#david refers to them as an 'us' in a very intentional way

[journal-three]

I feel so stupid saying this but Staged is genuinely an AU Crowley and Aziraphale.

I've seen comments saying it and went "that's stupid stop projecting" but I've watched 2 seasons and it. actually is.

[freedelusionshere]

Syd is staying at The Bear

Started thinking about this after getting into a meta discussion with @gingergofastboatsmojito, but I would really love it if Syd chose to stay at The Bear and turn down Chef Adam entirely for sensible business reasons in addition to the fact that she has deep feelings for what she built with Carmen?

Her dad constantly puts pressure on her about the financial side of things and finding a good partner. I think this is a reference to Sheridan Road and maybe someone not holding her down in the past when she tried to have her own business, and it blew up in her face.

The show makes it clear that Syd does understand how to run a business right out of the gate but has avoided saying exactly what happened with Sheridan Road up until this point, and that has to be intentional. Some thoughts:

She writes that whole huge business plan for The Beef and hands it to Carmy in S1 and it has charts and numbers and everything. Carmy has never done this himself but does understand how to make the kitchen run like it's been run at other fine dining places he's had an open door to work at. That becomes very clear in S2 when he buys $11K worth of Dystopian Butter (LOL) like he's Chef David or something.

Carmy is bad with money and operations. Syd and Sugar are not, but Carmy wants to be in control, so Syd is starting to not trust that he's going to be a good partner. Then, what does she do? She goes around in S2 and talks to other owners and chefs and does her research and they all tell her their horror stories and give her advice. She is thinking about all this stuff in the background when Carmy ditches for Claire, which leads up to S3.

Carmy, after losing it in the walk-in in the S2 finale, is terrified because they finished the service just fine without him, and he knows Syd has every reason to leave him now. His pivot is to tell her that he will get her the Michelin star and offers her a partnership, but of course he has to be creatively in control because he's retained stars (never won them). But really, this is all about impressing Syd and also competing with her, and it mirrors the story Syd's dad tells her about her mother in S2 when they got a flat tire, and he was fumbling around trying to pretend he knows what he's doing while her mother just got out of the car and changed the damn tire.

Syd avoids signing the agreement, because she doesn't want to read what is in it. She's already got one foot out the door mentally and is afraid it will give her a reason to stay, and she knows these people are sincere and cares about them. The same people that repeatedly bring it up and try to get her to sign it, but things are starting to get too real real, and it's triggering all her shit about Sheridan Road all over again. Chef Adam approaches her to poach her from The Bear and it gives her an out that promises the financial stability and promises of the control she's always wanted. But at what cost?

With all of these things taken as a whole, Syd has access to Nat and Pete, who can help her run numbers, she can figure out who the backers are, Richie worked around people who worked closely with Chef Adam who she has now been introduced to. She can look at the timeline Chef Adam is presenting, and the show has told us that Syd should know Chef Adam is "off" (he's applying way too much pressure already) and will turn him down. But it also would be great if Syd makes Carm have to counter-offer, to give her more creative control, hash out their differences, etc.

Also, Syd can present her own business plan to someone like, say, Chef Terry, for The Bear, and possibly secure financial support for The Bear when Cicero's money goes sideways (and make Carmy fall in love with her even more than he is already). This allows Syd resolution to her past so she can move forward with Carmy as her partner, do the family style with the cola ribs and risotto like they originally planned, and fend off stuff like Chef Adam trying to poach their staff in S4 for his fine dining underworld nightmare restaurant.

[tomorrowusa]

MAGA is really just a variant of fascism. The racist anti-Latino orgy of ethno-nationalism at MSG on Sunday has removed all doubt.

Dean Obeidallah at SubStack walks us through it.

Here is a sample of the hate buffet served up to the cheering MAGA crowd. 1.        Anti-women: Donald Trump again called VP Harris a "very low IQ individual." Tucker Carlson said to cheers if Harris wins she will be “the first Samoan, Malaysian, low IQ former California prosecutor ever to be elected president.”  Grant Cardone, a businessman said VP Harris and “her pimp handlers will destroy our country,” obviously suggesting Harris is a  prostitute. -David Rem a person the campaign identified as a childhood friend of Trump, brandished a crucifix and called Vice President Kamala Harris “the antichrist” and “the devil” to huge applause. 2.        Anti-Black: -The rally played Confederate favorite “Dixie” before Black GOP Rep. Byron Donalds came out at Madison Square Garden. -“This cool Black guy with the thing on his head, what is that a lampshade? Believe this guy? Just kidding, that’s one of my buddies. He had a Halloween party last night. We had fun, we carved watermelons together,” said podcaster and alleged comedian Tony Hinchcliffe. 3.        Anti-Latino and anti-Migrant hate: -Referring to Latino migrants, radio host Sid Rosenberg declared to cheers that they are causing crime and that: “The fucking illegals, they get whatever they want, don’t they?!” -“I don’t know if you guys know this, but there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean right now. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” said Tony Hinchcliffe. -“These Latinos, they love making babies. Let’s know that they do. They do. There’s no pulling out. They cum inside. Just like they did to our country!’ again Hinchcliffe. 4.        Anti-Arab/Palestinian hate: -Rudy Giuliani declared: "The Palestinians are taught to kill us at two-years old. There may have good people. I'm sorry I don't take a risk with people who are taught to kill Americans at two." He then declared to big cheers, “I’m on the side of Israel…Donald Trump is on the side of Israel.” 5. Anti-Semitism: -“You also know the Jews having a hard time throwing out that paper, you know what I’m saying?’ Hinchcliffe stated while mimicking holding money, playing on anti-Semitic trope that Jews are cheap. Before this MAGA event, some invoked the hate-filled February 20, 1939 Nazi rally at MSG billed as a "Pro American Rally" which featured a huge image of George Washington in between swastikas. After Sunday’s Trump rally, that comparison was no longer speculative, it was 100% accurate.

Yes, they even played "Dixie" – the Confederate anthem.

This event was held at a large venue in America's media capital with the intent of exposing as many Americans as possible to their message. They are not trying to hide anything. They want to make sure every last nutcake hears their words.

As David Frum via Charlie Sykes on SubStack observed:

This rally seems aimed at the crucial bloc of swing voters who like Donald Trump but worry that maybe he's not quite stupid and obnoxious enough. They need him and his team to squeeze out of the tube that one last plop of stupidity and obnoxiousness.

The stupidest thing for us to do is to freak out. Michael Tomasky wrote an excellent piece in The New Republic.

If You’re Being Fatalistic or Panicking, You Are Helping Donald Trump

It's way easier to prevent dictators than it is to get rid of them once they're here. So quit doomscrolling and do stuff in real life to save a whole lot of work in the future.

Volunteer | Kamala Harris for President

[parentsday]

i think david was a lot more like max as a kid but he softened the story he told to max nikki and neil in the car

thank you for the ask anon !! for your reference reading this made me grimace in a way that a wounded dog would upon seeing a piece of meat !! but seriously this is a topic that is very important to my personal and possibly general understanding of these two characters, so im just gonna say that i agree with you and such interpretation of david’s character is very easy to call accurate to canon as both david and max are written with obvious intent to be seen as parallels of one another, more so than they are written to be character foils.

max and david are set to be read as opposites in the show from the very start and i think this is also the easiest and safest way to perceive both of their characters if this shows meta doesn’t interest you. their standpoints and life views are seemingly removed as far away from each other as humanly possible and we are reminded of it more than necessary in the earlier content. the show tries really hard to make it look like david is an inherently good person put against max’s necessary evil, so it seems only right to view them this way. and yet the first two seasons of the show do a spectacular job at showing us that david is not at all as good of a person as he tries to be (not tries to appear, but tries to be, important bc first one is max’s perspective on david’s person while the second one is a description actually accurate to him). early seasons david is undeniably selfish and just as much of an asshole as max is, keep in mind that this is not my personal view on his character but a fact in canon that we are reminded of time and time again and is also something that gets lampshaded by the writers during the parents day episode. he pushes his positive perspective of the way things should be just as hard as max pushes his negative one, if not more, he behaves in his own personal interests instead of interests of others or the interests of camp constantly and guess who is the only other character in the show who does this just as often (the answer is max). the only reason why it’s not always easy to pin point this stuff is because they are constantly posed in situations that require them to act dissimilarly enough for it to create a contrast which isn’t always easy to pick up on as something intentionally vague and done for specific narrative purpose. this similarity extends onto the fact that they are both victims of abuse and the show is well aware of it and uses it to its own advantage. both max and david deal with their trauma in drastically different ways as seen by the way they talk about the world surrounding them, but the core of it is the same and that’s the important part of it.

so i believe it’s very safe to say that even if david didn’t say anything that would allude to him changing the story about his younger self to be nicer than it actually was, it sure was implied by the writers in the subtext of that episode, maybe in the subtext of the show in its entirety. early camp camp content surrounding these two based itself very heavily on david’s belief that his similarity to max is what will push this kid to become just like him in the future, so it really is not out of the left field to assume david was a lot more like max when he was younger. most probably because in many ways he still is just like him.

tldr; david sees himself in max in more ways than one and the show’s writing feels the same way because they intentionally wrote them to be as similar as possible. the writers rely heavily on these two being narrative parallels to make their characters work in the way they do so your headcanon is as real as it gets anon ^^

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Hi! I’ve been following you for a while and so have seen a lot of your 911 content and it’s made me pretty interested in watching the show. (I thought Buck/Eddie was canon for the longest time because of your blog and was genuinely disappointed when i realised they weren’t😭)

I’m very aware though that it may be another queerbaiting situation and I don’t know if I have the energy to invest in that D: Do you think there’s any hope for Buck/Eddie? Should I watch the show despite that?

I'm going to be very firm in my answer here: it is not queerbaiting.

Regardless of whether or not the show goes canon, it is not queerbaiting.

When the Rizzoli & Isles marketing team from day one (literally before the pilot even aired) were putting out billboards and advertisements in magazines going "ooh are they just friends or are they partners in more ways than one?" - that was queerbaiting. They did this throughout the entire run of the show.

When the Teen Wolf team had the actors for the popular ship Sterek cuddling on a boat making shipping jokes and telling us to tune in to the new season of Teen Wolf and winking at us - that was queerbaiting.

When the BBC Sherlock writers threw in line after line of third parties stating that John was married to Sherlock, that Sherlock was John's boyfriend, that John was clearly in love with Sherlock, only for them to turn around and literally make fun of viewers for thinking that they were being serious - that was queerbaiting.

When the Supernatural writers made wink wink references to Dean Winchester knowing about/visiting popular gay bars in Miami and suggesting he and Cas run away to the one state that had gay marriage legalized at the time - that was queerbaiting.

The 911 writers haven't done one of those wink wink references since season two. They have not used the Buddie ship in marketing tools and advertisements. They have not had third parties joke that Buck and Eddie are gay for each other.

The fact that the writers are crafting a story where we, the viewers, see the only logical conclusion to the character arcs being Buck and Eddie falling for each other and dating is not queerbaiting. Queerbaiting is a tactic to lure in a queer audience without any intention of following through.

This 'queerbaiting' accusation is especially heinous in regards to 911 because 911 is a show that has five significant queer characters: Hen Wilson and her wife Karen, Athena's ex-husband Michael, Michael's fiancé David, and Maddie's coworker Josh. Michael and David are currently not on the show due to Michael's actor refusing to follow vaccination guidelines, but Hen and Karen just got a huge damn backstory episode showing how they fell in love.

911 loves and respects its queer characters and storylines, so to have the fandom constantly accusing them of queerbaiting because the ship they want to happen hasn't happened (yet), is insulting and disrespectful, in my very, very, very tired opinion.

So, to wit: whether or not they go canon, Buck and Eddie are not queerbaiting. 911 is not queerbaiting us. Full stop.

Now, we do not know for certain that they will be going canon. The show writers are not going to confirm that ahead of time, just like they wouldn't for a het ship like Bones/Booth, Castle/Beckett, or most recently Chenford over on The Rookie. That would be spoiling a big plot moment if that's where they're headed. So asking for confirmation from them is rather unfair. As I've said before and will say again: no, het ships do not get a guarantee and a pre-canon confirmation. If you think they do, then I would've loved to see where you were in the late 90s/early 00s when I was in the trenches.

However, with het ships, writers will play with the audience and tease them a bit more. Because with het ships, if they do that, they won't be queerbaiting if it doesn't happen. Therefore, the 911 writers are going to stay mum. We won't know from the writers if Buddie is going canon until it's shown on screen through a third party love confession or other means.

Although we do not have a confirmation that they're going canon, I have faith that they are. The writing points to it. I don't have time to list all the reasons. If you go into my blog and search '911 spec' or 'meta' you should get some good results. Otherwise if you go to @extasiswings blog and do some searching you'll see a lot of great meta from herself and others. @yramesoruniverse also has great meta. There are others but I'm fried and rushing out the door so can't think of anything specific at the moment.

My point is, people in this fandom have outlined how the writing in this show, to them, points to Buddie going canon, and I agree. Do some light digging and you'll see.

Finally, a ship going canon or not is not why you should ship something. Ship something because you love the dynamic. Geraskier is never going canon but I'm still having a rip-roaring good time with them. But at the end of the day, nonny, it's up to you.

If you want to wait and watch from the sidelines to see if Buddie goes canon before investing, that's totally valid and your choice. I can't decide that for you. I know what it's like to ship something and hope it goes canon only to have it not come to fruition (RIP Garcy, among others), and it sucks, so I get it if you don't want to do that. But it's your choice and yours alone.

I will say that 911 is a fantastic show even without Buddie going canon, and that I adore every single one of the characters, and I don't even like medical dramas. So I think it's a worthwhile show to get into, Buddie or no Buddie.

To summarize: We don't know if they're going canon yet but it's not queerbaiting, the show is good either way and worth a shot, only you can decide if you want to invest in a ship that may or may not go canon.

I hope you have a good day and take care of yourself. Stay safe.

[ausetkmt]

Black Residents Of Gullah-Geechee Enclave In Georgia Angered After Zoning Changes Pose Threat To Their Community

This small enclave is home to a majority of Black residents who are members of the Hogg Hummock community, which is also sometimes referred to as Hog Hammock. According to The Cultural Landscape Foundation, “Hog Hammock was one of fifteen African American Saltwater Geechee settlements on Sapelo Island, Georgia.

The Geechee are descendants of enslaved West Africans brought to work on Sea Island plantations along the Atlantic coast.” Sapelo island is located approximately 60 miles south of Savannah, Georgia and is only reachable by boat.

Almost three decades ago, the county adopted the zoning restrictions, “with the stated intent to help Hogg Hummock’s 30 to 50 residents hold on to their land,” the Associated Press reports.

But the McIntosh County’s elected commissioners recently voted 3-2 vote to change the restrictions. Now, Black residents fear that wealthy buyers will be prioritized over them, which could lead to increases in taxes.

Residents also anticipate this could cause them to be pressured to sell their land, most of which has been in their family for generations.  Atlanta resident Yolanda Grovner originally had a plan where she would ultimately retire on her island native father’s land that he owns in Hogg Hummock, but now she worries this might not be able to happen. Yolanda’s father George Grovner attended the meeting wearing a sticker, which read “Keep Sapelo Geechee,” in defiance of these planned zoning changes.

“It’s going to be very, very difficult,” said Yolanda, continuing, “I think this is their way of pushing residents off the island.”

In recent years, the population on Hogg Hummock has been shrinking because some families have sold their land to outsiders. David Stevens, Chairman of the Commission, said he’s been a visitor on Sapelo Island since the 1980s, and places the blame for these changes on those who are selling their land.

This could be partly true, as the vote followed new construction builds. The commissioners ruling “raised the maximum size of a home in Hogg Hummock to 3,000 square feet (278 square meters) of total enclosed space. The previous limit was 1,400 square feet (130 square meters) of heated and air-conditioned space,” per the Associated Press.

Stevens stated, “I don’t need anybody to lecture me on the culture of Sapelo Island.” “If you don’t want these outsiders, if you don’t want these new homes being built...don’t sell your land,” Stevens concluded.

But the remaining residents have vowed to keep fighting these ordinance changes, and it’s not a new phenomenon for them to fight with the local government either. In 2012, dozens of residents and landowners were able to successfully appeal property tax increases.

In addition, many have spent years “fighting the county in federal court for basic services such as firefighting equipment and trash collection before county officials settled last year,” writes the Associated Press.

Maurice Bailey is a native of Hogg Hummock whose mother Cornelia Bailey had deep roots to the island. Bailey was a Sapelo Island celebrity, keeping the community’s voice alive with her storytelling before she died in 2017. Maurice said, “We’re still fighting all the time,” adding, “They’re not going to stop. The people moving in don’t respect us as people. They love our food, they love our culture. But they don’t love us.”

Some legal experts have hinted at due process violations as well as concerns about encroachment under the equal protection clause.

This issue becomes more complicated given the racial demographics of the county. Hogg Hummock is on the National Register of Historic Places, and in order for the Gullah-Geechee community to receive protections “to preserve the community, residents depend on the local government in McIntosh County, where 65% of the 11,100 residents are white,” says the Associated Press.

[tokiro07]

Undead Unluck ch.188 thoughts

[That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Fencing Prodigy]

(Contents: Apocalypse speculation, lore, thematic analysis - nature vs. nurture)

Huh, so Master Rule VIIII really was Language. Looks like I owe Nico an apology, I wasn't really familiar with your game. This just goes to show how much of a beast Nico was in the last loop, I guess, if he was able to take down a Master Rule 1v1!

Also, evidently, there's been a little update to the terminology - the ten Rules of the Master Room are being referred to here as Superior Rules, which I think is meant to differentiate them from the more generic "Master Rules" term that encompasses all 100 on the tablet. Might send a tweet to David Evelyn for clarification later, hopefully he can help

The big thing for this chapter, aside from the confirmation that Juiz and Victor really did get trans'd at some point down the line, is that we got some insight into Apocalypse of all characters! The first time we met him, he bit off Andy's hands for grabbing him, and yet he just kind of grumbles when Juiz flips through his pages. He even lets her cuddle him! How cute!

Could he have been rougher with Andy because he knew he was Undead and could take it? Is he sweeter on Juiz specifically? Or was he mad at Victor for forgetting Juiz and finding someone else? Or all of the above?

Either way, it definitely seems likely that Fuuko's assessment of him is right and that he doesn't want to see Juiz getting hurt anymore. Perhaps it was the mere exposure effect, and he got attached after seeing so much of her, or perhaps she said something that touched him in an earlier loop. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope we get to learn more about Apocalypse through Juiz's arc!

Of course, the thing that's the most interesting about this chapter to me personally is the lore drop! Any new info we can get on the mechanics of the loops is greatly appreciated!

I've always wondered about what happened to Juiz and Victor's families since they've been looping and therefore wouldn't need to be born again, but I never considered the possibility that parenthood was a rule that didn't exist at some point. Were there even people other than Juiz and Victor in the initial world? Were Juiz and Victor Adam and Eve?

It makes sense, then, that if Juiz didn't have parents originally that her soul would need to reincarnate somewhere, so going to a couple that never had children seems like a very elegant solution. On the reverse, this also suggests that Fuuko's parents are still a couple in this world, but never had her at all. That's kind of sad to think about, isn't it? That even with her parents alive again, it's not like they can become a family like before. Maybe she can use Remember, but the ethical implications of going up to a couple and forcing them to realize that they lost an entire lifetime with their daugther AND to remember their horrible explosive death? I'm sure it'd be handwaved away for the sake of narrative catharsis, but putting it in real terms like that is pretty upsetting

Then there's the implications of reincarnation as a concept, but fortunately they're a lot more hopeful than they appear. As Apocalypse says, Julia's name and appearance are dictated by her parents, so for all intents and purposes, Julia is a distinct person from Juiz. However, Julia was never technically supposed to exist at all, this is effectively just a new body for Juiz's soul to inhabit, so as evidenced by her retaining the same non-verbal tics and a talent for fencing, this is most likely the same Juiz in terms of personality!

While her nature is undoubtedly the same, we can't rule out the effects of her new nurturing. What kind of parents did she have? What sort of environment was she raised in? What friends did she make? UU has always taken a pretty hard stance that people are defined by their relationships, so there's almost no way that Julia will behave 1:1 with Juiz, even if the most important aspects of her are retained. How different Juiz and Julia are will likely be an extremely important detail to consider when weighing the options of whether or not to use Remember once all of the Union has been assembled, but we'll likely have to wait a while on that one

Finally, I'm very interested in what Juiz meant when she said there was a way for someone to understand her relationship with Victor without him cheating on her. Obviously I get that Fuuko is the person who understands her, and I know it happened because Juiz used Remember to reset Victor's memories, but is the implication that Juiz was always planning to do that? Or did she have something else in mind that we'll understand better later?

This conversation does paint Juiz and Fuuko's discussion about the Rio mission a lot differently, though. Juiz told Fuuko to fall in love with Andy so she could draw out as much of Unluck's power as possible, but now it seems like her motive was to raise Fuuko to be her successor from the beginning, knowing that Fuuko would be the one who would help the new her reenter the fight without letting Victor keep her out. I really do wonder how many steps ahead Juiz was looking or how many contingencies she was accounting for, again I really hope we get some exposition on that

Tangentially, I'd also like to point to the panel of Fuuko saying she fell in love with the same man as Juiz: look at Gina's smile! She knows she fell in love with him in the previous loop, and now she's absolutely in love with Fuuko too! She knows exactly what it's like to be on one side of a love triangle, and she is sympathizing hard. UU's gonna end up having the best polycule since 100 Girlfriends, just you watch!!!

Until next time, let's enjoy life

[doll-elvis]

What does Reeca Smith look like? I tried looking up photos but nothing seems to come up..

I got a few asks about Reeca Smith so I thought I would combine them here <3, thank you guys for the questions !!

As for the first ask: sorry some of these are aren’t the best quality 😩 but all these pictures of Reeca in 1974 were taken from the documentary “Elvis: Heartbreaker” also called “Elvis’ Women” or “Loving Elvis” depending on the country where you are streaming it

Reeca is on the right in this group photo

And this is Reeca pictured with the Trans Am that Elvis purchased for her ⬇️

If you’re in the North America and unable to watch the documentary, here is a tutorial that I posted awhile back, it still works and I use this method myself !! ⬇️

Second ask: As for any intimacy, this is all that Reeca has said on the subject ⬇️

Since she didn't mention kissing or any other form of intimacy in her most recent interview, I'm assuming it wasn't something that played a major role in their relationship. She has stated that Elvis and her would mostly just talk, and that he especially enjoyed just reading the Bible to her. I think Reeca’s dynamic with Elvis was exactly the same as girls like Heidi, Frances, Gloria and Arlene. All of those girls have only ever talked about Elvis in high regards, and I think that really does speak volumes

However, although these girls don’t see themselves as victims, and while I do truly believe that Elvis never took advantage of them, it still doesn’t justify the kissing. Like you said this is obviously a very hard pill to swallow for any Elvis fan but it personally helps me to try to understand Elvis’ intentions and his mindset when he involved himself with those girls. And so when they all say that it was very innocent, I believe them, and I can honestly say without a doubt, that I think Elvis had good/pure intentions and that the situation wasn’t as black and white as some people try to make it seem

As for the third ask: In terms of Reeca overstating her importance, that very well could be possible, but to give her the benefit of the doubt, Elvis invited a lot of people on tour 😩 and they weren’t always girls that he was dating, for example Jeanne Lemay Dumas who was Linda’s friend and the Alden sisters (Ginger’s family)

If she was invited by Elvis like she says, that doesn‘t mean that Reeca would have been his main girl or anything like that on the tour, it’s likely that he still would have had either Sheila or Linda with him as his girlfriend. Also Reeca was good friends with Ricky Stanley who accompanied Elvis on tours, so that could have been another factor

Infact the very first day that Reeca hanged out with Elvis, Linda, Ricky and David Stanley accompanied them. And in that amazon documentary Linda acknowledged Reeca and also referred to her as one of Elvis’ “dalliances”, so she was at least aware of Reeca’s friendship/relationship with Elvis

** also I saw you mentioned Elvis possibly dating Maggie Smith and I got another ask about her that I am currently researching for (desperately trying to find a copy of this book written about her 😩) and so hopefully I will have more info on her by then

quote from Maggie (Magnolia) Smith 💗

but just from the little research I have done so far, it’s looking like it’s unlikely that they ever dated. Maggie Smith herself hasn’t said that she dated him, Marty Lacker said she was someone Elvis felt sorry for and therefore given a job, and Nurse Tish and Mary Jenkins also only referred to her as one of the maids/employees. Only Nancy Rooks has said that she dated Elvis so I’m still trying to figure out who is telling the truth 😭 like why would Nancy just make that up?

As for Elvis possibly wanting to pursue a serious relationship with Reeca, I don’t think he meant to do so until she was much older

Reeca said this about Elvis wanting a possible future with her ➡️ “He said ‘I know you’re are young but when you’re older, maybe in a couple years, maybe we can go places and have more of a relationship’”

I don’t believe their relationship ever became “serious”, especially since Reeca has never said that they formally dated. He only saw her September and November of 1974, and then for the last time in January of 1975. He was probably preoccupied with Sheila Ryan, Linda Thompson and Ann Pennington etc etc 🤧

I hope this helps anyone who wanted to know more about Reeca, I would love to hear what you guys think, or if you have any info yourself on Reeca or Maggie that you want to share 💗!!

[roamwithahungryheart]

I seem to be extremely committed to doing deep dives this week since there's a lot of information to digest, so on that note, here's another one - get ready for a long post!

If you hadn't picked up on it already, Zava is Jewish coded.

I'm very interested to see if this gets explored any further as the season progresses, because both homophobia and antisemitism are big problems within football culture (if you've read David Baddiel's brilliant book Jews Don't Count and/or seen the accompanying documentary, then you'll know what I'm referring to.)

Looking at Zava joining the team through a Jewish lens actually brings up some intriguing insights into the ways in which Zava can both help and hinder AFC Richmond.

(Continued below the cut.)

Zava's mantra is a Polish proverb - Orzeł zawsze leci - The eagle always flies. (Thank you to those who clarified the mantra and its translation!)

The eagle is the symbol of mercy (rachamim) in Jewish thought.

There's a Talmudic passage which describes, in short, an eagle saving the life of a mountain goat's kid. When the mountain goat prepares to give birth, it ascends to the top of a mountain so its offspring will fall and perish. G‑d sends an eagle which catches the baby mountain goat on its wing and returns it to its mother atop the mountain. "If My timing was off," argues G‑d, "the goat would die."

One of the overarching themes of Ted Lasso season 3 is timing. So, in spite of the team's reservations, has Zava swooped in at the right time to save them?

If we take this analogy a little further, Rabbi Natan Slifkin writes - The nesher, king of birds, is the most prominent bird in the Torah. Although many assume that the nesher is the eagle, and some of the commentaries have identified it as such, the evidence shows that it is more likely a vulture – specifically, the griffon vulture.

The best-known Scriptural description of the nesher is also the most problematic to understand. It occurs in reference to God bringing the Jewish People out of Egypt:

“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I carried you (va’esa eschem) on the wings of nesharim, and brought you to Myself.” (Exodus 19:4)

Va’esa eschem is most commonly translated as “I carried you.” However, it is sometimes translated as “I elevated you.”

Rabbi Slifkin goes on to say that 'the nesher is the highest-flying bird, and God raised the Jewish People to spiritual heights above anything in the natural world with His miraculous redemption.'

Eagles represent freedom. There is, however, a duality to the symbolism of vultures - they can be a bad omen, or a symbol of rebirth. Is Zava an eagle, or is he in fact a vulture? Is he going to elevate Richmond with good intentions or let his ego rule the roost and risk putting the team's reputation in danger?

On the subject of eagles, we see Zava use of meditation and crystals as a pre-match warm-up. Aetites, also known as Eagle Stones, are believed to be called "preservation stones" or even tekumah within Judaism. They are predominantly associated with fertility and childbirth, but I figured it was a little interesting fact!

Speaking of fun facts - I'll end on this before this post gets too darn long - the Zava chant is sung to the tune of Hava Nagila. He's a revered player who gives every team he plays for a reason to celebrate. Will Richmond be celebrating too?

[professorspork]

u should like!! toootally drop blake and yang outfit references for ur newsbees au. for like. research purposes

!!! okay I can't tell if you're asking this for fanart reasons (EVERYONE SHOULD FEEL VERY FREE TO DO THAT) or for spank bank "my thirst requires an accurate theater of the mind" reasons (VALID) but

this makes me UNHINGED and i plan to be SO THOROUGH so THANK YOU FOR ASKING

i have put this under a cut to spare you all but i think you should click on it and admire the gilded age urchin chic

first of all, let me say that Newsies Are Beautiful. They have never met two clashing patterns they didn't want to combine and I think they are perfect in every way

that said

the classic Jack look could certainly use some tailoring before it's truly ready for the Yang prime time

these numbered fellas give us a better place to start when it comes to I WANT MY NEWSIES TO NOT BE SWIMMING IN CLOTHES TWO SIZES TOO BIG YES I KNOW THE VERITAS OF THEM SCROUNGING FOR WHATEVER BUT ALSO. THIRST.

Fella 1 is a pretty bang-on Yang and you can tell that was his intention because he's growing out his hair, bless. sleeves rolled to show arm, shirt unbuttoned scandalously to show cleavage, open vest, neat cap, high socks. the lower half does lose points for the striped socks that remind me of the Wicked Witch of the East's feet sticking out and the fact that he's clearly in tap shoes as opposed to work boots like his friend Fella 3

Fella 2 gets EXTRA sock points for the argyle and the vest-but-no-collar combo which is very Nora. He also has a neat cap, which Blake always does because she's hiding her ears.

Fella 3 has a sloppy cap but is otherwise a bang-on Blake; kempt and tidy in ways Yang never is even though they are essentially wearing the exact same thing. Blake knows how to button buttons and Yang pretends she forgets every day

Fella 4's rocking the henley and suspenders combo which serves any member of our cast, a fucking classic

Fella 5 is wearing a tie he is trying so hard he wants to look nice at work, 100% a Jaune move

sir that-- that's not how crutches are supposed to-- SIR--

this Crutchie exhibits excellent Newsie styling in a very Yang color palette. high socks, mixing of patterns, rolled sleeves; excellent. the slightly fancier waistcoat, actually buttoned, isn't something Yang would go for but certainly wouldn't be amiss on Blake, Ruby, or Velvet

Ruby also, of course, wears a signature red scarf instead of her cloak:

like her scarf and hat just absolutely dwarf her, she's WEE SMOL

above we see our previous example Crutchie not leaping through the air, and his outfit remains exemplary but for the backwards cap, which I shan't abide. the Jack to his left-- what with his WIDE open shirt, tight undershirt, rolled sleeves, and suspenders, is very Yang.

good Yang looks can also mean THE SHORTEST SLEEVES EVER, TO SHOW OFF THE GUNS:

both excellent choices, and of course our lower fella (TURN THAT CAP AROUND YOUNG MAN) has got his bandana going, which is Quite Yang

all the guys in the background there are gold too tbh

look at this king in this fashion pose but also YEAH WHY NOT BANDANAS ON THE ARMS BANDANAS EVERYWHERE the yang xiao long story

^^ this outfit, on the other hand, is pretty exactly spot-on for Blake immediately post haircut/makeover

Weiss, I'm sure you've already guessed, is a Classic Katherine:

she's buttoned-up, she's fancy, her shit matches and she's the only one in a skirt.

the only thing where my brain gets REALLY SPECIFIC is the finale so uh. spoiler warning I guess for screenshots of the Newsies film and vague references to a plot resolution if you're reading the AU without having watched it

but the finale looks are ICONIC and non-negotiable

button shirt OVER henley OVER bandana and nothing's buttoned? suspenders on but hanging loose from the hips? hell yes.

i actually even managed to make that dirt smudge on David's tummy plot-relevant to Blake and that was completely subconscious and I didn't realize I did it until looking up these screenshots but there you have it. and by this point Weiss gets to be a little more loose and dressed-down, a la Sarah

in conclusion they're in love look at those heart eyes oh my god

[mielwriting]

Your tag about the tumblr post gave me the urge to test how much I got for fun. I've been here too long. In order:

David Karp made tumblr and people were Like That about him

Dunno if this has specific context, though using tons of gifs and having a personal folder of them was a thing.

Heritage post with way too many additions all following the format [big fandom] fans grab your [associated weapon] to 'defend' tumblr

There used to be a dumb thing about 'fandom tumblr' vs 'hipster tumblr' (the latter basically being aesthetic blogs)

Self-explanatory, spn was popular and destiel was a ship

Glomping is tackle-hugging someone. It might be on here just to up the cringe factor.

Missing e was a browser extension that added very useful QoL improvements to tumblr like more streamlined reblogging and an outbox.

John Green was on tumblr and well-known for it.

Doctor who and sherlock references. SPN+dr who+sherlock was an unholy fandom trio you couldn't avoid even if you were into none of them.

SPN actor I think.

Somewhat obnoxious but well-intentioned heritage post from when supporting gay rights was still radical in western countries. What it says on the tin.

This might have been another heritage post. People hamming up how [specific popular fandom character] taught them [thing].

2000s fandom stuff. Lemons means nsfw.

Hannibal stuff

Welcome to night vale reference?

Thank you, o wise Tumblr Veteran!

Seriously, thank you. This is very helpful for a newbie. I know about John Green, and I've heard things about SuperWhoLock, and am kinda familiar with using citrus fruits as fruit warnings (what's the difference between lemon and lime?).

also. And feel free to monologue at me here. What's Welcome to Night Vale?

[silverview]

anyway, the bonnie episode of human capital is so BEYOND beyond. jonathan is such a perfect character who's completely made in the performance. he talks like he's in a permanent state of just having recovered from running up a flight of stairs. like he's always just a little bit out of breath. the effort involved in being the way that he is, and presumably in being as physically large as he sounds (i've never heard anyone sound so big), the fact that he presumably doesn't get much nourishment besides sugar and caffeine and alcohol – he's always struggling just a little bit. he's so hot i'm sorry.

and just. the way all the miners are. the way true blues are in general, the way david is around them, the fact that he's one of them. thinking about: in the jess episode, when he’s accused of being an orange, the tone of his voice when he responds – "actually, i..." despite EVERYTHING in that moment he somehow STILL manages to be a little bit smug, even at his MOST vulnerable and degraded and cringing he is STILL. a TINY BIT SMUG. about being a true blue. un FUCKING believable.

and thinking about: all the different hidden sides of david we get to see throughout human capital – high society snob (bonnie), culture nerd (hayley), slut (chip). the genuine darkness that comes out, more than ever before, in the bonnie episode.* like. david getting to surface these forgotten/repressed aspect of himself, and revealing them to the audience, while he’s cycling through all these different gigs – he’s recovering things he lost in prison, and rediscovering paths he never got to go down before. he's both remembering who he is and grappling with who he’s going to be, going forward. truly, in s1 we only got to see a very flattened, distorted version of him, with only occasional hints of the complexity that’s still in there – potential to be all these things, including a villain, and who knows what else. he has the capacity, a natural inclination even, for cruelty and egotism. maybe it won’t ever fully surface but it’s in there, and he’s aware of it.

*the fact that it’s lawrence on the receiving end of both his villain moments in that ep – smashing the glass, and the thing with the vat – refer back to my other post about how young david was partly messed up from being sexually harassed by the miners. not least lawrence, lbr. rip lawrence. you will always be remembered for calling people darling, telling us david’s canonical eye colour, and doing terrorism.🥤❤️

last thing – in the hayley ep – hayley echoes lines from the sharespace flashback in a way that’s clearly intentional (drunk and suggestible / dying to know what’s going on in that head of yours). in fact the flashback is echoing hayley, because it was written/released months later. but from david’s point of view, hayley is echoing that conversation he had with colin years ago. christ do you ever think about how triggering it must be for him to have hayley hitting on him. god. i mean i’ve written fic about that before but still. god.

[chirpsythismorning]

Eh, since Will is pretty much going to be a central character in the next season, I think it is very likely that S5 starts with Vecna contacting Will before Will has a chance of spying on him or using the connection between them. That would put the Will at the center of the story, and that interaction would circle back to S1, this time not hiding behind a Demogorgon or a mind flayer. Vecna interacting with Mike before Will doesn't make any sense as the show's start, sorry.

Will is definitely going to be central to s5! I don't disagree with that!

However I don't think Will being central stops other characters, specifically El or Mike, or even other main characters, from having their moments at the center. That's going to happen regardless of how major of a role Will plays.

And I would probably agree with you if this was just some random character, but this is Mike we're talking about...

I don't personally like how every season starts cryptically in some far away place with unknown subjects. But that's how almost every season starts, and I'm being serious when I say every season is then followed shortly after by Mike being late.

And so I would argue that Mike being late in some capacity at the start of s5, would make sense, as it would just be following the exact formula it always has.

That doesn't mean I don't think Will wont play a big part in how this could play out though, arguably he would play the biggest part, just like he did in s1!

We also have them admitting s5 is similar to s1 with the show coming full circle in a lot of ways, and so what happens could very likely feel like deja vu, assuming it's something we're gonna have already seen play out in the past in some capacity.

Honestly, I think Noah's role will be comparable to s2, either that or a lot more than that, no less though!

And yet, I do disagree with bylers that have sort of convinced themselves that Will is going to be the official main character next season...

But here's the thing, the Duffers also said this about Amybeth's character Vickie when they announced her role on the show, saying she would play a major role in events to come (only for her to get like 3 scenes in s4... praying they do her justice in s5). They even said this in an interview when asked about the significance of clocks, word for word they said that clocks would play a major role in events to come.

This is a phrase they use, which says a lot while saying nothing at all.

And so to be clear, the Duffers saying that Will plays a big role in events to come, wasn't them saying that Noah is now magically the top billed cast member. They were literally saying that he is central because he is, just like he was in s1 and especially s2, meaning he wont be 'sidelined' like he was in s3-4 at the very least I pesornally think.

However, this doesn't mean he is literally the main character, as Noah is not going to get a raise with him literally surpassing Millie and Finn... That's not happening.

What I also want to remind everyone, is that a lot of what they say and do is intentional.

When it comes to Noah being all spoilery and stuff, I do think that is intentional.

Noah, along with David, were the only cast-memers to talk about s5 post-s4 initially. And we all know David is the Duffers known scapegoat, who is known for not being able to keep his secrets to himself...

Noah has also been referred to as the Tom Holland of the show. If you guys don't know, the phenomena of Tom spoiling things eventually got to a point where marketing for Marvel took advantage of all the attention Tom got for leaking things, and created even more hype by making it seem like it was him accidentally spoiling things sometimes, even though it was entirely intentional to create hype... sound familar?

This means that full serious, if Noah wasn't supposed to be doing something, he wouldn't be. It's very likely he has been told to be unhinged because it works out well for them at this time. Seeing as a majority of the audience still aren't clued in on the likelihood of Mike and Will yet, (or even gay Will Byers for that matter), it makes sense to have Noah kind of keep people intrigued, but not enough to sound any alarm bells to the majority. They need a scapegoat rn and it's Noah (David is who they usually use as their sort of voice of speculation for what's to come, and trust me he'll be back eventually).

It just so happens that Noah is great with fanfare, and it's clear at this point he's the only one actually comfortable with doing it, and so they're letting him run wild because he IS a major part of the overall story and his character is finally going to be able to be acknowledged more fully in the story after years of being sort of sidelined. This is what everyone expects, and this is what everyone assumed after those interviews with the Duffers dropped and the reaction from fans also wasn't horrible? Like I remember there was a bunch of hype around that time when they revealed this and that's when the Will focused s5 fan posters started dropping and there was even one with Will and Mike holding hands that got like almost 500k likes on Twitter. And that was probably like a big moment for them, I'm sure in terms of feeling confident about how they should proceed with s5 promotion.

And I think this also contributed to them kind of just going with it, because it also allows them to keep a lot of s5 under-wraps, having Noah who is great with fanfare, keep reminding people of byler as a concept, while the rest of the cast is silent for the most part. It works.

And even despite that, I also think we're going to be getting byler and potentially willel wonder twin in some capacity, which are VERY big revelations to the main audience, which they don't see coming. And them only hyping up Will's role in s5 supports the audience not being prepared to see all of that coming.

Not only does there have to be closure for Will and Mike AND Will and El, we also have Mike and El's relationship to resolve, AND all their personal arcs. Will's importance to the story isn't going to prevent the writers from making sure the other main characters arcs feel fulfilled. I don't think those things are mutually exclusive and I don't know why people think they have to be?

And so even though I do agree that Will's role will be comparable to s2 (most likely more) in s5, I don't think it's going to be enough to bypass Millie or Finn in the credits. Which means that there is still going to be a major component to those characters arcs for El and Mike in the story, alongside Will's. I don't necessarily think this means that their roles will be bigger or smaller in some major way, but more likely equal in terms of how they handle it in accordance with those arcs coming together, and to ensure we actually feel satisfied with where everything ends up.

I'm not saying we won't get any Will focused promotional content like posters and stuff, I do think it will feel like the s2 era again, with him finally being seen as a major focus substantially. And yet I'm willing guess that El will still be the main focus of the main poster, with Will and Mike being more so equal to match the triangle aesthetic (also likely Noah is going to be upped to next to Finn in the credits with Millie getting her own slate, THAT would mean Noah's role is so major they're willing to bump him up over Caleb and Gaten which is saying a lot, though going any further than that wouldn't be standard because it took a lot to have Millie go above Finn, they're not going to do that again.).

What I personally think is more likely is that we'll get something similar to s2, with willel giving reflection (twin) vibes perhaps, and Mike being more secondary to that to also fit the triangle vibes.

With this being like a huge epic series, they're going to want those top first names to match with what the show started as so that it feels right. Why have Millie be above all the other kids if it doesn't feel right by the end of the story? If she's there, it will need to feel right narratively, not just based on their demand as actors by the end of this.

And this is also why I do think they have an obligation to make it more clear to the audience what Mike's arc is as a character, very likely related to him being in the closet for the last however many seasons. This would overlap with Will's arc because it also affected his ability to be his true self and El's arc because it also affected her ability to be her true self. And it also provides layers of importance to Karen's arc and Nancy's arc, and other characters arcs as well. That's what makes for a well rounded story, assuming they want us to be able to rewatch the show from beginning to end, and over and over again, feeling satisfied with how they closed everything off.

And arguably, circling back to the beginning of the show to see Mike at the center, would only really be satisfying if it ended with us feeling truly understanding of where his character ended up, making us root for him all over again.

That doesn't take away from Will being central, as he has always been central, since the beginning. Even when he was sidelined in s3-4, it was technically all preparing us for an end that would truly do him justice.

That doesn't mean they're not going to do all of the other characters justice though by any means. Both can coexist.!

[sunandsstars]

Umm, I just went on a rant about the latest discussion you've had, it was about how latin american (Im Hondurian) also have similarities in this matter, (history, not culture, cultures are very different) and as latin americans we get exited and filled with pride when our countries get mentioned in any movie or series that does take the time to learn more about them, like encanto from disney, and my comment got deleted by tumblr 🥴🥴, I hate this app so much 🫠, as a summary of it, other person, take a chill pill, there are thousands that have similar issues that you have, and we dont go with the offensive lense of life whenever something about our culture is mentioned or used as reference.

omg i got the notification for your comment but when i went to check it disappeared 💀 tumblr sucks ass

and learning that you’re Honduran is so interesting! it’s cool seeing people from different parts of the world pop up on my page

but yea, there are so many countries with terrible histories! and ofc they still face problems with oppression and such today. so bringing these stories out into the light is great for the world to educate themselves on your history and culture and see what’s happened with your countries, even if it’s told in a fictional movie like Avatar or Encanto!

fictional movies are also great bc it appeals to so many people (adults and kids). like no offence but i cannot sit through documentaries unless it was a david attenborough one

but i agree! people should look at the glass half full, we’re all human, we all want to learn. and the media is a great way to do that and access this information! not everything is made with hatred in mind and bad intentions ☹️

[blot-squisher]

🤣 all this time I thought it was David Tapp. I thought his personality seemed way off. It turns out to be David King. I just figured that out from your last chapter. I feel like a fool for not realizing it sooner, makes so much sense now. I'm going to go back and reread.

SFW for Mr King please 😁

🤣 Oh no! That is funny! To help make it a little easier I try to refer to the former detective by his last name, and the other David (King) by his first name.

Sorry for the super long delay in answering!

SFW Alphabet Ask Meme for Surviving the Game David King

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?) David has a hard time showing affection in more traditional manners. He's not great at verbal communication, better at showing his affection through actions.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?) He's rough, loud, and likes to drink and fight. Buy him a beer or get his back in a fight and you're already off to a good start.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?) So used to putting up a wall of hyper-masculinity, David isn't great at physical affection. He's learning, and if you can get him to sit down a watch a movie, he'll hold you close until the film is over.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?) He's been through so much he's no longer sure what settling down would even mean. He can't cook for shit on a stove top, but light up the grill, hand him a beer, and he's your man.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?) Face to face, and rather bluntly. He'd rather you get mad and take a swing at him than dance around the issue.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?) Commitment takes time with David. He won't run around on his partner no matter how long or short they've been together, but marriage is a long ways off.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?) If a brick had emotions it would probably be better at expressing them gently. David is often incredibly gruff and to the point, even with matters that should probably be handled with more consideration.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?) If you come at David with your arms out his first instinct is going to be to take a swing at you. Now, if you're more direct with your intentions, he'll allow a hug now and again if he really likes you. Otherwise, he's not a very physical person. Unless it's roughhousing. That he'll do anytime.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?) It'll take a while. David is slow to develop deep emotional bonds and is overall just bad with verbal affection, so when he does say it, he means it.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?) Ah, very. And easily. Another guy looks at you for too long and he's going to try and fight him. YOU look at another guy too long and he'll try to fight him. If he's drunk and there's a mirror around, he might just try to fight his own reflection...

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss their partner? Where do they like to be kissed?) David isn't the best kisser, but that again stems from his trouble showing affection. He does like to be kissed and pretty much anywhere will do for either giving or receiving.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?) He's entirely unsure how to interact with them. He's always worried he's going to accidentally hurt them somehow so he comes across as standoffish when really he's just anxious.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?) Sleeping in, usually through several alarms.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?) Movies and beers, anyone? Sounds like the best way to end a long day.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?) You'd have better luck getting one of Evan's rusty traps open. David doesn't like to talk about himself unless it's about fights or bets he's won. His past is... difficult and something he'd rather leave in the past.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?) David has the patience of a honey badger. That is to say, none. He's only gotten a better handle on his temper over the years, but that doesn't mean he isn't burning up inside.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about their partner? Do they remember every little detail they mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?) It'll take him time to start remembering things. He's not the best listener and until he starts to really develop deeper feelings, that won't change.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in their relationship?) The moment he knew he could trust you to have his back no matter the fight.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect their partner? How would they like to be protected?) David is more than happy to throw down for his partner and friends, especially if they're jumping into the fray right along with him. However, if he knows you're not a fighter, he'll be fine covering you so you can get to safety.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?) The longer you're together, the more effort he'll start putting into things. In the beginning, it won't be a lot though.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?) Even though he knows he's not invincible, he acts like he is. Drinking, fighting, and drinking while fighting often get him into more trouble than its worth.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?) Not terribly. He knows he's a rough looking dude and that works for him.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without their partner?) Not for long. He's used to being alone.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.) David still has trouble at times being open about his sexuality. He spent so long denying it, sometimes people's reactions to finding out are an unexpected slap in the face.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?) David isn't fond of people who like American football. It's bullshit. It's not even football! They carry and throw the damn ball all game! How is that football?!

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?) Give him five minutes and a relatively horizontal surface and he'll find a way to sleep on it.

[goatsandgangsters]

SAB EPISODE THREEEEE LIVEBLOG

I’m really glad I have the subtitles on, because “we could definitely use your arsenal” is NOT what I heard Mal say to Nikolai. GOTTA ENUNCIATE THE END OF THAT WORD THERE ARCHIE OR I’LL BE WRITING A NEW RAREPAIR BEFORE YOU KNOW IT

AW KOVU, HE’S IN THE SHOW TOO. fun fact! if you look up the etymology of the name Kovu, it’s JUST the lion king 2! so in addition to naming someone privyet, I’m fairly certain that Leigh Bardugo named someone on Nikolai’s crew after an oddly good-looking talking lion

I’m so glad I have a visual for the flying ship now, because ngl I was never able to really… picture that in a way that made sense. My mental image of the Hummingbird previously was like. two kayaks strapped to some 2x4’s with a sail on it. this is much better

I like that they’re taking the crows more seriously this season? they felt sort of. silly and comic reliefy last season. but their scenes have so much more heft to them. Freddy is doing an incredible job, AND I’m loving all the more serious moments between him and Jesper (people always short-change Jesper on his depth and that makes me annoyed)

“wHAT HAPPENED TO THE WOMAN WHO WOULD BURN VILLAGES TO KEEP HER CHILD SAFE” AAAYYYYYYY DEMON IN THE WOOD REFERENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ooooohhhhhh Morozova family scenes SO GOOD, I’m fucking living. these two play off each other so well. I’m also just?? fucking living for getting to see him in all these different contexts? like, in the books obviously we only get him when Alina’s there (and then he doesn’t…. do that much in Rule of Wolves…) and like. genuinely. just getting a lot of canon scenes that’s him interacting with all kinds of different characters is REALLY exciting for me. you know what it is actually? they’re treating him as a character. and not just A Mysterious Figure. even compared to season 1, he feels more like a character and less like a Presence

THERE!! HE!!! ISS!!!!!! oh I was so excited to see the Nikolai switch and I love that he does change the way he carries himself and the way he speaks, HE’S VERY FUCKING GOOD

SPINNING WHEEL?????? ARE WE GOING TO SEE?????????? MY FAVORITE LOCATION??????????????????????

aw I love David. he’s so sincerely like “so these terrifying shadow monsters. explain.” and then just listens intently.

OH, HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW IF ALINA’S ALIVE?? they BOTH think the other is dead?? they both think they’re just arguing with a dream every night? well. that is juicy

“MY JAW FEELS MUCH BETTER NOW THANKS FOR ASKING” he’s such a shithead :333333

he’s even BETTER as nikolai, I am. very pleased. I am very pleased! i AM VERY PLEASED WE’RE GETTING NIKOLAI DEPTH, BECAUSE I LOVE HIM YOU SEE AND I LOVE THAT THEY’RE TAKING HIM AND HIS DEPTH SERIOUSLY

I WISH YOU COULD HEAR THE UNHOLY SCREECH I JUST MADE. OH WE ARE GETTING THE SPINNING WHEEL???????????? this is not on top of a mountain but I understand production restraints. um. anyway. I would like to take this moment to say SP??? SPINNING????? wHEeehHELHWELHLHWLHELHW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zoyalina kiss when. ZOYALINA KISS WHEN.

part of me is a little bit mad that “arrive at the spinning wheel and get an exposition dump about how the little palace is a mess because the first army turned on grisha” is…….. a chapter I have already written, for amnesia au, but I have not posted it yet, and now I don’t have Verifiable Proof that I wrote it on my own free brain without show influence. you’ll all just have to believe me on this

WESPER PRECANON HOOKUP????????????????????

Wesper piano tuning adventure, eXTREMELY CUTE

Jesper having feeeeeeelings Jesper having feeeeeeeeeelings

CANNOT BELIEVE WE’RE JUST DOING CROOKED KINGDOM BEFORE SIX OF CROWS. genuinely did not have that on my bingo card at all

oh Inej’s IMMEDIATE “then we destroy him” is A Lot. from the mistrust to “ride or die, let’s kill” oh wow

WOW THEY ARE REALLY DOING KANEJ BATHROOM SCENE JUSTICE

ARE WE DOING????? STAIRCASE FIGHT?????????????????????????? IN EPISODE THREE???????????????????????????????????? IN THPIEOSDE THREE????????

oh FREDDY IS GOOD THIS SEASON. not that he wasn’t good last season, but they are REALLY letting him shine

this episode vacillating between scenes from Siege and Storm, scenes from Ruin and Rising, scenes from Crooked Kingdom, and not-yet-published scenes from my own AU has been a headtrip. IT’S NOT BAD, but I feel like I put myself in a washing machine with all of the books and we’re just going whuubbuwhuuubbbwhuuubbbb together 

my biggest complaint about season 1 was the pacing, and I can’t put my finger on what they’ve done differently because certainly they have even more to cram in and I really thought—if season 1 felt bumpy and rushed and all over the place—there was no WAY season 2 wouldn’t be even more all-over-the-place with so many characters and so many books. but somehow they’re really pulling it off??? I can’t believe this is the third episode only??? I can’t believe this is only haLFWAY THROUGH the third episode???? they are really packing a punch with everything and it’s working. this season so far is TIGHT. I don’t know what they did or what they changed or how, but they are NAILING IT

(interestingly, because each episode feels so meaty and satisfying, it doesn’t feel Designed To Be Binged. this would have rocked as a weekly release. each episode stands so well on its own, I wish they had a full week of breathing space)

ohhhhh poor David, about to be unwilling witness to Morozova Family Drama. World’s Biggest Ilya Morozova Fanboy accidentally has front row seat to watching his kid and grandkid duke it out, dysfunctional immortal style

HM. DON’T KNOW IF THAT’S BETTER OR WORSE THAN EYEBALLS, BUT NEITHER DAVID NOR I WERE EXPECTING THAT LEVEL OF FAMILY DYSFUNCTION RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR SALADS

me seeing my boy in a fancy vest and gay-ass cravat with his sleeves rolled up: I am living my best possible life

ohhhhhhhh the Kaz Wylan Jesper scene VERY GOOD, FREDDY REALLY BRINGING IT

Ben Barnes with Merzost Tuberculosis was ALSO not on my bingo card, but I’ll be honest, I’m not mad about it. just hackin up a lung in every single scene

why is Tidemaker Woman styled like that. like, her hair, her makeup, she just…. looks like someone who knows what tiktok is? she does not look like she’s lives in Magical Tsarist Russia

OH HE EXTINGUISHED THE CANDLE, OKAY. there was a genuine moment there where I wasn’t sure if he was gonna give alina a wet-willy or flip her off

OH, NOT THE DOOR I THOUGHT YOU WERE KNOCKING ON

I’ll see how I feel tomorrow, I was gonna knock out two more, but I might just do one? I’m enjoying A LOT, but every episode has been so FULL in a good way that I don't. feel like I'm chomping at the bit for more? I mostly want to sit and digest everything so far. TBH I WANT TO REWATCH EVERYTHING SO FAR, ALREADY. god this would have been SO good on weekly release. how the fuck is this so good??????