#gonna try to get my S2 timeline posted in the next day or two for anyone interested

[luciuscodedswedeboy]

just spent the last 6 hours reading every OFMD S2 review I can find and distilling that info into plot/character/episode highlights. I’ll probably format it better after I get some sleep but enjoy!

& here are all the quotes that I pulled from:

[ladyluscinia]

Izzy, Bottles, and Apologies

Izzy's arc in S2 has been a wild ride.

The S1 Izzy enjoyers are feeling vindicated as hell, many people are fully revising their opinion of him, and the people still hating him have a new criticism or off the wall theory daily. David Jenkins LOVES Izzy and is having the time of his life trying to make sure everyone else does too. They had Con O'Neill sing in drag!

And naturally I have thoughts.

This is gonna be a two part post, I think. First, as much as people are celebrating Izzy having realized his arc and come into his own - from the singing to the apparent BlackBonnet shipping - there are some threads they could pull on that might reveal more arc to come. And I am really hoping they pull them, so I'm gonna tell you why you should too!

And second, I have some minor points I dislike and concerns that this might be the end of the arc. Which would be disappointing but I think I get why, so I'm gonna discuss that too.

To start...

---

"How are you handling all this so well?"

Here's the thing about S2 Izzy - while I need to be clear his behavior is not OOC or inconsistent with S1, it is happening rather fast. I'm pretty sure that has a lot to do with out of universe reasons I'll get into later, but in-universe it stands out. Now, he's hardly the only one operating on an accelerated schedule - the timeline for this season is an insanely fast not-even-two-weeks - but Izzy's defining struggle in S1 was fear of change. That was the cause of his friction with Edward, and what made him an antagonist in the first place.

In S2 he's gone through a lot of trauma, yes, but that fear is noticeably less present than I would expect.

Izzy in 2x06 has been cleaned up from his sobbing mess phase for just over 48 hours and he faces Edward with a joke, and then that night sings a moving French serenade to the crew. The next morning he's teasing them about finally hooking up and spends the day offering both Stede and Edward relationship advice.

He's a newly realized man... shedding repression and embracing who he could be. Accepting his breakup with Edward and trying to openly support the relationship that's better for him.

It's fun!

It's also, potentially, a bit of a flag. Maybe not a red one, not yet, but... pink-ish? A bit orange?

Let's look a little closer at those frayed edges.

---

"Well, you see, I have a system..."

There's an exchange from right at the start of the Pilot episode that has echoed through the entire series so far:

"Bottle it up?" -> "No, Frenchie! No, that's the worst thing you could do!"

Not talking to other people, not addressing your traumas... that's the kind of shit that just builds and builds inside you. When the cork eventually pops, the resulting damage can be a lot. Look at the finale of S1, where all of Stede's bottled up guilt and insecurities laid waste to his relationship with Edward, and then inadvertently became the first domino in the Kraken.

S2 is quick to bring this scene back into the forefront. The first time we see the Breakup Boat crew talking in 2x01, Frenchie reveals that "Bottle it up?" wasn't just a random comment he made, but a philosophy of his:

"Ah - well, you see, I have a system for dealing with all the terrible things I've seen. There's a box, in my mind, and I put the things in the box, I lock the box, and then I don't open it again. Works like a charm."

Apparently, Frenchie is the only one it actually seems to be working for.

Now, the show has been drawing some interesting lines between Frenchie and Izzy. From both serving as Blackbeard's First Mate to being frequently shown as a duo - tormenting Navy guys together on Sunday's raid, Frenchie holding Izzy's hand, Frenchie leaning on Izzy's leg in the cell, Frenchie behind him raising the flag in 2x05 - it's fitting that Izzy echoes Frenchie's preferred coping method. First he frames the non-acknowledgement of harm from Edward as just... part of piracy. He's a pirate, so he's fine with it.

And then we get Izzy's little whittled shark reveal and the conversation with Lucius about his leg:

"I don't know what you're talking about. Shark did this... dangling my legs over the side of the ship. Served me right, too."

Lucius calls him out on the unhealthy behavior, and Izzy concedes his point:

"O-kay, that seems healthy. Using a bit of fiction to help cover up your trauma." -> "Yeah, well... not moving on is worse. Twatty."

And to give him credit, he's right in his advice to Lucius. Filling his sketchbook with pages and pages of Blackbeard trauma is Lucius's form of bottling it up - thinking in endless recursive circles about his tumble off the ship and everything that followed. We already know chasing revenge instead of living is bad - Jim and Spanish Jackie established it last season, and Pete just echoed them. When Izzy advises Lucius to move on, that's what Lucius does.

But what Izzy is doing with the shark? That's not the same thing at all. He's lost a leg, grazed a bullet off his own head, and was snarling drunken accusations at himself in the mirror... he's not moving on from that. He's bottling it up with a nice dose of self-blame.

Cutting the legs off the unicorn for not doing it's job right and saying "served me right" about his fictional shark? There's a real dark knot of emotions there.

(Recall, too, that Edward deflected his hurt from Stede's abandonment into a "fictional character" during his chats with Lucius, and that delayed the explosion but couldn't stop it.)

So... Izzy's definitely coping with trauma in a way the show does not advise and often circles back to. Can we see any signs in 2x06 and 2x07?

---

The Weight of Things Unsaid

At the very start of 2x06, Izzy gets the thing he spent all of 2x05 mentally bracing himself to never hear - an apology from Edward for his leg. He walks up to initiate conversation and begins talking like nothing has changed. Edward is back in his leathers. Appropriate, given that his penance onesie was nothing genuine, just "how long do I have to wear this fucking thing for?" And Izzy is ready for them not to address the obvious hurt, to just smooth over a few jabs and go back to normal... but even Edward's mumbled little "Sorry about your leg" is so significant and difficult he flees as soon as he gets it out, leaving Izzy to sit, incredulous, with the acknowledgement.

It's still almost definitely not enough.

There was so much between them in 2x01 - 2x03. The writers literally did BlackHands love confessions on both sides. An apology from Edward Teach - a man who historically does not apologize - is a huge first step but still only the first step. The real things unsaid are so much bigger than a leg.

We get something else, too... Edward commenting on Izzy's drinking.

"Jesus. Really putting that away, aren't ya?"

Izzy has had booze a lot this season. He lost a leg and pain meds aren't really an option, so not surprising, but notable. Edward, advocating for substance abuse to deal with bad feelings, calls him a lightweight in 2x01. When they are found with the dead seabird in 2x03, Izzy takes a pointed drink from his bottle, and then 2x04 he spends the entire episode completely plastered. He seemingly sobered up for 2x05 - probably to focus on sword training and his whittling project - but now the bottle is back again before Izzy disappears for several hours.

And a little liquid courage might explain his going all in for the Calypso's Birthday performance.

I do appreciate that the performance on it's face is something completely unexpected for Izzy, but when thinking about it... it does make sense.

We already know music and performance were available on Blackbeard's ship even before Stede. Edward learned to play shanties on the piano somewhere, and singing is a common and encouraged part of sailing culture. Izzy's choice of song to perform is something a lot more emotional, but this is probably not his first performance for a crew.

Makeup, too, is in fashion for men and women at this time, and OFMD has shown it as such before. Izzy has never worn fashion makeup, or tried to be beautiful, but the concept wouldn't be alien to him. Wee John's description of a dramatic party look might even have intrigued him specifically because Izzy has actually done "looks" before - of the terrifying "theatre of fear" kind. The Kraken did have his whole crew in makeup for their raids. Taking the opportunity to embody something a bit more vulnerable and try to bring joy to this crew that took care of him is meaningful as fuck.

And it's still a drag performance!

It's a good pair of moments - before and after Ned. Proof that all this isn't just coping method - that's not what I'm arguing here - and even if Izzy's still bottling up a lot of feelings he's not doing the same full pressure bomb thing as he did in S1. There's been growth!

(This is why the flags are only pink-ish / orange-ish right now.)

Episode 2x07 though... I'm not so sure he's doing good as much as pretending it's all good.

Showing up to make his joke in the morning is a fun moment. I especially enjoy Edward's little "fuck off" with no bite to it 🤣🤣🤣 Reminder they do live together on a ship, so this is likely not even close to the first morning-after that Izzy has gotten front row seats to. But, at least to me, there's also a very performative feeling about it. Izzy being very Look how normal I can be about you fucking your boyfriend, Ed - and Edward picks up on it too. That's why he turns to Stede and whispers "He's jealous" as Izzy walks away.

Izzy continues to make jokes and give advice through the day to our main couple, but he's... subdued. I think his fake chill also disguises that he and Edward aren't on the same page about what they discuss at the docks, hence his poor advice to "listen to it" when the "it" in question is Edward's immediate desire to run away from Stede and become a fisherman. They are talking again, but haven't resumed communicating.

I also think it's relevant that Izzy goes to try and support Stede after Edward dumps him, because we're still waiting for Stede to stop bottling things up. He doesn't talk about Badminton or feelings of inadequacy or even the babiest little olive branch to Edward about "hey my dad kinda sucked too." Edward's two exes are sitting in the bar corner together, thinking about all the shit they won't talk to him about until it kills all three of them. Exciting!

The pressure is building. It has to circle back to Stede in S3. I'm hoping at the same time, it circles back to Izzy, too.

Hoping we get to explore some of his anxiety, and his internalizing negative self-image and blame. At the moment, I think Izzy might have less gotten over his anxieties and more just let go of the wheel of his life entirely, and fortunately had people around to steer him in okay directions. It would be really interesting to explore that more.

(Even if I have some concerns they may not.)

---

Subtle as a Cannonball to the Face

Izzy's character arc was always going to be a long journey - not because he was somehow morally worse than everyone else, or required particularly painstaking growth, or even because there was going to be some great need to "hold him accountable" for S1. No, it was going to be a long journey from an antagonist start for the same reason I mentioned earlier: Izzy's core struggle is fear of change.

OFMD opens with two protagonists recklessly pursuing change in ways that harm themselves, their relationships, and others, and a primary onscreen antagonist resisting change in a way that harms himself, his relationships, and others. There's no easy morality here - they all fuck up. And they all require the entire show to actually figure out the correct balance of change and growth and facing the past.

"I think the three of them are on an arc together that's pretty inseparable." - David Jenkins (Source, 9 Oct 2023)

So... why is there a chance that everything I've mentioned above is going absolutely nowhere and Izzy's arc has been wrapped up with a bow in S2?

Well.

It's late March 2022, the fandom's age is still only countable in weeks, I personally haven't even watched the pilot yet, had only even heard of the show 3 days before... and one of David Jenkins first post-finale statements is telling people to pay attention to Izzy's POV and his and Edward's love story on rewatches (Source, 25 Mar 2022), and then soon after comparing Stede to a homewrecker in Edward and Izzy's toxic marriage (Source, 15 Apr 2022). Lots of links because this stuff was available to the fandom from the start.

By the first half of May 2022 (while poor Mr. Jenkins is still anxiously trying to get his series renewed for S2, since the confirmation won't come until June 1) the takes on Izzy have soured a lot. It's not a "homophobic gay" joke anymore. Now it's "Izzy is the embodiment of colonialism who enforces a racist and homophobic ideal of Blackbeard on Edward" and "pretending Izzy could be canonically gay is homophobic" and "Izzy bought Edward as a slave from the British". Harassing anons have already started on tumblr. No first hand experience with Twitter but I've heard horror stories. These takes are spreading like wildfire through the fandom, with a heavy backing of white fans accepting and spreading anything that sounds vaguely racially-conscious as something they just missed in their privilege and need to listen to POC about. Or listen to other white fans that say they've been listening to POC.

The anchor hoist in 1x09 (that was a complete directing coincidence, as the crew confirmed in late May) is being taken as incontrovertible proof that Izzy is a violent racist, and the relatively small Izzy fandom pushing back against any of these reads is being likened to toxic fangirls declaring Kylo Ren a poor widdle victim because they think violent white guys are so hot their brains fall out. This is happening loudly and in the public forums of social media.

Can you imagine being David Jenkins right then?

This is one of your favorite little guys, who you wrote a silly little homoerotic pirate jealousy arc for. He's kinda cringefail and tends to be a dick, but you cast a guy who you think embodies him with so much sympathy and genuine emotion. You're so excited to explore his direct relationship to the main couple of your series even more. Unfortunately, you and a lot of the cast and crew are also engaging maybe a bit too much in fandom spaces, which very few of you have much familiarity with navigating as creators. AND there's still renewal stress!

If I were him, I too would consider that perhaps my intended Izzy arc was a bit too nuanced and drawn out, and maybe I needed to clear up some misconceptions as soon as I got the opportunity.

Enter S2.

MAX reduced the budget for the season significantly and it shows - particularly in the whole thing having to squeeze into 8 episodes - and I wouldn't be surprised at all if worries over a S3 renewal / S3 budget impacted S2 writing as well. Character arcs got pinched, goals had to be prioritized... and from the looks of the season, "make sure everyone knows Izzy is not a homophobic villain tormenting Edward as fast as possible" came out as a big goal.

I mean they open with a dream sequence that literally mocks the idea of a heroic Stede rescuing Edward from the dastardly Izzy. It's not subtle.

And the lack of subtlety is kind of what's concerning me.

Izzy's arc is (I think) leaving enough threads that they can extend it into S3 with the reveal he's not actually fine and done developing, but they also seem to want his S2 arc to end in a place where maybe he is. Lots of giant signs pointing to him and saying "Look! Everyone likes him!" or "Look! He's also gay!" at the expense of some of his cringefail or dickish charm. My guy had anxiety he dealt with poorly in S1, and I do think they are trying to frontload or adjust the arc so he's basically (or at least seemingly) over that before the next hiatus.

The best way I've seen it described is that the show no longer trusts the audience to pick up what they are putting down, and so they feel the need to really hammer it in. Not necessarily OOC, but definitely de-emphasizing any of his rough edges that were originally just written to not be any worse than the other characters.

This is why Izzy gets shot by Edward in the very first episode for a bunch of complicated reasons that are really good character work and not super hard to discern, but then later they have Izzy point out to Stede why he got shot twice. It's all very "look into the camera and say the themes", because to some degree they are afraid everyone is going to get easily convinced Edward shot him for calling him a namby-pamby that one time.

It makes me worried they are too afraid of misinterpretation to commit to the arc they originally conceived of, even with the finish line in sight in S3.

And, again, I get it, Mr. Jenkins. In October 2022 he made a funny quip and a boner joke on a tweet about Edward's blanket fort and the hordes descended to scream victoriously about how he was cutting down the Izzy stans for their racist infantilization crimes of thinking Izzy would *checks notes* help hold up a blanket. It's a very reasonable conclusion that this fandom cannot read and needs to be spoonfed Izzy's arc.

It just sucks that a toxic section of fandom's misinterpretations appear to have undercut a strong - and, honestly, not that complicated - character arc so much that S2's BlackBonnet arc can be about fuck ups and backsliding, but Izzy needs at least the illusion of having no flaws left come hiatus time.

[that-fandom-writer]

@my-shields-are-down asked about The Rookie timeline I was creating this is what I got lol

The Rookie Rewatch

@MANDY_rieger on twitter has been helping me with a few things I forgot to add in originally

so I am doing a rewatch of The Rookie while we are in a hiatus and I am tweeting about it while I am at it lol. I am also trying to make sense of the Timeline lol so this post is gonna be me tracking the time line the best i can lol

s1ep1 - Two days

s1ep2 - based on the beginning of the episode I think it is still the first week of training

is s1ep5 is a month

s1ep7 is 2 months in

S1ep11 is 4 months in. Nolan said “4 months together” to Bishop

S1ep12 is Valentines day so Feb 14th.

Would that mean that they started in october?

s1ep14 is 100 days in because that is plain clothes day

S1ep16 is march 19-march 20th, Capt Anderson died MArch 20th 2019

S1ep19 is about 6 months because they have their 6 month exam.

Also in s1ep19 during Talia’s meeting the IA officer said “this past october you failed to secure your vehicle”. Which means that the episode where the one dude takes selfies in the shop is in October, (s1ep3)

So season 1 is officially 6 months.

I CAN'T with this shit lol.

Ok so the opening scene of s2ep1 starts with everyone getting to the hospital, and it picks up right where it left off, but like legit the next scene is at Nolans new place with Jess and they were talking about the shooting the night of the quarantine and she says something about 2 weeks, then the next scene is TIm’s return to work. So like I’m assuming we’re at about 6 and half months now? Lol

S2ep2 - still at about 6 months. Grace and Nolan ran into each other again for the first time in years, and Grace asked Nolan how long he’s been a cop and he says 6 months.

S2ep3-s2ep4 Is 2 weeks. Rachel tells Lucy him and Rachel have been dating 2 weeks.

S2ep6- Wopez have been together for 5 months

S2ep6 They graduated the Academy sometime in September

s2ep6 - the dui they are discussing was March 16th.

S2ep7 Jackson is 26

S2ep8 as of this episode Tim has been a cop for 12 years

S2ep10- this episode is Dec 7th 2019, as well as dec 8th 2019

S2ep11 is dec 9th and 10th

Which means we are already at 14 months which is the most broken thing in this time line lol.

S2ep18 one year into being a Rookie. And they have 1 month. So they are at 12 months, but they hit 14 months already soooo this timeline is too broken lol hahahahahaha

S3ep1 picks up where s2 left off. Also we find out Angela is pregnant

S3ep2 Tim says Lucy has 25 days left of training

S3ep4 Nolan has said a dozen times this episode that he is 46

S3ep5 Tim says Jackson is 24. But when Tim and Jackson went to the football thing Jackson said he was 26 🤔😆

S3ep7 the missile threat was June 3rd 2019

S3ep9 is suppose to be 13 months but I mean come on now 😂 Angela says she's 14 weeks pregnant

S3ep10 is the first day of Lucy and Jackson as P2-which means it’s *suppose* to be 13 total

S3ep14 when Lopez is in guatemala the nurse says she is 29 weeks pregnant.

S4ep1 is suppose to 14 months because Nolan is at the end of is rookie period

By the end of the of the episode there is a 3 month time jump

S4ep5 is Halloween- pretty sure it suppose to be of 2020 technically as it is AFTER dod which was dec of 2019

[samwritesforyou]

Booked

Diego x reader (the whole family is present at the beginning but as time goes on becomes more Diego-centric)

Summary: You have a summer house that is far away from any big cities, you’ve inherited it from your great-great-parents and you want to prove to your friends that you cannot possibly make an income out of it. So you submit the house at booking dot com for the lowest price possible. Your plan was working for years and you’ve been happy and content just by growing your own food and participating in the village’s community, completely forgetting about the offer you presented on booking. Until one day, seven siblings arrive at your place, saying they reserved themselves the whole house for the eternity of summer.

Warnings: gender-neutral reader, swear words (? but just a couple, mainly from Five)

Wordcount: 3.7k

A/N: settling is post s2, so everyone looks accordingly. umbrella academy gets back into the timeline where no umbrella nor the sparrow academy exists, yet the world is still ending. mostly written out of nostalgia for my own summer house that my family sold years ago and i will never come back there, so i want it to live on at least somewhere

Summers were always hot in this little village that you lived in, especially with the climate change looming over humanity’s ignorant heads.

So you were actually relieved that you finally persuaded a local technician to help you fix the fridge that stopped freezing its insides for good two weeks already.

You just handed her the cash and waved her goodbye, also giving the lady a basket with apples and peaches that grew in your garden. You don’t have enough people eating your fruits and most of it goes into jams anyways.

You waited a little until her car disappeared into the horizon of the bumpy road near your house, seeing as it even got blurry in the end, as the air was literally melting the reality in front of your eyes.

With a swift movement you adjusted a cap on your head, went out of the creaky gate - which green color was peeling off into the original black metal that it was made with - and closed it behind yourself with a happy hum.

It was a twenty minutes walk to the nearest convenience store and it gave you just enough time to ponder about the recent weird thing that happened to you.

About three days ago you just got a random payment come to your bank account.

15 Euros. That was it.

No note, no name.

You decided to let it be, even though it did stir your mind in various ways.

Normally, when something like this happens, the bank realises the mistake in the recipient and takes the money back within 24 hours.

Either the person who sent it didn’t care that it went to the wrong place or bank decided to be generous with you.

Whatever the reason was, those 15 Euros could be used now to buy yourself a little more sweets than you usually do.

You never had to complain about how little money you actually have from living here and being more or less self-sufficient, but some random extra cash will make anyone smile in this capitalistic hell that you tried so hard to escape from.

.

.

After you came home you started sorting out groceries that you’ve bought, putting them into the right places.

Upon finishing you just plopped yourself on the bench near the big abandoned table in the room, looking around.

This house used to be alive. With a lot of your family members running around, making noise, sometimes fighting, but always generally just enjoying the good time at this place.

At the end of the extended room was a window, showing you the rest of the garden that you lovingly cared for every single day.

Under the window was a spacious kitchen counter, with a fridge and shelves for ingredients next to it. Then there was the entrance to one of the unused bedrooms with one bed pushed against the wall, which in turn was covered by a red hanging carpet. On a wall, yes.

You stopped tracing the room around with your eyes as you heard some rummaging coming from the outside.

After easily springing to your feet you saw black dots in front of you and your head was spinning. Damn you, iron deficiency!

A few seconds passed and you were collected again, rushing out towards the gates to the property.

You stopped in your tracks as you saw five people literally barging through your piece of land with suitcases and bags, bickering with each other.

Oh, nope. They were six, actually. A very tiny figure closed the gate after all of them made it in and started clumsily going forward on a tiny tartan road that lead all the way to the summer house.

“Klaus, stop fucking pushing around and help me with the bags, maybe?” said a man with longer curly hair and a goatee, clearly agitated at another person, who wasn’t holding anything except some bottle in their hand.

“Oh cut it, you two! We’re almost in the house, come on,” said a woman with straight black hair in the flowery dress and then she noticed that someone blocks their way.

Her eyes landed on you.

“Um... hello?” she said with an awkward smile, attempting a wave in your direction and continued, “are you the owner? We booked your house until the rest of the summer like.. a few days ago.”

Your eyes widened and your mouth hung open in the “o” shape, trying to grasp the reality.

So.... someone really booked your summer house after several years of no traction from booking and you had no clue.

That’s what the payment was for!

But..

“Oh,” you said, not knowing how to proceed about the situation, “well, you see.. um... I have nowhere to stay? This is my only home,” you started timidly, rubbing your hands together.

“Oh,” the woman seemed surprised and confused but quickly collected herself, “well, if you have enough beds to keep us all in then it’s no problem, I guess?”

“Yeah? Alright, great!” You smiled at the whole “squad” and looked at them all.

“Uhm.. my name is y/n! Welcome to my summer house, I guess,” you put your hands into the back pockets and shook your head a little into the direction of the house.

“Allison, nice to meet you,” the woman you talked to said, smiling invitingly.

“Diego,” almost spat the guy with the goatee.

“Klaus, darling,” said the person with the bottle in their hand, widening his arms in an invisible hug.

“Luther,” mumbled a big man in the back of them all.. he looked like he’s been through something.

Actually, they all do.

“Vanya,” chirped a girl behind the big- Luther, the corners of her lips lifting ever so lightly.

“Five,” said a child in the front, looking unusually angry, suddenly shortening the distance between the two of you, “as long as you’re out of our business you’re good to stay,” he literally sneered at you, pushing past you and going inside.

That left you kinda shook, but then Allison just apologised for “their brother”, so you decided to ask another question:

“So you’re all a family?”

“Yes, we’re all siblings. Adopted,” she said, actually following you inside, not as the little guy before who let himself in without even knowing the place.

“I think my place is not the best for so many people to sleep at though..” you said quietly, biting your lip.

“That’s why it was so cheap..” Luther wondered, looking around.

You had to calm yourself so you didn’t snap at your guest. You didn’t even know anyone would ever book your house, damn! What were you supposed to do?

In the end you spent some time showing them the rooms, starting with the first one that contained an old-fashioned sink and the water tank near it, which you needed to manually fill up with water, and the drain led to the bucket under it.

Very simple.

In the back of the room there was a dining table, on one side surrounded by the bench and the other with some mismatching chairs.

From this space you proceeded into the extended “hallway” that you stared at before your peace and quiet was ruined.

There was also an ancient literal furnace, on top of which you could actually lay on, you know, as in all the fairytales.

After that, there was another room entrance that contained two beds on each side (one of them pushed under the window), similar to the other room and a coffee table in the middle of the area.

When you all went back to the first place, there was a wooden staircase that led to the second floor.

There were two rooms. One had a king sized bed in the middle of the space, with a closet and various tables around the whole area.

The other one had a working table and a bed in the corner.

“And that is the end of the tour!” you proclaimed, as everyone got seated by the big table in the extended room, while you were making everyone tea and preparing some snacks.

“Great, I sleep on the furnace!” Klaus exclaimed, putting his hands in the air animatedly.

“I guess we can fit all of us in here, actually,” Allison was clearly thinking aloud, counting the members of the family and available sleeping places.

“You’re gonna take one of the beds, right?” she said, pointing at you.

“Uh.. yes! Upstairs, I think. The one with the small bed and a table,” you smiled at her and she nodded.

“Then I’ll be sleeping with Vanya in the king-sized bed and you guys can fight for who’s going to end up sharing the room,” Allison concluded, clearly enjoying herself.

“Funny of you to think I’ll have enough time to sleep, in our situation,” said Five, suddenly coming out from the doorframe into the room.

You didn’t even mention that he wasn’t there when you were explaining the plan of the house.

“What situation? There should always be time to sleep,” you chipped in, carefully smiling at the boy.

“Stay the fuck out of our business, I said,” he gritted through his teeth at you, which left you blinking in surprise as he went away again, out of sight.

“How... old is he again?” you asked with the confusion that a kid would be so rude to a stranger like this.

All of them kind of nervously laughed or mumbled something that you couldn’t understand.

“It’s complicated,” said Vanya, smiling at you reassuringly.

How the fuck an age of your own brother is complicated?..

You heard the fancy-looking woman - Allison - sigh heavily and turn to you, shrugging.

“It’s just.. when our parents adopted him, he freshly got into the orphanage so he didn’t even have any documents about his birthday, blood type or anything. Apparently, he was really abused by his biological parents. Or whoever else, we don’t even know.”

“Oh.. I’m sorry,” you apologised quickly, biting your lip. Didn’t expect to poke into any painful subjects.

“It’s okay, really, we’ve learned how to take proper care of him,” Allison said, putting her hand on your back with a smile.

When you excused yourself to continue with gardening and went outside, Allison just shook her head.

“Who says ‘it’s complicated’ when someone asks you about their sibling’s age, Vanya?” said Allison in disbelief.

“I’m sorry, I thought it would settle the matter..” she muttered, playing with her fingers anxiously.

“It’s okay..” she smiled at her sister and then looked around the whole table, “look we’re here for the whole summer, so I think it would be better if we somehow told the owner at least partially about our powers so we’re not hiding all the time. We came here to have a safe space where we could train after all, am I right?” she looked expectantly at Luther who immediately started nodding along, agreeing.

“Or maybe,” started saying Klaus, already getting up from his seat and trying to crawl onto the furnace, skinny legs already dangling in the air, “we can just tell them we’re the umbrella academy, don’t you think?” he concluded, facing a wall with his face.

“But we checked that the umbrella academy doesn’t exist in this universe.. nor any other replacement of us,” reminded her siblings Vanya, fingers still intertwined on the table, firmly put together.

“I’m sure we’ll tell them one way or another,” said Diego, getting up just like his brother, making his way a bit further though, his objective clearly being the fridge.

He opened it and smirked at the beer present there, taking one can with him. His eyes then wondered to the window at the end of the room and he stepped closer, inspecting what is outside.

Apparently it was still their new home’s property, as he saw y/n working in the garden, repotting some plants under the tree.

His gaze stayed on them as he thought about various topics in his head, but then he decided to go out of the house, jumping down the wooden stairs leading to the tartan road, framing the whole garden.

You heard steps behind you, turning your head away from the the plants, only to meet a tall man in front of you, with a can in his hand.

“Hey, uhm..” he nervously put his hand on his neck, scratching it, “I just wanted to ask if it’s cool if I take some beer from the fridge?” he lifted the other hand with the mentioned item, giving it a little shake.

“It’s cool,” you replied, smiling softly at him, and then getting back to work, grabbing the plant by the root, moving it to another hole in the ground.

“Okay..” he retorted, biting his lower lip and scanned the area with his dark eyes.

There was an abandoned greenhouse with broken walls, greenery growing all around it, just next to the fence of the property. To its left was a wooden toilet booth with a typical round-shaped hole in the higher part of the door.

“I’m really sorry, by the way,” you started talking again, now finally done with your objective of the day, now plopping yourself next to Diego on the bench that he was chilling at, the surface creaking from the added weight, “I really thought nobody would *ever* rent this place,” you shrugged with a smile, now looking in front of yourself, closing your eyes and letting sunshine illuminate your face.

“Well.. uh.. then why did you put up on that website anyways?” he asked, clear confusion in his voice.

You sighed, shifting your body a little, getting into more comfortable sitting position, “It was a bet I made with my friends back in the day. A few years ago they told me I could actually rent this place and get income from it, not having to work a day in my life! Yet i told them that it’s not possible, and I wanted to prove that I was right by putting the advertisement,” you finished, finally opening your eyes, tilting your head at your new acquaintance.

You caught him staring at you, so he quickly turned away, now getting quite a violent sip out of the beer can.

“You should’ve put some timing on that bet then.. Let’s say, if it doesn’t get traction after two years you’ll finally delete the posting,” he said, after gulping some liquid.

That made you laugh and you couldn’t look away from him. His features were so.. delicate.

“Yeah, you’re actually right!” you admitted, slapping your thighs in excitement.

“Diego, my precious brother!” you two suddenly heard from the entrance to the house.

You lifted your eyes and saw a slender confide getting closer to you both, the man walking barefoot.

“Five said we’re all needed for a ‘family meeting’,” the guy literally put an air quotes with his free hand that wasn’t holding a glass, saying it in the mockingly serious tone, “so you better come with me and stop bothering this lovely person, alright?” he then proceeded sweetly, extending a hand towards Diego with a wide smile.

“God.. alright,” he answered and to your surprise took his hand, now brothers going away into the house, Diego briefly looking back at you, “Let’s talk later.”

You just nodded, finding yourself still smiling long before they were gone.

What is this funny feeling in the pit of your stomach?..

And why is one of their family members called by a number instead of a name?!

.

.

It was only the second day of your coexistence with the Hargreeves but it was already a wild ride.

Normally your morning looked like this;

You would wake up at a reasonable hour, maybe like.. 9am. You would go down the stairs from your room and make yourself some breakfast. While eating you’d either read a book or just listen to some music from your phone.

Then you’d do daily tasks, so taking care of the garden or some house maintenance, or both.

Then you’d do everything special that needs to be done only once in a while: a meeting with a friend, grocery shopping, attending a meeting with your neighbours where you decide on further upgrades of the village.

Then you’d draw some commissions, if there were any and after all of this you’d have late lunch that normally turned into dinner, concluding your day with doing your hobbies or rarely taking out your laptop and browsing the internet.

“Rise and shiiine!” you heard somewhere from downstairs, for some reason that person was also ringing a bell, making you immediately sit up in your bed.

You turned your head towards the mirror that hung across your sleeping space on the wall and you could see your hair standing up in different directions, cowlick upon cowlick.

You also felt tired, kind of not used to that feeling and shifted your half-closed eyes to the alarm clock near you.

It was... a bit past 7am. Who are those people to wake up that early?!

You lazily got up from the bed, yawning and stretching your arms up, feeling a few cracks here and there.

“Good morning!” first half of the sentence was muffled by the closed door to your room, but that quickly changed as it burst open, Klaus marching right in, his voice now uncomfortably loud for your sleepy ears, “I thought it would be nice to have breakfast all together and make you feel a part of the family, wouldn’t it?” he said with a genuine smile, looking at you.

You were sitting on your bed in pyjamas, hair all over the place, most unamused expression on the face, eyes half opened.

“Not a morning person?” he mused, tilting his head at you, “well, feel free to join or sleep more, I wouldn’t judge,” he continued and you saw in literal slow motion as he lifted his hand with a bell in hand, shaking it hard as he marched out of your room just in the same manner as he came in just seconds ago.

“BREAKFAST!!” he yelled with at least two octaves lower at his siblings, still ringing the bell that now was resonating in your brain in a highest pitch possible, making your head hurt.

Great morning.

But despite the general morning grumpiness you did find it endearing that Klaus decided to include you in their activities, making you feel less alone and - quite funnily - welcomed in your own house.

You slowly went down the stairs, hearing the lower floor full of different voices and it made your heart clench. You immediately thought of your family that made it feel alive like this in the past and a warm smile appeared on your face, as the Hargreeves huddled up around the smaller table in the room you descended from the stairs into, all making your appearance feel natural.

“Good morning,” you passed Luther that nodded in your direction alongside the phrase, as you went into the bigger room, seeing Allison cooking by the stove, window open.

“Oh hey, you’re up,” she said with a smile, “can you pass me some milk?” she asked, extending her hand into the air, already expecting said item.

“Sure!!” you hurriedly opened the fridge, giving her the thing she requested and she continued cooking.

You slowly looked around, seeing a blanket and some different things like cigarette boxes and teddy bears on top of the furnace, which made you realise that someone from the family has clearly claimed it to be their place for sleeping and you found it adorable.

“You can go sit with the others, I’ll bring it all in when it’s ready, Allison said, adjusting her black hair so it didn’t get in the way of preparing food.

“Oh.. okay!” you chirped, with a smile going back to the first room, and finding an empty seat between Diego and Klaus.

You almost sat already when Klaus sprang to his feet and took you by the shoulders, making you freeze on the spot, eyes wide.

“Klaus?” you asked, confused, “is that seat taken?”

“By Allison,” Diego quickly responded before his brother had any chance to and then the skinny man sat back on his chair, nodding with an awkward smile on his face.

“Yes, exactly. Sorry y/n,” he sighed and shrugged, clearly playing along Diego’s words, but you just let it go.

Instead you sat next to Luther, whom already opened his mouth but Vanya looked at him with a forced smile, raising a brow. At that, the big guy closed his mouth again, without making a sound.

Something.. is weird here. You shifted a bit in your seat, biting your lower lip.

The kid wasn’t here at all, you just noticed.

Then finally Allison came with the food and your anxiety lessened, as everyone started cheering for wonderful pancakes that she made.

She already wanted to sit on the seat that the guys told you was reserved for her, when suddenly Klaus did the same to her as he did to you.

“Klaus,” Diego hissed in a low voice.

Allison just looked at her brother, expression just as confused as yours was.

“What?” Allison deadpanned, putting a hand to her hip.

There was a brief second of silence until Klaus just burst into an emotional speech.

“Look, I know we’re all pretending that we’re normal in front of y/n but you all know that Ben always sits next to me and he’s sitting here right now, yet you all wanna make it seem like he doesn’t exist? I’m sorry that he’s a ghost, I’m sure he didn’t want to die either!” then after a moment he added, “Right, brother dear?” looking at an empty space near him.

Your brain clearly wasn’t catching up to what was just being said.

Pretending to be normal?..

“Great. Just fucking great, Klaus. I bet Ben would move, understanding the situation!” Allison waved her hands at him and the chair next to him with an annoyed voice.

“We just blew our cover, guys,” said Diego with pursed lips, looking absentmindedly at the table filled with food.

Soon enough they all started arguing and only when there was a sudden blue light in the room, and the kid appeared literally out of the thin air in front of your eyes, everyone fell silent, looking at him.

“Guys, I just did a search around the neighbourhood and—“ his blue eyes met with yours, full of shock and denial of what you just saw, “shit.”

He clicked his tongue and frowned and that was positively the last thing you remember before losing consciousness, everything around you turning black.

Too much of supernatural for one morning, that’s for sure.

Precious taglist:  @radcloudenthusiast​,  @spacenerdpascal​

NEXT PART→

[asterekmess]

Laura gets sent a funky letter and goes back to Beacon Hills. Now, we have a lil more confusion (i’ve got a whole buttload of issues with the timeline, but let’s not get into that now) // *puppy eyes* Please talk more about the timeline? *puppy eyes intensify* Pretty please?

oohhhmygod. oohhhhmygod. What issues don’t I have with the timeline?

Listen, I know I mention this is every post I make, but I’m doing a full series rewrite of this show. Which means I need to know when things happen. And TW? Nothing makes SENSE.

I’ve said it before, it’s complete bullshit that a show about werewolves refuses to give two fucks about the moon cycle. It’s so fucking simple. The first full moon is on a Friday. The second full moon Must Be on a Sunday. Is it? NO. It’s on a MONDAY. They’re at SCHOOL all day! I had so many issues trying to get the timeline to play nice here, you’ve no idea. In the end, I just ended up sticking with the stupid concept that a moon cycle is 31 days instead of 30.

But no, let’s go even further back, huh? To the Pre-show timeline. Laura Hale, everybody. She shows up (How long is she even in Beacon Hills? If the deer was what warned the Argents and made them head back, they should’ve arrived before she died. How did she do all that investigating in so short a time?) and gets ganked by Peter. He claws/bites her to death. Then, the story goes that the Argents cut her in half and used her as bait to catch Derek. BUT. We know Kate wasn’t the one to do it, cus’ she wasn’t in town. And Chris, Victoria, and Allison hadn’t even arrived yet. We find out in S3A that Allison was IN the car that nearly hit Scott when he walked out of the woods after getting bit and finding the top half of Laura’s body. So who the fuck cut Laura’s body in half? (I Have other issues with this, actually, and the entirety of the Peter stuff, so XP fuck you davis.)

Then there’s the thing with the bus driver. Scott makes this claim that he knows the guy, bc he drove the bus Scott rode “when I lived with my dad” but Scott never lived with his DAD. His dad is in fucking NY or whatever. And the guy’s only been a bus driver in the last five years, so it’s not like it’s from when he was little or something.

I’m not even gonna mention the whole “The fire was ten years ago” “Wait, the fire was six years ago” thing cus...wtf? ALSO. If they wrote the show and intended for Derek to be NINETEEN at the start, but then said the fire was TEN YEARS AGO??? DEREK WAS NINE???? They wrote that storyline intending for Derek to have Been NINE? WTF? And if they didn’t intend for him to have been nine, then what the hell is wrong with them and not thinking these things through? That’s so fucking basic.

How about the part where Derek gets shot with a bullet that’ll kill him in 48 hours, but he shows up the next day and nearly dies after less than 24? Did he spend a whole day alone? Scott knew Derek was shot for an entire day and that he’d been poisoned, and didn’t think to check on him??

This show is so allergic to having actual dates for their shit bc they don’t wanna get caught out for their pathetic timeline, they don’t even have a Valentine’s Day episode with Allison and Scott. According to the timeline I’ve worked out, Valentine’s day? Yeah, it happens on Scott’s second full moon. The day he and Lydia make out. Love it.

That whole thing with Allison in the car and the crying and the flashbacks to her seeing Derek getting tortured? Yeah, Noah’s part in that makes no fucking sense (yeah, I know no one calls him noah, I joined the fandom too late to care about calling him john). We see Stiles getting his dad drunk that night. Royally drunk. Then, suddenly, he’s on duty and pulling Allison over? What? Or did Allison wait a night to start freaking out about it?

Allison’s mother gets bitten at the rave, which is like a week away from the full moon bc it’s at the start of spring break and Lydia’s birthday happens at the end of Spring break (actually, since Lydia goes to the fucking School to see Jackson, HOLDING A BACKPACK, I’m pretty sure it happens after they get back to school). Scott’s bite healed the day after he was bitten. You’re telling me Victoria didn’t heal that whole week? Even if she had the whole ‘guilt trip=no healing’ thing going on, she would’ve been shifting throughout the week and Derek said they can’t keep themselves from healing while they’re unconscious (or are we just completely disregarding that? Oh, we are? Okay, sure, fine.) so why don’t her eyes change color/why doesn’t she show any wolf signs until the moment she dies?

Lydia’s birthday is supposed to be on the Worm Moon. Which is the full moon that happens in March. But we’ve already had three full moons. January, February, and March. We’re halfway through fucking April right now, TW. What are you on?

Then throughout S3A & B we have a blatant disregard for how long the nighttime lasts. Erica and Boyd are out running around BH early enough that children are playing in the woods and Chris is getting groceries. But then Derek holds them in the boiler room for like two minutes and suddenly it’s dawn? Dawn shouldn’t be coming until around 6:30 in the morning. That’s hours of being down there with them.

Plus all the Oni stuff where nighttime happens about twenty minutes after they get out of classes and then lasts the entire episode, while still somehow not taking long enough because the episode runs in current time, so only like an hour has passed, but now the sun is up! Woo!

Y’all know my expertise doesn’t go v far into the later seasons. But come on. It’s not that fucking hard to pick a timeline and then stick to it! Stop putting things that should be happening on the weekend in the middle of the week! Stop jamming a week’s worth of scenes one after the other and then pretending it all happened in one night! They got all fucking worried about running out of material around Season 5B or whatever, but if they’d just taken their time in the beginning then they could’ve gotten like two more seasons out of this show. Two good seasons. Hell, every other season would improve too, just from not being so bunched up and getting the chance to actually explore the entire plotline they set up.

Plus, just overall, there’s the part where they fucking skipped four months between S2 & S3A? Four months, not three. They still had like two weeks or so of school left after the warehouse scene that we never got to see. PLUS THE FOUR MONTHS before S3A.

I get that they wanted to go for a seasonal thing, where the show happens when they’re in school. But you can’t just skip four months of character development and then give us nothing about anyone except Scott! Derek getting an apartment is not enough! What the fuck were they doing for four months? Why did it take them so long to find Erica and Boyd??? What happened with Jackson? What did Stiles do all summer? (I’d normally make a joke about ‘other than derek’ here, but like, I don’t actually ship them at that point in the timeline? The whole ‘summer fling’ thing never worked for me. Bonding, yes, fucking, no.)

AND they skipped the entirety of winter break between S3B and S4. What HAPPENED at Christmas time? Did Malia get to make snow angels? Did Stiles go to THERAPY?

AND FOLLOW A MOON CYCLE YOU ASSHOLES.

[m6p2s5gziax8]

Deconstructing Season 3 Jim Hopper

Note1 - I wrote this before the 2020.02.14 "Stranger Things 4 | From Russia with love" teaser. I'm glad they didn't try to drag out the "is Hopper really dead" question - he's 100% back! Note2 - Ok, now that so many of us are inside and ST4 is delayed, I'm going to finally post this and hope some folks find it interesting. Note3 - 6+ months later, I'm finally posting this for real, enjoy! :)

Please Read * !!! MASSIVE S3 SPOILERS !!! * I am a huge fan of Stranger Things and Jim Hopper. * This is a critical analysis of season 3 Jim Hopper, aka s3-Hop. * I would never want to sour anyone's enjoyment of the show or s3-Hop. * Please skip this essay if you enjoy s3-Hop! * If you viewed season 3 and thought "Hopper sure was different" or "Hopper wasn't enjoyable like in s1 and s2" then please read on!

uber-TL;DR * s3-Hopper was unbelievably and (for me) unenjoyably different from s1/s2 * for s4, my hope is this extreme character shift is acknowledged by Hopper to Mike, Eleven, and Joyce

longer-TL;DR There were many changes in Stranger Things with season 3: the mall, the bright color pallet, the love-quadrangle pitting El/Max vs Mike/Lucas, Dustin splitting off from the boys to join the Scoops Troop, and the campy, Scooby-Doo-esque Russian base plot. I can accept these changes and enjoy many of their elements.

But s3 brought one massive change that was not a new character, location, nemesis, or team combo: I felt Jim Hopper's character change was simply unbelievable and unenjoyable.

Sadly, I may be in a tiny minority that does not speak up or that critical comments about a beloved show get "black holed" by show boosters on social media. Many ST fans were sad and angry that Hopper appears to have died and the letter reading at the end of s3 was very dramatic and moving. So analysis, and especially criticism, of s3-Hop is frequently down-voted or not liked and thus not socialized.

This is an attempt to collect the thoughts of one very unhappy s1/s2-Hopper fan about s3-Hop. I hope readers will enjoy the long detailed analysis (sorry it is so long!) and I look forward to any comments and feedback.

FWIW, I'm a big Stranger Things fan and David Harbour is a great actor (even in s3) and a Good person IRL. I loved s1/s2 Jim Hopper and how he was written in the official book Darkness on the Edge of Town.

Here are some collected and reformatted writings I've done on Hopper and his s3 change. My fave ST character is Eleven so s3-Hop becoming so different and unenjoyable is particularly jarring for me.

s3-Hop was so different from s1/s2-Hop as to make it seem like he is a new character. Not only that, but I did not enjoy this new character who acts: * anxious * whiny * selfish * sarcastic * self-entitled * super-violent

Recall Hopper's pre-s3 history from s1, s2, and the official book Darkness on the Edge of Town: * volunteered for the military at 18 (not drafted) * 3 years combat in Vietnam, awarded Bronze Star * 2 years as a Hawkins policemen, marries, has a daughter * 6 years in New York City as a homicide detective * after his daughter dies, hits the bottle/pills, gets divorced * back in Hawkins as Chief of Police and dating women * goes into the Upside Down and literally brings Will back to life with Joyce * takes Eleven in, she runs away, they each apologize * Hop protects Eleven while she unloads at maximum to fend off the Mind Flayer and close the Gate * El goes to the Snow Ball dance and Mike comes over for 6 months to be with her (and smooch!)

Now look at s3-Hop - a very brief s3 timeline: * he's anxious, has no gravitas or authority - he gets advice from Joyce on El/Mike * the evening of s3e1, s3-Hop writes about "emotions" and how he's upset about change * Then s3-Hop continues writing wise words about life that are all read in s3e8 * AFTER writing why he's upset and these wise words, s3-Hop proceeds to act like a mega-jerk * he is gleeful when Eleven is upset that Mike is not coming over * s3-Hop bizarrely thinks whining to Joyce will make her like him * WORST OF ALL, s3-Hop does not say "daughter", "kid", "Eleven", or "El" from s3e2-s3e7

Hopper went from a mega-over-protective dad in s2 who was able to legally adopt Eleven right before the Snow Ball to a jarringly different character in s3. I can see s3-Hop making bad judgments and behaving badly but just not in this anxious/silly/immature way. Why not have him be brooding and angry? That would be consistent with s1/s2. I fear the writers wanted a whacky/silly/goofy characterization for s3-Hop so that's what we got instead.

I can not stress this point enough: Hopper went from being El's loving, protective parent to forgetting about her once he broke her and Mike apart.

At the start of s3e2, Hopper watching El being upset and storming into her room because she missed Mike, his smiling while eating cereal, and then gleefully singing while going to work is when I was broke and I thought: This is not my Hopper.

s3 Hopper and Eleven then Hopper forgets Eleven - an episodic timeline:

e1 - Hopper is anxious and unnerved by Mike visiting Eleven daily since it reduces s3-Hop's time with El e1 - Hopper lies to Mike about his Grandma being sick and then frightens him into not coming over

e2 - When Eleven is upset the next day about Mike not appearing, Hopper is joyful e2 - Note, the song played while s3-Hop is gleeful at Eleven's separation from Mike is the same one that was used when s2-Hop took El into his cabin and started cleaning it up. What a terrible ruination of a wonderful, charming moment from s2. When I hear "You Don't Mess Around with Jim" now I just think of how unhappy El was and how uncaring s3-Hop was of her feelings after he chased Mike away.

e3 - Hopper drives home drunk and enters the cabin yelling angrily only to burst in on El and Max with no Mike; s3-Hop is very happy e3 - Note, s3-Hop wrote in his letter the night before that he missed spending time with El so his accepting Max with El at the cabin is inconsistent with what he wrote.

e4 - Hop adventures with Joyce (no mention of Eleven)

e5 - Hop, Joyce, and now Alexei road trip on the way to Illinois e5 - Hop does not mention El but at the gas station Joyce is worried and calls Karen: JOY - Oh, hey, Karen, it's Joyce. Yeah, I... I'm just checking on Will. At the movies?

e6 - Alexei describes how the Russians are re-opening the Gate and Joyce quickly gets up: HOP - Where are you going? JOY - To call our children. e6 - Note, Joyce said "our children" so she is also worried for El while an indifferent Hop drinks vodka with Murray e6 - Hop calls the feds and afterwards sits down and lights a cigarette, then: JOY - So, now what? HOP - Now, we, uh... we wait. JOY - How long do we wait? HOP - As long as it takes. JOY - How can you just sit there being calm? HOP - I am not calm! JOY - Our kids are in danger! HOP - You said they were at the festival! JOY - Which is, like, ten minutes from the gate! HOP - What are you doing? Joyce? HOP - What are you doing? JOY - [she calls the feds again pressing them to hurry] e6 - Note, s3-Hop talks here (and in most of s3) with various combinations of sarcasm, exasperation, indifference, and irritation. Just hearing his tone is so unpleasant and jarringly different from s1/s2-Hop.

e7 - in the car ride home, Hopper sarcastically ridicules Joyce about her being concerned about the kids: HOP - Oh! Wait, that's right! We're on our way to rescue our children from the big, bad Fourth of July celebration! JOY - You know what, if you can't handle this, then just turn around and drop me off first. HOP - What are you gonna do? You gonna walk back to Hawkins? JOY - I will do anything if it gets me away from you!

e8 - FINALLY Hopper arrives at the Mall and holds Eleven while she drinks a soda and rests her wounded leg e8 - Inexplicably, Joyce agrees to go on a date with Hop before the climax when he disappears

Why did the Stranger Things writers change Jim Hopper so much and so negatively in s3?

I think the writers want us to enjoy (or experience in my case) a new, goofy, ha-ha, funny version of Hopper who: * can't parent a teenage girl dating a boy, * is chasing Joyce for a date and then a relationship while she is still grieving the loss of Bob, and * despite acting like a jerk "sacrifices" himself in the end.

Then, to cap the season off, we get gut punched emotionally by Eleven reading s3-Hop's letter.

The writers likely thought the viewers would fall into two groups: * s3-Hop likers who enjoy this new s3-Hop would be upset at his "death" and moved to tears by the letter * s3-Hop dislikers who were annoyed by s3-Hop would flip to likers because of his "sacrifice" and feel guilty so they are also moved to tears by the letter

But remember: the timing of s3-Hop writing the letter about emotions with sagely advice. He wrote it the end of s3e1, after getting advice from Joyce at the store and just before lying to and threatening Mike to break him up with El. I don't think the writers thought viewers would catch this since the letter is so dramatically read (awesome performances by David and Millie) way at the end of the season in s3e8 after s3-Hop disappeared.

Why did s3-Hop act so different from s1/s2 and so badly if he can write so openly and wisely in s3e1 about emotions in the letter?

Why does this dramatic character transition occur? * s1/s2-Hop - bad temper, apathetic, lackadaisical with a good heart and over-protective of Eleven * s3-Hop - anxious, whiny, sarcastic, immature, self-entitled, selfish and mocking of Joyce for worrying about the kids including El

The breaker with s3-Hop for me was his complete turn around regarding Eleven. For s3e1 his only interest was stopping Mike from coming over and taking up El's time which he wanted for himself. Once the breakup was achieved he was very happy despite El's obvious upset.

Note, after breaking up El/Mike we never see s3-Hop make Eggo extravaganzas or watch a western with Eleven like he said he yearned for in the letter. Nor does he mention it to Joyce after breaking El and Mike apart. He read El's note on the fridge and proceeded to adventure with Joyce, all the while whiny to her about wanting a relationship.

Joyce on three occasions showed concerned and called someone about "Will", "our children", and "Our kids" and finally she said to Hop "I will do anything if it gets me away from you" because of his mocking her concern. (That was my favorite line in s3! - Joyce is so awesome)

After breaking up Mike and Eleven, from e4 to e7 Hopper did not show concern or caring about his adopted daughter. It was not until s3e8 in the Mall when Hop is seen holding El while she sips a soda and later he talks to her and is loving and supportive.

Is this Jim Hopper from s2 who was an over-protective, super-loving father to Eleven? Does Mike coming over and using most of El's time turn this decorated Vietnam combat veteran, who was a 6 year NYC homicide detective and current Chief of Police into an anxious, shrill father who can't think straight?

Why not have Hopper react to wanting more time with Eleven and wanting to date Joyce like the normal s1/s2-Hop we know and love?

I blame the writers from wanting s3-Hop to have an arc from nervous/unhinged to "sacrificing himself" and then the letter being read.

I think the s3-Hop character change was done so we'd be gut punched when he "died" and then the letter was read. And there's the additional goal of getting Hopper to fit in with the "summer of love" theme of s3 with him breaking up a love pairing with El/Mike and pursuing his own love with Joyce.

But the timing of when Hop wrote the letter just doesn't make any sense because of how he acted later. Additionally, if s3-Hop can not follow the life advice he wrote down, why does he act badly in such a different way then when he acted badly in s1/s2?

Because of this extreme character change I sadly can not watch s3-Hop anymore without being upset. It's just so unbelievable and unenjoyable.

Did Sarah's death or Mike's dating Eleven or PTSD from Vietnan explain or justify Hopper's s3 change?

These items have been mentioned as possible explanations for s3-Hop being so different from s1/s2. I initially tried to use Mike dating El as an excuse for Hopper's changes but after three s3 viewings I gave up because of everything else I've written in this essay. Here are some reasons while these explanations do not work for me.

1) Sarah's death was wrapped up when Hopper and Joyce saved Will in the upside down. Hopper literally brought Will back to life, something he could not do with Sarah. This was in incredibly moving scene and the end of a powerful arc for Hopper. But the point is it was the end of the arc: Sarah's death still impacts Hopper in s2 dealing with Eleven but Sarah dying isn't a driving force for s3-Hop and how he acts. That arc wrapped up and though it guides s2-Hop, he still acts in a consistent manor. In season 3 there's no mention of Sarah making s3-Hop stressed out so that arc is not in play.

2) Mike dating Eleven and their disrespecting Hopper are certainly stresses for s3-Hop but his reaction to breaking them up is out of character. El and Mike giggle and whisper with each other. Then s3-Hop - an adult, parent, and police chief - cruelly lies to Mike that his grandma is sick and then holds him in the car and threatens him after Mike angrily used profanity. Many commenters call Mike a "little sh|t" and side with tough guy s3-Hop and his approach. It would be consistent and believable for s3-Hop to act like this at night and then the next morning to have shown some remorse or some kind of caring to Eleven. s3-Hop could have said "too bad Mike isn't coming, let's have Eggos tonight and watch a Western." But he did not say anything to El. Instead, he smiled and then happily sang in the car on the way to work.

3) PTSD does not explain s3-Hop's behavior since we never see any evidence in the show that he is having flashbacks or any issues related to Vietnam. Also, writers just can't use PTSD as a do-anything-whenever-you-want-with-a-character excuse. Not only is there no Vietnam PTSD evidence in the episodes, there are many quotes from the official book with Hopper that he does not have PTSD.

3a) In s1, s2, and s3 the words "Vietnam" and "veteran" are never spoken. The only indication of Vietnam is a box under under Hop's cabin floor that Eleven sees when she discovers the trap door. Hopper never speaks of dreams or flashbacks and there is no other indication he has PTSD from Vietnam. His divorce, drinking, and pill abuse are all from Sarah dying based on what we see in the episodes.

3b) From the official book Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town (published May 28 2019):

1984 DECEMBER 26 - 11 days after the Snow Ball Dance with Jim and El in the cabin: The truth was, Hopper realized, that he didn’t want to talk about Vietnam, not because it was a trauma or a personal demon, but because it was ancient history—but more than that, it felt like part of some other person’s life. Although he hadn’t really stopped to consider it properly, he was aware of how he had compartmentalized his past in his own mind. So, yes, Vietnam had been difficult, and he had come back changed—as most people did, of course—but it just wasn’t relevant, not anymore. That wasn’t him, not now. Because he had come to accept that there were really only two parts to his life. Before Sara. After Sara. And nothing else really mattered. Vietnam included. He just wasn’t quite sure how he was going to explain that to El. “Because,” said Hopper with a smile, “Vietnam was a long time ago. I mean, a really long time ago. And I’m not that person now.” He leaned forward on the table, resting on his elbows. “Look, I’m sorry, really. I can understand that you are curious. And I understand you want to know more about me. I’m your—” He paused. El raised an eyebrow, cocked her chin again, waiting for the response. Hopper sighed, happily. “I’m your dad, now. And yes, there is a lot you don’t know about me. Vietnam included. One day I’ll tell you about it, when you’re older.”

1977 JULY 13 - Homicide Detective Hopper in New York City: This was a support group for veterans of the Vietnam War. Hopper knew such groups existed. He knew full well that such groups were needed. That he’d come out of the war unscathed and with his marbles all where they should be was a blessing. Okay, it had changed him, and he wasn’t going to pretend that it hadn’t been difficult at times. But what the war had done to some people... He’d never felt the need to attend a meeting like this himself, but he was glad they were there for those who did feel that need.

How can Jim Hopper's portrayal recover in season 4?

First off, there is no doubt that David Harbour is returning to play Jim Hopper in season 4 (and s5 if there is one). This is David's big, career making role that is getting him award nominations/wins (the most for any adult ST actor), and he just got a huge raise (80k to 350k per episode). And, most importantly, he loves doing the show and the people in it (especially Millie).

Since what's done is done with s3-Hop, what can happen with Hopper in s4 to bring him back into a believable and enjoyable form for huge ST fans who miss s1/s2 Jim Hopper?

I am very much hoping that Hopper will dial back or eliminate his new s3 qualities, like being whiny, selfish, complaining constantly, etc. Please bring back some of his old s1/s2 strength and empathy under a grumpy exterior.

And I hope Hopper does a reset with three people:

1) Mike - Hopper needs to do more to make up to Mike than just saying "Mike, Be careful" like he did in s3e8 at the Mall. Hop should clearly say that he accepts Mike as El's boyfriend and that he knows he'll do everything possible to keep her safe. Which is actually what Mike did for all of s3 while s3-Hop was adventuring with Joyce.

2) Eleven - While the Letter explains why Hop was feeling upset (change, less time with El, etc), it does not justify how s3-Hop acted afterward when he lied and threatened Mike breaking them up. Hop needs to clearly apologize to Eleven for being selfish, immature, and inconsiderate.

3) Joyce - I hope that Hopper admits to Joyce that he acted like a jerk towards her and that he promises to be a better person in general and especially better with her. That's the only way I can make any sense out of Joyce and Hopper being any kind of couple: Hop has to own up to his terrible behavior towards Joyce and promise to be better.

The End! Sort of... :)

Well, you've read or skimmed or skipped all the way to the almost end and I thank you for taking time to look at my thoughts about Jim Hopper's portrayal in season 3. I still love Hop and think David does an incredible acting job with him in each season. I've been 100% sure he's coming back since the Duffers have bluntly said: no body = no death. So while I'm a little scared at how Hopper will be characterized in season 4, I'm also very excited to see it! Word is that season 4 will have more episodes (10, 11, 12?) than normal. Plus, the Duffers just signed a big deal with Netflix so I'm wondering if season 4 will be a semi-finale for the series and give the Duffers and the stars a break to do other stuff and then come back for a movie or a season after more ideas have percolated in the Duffers' creative minds.

So, here's looking forward to season 4 when we can see Jim Hopper evolve along with all the other great Stranger Things characters.

[xianmudelaozu]

*; OOC » SO I was rewatching the animation with my best friend while staying at her place bc my electricity was down and because I hate leaving things unfinished and also bc I was maybe trying to refresh my memory a bit for oc development reasons I continued watching where we left off.......

AND I COULDNT HELP BUT PULL OUT MY CALCULATOR AGAIN! Join me on Age/Timeline calculator road! (or skip to the bottom to read what I have come up with)

So, referencing this post of mine, we are safe to assume “it’s Year 25 when the Yiling Patriarch died. He’s been dead for 13 years which makes it the Year 38.” Easy as that. Basic Math, am I right? Cool, moving on.

Now, what I know is, that JC and WWX were about 15 when studying at Gusu, right? The study was supposed to last a year (it did for JC, but WWX got kicked out) which means JC was 16 when he returned from Gusu. At a certain flashback we hear Madam Yu’s voice claiming the boys are 16 and 17, and knowing WWX is older, it’s safe to assume it was after JC returned to Lotus Pier from Gusu. 

Then, the Archery contest, thing... stuff you know Discussion Conference happened shortly after, followed by Wen Chao feeling humiliated and the Wen Clan destroying several clans, including the burning of Gusu’s Cloud Recess and the uhm.... recruitment of the other Clan’s students and them having to turn in their swords yadda yadda.

It is save to assume there wasn’t too much time in between those happening, let it be a month maybe, but JC and WW were still 16/17 respectively. So, they get pushed around by Wen Chao, find the turtle, rest 3 days, kill the turtle, recover 7 days (?) all in the same year. We also know WWX was younger than 20 as commented by JC that he killed such a wild beast before reaching adulthood (Age 20)

Madam Yu and JFM get into a fight. JFM leaves assumed for several days, (since Yanli is there when WWX wakes up but is stated to ‘have left 2 days ago’ the night the Wen’s attack). Lotus Pier fell in a single night, meaning that was a quick defeat.

It takes Lan Xichen several months (as stated by his uncle at his return to Gusu) to gather the clans for their cause.  I guess it’s save to assume (since MXTX is like fuck timelines) That there possibly is a span of two or three months between attack on Gusu and the attack on Lotus Pier given the above statement.

WWX and JC wander for a few days before returning to Lotus Pier, where they stay for 5 days until Wen Chao’s returns. It is not stated how long it takes them to get to Baoshan Sanren’s mountain, but I’m assuming a few weeks. It is then that WWX gets attacked and thrown into the Burial Mounds.

I say, this might have all spiraled down in the span of a year, give or take a few months.

Fast forward to Sunshot Campaign starts. It is said their first attempt to take the Nightless City was unsuccessful which is why they split up and started smaller territorial battles. Now, War aint done in just a few weeks, so I guess it took a while. H O W E V E R, when Wen Chao attacks Chongyang he taunts JC and LWJ by saying he threw WWX into Burial Mounds a few days ago, so maybe it’s only been a week or two since the Sunshot Campaign started. Or Wen Chao is just a prick yknow. 

EDIT 1: I forgot, the Sunshot Campaign is said to have been taken 10 days, or rather that the Clans fought the Wen for 10 days in total, so I guess that fixes that. If we say Wen Chao threw WWX into the mountain “a few days ago”, however long that was, WWX joined somewhere in the middle of those 10 days.

EDIT 2: Season 2 literally starts with the Nightless City being stormed in Year 23 and it is said to have lasted several weeks and ends with the Fall of Wen Rouhan.

WWX joining JC back when returning to Lotus Pier. The animation flashes ‘back’ to current times after his awakening titled “16 years later” --- he died 13 years ago. So he’s been acting as the Yiling Patriarch for 3 years before he died. that is safe to assume. Also fits with Sizhui being 3 years old when he was found by LWJ after WWX died.

What else we know is that Jing Ling is 15 (edit: at the end of the story! in the beginning he’s 14, close to 15 I believe) and Sizhui is 16. which means there is a roughly 2 year gap between the bloodbath of Nightless City and the Siege of Burial Mounts where WWX died in Year 25.

EDIT 3: It is questionable if the Sunshot Campaign really lasted about a year, but we have two different time stamps. One, with the Animation showing us Wei Wuxian being thrown into Burial Mounds and rejoining JC and JYL in Lotus Pier being 16 years before his resurrection, and another with S2 opening saying The Nightless City/Wen Rouhan fell in the year 23 in a battle that lasted several weeks. 

Then again, we are told the Clans fought the Wen for 10 days which is just confusing the fuck out of me not gonna lie. How I understand it, the 10 Days/Several weeks are probably referencing the same period of time and refer to ONLY the battle of the Nightless City where Wen Rouhan fell and not the whole Sunshot Campaign. That would definitely make more sense anyway. 

So we have Year 22 with the start and year 23 with the end of the Sunshot Campaign, leaving 2 more years until WWX’s death. We know the Lanling Jin Sect enslaved the remaining Wen in the same year. (S2, EP15 mentions those events to be 15 years ago. 38-15=23). Notable things WWX did in those two years are, resurrecting Wen Ning, taking in the remnants of the Wen, punching Jiang Cheng in the face leaving the Yungmeng Jiang Sect, awakening Wen Ning’s consciousness.

The Animation notes that “the issue” at Qiongqi Path took place “one year later”. Since Jin Ling was born in November and WWX was on his way to the one month birthday anniversary, I think it is just referring to “the next year” and not directly a year later, unless of course you take into consideration Jin Ling was still 14 at the beginning of the story (which I assumed was just bc he has a late birthday in November) but he might actually been born in Year 24! Tho the evidence suggests it is at the end of Year 24 (specifically December since JL was born in November and aged 1 month) that WWX and Wen Ning are on their way to the 1-Month-Banquet and WWX loses control and kills JZX..

Edit 4: It’s later referred to again that ‘the person [that cast the curse on JZX1] has reappeared after 14 years”, so it is save to say Jin Ling was born in November of Year 24 and his father died a month later in December. Since WWX died in the Year 25 it is safe to assume, with everything taking place at the end of Year 24, he died very early in the Year 25, most likely still in January. That is, however, like most of the rambling I put in here, purely speculation and assumptions. Tho I do believe it is closer to being accurate than my first half assed attempted at trying to figure out the timeline.

That concludes the timeline/years of Mo Dao Zu Shi so far as I can tell up to the beginning of the story!

Regarding the matter of Xue Yang and XXC, I have the following theorie which is mostly just speculation and assumptions! Feel free to hash it out more or get inspired by it if you will.

NHS mentions that about 11 years prior (of the current year) the trouble at the stone castles began, which was shortly after he was appointed sect leader because Nie Mingjue died. That leads to assume NMJ died in the year 26 or 27. 

Xue Yang was imprisoned after WWX died and NMJ was still alive, so around year 25-26 (if we assume WWX died very early in January year 25 as mentioned above). Xue Yang was released AFTER NMJ died, probably in the same year (26-27) and then went on to get his revenge on Baixue Temple before returning to Lanling Jin Sect. 

He helped JGY to plot JGS's death and once that succeeded, he was captured and abused before released/escaping prison. Then, XXC and AQing found him. If we assume, this all happened until Year 27. 

During Year 27, he probably recovered from his injuries. We do not know how many years Xue Yang stayed with XXC, but it was at least 2 because he mentioned going night hunting with XXC 'two years ago', but given the fact his injuries needed to heal for several months I personally think he spend a year recovering and then started night hunting with XXC and stayed for the aforementioned two years = a total of 3 years

That would make it Year 30 - 8 years prior to WWX's resurrection - when he is found out and fights XXC and collects his shattered soul, as well as killing A-Qing

SO the only year we are explicitly given is the Year 25 when the Yiling Patriarch died and Year 23 when the Sunshot Campaign ended/Wen Rouhan died. Going from there, this is all speculations of timelines/ages unless we know the year/gap we’re given

* the happenings concerning Xue Yang, Song Lan, Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing are PURELY speculation on my part!

YEAR 20 - JC and WWX study at Gusu 

(JC Age 15, WWX Age 16)

YEAR 21 - JC returns from his 1 year trip to Gusu 

(JC: 16/ WWX: 17)

LATE YEAR 21 - EARLY YEAR 22 - Archery Competition/Discussion Conference in the Nightless City. Destruction of Cloud Recess, abduction of the Students by the Wen, death of the turtle. 

(JC about 17, WWX 18)

(- 16 years) YEAR 22 - Start of the Sunshot Campaign. WWX becomes the Yiling Patriarch/Develops Demonic Cultivation 

(JC: 17, WWX: 18) // Sizhui is born (just for reference) My heart bleeds imagining JC was just sweet 17 hot damn

(-15 years) YEAR 23 - END of the Sunshot Campaign / Death of Wen Rouhan (confirmed in S2 EP1 of the Animation), Death of Wen Ning/Resurrection as the Ghost General (S2 EP5) | JYL & JZX get married

( -14 years) LATE YEAR 24 - Jin Ling is born in November, about a month later, JZX dies on Qingqi Path / Wen Qing & Wen Ning’s execution and Bloodbath of Nightless City / JYL dies.  

(JC: 18/19, WWX: 19/20) 

Beginning of YEAR 25 - Siege of the Burial Mounds - WWX dies 

(JC: 20, WWX: 21 (deceased) | Jin Ling: 1, Sizhui: 3)

YEAR 25-26 - Massacre of Yueyang Chang Sect / Imprisonment of Xue Yang one month later -  Nie Mingjue insulting Jin Guangyao

(Speculated Age for Xiao Xingchen 17-18, Song Lan: 17-18, Xue Yang: 15-16)

YEAR 26-27 - Trouble in Nie Sect Stone Castles / Speculated death of Nie Mingjue / Release of Xue Yang / Baixue Temple Masacre /  Assumed Death of Jin Guangshan / JGY abusing XY / XY escaping prison / XXC and A-Qing finding XY in the streets

(JC: 22, WWX: Deceased | Jin Ling: 3, Sizhui: 5)

(Speculated Age for Xiao Xingchen 18, Song Lan: 18, Xue Yang: 15-16)

YEAR 28 - Xue Yang and XXC start night hunting together

YEAR 30 - Song Lan confronts Xue Yang, dies / XXC confronts Xue Yang, dies / Xue Yang kills A-Qing / Xue Yang spends 8 years trying to piece XXC’s shattered soul back together

(Speculated Age for Xiao Xingchen 22/23, Song Lan: 22/23, Xue Yang: 20)

(+13 years) YEAR 38 - WWX gets resurrected 

(JC: 33 / WWX techincally 34 | JL: 14/15, LSZ: 16)

(Speculated Age for Xiao Xingchen 30/31, Song Lan: 30/31, Xue Yang: 28)

[safflowerseason]

veep rewatch 3.01

Some New Beginnings

aka - The One With the Book Tour 

Richard! I love Richard. I love what he brought to the Veep ensemble and I love that the dumbest, purest person in the ensemble ended up as the sidekick to the other dumbest and most vile person in the ensemble. I didn’t mind that he suddenly had a doctorate in American constitutional law or whatever (it’s not like being an academic means you are a functional adult with practical life skills), and even though his rise to the presidency in S7 is patently stupid, I just love his bumbling, relentlessly positive, and super literal approach to life. Sam Richardson is great. 

“I call it Some New Beginnings because it’s plural!”

Now begins the reign of Kathleen Felix Hager, who immediately injects more life into Selina and Amy’s business wardrobes. We won’t really see the change until the next few episodes—Selina always wears a red dress in the premiere, and Amy’s at a wedding where she can’t wear a monochrome skirt-suit or a shirt-dress—but still, it’s very exciting!! And KFH does manage a slight departure with Amy’s formalwear, which has previously tended to dark colors and conservative necklines. This turquoise dress is the brightest and lightest color we’ve seen on Amy so far, and she looks stunning.

As discussed previously, I appreciate that the costume team did not feel the need to vacuum-pack a clearly post-baby Anna Chlumsky into some Spanx underneath her dress, or choose a looser dress for her to wear. The dress is very well-tailored and they’re not trying to hide anything—every newfound curve is on display. Meanwhile, Dan looks very good in his totally-not-intentional matching suit and not at all like Amy’s boyfriend. It’s not like he’s standing next to her in pictures and sharing the cost of a wedding present and making jokes about the fact that they’re basically married. What a ridiculous notion. 

Mike: See what everyone's gifting us? Some New Beginnings, Our Next American Journey. Dan: Really well written…by me. (He’s offscreen for this line, but I love this little aside…one day I’m going to write a one-shot where Dan writes Selina’s book. Ugh, Writer!Dan...so hot.)

Amy: Selina’s never been away without us this long before.  Dan: I guess this is what it’s gonna to be like when our kids go to college too, huh, sweetie?  Amy: Yeah, dream the fuck on, Dan.  Dan: You know I'm only being nice to you because I know that Selina's gonna make me the campaign manager. Dan’s version of being nice to Amy is teasing her about their future children. I cannot. This whole exchange is just too much for my heart now. (Also, what a ballsy thing to say while Amy is ostensibly dating another man. Dan must be feeling very confident in his relationship with Amy at this moment.) 

His unhinged impatience with Hughes not announcing is some neat foreshadowing that he’s going to be a terrible campaign manager. 

I enjoy Mike and Wendy’s relationship…Kathy Najimy is lovely and funny, and she and Matt Walsh have a fun chemistry. She has a kind of smooth composure to her manner that’s a good contrast with the more frenetic energy of Selina’s staff. 

I like to think part of the reason Dan snarks at Amy for not having a second phone is that he really just wants to be scheming with her at all times. 

Selina: So, these rumors, right? I'm getting Maddox. What are you getting?  Richard: I…I’m not getting a huge amount, if I'm being honest. Selina: Hey, Richard, no offense— Richard: None taken. Selina:—you’re a catastrophe.

In general, Iannucci Veep is better at marking time than Mandel Veep, but seriously…when is this wedding happening? We know it’s been two months since the S2 finale, in which both Selina and Amy appeared to be wearing clothes appropriate for mid-late D.C. spring (long sleeved dresses on both of them). So if it’s two months later, does that mean we’re in May-June? The end of June can be hot in D.C., but everyone is walking around outside dressed like it’s a pleasant spring day. Furthermore, the timeline is complicated by Episode 2, when it seems like we’re suddenly in early autumn…but also, Mike is on his honeymoon and Jonah has clearly just been fired! So WHEN is this wedding?! (Some of this confusion is obviously influenced by the uncontrollable dimensions of filming on location, such as weather…) 

Love how Ben goes straight to the minibar in Selina’s suite. 

Ben: So where’s the team?  Selina: They’re all at Mike’s wedding…I kind of miss ‘em. *phone rings* Oh, it’s just Gary, press ignore. 

Dan and Jonah’s scene in the bathroom made me actually kind of miss their DC bro antagonistic energy. I can’t believe they shared no scenes together in S7!

First mention of Bill Ericsson…considering how many political flubs/bone-headed campaign decisions Bill actually makes in the series, he doesn’t exactly live up the all-knowing ice-god of strategy reputation they give him in the beginning. (My blog is basically an anti-Bill Ericsson blog now, sorry.)

Dan: You keep a second phone there? Hypocritical…and horny.  Love Reid Scott’s eyebrow arch on this line. 

Jonah: “Team Veep goes into meltdown as Sec Def Maddox news breaks”….And upload the money shot. Sue: I hate how he learned English from pornography. 

Richard: Ma’am, if you need any help with your campaign, I'm real good in a high-pressure situation. Selina: Really? In what sense “good”? Richard: Well, I was all over that book line thing.

It is intriguing how…active Dan is in this episode compared to Amy, or to be more specific, how his actions are highlighted by the script in a way that hers are not. He manipulates Jonah to get the ball rolling on the President’s announcement, runs back to the White House to witness/further exacerbate the fallout from that, actually asks Selina to make him the campaign manager, and in general is just furiously scheming all over the place. And it’s all explicitly tied to his desire to be the campaign-manager. Meanwhile, Amy is Hendrix-texting and presumably dealing with the Maddox news in some way, but we don’t really see her doing it. This will be a trend to follow in the first half of the season…some interesting gender dimensions to trace, for sure. 

Kent: Don’t go interrupting any major sporting events! Unless it’s golf. 

Jonah: I’ll be back! I’m gonna be back as the fucking President. Jonah Ryan, 2026!  Staffer: That’s a midterms year, Jonah.  Jonah: Well then I’ll change it!

I tend to think that Jonah’s career as a politician was a Mandel-era idea, but I do wonder with this line what Iannucci’s team of writers had planned for the character, if they also saw Jonah as an actual campaigning politician rather than just representative of the scuzzy underlings who populate D.C.

If it’s day six of the book tour, it makes you wonder how long Selina has been separated from her team. In light of Amy’s comment, it’s interesting to think about the logistical ramifications of it…six days feel like a stretch for Selina to be without her full staff, especially Gary and Amy. Not to mention Dan would want to gloat on the road about the success of “his” book. Were they just all on the book tour with Selina and then flew back to DC for a quick weekend wedding break? That would explain why they all appear to arrive together, at the very least. 

“The seven foot mouth” is maybe my favorite Jonah insult of all time. 

Amy’s drunk dancing is so cute! (In contrast, it is literally impossible for me to imagine Dan drunk dancing.) 

[roominthecastle]

@imyourplusone replied to your post:

This is a great summation. Without a doubt Agnes was conceived after the gratuitous boat sex of 2.22 but I’m unclear regarding Red’s confusion. If he and Lizzy were on the run, isolated and bam! made a baby followed by enough time passing that he sees the signs of her pregnancy then why would he doubt his paternity. Who else would he suspect considering he was with Liz everyday?

The timeline established by the episodes in S3A gets obliterated by the pregnancy reveal (*) but generally speaking, in this period (starting w/ 304) Liz and Tom are in contact. Red doesn’t seem to (want to) know specifics but he knows Liz and her pathological inability to stay away from him. After Aram blurts out that Tom’s back, Red asks Liz not to reach out. She promises she won’t but they both know she is lying. bc she is. She reaches out to him behind Red’s back 3 seconds later.

They are also staying close to the PO team during most of these episodes (304-307), and Cooper keeps meeting w/ Tom, so Tom is around somewhere as well. So Liz wouldn’t have to be away for too long if they decided to hook up for a quickie (or Tom could come to her and knowing him, the deed would take like a minute or 2, tops) - Red should be aware of this, too. And these eps show that Red isn’t necessarily around her 24/7. In 304, they get separated when the Djinn grabs Liz. In 305, Red goes to meet Ressler while Liz stays in the theater. In 307, he is away interrogating and torturing for what feels like a day. There could have been other instances that we weren’t shown where - for whatever reason - he had to leave Liz alone for a while, which created an opportunity to sneak off. We know she didn’t bc they clearly establish that the first time Tom and Liz see each other since 222 is ep 307 (by making Tom remark that he barely recognized her due to her new look, so he hadn’t seen her since she went on the run) and Liz is captured the next day. But again, Red doesn’t know this for sure (imo).

And there are several reaction shots and pointed moments featuring Red getting riled up whenever the topic of Tom comes up. He knows Tom’s close-ish, he knows Liz is more than capable of going behind his back to get to him (S2 is a testament to this), and when she tells him Tom wants to meet in 307, it doesn’t come as a big surprise to Red, he doesn’t even try to talk her out of it anymore. He just throws her a “that’s not a good idea”, then leaves to tend to some business alone. He just ditches her right there and then.

So I really just went with Red’s and Liz’s behavior here, re: uncertainty. He’s jealous but does nothing to prevent Liz from seeing Tom, he doesn’t track her movements (and he’s not always w/ her), so - as far as he knows - they could have hooked up while she was on the run, and that’s a seed of doubt that’s plenty enough, imo. And it only grows right after Liz gets exonerated and immediately goes back to Tom.

We have a gap - a couple of days - btw Liz’s exoneration (310) and her return to work (311) which she likely spends with Tom, and Red likely knows this bc when she shows up at his safe house for a meet in 311, Mr. Kaplan warns her that Red’s in a bad mood - and he really is. 311 is S3A jealousy: continued. He’s distant and testy (the complete opposite of how he behaved at the end of 310). He’s worried that Tom’s pulling Liz away again and that she seems so willing to go w/ him, which can easily nurture that seed of doubt about paternity: if it’s Tom’s, if there’s no doubt about it in her mind -- and there isn’t seem to be any he can pick up on (and he would) -- then a) they did hook up and b) Liz will be even less willing to stay w/ him now. Mr. Kaplan assures him that he’s not gonna lose her no matter what happens, but now we all know where Mr. Kaplan really stood on this issue (so Tom’s continued presence was playing into her hand).

Liz seems sure about paternity and no matter how good an observer you are, you cannot exactly date time of conception based on pregnancy symptoms alone (you can be weeks off, easy), so Red really has no grounds to question her unless he wants to add insult to injury here and he is smarter than that.

+

If they slept together, they used protection which reduces the chances of conception. Red just strikes me as the kind of person who would insist on it (Tom doesn’t), but no protection is 100% effective, esp in scripted shows, so a small chance is always there and enough to feed a bit of doubt.

if the morning after Red reacted as pleasantly as he reacted to her saving him, i.e. w/ a massive wave of self-loathing and a tortured “we can never do this again” or as he reacted to her “I love you” (=silence and pretending it never happened) or a combination of the two, then he can’t even really blame her for gravitating back towards someone who is vocal about wanting her and more than willing to “do it again” while Red is stuck in this impossible, never-ending battle that grinds up any hope of raising a child regardless of whose it is.

So in 311 he just suffers semi-guardedly as usual, and despite the whole “the world’s elite crime lords are about to vote on my execution for betraying them”, it’s clear what bothers him the most:

and this tense behavior seamlessly carries over into 312 and culminates in that “I assume Tom is the father.” Red can’t even look her in the eye after that as he is trying to process it. While he may have some doubts (no protection is 100%, her symptoms emerged “within range” of their coupling) but Liz is undoubtedly back on her Tom bullshit, so Red has no other choice but to assume she hooked up w/ Tom not too long after their time together.

He keeps telling her how much she reminds him of her mother and we could see that Katarina was in the same position when she got pregnant - stuck between two men under insane pressure and (understandably) choosing to go w/ the one who had at least a chance at offering her baby a sense of normalcy and relative safety. In the present, that’s not our Red, no matter how much he wants to be a dad to that baby.

(*) eps 301-310 actually take place over ~ 10 days (continuity links them up nicely), so I don’t think they wrote those w/ any pregnancy in mind. But something changed in 311 and from 311 onward a timeline was established retroactively (stretching these 10 days on the run into 3 months, giving us lots of narrative blank space) that completely excludes Tom as the father.  There had to be some major revision happening in the background but to what end, I am not sure. Red fits in w/ this revised timeline. Tom doesn’t fit in w/ any version and I have tried them all.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh S3 Ep 25: We Finally Address the Dead Bakura in the Room

It’s been a long while guys, a long wait. We had a lot of filler. That filler ended up being just a hell ton of characters, and since the show knew they would only be filler characters, every single one of them had to die. So, now that they are all absolutely dead (at least until we’ll need more filler later) we can finally get back to what we were trying to accomplish since S2, to finish this one single tourney that has been going on for a week in the show’s timeline but about a year and a half in the timeline of anyone watching from home.

It’s finally here, we’ve finally made it to...

A tower that Kaiba really did make in just that shape.

Sometimes you can really tell that this kid is a 16 year old. (who is occasionally 18 whenever it’s necessary. But only occasionally.)

I want you to know that it was probably this image that got this post flagged from my drafts folder. This show and getting me flagged, I swear. I’ve now reached a point, that the moment I click “Save” in my drafts folder, I get an automatic flag. Just automatically. Maybe once you’re tagged enough times, they just start putting you into a special group? I dunno. I’m not concerned about it since this blog is quite kosher, it’s just kind of funny to me that this will probably continue to happen whenever I post from here on out, and the massive dick tower Kaiba made is not helping my cause.

In case you are wondering, Kaiba and Mokuba are completely over losing their only surviving family. They act as if getting trapped in a VR nightmare where your Dad is trying to control all human life is something that is completely trivial and something that everyone goes through at one point. They’re completely over it. Most people would cancel the tourney after seeing the horrors they just witnessed but...Seto still wants those God cards, so, no one has spoken a lip about Noah at all. And probably never will ever again. RIP, Noah arc.

This episode (as well as the next one, since I’ve gotten in the habit of doing these two at a time for weekend updates) is pretty short. This is mostly because they’re recapping S2. Luckily for you and I, this is not really necessary since this is a recap blog and I can just...scroll down...to see what happened in S2 (and I did have to do that because I forgot...a lot)

But, I imagine kids who started watching this show who with the Noah Season and just kinda walked into this situation aboard the blimpjet from Hell were...hella confused at all these rando characters and Egyptian curses coming out of nowhere. The Noah arc and the Real arc are like two completely different feeling arcs.

(Read more under the cut)

They were probably also super confused at this random blonde lady in the hospital who is Joey’s friend but also, if I had not actually seen this show before, I’d just assume was his own mother because she’s drawn so much older than him.

Joey and Mai are now like...basically dating. Honestly, this is probably the best relationship Mai has ever had, and it’s taken place entirely when she’s in a coma.

On the other side of the Blimp, Marik is also checking up on his own beloved coma patient -- but by checking up on him, Marik actually intends to kill him.

Still trying to kill Odion. How many times are we gonna get this guy hovering over Odion’s bed with a knife (that they leave the tip off of in the English version) ?

What follows is a bizarre scene of Marik threatening to kill his Sister but never actually doing it. Honestly, this would be them until the end of time. Marik is never going to kill his Sister. It would be too much effort. He couldn’t even kill Odion when Odion was just asleep right in front of him.

And this is probably there as a sign that Marik still has a slightly less evil side in there somewhere but also...Marik is a villain that doesn’t like actually doing the work required to be a villain, which is how that entire Noah arc happened, youknow? Everyone should be dead by now. It’s been DAYS.

Honestly this whole scene was freakin weird, but not as weird as the next scene.

That’s right, the thing I’ve been waiting for for so long. That thing I’ve brought up every freakin episode for 25 episodes. We’re finally going to talk about it. We’re finally going to address it. I can’t believe it’s actually happening, I honestly thought this wouldn’t get addressed until S5.

It is amazing how many times Yugi’s friends have walked into Yugi having a freaking melt down with himself and how many times Yugi’s friends have been absolutely cool with it. They’re just...used to this now, I guess. They’re just used to Yugi crying at the top of his lungs with the lights off in someone else’s empty room. Completely normal Yugi behavior.

And then...this happens.

For absolutely NO REASON AT ALL, Yugi decides to lie.

I mean if I had a quarter for every lie Yugi says in this show, we’d be drowning in loose change, but it still surprised me a whoooole lot that Yugi would bother to lie about THIS. This thing that you could so easily debunk. This would be so easy to catch on to. The fact that no one wonders “wait, how is he getting air if the jet is still in the sky?” or the fact that when they’re outside, getting some air later in this very episode no one wonders “wait, Bakura’s not even here?”

Like why does any of Yugi’s friends even trust him at this point? Yugi is constantly lying and he’s not even good at it.

And maybe it’s because Yugi thinks that if he says Bakura died, then everyone would get their confidence shattered by Marik and would become too weak to fight back but like...they just witnessed half of Kaiba’s family die and now Yugi thinks they can’t handle Bakura--their shadiest asshole friend--getting killed by the same serial murderer that put two other people in a coma?

He doesn’t even tell the Kaibas “hey, so Marik killed one of your duel champions, do you maybe...need to do something about that?” No. He just...lets it be. Why tell Kaiba? Why tell the guy in charge of this tournament that one of the people in your tourney killed the other tourney people? Why even threaten Moki to threaten to enforce the rules for once his life?

Yugi, I swear.

God bless the storyboarder.

It’s been a while since I praised the storyboarder, mostly because I forget, but man, seeing this pose from this angle is such a good joke. Kaiba just committing to his signature pose until the camera cuts away.

And then, they step off the blimpjet and unanimously agree that Kaiba has deffo brought them here to murder them all and hide the bodies.

Admire this hell hole and then remember that Yugi told everyone that Bakura went outside for “fresh air” and they didn’t immediately ask “you mean in the dump? The literal trash compactor that’s outside? You said Bakura just walked out into the piles of weapon’s factory and rusty sharp metal and is just...waltzing around out there?”

I mean, at this point they should have put two and two together but it’s this team so...I guess they’ll just never know the truth.

And then Joey decided it was time to fight club again.

Marik really did leap up here and go like, “man, this is SO pretty” and it’s supposed to be taken as a sign that Marik loves destruction, but honestly? I don’t think Marik has any idea what things should look like above ground in the first place. He might think this is what normal above-ground people like.

Then, Marik patiently asked Mokuba what the duel order would be and that’s when Mokuba lost his freakin gourd just out of nowhere.

I mean Mokuba doesn’t really like talking to Marik, I get that, but how much of an asshole do you have to be before Mokuba doesn’t like you?

Anyway, they all enter the tower and learn about a whole new mode of playing the game. It took a very long time, and since I don’t go over card games here, is another part of the reason why this update is mercifully short.

They go on these...elevator cars????? And, as they attack eachother they sort of get pushed to the top of the tower, and whoever gets there first, is the first to duel and so on.

They make a very big hullaboo about who they want to duel in the finals. Every single person here. We spend like 5 minutes in everyone’s head wondering about what their strategy will be in this mini game that makes really not much of a difference.

There’s not even guard rails, they could’ve just given him a little push.

I take that back, there are guard rails on these things, but because none of these people ever sit down, the guard rails that are a foot and half off the floor of their cabin will make absolutely no difference.

Like please notice that every single one of their weird duel cars has a padded seat that none of them will even use.

Overall this looks like a whole lot of dueling and I’m looking forward to skipping it. Honestly it’s nice, when was the last time I had a 25 length cap post? S1, right? Like all the way since S1. Ah, good memories.

Anyways, if you just got here, this is a list of the other recaps of this series, starting at S1 Ep1 and moving forward in chrono order.

[blackcrawford]

Why Women of Color on Supergirl Deserve Better

 There are things that need to be said about Supergirl, its fans and its treatment of women of color. Specifically black women. [I will be speaking for my Asian and Hispanic sistas as well. But as a black woman, I mostly speak about that]

Thsi interaction sparked somewhat of a reaction in me. 

Azie Tesfai (who plays Kelly Olsen in Supergirl) is a black woman.

Now with the feminist rhetoric that will always surround this show, because it was the foundation it was built on, people tend to forget that women of color exist, because the show is peak White Feminism. Up there with Taylor Swift and Pink Vagina hats. 

All of the women of color on Supergirl excluding Kelly and the Colonel, has either been some sort of villain and/or dies.

National City is supposed to be LA and apparently only had one Mexican person and four black people. 

If you’re in LA and don’t see a Mexican or a black person, it’s cause you hid in your bathroom all day. 

That’s completely irresponsible and dangerous. It’s erasure. 

All of the witches in S3 except for one was a woman of color. Which is irresponsible and dangerous. 

Alex putting a gun in that black womans face, after breaking into her home based on Kara's DREAM, while the woman had on headphones, when she hadn't even committed a crime, is literally so insensitive considering the culture we live in.

Look up Korryn Gaines. Here I did it for you. 

(http://data.baltimoresun.com/news/korryn-gaines/)

It was something out of a white supremacist wet dream. Something black and brown people all over the country have to live in fear of. 

I refuse to watch that episode ever again. Irresponsible, dangerous and blatantly racist.

Supergirl was not and has not been a show that is friendly to women of color. (I would say ask Floriana, but she isn’t even a woman of color. She just TANS. Like really? Really? They had her playing a hispanic woman and she ain’t even hispanic? Not black face, but close. Disgustingly close)

Insert Kelly. 

During a season where the subject of profiling and discrimination was the main focus. 

Coincedence?! I think so. 

I doubt the Supergirl writers did that on purpose, because they are not that smart. 

The reaction to the treatment of aliens on this fictional show was more empathetic than the actual prejudice that those considered part of the African Diaspora faced is not only repugnant, it is cognitively dissonant. 

Supergirl is a show with mostly LGBTQ+ identiying people as fans. It has a lot to do with the people who tuned in for Sanvers on S2 and S3. 

Also a lot of people who want to see Supercorp, and also Katie Mcgrath has played WLW characters in the futre. 

(Speaking of Katie Mcgrath and Lena Luthor! READ MY OTHER WRITING ABOUT SUPERGIRL and that reveal!)

( https://lenashomegirl.tumblr.com/post/185024993045/why-lena-luthor-matters-even-when-others-actions)

LGBTQ+ community members tend to be some of the most racist people in the world, while also crying about equality. 

And that isn’t seen more clear than Sanvers fans treatment of Azie Tesfai.

Calling her an “IT”, numerous times, making sure she saw it. 

The dehumanization of black women is so ingrained in the psyche of white supremacists, that they don’t even consider it white supremacy at work. They just see it, as a Twitter feud. 

I have not seen her being called the N word, but based on how y’all treated Mechad those first couple seasons, I know for a fact y’all have got that slur locked and loaded in the chamber, for them extra bored days.

 https://www.instagram.com/p/BwDb221hTsM/

Mechad spoke about this less than two months ago. All of them spoke about it. With Candice from The Flash. 

Candice not quitting is a testament of how strong black women really are. I remember when it was announced. You Neo Stanzis came out to PLAY. I was so disgusted. 

You’re not going to do this to Azie y’all. We won’t allow this to happen. I won’t allow this to happen. I don’t care if I’m fighting by myself, writing an essay a week for the next 3 seasons, I will be here like Tony Montana at the top of your tags and timelines, emptying chamber after chamber. 

If you racist fangirls suspend me, I will make another account on another computer and keep going. 

Not liking a character is completely understandable. I wanna knock Kara’s teeth out most of the time. But I don’t comment under all of Melissa’s social media posts “Hey I wanna knock your perfect teeth out”

 Y’all bullying real people. 

And I see what y’all trying to do. I’m not stupid. 

Y’all bullied the guy (Rahul Kohli) that played Jack Spheer as well. He called the fandom “toxic” and “nasty”.  And he also, called y’all “racist”

HM! All of the people of color who have white love interest on this show has had a problem with racism on this show. Almost seems as if it’s a habit as opposed to a one off comment here and there. 

Y’all got Chris Wood (Not a man of color, but a good example of the toxicity that permeates the fandom) out the paint, by bullying him till his anxiety almost killed him. He spoke about it in his livestream for his clothing line. He was talking about his dad’s undiagnosed mental illness ended up killing him and he spoke about how dangerous social media is. Him and Melissa had to shut off the comments to their own engagement announcement. 

A dangerous precedent has been set by the Supergirl fandom. 

Y’all think you can bully people, until you get your way. Until people leave. 

And y’all say “It’s not racist, if we don’t like Kelly. She’s just not right with Alex”

Why is she not right? She’s smart, she’s beautiful, she speaks to Alex in a non condescending way (Maggie was a douche. I hated her.), Alex likes her. etc. What EXACTLY is not right about Kelly? Specifically. 

“They moved too fast” Give me a break. Maggie and Alex got engaged in six months. 

You guys speak about representation and seeing yourself positively, but that all goes out the window when people of color are involved, huh? 

Black women aren’t allowed to see themselves as nothing more than yellow eyed villains in National City? 

She’s here. She broke your illusion of Supergirls predominantly white world with a few tokens and now your SICK. 

Get used to it. She’s here. 

And the KKK rallies y’all host in her mentions, ain’t gonna drive her away. 

[quintisiscanon]

This was a post that was supposed to be up 2 months ago during the hiatus. But school work and procrastination. So here it is.

My views on Scorpion S3 as a whole. Or basically after like months of hiatus and how I viewed that hell of a season. And some theories for S4B. 

Warning: this will be me talking about how I feel, so I will not mince my words. Especially since I haven’t felt that positive about this season. If you don’t want to see a negative view on this season, please don’t read this post. That is also the reason behind why I am not tagging this in the main show tag. But I do kinda hope that you can read this post with an open mind (should you choose to) and understand why myself and some other people in the fandom feel this way about this season. 

Most of this post was done in the hiatus, but the portion after the false positive point was done after S4 premiere. 

#1 Nobody is perfect (except for Ralph)

This was a point that is being shown in this season over and over again. Just think about how people were supporting Toby or Happy, Walter or Paige in the various situations. It may seem like they are perfect, and are faultless in the situations. But I honestly don’t think so. The different situations (Tim, fake marriage, false positive, loss of memory, etc) helped to show us how they would react in such situations. Sure. It is messy. I or you may not agree with what they/he/she have done. But it showed that they are not perfect, and that is an important concept to get. Because if a character is viewed as perfect, that is really dangerous.

Do remember that it is fine to think that there are things that your fav has done is problematic! You don’t have to agree fully with what has been done.

#2 So… much… drama…

This point is really ironic. What made me love about the fandom is how free from drama it was back in S2. Sure, there were small fights and issues. But there weren’t anything major. It was really peaceful as compared to the previous shows that I loved. But S3 was… eventful. Honestly speaking, I don’t think that we will get back to that level in early S2. There were so many fans defending either Toby or Happy, Walter or Paige in the various arguments. I do think that it is good to have fans that are being vocal about who they support. But I just wished that it could have been like less volatile-ish? Idk how to put this across but I wished that there were lesser chances where fans had to pick a side. But I guess that this will increase as the show has more seasons.

#3 More team scenes please?

God. This was definitely something that I hated about this season. Like there were so many situations that made it seem like the team members were on different teams. This resulted in lesser scenes of the team just being happy and enjoying stuff. Like there were really little scenes of them enjoying themselves just because they can? Sure, you can say that it is due to the situations and how there were more pressing issues to handle. But I hated how it greatly reduces the chances to see them having fun just because they want to have fun. So I just really want to see more scenes of them having fun.

#4 Fake marriage

Pretty sure I have said my piece about this scam like 2 million times but here is my final thoughts on this issue. Sure, I am a lot better about this as of right now. But it does not mean that I am okay with the idea of Walter and Happy being secretly married for like 3 seasons. I can totally understand why it had to be kept a secret. But it would have been nice for Happy to try and subtly hint Toby that it could have been better if he doesn’t propose at that point in time. Then again, she could have thought that he wouldn’t have gone through with it. (I have like a lot to talk on this matter but I am gonna cut it short.) But my main question about this even up till now is that was Happy going to cut the marriage short if Toby didn’t propose? Like say if Toby doesn’t propose in the short future, will Happy just stayed technically married to Walter while dating Toby? 

Also, I am kinda upset with how this storyline was executed. This could have been done beautifully and had so much potential. But alas, it wasn’t really executed to the best. (I will expand on this last part in point #5) As a result of this fake marriage, I was super uncomfortable with Plight At the Museum, and most of the Walter and Happy scenes later on. At least up till the S4 winter hiatus. (I don’t do the whole forgive and forget thing easily. So yeah…)

#5 False positive

I was super excited about a Quintis baby. Still am but I am very sceptical now. (which I will touch on in the S4A part later on.) Like I loved the idea of them preparing to be parents. Like they were so afraid and unsure of this whole thing and I was sure that they will definitely get through it. Then came along the reveal which was a sucker punch to my gut.

At that point in time, I didn’t feel that the false positive arc was used to divert the attention away from the fake marriage. But looking back at it now, it really felt that way. Like we were so occupied. Let’s take a look back at that period of time shall we? At that time, we had Tim and Paige dating (I think???), the fake marriage shit, false positive, Toby being an overprotective dad, Happy being worried about being a mum, and some other stuff that I cannot remember. Like they just threw this arc in front of us and pushed the fake marriage to the back. I did love the arc back then and I would have loved it even more if it wasn’t used as a distraction.

#6 The lack of repercussion and …stuff

This is mainly in relation to the fake marriage part. I hate how it has been swept under the rug immediately after the reveal of the false positive, and how Toby was just suddenly okay with Happy being married with Walter in the next ep. The small mentions of the fake marriage is nice. On the other hand, it feels like a slap that felt like just a device to create shock throughout the fandom. Like it didn’t have any lasting impact? Or even take the center stage on how it was being resolved? “But Happy was pregnant then! That surely is more important! We also got the whole lying-to-INS thing!” Dude, I get it. But the pregnancy could have happened later on at a timing where it could be fleshed out properly. It should have been done with the same level of details (or perhaps more) as Cabe’s case in S4. Imo, that was really the ideal scenario for the fake marriage. There were certain timeline issues that came with the first few eps of the season. It was really jarring and didn’t make much sense. Should Happy be pregnant by the end of S4, I hope that if there isn’t a time jump, it will make sense in S5.

Some other smaller points that doesn’t fit in other parts

I get that Happy and Toby is the side couple. We only get to see them in the garage or when it relates to Walter. I truly get it. That’s why we don’t get to see them do a lot of stuff. But I am getting really sick and tired of missing so much on them. Especially when the main couple is finally canon and we get so much details on them. (Don’t get me wrong. I am happy that they are together and for the shippers too. The shippers deserve the happiness and details. But it’s just really jarring to have so much from one couple and hardly any from the other.) Like can you believe that we only saw them hold hands once up till S3 and two times up till S4? *I might be wrong but that’s what I remembered. 

The ep that they did in remembrance of Megan was really beautiful. I still miss her lots and wished that they continued the Megan Dodd Paediatric ward but… *shrug*

Cabe stepping up and being a dad to Happy was really nice and heartwarming. Even though I still doubt that the… timing of Patrick’s jail time was innocent (I feel like it’s setting up for Cabe to be her surrogate dad), but to see Cabe there for Happy was really nice. 

The S3 Christmas episode was a god damn mess and I wished that I have the ability to erase that episode from my memory. 

If it wasn’t for the Toby and Paige convos and Sly being an adorable human being, I would have burnt Plight at the museum from my memory. Because that’s how much I hate it. (Namely the scenes in the museum.) 

Dirty Seeds Done Cheap is an amazing ep. Like I have no words that can explain how much I love that episode. 

Essentially my view on this season is that you could have taken out S3 and just have Cabe meeting and falling in love with Allie, Sly running for Alderman, Happy and Toby getting married, Walter and Paige getting together over the hiatus and start with S4. Because that’s how much S3 lack an impact on S4 and the characters were. 

I guess that’s my opinion on S3. Being a bitter person that throws shade here and there (and still do when I watch the eps now tbh.) Also, just in case you are wondering how and why I am still watching this show despite so much anger and complains, I am just kinda taking a step back from this fandom and drama. I am not as involved as before because I got kind of tired of how things are going and some personal stuff. I am just turning my brain off a lot more when I am watching this drama. At certain times, I am just viewing this season/ep/parts as if it’s an AU. I was seriously intending to stop watching after S3 concluded but I ended up missing Toby and Happy way too much so…

I didn’t manage to finish the S4 recap before hiatus ended (because way too much bitter shit that I have to delve into) so I am just going to end this post with some theories on how S4B may pan out. I am not updated on any spoilers other than the ones from BTS and official spoilers so I might totally off.

Valentines’ ep should be interesting. I am still kinda suspicious of that Mr Grey line that Happy threw out. 50 Shades is coming out on V Day this year and I heard that this is the one that the female lead gets pregnant? Probably a stretch but a pregnancy thingy may be coming this way. Or maybe more mentions of that storyline. And this is the first Valentines’ that Walter and Paige are gonna have as an official couple! So that’s gonna be fun. 

Amy is said to be a recurring character so I suppose she is gonna appear again? Or it could be a typo in the ep 13 character list. I am just really excited to see how her appearance could have an impact on Toby and Happy.

I still feel that Collins is going to have an appearance in the S4 finale. Maybe he could have gotten one of the characters again? The last two eps should be tied together as per usual so that will be interesting. (But I think Joshua Leonard is in NYC now so I am not really sure about this theory.)

No. I don’t think for a second that Flo is here to be the third wheel in the Walter and Paige relationship. I know what the Nicks said and I think it was just to stir up something in the fandom. I do think that she might become Sly’s love interest though. 

I have another crazy theory that is based on some BTS but I am not sure. Like I feel that there are conflicting information in that BTS that makes it tough for me to come to a conclusion. So I am going to keep it to myself for now. 

[love-y-o-u-3000]

Today’s topic: Dates in Sherlock and why we probably must ignore all of them (hint: cause they’re all wrong)

Seriously, it’s a mess. I am afraid that we will never figure out which year we’re currently in because we can’t. We don’t have the correct data. Because they’ve made a couple of mistakes. It happens that writers mess up from time to time. Sometimes, what looks like mistakes actually are mistakes and not hints or clues that have a deeper meaning.

What we know, for sure and it’s the only thing we know for sure is that John and Sherlock met on January 29th 2010. But what happens after then? Makes little to no sense. (Warning: this post is a bit long cause there are pics)

So 29th January 2010 > Sherlock and John meet for the first time

TBB

You see, even all the props from the casebook seem to fit the date on John’s blog (including just three but there are more)

TGG (John says “Sorry for the delay in posting” but it’s been just three days since he posted about TBB and there is no way that the entire TGG happened within three days? or?) I say, April 1st 2010 = suspicious date #1

But anyway, here we’re already done with S1, so onto S2; this blog entry, appears on screen in ASIB (AND the dates are, surprisingly enough, correct)

Several cases John has written about since then appear on screen in ASIB: The Greek Interpreter, The Speckled Blonde, Sherlock Holmes Baffled, Hat-Man and Robin

The entry Hat-man and Robin on John’s blog is dated August 12th. Then there is Aluminium Crutch which doesn’t appear on screen, but we can safely assume that it is September when John’s taken to Buckingham Palace where a naked Sherlock is waiting for him. There isn’t much to contradict John’s blog here.

So far so good, no BIG discrepancies. But then, we all know what John says on 31st December (who knows what year)

This for me and everybody else, is the first truly big WTF of the blog. It gets only messier from here. Because it’s not 2011, it’s 2010. Not that the casebook is a better source but the date on Sherlock’s phone says 31st December 2010

And another prop from the casebook also places them in year 2010 

But alright, let’s not dwell upon this, cause there’s another big ??? moment that happens on John’s blog, here

Am I supposed to believe that only three days have passed between the moment John wrote down the The Woman entry and THOB entry? Surely, it must have taken longer than that. One explanation would be that THOB happened before ASIB and John decided to write it out of order but since he mentioned Irene in the THOB article this explanation is wrong. Also, let’s remember that the same thing on John’s blog happened with TBB and TGG (only three days between the entries). And also, on a side note, 16th March is when John’s blog gets hacked.

And another thing about the THOB entry, is that NONE of the props whether those on the show or the ones in the casebook fit the date on John’s blog. All the dates are post-March 16th dates. The bill with the date 26/04/11 on it, 

The date on Sherlock’s laptop

The date on the ticket

Now, next on the list is TRF and we all know that John writes about Sherlock’s death on 16th June, which? surprise, surprise, doesn’t make any sense again, considering that, according to props, on 30th June they were just going to Dartmoor ^^^^

And, to make even a BIGGER mess out of it, the year of Sherlock’s death, if we choose to believe the year on his gravestone is 2012.

But hey, it’s supposed to be 2011 on the show, right? We’re not following John’s blog’s timeline cause that has been proven wrong already. So why 2012? Other than that, the casebook is pretty consistent and doesn’t make mistakes, but this prop must be a just mistake, just like John saying “before we go into 2012” must have been just a mistake. THOB happened in summer 2011 so if the date on Sherlock’s gravestone was correct that would mean there’d be a whole YEAR missing.

And then this; 20th April, I assume it is the very next year after Sherlock jumped. 

If we choose to ignore Sherlock’s gravestone (let’s stretch and pretend that John was too devastated to notice that someone put a wrong year on Sherlock’s gravestone, cause Sherlock isn’t really dead and therefor the gravestone was fake anyway.)

So, anyway, if we choose to ignore it, let’s say that John has written this entry in 2012, roughly idk 9-10 months after Sherlock jumped. That means, Sherlock has returned in either October or November 2012 (idk, 1,5 year after he jumped? could be, even though John said that he had been grieving for two yers). We do know it’s November in TEH cause duh Guy Fawkes and bonfires and stuff. But, let’s not forget about MHR.

MHR makes everything... worse... because you don’t say “the other day” about things that happened months ago, at least I usually don’t. SO let’s say Greg visited John in September 2012 okay. (John is already dating Mary, cause he said that he had found someone)

What we have here is a clean-shaven John Watson

But, a month later? You cannot grow such a moustache in one month... and why even would you in the first place...

Okay, this is getting long? oh my God, okay, anyway, John’s TEH entry

Fast forward to TSOT which I already talked about today but I want to have it all in one place, so... the year is 2013, at least according to Sherlock’s sheet

Now, the date on the wedding invitation says Saturday 18th May, but Sue did say that they “changed” the date later. By they I mean John and Mary, so the dates on Sherlock’s sheet might not be as wrong as they seem to be.

I am gonna skip talking about The Bloody Guardsman and The Mayfly Man cases too much, cause yeah they obviously happened at some time between the wedding and Sherlock’s return, John has written about it on 29th June and 21st July respectively.

BUT then the wedding itself... Sherlock has hacked into John’s blog on August 11th which means that, according to the blog, the wedding must have happened in August as well cause John and Mary are still on “Sex holiday/honeymoon” Also, since Mary has been already showing signs of pregnancy she must have got pregnant at least a few weeks/cca month before the wedding, let’s say July, cause this is important too.

So, we all know that, Sherlock’s TSOT entry has been the last one on John’s blog, for a very long time and it still is, in fact, they told us that John Watson is no longer updating that blog. Could be that they are too lazy to upload it OR it could be a massive clue. Who even knows anymore, not me.

Alright, so, lmao... HLV. HLV is... well, first of all, we know that Mary shoots Sherlock about a month after the wedding, cause in the beginning of HLV John says he hasn’t seen Sherlock in ages and Mary corrects him, cause it’s been just about a month.

Then, about a week later, John finds out and stops talking to Mary for a mysterious amount of months, my bet is 3-4, but that depends on when the shooting happened. And, looks like it’s Christmas! Or so they say, the weather doesn’t suggests so at all.

So, on “Christmas”

Sherlock shoots Magnussen

Then spends a week in a prison cell, according to TAB!Mycroft (but is that real? probably not but still worth a mention)

MYCROFT (gazing downwards reflectively): A week in a prison cell. I should have realised. SHERLOCK: Realised what? MYCROFT: That in your case, solitary confinement is locking you up with your worst enemy.  (x)

Still, that means, the Tarmac scene happens either very late in December or very early in January. Here, the tarmac scene, in case you forgot.

In TAB they actully leave the Tarmac Scene, but then s4 happens AND WE DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ANYMORE.

Okay, the year should be 2014. Okay, fine, makes sense I guess. But what month it is? And how come that John’s hair has grown several inches in roughly idk, let’s say four moths, is my best bet. And why is John pretending he’s writing his blog when what is on screen is just a jpg pic (and he isn’t even logged in)? This has to do with timeline as well, cause he is not supposed to be updating his blog anymore, they told us. (And I am not sure doesn’t he say on “his blog” that he’s changing diapers or something? I am really really not sure but he also says that he is going to be a dad so newsflash: that doesn’t make too much sense either)

Johns hair btw...

Anyway, given the fact that the wedding took place in summer, it should be April when Mary gives birth (despite the fact that they announced that Rosie was born in “December”)

Fast forward, the baby is a couple of months old, John has been cheating for, several weeks etc. but what month it is when Mary dies? Is it still 2014 or is it already 2015? Who knows? Nobody, there are no props with dates on it, they don’t ever directly tell us what month it is, it’s just a mess. Besides, it looks like it’s constantly either summer or autumn (I know, England, but trees aren’t supposed to have leaves all year long) All we know is that a few weeks after Mary dies John gets a new therapist and Sherlock starts obsessing over Culverton. Still looks like summer btw, which doesn’t make much sense, cause...

....only a couple of days later Sherlock says that it’s his birthday? (and they DO know that his birthday is on January 6th) I mean, given the narrative, it could be, since Rosie was probably born in April, that’s 8 months till January and there was a lot of fast forward montages so it could be. But given the weather? HOW? Unless the season/weather is stuck cause it was summer/autumn when Sherlock got shot in HLV and he’s still in coma or something and last he was outside it was looking like that ^^. Or, the writers. are inconsistent and they don’t care. Who knows.

One more date, the only date we see on screen in s4, for as far as I recall? I am NOT sure. No idea if there are any in TFP but anyway...

20th July 2014... is when The Culverton Smith Wing was opened, which only further confirms that in Sherlock’s universe it’s 2015 rn (if you try and ignore all the wrong dates that is). Rosie born in spring > fast forward through several months of TST > Mary dies > John and Sherlock don’t communicate for several weeks > it’s Sherlock’s birthday = January > Rosie at the end of TFP looks about the right age imo

TL;DR: It’s evident that Mofftiss must have made a few mistakes somewhere cause plenty of things just don’t add up at all and the dates are often wrong, not only on John’s blog but within the show as well. But, it’s not the only point of this post, so let’s consider it a recap or something. I am not trying to prove that they are lazy and forget things, like I said consider it a recap of ll that is fucky with this show.

[kiss-my-freckle]

End of S2 timeline: Part Three

We’re still on ten days, but we’re about to skip on over to eleven. Bear with me as I try to explain this because from what I’m looking at right now, I see four - maybe five timeline cue reminders. 

Timeline cue one: The 2x20 double-up 

Masik: He recorded a conversation for us last night. (2x20)

Aram: The conversation was recorded last night, so we pulled all the receipts and found a late dinner for two paid for by a Leo Andropov.

Timeline cue two: The wardrobe change

Kimberly: Hmm. Interesting look. Purposeful, but still feminine. You should try a darker shade of lipstick. I bet you could get away with a gloss. Red: Lauren, we’re going to have to forgo the makeover today. We’re in a bit of a pinch.

Pinch me, make sure I’m not dreaming. That word stuck out to me. Straight from this dialogue about Liz’s look, to the car with Red. Between the car to the memorial, an entire night passed. Two timeline cues here. First, that wardrobe change cue from Dr. Kimberly. Even Karakurt pulls a wardrobe change and gives himself a makeover. 

Eleven days. 

Now I’m gonna add Aram’s timeline regarding the college student. 

Aram: Bethesda General sent tissue samples to the CDC a few days ago. A suspicious death of a college student. The Center’s just starting an investigation.

Since 2x20, two days have passed, so this was three days ago. A few days can be as low as two. This was three. 

The morning of 2x20, the student was infected.

The morning of 2x21, Tom and Liz at the diner. 

The morning of 2x21, the Orea memorial. 

Timeline cue three: Tom’s dinner reservation

Second tell, what you see after Liz infects the senator. Back to Tom’s voicemail, now leading us to Tom being at the the diner, waiting on Liz to join him. 

Tom: So I wanted to see if you would join me for dinner tomorrow. Uh, I made a reservation at 7:00 at this great little place on the corner of 32nd and M.

By the way, I consider this dialogue and Red’s 24 hour reminder after Liz’s escape as a double-up dialogue. Both proving only one day/one night had passed.

A focus on this reservation, and I focus on this for a reason. It’s the timing. How you view this is how you view this, but perhaps you’ll share your opinions with me. The reservation was made for 7:00, and Tom didn’t call Liz back to warn her of a time change. To me, 7:00 am is breakfast. 7:00 pm is dinner. So here, I expect this to be 7:00 pm. Tom made dinner reservations. 

There isn’t much left. Red meets with Anton Velov. They continue blood testing everyone who attended the memorial, and a lot of people attended, so I expect that to take time. Then we’re given Red’s dialogue when he realizes Liz was set up. 

Eleven days.

2x22 -

Liz: I’m being framed. Red: Yes, and by the end of the day, they’ll identify you by name. Liz: Anyone could have infected Hawkins. He must have shaken dozens of hands at that memorial. Red: [[Within hours]], they will all have tested negative for the virus.

I don't know whether or not I add Red’s estimation on how long it will take for the tests to come back negative. “Within hours.” Even two hours would then take us to 9:00 pm. And we tack on more time with the next section of scene, Liz being blood tested and interrogated. 

Interrogator: You left the Orea building minutes before it was bombed. Liz: Yes, and so did my partner! At no point was I ever anywhere near that truck! Interrogator: Maybe not that morning, but your partial prints were on the device.

Maybe not THAT morning. Yet another timeline cue: That’s four. Those three mornings: The college student in 2x20, the diner in 2x21, the memorial in 2x21. Back to 2x21 when they first meet the Orea agents. They show Karakurt setting up the truck bomb, inserting a phone in the car charger. The bomb would’ve been placed the morning of Liz and Tom at the diner, so it was the second morning. 

Their interrogation is longer, but I don’t feel like adding the dialogue. How long would it have taken, Liz’s blood test and interrogation? Because we’re digging into 9:00 pm. Her escape from the Post Office takes 60 seconds, so that’s not a problem. Your opinions on this section of timeline. Because if we take it to 9:00 pm and so much as add an hour for it, we’re then at 10:00 pm. 

I’m not sold on these interrogators being in the Cabal, but rather seeing what the Cabal wants them to. What I don’t understand, is how they can explain a print surviving that bomb blast. Perhaps part of the phone or the car charger, idk. And maybe the Cabal actually planted Liz’s prints to better sell it.

Timeline cue five: Back to Liz being infected

Liz escapes the post office, and we get that final timeline dialogue. Red basically confirming that only one day/one night had passed since the Orea bombing. You can see daylight through the windows. There’s no way that’s 9:00 pm, but perhaps I’m wrong? Anyway. Cooper, Red, and Liz trying to figure out how they infected her with the virus. 

Liz: How could I possibly be carrying the virus that killed Hawkins? Red: Infecting you is not something they’d leave to chance. They want you alone, isolated. In the last 24 hours, what was out of the ordinary? When did you change your plans, make a diversion? Cooper: Union Station. Liz: Coming out of the tunnel, I was chasing Karakurt. He blindsided me. Cooper: To infect you. Liz: We need to pull the security tapes at Union Station. If we can find footage of Karakurt, maybe we can prove they infected me.

"In the last 24 hours ..."

Liz and Cooper just placed her attack at Union Station as being a diversion they made in the last 24 hours. We are at eleven days. Her attack at Union Station was ten days. Now, depending on the deal with the dinner reservation, we’re fine. The issue I have with it is this: If the dinner reservation was for 7:00 pm, and a night actually passed, then this conversation just deleted an entire night. And if it’s 7:00 am, why on earth would Tom call it dinner? Then I consider mirror scenes in The Blacklist lately. Alternate views. Because when we’re in this conversation with Red, Cooper, and Liz ... that’s when Tom decides to call her. 

Dembe: He’s insisting. Red: Yes? Tom: Where’s Liz? I can’t reach her. Red: I can’t help you with that. Tom: I can keep her safe. I can help her disappear. Red: Your assistance is not necessary.  Liz: Who was that? Red: Tom. Tom is calling to take you away, start a new life with a new identity. But if you run now before clearing your name, there is no place you can go where they won’t find you. Face this - now, fight it, and you’ll be free to make any choice you want.

Tom’s wardrobe change comes off normal to me. If the dinner reservation was at 7:00 and we dipped into 9:00, there’s no reason for Tom to wait on Liz for two hours. What I don’t get, is the amount of daylight for 9:00 pm. And here’s where it gets even more messed up. Let’s say Tom was referring to 7:00 am. His breakfast is dinner. Okay, fine. We dip into 9:00 am with all of those blood tests coming back negative. We even have Liz interrogated. Add so much as five hours if you want. That would dip us into 2:00 pm. Liz heads to Union Station to grab the tapes. That would’ve been quick, she was a wanted fugitive on the run. She has a short conversation with Cooper about his medical condition. From there, she went to Anton Velov. Answers about her mother. And Andropov’s location. Anton was quick since he wasn’t all that helpful. From there, back to Red, upset that he silenced Anton. Liz and Red wouldn’t have taken long, she told him she could do this on her own. From there, to Tom’s boat looking for help, which didn’t take much convincing. Then off to Andropov’s safehouse. That was quick because they had to chase him. Off to Andopov’s shooting. Now that wouldn’t take long, Tom had a fast blue car. Then back to Tom’s boat. Now it’s supposedly night time, but it’s actually not. Whether am or pm I choose, there’s far too much daylight. So here’s where I land. One additional timeline to show you where I place THAT night. 

What "evening" on the boat? 

Breakfast has to be dinner. There’s no way Liz is talking to Cooper outside Union Station in broad daylight at 9:00 pm, and that’s not including her blood test and interrogation. They run it from 7:00 am, have her making all these stops, and who cares whether it’s daylight when they’re back on Tom’s boat. 

After all, Tom did speak of making crappy pancakes -

Tom: I know you’re going through a bad breakup. But from what I heard, the guy’s a total loser. Couldn’t cook, made crappy pancakes.

I know this may seem like a strange side-by-side, but bear with me. Notice Liz waking on Tom’s boat, what the tv reporter states. They’re not specific to hour. 

Reporter: At [[this hour]], police continue their search for FBI Agent Elizabeth Keen, who authorities have named a person of interest in the death of Senator Clifford Hawk.

No worries. Connolly’s gonna do that for us. She leaves Tom’s boat and heads to see him once she learns Cooper’s doctor is on Andropov’s flashdrive. 

Connolly: Look around. [Yes, look around.] Why do you think I’m here? There’s a banquet [[tonight]], fraternal order of police. I’m the keynote speaker. [[Four hours from now]], I’m going to be on that stage, announcing that my office has secured an indictment against the members of a rogue task force. 

What I’m not going to believe, is that Liz woke up in the morning on Tom’s boat after a night of sex, then four hours from that moment of wake-up, it was night again - according to Connolly’s dialogue. In the opposite of that, I’m not going to believe Tom made dinner reservations at 7:00 pm, and four hours later, Connolly would be announcing a rogue task force at a banquet. That dips them into 11:00 pm lol. Four hours added to 2 pm would be 6 pm. That’s if Liz’s blood test and interrogation took five hours. Add hours however you like. There were a lot of people at that memorial to be tested. I only chose to add two because Red handed me a plural noun. So let me explain my theory on this side-by-side. 

After Andropov gets shot, Liz gets knocked out and taken for her memory wipe session with Krilov. She didn’t sleep on Tom’s boat, she was made to believe she did. When she wakes, it’s because Krilov’s nurse injects her and leaves. Again, Ressler’s dialogue. “Damn it, Liz, wake up.” Wake up? She never slept. Still high on Krilov drugs just as Ressler was for his, she heads to see Connolly. There was to be a banquet that night. That’s THE night. They never hit those “four hours from now” because Liz shot him. So basically, Liz went from having her memory wiped, to shooting Connolly while still doped up on Krilov drugs, then spent the night asleep on Red’s shoulder - where she actually felt safe. 

[chocolatequeennk]

Time is Still A-Flying, recap

This is part two of my recap posts as we get ready for Forever and Never Apart on Tuesday. You can read the To Make Much of Time recap here.

Time is Still A-Flying

Ten x Rose, series 3 with Rose. Rated Teen.

AO3 | FF.net | Teaspoon | Tumblr

Summary: With a bond and a promise of forever, the Doctor and Rose have managed to escape the trap set for them in Torchwood. But Time is not yet done with them. The Master is still in London and Election Day draws ever closer. He’s tried to separate them once; will they survive a second attempt? Part 3 of Being to Timelessness; sequel to To Make Much of Time (AO3 | FF.net | Teaspoon)

From chapter 4:

“I’ve been wondering something, Doctor,” Rose said. “How come the huon particles in me didn’t… buzz or whatever like Donna’s did?”

The Doctor poured more wine for both them, then settled back against the hearth again. “Well, yours are actually part of your biology,” he explained. “The part of the TARDIS she left behind in you.”

“Right…”

“Think about it this way. You’ve got iron running through your entire body, in your blood. But when someone holds a magnet up to you, do you notice?”

“I do now.”

The Doctor laughed and tickled Rose. “Before you changed, cheeky minx.”

“So, it’s like the difference between the iron in my blood and wearing jewellery with iron in it? Donna was just… wearing huon particles like an accessory.”

“Exactly!”

Rose having huon particles in her body like this is something that will come up again later. Stay tuned...

From chapter 6:

“Rose, when I met you, I was broken and alone. From the moment I took your hand in that basement—oh, such a long time ago—you helped fill up the loneliness and teach me how to live again.

“Falling in love with you was as inevitable as it was unexpected. I was…” His voice faltered, and he cleared his throat before continuing. “I was terrified by how much I needed you in my life. One fragile human, holding the hearts of the last Time Lord. What would happen when I lost you?

“I tried to run, and I tried to send you away. Today, I promise I won’t do either ever again. As our hands are now bound together by cloth, so also will our lives by joined by Time. Your future is my future, from now until forever.”

Rose blinked back a few more tears, then swallowed and smiled up at him. Until she’d listened to him, she’d still been unsure of what to say, but now the words came easily.

“Doctor, when I met you, I was lost. My life was nothing more than work, chips, and evenings at the pub. I knew I wanted more, but everyone around me said it was impossible. Then you took my hand and pulled me into your mad life, and I’ve never looked back—not even when you tried to send me away.”

She raised an eyebrow, and the Doctor smiled sheepishly.

“From our very first date, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life travelling with you. Then I fell in love with you, and I wanted to spend forever with you… travelling was an added bonus.

“I promised you forever before we knew how close to the truth that was.” She paused for a moment, then said, “Doctor, I’m never gonna willingly leave you—you’re stuck with me.”

“Stuck with you, Rose Tyler?” the Doctor said, his voice rough. “That’s not so bad.”

[...]

He placed his hands on her temples, and Rose mirrored him. This is the last time we’ll need to be touching to go into each other’s minds, he told her. Last chance to change your mind—there’s no going back after this.

Don’t want to go back. I just want to go forward, with you, forever.

The Doctor’s hands trembled on her temples. I love you, he told her fervently, then took a deep breath to get control over his emotions. Completing a marriage bond requires a third telepathic presence. Normally this would be the officiant, but the TARDIS will facilitate for us.

The presence of the TARDIS strengthened until Rose felt like the time ship was holding both her mind and the Doctor’s safely in her hands.

That’s it exactly, Rose.

Rose felt the Doctor weaving his mind around hers, and she followed his example, as best as she could. He and the TARDIS helped when she wasn’t sure what to do, guiding her until she knew, intuitively, that there was only one step remaining.

The Doctor hovered over the telepathic centre of her mind, and with the TARDIS’ help, Rose found the matching place in his. She looked to him, waiting for a cue as to what to do next, and to her surprise, a third set of vows followed.

I take you as my bond mate, sharing my life, my mind, and all I am with you. I promise never to lie to you, and to be true to our bond through regeneration after regeneration, until we are finally parted by death.

The words came easily to Rose. I take you as my bond mate, sharing my life, my mind, and all I am with you. I promise never to lie to you, and to be true to our bond through regeneration after regeneration, until we are finally parted by death.

She could feel his deep joy and a pleasure that went far beyond happiness, and then he said, Now, Rose.

With the TARDIS’ help, she pressed into the telepathic centre of his mind, feeling him do the same thing in hers. The awareness of him that their bond had given her flared and deepened. She knew more than how he was feeling or what he was thinking; she knew him.

Yes. Oh, Rose. You are my forever.

This is one of the biggest differences between TISAF and most S3 rewrites. Typically, the Doctor and Rose spend series three working through the remaining issues keeping them apart, and the story ends with them fully committed to each other in a romantic relationship. But since I wrote that into an S2 rewrite (and also, my headcanon is that most of that happened in S2 even in canon), in my S3 rewrite, they’re together right from the beginning. It makes a big difference several times in how things play out, not the least of which is the way it completely eliminates Martha’s crush on the Doctor. Having an actual wedding wasn’t necessary for those changes, but I really wanted to go whole hog and have them married throughout this whole story.

From chapter 9:

The Master paused the streaming radio on his laptop.

[...]

So, the Doctor and Rose had met Martha Jones. It was time to put his next piece into play.

He picked up his phone and dialled a familiar number. “Lady Thaw?” he said when the woman picked up. “Harold Saxon here. I wondered if Miss Jones had given you a final guest list for tomorrow’s gala event.”

When Lady Thaw told him that no, she didn’t expect the list until the morning, his politician’s smile spread across his face. “Then I wonder if it would be possible to have you add two more names to the list when you see it—as a personal favour to me. An old school friend of mine will be in town tomorrow with his wife, and I know they’d be fascinated with Professor Lazarus’ work.”

Lady Thaw was always willing to oblige Mr. Saxon in anything he wished, of course. “Excellent. Their names are the Doctor and Rose Tyler. No, not Doctor Tyler. His wife is Rose Tyler, but he is just the Doctor.” The Master’s smile turned sharklike. “It’s an old nickname that’s stuck, I’m afraid. You should hear what he calls me.”

The whole notion of the Master in the background of S3, pulling all the strings, was really fun to play with. Having him put the Doctor and Rose’s names on the invitation list for Lazarus’ gala just gave the story a little twist.

From chapter 14:

[The Doctor] ground his teeth, and pain exploded behind his right eye, through the temple area, and down into the jaw. “Because I deserve to be punished! I destroyed two races, Rose, on top of the dozens of civilisations the War had already damaged irreparably. Nothing can undo that.”

Rose was quiet for a several minutes. The Doctor could tell she was deep in thought, but his own mind was too frazzled for him to be able to pick up on her train of thought

When she finally spoke, she said the last thing he’d expected her to say. “You’re right.”

“What?” Rose wasn’t supposed to agree with his self-condemnation. She was the one who always tried to get him to see the good in himself.

“You’re right,” she repeated. “Nothing can undo it. Your planet is gone, and your people with it.”

The Doctor flinched away from her, curling himself into the corner of the couch. Hearing the harsh truth from her lips prodded at the ache lodged in his chest that he’d been trying to ignore since he’d ended the War. “Rose, please…” he whispered.

But she was relentless. “I can’t imagine what it must have felt like, to look at the destruction both sides were causing and know it was a choice between the end of the War, or the end of the universe.”

The memory of that moment was still crystal clear in the Doctor’s mind, however. He’d felt the timelines converging for months—years even—until there had been only two possible endings to the War.

He’d tried so hard to find another way. His eighth incarnation had fought on the front lines, becoming a warrior instead of the Doctor he’d claimed to be. But when the Daleks broke through the sky trenches and Arcadia fell, he’d known there was no other way. Breaking into the archives was easy. Using the Moment… was not.

His eyes grew hot, and the Doctor felt a tear streak down his face. He wiped it away impatiently, but another followed, and another, until sobs shook his body.

Rose reached for him then, and despite his hurt confusion, he let her guide him until they were both lying down on the couch. She offered the comfort then that she’d withheld earlier, and he sank into the solace their bond provided, leaning on her strength.

His tears slowed gradually, and as they did, he realised Rose was whispering words of comfort and apology as she rubbed his back. He pulled back enough to look at her face, noticing the damp spot his tears had left on her shirt as he did so.

Rose was biting her lip and there were tears in her own eyes. “I’m sorry,” she said, answering his unspoken question. “But I just thought… had you ever let yourself grieve, Doctor?”

A sharp retort sprung to his lips—of course he’d grieved. But his scratchy eyes and sore throat gave him pause. Had he ever allowed himself the release of tears?

She nodded. “That’s what I thought. An’ it’s not good to just hold all that in for so long. It was time to let it go, Doctor.”

This scene is so important. One of the reasons I ship the Doctor and Rose so hard is because I truly believe they are better together than they are apart. A big part of that for the Doctor is the way Rose helps him deal with his grief and guilt over the end of the Time War. She fell in love with him when he was still scarred and grieving, but that doesn’t mean she wants him to stay that way. 

From chapter 18:

Rose looked over his shoulder at the empty platform where Dalek Caan had been controlling the hybrids. “He’s falling through Time, Doctor. And he won’t escape unscathed.”

“Emergency temporal shift,” the Doctor told her. “It’s a rubbish way to travel, really—who knows where he’ll end up, or what it’ll do to him?”

Rose nodded absently. “It won’t be just his body this time though, Doctor,” she said. “It’s gonna tear his mind apart.”

The Doctor repressed a shiver. He could feel the timelines flowing around them, and he knew Dalek Caan had reminded Rose of something she’d seen when she was Bad Wolf. With an effort, he held back his questions—he didn’t really want to know how the last Dalek would play into their lives.

This gets back to the notion, established in that scene at the very end of TMMOT, that Rose’s time sense is occasionally more acute than the Doctor’s. There are key moments in their life together that she will feel more strongly when they happen. It’s a plot device I’ve tried not to overuse, but it’s something that makes a lot of sense to me since she literally saw all of time when she was Bad Wolf. And this is the first time it’s really used in the story.

From chapter 21:

The Doctor didn’t say a word as he sent the TARDIS into the Vortex. Rose tamped down her own building anger as best as she could; at least one of them should remain calm.

[...]

“And what’s your excuse for that stunt in the cathedral?” he asked, his voice biting.

“You said you needed to get Lazarus into the bell tower.”

“But I didn’t say I wanted you to act as bait!”

Rose took a deep breath and blew it out her nose. “Did you have another plan to get him up there?” she asked calmly.

The Doctor paced in front of their bed in his black trousers and unbuttoned dress shirt. “No,” he admitted finally, running his hand through his hair. 

[...]

“You promised you wouldn’t send me away again. Didn’t you mean it?”

His anger faded, and he ran his hands wearily over his face. “Yeah,” he said, his voice hoarse.

Rose walked towards him slowly until they were standing face to face, about three feet apart. “What’s this really about, Doctor?”

His hands dropped to his sides, and he sagged in defeat. “I just want to keep you safe.”

“We stick together as much as possible to keep each other safe, don’t we?” Rose watched his face, and when she thought he was softening, she reached for his hand. “And we don’t just stand aside watching when people are in trouble; we help.”

“I know,” he groaned, “but if you were hurt…”

“Says the man I’ve found unconscious three times this week,” Rose retorted. “Are you going to stop running into dangerous situations?”

He sighed. “No.”

“Then you can’t expect me to.”

“Expect, no,” he agreed. “Wish for…”

Rose chuckled wryly. “I know the feeling.”

The Doctor nodded, and she thought she’d finally made her point. He took her hand, and she went willingly into his arms, breathing in the comforting honey scent of his skin.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered in her ear.

Rose pressed a kiss to his collarbone. “You’re forgiven.” She rested her cheek against his chest, considering her next words. “Can I tell you a secret?” she asked.

“Of course,” he said.

“I always feel safest when I’m with you.” His surprise rippled across their bond, and Rose tightened her arms around his waist. “Always,” she repeated firmly.

“But… why? How?” he asked. “I don’t try to find trouble, but somehow it seems like almost every trip ends in danger. How could you possibly feel safe with me?”

Rose took a half step back so she could look him in the eye. “Because you’re brilliant. When we’re in those situations, I know that if we’re going to get out of it, it’ll probably be because you figured out the magic secret that’ll solve everything.”

“Only if you haven’t figured it out first,” the Doctor interjected. “You don’t give yourself enough credit, Rose—you’re brilliant too.”

“About time you noticed,” Rose said cheekily. “I’ve been saving your life since day one, and don’t you forget it.”

A small smile finally crept across his face. “How could I? A pink and yellow girl swings into my life on a chain, taking out the bad guys and sweeping me off my feet in one move. That’s not something I’ll ever forget.”

Rose undid the Doctor’s cufflinks and slid the shirt off his shoulders. “I also feel safe when I’m with you because… because you love me,” she said quietly. “I know you’ll always protect me if you can.” She tossed the shirt onto the bed, then pulled his vest over his head and threw that into the laundry. “Don’t you feel safe with me for the same reason?”

“Of course I do,” he said, his sincerity and conviction easing the little doubt she’d had.

Rose hung the Doctor’s shirt up in the wardrobe, then walked back to him and turned her back to him. He silently unzipped her dress, and that was soon hanging up as well.

“Then are you going to yell at me the next time I follow you into something dangerous?” Rose asked.

“No,” he promised.

It was part of his wedding vows, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. He’ll always hate watching Rose run into danger, and this will probably cause tension in their relationship occasionally for their entire lives. But this time, Rose really needed to lay it all out for him--why it wasn’t right for him to act like that, how hypocritical it is, and how wrong he is overall. 

From chapter 28:

John led Rose around the floor, loving the effortless way she moved. She smiled up at him, the beautiful, teasing smile that meant she had something up her sleeve.

“Do you remember how you asked me to dance, the very first time?” she asked in answer to his raised eyebrow.

He groaned, and a flush crept up the back of his neck. “That was not one of my better moments.”

“I don’t know,” she drawled. “When the gorgeous man who’s just saved your entire neighbourhood walks up to you, holds out his hand, asks you to dance, and then adds, ‘I’ve got the moves, but I wouldn’t want to boast,’ it makes an impression.”

Even two years later, John couldn’t fathom what had made him say something so audacious. “I suppose you did agree to dance with me, even after that ridiculous comment.”

Rose’s fingers played with the hair curling at the nape of his neck. “Well, to be honest, I’d been watching you for a while, hoping you might say something.”

John nearly stopped in the middle of the dance floor. “You what?” he said, his voice embarrassingly close to a squeak.

The natural pink in her cheeks deepened a little. “Yeah… I don’t know if you remember, but I was there that day—the day of the accident at the factory. I watched you and Captain Jack get everyone out before the fumes were too dangerous, and then take the chemicals into that abandoned hospital. We could hear the explosion where we waited, down by the river, and until the two of you showed up, we didn’t know if you were safe. You were… incredible, John.”

John gaped down at his Rose. “Well, as long as we’re sharing secrets,” he said, “I saw you that day too. Helping that boy who was looking for his mummy? You were so kind and gentle with him. So I found out your name and then wrangled an introduction that evening so I could dance with you.”

Rose ducked closer to him and hid her blushing face against his chest. John’s arms tightened around her, heedless of the raised eyebrows their embrace was garnering. He bent his head so his lips were nearly touching her ear and whispered, “I fell in love with you the moment you took my hand.”

The hand he held flexed, and he felt her sigh. “So did I.”

Perhaps this isn’t crucial to the overall plot, but the Human Nature arc is my favourite part of this whole story and I had to share something from it. I love this snippet from the dance, before the Family interrupts their romantic happiness. It was so much fun coming up with an AU version of their “how we met” story that the TARDIS could have given them. 

From chapter 30:

Timothy looked at the Doctor and Rose, and something in his gaze made the hairs stand up on the back of the Doctor’s neck. “The Doctor and Rose Tyler,” he said in a distant voice. “Together, you burn at the centre of time and can see the turn of the universe. Even when the Wolf is silenced, your story will not be over.” His gaze sharpened. “You are… forever.”

The couple shared a startled glance. Neither of them had ever told anyone else about that word. “Timothy, you are brilliant,” the Doctor said sincerely. Rose gave him a hug, then joined Martha inside. “You’ll like this bit,” the Doctor told Tim, wishing he could see the look on the lad’s face when the ship dematerialised.

Rose watched the Doctor as he took the TARDIS into the vortex. The faint lines around his eyes and mouth and the tension in his body matched the anxiety he was projecting over the bond, and once he threw the dematerialisation lever, she took his hand and encouraged him to sit with her in the jump seat.

“What do you think Tim meant, about me being silenced?” she asked.

He sighed and ran a hand through his damp hair. “I honestly don’t have a clue, Rose,” he told her. “Last night, before I faced the Family, he asked if I could hear you, howling for your mate. I told him the truth—I can always hear you.”

Rose pulled her sonic out of her pocket and after adjusting the settings, pointed it at the Doctor to dry him off. “Do you think something’s going to happen, and you won’t be able to?”

“Not possible,” the Doctor said flatly. “If even changing species couldn’t get rid of our bond, nothing can.”

Oh, Doctor. You should know better than to declare something so definitively.

From chapter 32:

[The Doctor] followed her into their room and turned down the covers while she fumbled through undressing as though she’d been up for two full, busy days. “How long have you felt like this, Rose?” he asked when she slowly pulled a nightgown over her head.

“Hmmm? Felt like what?” she asked as she crawled under the covers.

Real concern knit his brow then, but Rose was asleep before he could clarify the question. He fingered his sonic screwdriver and eventually did the most basic scan possible. It cleared the worst of his fears, and reassured that she wasn’t suffering from some fatal disease, he was able to strip out of his own clothes and stretch out beside her.

Normally, even in her sleep Rose would sense him joining her in bed and curl up against him, but tonight, she didn’t move. Wanting her to rest, the Doctor contented himself with taking her hand.

He sighed as he stared at up the boring ceiling. Stuck on Earth yet again, and judging by the information he had, it looked like they’d be here for a few months. Even though the transcript and photos didn’t confirm that the TARDIS found them, the Doctor had no doubt that the plan worked. Or would work. He rubbed at his forehead; tenses in time travel could be a real headache.

And all that would only be a minor inconvenience if it wasn’t becoming apparent that Rose was ill. The Doctor’s big Time Lord brain could occasionally be a curse, rather than a blessing, and tonight was one of those times, as he lay awake and pondered all the alien diseases she might have.

[...]

Rose groaned and rolled over when the sunlight hit her face, pulling the duvet over her head. She’d been asleep for… eight hours, she figured, but she felt like she hadn’t slept a wink.

“Rose?” the Doctor said. “How are you feeling, love?”

“Like I’ve been run over by a lorry,” Rose grumbled. “Lemme sleep.”

To her displeasure, he pulled the duvet out of her fingers and down over her face. “I wish I could, Rose, but I’m getting worried about how tired you are. I’d like to do some scans with the sonic, if that’s all right with you.”

[...]

The Doctor glanced at the sonic screwdriver, and his eyes widened. “Oh. Well. Oh. I guess that does make some sense.”

“What? What makes sense?” She peered over the Doctor’s shoulder, but couldn’t make heads nor tails of the results. “It’s decade lag, isn’t it?”

“In a manner of speaking,” the Doctor said, typically vague. “It’s the TARDIS.”

“What do you mean, it’s the TARDIS? She isn’t here.”

“And that’s the problem,” the Doctor agreed. “You and her… I have a feeling you’re more connected than she’s ever let on.”

Rose rubbed at her forehead. “Please, Doctor, just explain it to me. I’m too tired to follow your cryptic rambling today.” She felt badly when his shoulders slumped, but he was making her nervous and she just wanted to go back to sleep.

“Well. Remember when we met Donna? Or rather, why we met Donna?”

Almost a year had passed, but Rose quickly figured out what he meant. “You mean, the… hu— huon particles?”

“That’s right. Yours came from the heart of the TARDIS, and as long as you’re somewhat close to her, she helps hold them in stasis. When you aren’t together…”

Rose’s mouth went dry. “Doctor! You told Donna huon particles were deadly!”

“Oh no, love.”

The Doctor sent a wave of reassurance over the bond. After Rose relaxed, she realised the Doctor would have been much more upset if her life were at stake.

“Okay, so what is it then?”

“Huon particles take a tremendous amount of energy to maintain. When we’re at home, or at least close to her, the TARDIS lends you some of her energy. Without her…”

“I’m having to do all the work myself,” Rose finished. She sank back into her pillows. “So does that mean I’ll be tied to the TARDIS for the rest of my life? Not that I ever plan to leave, but what would happen if we were separated somehow?”

The Doctor nodded soberly. “I think we’re about to find out exactly what would happen.”

There are lots of reasons I decided to do this. The first is that it’s always a good idea to add a cost when you give a character extra-human power or knowledge. It keeps you from just using the power willy-nilly.

More specific to the story, I wanted a Rose-centric story for 1969. And I wanted a Rose-centric story where her personality would lead her to make a mistake. You know Rose Tyler. Do you think she’s going to listen to medical advice and take it easy for three whole months? No. She pushes herself past her endurance and ends up very sick with the flu... in 1969, before anti-viral meds. And with no access to the TARDIS.

From chapter 41:

[The Doctor] took a deep breath through his nose and tried to get himself under control. “Master, just calm down. Just look at what you’re doing. Just stop. If you could see yourself—”

“Oh, do excuse me,” the Master said to the television cameramen who were still filming. “Little bit of personal business. Back in a minute.” He looked at the guards holding the Doctor down. “Let him go.”

They shoved the Doctor down onto the floor. He pushed himself up and looked at the Master. “It’s that sound. The sound in your head. What if I could help?”

“Oh, how to shut him up?” The Master rolled his eyes and mimed talking with his hand. “I know!” He grinned widely and gestured to someone in the back of the room.

The Doctor heard a brief scuffle, and that combined with the sudden anger from Rose told him exactly what had happened. He tried to reach for her when she was pushed to the front of the room, but the guards grabbed his hands and held them behind his back.

“Did you really think I would let Rose Tyler go free?” The Master shook his head and tsked. “It’s been too long since we’ve seen each other, if you could misjudge me so badly. I’ve got your bond mate, Doctor. Your little human-Time Lord hybrid.” He twirled his laser screwdriver between his fingers. “If I remember correctly, you aren’t positive she’ll be able to regenerate. And—again, if memory serves—you aren’t too keen to find out.” His smile disappeared and he pointed the screwdriver at Rose. “Have you changed your mind?”

The Doctor seethed with rage, but he couldn’t do anything but shake his head. He wouldn’t risk Rose’s life.

The Master laughed. “Look at what Earth’s defender has been reduced to. Cowering on the floor, paralysed out of fear for his bond mate’s life.”

The look Rose gave the Doctor now was the same trusting, confident look he’d seen on her face when they’d stood in 10 Downing Street, faced with the choice to save the world at the possible cost of her life. It was a look which said she trusted him to do the right thing, to make the best choice.

He drew in a deep breath. When he’d developed his backup plan, he’d really hoped Rose would leave with Martha. Sentencing himself to a year in the gracious hospitality of the Master was one thing—leaving Rose in his hands for 366 days was entirely another.

So, Rose was on the Valiant during the Year That Never Was. Hmmm... 

From chapter 43:

“Can we skip the ‘previously on the Master and Rose’ bit and move on to today’s episode?” Rose asked impatiently.

Amusement lit the Master’s eyes. “As I was saying, I’ve been unable to break your bond. Your telepathic bond.”

He pulled a thin silver choker out of the box and attached it around Rose’s neck.

“Jewellery, Harry?” Rose asked. “I think my husband might get upset if I accept gifts like this from another man.”

“Your bond mate,” the Master said, irritation flashing in his eyes when she refused yet again to use the term in front of him, “won’t know any better. Not really.”

Rose straightened up and looked at the monitor. “What are you going to do to him?” she asked.

Concern flared over the bond. Rose tried to calm the Doctor with a promise that nothing was happening that was any worse than what she’d experienced so far, but that wasn’t a very reassuring thought.

“I don’t plan to do anything… to him.”

Rose wanted to hide her fear from the Doctor, but she knew he felt it. His own worry screamed at her over the bond, and she saw his hands clench into fists.

“As I was saying, I’ve discovered your bond is impossible to break. I can’t force him out of your mind, nor you out of his. But the bond makes you both stronger, and I really can’t have that.”

Despite the insolent tone she used to irritate the Master, Rose was becoming more scared by the minute. She looked at the television and tried to memorise every inch of the Doctor’s features.

I love you, she told him, hoping with every fibre of her being that this wouldn’t be her last chance to say it.

“What do you plan to do about it?” Rose asked.

The Master’s eyes glittered. “Oh, I was so hoping you would ask. Do you see this?” he asked, holding up a small remote. “This is the remote to the device I just placed on your neck—oh, and by the way, there’s an explosive wired into the latch, so don’t even think about taking it off, unless you want to lose your head.” He tilted his head. “I really don’t know if it’s possible to regenerate after being blown to bits.”

I love you, too, Rose.

Some of the tightness around her chest eased with the Doctor’s words, and she rolled her eyes at the Master. “And what does the blessed device do?” she asked. “You’re worse than all the villains on telly,” she told him matter-of-factly. “Nattering on about your plans, blah blah blah.”

“It’s a personal telepathic dampening field. And if I press this button—”

The Master pressed the red button, and Rose’s eyes slammed shut as pain seared through her mind. The bond was gone. Screams filled the room, but she ignored them as she frantically looked for the Doctor. She found the space where he should be in her mind, but instead of pulsing with the Doctor’s presence, it was dark—like a burned out lightbulb.

Her eyes flew to the CCTV to make sure the Doctor was still alive, and that was when she realised the diabolical genius of the Master’s plan. The Doctor was shouting and pounding on the walls, trying to get away from his prison. The sound was muted, but she could see him saying her name over and over.

He thought the Master had killed her.

I really love this whole story arc. The Master would do something truly heinous. Breaking the bond--making both of them feel the pain of a broken bond, and making the Doctor think she was dead--was the worst thing I could think of. The Doctor and Rose both come out of this year with PTSD related to this.

From chapter 46:

Francine pressed her lips together, but she couldn’t restrain a strangled sob. Rose reached for her slowly, pushing her hands down and knocking the gun to the floor.

Martha shoved past the Doctor to reach her mum, and Rose let her take over comforting Francine.

The Doctor released a breath he hadn’t realised he was holding, and his knees went weak for a moment. He suspected he would be even more protective of Rose than usual for a while, until he got past the constant fear of losing her again. Rose smiled up at him, and he nodded slightly.

“You still haven’t answered the question,” the Master pointed out, interrupting their silent conversation. “What happens to me?”

The Doctor left the bridge. “I’m sure UNIT has a nice cell someplace where they can keep you, until your regenerations run out.” He crossed his arms and stared at the Master. “Their headquarters are located in the Tower of London, after all.”

“You’re just going to… lock me up?” the Master stammered, his nose wrinkled in disgust.

“What did you expect, Master?” the Doctor snapped. “An open hand and a welcome onto my ship, when you killed my wife?” He took a deep breath. “I won’t let you die when you’re the only other Gallifreyan in existence, but that doesn’t mean I have to let you be part of our life.”

The Master smirked. “That’s the only thing keeping you from doing it, isn’t it, Doctor?” He tipped his head back insolently. “You would kill me yourself for what I did to your precious Rose, if it wasn’t for the fact of my genetic code.”

“Oi, all you did was give me a fancy bit of jewellery,” Rose retorted. “Quit trying to rile the Doctor up.”

The Master’s gaze flickered over to Rose, and the Doctor bit back a laugh at the consternation in his eyes. He still didn’t speak, though, and the Master’s taunt lingered in the air between them, despite Rose’s attempt to dispel the tension.

Would he kill the Master, if it wouldn’t leave him once again the last of the Time Lords from Gallifrey? All the bitterness he’d kept locked down for the last year swirled through him, and there was a large part of him that wanted to kill the Master anyway.

Rose took his hand, and he jumped a little—it had been a long time since she’d been able to sneak up on him like that. But her hand in his gave him strength, just like it always did. He shook his head. “That’s not the way I do things.”

The gunshot took them all by surprise. The Doctor looked towards the sound and saw Lucy Saxon, pale, frightened, and angry, holding the gun Francine had discarded. His head swivelled in the opposite direction, just in time to watch the Master slump onto the deck.

“Put it down,” Jack ordered Lucy.

The Doctor walked over to the Master and knelt at his side. The Master’s face contorted in pain, his mouth working as he gasped for breath. “Always the women.”

“I didn’t see her,” the Doctor said truthfully.

“Are you happy now, Doctor?” The Master grunted. “You can watch me die, and you didn’t have to pull the trigger yourself.”

The Doctor frowned down at him, a little disturbed by how accurate that was. “You’re not dying,” he said curtly. “Don’t be stupid. It’s only a bullet. Just regenerate.”

Victory shone in the Master’s eyes. “No.”

Rose knelt down beside him. “Don’t you remember what I told you, Master?” The Master looked at her, but his eyes refused to focus. “It doesn’t need to be like this. You could come with us, and maybe eventually the Doctor could find a way to get the drums to stop.”

The Doctor bit back a protest. He did not want the Master anywhere near his TARDIS or his Rose.

But the Master didn’t seem inclined to take her up on the offer, anyway. “I didn’t want to spend the rest of my lives tied to you before; what makes you think I’ve changed my mind?”

“It’s only the two of you left, though,” Rose argued. “He’s got me, but the two of you have known each other for so long.”

The Master’s lips twisted into a pained, vindictive smile. “How about that? I win.” He grunted, and swallowed hard. “Will it stop, Doctor? The drumming. Will it stop?” He drew one last rasping breath, then his eyes closed.

The Doctor stared down at the limp body in his arms. There was a time when the Master had been one of his closest friends, when his death would have sent him into shattering grief. Even a year ago, he would have been devastated to find another Time Lord, only to lose him again. But with Rose beside him and yet not in his head, the only thing the Doctor could think was that the person responsible for all the pain and anguish of the last five months was dead.

This is part one of the change in the Master’s arc. The idea that the Doctor would be broken up over losing him when he and Rose were still suffering the effects of what he’d done--because their bond isn’t back yet--just felt really... unlikely to me. I know they were great friends before, but if your best friend from high school kidnapped your spouse and made you think they were dead for three months, I think that would probably destroy what was left of your affection for them.

From chapter 47:

[Rose] tugged the Doctor down onto the couch beside her and handed him the sonic. “Take it off, Doctor,” she begged. “Please… I need…”

“Yes,” he whispered. “So do I.” He adjusted the setting and pointed the device at Rose. “Let’s see what kind of lock we’re dealing with first,” he said, scanning the collar. His face brightened when he saw the results. “Oh, that’s simple,” he said, his nimble fingers turning the controls.

The Doctor held the screwdriver up, then looked seriously at Rose. “Are you ready, love? This will probably be a little overwhelming—like getting your sight back after being blind for five months.”

Rose nodded her head quickly and took the Doctor’s free hand. “Don’t care. I’ll deal with it if it is.”

He nodded, then thumbed the control on the sonic. The lock popped open, and the Doctor dropped his tool to pull the collar off of her.

Rose’s head swam under the onslaught of thoughts and emotions sweeping over her. The TARDIS was humming joyfully, happy to have her Wolf and her Thief back where they belonged.

And the Doctor…

Their bond snapped back to life the moment the collar was removed, and she could feel every bit of love, and relief, and elation he felt at being reunited with her. His pain and anger over their forced separation were almost as potent, but Rose carefully directed his focus to the positive.

A strangled sob from the Doctor was the only warning she had before he hauled her into his arms and then stretched out on the couch with her lying beside him. A moment later, she felt a hesitant knocking in her mind, and Rose had to fight her own anger when she realised he was asking permission to enter. It was a purely symbolic gesture, but she hated the idea that he would doubt she wanted him.

Concentrating on the bond, she deepened their connection, letting her mind rest against his as closely as he held her physically. After five months without him, it felt slightly unnatural, like slipping into shoes that hadn’t been worn in a long time. But the relief from the emptiness they’d both felt so keenly more than made up for any temporary discomfort. Rose held him close, both physically and telepathically, and projected as much love and welcome as she could over the bond. The worst of the ache faded gradually, and they both sighed in relief at the realisation that they were truly together again.

When the swirl of emotions settled somewhat, Rose’s head was resting on the Doctor’s shoulder and his fingers were tangled in her hair. She tilted her head back and pressed a kiss to his Adam’s apple, followed by one to his jawline.

The Doctor hummed his approval, then shifted and tilted his head so her next kiss could reach his lips. Rose smiled at the silent request and ran a hand through his hair as she kissed him gently.

Together again at last.

From chapter 47:

She rarely paid much attention to her connection to the ship, usually taking it for granted, but today, she closed her eyes and focused on the gold thread that linked them. The image of a wolf howling came to mind, and Rose hummed her agreement.

“We are the Bad Wolf,” she whispered, then opened her eyes when the Doctor sucked in a breath. “What?”

He rubbed at his forehead. “I’ll never be fully comfortable with that,” he admitted. “Not that you have a closer connection with our ship than I do—that I honestly love. But the memory of what you did to bond with her, of what it did to you…”

Rose propped herself up on her elbow. “Is there anything of me in the TARDIS?” she wondered. “Like, she left the huon particles in me—is there anything of Rose in her? Or does this all go one way?”

“One way, and one time only,” the Doctor said firmly. “I see the ideas lurking in your mind, Rose Tyler, but please remember, merging with the TARDIS killed you once.”

Timelines shimmered around Rose. The Doctor was wrong. It wasn’t merging with the TARDIS that had killed her; it was taking in the Vortex. If one could be done without the other…

So, would it spoil too much to tell you this relates directly to what Rose does to save them on the Crucible in Forever and Never Apart?

From chapter 47/48:

When the flames had engulfed the Master’s body, the Doctor turned silently and they started to leave.

They’d only taken two steps away from the pyre when Rose stopped. The timelines were flowing around this moment so heavily they almost hummed. She remembered what the Doctor had said about key moments of her life resonating more because of her time as Bad Wolf, and she pulled her hand away from his and followed her instincts around to the other side of the pyre.

“What are you doing, Rose?”

“Doesn’t it seem odd to you, Doctor, that barely five minutes after you told him you knew better than to think he would ever purposely end his life, the Master did exactly that?”

“It was about finally beating me. He wanted to leave me alone,” the Doctor said, his earlier bitterness back.

Rose shook her head as she scanned the ground for… something. “Blowing up the rockets and making the Earth burn would have beaten you, too. He only chose to die when it was obvious he’d lost. It makes me wonder if he had a back-up plan in place.” She spotted something glinting on the ground and picked it up. “I wonder what this is.”

The Doctor came around to join her, and his eyes widened when he saw the ornate silver ring she held. “That’s a resurrection ring,” he said.

“Like in Harry Potter?”

“Sort of.” The Doctor took it and held it up to the firelight. “I thought those were only a myth. They should only be a myth.”

Rose looked at the circular Gallifreyan on the bezel of the ring. “And what does this definitely-not-a-myth do?”

“You leave an imprint on the ring of your identity, and it can be used to… well, not technically bring you back to life… more like create a clone of you, but one that shares all your memories and experiences.”

“It’s a horcrux,” Rose said flatly.

“Well… in a manner of speaking… yes.”

[...]

While Rose took a shower after breakfast, the Doctor moved the TARDIS so they were parked with a supernova just outside the doors. He’d promised her they’d dispose of the Master’s ring, and honestly, after the year they’d just been through, he was just as anxious to make sure his old enemy couldn’t come back.

Once they were in orbit around the dying star, he pushed the doors open and leaned against the doorjamb. He stared out at the stars and watched time swirl and eddy around them. Galaxies born, planets dying, stars going supernova—it was all driven by Time, the force that held the universe together and let it fall apart. The Time War had damaged the Web of Time extensively, but frayed as it was, this much remained.

The Master’s paradox had left ripples in the timelines that would take months or even years to smooth out. The ripples threw his time senses off, but something tugged at him, something about this supernova.

Unable to stand not knowing, he pushed off from the door and walked back to the console. “Why did you pick this supernova, old girl?” he muttered as he checked the coordinates. His eyebrows went up when he made the connection, but Rose appeared before he could say anything to the TARDIS.

She took his hand. “Ready?”

The Doctor pointed to the open doors. “Mount Doom awaits,” he told her. Rose laughed, and a smile tugged at the Doctor’s lips as he followed her to the door.

He pulled the ring out of his pocket and handed it to her. “I think you should have the honour. You were the one who found it, after all.”

Rose hefted the silver ring in her hand, then pitched it out into the mass of gaseous clouds. “Good riddance to bad rubbish,” she muttered as they watched it spin through the vacuum of space.

The Doctor stared, transfixed, as several timelines suddenly disappeared. He could only see shadowy glimpses of them—of a mad Master turning everyone into his clone, of something coming back that should remain lost, of his own painful regeneration—but what he saw was enough to make him grateful that Rose had found the ring.

Yes, I just undid End of Time. The Master will not come back, and without the Master, Rassilon and the Time Lords don’t have the connection of the drums to follow to bring Gallifrey back. 

The specials are getting a pretty major overhaul, actually. They’re really the story of a man going mad with grief, and that’s not who the Doctor is in this series. They don’t fit any longer. And isn’t that a wonderful thing?

[kiss-my-freckle]

End of S2 timeline: Part Two

(Working from old timeline)

We left off at Ten days. 

2x21 - Liz introduces Karakurt to the task force.  From there, Ressler and Liz meet the Orea team.  Masik hands them last night’s conversation. 

Masik: He recorded a conversation for us last night. (2x20)

Liz questions Masik about the photo of her mother.  Red gets a tip about Karakurt’s truck.  He’s too late, Orea bombing is next.

Trying not to follow in-show clocks, but they do have a few of those. For now, just gonna follow the dialogue and see where it leads. If it takes me anywhere, I’ll rewatch and grab them for a separate post. 

Red immeditaely contacts Liz by phone to check on her. They start piecing together the Cabal’s movements since the Harbormaster trial. Red tells Liz she has more than a grainy photo of Karakurt. They completely skip over what connections were made in this conversation, but they are made. 

Skipped over because Karakurt’s neighbor tipped Red, then he handed the team Karakurt’s location. This sidetracks Liz from those connections they just made. Connolly demands Cooper divert the team, so he does. This was done because Karakurt and Anropov were moving onto their step of infecting Liz. 

Karakurt: You want confirmation. Turn on your damned television. The place is a crater. Give me 30 minutes to change my location, then we discuss the next step.

Liz quite literally gets infected before she has the chance to listen to their conversation about the college student and their plan to infect her. That’s how tightly timed this is. It’s insane. Aram gives the same timeline as Agent Masik, and I swear they do this purposefully. Okay, so I’m gonna show the double-up on this dialogue. 

Masik: He recorded a conversation for us last night. (2x20)

Aram: The conversation was recorded last night, so we pulled all the receipts and found a late dinner for two paid for by a Leo Andropov.

LATE dinner for two. Because it was last night, and Karakurt arrived that same night. (2x20) I think this was a purposeful timeline reminder. I’ll explain why later. They hit Andropov’s lab and find his notebook. Red has a chat with Cooper. It always starts with a favor. Then he and Liz hit Kimberly’s lab. They’re in a pinch, so she has to skip Liz’s makeover. I think her mention of Liz’s wardrobe is another purposeful tie-in. Tom contacts Liz, leaves her a voicemail. Another bit of timeline.

Tom: So I wanted to see if you would join me for dinner [[tomorrow.]] Uh, I made a reservation at [[7:00]] at this great little place on the corner of 32nd and M. 

Dr. Kimberly informs them of what they’re doing, then Red and Liz sit in the car, trying to figure out who their target is. I’m gonna end this post here and start a third because the next section is a timeline clusterfuck that I have to sort out. Once I get past Liz’s escape from the Post Office, it’s all easy from there. We’re still on ten days, with Tom’s reservations made for tomorrow night at 7:00. 

Ten days.