#for the Noah Twins i think it's the major reading to have in general

[icharchivist]

and let’s not forget how the Jasdevi song reflects so well on the Campbell twins as well!

Checking multiple translations because, as often with dgm, the translations are all over the place but

Long Long Ago/Once upon a time comes back as well, giving the impression of the time that passes.

There was one cradle: the Earl Body/Suit There was one inside the cradle: The Earl before he split The one became two/became a twin: The Earl splitting into Mana and Nea

Then only one cradle, the other, like a star lost in the fog: Mana, alone, now that Nea has “died”, was “lost” where no one could find him

Shaking in a graveyard until it disappeared/a star shining bright at the sacred place and disappear: Once again can echo the “death” of the “other twin”, disappearing because of death. Could be about Nea.  Or could be about how Mana himself also came to disappear since he’s the one associated with a crooked grave in a graveyard, and having faded away into a “star” (Allen’s pentacle)

WITH the irony that if we consider that both twins "disappeared" to be inside of Allen, Allen ends up being the "merged body", just like this song ends up merging Jasdero and Devit together.

If Nea was always supposed to be the Odd One Out, it means that “The Bond” was a Noah memory that existed before the Mana/Nea situation happened. Yet this one song the Jasdevi sing to merge together is thematically fully about Mana/Nea.

And we don’t know how Jasdevi came to be: were they two humans before the Noah gene awoke? Were they one that split into two? Were they two brothers, or were they two strangers who started to bond over their memory? 

Meanwhile we know for certain that their song fits Mana and Nea.

Food for thought!

Jasdero and Devit's bond more like whatever the hell Mana and Nea got going on tbh

Different personalities and bodies

Twins nonetheless

Both sets of twins end up as part of a single being when bonded together tho(Jasdevi and the Earl)

[aaronhotchnersquarterzip]

Meeting You Flipped the World Upside Down - Or Maybe Just Mine

This is it guys, I’m really proud in general of myself for finishing this and I hope you all enjoyed it as well. When I started this fic I honestly planned for a major character death or something dramatic like that. Never in my wildest dreams did I see this ending. I’m not mad though, I’ve had a rough time lately and this really summed up a lot of my feelings. There are people who will never truly leave your life and that's okay. You just shouldn’t let the thought of them hold you back. This has been my favorite thing to write ever and I want to thank everyone who has supported this and made me feel so good about my writing. I did leave this open ended if I ever did want to continue it but I think I want to write something a bit lighter next. I really hope you all enjoyed this as much as I have and remember to stay safe and drink some water today - Mya

Summary: Reader has been a rut, stuck in a never ending cycle of college worries and job interviews. Never did she think that SSA Aaron Hotchner, or Agent as she likes to call him, would walk into her favorite late night diner and flip her world upside down. And he for sure didn’t expect to fall in love so quickly with the soon to be college grad. They navigate finding love and working together to rediscover what that means for each of them.

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner X Female Reader

Word Count: 1.4k

Epilogue

Aaron Hotchner did flip your world upside down. Maybe just not in the way you expected. But in the way you needed. You watched your children chase their father around the backyard. It was nearly below freezing but they were going strong. You made hot chocolate for their impending arrival inside. In the meantime you curled up on the couch with a warm blanket and watched the fire burn. The Christmas tree was lit nicely in the corner of the living room, an abundance of presents spilling out. 

You pulled out your phone and scrolled through some old pictures. Baby pictures of your three children. Your wedding, it was a fall wedding. More than you could have ever dreamed of. You also looked at your college graduation pictures. Emily, JJ, and Penelope had surprised you and showed up to commencement. Screaming when you walked across the stage. You should call them soon. Finally, you found the picture you were looking for, you and Aaron at one of Dave’s dinners. It was a candid that Morgan took when you weren’t paying attention. Aaron has his arm around you while you’re talking to JJ about god knows what. It’s your favorite picture, beyond a shadow of a doubt. He looked at you like you were the only person in the room, you chose to remember nights that those. He changed you for the better, it was only fair you acknowledged that. 

Your thoughts were interrupted when your husband and kids ran inside from the cold. 

“There’s hot chocolate on the stove waiting for you monsters!” You yelled to them as they rushed to change into warmer clothes. 

When they had all settled and had their mugs of hot chocolate, your husband joined you on the couch. Soon followed by your children, two girls and one boy. They quickly turned on a pixar movie and snuggled up to you underneath several blankets. There was nothing you would change about your life. This was exactly where you were meant to be. 

By the time the credits rolled to Monsters University all three of them had fallen asleep. You carefully tucked in your youngest daughter, Greer. She was about to turn 2 in the spring. Your surprise baby. You couldn’t have been happier when you found out. Sure the stress of raising three kids got to you sometimes but they reminded you of all the good in the world. 

Next was Cheyenne, named after where you met your husband, Noah. You were travelling around the west and made a pit stop in Cheyenne and met the man you were meant to spend forever with. You couldn’t think of a better name for your first daughter, Noah couldn’t have agreed more. She embodied everything good about your husband, his compassion for sure. She was smarter than you by a long shot at just 8 years old. 

Finally you came to your oldests room. He had been a welcome surprise just a few months after your wedding. Your not so little boy mirrored you in a way you never thought possible. It scared you at first, everything about being a parent is scary sure, but nobody prepares you for raising your twin. He had your hair and eyes, Noah’s nose, but everything about him was you. His ambition never failed to wow you, he pushed himself to lengths you truly couldn’t believe sometimes. He however, did inherit some of your bad genes though. Sometimes he didn’t know when to stop, when to slow down and enjoy the present. You got better at that with age, you want him to achieve everything he puts his mind to but you need him to see when it’s happening. Not when it’s happened. 

You reached down and pushed some of his hair from his face so you could kiss his forehead. 

“Goodnight my sweet boy,” you whispered and he snuggled further into his blankets. You smiled softly and walked out quietly. He was already 12, sometimes you couldn't believe that you made it this far. You grew as you moved farther away, you knew that your life belonged out here. Sometimes it’s hard to trust fate but how could you justify meeting Noah and creating your dream life in your new favorite spot in America without believing at least a little bit in fate. 

You softly closed your little boy's door and ran your hand over the nameplate crested in the center of the door, Aaron, written in hues of blue. 

As you cuddled with your husband while he slowly fell asleep, you reached for your phone and scrolled through an album made just for you and Aaron. Noah may be your future, but Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner was the love of your life and you forever had a part of him. 

You pulled up his contact for the first time in 18 years and sent him the photo from that dinner at Dave’s a lifetime ago. You wrote a short message, 

I forgive you Agent - Y/N

The last thing you expected was a response, especially so quickly. It was a picture that you had posted on social media a few weeks prior, celebrating your 13th wedding anniversary. 

I’m happy you found better. What are their names? - Agent

My youngest is Greer, then Cheyenne. - Y/N

You wait a few minutes to respond, you know he read the message prior.

He’s named after the love of my life Aaron - Y/N

He called you then. You moved quickly and quietly from your bed and down into your living room. Answering before the line went dead. 

“You were the love of my life too Y/N. I just didn’t know it.”

There you sat, where just hours ago you were wrapped in blankets with your family, you were now transported to your life with Aaron. Staring into the fire with tears in your eyes. 

“It wouldn’t have mattered, Aaron, sometimes finding the love of your life doesn't mean spending the rest of your life with them. It means loving them for the rest of your life, even if that means watching them love someone else.” 

You could hear him sigh on the other end of the line, “I never stopped loving you. I won’t ever stop loving you Y/N.” 

“I will always love you too Aaron. I think I’m happier now than I ever was with you though. JJ told me you got remarried Agent. Congratulations. I’m sure she's perfect for you.”

“Yeah, pretty much. Her name is Beth, Jack loves her too.”

“I miss him. I’m happy he has someone again. You deserve to be happy Aaron. I forgave you days after. Hell hours even. But I knew that we both needed someone who understood us better. We both deserved that.” 

Just then you heard a door creak and the sound of feet pattering towards you, “mama,” Aaron’s voice squeaked out. 

“Right here, baby. What's wrong?”

“I heard you talking and wanted to talk with you too.” You laughed a little before putting your phone on speaker and introducing your son to Aaron. 

“Well alright, but I think you might need to know his name before you talk to him.” Aaron caught your drift, introducing himself through the phone. 

“Hi Aaron, I’ve heard all about you. My name is Aaron too and there is nothing I want more than to talk to you.”

Your little boy perked up at the idea that this man had the same name as him, Aaron was a good sport and talked to him for about 20 minutes before your boy was yawning between every word. 

“Say goodnight to Aaron buddy,” he murmured out a small goodnight and was helped back into bed. 

“He reminds me of you, I’m sure you know that already.”

“Everyone calls him my clone. Maybe it’s wishful thinking but sometimes I look into his eyes and swear I see you looking back at me Aaron. He’s how I imagined our children would turn out. Perfect in every single way.”

“Your husband is very lucky to have you Y/N. I’ll envy him until the end of time.”

You sensed this was the end of the conversation, you subconsciously wanted to never stop talking to him. That part of you that would always yearn for his comfort when you were breaking down in the bathroom or when you were so over the moon about something at work. You wanted to share those moments with him first. I guess some part of you always would. 

“I love you Aaron.”

“I love you too Y/N, goodnight”

“Goodnight Agent.”

[deejadabbles]

Hello, by the way, a while ago you talked about how maybe nobody was interested in talking about your character's cutting deck ... But please do it !!! God I love talking about deck types and how it connects to each player's personality!

Oh my gosh, this is so sweet, thank you for letting me ramble about my OCs! (also, you guys, always feel free to ramble to me about your OCs!) (This is the previous post about my Yugioh OCs)

A bit about how I picture Daina and her duelist story through the series: I don't think she dueled in Duelist Kingdom but after seeing all the messed up stuff there and realizing that it probably wasn't the end for her friends, she started honing her dueling skills to help protect Yugi and the others. She entered Battle City and her favorite battle was against Mai for a slot in the finals. In my head, I actually think she beat Mai and took her place in the finals (and in the story) but I can also see a path where she loses to Mai honorably. She enters all the major tournaments but actually has to be convinced by Yugi to enter the Kaiba corp championship because she has some trauma from Battle City.

But Any Way! On to her actual deck.

So I'll admit, despite playing Duel Links, I'm not actually well versed in the terminology of the deck types, besides some things a friend has said to me (like what a "burn" deck is) but I personally would call Daina's deck style an "armory" deck.

Most of her cards revolve around lower-level monsters gaining high-level attack points, either through the monster's own effect or through spell/trap cards. (Monsters like this that you'll see in her deck are ones like: "Raging Flame Sprite", "Ancient Dragon", "Cold Enchanter", "Maiden of Macabre", "Maha Vailo, Light of the Hevans" etc.) She has lots of Equip spells that help out her so-called weaker monsters, but her favorite by far is "Power of the Guardians" which increases a monster's attack points with every attack! Her favorite monsters to pair with Power of the Guardians is "Mataza the Zapper" (who can attack twice each turn!) and "Maiden of Macabre". Another equip card she favors is "Glass Slippers" which, admittedly, only helps the few fairy monsters she has, but she also uses it to render her opponents stronger monsters useless. Let's also not forget about "Twin Swords of Flashing Light" (which she also likes to pair with Mataza and Mada Vailo to devastate her opponents in one turn!)

That isn't the only strategy she has though, she has a few cards you can special summon like "Chaos Hunter" and "Blizard Princess". (I also had this cool scene in my head where Daina duels Mai in Battle City and uses Chaos Hunter when Mai tries to summon her harpy ladies *u*) I also made up a few cards in my head that she'd have in her deck, one called "Kitsune Illusionist" whose effect is that she cannot be destroyed by battle while in defense mode. And, as I said in my previous post, I came up with her ace card, "Winged Guardian" who can negate attacks made on lower-level monsters. I think that card is the one that reflects Daina the most, what with her need to protect people, but her lower-level cards getting stronger also reflects her ^.^

Also while this description is definitely her main deck, like most characters she changes up her deck as the story goes on. I had it in my head that during the Big Five/Noah arc she uses a deck she was experimenting with before battle city, a deck that she fondly calls "Mages of Winter" that features monsters like "Blizard Princess", "Ice Master", and "Cold Enchanter" and it features more spellcaster monsters than her other deck.

Other than that I think she just generally stick with Warrior-type monsters and traps cards that negate her opponents from messing with her equip cards, or ones that build up her defenses.

IDK who else will care to read this but it was nice rambling about her deck so thank you!

[widereading]

𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐬 by Yuval Noah Harari | Non-Fiction (443 pages)⁣ ⁣

★ ★ ★ ★ ⁣⁣⁣:  recommended reading <society, humanity, science and technology> ⁣

This book was a tastebreaker for me in the non-fiction genre and I would highly recommend Harari's work (although Sapiens is the most well written imo). Sapiens canvasses the evolution of mankind from the beginning of time to c. 2019 (republished edition) through three revolutions: Cognitive, Agricultural and Scientific. Along the way, the author weaves science and humanist (a philosophy focus on human values and freedoms) insights that are accessible and relatable to everyone (there is no assumed knowledge). ⁣ ⁣

The content isn't really ground-breaking, but I think what distinguishes this book is that most concepts have been written well - almost in a poetic way - and makes you view the history of civilisation from a fresh perspective. Even though I personally think the book drops off in quality and cohesiveness around the middle of the book, it picks back up towards the end and was definitely an insightful read overall.⁣ ⁣

Some of my key takeaways (quotes aren't verbatim):⁣ ⁣

1. 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨-𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: the ability to create an imagined reality from words enabled large numbers of strangers to co-operate effectively (p. 36) and for co-operation of large groups, only a sophisticated religious or ideological system could sustain such efforts (p. 101). This extends to modern trade agreements, political structures and legal institutions which result from human's cognitive capacity to create fiction. P. 207 - Harari analogises money as a trust system - that bridges discrimination and cultural gaps - and 1) allows people to co-operate effectively, 2) create trust in the future (e.g. financial credit), which is based on an assumption that future resources are more abundant than present resources (p. 344). He observes that most human co-operation networks have been geared towards exploitation and oppression over time (p. 116). ⁣ ⁣

2. 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫: modern society operates through an imagined order that exists only in our minds, but is woven in the material reality around us (p. 127). This imagined order shapes our desires (i.e. your thoughts, ambitions and desires may be '𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴' but they are certainly shaped by romantic, nationalist, capitalist and humanist myths that have been around for centuries). Harari gives the example of a common desire for individuals to travel overseas for a holiday, and notes that this isn't something that is necessarily biological, but the product of an individual who subscribes to romantic consumerism. [On a side note, I found out in a work trivia that Santa was originally green but changed to red as a result of Coca-Cola advertising...]. These imagined orders are inter-subjective, so in order to change them, we must simultaneously change the consciousness of billions of people, which is not easy (p. 135). A conscious effort has to be made to sustain laws, customs, procedures and manners, otherwise social order would quickly collapse. ⁣ ⁣

𝟑. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: ⁣ ⁣

<A. 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭> The domestication of animals was founded on a series of brutal practices that only became crueller with the passing of the centuries (p. 105), and the agricultural revolution was the turning point when Sapiens cast off its intimate symbiosis with nature and sprinted towards greed and alienation (p. 110). ⁣ ⁣

<B. 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦> In the post-industrial environment (with its mega-cities, aeroplanes, telephones and computers, c/f hunter-gatherer lifestyles), we have more material resources and longer lives than previous generations, but it often makes us feel alienated, depressed and pressured (p. 45). There has also been a collapse of the nuclear family unit and the community, with the rise of individualism. With individuals wielding unprecedented powers to decide their own path in life, we find it harder to make commitments and therefore live an increasingly lonely world of unravelling communities and families (p. 428).  Overall, it seems that humanity's search for an easier life released immense forces of change that transformed the world in ways nobody envisioned or wanted (p. 99) - that we have created convenience and yet live more stressed lives. ⁣ ⁣

<C. 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘤> You need to know alot about your own tiny field of expertise, but for the vast majority of life's necessities you rely blindly on the help of other experts, whose own knowledge is also limited to a tiny field of expertise (p. 55). Identical twins raised in opposing socio-economic backgrounds (poor vs wealthy), with the same abilities would not have had the same chance in developing personal wealth. The economic game was rigged by legal restrictions and unofficial glass ceilings (p. 154).

[aion-rsa]

The He-Man Movie You Never Saw Would Have Been Like a Buddy Comedy

https://ift.tt/36Saz15

While Masters of the Universe: Revelation reignites Mattel’s toy-spawning fantasy franchise, the Kevin Smith-conceived Netflix animated series arrives in the recent wake of an ill-fated film project. Indeed, Sony/Columbia settled on up-and-coming directors Aaron Nee and Adam Nee to conjure new live-action exploits of He-Man in the land of Eternia, which progressed to pre-production and cast Noah Centineo in the starring role before the pandemic put an end to the endeavor. Interestingly, David S. Goyer, who wrote an early draft of the Masters of the Universe screenplay, reveals what would have been a rather unique dynamic at its center.

Contrasting with the potentially-controversial protagonist direction hinted in early reviews for Revelation, the driving concept for the long-planned Masters of the Universe live-action movie was to focus on the friendship between He-Man and his loyal giant green, orange-striped tiger steed, Battle Cat, as Goyer reveals to THR. Of course, most of the franchise’s various iterations present the narrative notion that Eternia’s sleepy slacker royal prince, Adam, secretly transforms into “the most powerful man in the universe” when he imbues himself with mystical energy from the Sword of Power, after which he directs said energy toward his cowardly talking pet tiger, Cringer, transforming him into the hero’s ferocious loyal steed, Battle Cat. However, Goyer reveals that—during his tenure with the script—the film would have broken precedence by putting a comically dysfunctional twist on the traditional hero/steed relationship.

“I legitimately liked the script that we did,” says Goyer. “We were going to do it as a feature at Sony. What I liked the most about it was that it was mostly about a friendship between He-Man and Battle Cat. The idea was there had always been He-Men and different recipients of the Sword of Power and that Battle Cat had always served at their side. And this was a new He-Man that Battle Cat and many people didn’t think was worthy of the sword.”

Contextually, while mainstream representations like 1983-1985 animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and the 1987 Dolph Lundgren-starring Masters of the Universe movie mostly stuck to superficial backstories, the franchise’s deeper mythos—once canonically-inconsistent across the decades in its multimedia forms—has started to uniformly embrace the idea that Adam himself is merely the latest recipient of the mystical Sword of Power, which several generations earlier, was wielded by his ancestor and ancient castle namesake, King Grayskull, after which the sword—and the sublime power it yields—was passed down to various other “He-Men.” Indeed, even Revelation’s trailer showcases King Grayskull, implying continued adherence to the hand-me-down dynamic, and the possibility for time-travel-facilitated team-ups with previous versions of Eternia’s hero. Likewise, the concept was integral to Goyer’s screenplay, since Adam’s newfound role as He-Man would have come attached with an intimidating, seemingly-unattainable legacy, of which this wryer, more-critical version of Battle Cat seems acutely aware. Thus, Adam’s arc as an upstart hero would have hinged on earning the ornery Battle Cat’s stamp of approval, yielding buddy comedy style interactions.

Read more

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“So, it was a story of the character earning the sword, but, more importantly, earning the friendship of Battle Cat, who just thought this guy [Prince Adam] was a lightweight,” explains Goyer. “I really liked it. I thought it was a fun story. There was a lot of humor in it and it creeps up on you because Battle Cat sort of grudgingly accepts him, and it’s Battle Cat’s acceptance of He-Man that gave this version of the story heart.” Goyer’s comments seem to shed light on the reasoning behind the eventual casting of Noah Centineo (pictured just below), who—hardly the WWE-level jacked giant one would envision for the role—seemed set to convey Adam’s getting-by-on-good-looks slacker personality, having come from the realm of teen comedies, notably from his role as Peter in 2018 Netflix rom-com To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and its two sequels. Thus, it not only would have been interesting to see how a fully-transformed He-Man himself would have manifested in this live-action attempt, but how Battle Cat could have served as his shade-throwing foil.

Alex Israel

Unfortunately, fate would not favor this particular Masters of the Universe live-action reboot project, which saw several attempts—notably the Lord of the Rings/Game of Thrones-influenced version under director Jeff Wadlow. Those years saw several hints about the movie in the form of early versions of its logo and various social media-teased concept art designs, which revealed a motif that—perhaps in response to Marvel’s 2014 success with Guardians of the Galaxy—leaned into the space-esque sci-fi technology side of the franchise’s traditional amalgam with savagery and sorcery. Moreover, back in 2015, one of the project’s more enthusiastic early proponents, producer DeVon Franklin, tweeted a concept image of what the Battle Cat in question might have looked like—albeit as a CGI creation—in this particular live-action milieu. Yet, despite years of hype and even a projected, never-realized March 2021 release date, the project came to an ignominiously anti-climactic coda, notably affirmed this past April after Centineo reportedly exited the role from the COVID-stopped production.

@danmillerNY @TheOneHansen @Guardians I totally agree!!! pic.twitter.com/6g6W18D9J7

— DeVon Franklin (@DeVonFranklin) March 3, 2015

Regardless, Goyer, having made a monumental mark on the industry with The Dark Knight Trilogy amongst other heavy hitters, isn’t thinking about He-Man and Battle Cat these days, since his hands are currently tied with two lofty tasks as the credited creator of Netflix’s developing television adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman and, more imminently, the Apple TV+ television adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s sprawling novel franchise, Foundation. However, Masters of the Universe, while still generally associated with ‘80s pop culture, has managed to exist in the periphery across the ensuing decades. Oddly enough, we’re living in a time in which the franchise permeates (not even counting Netflix’s recent animated series centered on He-Man’s estranged twin sister, She-Ra,) with two major animated series (one of which is a developing CGI series,) and several current toy lines, two of which are sold at retail stores worldwide. Thusly, Revelation could prove to be the iteration that truly brings it back to the forefront, perhaps leading to another live-action attempt—maybe by Goyer again.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

In the meantime, Masters of the Universe: Revelation will release the first part of its inaugural season on Netflix on Friday, July 23.

The post The He-Man Movie You Never Saw Would Have Been Like a Buddy Comedy appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3eJJiSA

[roswelldetails]

RNM 2x06 - Sex and Candy

EPISODE SUMMARY:

Maria’s (Heather Hemmens) investigation into her mother’s disappearance leads her and Alex (Tyler Blackburn) to the home of a mysterious boot maker named Travis (guest star David Anders). Meanwhile, on her journey of self-discovery, Isobel’s (Lily Cowles) night out leads her into the arms of someone unexpected. Finally, after making some major scientific strides, Liz (Jeanine Mason) is dealt a devastating blow. Geoff Shotz directed the episode written by Rick Montano & Vincent Ingrao (#206). Original airdate 4/20/2020.

DETAILS:

Max and Isobel's fight:

Lights start flickering when Max starts getting aggressive and then get brighter as he gets more worked up.

The first attempt to expel it seemed like he was causing an earthquake.  He blew out all the windows in the gym, knocked Isobel down, and there was shaking.  But it didn't seem to go beyond that room - no damage is seen when Michael arrives or around town.

Note, after the earthquake thingie the lights go out 

His hands are doing the electric power thingie and THEN he also grabs the lightning.

I think Isobel used her telekinesis to stop it and then push it away, which seemed to work...but if so then why couldn't Noah do that last season? 

Was it the sheer volume of electricity? There was definitely MORE than with Noah.

Michael uses his telekinesis to manually reset Max's heart.  This is very smart of him. Note that he's using his own heart/pulse to get it right.

They are using the antidote to Liz's serum to try to heal Max's mind. 

Michael says that they've been giving him antidote injections for three days (time jump).

Three days of antidote and no new memories for Max.

Isobel remembered her blackouts within a few hours of getting injected with the antidote in 1x10.

Note: Liz hesitated using the antidote this way in 1x10 because Isobel could still be dangerous and they didn't know about the 4th Alien yet.  There doesn't seem to be a similar hesitation with Max. Because Liz trusts him more? Because him forgetting her is more personal? It's not like there isn't a chance that Max is still dangerous…

Maria arranged a Mexican market in the Pony parking lot to subsidize her income.

Buffy the Beagle is Forrest's dog!

Maria comments that the meteor shower makes animals act strange. And humans too.

Forrest and Maria are organizing an open night mic at the Wild Pony.  Free drinks for performers.

Maria clearly approves of Forrest and Alex getting to know each other.  She smacks Alex for his awkward flirting.

The bootmaker's farm is about an hour outside of town.

The Science:

Kyle and Steph are watching a "surgical separation of craniopagus twins".

Craniopagus Twins = twins attached at the cranium/head. (Aka not a heart surgery).

"Did you know, ever since 1947, twin births in Roswell are higher than the national average? Maybe it's aliens."

Speaking of awkward flirting…. "You're just my favorite person I can't stand."

The Spanish:

Le cambio una bolsa de chiles para mi papá...for the free fries next time you come to the Crashdown.

Liz is bartering.  She says basically, I'll trade you a bag of chiles for my papa for free fries next time you come to the Crashdown. 

Note, the captions for this are wrong and use the Spanish word for grasshoppers instead, but you can clearly hear Liz say chiles. Thanks to @rosaortecho for pointing that out to me.

Max says:

I'm trying to eat clean. Uh, tiene carne seca sin como se dice, preservativos.

He's trying to say, basically, does the jerky have preservatives. 

Quiere carne a sin preservativos?

Basically, you want meat without condoms?

Lo siento. Uh, no lo entiendo.

I'm sorry, I don't get it.

Él quiere decir conservantes.

He means preservatives.

Gracias. Estoy embarazado.

Thank you. I'm pregnant.

Michael asks Max who he's texting. Max says everyone has been messaging him but Cameron is the only one who hasn't responded, which isn't like her.

Wildly curious who he was texting though.  It's not like he's a social butterfly. His mom? The sheriff? Who? As I pointed out to some friends the other day, he spent his 21st birthday getting trashed with his SISTER. This is not a trait of a guy with lots of close friends.

Just as another note, Michael says he ghosted her. When exactly was that? Yes, Max ran out on her in the middle of a handy in 1x03, but they addressed that the next day.  She "broke up" with him in 1x07, but they were still good right up until she left town. 

Isobel:

"Does he seem different to you?"

Alex and Maria playing "Never have I Ever" in the car. Good way to do background on characters.

Maria has never cheated on a boyfriend

Alex has never been in a real relationship. Not even "Kellie Sommer-something".

Alex says that whenever he was with a woman he was trying to disappear.  Except for Sophomore year after Battle of the Bands. Seven Minutes in Heaven in Haley Moore's hall closet. Alex and Maria kissed and it was Maria's first kiss (and boob graze).  She always thought she'd marry Alex. Had to come up with a new plan after he came out. 

Alex says "I did too."

"Kissing you in that closet was the first time in my life that I enjoyed touching someone."

Max picks up Liz for their first date…

Just as a note, Save Tonight was the opening song in the pilot of OG Roswell. During the "oh, Max Evans is staring at you again." exchange between Liz and Maria.  So, it might go well with new beginnings or something ;-)

The Science:

"Psychogenic amnesia limits retrieval of stored memories, but if we light up your limbic system and gustatory cortex with some familiar signals…"

"Your milkshake might bring all my memories to the yard?"

**Note, second reference to this song in the context of Liz bringing Max milkshakes. First was in 1x06 by Isobel. Hmm. 1x06 and 2x06… maybe they should crack this joke in 3x06 too.

"Sometimes when people wake up from comas they have different personalities, different tastes even…"

Everything you ever wanted to know about psychogenic amnesia:

But, my main takeaway is that it's a specific type of amnesia where there's abnormal memory function but no brain damage or other clear cause of it.

Limbic system:

Basically the part of your brain that stores emotion, behavior, and long term memory.

Gustatory cortex:

Basically the part of your brain that processes taste.

Maria compares Michael to Chad because he starts fights and lies.  Alex disagrees and lists ways that he was doing good things:

He lied to protect his family from Alex's family.

He shouldered the burden of a murder he didn't commit for ten years so that Isobel didn't have to.

He pushed Maria away to protect her - which might be a good thing too because of all his baggage. 

First Date:

Max went to Ranch camp one summer and dislocated his shoulder while trying to read Lord of the Rings on horseback. #nerd. 

Liz references the gala as not their first date, but there was also the desert in high school.  I guess she doesn't count that either. 

Side note: Cam and Liz talked about him peacocking in 2x03, but that kinda felt out of character at the time to the Max we knew.  This Max DOES seem like he's peacocking a bit. Got dressed up, taking Liz horseback riding. He admitted to trying to one up whatever they did together before. Just an interesting (to me) observation.

Liz looks panicky when Max suggests truth serum (because Science!Liz probably could make truth serum), but once she realizes he means whiskey she's like, "oh yes, that's fine." Oh Liz… 

Diego details:

They were engaged just last year

Liz left without saying goodbye

Bioengineer 

They were working together on the Denver study

They would come home and keep talking about work

He had ideas to help improve it

They both spoke The Science

He pushed her to get better at The Science

When the funding was cut she realized she loved the work more than him

Liz couldn't figure out how tell him that so she packed her things in the middle of the night, hit the road, changed her phone, and blocked him on Facebook.

**This is the first time LIZ has mentioned social media. Interesting given the crap Maria keeps giving her about it!

Travis and fresh warm milk. What is up with it??

"Nice ring. Does it keep you from burning up in the daylight?"

David Anders introduces himself as Travis.

Just as a point of interest, Maria researched enough to find the bootmaker, figure out where he lives, but she didn't get his name??? 

Vampire Diaries/Originals reference.

Travis says he can't help with car stuff.

The milk was from a cow named Jennifer.  He milked her for the last time today. (Creepy).

Weird contradictory statements from Travis:

"You're the best thing I've seen in a long time."....

"Mm, I'm sorry. So many customers and all their ugly faces get all sewn up and stitched together in my mind."

"Yeah, that's the woman that bought them boots. While back. Nice lady. She paid cash."

Second reference to animals behaving strangely during a meteor shower:

"Meteor shower's got my girls singing a bit off key tonight.  Jennifer, she likes a good lullaby."

"Okay this guy is going to turn us into skin suits." (OG reference? Or just general sci-fi?)

Meteorchella at Planet 7 (Coachella-style party during meteor shower?) with any excuse to add sparkles!

Kyle says he's at Planet 7 because he's trying not to hang out with people from high school.

Isobel says she's trying to have fun without feeling like prey.

Don't think the details of Kyle/Isobel dancing matters all that much, but as a point of amusement I'll share that in the panel on Tuesday night they shared that Lily whispered something different to Trevino on every take...And they got progressively dirtier to the point that she finally felt like she crossed a line and profusely apologized.  Also the lick was a Lily addition. 

Max's confession about killing the drifter:

Kind of an interesting thing, comparing the first version of the drifter story in 1x06 to the 2x06 version. 1x06 was more dramatic, but 2x06 was more personal, I think. 

1x06

"There are moments that define our lives, and there are moments that divide our lives. Incidents that separate us into two different people: who we were before and who we will be after. Forever…One day we were children and the next we were something else. I was a killer. Michael an accomplice.  And Isobel...Isobel was broken."

2x06

"I killed a man once, on a camping trip. This drifter came out of nowhere, attacked Isobel.  I wasn't even thinking. I killed him. With this. I arrest people who kill people. Most of them usually regret what they did. You know, you can just tell that they're forever broken. It's like a piece of them dies with their victims. So when I could feel that darkness, like I had to kill, I wanted Isobel to let me die. Because I couldn't risk hurting even one innocent person. Cause life just wouldn't be worth living."

Kind of an interesting narrative choice to confess to murder on a first date and then have the girl just brush it aside. 

"No, it just hit me why you're so happy and idealistic, and I feel like an idiot. You are that way because you don't remember me. It's a clean slate.  It's like when you got out of the pods with whatever memories you had erased it's probably for your own good."

"Last I heard you were the love of my life."

"Your cohorts, they left out some details. Cause if you had your memories I'm positive the worst thing that's ever happened to you is connected to me. And I can't bear the weight of making you remember that again."

**Note, second time this has been implied.  Last time was by Michael in 1x08 regarding the alien symbol.

"...it's gotta have some connection to us right? Maybe it was something we saw somewhere before the crash."

"Sorry, are you, Max Evans, acknowledging that we must have had lives before we hatched out of the pods? You never want to talk about home."

"Hey, Roswell is home. Look, I'm sorry man. You're right. I've spent a lot of time not talking about where we come from or why we're here.  Keep thinking I can pretend the past away and just be normal. But if Isobel's blackouts are some alien thing, then I need to know more. Okay, and this symbol? That's all I have to go on. I mean don't you think it's strange that we don't have any memories? I mean, no parents, no language. We weren't infants, man. We were seven."

"I just figured our memory faded. Over 50 years in those pods. Maybe it was just time. Or maybe whoever put us in those pods doesn't want us to remember."

Travis and Trevor's house...with added bonus of his ring that Alex comments on.

Leather ribbons/strips on the wall are for (from?) Hayley and Gertrude. More cows, I presume. 

There's also a framed Purple Heart on the wall next to a photo of Travis?

"War really messes with a man's mind.  Gets it all twisted up.

Timeline issue!! Alex says Mimi was missing for 3 weeks, but according to the clearly established timelines in 201-203 it was 4 weeks (or a month ish).  I wrote about this here:

Maria put her jacket on a scarecrow to trick Travis. And did she leave it there?

(Answer: yes. She doesn't wear it for the rest of the episode. Smart of her, actually).

Michael sees Trevor come out of the house and is about to shoot him. Maria immediate knew it wasn't Travis and threw herself in front of Michael's gun

Trevor shoots Travis.

A bullet from the Crashdown shooting falls out of Max's journal.  Does it look like it has blood on it? Or maybe just ketchup? If it's THE bullet it would make a lot of sense that he kept it hidden - evidence that Liz was shot. See this comparison between one of Wyatt's bullets in 1x02 and the one Max finds in 2x06

"Sorry about my twin here. He's had a rough go."

"Combat does not make you an axe murderer."

"No, it wasn't the combat. It was the R&D. If a paramilitary group ever asks you to take part in a study, you run the other way. He showed up a few weeks ago. Locked me up out back. Lucky y'all showed up when you did. Gave me a chance to escape."

R&D is a military acronym for Research and Development. (Aka...The Science.)

Priscilla - the cow Mimi's boots were made from.

This is literally the only direct information gained about the boots from this little sleuthing excursion. 

Well, and that Mimi paid cash, which isn't like her.

Side note - I didn't really know what Paramilitary meant, so just in case any of you are also not good with military stuff, Paramilitary groups are like private armies. Like, I dunno, the private security firm that Jesse and Cam discussed in episode 2x04. 👀

Male doctor operating on Steph clearly states:

"All right we're approaching an arterial junction."

A female doctor replies and its less clear.  What I hear is...Blood gasses are back? Anyone else hear something that makes more sense than that?

He replied something like...the stint through here

She says something about pH levels.

Max admits that he didn't know what would happen when he decided to bring Rosa back.  He just wanted to fix the worst thing that ever happened to all of them.

"I can't believe we were Shyamalan'd by an evil twin."

I think Alex is referring to the twist ending? Or maybe just the insane axe murderer stuff.

M. Night Shyamalan wrote and directed the Sixth Sense, Signs, Split, etc…

During this scene is the first time we see Michael's tattoo… it's on his arm. I struggled with getting a cap of it, but I know there are gifs going around.

I had every intention of detailing the dialogue in the trailer scene, but before I could get to it, Carina posted the script, so I didn't think it was a good use of my time. Here's the script:

The next morning, Alex calls the Sheriff from outside the trailer for an update.

The Sheriff tells him that Travis and Trevor burned their home and ran...weren't caught by the sheriff.  Which means we may not have seen the last of them.

The Spanish:

"Oh my God. Dios mio, Max. I took off your pants before I even said I love you. I'm some kind of zorra."

Dios mio basically is Oh My God! So Liz really was spiraling. She went, "Oh my God, Oh my God..."

Zorra - female version of Zorro. Basically a vixen, bitch, prostitute… the internet has all sorts of fun words that it translates into. 

"I call this one Visceral Werewolf Part 2, dedicated to my boy Chee Chee, may he rest in peace."

Can we have more Bert? Bert is the best. Also kudos to his goofy friend who is wayyy too excited about this.

Forrest's slam poem:

Locked up for days,

Time slipping away,

On my knees I would pray to break free from this cage.

But bargaining for keys, you forget hidden fees.

And wishing for what you’re missing ain’t the same as living the dream. 

And now I’m fighting to stay on this side of the cage.

Even though I know a part of me wishes I’d stayed. 

Ain’t no prophet or rebel or savior or devil

Could have predicted, fought, cheated or leveled. 

A life with potential that’s squandered, 

A comfortable cell is a question I ponder. 

Am I a free man or a prisoner wanderer?

Max's memory flash:

Young Max, chained to the ground as described in 2x03. 

Max looks scared.

He's dressed all in white like the 1947 aliens after the crash (As shown in 1x12 and 2x03).

He's in a cave or something like a cave. 

Holes in the wall are glowing an orangey red color.

The ceiling is like the alien ship material with the alien symbol in it.  

A figure approaches from behind him, bends down, and places a hand on his shoulder.

It mirrors the figure approaching Nora in 2x03 and touching her shoulder before burning the military men...probably the same person? Noah? The stowaway? Someone new?

After the figure touches Max, he looks at the hand, and then a red glow lights his face.

MUSIC:

1. Xocoyotzin Herrera "Esperanza"

2. Jose Luis Lepe "La Carreta"

3. Eagle Eye Cherry "Save Tonight"

4. Lousiana Red "I Done Woke Up"

5. Whissell "Magnetic"

6. Stop Dead "Alchemistress Dance"

7.  Orville Peck "Turn To Hate"

8. Kim Petras "Close Your Eyes"

9. Orville Peck "Queen Of The Rodeo"

10. Moontricks "The Fall"

11. Years & Years "Hypnotised"

12. Jordan Critz Feat. Birdtalker "Through Your Eyes"

This time I couldn't find the Whissell and Stop Dead tracks on spotify - however the Stop Dead track is referenced at being by Chelsea Dawn in the closed captions.  Which I did find. Trying to confirm this. Let me know if anyone else had better luck!

[btsqualityy]

The Toddlers’ Bedrooms

Author’s Note: So , since I did a post at the beginning of this year about what the toddlers’ nurseries looked like when they were babies, I decided to do an updated version about what they would look like when the kids are toddlers. I am also gonna do a version for what their bedrooms would look like as teenagers as well. I hope you guys enjoy this little extra!

Kaiden (Jin’s son)

Kaiden’s honestly a pretty simple kid lol. I could imagine his room being pretty bare in terms of clutter, but I think there would be a lot of white and just bright colors in general. He did request dinosaurs though, so you and Jin added that in lol.

Kinsley (Yoongi’s daughter)

Listen, if you’ve been following me for a while, we all know that Kinsley sleeps with her parents the majority of the time lol. Therefore, I think her room would also be pretty bare. Even when she does sleep in there, she usually plays downstairs so her room doesn’t get much use if we’re being honest.

Mason (Namjoon’s son)

So, it was important to you and Namjoon that Mason’s bedroom have all of his favorite things in it so that he would feel comfortable in there. He has his bookcase (since he loves to read), his favorite little chair, and pictures of trucks and construction vehicles (since he loves them to a ridiculous degree). It’s pretty safe to say that he loves it, because that’s where he is most of the time when he’s at home (if he’s not following behind you and/or Namjoon and asking a thousand questions).

Berkeley & Lennox (Hobi’s daughter and son)

Ok so, the twins do still share a room as toddlers. Their beds are against one of corner of their room, while the rest of the room is comprised of their toys and their little desks. It was important to you and Hobi that they both have as much room as possible to play since they’re both so active. 

Noah (Jimin’s son)

I think Noah’s bedroom would be very chill, much like how his nursery was. Noah is a big fan of different animals, so you and Jimin made sure to include them in different places around his room. He also has his little tent (which him and the other toddlers like to cuddle up in) and his little nightlight by his bed (since he’s a little afraid of the dark). Honestly though, he often sleeps with his parents too so his room is more for play.

Spencer (Taehyung’s daughter)

Ok so, Spencer’s room would be the definition of extra af lol. If you’ve been a reader for a while, you’ll know how much Taehyung loves spoiling his daughter and decorating her bedroom was no exception. Like seriously, what other three year old has a bed curtain with lights around their bed?

Ava (Jungkook’s daughter)

If you’re a long time (or even short time) reader, you know Ava is extra af. I could definitely see her picking out every and anything pink, and she’d absolutely fall in love with it. She’s somewhat of a wild sleeper, so this bigger bed would be perfect for her. She also has to have the little lights around her bed because she gets a little nervous sleeping on her own in the dark (even though she won’t say that out loud).

[chiefnooniensingh]

I Won’t Hesitate (For You) Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Do you have to (let it linger)?

In this chapter: We meet Isobel Bracken's brother a few years before the present. In the present, Jesse Manes is inadvertently helpful and Alex broadens his list of suspects.

A/n: As always, a special thanks to Aileen (@acomebackstory), Callie (@callieramics), @hm-arn, @royalshadowhunter and @ladymajavader over on Tumblr for their continued support and cheerleading, and my new cheerleader May (@merlinss). I don't know if I would've finished it without you guys!

The title of last chapter hasn't been guessed yet, so you can still give it a go!

Can anyone guess this week's title and performing artist?

also on: ao3

other chapters: 1 2 3 4

January, 1933

In the month that construction of the longest and tallest suspension bridge began in San Francisco, a small announcement appeared in the local New Mexican paper.

Oil Mogul Noah Bracken (33) and long-time girlfriend Isobel Evans (25) announce their engagement Noah Bracken, the youngest man ever to reach a net worth of $1 billion, and his long-time girlfriend, major event planner Isobel Evans, have today announced their engagement to this newspaper. “We are beyond happy and ask you to respect our privacy in this wonderful time,” the couple announced from their San Franciscan estate. “It will be the greatest event I’ll ever have planned,” adds the future Mrs Bracken with a wink. The editors of this newspaper wish them all the happiness in the world.

This news was not received well by everyone. The bride’s brother, for one. A recent addition to the sheriff’s department, he had read everything about the Rosa Ortecho case. 13 years later, the case was still cold as ice. He’d recognized the young immigrant that had been the one and only suspect back in the day as the man his twin sister was dating. But before he could reach out and warn his sister, she’d gotten engaged. Any objections he voiced now would make him sound like a possessive brother.

He tried to assuage himself; aside from the fight, there was absolutely no evidence that Noah Bracken had killed the Ortecho girl. And yet he couldn’t shake this feeling…

Max Evans threw the paper down on the table and put on his hat.

If his sister’s soon-to-be-husband was a dangerous killer, he was going to find out. And his sister would be kept out of danger, for as long as possible.

Present day, 21st of October, 1935

“Bring in Max Evans, please,” Alex requested of the young conductor they brought in from one of the other carriages. Alex could really only trust people who had not been on the Paris carriage, so he’d had his father bring over some staff from the other carriages.

Every time he looked at the conductor assigned to help him out, however, he was secretly disappointed it wasn’t Michael. This man was older, shorter and the uniform was not nearly as attractive on him as it was on Michael.

After their less-than-professional meeting in the luggage carriage, Michael had disappeared, only showing his face when people needed something. Alex was afraid he regretted the way the two of them lost control, especially with Jesse Manes crawling around.

So Alex threw himself into the case with more vigour. He didn’t want to think about Michael, because he was already discounting him as a subject on the basis of nothing, and that was dangerous. Personal feelings in his line of work was dangerous and led to murderers walking free.

Max entered the dining carriage. The man was almost inhumanly tall, Alex guessed about 6 feet, and was very muscular. Alex glanced at Kyle’s summary of the stab wounds; Max could’ve easily made the deeper, more smooth incisions. Only a person of great strength would’ve been able to make those. “You wanted to see me, Detective Manes?”

“Yes, please sit down. If you have you identification papers on you, please put them on the table.” Max placed his papers in front of Alex, and the latter inspected them closely. “Maxwell Evans, 27 years old. Current resident of Roswell, New Mexico?”

“Affirmative.”

“And where are you currently employed, Mr Evans?”

“The Sheriff’s department. For about two years now.”

“A fellow detective.” Alex smiled as he handed back the papers and wrote down the general information. “Then you know I’ll have to ask some questions, regardless of your guilt or innocence in this case.”

Max bowed his head. “I understand. You may ask your questions.”

“Where were you at around 3AM?”

“Asleep in my bunk.”

“Alone?”

Max flashed a smile. “Sadly, yes.” Not much of an alibi.

“What are you doing aboard this train, Mr Evans?”

“I was looking for some family. I lost touch with most of them after I moved to New Mexico early in my youth, and I was hoping to find some in Istanbul. Sadly, I haven’t found any.” Max gave another smile, but his eyes betrayed sadness. “Now I’m heading back Stateside.”

“Did you know Rosa Ortecho?”

Max Evans sat back, looking surprised. “Well, the murder happened in Roswell, so I heard about it when I first joined the department, but no, I did not know her personally. Why do you ask?”

Alex closed his book and sat back, studying Max Evans’ face closer. For some reason the features seemed familiar, though he couldn’t place it. He’d left Roswell years before, so he couldn’t have met him. And yet something in the back of his mind tried to draw his attention, remaining just out of reach. “There are signs this murder is connected to the Rosa Ortecho murder. It’s unclear how or why, but the evidence seems to support it.”

Max’ eyebrows shot upwards and sat back, whistling softly. “Wow. That’s intense. Well, I never knew about the murder until after I joined the force. I didn’t know Mr Bracken until I met him on this train tonight.”

For some reason, Alex felt deeply uncomfortable as Max said that. His leg started bouncing up and down and his stomach roiled. Max Evans was lying. But why and about what? “Alright, Mr Evans, that’s it for now. Please return to your cabin.”

“Wait.”

Both Max and Alex turned around to see Jesse Manes, who had been skulking in a corner, sit up straight and look intensely at Max. “What?” Alex asked, just barely civil.

“Mr. Evans, how do you know Isobel Bracken?”

Alex looked at Max just in time to see a flash of fear pass over his face. “Mr. Evans?”

“I don’t – ” he began, but Jesse Manes cut him off. “Alexander, you do know Isobel Bracken’s maiden name is Evans?”

Alex did not. He looked at Max Evans accusatorily. “Mr. Evans. The truth, please.”

Max put his head in his hands for a moment, then sat up straight. “Fine. Isobel is my twin sister.”

It clicked in Alex’s head immediately. The features were familiar because he looked a lot like Isobel. He chided himself on not putting it together himself. You call yourself observational? “Which makes Noah Bracken your brother-in-law.” Max nodded. “Why did you lie, Mr. Evans?”

“Because my connection to Isobel and Noah would make me a suspect!” Max ejaculated roughly, running his hands through his hair. “It’s common knowledge Noah and I did not get along, and I thought making sure I wasn’t a suspect would at least give Isobel some peace of mind. Her husband was just murdered, Mr. Manes.”

“I’m aware,” Alex said coolly, writing down the statement and underlining the connection Max had to the victim. It still didn’t make him the culprit, but as Max said, it did make him a suspect. “You said it was common knowledge that you did not get along with Noah Bracken?”

“Yeah, it was pretty widely reported. I’m surprised you didn’t see. A few months after my sister got married, I got wind of him hitting her. I lost my control completely and picked a fight with him in the middle of a busy street in New York. Noah being who he is, it was front page news.” Max scoffed. “It was never proven that he did hit her, and Isobel denied it, but yeah, after that, Noah and I stayed out of each other’s way as much as possible.”

Motive, Alex penned down in his notebook. If Noah Bracken really hit his wife, her twin brother had more motive than most to want Noah out of her life. Expect maybe Isobel herself. His father’s initial accusation may have some merit to it after all.

“Please, Isobel didn’t do this,” Max pleaded, looking earnestly into Alex eyes. “She’s been through so much and just because I was reckless and have anger issues, doesn’t mean she does too. I got the volatile genes in this family.”

Alex looked steadily back at Max. “You just gave me a motive for both you and Isobel to want Noah Bracken gone. I have to pursue it. If it turns out Isobel is innocent, that will come out soon enough.”

Max sighed, looking absolutely miserable. “I understand. I’m sorry for lying, I was just trying to protect my sister.”

Alex nodded. “Is there anything else you may have been lying about? Your alibi, perhaps?”

Max snorted. “Well, it might as well come out. I was in my cabin, but I was not alone. I was talking to Beth Otto. We met on the train and really hit it off, we were talking until around 4AM. I returned to my cabin a little after that time. I lied because she doesn’t want her dad to know.”

That meant someone was awake at the time of the murder. “Did you see or hear anything at around 3AM?” Alex said, eagerly.

Max shook his head. “I’m sorry Mr. Manes, I was thoroughly engaged with Ms. Otto. She has fascinating ideas about the future, she’s a genius. It’s a damn shame that women of her descent aren’t admitted to college yet.”

Alex nodded, but had no time to discuss the prevailing overtones of racism and sexism in America, no matter how much he wanted to. “Should you think of anything at all, don’t hesitate to look me up, Mr Evans. That is all.”

Damn it all to hell, Alex thought darkly, sitting back and watching Max Evans disappear. The net was closing around Isobel and yet something didn’t seem right.

The wounds didn’t add up. And neither did the connection to the Ortecho case. Was it just coincidence? Or a way to cover up the true motive? Alex had never encountered such a complex case before in his life. The world is made up of logic, he always said, but logic was precisely the thing missing in this case. All the facts contradicted each other. Nothing added up.

“Well, he seems trustworthy enough,” Jesse Manes said flippantly. “But that Isobel…in cases of murder, the spouse is always the suspect.”

Alex sat up with a snap, his father’s snap judgements needling him more and more. “Why? Because Max is white and male? That doesn’t exclude him from being a suspect, dad! Everyone is a suspect! And now we have two people with flimsy alibis and great motives! Yet none of it adds up at all to the Rosa Ortecho murder! Nothing adds up and we have no time!”

Jesse Manes looked outraged, his face slowly turning red, always a danger-sign. “Listen, young man – ”

“Oh, don’t ‘young man’ me, father! The revelation about Max and Isobel’s relation aside, you have added nothing but insults and judgements to this case. Unless you have something real to contribute, stay the hell out of my way!”

His voice shaking with an old fear he had refused to feel all week, Alex pushed past his father, who seemed to have been struck dumb by Alex’s outburst, and exited the dining carriage. He promptly bumped into Michael, who was standing just outside, his hand outstretched as if to knock. “Oh. Michael.” A sense of calm immediately stole over Alex and he felt his shoulders relax slightly.

“Hi,” Michael said, looking slightly off-put. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, just…my father.” Michael nodded, but looked strangely distant as he did so.

“Can I help you with anything?” he said, in a tone that said there was no room for improprieties now. Alex felt a faint twinge of pain in his heart but allowed Michael to keep his distance. Things had been so wild and confusing these last few days, he could hardly blame him for coming to his senses.

“Yes. Can you tell me if you saw or heard anyone outside the cabins as you were tending to Mrs DeLuca?”

Michael looked pensive for a second, then shook his head. “No. No, it was as I said. Around 4AM, Mrs DeLuca asked for some water. I went to fetch it, returned and was back in my cabin no later than 10 past.”

Alex froze. And yet Max just admitted to leaving Beth Otto’s cabin after 4, too.  Michael’s story was starting to show holes. Alex’s heart sank as the horrifying reality of his situation dawned on him. Michael might just turn out to be guilty before all this was said and done.

Alex never had trouble revealing the guilty party after he was certain they had committed the crime. That was his job, and he was good at it. But he had never been in the position of having to deal with a suspect that he cared as much as about as he cared about Michael.

Shockingly, a part of his brain wondered if Alex couldn’t just…let it go, should Michael prove the guilty party.

He closed his eyes briefly. It was becoming increasingly difficult to separate his feelings from the case.

It might be his undoing.

“Michael, can you fetch me Dr Kyle? I need to see him.”

Michael nodded once, and his face remaining completely neutral, turned around and left. Alex remained behind in the hallway, feeling increasingly uncertain about this entire case.

“You wished to see me?” Alex looked up to see Kyle standing in front of him, smiling politely.

“Yes, doctor, please follow me.”

They went back into the dining carriage. Jesse Manes was still there, but he got up and left the carriage without a further word as Kyle and Alex sat down. “Do you have identification on you, sir?” Alex asked, and Kyle supplied it. “Kyle Vale, 25 years old, former resident of New York, owner of a work permit for France. Occupation: doctor.”

“Yes, but born and raised Spaniard, sir. My parents left Spain after the war, despite our neutrality we felt it was best to use this opportunity to start over. We weren’t very rich, you see.”

“’Vale’?”

Dr Vale chuckled. “My parents’ little joke. We hail from the city of Valencia, you see. We had a dreadfully long Spanish last name, so they figured it was best to change it. America being what it is.”

Alex nodded, writing it all down. His leg was bouncing again. “And where were you at 3AM?”

“Asleep in my bunk,” Kyle answered easily, and Alex’s leg stilled. “I have a habit of sleeping horridly, you see, so I’d taken some sleeping medicine after we left the DeLuca’s cabin and did not wake until Mrs Bracken screamed bloody murder – I mean…” Kyle turned red. “That was insensitive. It was, of course, a bloody murder. Merely an expression.”

Alex nodded. His leg seemed indecisive; every time the nervous energy took hold, it seemed to disappear again. Alex had always had a good sense when people were lying to him. But it was difficult to tell with Kyle. “So you did not wake the entire night?” he asked.

“No,” the other man said decisively.

“What can you tell me about the Rosa Ortecho case?”

Kyle frowned deeply, thinking a moment before answering. “Wasn’t that the murder case fifteen years ago? In New Mexico? Little girl went missing then turned up dead two weeks later, yes?” Alex simply nodded. “Alex, surely you don’t think this has any connection…?”

“I do,” Alex said simply.

Kyle let out a disbelieving laugh, which died away quickly at the look on Alex’s face. “I swear, I know no more than the rest of America! Only what I read in the papers! Girl goes missing, turns up dead, case goes cold!” He sounded genuinely affronted. “You don’t think that any of us – ?”

“No, I think – rather, I know, Noah Bracken was the kidnapper and eventual murderer of Rosa Ortecho.”

Kyle stared for a long moment, then let out another disbelieving laugh. “That’s…insane!”

“And yet, I believe it to be true. When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

“Sherlock Holmes,” Kyle muttered, almost as an afterthought. “What a turn of events, eh?”

“Quite,” Alex said, keeping his eyes focused on Kyle’s face as it went through several emotions at once. Fear and amazement were the two that Alex recognized. It still did not give him any solid information, yet he wrote it down. “And have you given anymore thought to the nature of the stab wounds?”

Kyle sat back down, relaxing only slightly. His shoulders were still set, as if he was still expecting Alex to start pointing fingers randomly. “I’ve been trying to remember everything I was ever taught in med school about murders, but if you hadn’t chosen forensic science as your major, you were only taught the bare minimum, like liver temperature and vivisection. Nothing about murder, and definitely not about the psychology of stabbing a person!” Kyle ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even further. In the past day, Alex had started to notice the first sign of stress on everyone’s face. Kyle hadn’t brushed his hair since this all started, Beth had been frowning a lot and Michael…well, Michael seemed to be torn between avoiding Alex and wanting to keep an eye on him.

Nearly 24 hours, and a murderer was still amongst them, Alex not being a single step closer to finding out who it was.

“Thank you, Dr Vale, that’ll be all.”

Kyle left the carriage and Alex remained behind once more, staring at his notes. Only Isobel and Max have motives, Alex mused, but those are very shaky at best. Michael’s alibi is equally shaky, unable to be verified by anyone.

Alex stared at the facts about the state the body was found in, feeling a distant part of his brain tugging at his attention once more. He was missing something, something huge, but right now, he couldn’t put a finger to it. He snapped his book shut with a frustrated sigh and left the dining carriage. He needed a change of scenery, and he knew just where to get it.

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

noah schnapp said that will may have a separate storyline next season and that they’re filming elsewhere. do u have any theories on what that storyline may be? do u think he’s gonna be separated from the rest of the party majority of the season or it’s just gonna be a 1-2 episode thing? also when he says separate do u think he means just him or him with the rest of the byers?

I think I read that somewhere in my post-Season 3 media binge. Honestly though, I don’t put much stock into what the actors say about the future of their characters. Even if they do know, they wouldn’t be allowed to say much unless they were instructed to. I personally chalk that statement up to wishful thinking on his part. Let’s pretend it’s true, though, because I enjoy theory crafting for Season 4.

A logical continuation of Will’s story arc would be his struggle to accept himself and to find peace with his trauma. He may feel a need to pull away to do this, but I just don’t know where that would lead. I personally don’t like the idea of a purely solo story, as I didn’t enjoy it when they did it with El in Season 2. I felt the entire episode with the gang felt disconnected from the rest of the story. I wouldn’t want a repeat of that. Will probably would be apart from the Party, and they set that up by having him move away. Mike would hopefully be coming to visit, or vice versa, since it’s the holidays, but Will needs to find his place apart from the Party, as he literally finds himself in the background with them. I think his story would have to include El, as they’ve still not interacted after three entire seasons. I can see them bonding, acting almost like twins. Maybe some jealousy involving Mike causes friction at some point. Of course, I expected that in Season 3, so what do I know?

I do think we’ll get a focused Will story arc though, at least as compared to his background role in Season 3. I’m hoping for an X-Men type of thing where his powers fully manifest due to physical and/or emotional trauma. I’ve previously written how I think Brenner will take advantage of a de-powered El and capture her for further experimentation, bringing Will along as a bonus. Again, though, I expected him to show powers in Season 3, but all we got was a Mindflayer proximity alarm.

I think a nice plot twist would be for a rescue team to go in after him, only for him to have broken free himself and rescuing his rescuers. Will deserves his moment of glory after three seasons of pain. It could be the culmination of his struggle to find himself. Alternatively, Will becoming 012 could be the cliffhanger for a possible Season 5.

In the end, while I have fun theorizing about this, I’m a counselor, not a storyteller. I was right about a couple of things when I made predictions after Season 2: Nancy and Jonathan shutting down the lab would result in trouble, and a rift between Mike and Will would develop now that El was back. The first was right because the lack of a government presence allowed the Russians to set up their own lab in Hawkins. The second, while correct, was a conspicuously insignificant moment. I wasn’t able to predict pretty much anything else, aside from Steve being awesome yet again. 

I would highly suggest taking a look at @kaypeace21‘s theories. I can’t even touch that level of detail, but we generally have similar ideas.

[hiding-under-the-willow]

Slenderverse Highschool AU Character Descriptions

Warning: Real Long Post

(I think I caught all the typos last time I read through this but honestly who knows)

Part 1, because as I have just learned, Tumblr does have a limit on the length of posts.

Slender/The Administrator

• The Principal

• No one remembers what he actually looks like because they're too distracted by the fact that he's wearing a super fancy business suit

• Seriously, what's with the suit?

• Absolutely terrifying without having to say a single word

• Alex Kralie's dad

• Stan Frederick's uncle

• Gives Alex special treatment

• His nickname has been in use so long he doesn't even bother giving out his real name to students any more. There is literally no student in the school outside of his family who knows his real name.

Alex Kralie

Junior

• Has been friends with Jay since 5th grade

• Was a pretty cool person in middle school but became a huge manipulative jerk by high school

• Has a tendency to get in fights with people, only wins about half the time

• Get's away with basically anything because of his dad

• Gets along particularly badly with Patrick, who has threatened to fight him if he ever comes anywhere near Micheal

• Was friends with Brian from childhood through Middle school but is no longer on good terms with him

• Basically hovers over Jay constantly

• Neutral in terms of his feelings on Stan, but treats him better than he does most others since they're family.

• Has probably threatened Alex Koval more than once, definitely meaning he's not on good terms with Jeff

• Wants to be a director, but has trouble working with others since they don't like him much

Jay

Sophomore

• Makes A's and B's

• Basically always hanging around Alex

• Does whatever Alex says

• Low on self confidence

• Used to be good friends with Brian but has grown distant from him because of Brian's bad relationship with Alex

• Wants to be a writer

• Really wants to approach Tim but is too scared of rejection and what Alex might do if he did so

• Lowkey gay for Tim but doesn't realize it

• In search of an after school job

• Major Insomniac

• Kinda paranoid

• Band kid, plays the clarinet

• Enjoys hiking

• Has done a couple of projects with stormy, but never became particularly close with her

Tim

Junior

• Literally just wants high school to be over

• Spent most of his childhood in a psych ward, eventually being diagnosed with schizophrenia, which he now takes meds for

• Only really close to Brian

• Worked on a project with Alex once, it did not go well, they're not on good terms

• Smokes but doesn't want anyone to know

• Works at the gas station down the road from the school

• Thinks Vinnie is alright

• Not on good terms with Noah

• Would probably fight Habit in a Denny's parking lot if given the chance

• Failing more than one class, doesn't exactly care

• Is in theater with Brian, but only really because Brian wanted him to be

• Skips on a regular basis

Brian

Junior

• Theater kid

• Literally constantly on the verge of fighting Alex

• Wants to help Jay get away from Alex but knows that Jay is too far involved with Alex to really help, so has decided to back off

• Bestfriends with Tim

• Get's along well with Jessica

• Kinda worried about Micheal, but doesn't know if it would be the right idea to approach him or not since he seems so jumpy and Patrick is pretty agressive

• Worked on a couple of projects with Noah, still can't quite figure out what's going on with him, but met Milo through him, and they get along well

• Runs an aesthetic poetry blog under the name ToTheArk

Jessica

Senior

• Photographer

• On the school swim team

• Jay's older cousin

• Would literally fist fight Alex if she got the chance

• Good friends with Brian and Steph

• High key worried about Tim, but knows she won't get anywhere by being straight forward about it

• Tries to encourage Michael to get out of his shell a bit

• Not Patrick's favorite person in the world

• Thinks Habit is an overly violent, edge lord wannabe and would probably say that directly to his face if given the chance

• Wary of Stan because of his relation to Alex, but would probably get along well with him if they talked

• Has a girlfriend whose in her first year of college

• Thinks Jeff is pretty cool, but isn't super close to him

• Hangs out in the art room with Steph before school

• Not a huge fan of Eric

• Owns one of the few working brain cells found at the school

_______

Vinnie

Senior

• Goes to the gym with Evan sometimes

• Doesn't really know what he wants to do with his life so he's currently just following after Corenthal by taking psychology classes

• Has known Habit for so long that he isn't scared of him anymore, but fears for others who may be left to deal with Habit alone

• Cares a lot for Evan

• There's some animosity between him and Shaun and Micheal and no one can figure out why

• Best friends with Jeff

• Gets along well enough with Tim when they have class together, but literally can't figure out what's up with him, wishes he would open up more but doesn't have the confidence to try and get him to do so

• Tried to talk to Stan once but caught him in the middle of a paranormal research session and got too freaked out to approach him again

• Was in choir at one point but quit

• Eric makes him uncomfortable

Evan

Junior

• Fitness expert

• Loves hunting

• Works as a trainer at the local gym after school

• Not great in terms of grades, but passing

• In the wrestling club at school

• Best friends with Vinnie and Jeff

• Would like to be closer to Noah but has trouble doing that since Habit and Noah are on such bad terms

• Curious about Micheal and Jay

• Will fight you if you tease him about his height

• Not one to stray away from violence, but doesn't like being associated with it because he doesn't want people to think of him the same way they do Habit

• Punk rock/emo aesthetic

• Gamer, probably plays with Kevin and Noah on the weekends

Habit

Junior

• Evan's twin brother

• Probably a drug dealer

• Has been known to attack kids who mess with him but even the teachers are too scared of him to do anything about it

• Enjoys teasing Noah and Jeff

• Has a collection of knives and other weaponry

• Super over dramatic

• Moves his hands a lot when he talks

• Avoids Alex Kralie

• Big gay

• Feeds stray cats to the point where they follow him around campus

• Skips class and hangs out in the theater

Jeff

Senior

• Really good at math and puzzle solving

• Total book worm

• Takes care of his younger brother, Alex, since their parents are dead

• Good friends with Evan and Vinnie

• Literally can't stand Habit

• Planning for college

• Loved by teachers

• Can almost always be found in the library outside of class

• Would like to be friends with Jay but doesn't want to approach him with Alex Kralie around

Alex Koval

Freshman

• Sticks close to his brother

• Loves his dog, Sparky

• Strugles with mental health in reference to the death of his parents

• Pretty scared of Habit, basically avoids him completely

• Probably doesn't get along well with Alex Kralie

• Very smol, please protect him

• Likes English and writing in general

Damsel/Steph

Sophomore

• Evan's girlfriend

• An artist

• Dislikes the rain, has a fear of drowning

• Wants to go to art school but is being pressed by her parents to pursue something more lucrative

• In medical classes for the above stated reason

• Had some problems with Jeff in the past but has moved on

• Gets along well with Brian and Jessica

• Probably tries to talk to Stan but fails to get him to open up

• Total scene kid

• Friends with Stormy

Dr. Corenthal

Staff

• The school counselor

• Habit, Evan, and Vinnie's adoptive father

• Not exactly on the principles good side, but good enough at his job to keep it

• Has weekly sessions with Milo that Mary doesn't know about

• Tries to talk to Micheal every once in a while but can never get him to talk about his problems

• Has tried to get Tim to come talk to him multiple times but has never successfully brought him into his office to talk

• Helping Jeff plan for college

_______

Noah

Sophomore

• Quiet around people he's not close to

• Has a scar of his left shoulder from a fight he was in with Habit

• Avoids Alex Kralie

• Pretty good friends with Vinnie

• Best friends with Kevin

• Mostly hangs with Kevin and Milo

• Likes old video games

• Would like to hang out more with Evan but doesn't to avoid Habit

• Very confused by Micheal and Patrick

• Judges people he's known for a long time without ever really talking to them

• Not as socially aware as he would like to think he is

Milo

Senior

• Noah's cousin

• Best friends with Kevin

• Literally can't stand his mom

• Can't figure out why Karl hates him but knows it has something to do with his mom

• Camera shy

• Keeps a journal

• Takes art classes but doesn't plan on pursuing it as a career

• Has struggled with on and off Depression as well as anxiety for the majority of his life

• Sleep walks

• On a lot of meds

Kevin

Junior

• Wants to be a game developer

• Hosts a coding club after school on Friday's

• Enjoys memes, probably quotes them a bit too often

• Best friends with Milo and Noah

• Keeps trying to convince Milo to be the artist for his games

• Can't see anything without his glasses

• In orchestra, plays the cello

• Super involved in school activities and organizations

• Tutors kids after school, including Micheal

• Has never met Habit and fully plans on keeping it that way

• Has talked to Jessica once or twice, would like to get to know her more

Mary

PTA Parent

• The overly involved PTA mom

• Very controlling of Milo

• Thinks Noah and Kevin are bad influences on her son

• Probably juggling multiple men at once

Karl

Teacher

• The advanced German teacher

• Very agressive

• Doesn't speak any English

• Tells old war stories

• Will fail you for even the most minor mistakes

• Has a grudge against Milo

• No one knows his full name

[ficdirectory]

The Fosters: Our Thoughts on Episode 5x07 “Chasing Waterfalls”

Time for another twin recap of The Fosters. Jesus was absent this episode, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have plenty to say about him (and also some thoughts on Grandpa Adams as well.)  So read on to check out @tarajean621‘s and my thoughts below:

STEF AND GABE - YARD:

Stef: Hey! Just wanted to give you a heads-up that Jesus won’t be able to work with you today.  He’s being assessed.  I had to drop him off at the school at about 6:30 a.m.  It was brutal.

Gabe: Oh.  I mean, it’s good news, right?  That he wants to go back?  

Stef: Yeah. Um, did you and he talk about Emma lately?

Gabe: Yeah, sure. I mean, a little.  He made her a ring the other day.  

Stef: A ring?

Gabe: Yeah, ‘cause they’re going steady or whatever.  He wanted to give her something, so he made her a little wooden ring.  

Stef: Oh. Okay. 

Tonia:  6:30 AM is brutal for IEP testing.  

Also, seems like The Fosters skipped a major step which is Jesus being evaluated in school to see if he qualifies for services.  This process usually takes up to two months.  I understand streamlining for TV’s sake.  This is really more a comment on the fact that Jesus should have been in school already.  

(On an unrelated note, I love how Gabe says that Jesus and Emma are “going steady”.  He is clearly from my generation...and now I feel super old.)

Tara: It was brutal for Jesus to test that early?  Or for Stef to have to drop him off that early?  Because I’m pretty sure Jesus has the more difficult part of this scenario.

From what I can gather, the assessment Jesus is being given is likely a neuropsychological assessment.  The testing can take anywhere from 2-6 hours according to the article.  (According to comments made to the article I linked - by people who have had the assessment - testing can take anywhere from 1.5 - 12 hours.  Several said they needed 1-2 weeks to recover afterward.)  The assessment measures things like memory, problem solving, attention, concentration and intelligence.  It can identify areas of difficulty as well as strengths.

This process includes an interview as well as the tests themselves, and it is recommended that a family member or close friend accompanies the person being tested.  This is not only for emotional support, but to provide necessary information and also to request breaks if need be.  (I know that if I had had to take this test, someone would have been there for me - and not just to drop me off.)  

This assessment represents a significant milestone and a likely hardship for Jesus.  The choice not to show the audience this takes away yet another opportunity to humanize Jesus.  

Let’s contrast this choice with a scene from Glee.  (Ryder gets Evaluated for an IEP) In this clip, we see high school sophomore Ryder undergo testing for a learning disability.  We get to be in the room with Ryder - feel his stress and shame and anger - and later, we see that his glee club director Finn has been waiting for Ryder.  Finn is there to listen and reassure Ryder after the testing and diagnosis.  We see Ryder’s tears and exhaustion.  We as an audience were not given this privilege with Jesus.

Moving on, Stef and Gabe talk about Jesus and Emma.  The “little wooden ring” comment feels patronizing.  Would the same comment be made in the same tone if Jesus did not have a brain injury?

STEF AND LENA - KITCHEN:

Stef: Hey, I know we said we wouldn’t make a big deal about Jesus and Emma’s betrothment or whatever, but he gave her a ring.

[Mariana, in the next room, overhears this.]

Lena: A ring? What, like an engagement ring?

Stef: No, no.  Not an engagement ring.  It’s a going-together ring.  It’s made of wood.  

Tonia:  Wow, Stef, how dismissive can you be?  (Her tone sounds almost disgusted???)

Tara: If Brandon were to have handcrafted a promise/engagement ring for Grace, it would not be delegitimized because it was wooden.  He would be asked if he was sure about his decision.  Asked about finances.  Housing.  Schooling.  Work.  But the ring itself would not be trivialized in this way.

Lena: Are you sure that’s all it is?  Because he told me that the only reason he wanted to go back to school was because Emma wouldn’t marry him unless he did. 

Stef: Yeah, I don’t -  I think it’s just Jesus being Jesus.  Emma’s got a good head on her shoulders.  I don’t see her agreeing to something like that... Right?  

Tonia:  It’s just Jesus being Jesus.  What does that mean?  If it’s a comment on his tendency to be impulsive, the same could be said for Mariana or Callie, but nobody says that’s just them being them.  My gut says it’s yet another way for Moms to dismiss Jesus...

Tara: So, basically Stef is insinuating that Jesus doesn’t have a good head on his shoulders.  That proposing was not something that he carefully considered, but one more rash and reckless decision.  That Jesus’s brain injury means that everything he does or says is inherently foolish until proven otherwise.

FAMILY DINNER - LENA’S PARENTS + FAMILY (EVERYONE PRESENT EXCEPT JESUS):

Lena: So, Jesus is exhausted.  He’s been doing testing all day, and with his TBI, it’s just a lot for him.  So, I told him he could go ahead and keep sleeping.  I hope that’s okay. 

Dana: Of course, sweetheart. Absolutely.

Tonia:  I totally get that Jesus is exhausted at this point.  Realistic, and I do want him to keep sleeping.  But I am so sad we didn’t see him interacting with Grandpa and Grandma at all, and they were here for the entire weekend.

For reference?  This is what we missed:  (Jesus and Grams talking)  Back in season 4, Grandma and Grandpa Adams came to visit, too.  The above was a deleted scene from that episode.  They have such a beautiful, respectful dynamic.  I was so excited to see Jesus have the chance to be around that for a few days, and so sad that he wasn’t shown interacting with them once.

Which leads me to my second point.  I got the feeling here that something was amiss with Stewart and that a deliberate choice was made to not have Jesus in these scenes with him, one way or another.  

I understand that the issue was likely something like illness for Noah (the actor) that prevented him from being present during this episode, or perhaps it was known ahead of time that he would need this time off for some reason.  The fact remains, though, that this is the story the writers chose to tell with Jesus being absent.  The story of Lena’s dad also dealing with a change in his health, and a brain-related issue.  (They don’t specify if he has dementia or Alzheimer’s, but based on symptoms it seems that it could be either.)

And I could not shake the feeling that Jesus was left out of this episode in particular because of the notion of “too many” disabled people being present in a scene.  The feeling that it would be “too messy”, “too risky”, or “too sad” to have both Jesus and Stewart present in scenes when Stewart is also experiencing difficulty.

But the truth is, an opportunity was missed there.  Because disabled people exist all over.  (20% of the population - 1 in 5 people - live with disability.)  My sis and I are both disabled (both with different extents and presentations of brain damage and brain injury) and it is not too many or too much.  We ask each other for help.  We adapt for each other.  We apologize when we mess up.

The writers missed an opportunity to tell a human story here.  Of two people in a family living with disability.  Maybe Jesus and Grandpa wouldn’t have felt the need to talk about it.  Maybe they would’ve found it difficult to be in a house with extra people, noise, a less familiar environment (for Grandpa) but maybe Jesus and Grandpa would have gotten the chance to sit and talk to each other.  Maybe they could relate based on disability.  Maybe not.  Maybe they could have helped each other out or made suggestions.  Or maybe, Jesus and Grandpa could just have known that “Hey, here is one person who gets what it’s like.  Who gets that I’m me.  That I’m doing my best all the time.  That this is new and scary.”  Maybe they wouldn’t have needed to discuss disability at all because being around each other would have been enough.

But the truth is, we will never really know.

Tara: Yes, it is completely realistic for Jesus to be exhausted cognitively and physically after this assessment.  However, if he is exhausted by hours of relatively “simple” tasks like picture-vocabulary identification and word recall, then how much more exhausted should he have been by taking a 3.5 - 7 hour proficiency test measuring 12th grade reading, writing and math with no accommodations?  

Tonia:   For the people in the back, Jesus is not even a high school senior yet.  He is a junior.  He was literally being tested on material he has yet to learn.

Tara:  With a brain injury, especially within the first few months, you do not get to choose which tasks and tests exhaust you.  Because everything exhausts you all the time.  

Also, let’s factor in that Jesus has just taken this proficiency test.  I would hazard to guess that no more than a couple of days to a week at most has passed since last episode.  His brain is super overloaded and fatigued even before the NPA.  And while the NPA is apparently needed for accommodations and going back to school, the proficiency test was just abusive nonsense.  Both in such short succession make me want to cry.  People do not realize how harmful this is.

And can we talk about Lena asking Dana if it is “okay” that Jesus is too exhausted to come down for dinner?

This touches on the phenomenon of Authorization.  Often, a disabled person’s symptoms or limitations are not viewed as legitimate until a nondisabled person deems them legitimate.  

Is it okay that Jesus is so cognitively and physically fatigued that he cannot come downstairs for dinner?  In other words: Do you give him permission to be exhausted? 

Let us think about the possible answers to this question.  Dana says yes.  It is okay.  

But she could have said, “Oh, he really should come down to eat and visit with us!”

Jesus would be forced to push past his exhaustion - walk downstairs, expend energy eating, attending, sitting, talking, being in a bright and loud environment - for the comfort and preference of his nondisabled family members.

FAMILY DINNER - CONTINUED:

Dana: So, what else is going on with this beautiful, bustling family?

Mariana: Well, Jesus is engaged.

Tonia:  We see Jesus discussed throughout this episode, but he is never present.  This is a common inspiration p*rn theme known as Gawking Without Talking.  He does not have a speaking part.  

This is different than Jude not being in an episode, for example.  (For one thing, we know that Hayden who plays Jude is still a minor and is not allowed to work as many hours as his adult co-stars.)  But it’s also different because stories about disabled people are very often about the nondisabled people around them, not the disabled person themselves.  

The next time you see a headline about a disabled person, and you click on it, read it carefully.  Ask yourself questions:  

Is the disabled person named?

Are they quoted in the story?  (Do you know how they feel about the events that happened, and the fact that those events are now being written about?)

If there is a photo, is it of the disabled person in a vulnerable position (needing to be fed, crying, or otherwise needing help?)  Did they know the photo was being taken?

When Jesus is exclusively talked about and never shown on screen, it feeds the perception that he is an outsider.  That he is not at the center of his own story.  This episode takes place over about three days and we don’t hear one word from him, despite being in his and Jude’s room for scenes all three of those days.

Tara: Yes, and for Jesus to be so overly exhausted but not in his room?  Or for him to be in there while Jude and his friends play games and visit?  It doesn’t make a ton of sense to me.

LENA, STEF, DANA & STEWART - LIVING ROOM:

Dana: So, [Jesus] is only going back to school because of this girl?  That’s absurd! 

Lena: Mom, we need something.  Something that matters to him.

Dana: You have something that matters to him.  The treehouse.  Maybe Jesus needs to actually DO SOMETHING to EARN the privilege of building it!  Like getting an education!  

Lena: Mom, if we take away that treehouse, he’s only going to think we’re punishing him.  And we will have a full-blown rebellion on our hands. 

Stef: I agree.  If we use it as leverage, he’s going to hate us forever.

Tonia:  This conversation seems unnecessary / irrelevant to me.  Jesus is going to school.  He spent several hours today being assessed to go back.  There’s no need to talk about taking away things that matter to him.  (Or for Grandma to go out of her way to say a choice of Jesus’s - based on secondhand info - is “absurd.”)  

Tara: So, Dana wants to use Jesus’s one pleasure as leverage to further control him? I’m glad Moms see the harm in this, even if they cannot see the harm in their own controlling and/or abusive actions.

CHALKBOARD - KITCHEN:

*gluten free snacks

*almond milk

*bananas 

Tonia:  The sight of gluten free snacks on the shopping list made my stomach drop.  If Lena is moving forward with this, chances are very good that she is also still pursuing the shock therapy clinical trial in LA for Jesus.  (Remember that the last we saw on that topic was Lena bringing it up with Tess, and Tess offering to put in a call to that doctor, to get Jesus moved up the year-long waiting list.)

Tara: To me, seeing gluten free snacks on the shopping list just drives home that Moms still do not accept their son as he is now.

NO phones at dinner!

Chores:

Callie/Mariana - dinner prep

Jude - trash

Brandon/Jesus - dishes

If you think my hands are full, you should see my heart.

Tonia:  I was encouraged to see that Jesus was included on the household chores with the other kids (because I was often left out of specific chores due to them taking me longer to complete.)  I was mostly glad to get chores to do, because it allowed me to feel like part of the family.  

But, Tara, I’m curious. 

Did you have energy for household chores at this point?  In your opinion, is it fair to expect Jesus to contribute to a household chore like this, given his current level of recovery?

Tara: Honestly, every brain injury is different.  For me, I do not think I had much energy for anything beyond the basics at approximately 2 months out.  I would hope that the others would understand and help out when needed, if (like the previous night) chores were too much for Jesus for whatever reason.

BRANDON & GABE - YARD:

[Brandon walks into the yard, trips over Gabe’s tool bag]

Brandon: You should be more careful with these!  Someone could get hurt!  Like Mason!

Gabe: Sorry.  Listen.  About the other night.  I didn’t know you still had feelings for Cort.

Brandon: No.  I don’t.  It’s not that!  It’s just...be more careful!  Otherwise Mason’s gonna end up with a nail in his head like Jesus!  It’s dangerous with all this shit lying around here!  

Tonia:  I mean...I actually feel like this is really realistic.  That Brandon would bring up Jesus’s injury and the danger of the tools, after tripping over them himself.  It just drives home the point, though, that Jesus is (again) being discussed, but he’s nowhere around.

Tara: Or... I don’t know... You could watch where you were going?  

And Gabe did not shoot Jesus in the head with the nail gun.  Equating Jesus with Mason is also not the best comparison to make, Brandon.  Jesus chose to use the nail gun knowing the risks without supervision.  He was not then and is not now a toddler.  So, let’s just stop while we’re ahead, shall we?

THEMES WE NOTICED WITH REGARD TO STEWART:

Tonia:  A theme I noticed with regard to the dementia/Alzheimer’s storyline with Stewart was respect.  When he and Dana are at dinner with the family and he asks Jude to pass the asparagus (for the second time in a row) Jude says, “I already did, Grandpa.  It’s right there.”  Jude’s tone is respectful.  He makes sure to point out where the asparagus is, to be sure Grandpa sees it.

(Contrast: Jude’s behavior when Jesus came home from the hospital.  The patronizing “good job” he said, when Jesus drank from a glass.)

Later in the episode, Stewart buys the family a car, after hearing Mariana and Brandon argue over who could use the one all the kids share.  Dana is upset and says they can’t afford it.  Stewart says it’s okay, he has a big bonus coming at work.  Dana tells him, “You’re retired, love.”  She doesn’t hesitate, in this moment to tell him the full truth.  We, the audience, also know, based on her tone and the words she chooses to use, that her love for her husband remains the same.

(Contrast:  Dana’s reaction to hearing that Jesus “was only going to school because of that girl.”  Grams thought that was “absurd.”  This is a marked change, too, from the woman who lovingly told Jesus pre-TBI that “there are so many...ways to be smart,” and that he’s “going to figure out exactly what he’s good at.”)

After Lena finds out that her dad has been experiencing this change in his health, she goes out to speak with him.  Asks if somebody came to pick up the car.  He says, they have.  Lena apologizes genuinely to him for the fact that they can’t keep it.  Then they sit down together.  Stewart shares with Lena that he regrets his reaction to her when she came out (”I still love you”) as it communicated that his love for her was conditional, which it wasn’t.  He tells her he should have said he was very proud that she knew who she was and that he couldn’t wait to meet the person she wanted to spend her life with.  Lena remembers how he always took time with her to watch cartoons before work, even if he was at risk of running late.  She knew that was “their time” together and she thanked him “for being a really good dad.”

We see that Stewart has tremendous love for his family.  He cares so much that he is righting mistakes he made decades ago with Lena.  And we see that Lena’s love and respect for her dad remains intact, despite the fact that she has just learned of this new development with his health.  She takes time to sit and talk to him about what matters.  About good memories.  About things he has done that she appreciates.

(Contrast:  Almost every single interaction Lena has had with Jesus post-TBI.  Including but not limited to: threatening Jesus with institutionalization, looking into shock treatment as a “cure” for his brain injury.  Humiliating him when she realized he couldn’t read.  Isolating him socially.  Not allowing him to go to school and then manipulating him back into school by having him take a 3.5 hour long proficiency test with no preparation or accommodations, in hopes that his deficits would cause him to fail.)

Tara: A theme I noticed in regards to Stewart’s storyline was pity.

We see Stewart’s deficits painted as tragic and not an expected part of the aging process.

Moms go from wanting to take Stewart’s name off the title to leaving it on and agreeing to pay back interest they never owed, because they find out about Stewart.  They feel bad for him and view him as less capable and less human.

Moms tell Dana she will need money “for care for him,” and that they want to help.  Dana nods.  This feeds the notion that disabled people are expensive burdens to be pitied, instead of human beings in our own right.  Worthy of existence because of our humanness.  Not because of what we can or cannot produce that society would value  

It may seem odd that respect and pity can exist side by side, but this is often the case in a disabled existence.  Respect can be present and strongly felt, and then in the next moment, it is replaced by pity because life is so hard for disabled folks.  

Disabled life can be hard.  So can nondisabled life.  

Challenge the harmful notions that society and media perpetuate. 

Thank you, as always, for reading. 

For more: Fosters Recaps

[transmogrified-benmaxwell]

Why did you choose those specific zodiacs for the characters?:O

Sorry this took so long to respond to, but exams and finals have really been beating the literal shit out of me! I’m still glad you asked anon because I have lots of thoughts on this! Here’s the post anon is referring to in case anyone wants to see who is who.

Dallas: I don’t have too much to say since he’s already a Taurus, naturally I do see him more as a Pisces. Pisces tend to be the more gentle and compassionate of the signs and also tend to be more fearful in general as they are sensitive. They have a self sacrificing nature so that others will love them and not leave them and sometimes they become overly emotional when unable to cope with certain situations (i.e. Dallas being mad about Malek leaving to go to college even though he knows its irrational, but then not bringing it up because he’s self sacrificing his feelings to not make Malek upset).

Malek: If Malek isn’t a Gemini I don’t know who is. Like, this boy is a social butterfly which most Gemini’s naturally are and people are drawn to him. More often than not, people are attracted to his duality of a personality which enables him to be both intellectual (bitch wants to major in Bio-Chem and something else like double majoring and in such INTENSE fields???? He’s a fucking GENIUS) and creative/artistic (uhm??? he can sing and play three fucking instruments and even draws a little like??) which tends to be a trait of the twins. He’s well-spoken (boi speaks 3 languages and knows ASL come on now) and is funny/witty which is another trait people tend to like him for and is what makes Gemini’s more sociable. However, a downfall to the Gemini’s vast thinking is the persons indecisiveness. Malek can’t even decide at first if he really likes Dallas or is just pitying him and then when the feelings get stronger he can’t decide to tell him or how to act and it creates lots of conflict and doubt. Gemini’s don’t always have the easiest relationships because of their indecisiveness which leads to nervousness and I think is reflected a lot in Malek’s feelings for Dallas.

 Poppy: I know a lot of people kind of associate bad feelings with Scorpio’s, I actually think Poppy represents a lot of the good qualities neglected by other people that Scorpios have! Poppy is loyal to death and is very secretive in all the right ways (she literally is seeing both of her very close friends pinning over one another but shes too loyal to disclose the others secret even if something good could come out of it). She’s a strong and powerful force to be reckoned with which is why I think a majority of the baseball team respects her. However, sometimes her overwhelming passion and power are what can cause her to get confrontational (I know Poppy and Dallas have had a few hashing outs that were ugly and this makes sense for the two signs as Poppy can get jealous and resentful while Dallas can be sensitive and overemotional which can make the signs clash occasionally). At the end of the day though, Poppy really just has an overly protective and passionate heart and like most Scorpios, just really freaking wants some love. 

Parker: I thought Parker might be a Taurus, but after reading about all the signs I really found him to be a Libra. Libra’s are naturally the peace keepers of the group and have an affinity for beauty and harmony. Maybe Parker doesn’t actually go out of his way to make peace, but his common neutrality towards situations (literally one post I remember is he’s just like “I love both cats and dogs can we all get along” when discussing who was a cat or dog person I think? it really solidified this idea) and choosing to recognize both sides helps everyone feel balanced and maybe even wanna get along even if it’s just for his sake (not that they all fight or anything that frequently?). Parker’s absolute adoration for nature and hiking and the outside makes sense with the Libra sign as they have a thing for peace and beauty which can both be seen in nature through Parker’s eyes. Also, his general charming sweet nature can totally be seen by everyone (uhm let us not forget how Shook Tyler was when Parker gave him the honey lemony thing with ease bc Parker is a sweetheart and even though he’s shy, he can lowkey be a charmer without knowing it). His downfalls are seen in the Libra sign as he’s prone to being able to see both sides to any situation, but this can leave him feeling voiceless as sometimes people have a black and white way of thinking. He often retreats and gives up when conflict arises and lets others voice over him, rather than actually giving his peacemaking opinions. I believe he’s also got a strong empathetic nature which can be a downfall when it leads him to being manipulated or guilted into believing things very easily. 

Ben: Hmm Ben was harder as I don’t have too much information on my boi yet, but I found him to be like a Sagittarius because of his good humor and natural friendliness. Everyone likes him and everyones his friend because we’re all attracted to his humorous nature and positive outlook on most situations, however, I think maybe this is what can cause him to repress lots of his feelings. His willingness to be positive for others and neglect his personal needs can cause him to ignore his own feelings to make sure he isn’t bringing anyone down? I’m not sure, I’d have to know more and so this is my guess, but if this is it then he’s likely a Sagittarius as they often forget to tend to their own needs when trying to be sunshine for everyone else and never wanting to lose the positivity their friends/family bring them.

Blake: Aside from Malek’s, I think Blake’s was the easiest sign to critically evaluate and put out there because he’s so OBVIOUSLY a freaking Cancer. Those under the Cancer sign are absolute softies and are so freaking lovable, but sadly, you can only see this side of the sign if you get close enough to break through their hard, grumpy outer layer. More often than not, Cancer’s have a hard time expressing their real emotions and this can partially explain Blake’s “I hate everyone” personality because it’s so much easier to pretend he hates everyone else when really he just can’t talk about how much he hates himself. This can also help explain Blake having negative feelings towards Dallas because Dallas is more sensitive and isn’t quite on the same level of hiding emotions as Blake is and how Blake might see it as is, here is this kid who’s open (somewhat) about his feelings which is pathetic and is loved more than he is meanwhile Blake’s putting all his emotions and feelings in the closet to not burden those around him and he’s regarded as an asshole. Another downfall of the Cancer sign that Blake has is his clinginess because afterall, once he finds someone he can actually open up to, it’s hard for him to ever want to let go of the one person that brings that out of him. This can really make him look like a needy, grumpy jerk, but honestly this boi just wants some love and relief my guys. Just some more little things, Cancer signs are so imaginative and loving/protective and this can be seen in his love for theater and literature, and his way of treating those he’s especially close close to.

Tyler: Lmao lowkey made Tyler a Taurus because it’s got a very nice compatibility with the Cancer sign and I’m Gay™, but also not the only reason. The Taurus sign is a stubborn one, much like the Bull that represents it. This can be both good and bad as he’s stubborn when it comes to arguing and fighting, but this can be great when the person of the sign is on your side of things as they are fiercely loyal and willing to be patient with those willing to try and he’s very reliable. This is kinda shown in Tyler’s friendship (hhMMMM 👀) with Blake as he stubbornly cares about Blake despite his negative tendencies and stays loyally by his side. This somewhat leads to Tyler enabling Blake as once said in a post, but Tyler can’t help it under the Taurus sign because once he’s become attached he’ll do whatever he can to make his partner happy (even if it’s not always by the best means). This can lead to some self sacrificing which the Taurus sign will happily do (only if they want to though, never by force they are too stubborn for that) and kinda explains why Tyler enables Blake despite his better opinion and sacrifices being batter so that Blake can. Much like the Taurus sign he craves stability and some kind of routine, but also too much can be boring.

Phoebus: Okay don’t judge me for this but essentially, my first reasoning for making Phoebus an Aries was because I saw this pun about Aries signs that always “ram” through their problems LOL and it led me to just think this is how Phoebus battled through his osteosarcoma. Literally just slammed his head at test results in doctors offices until they changed to healthier ones. Aside from that idiotic note, Phoebus is witty and confident much like the Aries sign which is what causes him to clash with Malek when he acts all foolhardy and shit. If Malek and him could stop being so competitive, you’d actually find they’d be pretty compatible friends (or lovers???). He’s energetic and full of an adventurous attitude which will likely lead our poor mans in trouble. RIP

Dev: I don’t really know, in a lot of ways Dev just kinda reminds me of Malek and this leads me to connect them as Gemini bros. Dev is charismatic and a social butterfly and those are some high characteristics of the Gemini sign since they’re supposed to be the best communicators. 

Noah: I solely made Noah a Leo because Leo’s tend to have an almost pretentious nature around them as they tend to think highly of themselves (not all Leo’s, lmao not here to offend anyone!) and having the upbringing Noah does it only makes sense. He’s not afraid to speak his mind which is both beneficial (he helped our eggman the greg man when he stood up to his father) and negative (I wouldn’t say he probably hasn’t offended a ton of people in his time). A positive though is he’s clearly “creative” much like the Leo sign with his making movies and stuff.

Paulina: We really know nothing about Paulina yet, all we know is she is absolutely stunning and has the purest smile. I really just want her to be a sensitive Pisces because they can be the most caring and endearing sign of all and if I get to see that smile forever because she is constantly being a sweetheart than I will die accepting her as a Pisces taking it to the grave.

Charlie: We also don’t know a lot about Charlie, but since she is the team manager I put her as a Sagittarius under the assumption that she can at least be somewhat disciplined and is really good at organizing and being productive. I assume she is ambitious and maybe in my minds eye I like to imagine her as a sweet ol’ grouchy pants so pessimism is her Thing™

Sara: I’m all for loud and proud shameless lesbians so I was reading up on Virgo’s and the word comes from the word Virgin which by original definition meant ‘beholden to no man’ so my gay ass starts kicking and I am like, yes yes Sara is a Virgo die hard lesbian who will never bow down to the cis white man! But aside from that nonsense, Virgo’s tend to be independent creatures and this is a vibe I get from my girl Sara, she probably keeps lots of things unsaid about herself whether from shyness or past drama or both. However, she’s not so independent that she is uncaring or unloving and she likely tends to fret over the others wellbeing when they act foolish or put themselves at risk (i.e. my girl Sara will take a baseball to the face for Poppy 2k17 its time to ride or die bitch theres no going back)

Ari: Maybe I’m just biased towards Capricorns but I just see them as the grouchy “i love you now shut the fuck up” types and this is what I get from Ari. Much like other Capricorns, it’s difficult for Ari to express their feelings ESPECIALLY ones of affection (Ari “I’m allergic to loving expression pls don’t ever smile that fondly at me again I might vomit” Florenosos). Instead, due to the hiccup in miscommunication, they tend to relay their feelings using other likely troubling means (i.e. Ari bullying Phoebus to show affection lmao same). 

Wendy: Honestly Wendy’s feminist ride or die attitude is what led me to Aquarius because this sign tends to be the humanitarian of the signs and strive for equality in all aspects of life. She freaking defaced school property to prove a point my guys she’s a freaking Aquarius like only the Aquarius sign goes that hard and to such lengths to make sure their voice is heard.

Greg: Gregman the Eggman is a Virgo because he’s hella shy and independent. Boy can’t speak for himself for shit but often makes sure to look out for others (i.e. making sure Noah doesn’t do dumb shit and protecting the five foot weasel even though he can’t communicate the problematic things said weasel does). He’s practical and analytical and this often is what leads others to dismiss him as boring because he’s too shy to show any other side of himself or his interests. All in all, the eggman needs better friends and to erupt from his yolk filled shell.

Welp that’s pretty much all I got. I could literally be on the ball or so far from the truth that Bell is literally laughing their ass off at my poor attempt at analyzing these characters. NEVERTHELESS, I tried and here you go. Go read eerie crests here and thank/support the precious author and artist @littlestpersimmon for the content we get

[seesgood]

👣

&. send me 👣 and i’ll talk about our muses’ child and how they are as parents.

i’m going with human au? bc babies are cuter in human aus

pregnancy

do the parents have one child or are there twins, triplets, etc.? --- two, anything more than that means veering to zone defense and we’re talking about a combination of forbes and salvatore dna, trust me, they’re gonna need a man-to-man defense

what do the parents name the baby(ies)? --- alexandra elizabeth salvatore & noah damon salvatore 

did the parents discuss other names, too? --- caroline tries so hard to get stefan to let her name the boy rhett. 

how do they decide on the name(s)? ---  it was kind of mutually agreed upon that part of the name should honor the people that meant the most of them ( lexi & liz / damon )

did the parents find out the sex during pregnancy or is it a surprise? --- during pregnancy. 

were there any complications in the pregnancy? --- they had some trouble conceiving at first, and it was rough for awhile, but both pregnancies went super smoothly

which parent carried the baby? --- o.o

how easy was it for them to conceive? --- difficult, but they love to try 

was the child carried to term? --- lexi was two days early, noah was a week late

did the parents deliver in a hospital, at home, or somewhere else? --- hospital.

did the delivery go according to plan? --- stefan probably had to threaten everyone to make sure it did, on account of ‘caroline would have murdered him if something went wrong’

did the parents have any daily rituals (reading to their belly, etc.)? --- the whole nine yards. reading to the belly, playing bon jovi ( much to caroline’s dismay ) 

do the parents have a baby shower? --- yes. 

what about a babymoon? --- uh no.

how supportive was the other parent during the pregnancy? --- the most supportive. 

which parent worried the most and which one was chill? --- caroline had more steady freak outs along the way, but stefan had the major ‘what if i’m like my dad’ freak out when it came closer to delivery time

which parent left pregnancy books all over the house and which didn’t touch them? --- they both were all over the books 

infancy/toddler

is the child a good sleeper? --- lexi was rough, but noah was easy

how often does the child cry? --- lexi considers herself too tough to cry, and noah wants to be just like his dad so when he wants to cry he just think of what would stefan do ( #wwsd ) 

which parent finds it easier to get them to stop? --- stefan

how does the child behave at bath time? --- lexi hates it, noah can be persuaded if bath toys are involved 

what is the child’s first word? --- lexi’s is ‘oop’ and noah’s is ‘dada’

which parent has a harder time adapting to their new role? --- they both settle in super nicely 

just how terrible are the terrible twos? --- for lexi? they’re ready to call it quits, change their names and start all over, noah is a bit easier, but not by much

does the child go to day care? if they do, how old are they when they start? --- no, one of them likes to stay home as much as they can to take care of them 

if the child doesn’t go to day care, who says home to look after them? --- either, when work permits 

which parent babyproofs the house? --- it’s a mutual effort

which parents designs the baby room? --- caroline, stefan does the construction 

which parent is more likely to give in to tantrums? --- caroline 

is the child spoiled with toys? --- mostly, yeah

which parent does the potty training? --- mutual effort 

which parent do they take after more? --- lexi is a real ball buster and caroline thinks she’s karma for all the shit she put her mom through, noah takes after stefan more ( caroline swears he starts brooding at age 3 ) 

what habits do they pick up from their parents? --- the brood, and “seriously?” 

how often is the parents’ date night now? --- once a month they make a point to try to go out, or get a hotel room

who babysits when the parents go out? --- bonnie or elena, but if they’re desperate? damon. 

child

how did the parents decide what school to send the child to? or was the child home-schooled? --- they probably still live in a small town, so there’s probably only one school

who packs the lunches? --- caroline 

are the lunches eaten by the child, or thrown away? --- they better be eaten 

which parent helps with homework? --- stefan, because he’s the more calm of the two 

what does the report card look like? --- lexi’s is slightly scattered, with higher grades in math and science, and noah’s is higher in almost all aspects

is the child/ren popular, or only have a few friends? --- lexi is popular, noah is quiet but he has a few good friends 

does the child play a sport? --- lexi starts playing softball and volleyball, noah plays t-ball

does the child play an instrument? --- lexi is learning piano

do both parents turn up to the matches/recitals? --- every single one 

which parent buys their clothes? or does the child pick out their own clothes? --- caroline tries to pick them out but lexi fights her at every moment, noah is easier going, and will generally wear anything that someone tells him to 

what’s the child’s style? --- lex’s is darker, more edgy, rebellious and noah is denim and flannels and t-shirts ( i stg he’s a stefan-clone ) 

is the child more interested in playing inside or outside? --- outside 

how often does the child get in trouble? what do they get in trouble for? --- lexi gets in trouble for talking back, noah gets in trouble for not paying attention

does the child have any siblings/cousins? how well do they get along? --- cousins, mostly via damon

what pet does the child beg for? do they get it? --- a dog. and yes, for christmas, because stefan is a sucker and when they all turn on him he can’t say no

is the child shy and reserved, or outgoing and gregarious? --- lexi is outgoing, noah is more reserved 

does the child still take after the same parent they did as a toddler? --- lexi takes after teenage caroline more, and noah still takes after stefan

teen

what does the child want to be/do when they finish school? --- lexi wants to be a musician, noah wants to be a doctor 

which parent does the child get along with better? --- lexi and caroline butt heads, so she gets along better with stefan, noah is pretty equal between the two 

is the child out all night partying and drinking with their friends, or staying in studiously doing homework? or both? --- lexi is the former, noah is the latter 

how does the child go on their SATs? do they make it to the SATs? --- they both pass with super high scores 

does the child go to prom with their friends, or a partner? --- lexi goes with friends, noah takes the girl from his english class that he knew didn’t have a date 

how do the parents feel about their first boyfriend/girlfriend? --- lexi’s boyfriends are always bad news, so neither of them are a fan, but noah always finds really sweet girls / guys 

what are the child’s friends like? do they get along with the parents? --- lexi hangs out with the reject, stoner, rebel crowd, noah hangs out mostly with the baseball and football team and the other jocks 

what kind of music is the child into? --- lexi gets super into rock and noah leans more alternative 

how do the parents and child/ren go learning to drive? is it a disaster, or does it go fairly smoothly? --- caroline tries to teach them, but frustrations run too high so stefan takes over and teaches them to dive both stick and automatic 

does the child have a casual/part time job? what is it? --- lexi waitresses, noah is too busy with sports 

does the child hang out with their family, or are they too ‘cool’ now? --- lexi is too cool, sometimes noah still hangs out with them 

what’s the child’s personality like? --- lexi is rebellious, headstrong, stubborn and all things hardheaded ( but takes no shit and lets no one walk over her which, tbh they kinda love ) and noah is kind, tough but tender, stands up for what he thinks is right and cares about those closest to him

adult

does the child make it to adulthood? --- yes. 

does the child end up in the job/lifestyle they dreamed about? why? --- lexi ends up trying to be a musician but comes back home after a few weeks and she ends up studying social science instead, noah gets a scholarship to a good college and ends up studying business 

are their any hiccups in the road? --- lexi gets involved in the wrong crowd for a little bit but she ends up coming back a total wreck and ends up spending like three days straight crying with caroline stroking her hair and then the two of them become a lot closer 

does the child move far away from their family, or stay close? --- they both go their own ways 

what would the parents prefer? --- for them to be happy.

does the child have any significant others? any children of their own? --- lexi ends up meeting this guy she knew in high school ( one of the boring guys ) and they start casually dating, end up getting married a year and a half later. noah has dated both guys and girls off and on but nothing too serious yet, lexi is newly pregnant 

how do the parents feel about being or not being grandparents? --- they’re freaking out about being “old” but they’re also hella excited 

[madpicks]

New Post has been published on https://www.madpicks.com/sports/mlb/ranking-15-opening-day-matchups-around-baseball/

Ranking the 15 Opening Day matchups around baseball

Opening Day is when the aces come out from their ace caves. Which starting-pitcher matchup is the best?

The mythos of the Opening Day starter appeals to me. Oh, how it appeals to me. It’s everything there is to love about baseball: Arbitrary designations, arguments about those designations, talented baseball men, that Opening Day smell, and a chance to laugh at the less fortunate teams around baseball. When teams announce their Opening Day starters, I am so in.

With that in mind, it’s time to rank all of these Opening Day matchups. While baseball doesn’t have a true, pure opening day anymore, with some teams cordoned off for a special Sunday schedule, we still get 15 of these hand-picked duels, with every team in baseball saying, “This is the best we have, unless we’re dealing with injuries. Or maybe a general organizational malaise that will spread across generations.”

These are the 15 Opening Day starting-pitcher matchups, ranked:

15. Ricky Nolasco vs. Kendall Graveman (Angels at A’s)

This will mark Nolasco’s 28th year in Major League Baseball, yet this is his first Opening Day start. And, no, I’m not looking that up. Feels true, though.

Nolasco was excellent for the Angels for 11 starts after they acquired him, though his overall season was kind of a drag (4.42 ERA, 93 ERA+). He has the third-highest ERA of any starter with 50 starts or more since 2014, and the two pitchers with worse ERAs are a non-roster invitee (Kyle Kendrick) and someone who’s out of baseball (Tim Lincecum).

Graveman is a perfectly competent starter who’s in this spot because of injury (Sonny Gray) and because the A’s understandably don’t want to shove a second-year player like Sean Manaea in the Opening Day slot.

14. Jeremy Hellickson vs. Scott Feldman (Phillies at Reds)

I used to play baseball with a guy who played with a guy who became the Opening Day starter for the Reds. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to update my Twitter bio, because that sounds really important.

This isn’t No. 15 because Hellickson was kinda sorta okay last year — roughly what Nolasco did with the Angels, but more consistently spread out over the entire year. This still doesn’t have an Opening Day feel to it. And if this matchup happened on May 28, you know there would still be about 12 or 13 more interesting matchups.

13. Jon Gray vs. Junior Guerra (Rockies at Brewers)

Junior Guerra is one of baseball’s best stories. Dude pitched in Spain. Spain. Like, not even Italy or in a honkbal league. SPAIN.

Guerra made a name in Europe during the 2010 season, when he dominated the Spanish Division de Honor, pitching for CBS Sant Boi. He had an 11-1 record with an ERA of 0.89 in 17 games. He struck out 122 in 91 innings, while allowing just 47 hits.

Here come Sant Boi. This is a very good baseball story. That doesn’t mean I want to watch him pitch more than Stephen Strasburg, but don’t make fun.

Jon Gray is a big, strong, pitchery pitcher. That’s a compliment. He got his hair at the Noah Syndergaard Outlet Store, and he’s a solid breakout pick for 2017. This is a better matchup than you think.

12. Edinson Volquez vs. Stephen Strasburg (Marlins at Nationals)

Strasburg isn’t just fun to watch: He’s fun to speculate about and read too much into when he struggles. There might not be an ace-type in baseball that’s better for concern-trolling, which means you’re guaranteed a good time out, regardless of what he does. Also, he’s excellent at pitching and stuff, which counts for a lot. Even though this should be Max Scherzer’s spot, it’s not like we’re suffering too much, here.

Volquez is a known quantity, and even though his 2016 was lousy, he’s still probably fine. Good enough, at least, that he won’t drag Strasburg down too much in this ranking.

11. Marco Estrada vs. Kevin Gausman (Blue Jays at Orioles)

Another surprisingly compelling matchup, but mostly for baseball nerds. Gausman didn’t get enough credit for putting up a 3.61 ERA in Camden Yards in a homer-happy season (his 123 ERA+ tells a more complete story), he’s really here because Chris Tillman is out. That’s okay, though. I like watching Gausman just as much.

Estrada has never cracked 200 innings in a season, but he has had the lowest hits-allowed rate in the American League for two straight years. A strong infield defense helps with that, sure, but he’s still a quality pitcher, and he has been for years. Not bad for a guy the Nationals once waived to make room for Tyler Walker.

10. Danny Duffy vs. Ervin Santana (Royals at Twins)

I spent a lot of time making fun of the Ervin Santana signing. He has been a very consistent starter for many years, and I would like to apologize to him, the Twins organization, and my family because he’s kind of good.

Danny Duffy is better, of course, one of last year’s breakout stars. On a watchability scale, he’s in the second tier of baseball’s best, pushing his way into the top tier. Look at this guy:

9. Jhoulys Chacin vs. Clayton Kershaw (Padres at Dodgers)

Of course, this is the most watchable pitcher in baseball — one of the greatest pure talents in baseball history — so it’s hard to rank him anywhere near the bottom. On the other hand, he’s facing Jhoulys Chacin, who is the reason I had to put (Team at Team) next to all the matchups. That’ll ding them in the ranking.

Chacin was really, really good in both 2011 and 2013, so it’s not quite fair to consider him a random journeyman. On the other hand, he wasn’t very effective with the Angels last year, to the point where the Angels were like, nah, we can do better.

That guy is an Opening Day starter. It takes more than Clayton Danged Kershaw to make up for that.

(Padres win, 8-2.)

8. Masahiro Tanaka vs. Chris Archer (Yankees at Rays, Sunday)

And now we have reached the tipping point, where all of the matchups become Unambiguously Good Pitching Matchups. Archer struggled with the home run ball and almost lost 20 games somehow, but you all know he’s still great.

Tanaka finished seventh in the Cy Young voting, making 31 starts and staying healthy all year. Not bad for a guy who was contemplating Tommy John surgery a couple years ago and had surgery to remove bone spurs before the start of last season.

This is the kind of matchup that could be No. 1 next year. Of course, both of them might be on the Dodgers, but that’s a minor concern.

7. Felix Hernandez vs. Dallas Keuchel (Mariners at Astros)

Cy Young vs. Cy Young. Just, uh, ignore the 2016 season, which wasn’t too hot for either of them.

This is a great matchup, though, because both of their teams are desperately counting on them to be excellent again, so everyone will read way too much into their first outings. It’s almost like a Groundhog Day of first games, where if they see their shadows and pitch seven strong innings, both teams will have five months of summer. If they combine to give up 12 earned runs, the panic will be thick enough to spread on a slice of French bread.

There is nothing better than smooth, creamy panic on a slice of French bread. But these guys are probably going to have strong seasons, so you’ll have to look elsewhere.

6. Gerrit Cole vs. Rick Porcello (Pirates at Red Sox)

My biases come into play here because I automatically thought, “Alright, Gerrit Cole!” That was followed by “Huh. Rick Porcello.” This is because I watch more National League games, I’m sure, but it’s also because I missed the entire Porcello story last year. Dude won the Cy Young. That seems good.

There are instant demerits, though, for being the necessary interleague Opening Day matchup. This is not a classic rivalry. Or a rivalry at all. Also, there are demerits for me wanting to watch Chris Sale instead, which isn’t odd.

Still, Cole vs. Porcello is an excellent, compelling matchup, and it’s the kind that would make you turn on a Pirates/Red Sox game in July. If this is your Opening Day pick, you’ve chosen wisely.

5. Julio Teheran vs. Noah Syndergaard (Braves at Mets)

Syndergaard pitched once vs. the Braves last year. ONCE. Clayton Kershaw made just 21 starts last year, and he still pitched five times against the Giants. So the Braves deserve this. They deserve to see Syndergaard three times in April. Not that I’m bitter.

Teheran is a fine talent, and if you want to move this up the power rankings, go right ahead. This isn’t a seven- or eight-way tie at the top, but that doesn’t mean there are any wrong answers, here.

4. Madison Bumgarner vs. Zack Greinke (Giants at Diamondbacks, Sunday)

Last year, this would have been the best matchup, and it wouldn’t have been close. It was a rough year for Greinke, though, and it didn’t get better this spring:

Greinke’s game-by-game velocity including four appearances in Spring Training this year. Not great. pic.twitter.com/BYb1uWijhG

— Kyle Boddy (@drivelinebases) March 25, 2017

I still believe. But a 33-year-old pitcher with diminished velocity and his worst FIP in a decade is a pitcher that should scare you. This matchup is near the top because of name recognition and star power, but your mileage may vary.

Bumgarner, for his part, had what might have been the only good spring training he’s ever had. This makes me worried that he’ll struggle mightily in April, but that’s because I’m a strange, cynical man. He sure looks ready.

3. Jon Lester vs. Carlos Martinez (Cubs at Cardinals, Sunday)

Carlos Martinez might be the most underrated starter in baseball. His nickname is Tsunami, and he should just go by it at all times, like Rock Raines on the 1989 Topps.

Guys, I’m Rock now. Thanks for understanding.

If Martinez does that with “Tsunami,” he’s talked about in the same breath as Chris Sale and Corey Kluber, like he should be. As is, it takes some gentle prodding and a reminder that he’s an extraordinary pitcher to justify a ranking like this.

Say, how did he get the nickname, “Tsunami?”

I’ve had a lot of ups and downs on my road to the Big Leagues, but for the sake of this blog let’s just say there was a WAVE of adversity.

I don’t get it.

2. Justin Verlander vs. Jose Quintana (Tigers at White Sox)

Last year’s Cy Young should-be vs. a walking trade rumor. I love this matchup so. The contrast in styles is fun, too, with Verlander the classic, strong right-handed ace, and Quintana the left-handed control monster (though not exactly a soft-tosser). It would be a lot cooler of a matchup if the White Sox were any good, but at least they are when Quintana pitches.

There are fewer than 10 “Of course we’re starting this guy” matchups on this list. This is the most obvious one, really. The cliff after these two is steep, but at least we’ll get the best of the best on Opening Day.

1. Corey Kluber vs. Yu Darvish (Indians at Rangers)

Never forget:

That is still one of the greatest baseball GIFs ever made, and it works so well because Yu Darvish is a wonder. He’s one of the most delightful pitchers to watch, and of course he’s starting Opening Day. He deserves it.

Corey Kluber is made out of gears and sprockets, a steampunk version of a mechanical pitcher, and his silent consistency doesn’t take away from his exhilarating stuff. He just goes out there and pitches better than the other guy.

UNLESS THE OTHER GUY IS YU DARVISH. Maybe. I mean, that’s the point. We’ll see.

Those are the best Opening Day duels, from Nolasco/Graveman to Kluber/Darvish. The most important part is that baseball is back, and we get to watch it. Here, have some Cy Young winners and assorted aces. This’ll help make up for the dumb winter, which is dumb every year.

[gamerszone2019-blog]

Control: The Books, TV Shows and Movies to Check Out Before You Play - IGN First

New Post has been published on https://gamerszone.tn/control-the-books-tv-shows-and-movies-to-check-out-before-you-play-ign-first/

Control: The Books, TV Shows and Movies to Check Out Before You Play - IGN First

When it comes to games, we’re pretty familiar with the trappings of fantasy, sci-fi or war narratives, but you might be a little less up to date with New Weird. Coined by author M. John Harrison to describe the work of (among others) China Miéville, it’s a form of speculative fiction that revels in inexplicability – it’s often a bit horror, a bit sci-fi, a bit fantasy, but if you put it up against any of the canon texts in those genres, it wouldn’t look like any of them. It’s telling that many authors who get told they’re part of the New Weird immediately reject it, because they think being defined at all is too limiting.Control

might well be the first mainstream New Weird game. New Weird fiction is often about a place, not people, and The Oldest House – Remedy Entertainment’s unknowable new setting – very much fits the bill. New Weird also reflects the underlying weirdness of the modern world, and Control’s fiction regularly weaves in real-life events, recontextualising them for a world in which there’s a government bureau to combat paranatural occurrences. Most of all, New Weird is really f**king odd. And yes, Control is that too.

Perhaps more than anything else, it’s that genre choice that makes Control stand out – but it might also make it feel unfamiliar. That’s why we asked narrative designer Brooke Maggs to put together a New Weird reading (and watching) list to help get you acclimated to the genre, and learn the influences that Control’s twisting to make its own New Weird narrative:

Southern Reach Trilogy – Jeff Vandermeer (Book Series)

Vandermeer quite literally wrote the book on the New Weird, so there’s no better place to start than with this trio of oddities: Annihilation (recently turned into a movie), Authority and Acceptance. The series is named for a secretive government agency (one overt connection to Control) and centres on its work in Area X, an abandoned portion of the US that’s begun creating inexplicable changes to both places and people inside. If you want some sense of how deep the homage goes here, the second book begins with a character becoming a new director of the agency in the title – also the opening to Remedy’s game. Oh and that character’s codename? ‘Control’.

House of Leaves – Mark Z. Danielewski (Book)

Perhaps the best way to understand The Oldest House and its shifting innards is to try to understand House of Leaves. This work of staggeringly eerie weirdness revolves around the effects of a (possibly fictional) house that doesn’t conform to the laws of reality and a (possibly fictional) documentary made about it in which things go horribly wrong, all told (possibly fictionally) by a tattoo artist going slowly insane. It is, in some ways, a haunted house story, except the haunting is by physics.

No One May Ever Have the Same Knowledge Again: Letters to Mt. Wilson Observatory 1915-1935 (Book)

The only non-fiction entry on the list, this collection of 33 missives sent to an LA observatory includes rants on extraterrestrials, cosmology and the general state of the universe from real people across the world. It’s a fascinating mixture of science and fantasy, often written with the intimate touch of those who weren’t expecting to find their words reproduced for a book. The collection’s inspired a whole section of collectibles in the game, the Dead Letters, which are similar pieces of correspondence sent to the government and intercepted by the Bureau.

Control: 11 New Screenshots

The Bone Clocks – David Mitchell (Book)

The Cloud Atlas author’s multi-character, multi-time period novel is distinguishable for hiding so much of its weirdness. Most of its main characters (and the reader following them) aren’t initially aware of quite how dark and strange this seemingly normal world is behind the scenes, extending into immortality, ritual sacrifice and psychic warfare. Control places you inside of that stranger side, with protagonist Jesse Faden becoming more and more aware of how deep and dark the rabbithole gets.

Stalker (Movie)

Tarkovski’s sci-fi masterpiece centres on those travelling through the Zone, a military-protected area in which reality doesn’t function as expected, and even gravity needs to be tested to proceed safely. The Zone is a clear inspiration for the The Oldest House (not to mention Southern Reach’s Area X), but the titular Stalker – able to sense the route ahead and help those less able – also feels like an antecedent for Jesse, who becomes the Bureau of Control’s means of tackling its world-warping problems.

Twin Peaks (TV Series)

David Lynch’s landmark series doesn’t resemble Control very much – besides its government agent protagonist – but it’s absolutely a tonal reference. The series’ ability to segue seamlessly from soap opera to nightmare is reflected in how Control can turn on a dime from straightforward shooter into esoteric adventure. It’s also a visual reference – expressive lighting and a love of the colour red are a major part of both Twin Peaks and the game.

Legion (TV Series)

Noah Hawley’s adaptation of this comic book tale about Professor X’s son constantly plays with perspective, never quite letting you feel sure that what you’re watching isn’t inside someone’s head. You’ll quickly begin to feel the same about Control, where rooms can shift themselves around, portraits change in their frames, and nothing feels quite right. I haven’t seen an extended dance sequence yet, but I wouldn’t rule it out. On a more surface level, Legion is also the story of someone with extremely entertaining telekinetic powers – Control’s Jesse definitely fits that bill.

The X-Files (TV Series)

Perhaps the most straightforward comparison of all, Chris Carter’s magnificent series features government agents hunting for conspiracies, monsters and paranormal events that silently plague an otherwise unremarkable world. The Federal Bureau of Control – when it’s not being attacked from within – is much the same, as you’ll discover from its own case files strewn around The Oldest House. Just like the X-Files, some of those cases shine a new, weird light on real-world events you may have read about – you’ll want to stop to do a lot of reading.Joe Skrebels is IGN’s UK Deputy Editor, and he still thinks about how House of Leaves made him read parts of it in the mirror, like a chump. Follow him on Twitter.

Source : IGN

[icharchivist]

I read some interesting meta on a tumblr blog called badlywrittendgm about Nea and Mana's relationship. I gotta say their analysis on Nea being abusive towards Mana/Adam was pretty compelling. We don't know for sure on everything but Nea being twisted even if he did love Mana wouldn't be that out of the realm of possibility. We still know so little about him and every ally he had either is dead, hates working w/him or definitely is (Timcanpy) or will (Allen) feel conflicted about it.

I think i found the meta in question, this one right?

I kiiinda have mixed feelings but i also kinda see it? But also Not?

The meta mentions specifically Nea being abusive to Adam and i think this one is mainly true. Nea is manipulative toward Adam, and he is completely spiteful that he’s no longer the Mana he loved and knew. There are aspect of psychological tortures in the way he behaves around Adam, so yeah on this one, I would agree that Nea seems to show more abusive tendencies toward Adam to specifically trigger distress. So at least: Nea is abusive toward Adam, the current incarnation of Mana who doesn’t seem to have any memories of being Mana. This much I see.

Nea loved Mana, I don’t doubt it one second. But as you mention, abuse can come from a place of love, depending how twisted Nea was, so this argument is nothing in his favor.

Now here’s my mixed feelings reason: we don’t exactly know what pushed Nea to slaughter all the Noah.

We have no indication of his relationship with Mana as adult before the Noah’s slaughter except that Nea was being isolated by the others Noah after Mana was determined the Earl.

The meta mentions rightfully that their behaviors would have changed from being a kid, and tbh, yeah. As kids, it’s obvious Mana was sick and Nea worried and perhaps overprotected him because of that.

But their... adult dynamic is still too blurry to establish a dynamic of abuse.

I’m sorry i’m kinda sensitive about abusive stuff so i’m warry of throwing the word around without proper backup. Abuse mostly implies a systematic reccuring issue that willingly or not, indulge a lot of harm on someone. It can mostly be a tactic of controle or of massive neglect. Abuse is also a powerdynamic, with the abuser taking advantage of the abused in some way or another. As a result it works mostly in powerstructured dynamics (family, workplace hierarchy, adult/children, Someone with more massive power than the other are easy powerstructure to take advantage of, friendships, age hierarchy, and this kind of things can become abusive when the abuser set a powerstructure that wouldn’t have been there otherwise. Mentioning it for later in the post.)

Considering the reasons that finally led Nea to the final straw of killing the Noah, seemingly for a more broad personal goal (whenever to get rid of the Noah clan or to become the Millenium Earl himself), i don’t know if those elements completely apply.

What I will say however is that any dynamic that ends with someone deciding to murder their family is Toxic.

And in that level, Nea was completely toxic to Mana. Nea’s goals as they are set on were Toxic to Mana, and developped a dangerous behavior that would affect Mana in the future and had Mana develop a trauma regarding Nea, enough to blow up his own face in regrets, enough to call out for Nea in grief.

As for Adam reacting with such trauma indicated, Nea did attempt to murder him, Nea did murder all of Mana’s family, Nea did put Mana in a situation where he had no other way than to murder/devour his own beloved brother, beloved twin, what Hoshino refers to in Japanese as “the second part of a whole”. (let’s not forget Hoshino is herself a twin after all, (hell they were planned to be triplet until one of them disappeared in the womb and they talked about them a lot as “if they were there, living inside of me, through me” and that’s what inspired the “third being” of the Noah memory. I don’t think that can be neglected in how she writes Nea and Mana specifically.) so i suppose there is more complex feelings going on in whatever dynamic she planned for the twins). Mana has all the reasons with what Nea’s decisions were in the end and the betrayal to act with such trauma indicated response. 

What i could see be considered specifically abusive toward Mana specifically is the way to keep him for last and force him to suffer the loss of every Noah- if it’s an action taken specifically to hurt Mana in a torture way. Then it could also just be Nea not managing to face killing his brother yet and idk how that would fall in the scale there. In such an “unreal” scenario as the one of the Noah it’s a little harder to apply “normal people” social lense.

I will need a little more tangible scenes to set it on abuse per se. I could see it but I just would rather not use such a strong term until i get more ammo. Especially when “Toxic” fits perfectly so far and has just as much of the implication of Nea destroying and hurting Mana.

as for Allies not liking working with him, it could be because he’s a douchebag in general (which he is). But there’s a leap between being a dick and being abusive.

For Tim we know he had ended up loving Allen so he’s conflicted about Nea (and let’s not forget the Noah are generally kinda safistic people toward people who aren’t from their family. It’s not an excuse in any way but god knows how Nea behaved outside of family structure. As I mentioned earlier, outside powerdynamic has to be enforced by an abuser much more likely than inside a family.) For Past!Allen we have no idea how their relationship went except that Allen was ready to give up everything for Nea. And we know Cross and Nea can’t stand each other but it’s Cross we’re talking about to start with.

Also regardless Nea doesn’t have to be abusive to anyone else to be abusive toward his family and especially his brother.

tbh if only for the fact Nea was rejected and the underdog of the Noah the powerstructure of the family as we know it makes that for Nea to be an abuser he would have had to overcome said family powerstructure, which I think is something to take into account and we have no idea how he specifically behaved outside of the murderspree. It could be just as valid to think Nea was abusive toward his “siblings” until he snapped and killed them, than to think that Nea was the outsider who suffered from that position (therefore putting more the rest of the family in a powerstructure in which they would be the abusers) and he would have ended up turning it around with the murderspree, or if it was just toxic all the way around. And that enters into a lot of different ifs to interpret the lenses of Nea’s dynamic with his family.

And it’s still very tricky to mention murder attempt as inherently abusive especially in a long term goal than Nea had. especially if Nea wanted to get rid of the Noah to “save the world” or whatever.

I’m not trying to excuse Nea’s actions tho. It’s just that “being a douchebag”, “being a murderer”, “being toxic to the people around you” don’t fall specifically under “being abusive”.

But again yeah I consider Nea must have had a toxic impact on Mana, if not before the murderspree, during it, as he consciously put his brother through this. It was toxic, and it remains a valid thing to call their relationship out on. And the toxicness of said relationship is established at this point and established as leaving major scars on Mana/Adam that cannot be overlooked.

“Abusive” is loaded. I would wait for more content over Nea and Mana to call it that. But I do agree Nea’s attitude toward Adam seems to fall much more under abusive pattern due to the psychological pressure and the fact Nea takes Adam’s vulnerability to create a powerdynamic to overwhelm him. That much we’ve seen.And therefore yes I can see it valid in HCs so far to believe he might have extended that to Mana. The meta you mentioned makes valid starting point for this theory would the manga further this angle.But until more depth from their relationship is shown to us, i’ll stick to “Toxic”.

Hope it makes sense?

Take care!