#don't forget to rewatch

[salty-and-spiraling]

That Face When I'm BAMF

[asgardian--angels]

mage viktor discourse again on twitter and all i can say in my little corner over here once again is, I don't know why the entire fandom takes it as canon that mage Viktor failed to save every world he manipulated.

Canon does not provide evidence of this. This is fanon speculation. It's a fine headcanon to have, but everyone talks about it like it's canon when it isn't. Canon is ambiguous about the outcome of the timelines mage Viktor altered. The little nods we are given point, in my opinion, towards the opposite conclusion, that he successfully averted destruction.

I've written meta on this before but in summary:

1) 'In all timelines, in all possibilities' is worded precisely, it's not 'out of all timelines'; the implication is that every time, Jayce brings Viktor back from the brink, not just in our timeline. 'Only you' doesn't refer to our timeline's Jayce, it refers to all Jayces. Jayce always brings him home. If Viktor continuously put the fate of each timeline in Jayce's hands and Jayce failed over and over, I don't think he'd say those words. And the way he says them matters. His words are tinged with wonder, not sorrow. As if over and over again, he is shown that Jayce saves him, and it continues to amaze him. He doesn't sound defeated, like this is the next in a long line of Jayces he's sending off to die. The feeling is that Viktor's faith in Jayce has not been misplaced.

2) If mage Viktor doomed every timeline, there would be hundreds (or more) mage Viktors. All running around manipulating timelines. I highly doubt the writers wanted to get into that kind of sticky situation. The tragedy of mage Viktor is that he is singular. Alone. Burdened with the responsibility of the multiverse. The emotional gut punch of his fate is ruined if other timelines led to the same outcome, and from a practical standpoint, having multiple reality-bending omniscient mages would rip apart the fabric of the arcane.

There are other points, such as there being only one corrupted Mercury Hammer and our Jayce is the only one to receive it, and the fact that if mage Viktor is as omniscient as he is implied to be, he could easily step back into other timelines and correct course, because it's highly unlikely he could sit still and watch things go down in flames. But these things can be argued elsewhere.

While I love conversations about mage Viktor's motives and selfishness vs altruism, the writers & artbook have expressed that Jayce and Viktor care greatly about Runeterra and want to fix their mistakes to save it, and that their reconciliation is symbolic of Piltover and Zaun coming together as well. Yes, they make disastrous decisions towards each other, making choices for the other or without the other, which has negative consequences for their relationship and for Runeterra - but I think fandom pushes their selfishness even past what's canon sometimes, as if their entire goal hadn't always been to selflessly help the world around them. Their final reconciliation is about bridging the gap that grew between them - the pain and grief and secrets, betraying themselves and each other - to mutually choose each other openly and honestly. Part of the beauty of their story, as expressed by the creators, is that in their final moments, they chose each other and took responsibility for their actions by sacrificing themselves to end what they started, together - and that choosing each other saved the world. TPTB have stated this - that Jayce and Viktor are the glue holding civilization together, and when they come back to each other, they can restore balance. It's when they're apart, when they hurt each other and miscommunicate, when they abandon their commitment to each other and their dream, that the greater world suffers. Their strife is mirrored in the story-world at large.

Mage Viktor is framed as a solitary penitent figure, damned to an eternity of atoning for his mistakes. He paid the ultimate price and now is forced to live his personal nightmare of exactly what he was trying to avoid for himself with the glorious evolution. The narrative clues we're given point more in the direction that he saves timelines rather than dooms them. If Viktor's actions kept killing Jayce, the very boy he couldn't bear to not save each time, it would undermine these narrative choices. Yes, Viktor couldn't stand to live in a world where he never meets Jayce, so he ensures it keeps happening. But in that same breath, he couldn't bear to see a world where his actions continue to destroy Jayce and destroy Runeterra. His entire arc in s2 is born of his selfless desire to help humanity, help individual people. He would not lightly destroy entire worlds. That's his original grief multiplied a thousandfold, and narratively it would lessen the impact of the one, true loss he did suffer, his own Jayce. It wouldn't make sense for him to be alright with damning other timelines to suffer the same catastrophic tragedy that created him. I mean, maybe I'm delusional here, but is that not the entire point? Because that's what I took away when I watched the show.

As I said, I love discussions about mage Viktor, as there's a lot to play with. All I wish is that the fandom at large would not just assume or accept the Mage Viktor Dooms Every Timeline idea as canon, when there is nothing in the actual canon that confirms this. Maybe people need to just, go back and rewatch the actual episode, to recall how mage Viktor is presented to us, and what it's implied we're supposed to take away from his scenes, and separate that from the layers of headcanon the fandom has constructed.

[housemdork]

house md season 2 review!

season strengths, highlights, low points, and some house md blasphemy awaits you below.

what can be said about season 2 that hasn't been talked about to death? this was such an amazing watch. the stories are even more vibrant than on my first go-around, and the showrunners' confidence just oozes out of nearly every episode.

season strengths:

season 2 is all about the house md wow factor, and it's not just sequestered to the season finale. almost every case in season 2, and the corresponding storylines between the characters, are leagues more interesting than season 1's. does this come at the cost of some realism? of course lol. but i have to admire their growing ability to mingle batshit patient stories (i.e., "clueless") with whatever the gang has going on. it's hard to be bored during this season.

intertwining everybody. everyone has spoken to each other, disputed one another, said something kind and mean about the other, etc. more than that, things are MESSY! but it's BELIEVABLE! ever since "hunting," the PPTH staff have become increasingly wound up in each other. highlights ofc include chase/cameron, house and foreman as mirrors, the burgeoning saga that is hilson, and cuddy/house.

wilson. i'm serious. they could have gone either way with wilson at the end of season 1, keep up the crooked angel-on-house's-shoulder or give him his own rich personhood, and guess which one they went with!? 2x14-2x19 (sans 2x18) is one of the craziest runs of the entire show, esp for your resident wilson enjoyer. and every new piece of info we get about him, the "worse" his character seems on paper while also endearing himself to the audience. we really are in house's POV. plus this is the real foundational comphet wilson season. 2x14, i carry you close to my heart. he is Performing Those Rituals. Maintaining That Persona.

speaking of comphet wilson - everything is at least a little bit queer in season 2. is that the lens i am bringing to the show? absolutely. but would a 2000s doctor show typically lend itself so well to my kind of analysis? NO. there's such an intricate system of othering at play that links disability to homosexuality to gender performance and back again, and the characters weren't just not whole enough in season 1 to pull this off. it's not just comphet wilson; it's the Mega Queer Greg House of it all, too. and the number of times this season basically penalized/demonized heterosexuality lmfao.

catholicism/house's deification. my 2x08 recap wasn't so much about the episode at large, but more so a close-reading of just how much catholic imagery they loaded it up with, and that's been a consistent joy of mine to observe. watching house struggle with his own personhood and struggle to maintain control, while at the same time having characters like chase (mostly chase lol) symbolically worship house against their better judgment will always get me. wilson's line in 2x19 about believing in something but still failing to live up to it is so prophetic.

season weaknesses:

stacy's departure...where did she go? i mean yeah, she had a sendoff, but house md's quiet-killing of characters (re: vogler) is kinda awkward lol. i thought there would be at least one more passing scene with her, or even a reference beyond what wilson says in 2x12 to lay his cruelty to house on even thicker. RIP stacy warner. see you again in 8x22.

the wow factor giveth and the wow factor taketh. while "skin deep" isn't in my least favorites, it negatively impacts the season overall. sometimes we did, in fact, do Too Much. it's a calculated risk, plunging house into his worst states and expecting viewers' sympathy in return, and this is one of those rare occasions where it missed the mark because the episode, not just house himself, was punching down.

favs:

2x19 "house vs. god": i'm being so sincere when i say that this episode has quite literally everything i could ever want. it balances religiosity, masculinity, sexuality as something to be manipulated, and social othering, all wrapped up in the flag of Comphet Wilson. the notion of a "functional vampire" so clearly describes how we really do function in the world, seeking out validation via love and vice versa. it also establishes the enduring nature of house and wilson's relationship. when you leave 2x19, you have a deep-set, almost subliminal understanding that these 2 are inseparable, which sets the stage so excellently for the strain of season 3.

2x24 "no reason": this one was vying for first place and nearly got there! there's nothing unique i can add to our collective appreciation for 2x24. it's a case study in what makes house md tick, carried on the shoulders of hugh laurie's strongest performance yet. and the downright surety the showrunners have in fooling us into the climax is well-founded and well-deserved. house md's emphasis on internality is unmatched.

2x17 "all in": this is the house md equivalent of a fantasy royal ball episode and it means the world to me. on top of all its thematic work about house/god, we also get hilson cigars, which is something i hold so near and dear to my heart. cameron and cuddy look incomprehensibly beautiful. wilson won the poker tournament. he had pocket aces. "poker face" by lady gaga.

i know. i know. "euphoria part 2" isn't on my list. i already feel bad about it. my defense is that these are my favs not just for my Critical Thinking Reasons, but because i have a blast watching them, and 2x20-21 are such devastating blows to the psyche that i can't call them my favs. some of the best of the entire show? for sure.

least favs:

2x18 "sleeping dogs lie": suffered at the hands of its predecessor and successor, both of which are in my top 3 favorite of the season lol. as i said in my recap, i just think this one is repetitive and doesn't add much new to the table. 2x20-21 picks up cameron's characterization specifically in a much more innovative way, but i suppose that wouldn't be possible without 2x18, so i digress. just eh all around.

2x09 "deception": nothing major against this episode, i just didn't find it to be memorable. there were a lot of missed opportunities to expound on house's understanding/retaliation against munchausen's, and it's a good thing that we got a proper foreman era later on to make up for this bit.

overall rating: 9.5/10. maybe i'm just being like that one professor who can't give a 100% because nothing is perfect, but i just can't do it! 2x13 is a big hit to the season, and there is some repetition abound. but it hardly gets any better than this. season 2 is truly a delight, an impeccable improvement from an already great foundational season. this next phase of my rewatch was pretty exhausting and rewarding because the episodes are complex and worth your goddamn time! pay attention, dammit! there are gay people in the doctor show!

also, can you believe that we're a 4th of the way through the ENTIRE show?

favorite wilson moment:

no one is surprised.

[starheirxero]

Tbh as much as I enjoy and understand the "KC as Bloodmoon's dad" thing, when u look a lil closer: KC seemed to have a slight theme of using family bonds as a means of control tbh.....

Like, my personal reading of KC for a while has been like. KC loves to lie.

KC prattled on and on to Moon about how they're brothers now, how they can rely on one another–and while, yes, Moon did call bullshit–KC still notably then turned around a few episodes later to ask Eclipse to find a way to "break" Moon.

KC promised Bloodmoon all of this glory, endless blood and food for his best sons, but ultimately didn't care when they died. This is later reaffirmed when BM v2 seeks KC out and he finally gives up the act, acting nonchalant and cold to the twins.

Eclipse was really the only one who didn't cave to this because he's already a very distant person. He didn't fall for promises of control or dominance, he didn't fall for being KC's "son", all he did was play the same game back at him and conspire while he wasn't looking.

KC can be read as a real manipulative guy, and that is just. so deeply fun to me <3

[heartsicklust]

The story arc of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes follows all the beats of an epic love story and I will never forgive the MCU for giving us that then hitting us with the utter bullshit of Endgame like they just realized "Oh, shit, this is a love story! Better fix that in a way that MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE!" Cowards.

[martyryo]

Marla I love you viscerally.

You all better be respectful and normal about her or I'll explode 😡

Anyways I like adding text on drawings, even if it's simple things like this. It's from wikipedia also cause I'm only using it as a graphic element rather than something intended to be read.

Without text 💥

[cloudinal]

Ca n anyone. Can anyone hear me

[an-honest-puck]

I know everyone's talking about how Cloudward, Ho! reminds them of Atlantis and Treasure Island and stuff, but the minute I saw dinosaurs my brain screamed DINOTOPIA and it hasn't stopped

[monstermoviedean]

a collection of faces for your viewing pleasure

[lifemod17]

Supernatural || season 12 × episode 11

Regarding Dean

[ryuusei-boi]

[salty-and-spiraling]

[youremyonlyhope]

I took this quiz. And some episodes were easy. Some made me just plain mad (Anti-Mavity Motorbike. No. I hate this stupid running joke). Some made me mad because I understood IMMEDIATELY what they meant (Awkward Bed Sharing, Paving Slab, Smacked Bottom) and it annoyed me that it made sense. And some made me mad because I knew the exact episode but could not remember the actual title for the LIFE of me (PE Teacher, Floating Fingers). And others made me want to sob (Cup-A-Soup, Solid Right Hook) because I loved the description choice so much.

Anyway. I need there to stop being so many "the [Blank] of the Doctor" episode titles. I can't keep track of them. At a certain point if I knew it was an 'of the Doctor' episode I just skipped it.

[a-bitch-made-fullmetal]

alright lads, I require some assistance.

did Roy at any point actually see Hohenheim's face? because during the whole Father Becoming God Thing, he was blind. I can't remember if they ever met before that, or if he saw a picture at the Rockbells'.

thots??

[thismustbefakeminespn]

11.12 Don't You Forget About Me

98/?

[safyresky]

Finally! Her time has come!!!

It's Spring! Yay! Woo! What--sorry. What was that? There's something--what do you mean there's something up? Top right corner? What? Hang on. Lemme check something real quick...