing. And every time she misses, there's only polite clapping. It's like the Bridgertons are taking pity on her and decided that teasing her would be akin to kicking her while she's down.

By the time Edwina bows out of the game, she's struggling to keep up her own "pleasant" diamond persona. It's a wonder that Daphne is the only one who picked up on anything else happening between Kate and Anthony.

6- Mud Bath

Anthony and Kate falling in the mud. Of course their competitiveness would lead them there. But it allows them a much-needed moment of levity that they haven't had since they first met. And, honestly, it's probably the hardest Anthony's laughed in years.

Of course, Anthony's emotional baggage comes back to haunt him and the moment is gone.

5- Emotional Damage

The entire episode is killing us with the flashbacks. There's Edmund's death, Anthony being thrust into a role he is nowhere near prepared for, everyone looking to Anthony to have all the answers when he doesn't have a clue, nearly losing his mother and sister in childbirth, and then losing his mother to her grief for who knows how long afterward. Anthony had to develop a tough exterior to survive it all and nobody around him seems to understand how hard that was--and still is--for him.

4- Benedict, how high are you?/No it's "hi, how are you?"

If your friend tells you to only take one edible at a time...you listen to them. They probably have more experience than you. Unfortunately for Benedict, he was not in possession of the Bridgerton brain cell when he decided to drink all of Colin's tea. And he has to learn from his mistake by tripping balls during his mother's dinner.

But let's be honest: it's Benedict. He will learn nothing from this experience whatsoever.

3- The Proposal That Wasn't

Jesus Christ, Lady Danbury! Are you blind? Your success from last season must have made you cocky. (Though if you think about it, she did as much to get Daphne and Simon together as Emma did with Mr. and Mrs. Weston.)

Anthony's been eyefucking Kate from his seat for the entire dinner and he looks like he wants to stab himself in the eye with his spoon when Lady Danbury not-so-subtly hints at a proposal.

They're all lucky that Anthony's dinner didn't come back up at the effort of attempting to force a proposal. Thankfully he abandons his efforts...for now.

2- Anthony vs Newton

If it hadn't been for the subtitles, I might have missed Newton growling at Anthony. And it's funny to see Anthony get so worked up because he can't get a dog to like him. Why is Newton's good opinion so important to you, Anthony? Did you ever stop to think about that? Hm? No? I didn't think so.

1- The Bee: The Sequel

Anthony's past has come back to haunt him. When he's bickering speaking with Kate after her ride, a bee lands on her, and Anthony can't help but panic. Especially when Kate does not heed his warnings to stay still. And all of that fear of watching someone he loves dying right in front of him comes rushing back. And only Kate can bring him down from his panic.

Controversial opinion, but: I don't mind that they deviated from the book here. At this point in the book, Anthony decided that sucking the venom out of Kate's bosom was the only way to save her, they get caught by Violet, Mary, and Portia, and they have no choice but to get married. But with the number of times a lady's reputation is "compromised" in a Bridgerton book and the couple is forced to marry, that plot device would get very old very quick in the show.

[mlobsters]

supernatural s13e17 the thing (w. davy perez)

i'm just hoping for a middling episode at this point. if i had to point to one plot thing that opened the door to so much of the nonsense of later seasons, it's the whole men of letters concept. like a neverending excuse to make up new magic, monsters, good guys, bad guys. i like that it gave them a home, but i really don't enjoy that set. it's so sterile and meh. wish they had a crusty weird house packed with shit, like bobby's place. anyway. long held irritation over mol. and the british men of letters storyline is like all those things i hate x1000. i see how they're kind of working ketch like crowley, what side is he working for, loyal to himself in the end, etc. but i just can't give a flying fuck about ketch because of the infuriating b!mol arc. and mark sheppard had years to work into that role and for them to develop it. meh!

tentacle monster coming through the nexus with the beautiful young flapper lady is chained to the table...... ok....

also where did those randos get archangel grace in the 20s

dean, come collect your man, he's drooling on the books again.

by collect, i did not mean put "kick me" sticky notes on him -_-

well that little research montage sequence was cute. is the "jinkies" thing to tease sam about velma kissing him? or just general acknowledgement that the scooby episode did actually happen -_-

spn s13e17 key to chapterhouse / hannibal s3e6 reunited in the uffizi / the magicians s3e5 key to fillory clock door

so two things that jumped out at me about this scene. first, it just had a little more atmosphere and pretty for pretty's sake with the crumbled leaves falling through the shaft of light - which all kind of hit the magicians buttons for me. and secondly, the music... (this is a lennertz episode) it has brief shades of bloodfest (the music used in That Scene in hannibal s2e13 mizumono and kind of became will and hannibal's big emotion music) which automatically makes the spn music hit all sorts of emotional buttons that it didn't earn. now i think they've used that sound before, but combined with the scene and the atmosphere which is so often lacking in the later seasons, it really hit for me. (totally cried just getting that small clip from hannibal with the music, think bryan fuller said something about this piece of music resonates at the frequency of his tear ducts)

i have posted a lot about the musical score in hannibal - here's my masterpost :S ok one more thing about that piece, an essay by kate schau talking about brian reitzell's score in hannibal:

In a 2014 interview with Vulture, Reitzell describes it as “musically, probably the crown jewel of the whole season.” While most of Reitzell’s work for the score is predominantly sparse and percussive, “Bloodfest” adopts a more tonal, texturally dense approach. As a nod to The Silence of the Lambs’ association of Bach’s Goldberg Variations with Hannibal the Cannibal’s violent impulses, “Bloodfest” takes its well-known opening aria and slows it down by a factor of twenty; here it also undergoes pervasive electronic distortion. The resulting work is beautiful, haunting, and utterly essential to the atmosphere of the scene. The syrupy-slow melody of the aria gives it the trancelike quality of meditation, but none of the objectivity; like a premonition of heartbreak, it seems to operate in a temporally detached space of reminiscence where emotion is both immediate and far away.

i often bemoan the show that could have been with a different composer at the helm, but will add to the list if they could have kept the look and feel dark gritty messy aesthetics of the early seasons. so much of the later seasons is just too bright, too saturated, too sterile. sucks the vibes right out. it's sad.

um ok. asmodeus is juicin with archangel grace.

i mean just. we're really going with hentai tentacles

i don't care how many times they do it, i love it every time. never gets old

ok. tentacle monster is a god, sure

SAM Dean. OPHELIA If she fed on him, he would be here.

SAM So what, then? MARCO It’s like we said, if she’s not feeding, she’s breeding.

so ketch is gonna bring gabriel to the boys, how convenient

sigh ok. better than a woman in possibly-sexual-peril i guess

DEAN Oh my God. That's tragic. It's like a Hallmark movie. But with tentacles.

good one, dean-o

YOKOTH I like you, Dean. You’re strong. And I enjoy looking at your face.

it's a good face, can't argue with that

SAM So, that’s why we came. I mean we--we--we--need the Seal to get our family back. DEAN If it could take us somewhere other than, uh, tentacle porn land -- not that there’s anything wrong with that.

being that sam outed your "animated japanese erotica" hobby to jody in 12x06, we know, dean. we know

(this is my periodic attempt to remember where cas is and failing. why)

KETCH Was working for. But when he finds out that I stole his prize milk cow, well, I imagine he will hunt me to the ends of the earth. So...this is the only safe place I know. SAM What? Do you think you’re gonna just move in? KETCH Dibs on the top bunk? SAM No. DEAN (speaking at the same time as Sam) Deal. SAM What? DEAN I don’t know what the hell’s going on here. But if this helps us get Mom back, helps us get Jack back, then...sure. Whatever you want.

okie dokie. also convenient taking the moral quandary of extracting more of gabriel's grace for the spell, ketch just had it bottled up from asmodeus's stash

SAM Fine? So you want Ketch to go and not me? DEAN I don’t care if he dies. Hell, I’m kinda rooting for it. SAM Still, you can’t -- DEAN No, I have to. It takes something that’s been over there to open up the right door, so that’s either you or me. So I’m gonna go. And if something happens to me, if -- if-- if time runs out, then I need you to come and save me, and save Mom, and save whoever else, okay? SAM It’s safer if we go together. DEAN Oh, there’s no such thing as safer over there. You know that. I know you don’t like this, okay? I don’t expect you to. This is the way it’s gonna be.

sammy gettin a little jealous there. railroading sam on a decision like this feels like poking the bear. poking that giant little brother you don't get to make decisions for me bear. but i do at least appreciate that dean actually explains that a) he would worry about sam dying, unlike ketch and b) that sam can come save him if it goes sideways if they're not both there. script had dean saying please. guess they decided no please was necessary

sam looking sad/resigned, dean looking determined, gabriel suffering in the background

i asked for middling, i think that mostly qualified