#i already passed over the s6 one

[movelikeyoustoleit]

Why is my dash trying to hurt my feelings today

[panelshowsource]

my IMMEDIATE thought is judi love, right?? her and roisin 1000% not even one show each, A SHOW WITH THEM TOGETHER 😍 and it's called JUDI & ROISIN'S DOUBLE DATES 😍

hahahaha absolutely! do you remember the stationary shop / pun guessing task that tim vine did on taskmaster s6? i always thought victoria would have enjoyed every single thing about that, just my intuition...

hahahaha this is so cute! they got married not to terribly long ago, so no worries. don't you love how sweetly they speak about each other 🥹 you know, when i saw richard at his last book signing in new york, he told a quick story about how ingrid had recently written for a doctor who publication and that she is super engrossed in & proud of the doctor who world 🥹🥹🥹 (made me so happy!!! bc i'm also a massive dw fan (i make those gifs on my main!) 🥹)

this is my modest richard and ingrid tag 🥹 i hope to flesh it out even more over time hehe

yes i've been listening to these!! they keep teasing a nish kumar one coming up that is supposed to be very special in some way?

anyways the richard osman one was very sweet because there was tons of kitten talk (LOVE) and you can tell how much richard adores david — which means he had a lot of fun teasing him hahaha that's what makes richard such a good podcast guest: he's such a comedy fan!

also enjoyed the eps with ivo and sam campbell, and i'm gonna listen to at least ed gamble, rose matafeo, and amy gledhill this weekend!

are you guys liking it??

i've def seen it (i saw the comedy blogs advertising the pilot) but i'm gonna be sooo honest and say i haven't had time to give it a listen yet TT have you?? i'm obsessed with both of them and will DEF listen to it this week! i'll post my thoughts :)

honestly, i think there are more comedy writers and comedy actors than proper comedians that i would like to read bios of. simon pegg comes to mind first! i also think it would be fascinating to read a kind of day-by-day journal of a proper circuit comedian, someone who could humorously and truthfully document the lifestyle. did you have someone in mind who hasn't written one?

as for books that are already published, i really want to read bonkers by jen saunders as well as richard e grant's semi-new autobiography (i'm worried it's going to be exceptionally sad since he'll always be dealing with the passing of his wife and he's very open about grief 🥺), so hopefully i get around to those before too long!

i haven't, tbh i never watched miranda, not going out, or even call the midwife — so even though i've obviouslyyy seen her around, sometimes on panel shows, and absolutely acknowledge how big she was/is, i don't carry enough nostalgia to read her whole bio. THAT SAID, i agree she was so so touching on graham norton and i think her stories both about her health and about finding love were SO LOVELY 💜 but if you tell me it's a must read then i'll definitely check it out!

and for anyone who's interested i added the audiobook to my drive :)

okay this scared me HAHAHA because as much as that is obviously not true if one uses a single modicum of common sense i am so easily fooled—

anyways it was a sweet episode! i don't really listen to that show but i was hoping to hear more about joe's particular approach to parenting, and even though he is clearly very private it was endearing. i love how much he loves birmingham (as someone who doesn't really have a hometown it's something i'm always fascinated by and envious of in others), and he really put his foot down about his sexuality! he was like "bi is bi, pan is pan, it's on you if you wanted to call me gay anyways" and PERIOD KING !! anyways, super happy for him. i have a feeling he won't post very much about it or even talk much about it in general, but i selfishly hope he does 🥹

it was a cute episode!! highlights for me include rob being extremely new to the concept of kimchi, rob claiming he doesn't understand why people care so much about seasoning (my fellow americans, have fun with that one), and rob roasting steve coogan lmaooo also i never get sick of the alan bennett impression i love how it's almost tom courtenay it's hilarious to me

i've loved a lot of the recent eps, especially the ones with matthew macfadyen and richard e grant (funniest man alive)! and i watched the gordon ramsay episode like 5 times, it was sooo interesting and soooooo sweet to hear about his relationship with angela!

one thing i really like about this show — besides how awesome angela is — is that nick asks the genuine questions someone who isn't big into cooking would ask. like, when they were eating the rib eye, he was like, "if someone wanted to make this at home, what would they ask the butcher for? is this a specific cut of meat?" and even though it's like 'lol yeah nick...rib eye...' people who aren't familiar with cooking beef wouldn't have known that! he asks about cuts, measurements, cooking times, that sort of thing in a way that feels genuine and curious, which i appreciate (as someone who doesn't cook a lot lmao)

for sure!

hello anon! these are always posted on reddit every single night that they air, i recommend sending a polite "hello would you kindly add me to the sub?" message (you don't need to get fancier or more specific than that; they have to keep the sub private for obvious reasons so no need to feel intimidated) to r/TV_NCA so you can snag those links each week

sure anon i'll work on that for you this weekend xx

—

PANEL SHOW WATCH LINKS / NON-PANEL SHOW WATCH LINKS FAQ / ASK

[raayllum]

Kpp'Ar and Rayla

Originally I wanted to do an update of sorts on TDP's thing with trolley problems since I hadn't done one since post-S4, but since I've discussed S5's trolley problems ad nauseam (to the degree there's nothing really more to say about Amaya's choice to put their people's future over Janai's life as she'd want, Viren eventually refusing to sacrifice Sir Sparklepuff or anyone else to save himself, and Callum's willingness to sacrifice himself and others in order to save Rayla that I haven't said already) and the update would mostly be an excuse to talk about S6 Rayla and Kpp'Ar... I'm just gonna talk about Rayla and Kpp'Ar.

If you are interested in 5x08 thoughts I'd rec these metas (X, X, X, X) as well as this tag. Now let's get to the good stuff.

Dark Mages and Assassins

I've talked for around 3 years now about the parallels between dark mage mindsets and assassination mindsets. "I don't want to do this, but I have to" / "I did what I had to do" / "There's only one way to release" / "It's horrific, Viren." "There is no other way." The dehumanization of yourself and your victim, that your nor anyone else's emotions should matter, the increasing emphasis on sacrifice, "I am already dead" and dark magic making you smell like death, Runaan and Viren being driven to deep regret over the things they put over their children and trying to come back from it, etc.

Therefore, characters like Rayla and our three prominent dark mage characters (Viren, Claudia, and Kpp'Ar) are characters who more likely to 1) start in similar places and 2) develop similar mindsets. What does it matter if Claudia and Rayla destroy themselves if it's for the people they love / what they believe in? Of course Viren and Rayla can both be arrested and surrounded by guards summoned by Opeli in the High Mage office for perceived or literal treason!

Now, we don't have much on Kpp'Ar given that he's in 2-3 scenes thus far, and one of those is already pretty warped by Viren's own mind in 5x02. That said, we do have some clues that Kpp'Ar may have some similarities to Rayla.

Like Rayla (and many other characters), Kpp'Ar is tied to themes of inheritance, being trained by the previous high mage before occupying the position itself and inheriting the Staff of Ziard. This is not unlike Rayla following in her parents' footsteps with being both an assassin and a Dragonguard, particularly trying to make up for Lain and Tiadrin's perceived failure in their duty to protect Zym (arc 1), similarly to how Kpp'Ar is now trying to safeguard the Staff of Ziard, for whatever reason.

Kpp'Ar also seems to be a grouchier, less emotional character on the surface, which is how Rayla attempts to portray herself. While she can be quite grumpy, Rayla is a crier and deeply emotional person / bleeding heart, though she's learned to temper some of that in arc 2.

Like Kpp'Ar, Rayla is a puzzle in her own right: secretive, private, often hard to understand, creating distance but also desperate to be known and understood and loved. To create a puzzle is to keep people out, yes, but it also very much expresses a desire for someone—the right person / people—to be smart or patient enough to solve it, and know you by extension.

With this basis of dark mage and assassin, Rayla and Kpp'Ar have a strange amount of similarities, namely speaking because they are

The Reformer

As we know from the Puzzle House (graphic novel) and 6x06, Kpp'Ar gives up the use of magic / dark magic, and Rayla decides not to be an assassin anymore as of S2, even if she drifts back in and out of it in arc 2. They are regretful looking back at their former actions, with Rayla trying to protect Harrow ("Say the word and I'll go back into that tower with you") and the princes throughout the show, and Kpp'Ar seemingly trying to end the cycle by not passing on the staff or whatever he'd done to his arm, as Viren doesn't seem familiar with the practice either.

One of my many mistakes. (5x02)

It was the same problem every time. Hesitation, sympathy, distraction… all just weakness in a different mask. (Chasing Shadows, part 2)

This change in path, though, is not without its lingering consequences from their old pathways, and it follows them onwards in terms of the ongoing physical harm to their bodies.

We could get into the weeds of Rayla and Runaan, as apprentice and master, being an inversion of Kpp'Ar and Viren (who end up paralleling Viren and Claudia's dynamic, in the 'child/student' being the one who stays on said dark path whereas the master/adult is the one who ends up breaking away). However, I think there's more to be said for Rayla with Callum and Kpp'Ar and Viren when it comes to

Trust and Guidance

I touched on it more when arc 1 was airing, but for lack of a better option throughout most of their journey, Rayla more or less serves as Callum's magical mentor throughout the first three seasons. Although other characters also contribute—he steals and learns from Claudia, Lujanne explains what an arcanum is, Villads the wind, Harrow wards him away from dark magic, Sarai helps him unlock the sky, Ibis shows him the wings spell—Rayla is the character that serves the mentor-esque role the most while balancing that of peer. She's the one discussing magic with him, she's the one explaining the primal sources to him and finishing his spells, and it's their relationship and how it causes Callum to grow that allows him to unlock manus pluma volantis and the Ocean arcanum.

She's the one who believes in him, regardless of whether he has or can do magic or not.

We see some of this lingering loyalty and acceptance with Kpp'Ar. While he's personally given up dark magic and his position at court, he's pleased and receptive that Viren has taken on the role, and presumably subsequently unbothered that Viren will continue to be a dark mage. However, when it comes to Callum or Viren wanting to do something the other perceives as dangerous, then things are a bit different:

We also see them be more composed when Callum and Viren are pushing for something—even, in Rayla's case, something that'd directly benefit her—because Rayla and Kpp'Ar perceive it as something that could put things at risk more than it's worth it, even if it means losing people or keeping families apart. The fact that in asking for the staff, Viren is actually asking for the quasar diamond within the staff without knowing it is just the cherry on top to me.

And when Kpp'Ar and Rayla reaffirm their viewpoints, their high mages can get a little testy.

We also see Kpp'Ar holds trust and his relationship with King Atticus, as he states "King Atticus trusts me. Just a word from me is all it will take" which is similar to the devotion that Rayla shows others, even strangers: "Just say the word and I'll go back into that tower with you" and her own dynamics with others, particularly Callum: "It means I trust her, unconditionally."

However, here's where we get to what I think is the most interesting part of the Rayla and Kpp'Ar comparisons, which is namely where we see all these things intersect in

You Will Lose Everything

Rayla is... a cautious, private individual. She goes out on patrol (2x01), she struggles with sharing information (1x06, 5x01), and is usually the voice of reason (1x04, 1x05, 2x04, 4x05, 4x07) when Callum is not (although he's often the voice of reason when she isn't). We don't know enough of Kpp'Ar to say whether he's ordinarily cautious, though I'd wager on private, but we do see that the warning he gives to Viren is decidedly different.

For starters, there's the divide in We'll vs you, and the fact that he gives it as a warning for Viren decidedly not listening to him ("King Atticus trusts me"). Viren, rightfully, understands it as the threat it is, even if his response is extreme. Viren doesn't trust Kpp'Ar's warning or isn't willing to let those consequences stand, so he takes action to ensure it won't come to pass by coining Kpp'Ar. In trying to avoid those consequences, he makes the dominoes fall in exactly that order—Lissa calls him a monster because of what he did to Kpp'Ar and how it warped his appearance, this leads to her leaving and him blaming Soren, Claudia's eventual involvement with Aaravos, etc etc. And because Kpp'Ar is right, since Viren does end up losing everything: his wife, both of his children, his sense of self, the status as high mage he was determined to cling to, his certainty that he was doing the right thing, etc.

Then, for Rayla, she's thinking of their safety and of their mission, and how Zym could fall back into the wrong hands if Claudia and Soren aren't being truthful. While Rayla can be overtly independent, when it comes to the mission she does see it as a team effort ("we're in this together" / "you and Ezran should take Zym" + "I don't think I can do this without him" + "if I don't come back, you and Ezran can get Zym to Xadia") once she gets over her initial hurdle(s) in 1x06. Whatever consequence they'll face as a result of not trusting her gut, they'll face it together, and she and Callum both know it. So unlike with Viren and Kpp'Ar, Callum listens to her.

However, Rayla and Kpp'Ar's warnings — and indeed many of their other character traits we've talked about — come from one shared idea of priority:

Make the Sacrifice

When confronted with their trolley problems, Kpp'Ar and Rayla typically have the same solutions. If Rayla thinks she can solve the trolley problem by sacrificing herself, she will: see saving the dragon in 2x07 exclusively at perceived expense of herself ("It doesn't matter what happens to me"); hurtling off the Pinnacle ("last time I was here, I leapt to my certain death"); and of course in 6x03 most prominently, with "If you ever have to choose between me or the greater good, do the right thing. Make the sacrifice".

For the most part, this is different because Rayla is advocating to sacrifice herself versus somebody else (which is more of an 'you're an antagonist' thing to do in TDP), but it's not exclusively as we see in Arc 2 (even if one is at Callum's adamant request):

(We could also potentially count her sacrificing her parents... three times throughout arc 2 / putting them on the back burner, specifically in refusing Claudia's deal in 4x09, but she does also go after them so... maybe-minus?)

Now, this idea of one life vs the greater good comes back over and over again, from Harrow sacrificing himself in hopes his sons will break the cycle, to Rayla sparing Marcos but subsequently losing her troupe, to the infamous Magma Titan debacle or killing Zym.

We kill one monster to save a hundred thousand people. (You keep calling it a monster.) If you must choose, choose the egg over Soren.

You sacrifice one life for the greater good. You sacrifice one life, even of a child's, even of someone you love, because the stakes are much too high.

CLAUDIA: But Dad, Soren could've died! VIREN: That doesn't matter! I don't mean to be cruel, but we must be ready to sacrifice, even the things we love.

The show doesn't say this is an exclusively bad viewpoint (largely Amaya and Janai in 5x08 as the exception), but it does lean into 1) sacrificing yourself is better than advocating to sacrifice others and 2) if you're willing to sacrifice the people you love, you're usually making the wrong choice, which is why Viren's betrayal of Kpp'Ar and violation of Lissa for Soren's life — sacrificing one for the other rather than finding a way to honour all three and take the consequences/accountability on his own shoulders — is then atoned for by ultimately sacrificing himself entirely in Soren's stead, even if that means using the Staff of Ziard again. And even then, sacrificing yourself for others isn't exclusively good, either (just look at how it's destroyed Rayla's relationships in the past, or what it continues to do to Claudia).

We don't know what Kpp'Ar knew about the staff, but we know it's been used many times without apparent, direct consequence of the usage itself > the harm the spells used for it brought. We can also assume that Rayla will inevitably not follow through on murdering her partner. Whatever Kpp'Ar knew or thought, though, it was something he thought was worth sacrificing Soren's life for without even telling Viren directly (maybe because he thought it was dangerous and wouldn't make a difference).

Since Viren is gone and reformed, and because Runaan seemingly regrets putting duty over love (6x09), I wonder if a post-released Kpp'Ar will step in to be the one to argue to make the sacrifice, same as Aaravos (5x09), same as Rayla (6x03) on either side of the coin for Callum and Rayla, only for them both to ultimate disagree. Maybe even Kpp'Ar will grow to disagree, seeing the man Soren has grown to become, and what dark magic has continued to take from Claudia.

If sacrificing yourself and others without hope of change is the language and core of dark magic and being an assassin ("I am already dead, and so are you"), then the preservation of others and allowing yourself to be saved from it is the truest form of rejection, after all.

[self-spaghettification]

Looks like we’re getting a lot of crazy things in 6x05

which,

1. Considering the potential title “Moonless Night”, 6x05 will possibly be including Rayla being hurt or moon being otherwise metaphorically swallowed, (paralleling s3 swallowing/corruption of the sun’s power),

2. Considering episode 5 follows an episode titled “The Starscraper,” in 6x05 Aaravos is potentially freed at the end of 4 or during 5 and potentially possesses Callum which will lead to all sorts of trouble

3. Considering the connection of a scene between soren and viren with “until 6x05” and all the hints that the most impactful scenes between soren and viren were yet to come…. it seems likely that in 6x05 Soren and Viren will have a very emotionally charged moment together, also possibly with Claudia. Maybe with a confrontation of some kind, also involving the moon?

Let’s delve into this more though—As this potential title has ignited a spark to finally set ablaze and reveal the idea that has been percolating in my mind for months.

Moonless Night (and Why I Believe the Moon is Metaphorically Going to Be Swallowed) A S6 Speculative Meta

with arc1-arc2 parallels, norse mythology examination, reflections analysis and more

As far as I can see, the clue most directly points to Moonless Night. (Edit: which ended up being right!) And there are other reasons I’m on board.

I already went insane over this so let’s get started

A. S3-S6 Parallels

So, I’m a big fan of across arc season parallels as they’ve existed very overtly S1-S4 from the first moment, as well as some other things which in many ways are setup and reestablishment of dynamics (Rayla hesitating and breaking from her duty twice to help/see Callum instead, Harrow and Ezran respectively attempt to break free from the past but they have to acknowledge it, etc) as well as persistently in S2-S5:

and, it seems, *possibly* S3 to S6–

1. If we get another plot against Ezran that’s not a joke (as it is in s4 and many throwaway lines and jokes in tdp come back to bite us)—+“This coming season will test Ezran's pacifist instincts”

2. If Viren returns, something like this—

in contrast to the “I’m sorry it had to happen this way”/“No you’re not.”/“No, I’m not.” because Viren cannot doubt Ezran would be genuinely sorry

Viren would say I know because he gets it now, the new hesitant, less certain version who also feels bad for all he has done, but he wouldn’t have before.

SO… 3. If the Moon were to get metaphorically/literally swallowed on some level in S6, it would parallel 3x07, Hearts of Cinder.

Corruption via Aaravos’s…child.

which, coincidently, brings me to my next point!

B. Norse Mythology

I’ve briefly discussed this before here, but let’s review:

Aaravos’s similarities to Loki

Source: Twitter

But while we’re on Loki’s similarities to Aaravos, let’s consider what his other children are up to during Ragnarok, the end of the world in Norse Mythology, which seems fitting considering all the foreshadowing of what chaos Aaravos has wreaked in the past (Xadia) and present (Lux Aurea) and even future (ominous wording in the reflections) when given the chance.

Loki’s children during Ragnarok:

World Serpent — rises up from the depths, encircles the world and causes great waves and destruction (“The seas churned” 👀)

Hel — From the underworld, “leading an army of the dead, she marches against the gods, uniting with her brothers and other forces of chaos. This culminating battle signifies the cyclical nature of Norse myths; an end that's also a beginning.” [1] Speaking of which, sounds familiar, right? In Ripples:

“While one may say it ends with a sunrise, [beginning] another will insist it ends at nightfall. [end]”

“With its impact came a long and terrible night: The earth bled! The seas churned! The sun and moon hid for weeks behind the sky’s screaming storm!”

“And when the long, dark night had finally passed—for the sun must always rise, mustn’t it?—they gazed out upon an unfamiliar landscape.”

Fenrir— He was gagged with a sword and was destined to lie bound to a rock until the Ragnarök (Doomsday), when he will break his bonds and fall upon the gods. According to one version of the myth, Fenrir will devour the sun, and in the Ragnarök he will fight against the chief god Odin and swallow him. [2]

It’s interesting how Fenrir has even more parallels than Loki to Aaravos here. Trapped by a blade, chained against rocks like Prometheus (one of Aaravos’s primary inspirations) was when his liver (modern heart) was eaten every day, and when he’s freed all hell breaks loose, including swallowing people (see Zym and Aditi) and the sun. But was it him with the sun? Or…..

There’s something there about killing a god and being killed in return and making the stars fall and all the damage Claudia has suffered thus far, but anyway.

That’s right, Fenrir has two children, one who swallows the sun, and one who swallows the moon. During Ragnarok, while, also, the sea shakes. Ahem, back to this:

“With its impact came a long and terrible night: The earth bled! The seas churned! The sun and moon hid for weeks behind the sky’s screaming storm!”

So… earth blood?

Check… churning seas?

World Serpent — rises up from the depths, encircles the world and causes great waves and destruction

Check… sun and moon gone?

Check.

So, what do we do with this information?

C. Interpretation

So Aaravos with two children, one who swallows the sun, one the moon.

Swallowing the Moon

-Involving a Child

1. Most literally: Aaravos has that… homonculus child, which takes and poisons the power of the sun. Maybe we’re getting another of those? I’m honestly scared for what that actually means like is he having another kid for that because 😭

2. What I favor- a metaphor— If you can consider Claudia Aaravos’s child, well, child in law isn’t that far off for the sake of this theory I think it’s possible they team up and somehow metaphorically swallow the moon like Viren and Aaravos did in S3. ….Just taking the moon, corrupting it and using its power— like they did with the Sunfire power— to make troops invisible in their effort to conquer xadia part two (2!) (although this is probably like the nth time that Aaravos has attempted his plan.)

-not involving a child

3. it could also just be disrupting the moon nexus in some way. Aaravos tends to break reflections in one way or another, from mirrors to ripples.

in Ripples he talks about how he dislikes how the stars look down on their perfect reflection (the sea of cast out)

@parroset has written an excellent meta elaborating further on it here, but essentially, he breaks reflections. A reflection is key to the moon nexus, that lake is the moon nexus because it so perfectly reflects the moon. So… there’s something to that. And it would have to come in handy manipulating the veil between life and death.

4. Taking Luna Tenebris’s power in a flashback.

I’ve talked about why I think we’re finally getting Luna Tenebris content before here, but essentially we already got all the dragons in the 4 corners of the map via flashback or interaction, and now only she is left. A flashback on what really went down that day would be perfectly in line with us learning more about Aaravos’s past, perhaps interaction with Kim'dael as well as, hopefully, blood magic—and dark, star, and deep magic. It also fits in with swallowing the moon’s power, as she was a Moon Archdragon. Moonless night. This also ties back to the blood moon cult because they harvest the power of the moon to begin with.

Last but not least and most obvious and exciting to many,

5. Rayla= “Moon girlfriend.” Callum is already being targeted, and likely some terrible thing is going to happen to him up with the rating being up, creators crying over this episode and calling it “heartbreaking” and all of that, so swallowing the moon could be symbolism for her dying or something equally terrible (so he’s forced to exploit dark magic/Aaravos to save her.)

This also ties back to this being the episode following the star scraper and the theory that Callum is a Trojan horse and, once he’s there, all the shit is going down. Maybe Rayla gets in the way and tries to sacrifice herself. I wouldn’t be surprised. or maybe it’s an intentional harm so that Callum has to bring her back… who knows?

It is for you to think about as you see fit.

@beautifulterriblequeen also wrote about other possibilities for the Moonless night here!

D. Symbolism & Misc.

Now let’s talk about the other symbolic evidence pointing to the swallowing of the moon.

The first thing that got me hooked on this theory was actually this page, which we see Viren flipping through, and then in Callum’s sketchbook.

I already analyzed the markings surrounding Aaravos’s signature symbol, but I also found the eclipse and crescent moon especially interesting considering how important the eclipse motif has been in the series and uniquely tied to Aaravos.

Thus far I figured the moon also had to be significant right it also almost seemed to me as if both the sun and moon had a bite taken out of them.

Then, we have the Reflections.

After Darkness

“The writhing, tainted darkness of Lux Aurea’s night sky spread infinitely above him, the stars all swallowed up inside it.”

Ripples

“While one may say it ends with a sunrise, another will insist it ends at nightfall. ” (swallowed sun) (falling stars)

“With its impact came a long and terrible night/And in that endless dark the humans despaired. The humans huddled together, scarcely daring to breathe, awaiting the rise of the sun.”

which, side note- sol regem saying the sun will never rise again for me, karim saying the sun is setting on their kingdom, and aaravos telling viren that the sun will rise and he will not like augh.

Then there’s the more literal interpretations of swallowing the moon and or sun along with the stars - Consider

1, Aaravos is giant

2, Star eating sword

3, Star devourer dragons

And, let’s go back to the crescent.

Waxing Crescents are associated with growing power, which would also be fitting for Aaravos gaining power, possibly a literal powerup.

Let’s also consider what new moons mean- considering the possible name, moonless night, and all the swallowing of the moon, and starting a new cycle, new moons are certainly significant, right? Moonless night- A fresh start. Could be something!

In summary, I believe the moon will be metaphorically swallowed in S6 in one way or another.

I hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading my thoughts! Please feel free to share any insights or reactions of your own!

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Monday Wonderful fandom. Are you still breathing after that little kiss teaser? Cause I was gonna pass straight out when I saw it haha We are a little over 3 weeks away from S6 premiere. Can you believe it? I need it to be Wednesday already for that trailer. Feels like we've been in this hiatus for years LOL But let's get back to the rewatch eh? Ahhhh the Valentines episode. So much goodness inside this one. From start to finish this ep is glorious. I knew from the promo alone was gonna be fantastic. The ep name is pretty apt. Off we go.

5x16 Exposure

We hit the ground running in this one. Just a glorious shot of them sleeping in Lucy’s bed. The many ways I love this. Clearly he’s living there part time at this point. Staying over more often than not. If the man has a key i’m sure he has a drawer at her place as well. No way he doesn't at this point. My guess is Kojo having lots of sleepovers at Auntie Genny's with the kids too.

I love how peaceful they look in this shot. His body pointed towards her's in slumber. His head is damn near on her pillow. So close to one another. That gravitational pull just innate. Even when Tim is sleeping he is drawn to her. Just the little things that make me squee so very much. The domesticity of this moment has me reeling. As does this entire season for them really.

Unfortunately their peaceful co-habitation is interrupted by Lucy’s phone going off. Tim groans sleepily. Asking who it is? Lucy says she doesn’t know as she goes to answer it. It sounds like a drunk dial. Lucy hops out of bed immediately. Tim reaching out to her side of the bed is so cute all sleepy. I vote for more sleepy Tim. Asking half awake if it was wrong number?

He watches Lucy moving in a panic and the sleep drops from him. Asking her what’s happening? Lucy informs him It was a distress call from a UC she trained with. We see Tim go from sleepy to fierce protector mode quickly. Hopping out of bed ready to back her play. He doesn’t even know what’s going on but he’s there for her. My damn heart. No hesitation whatsoever to back his girl up.

It’s written all over Lucy’s face how much she love this. Her appreciation and love for this man so apparent as he scrambles to join her. She didn’t ask him to and that’s what she’s loving here. He was coming whether she asked for it or not. He’ll always have her back. No matter the scenario. Also never be over the jammies and sharing a bed. I wanna squee into my pillow haha

Something about Lucy driving Tim’s truck that is doing things to me. Like another version of wearing his clothes. I love it sfm. Tim waiting in the backseat with his gun at the ready. Phew lord started off this ep strong af. Lucy jumps right into character. God she’s good at this. She gets Noah out of trouble fairly quickly cause she’s a Queen. Lucy gives Tim the all clear to get out of the truck. Noah walks up and introduces himself to Tim.

Mentioning it was impressive she got backup this fast. Lucy proudly announcing it helped he was sleeping in her bed. Heh. Yeah he was. Noah then puts it together saying he’s THAT Bradford. So many questions stem from this statement I have to say. Clearly Lucy spoke about Tim ad nauseam at UC school. Not only that but the way she spoke about Tim Noah doesn’t seem shocked they’re together now. She clearly wasn’t with Tim during UC school so this is so damn fascinating to me.

I wanna know what she told Noah LOL As does Tim. Saying he’s curious to know what that means… Getting a small taste of some jealous Tim here I don’t hate it. I adore Lucy’s full bodied ‘No!’ in reply to Tim wanting to know more. Gotta love how expressive Melissa is. From her face to her body mannerisms. Why she’s always been the perfect Lucy. Just embodying her so well. Also am I crazy to think that’s Tim’s flannel? Cause looks a little big on Lucy. A girl can dream right? It’s possible...probably isn't but I want it to be LOL

Lucy asks him what they just recused him from? He says ‘The Army of Freedom.’ It’s a militia group born in Victorville. Said his OP started about a month ago. Unfortunately hasn’t been able to breach their inner circle yet. Tim asks if he pushed little too hard tonight? Noah replies maybe…but he had to roll the dice. They’re about to move something big. He’s going to need a local assist.

Tim says he can set up at their station. We then get to see a little more jealous Tim come into play. I don’t hate it everyone. He’s also a little grumpy from the lack of sleep. Ha Not loving the 'hot pants' nickname clearly. Tim then makes the most obvious and dramatic eye roll at end. Clearly not amused by this inside joke of their’s in the least ha It’s ok love, you’re the only hot pants she wants. LOL

Jealously thy name is Tim Bradford in this scene though. He runs the gambit for emotions at the end here. He goes from confused in the cutest way about the nick name, then a little intrigued, but we end with his jealous dramatic eye roll haha I love this man so much. He is tired and over this rescue now. Goodness what a great cold open for them. Whenever we get the cold open usually gonna be a damn good ep.

I’ll never be over how excited they both get when they find each other in the station in this season. Way she speed walks up to him. It’s so cute. Lucy hears the end of Tim’s conversation. All she hears is ‘You’re kidding.’ Lucy asking kidding about what? Tim’s clipped answer throws her off for a moment. But she doesn’t let it deter her too much. Touching his arm sweetly. Saying he left so early. That she had a whole Valentine breakfast planned for them. Gah I love that so much I can’t even stand it.

Of course she did. Damnit Tim why did you leave so early? Tim telling her she was up late he wanted to let her sleep in. Which is very sweet actually. Lucy apologizes but says it was nice to catch up with Noah. Lucy asking ‘We didn’t keep you up did we?’ Tim continues his grumpy short replies. Lucy is picking up on all of your being grumpy vibes. Did you think she wasn’t going notice you beautiful fool?

Love of your damn life knows you better than you know yourself. We get a SECOND sweet arm touch. *squee* Clearly something off with him. So Lucy approaches it with another soft touch to start. Knowing it’ll get his attention. Then sweetly asks if he’s ok? He lies and says he’s fine. Her face saying it all. Knowing he’s lying to her she’s just not sure why… Believe or not this is growth for Tim. His terrible lying showing how much she’s opened him up. He was as closed off as possible when they met. Now he's out here expressing feelings even if he's trying hard not to.

Grey has Tim ride with Lucy and Noah today. Normally they’d be excited to ride together but you can feel the tension above. Mostly from Tim. He is an open book about how he feels about this today. Lucy is more concerned than she is tense in this scene. Wade wants Metro on scene ASAP for this situation. If he’s riding with Lucy and Noah that’ll happen. They’re looking for a random van that has explosive chemicals in it. It was meant for a meth lab Noah’s team took down. Now it’s floating around the city and needs to be found before it does damage.

Another great shot of their day starting in the shop. Reminding me of 5x08 opening sequence. Lucy can see Tim is acting off still. Being Lucy she can’t let that stand. Having no idea it’s her that’s put him in this foul mood. Being the sunshine human she is tries to get him to engage with some UC school stories. I LOVE her putting her hand on the back of his chair. Crossing that invisible line of theirs that existed for years in the shop.

Getting as close to him as possible without actually touching. When Lucy sees the story isn’t working she makes a joke. Then touches his shoulder. Gah it’s so cute. She wants to get him through whatever this is by just loving on him. Trying to get him to smile. Sadly Tim doesn’t respond like she wants. Thought she was going to get the normal sassy reply back from him and nada. Lucy withdraws her hand confused but determined to figure him out.

Lucy brings up Noah’s GF asking if he’s contacted her yet? He says no they broke up. Well that she broke up with him. Noah bringing up the elephant in the room that plagues them the rest of this season. Being a UC and being in a functioning relationship. I do adore Lucy being confident af in front of Noah about it. About them. Saying it depends on the couple.

Basically saying I’m sorry yours didn’t work out but mine will. She is all in and it shows in so many of her comments and decisions. I truly love it so very much. Noah makes a comment that has Tim shifting in his seat. Even turning the grumpy off for a moment. Looking over at Lucy when Noah tells her be a shame if she didn’t take the plunge.

So much being said in the looks above. The ever present issue they struggle to talk about is here. Rears its ugly head for first time since they got together. Gotta love Eric and Melissa’s chemistry especially in moments like this. Communicating so much without saying a damn word. Gah we’re lucky to have them.

This next part is glorious for so many reasons. Angela, Harper, Nolan, Celina and Aaron are all gossiping on an open channel. Tim interrupts because well it’s Tim. He’s already grumpy today so this is last thing he wants to listen to. Angela calling him out for being so damn surly. Because she wouldn’t be his best friend if she didn’t. Saying he should be basking in the glow of new love.

Look at Lucy when Angela says this. Heart eyes for days for that man sitting next to her. As transparent as glass. Celina giving into the continuous gossip asking what they’re doing tonight? I love Lucy snatching the radio out of his hand. Even mad as hell at her he allows it because it’s wifey. Nothing he wouldn’t do for that woman angry or not. Lucy projecting what Tim is thinking. Saying they’re not talking about this on an open channel.

Look at how he has rubbed off on her I love it sfm. Also something about her jumping in and defending his side. *sigh* Gah getting me all in the feels. Also look at the way Lucy is looking at him when she does chastise the group. So in love with that man. Heart eyes nation in this shop. We can also see Tim fighting a proud smile wanting to stay mad. When he’s so impressed with her for doing that. Let’s not discount Noah being chill af in the back. None of this affecting him whatsoever LMAO

Lucy can’t take it any longer and confronts Tim about it. We can see her studying his body language. Noticing how tense he is. He is broadcasting his feelings like a radio station. She knows something is amiss. Deep in her soul she knows something is off with her person. Love the way she is studying him then reaches out with a soft touch. Knowing it’ll get his attention and be an ice breaker into her asking. Her whole demeanor screaming 'Timothy my love what is going on?'

Lucy being as direct but soft as she can in her delivery. Telling him ‘Out with it.’ Tim ridiculous answer of ‘What?’ Like she hasn’t noticed him stewing all damn morning. You’re full of a lot of shit Timothy haha The disbelief on her face is so telling. Asking him what’s wrong with him today? He continues to be short with her. Lucy calling him the hell out on it. In a way only she can.

Noting he hasn’t even called her hot pants once. If Tim wasn’t being such a grumpus he would’ve been all over that. She is so right and knows him so damn well. Then she asks if it’s Noah? Is he jealous? Tim immediately saying ‘No.’ I mean it was a little last night…but it’s definitely not that now. It’s not helping but not the main problem here either.

Tim FINALLY fesses up it’s her he’s mad with. Lucy is taken back but it becomes clear when he brings up Metro. Lucy tries to deny it and Tim gives that disapproving stare he’s so good at. Lucy giving in and saying he was SO miserable riding the desk. That she had to do something for him. Tim then shoots back the optics of it aren’t great for him. Lucy shutting this down asking if it’s fragile male ego thing? I mean it is a little bit. It's not the whole reason IMO (I'll touch on that more later) but it is part of it. Tim has grown leaps and bounds. Truly he has.

But he also still has to deep stubborn steak in him. One built on pride and earning everything he’s ever gotten. This is making him question if he deserves the position he now has. Negative grooves in his brain he still defaults back to. Now I know some may have hated his reaction to this. I won’t lie it wasn’t great. His reaction reminds me of myself pre-therapy. I would shut down and be one worded. Lash out if someone tried to get me to talk. My whole body would emulate frustration and annoyance. Just like he has been. I so relate to him reacting this way.

Once again not the best but the man is still human. Tim has earned everything in his career with hard work and his strong skill set. This was a blow to his ego 100 percent. He’s not admitting to this but it was. Lucy smells BS and is letting him know as much. I love how she holds steady and strong despite his boiling anger. Even making a joke Tim is just mad she solved it better than him LOL I mean she did…Lucy saying ‘We’ just wanted to help. Tim getting more ramped up hearing this. Lucy cracks me up stumbling on her words saying we? I meant Me. Ha smooth…

This scene in his office is *chef’s kiss* I remember being excited this was their first fight as a couple. Because it’s so healthy to be fighting from time to time. Something neither of them had in their previous relationships. This was an important fight for them to have. They come out the other side of it stronger because of it. This is good angst. Productive fighting. I’ll take that any day damn if it moves them forward as a couple. This most definitely did.

Lucy comes into his office ready to confront this problem head on. Their talk in the shop leaving too much left unsaid. Lucy is a lot like me and can't let sleeping dogs lie. She has to clear the air and confront things. I do love her patting herself on the back as she launches into why she did what she did for him. I mean she did spearhead a miracle for him. She just needs him to see WHY she did it.

His anger has clouded that all day and it's part of why she is here now. Tim barely looks up from his paperwork as she starts her explanation. Still so angry about this whole thing. Lucy starts out with saying she gets why he’s angry. He looks up at her finally. Lucy going on a mini rant about why she did what she did. That she did it masterfully (I mean she most definitely did) Kudos to her amazing brain.

Lucy finishes off saying despite all that she shouldn’t have done it behind his back. Tim being a sassy sass pot asks if that was an apology? My goodness Timothy. The salty sass. You can see there is still a lot of seething going on under the surface. Lucy immediately says yes. Tim not seeming less mad just replies ‘All right.’ Her apology feeling like it's made zero difference in his anger about what's happened. Also Lucy's 'Yes' doesn't seem whole hearted either because she's holding back and decides to let it rip instead.

We see this is not sitting right with her. So she backtracks and says ‘No!’ I love her for this. Could've taken his half hearted acceptance but she didn't. Knew it didn't feel right to her. She wouldn't be Lucy if she just let that happen either. Knowing things felt unresolved still and not being able to stand that. The whole purpose of her coming to him was the clear the air. Tim looks exasperated af with her reply. That famous he can't believe she just said that look. He's about to be taken to school and probably knows it.

Lucy launching into exactly why she is sorry but not sorry. I love this fireball of a woman. (So does Tim) That he never would’ve let her work her magic if he knew. She’s not wrong… Same goes for her. If Lucy had known he was taking that desk job she wouldn’t have allowed it. What makes these two dopes so perfect for one another. That she would’ve ended up transferring just to save him from himself. Which was what they were trying to avoid in the first place.

Lucy stands her ground and lets him know this worked out SO much better. I mean it really did. That if he can’t see that she’s sorry not sorry. This is where we see Tim turn the corner. What I love the most about this part is how she stood up so confidently. Strongly stood by her decision on what she did. Her sorry not sorry is perfect. Basically saying ‘I love you, you idiot and I don’t regret doing this for you.’

It’s not the apology that soothes Tim’s anger. No it’s her conviction in why she did this for him. Seeing that fire she has and he is feeling so lucky he gets to have her in his corner. Lucy is 100 percent unapologetically herself in this moment. Her standing up to him is one of the many reasons Tim fell for her in the first place. So naturally her ‘non’ apology is what gets it done. Not her I don’t really mean this but you’re mad at me one.

He loves that woman standing in front of him so much. It shows when she’s done. It’s why he’s smiling at the end of her ‘non’ apology. She is his rock, his compass and his sunshine lighting his path when he needs it. But mostly she is a guiding force in his life. Kicking him back onto the right path whether he realizes he needs it or not. Beautiful thing is she has his back. He’s so not used to this type of love and support. It's a throw back to 2x01 in a way with his reaction to it. How visceral and angry he was then and now. Once again doesn't see her protecting him and helping him as a positive thing. And just like in 2x01 he didn’t see it this way until she stood up. Smacked some sense into him. Let him know why she'd done it.

Doing it this time around because she loves him so much. Only wants the best for him. Let's not forget this man has been put second in all of his other relationships. His needs being put on the back burner to take care of those he loves. Had to suppress his emotions for years. When you let yourself start to feel after years of not it's a tidal wave that drowns you. It's overwhelming really. Luckily Tim has Lucy to drag him to dry land. So when he's taken care of he doesn’t know how to handle it. It's not something you just get used to in an instant. Just like in the beginning with Lucy when she would push him to open up. We got surly angry Tim but he eventually came around. This is no different. He isn’t used to be put first. His gut reaction was hurt and being defensive.

Not oh Lucy did this because she loves me. Because he probably in the back of his mind still doesn't feel worthy of that love still. And although he has grown. So very much. He still isn't used to having someone fiercely love and defend him the way Lucy does. That's why this scene was so important for her to back her decision. To make him see exactly why she did this. It’s why he’s smiling at the end of it. This beautiful, driven fireball is his and she’s in his corner. What’s hitting him is that realization. She put him first and put in a massive effort to do so. Not only for him but for them as a couple. He is so very lucky to have someone as wonderfully understanding as Lucy to love him through these types of moments.

I love how once the dust is settled they just morph back into them. How it should be. Fighting is meant to be cleansing. To confront the issue and then be done with it. Confrontation gets a bad rap. It’s meant to clear the air so both parties feel better after. Her cute. ‘So are we going to dinner or what?’ Haha They already missed her breakfast. She wants to do something with her man.

Tim couldn’t be cuter saying they are. But her outfit is missing a little something. Lucy being very confused by this. Saying 'What?' Then seeing the jewelry box in his hand and melting like butter. Tim could not be cuter handing it to her. Love struck as he gives her his gift. Telling her ‘Happy Valentines Day.’ The biggest grin on his handsome face. Lucy beaming right back at him. Her eyes screaming how much she loves this man.

She is so impressed with him. So impressed she’s shocked he picked this out LOL He knows his girl. Tim is offended asking her if it’s that shocking? Lucy soothing his ego saying ‘No.’ Letting him know he clearly has good taste. I mean he does. He is in love with her after all. He really did a good job. That is the perfect Lucy necklace so he nailed it. The man has noticed a trend is what she wears. Well done Timothy. Your girl is mighty impressed with your gift giving skills. How far you've come since your days with Rachel ha

It’s so intimate and sweet the way he puts it on her. Lucy is radiating joy as he does this. The way she looks at him while he puts it on and slides his hand down to adjust it. *heart clutch* She is revved up and wants to skip dinner now. More than ready to ‘Thank’ him for her gift. I love her being the one to suggest just skipping dinner and having her way with him instead. Tim saying 'No I'm hungry.' Lucy is feeling a little rejected like ‘Oh. Ok..’

Tim doesn’t let that feeling linger for long. Touching her back intimately mentioning she’s gonna need fuel for later. OMG. He just said that and I’m reeling. I rewound it I remember being so damn giddy. Basically saying she needs fuel to keep up so he can have his way with her. Tim Bradford talking about sex in his office. Not only that but they’re gonna have so many rounds he wants her fueled up. *fans self*

Lucy’s face is everything afterwards. She is blushing but also so ready for their night together. Man has some pent up tension to burn off but needs food first LOL Lucy is very ready to go to dinner now. Especially knowing what awaits her when they’re done hehe I can only imagine how antsy she was to get back to either his or her place following that dinner. I love how the writers constantly insinuate their sex life is spicy and active af. I adore it so much. I mean did we really expect anything less? Doesn’t make me love it any less though.

Anyone else just in shock we got all these goodies still? I keep saying feels like a fever dream because it does. In the best way possible. After last episode this was start to finish incredible.

~~~~

Side notes-non Chenford

Wesley accidentally hiring a beautiful woman to guard him is hilarious. A non pregnant Angela wouldn’t be amused. A very pregnant one is ready to wring his neck.

Celina’s murder case gets brought back up. This SL is so good. It was my turning point for her as a character I needed that to care and give her more depth.

I did love how all the couples started off rocky and ended up fine by the end was growing a little from it. I do love Nyla and James so much.

Thank you forever and always to those who like, comment( love dem comments) and reblog these. S5 been so fun to analyze thank you all for still being invested in these all these months later. See you all in 5x17 :)

[deathsletters]

WWDITS S6 SPOILERS

So I've watched episode 5 of the new season.

When I've started to watch the series I thought Guillermo and Nandor would get together. Now I don't think it will happen. But that doesn't mean that all of the feelings aren't still there. I think they are not friends nor lovers, they are somewhere in between the lines.

Often in fiction we don't really like when things are blurry. I think however that it is more real that way.

It is some kind of breakup. A friendship one or a lover's (or even both).

Guillermo has been looking for a same purpose for 15 years and realized it was not what he truly needed (plus, he doesn't have forever to waste). It must be hard just to walk into a new life without a goal, especially after having the same on for 15 years.

He feels like he has waisted years, has been used and abused relentlessly. He needs to get out of the vampire's house because he does no longer share the same needs, and he needs to reinvent something TO HIMSELF, that will be only his.

So that is why he is frustrated when the vampires came at his work, and messed with it. But at the same time, he does not know how to live without them, it's been so long and they are the closest to friends that he has.

While for Nandor, we know he has like an existential crisis since episode one (of the series). He feels like he has no purpose because he's living for so long that everything seems pointless. He had found a new purpose in Guillermo, as he said, to make him a good vampire. Of course he made mistakes, but like he said (again) he has been loyal.

And it's that kind of devotion, one towards another that is so precious, and they know it. They just do not know how to navigate now that things are not as clear as they have been. They have to create a new dynamic. And if they don't, their relationship will flutter. But at the same time they are both hurt, so it's hard to do the first step when you want the other to do it and you don't know how to let it know. It's hard to navigate in the blurry.

Guillermo is just trying to move on at this point, that is why he tries to minimize it. But it gives the reverse impression, that he has already moved on, while he clearly hasn't. With Jordan it's the master/familiar thing all over again.

So yeah, maybe it's a breakup or it's just a moment between theses two trying to approach what they have going on differently.

At one point, I personally think, they could have been lovers in the series, but now the moment seems to have passed. They are left with too many questions and probabilities that they will never explore and I think that's why it's so tense between these two.

[eliotquillon]

oooooh would you write about Cameron and whatever the hell was going on in her brain when she was in Chicago between Teamwork and Lockdown? She's still waiting for Chase to come back to her and is trying to bait him with divorce papers while getting updates about him going speed dating and punching House.

i will very likely flesh this out into something better and longer when i get home for the break and rewatch s6 but as a quickfire drabble:

The move goes well. Cameron spends the night in a hotel, arranges for movers to pack and ship her things, and catches the next flight to Chicago. Simple as that. Open and shut.

If she goes back to the apartment, she’ll cave, and that isn’t—she just can’t. She has to stand for something. It’s shock therapy, she thinks; Chase will see sense, once the apartment is empty of her jewellery and perfume and favourite books. He’ll realise what he’s throwing away, and he’ll book a ticket to Chicago. A ticket home, to be with her. He’ll come, Cameron thinks, and then a week passes with her staying with her parents, and he does not call. He does not cave.

You were supposed to come with me, Cameron thinks as she rubs the spot where her wedding ring should be sitting. You were supposed to be here already.

“Robert and I are getting divorced,” Cameron tells her parents at the end of the second week. It is the first time she has said the D word—one that isn’t Dibala—out loud. Until now she has been dancing around it: temporary separation, she’d said at first, and then, he just needs some more time. “There was a dealbreaker. I don’t want to talk about it.” She doesn’t elaborate; she lets her mother assume that it’s about children, that he doesn’t want any, and Cameron’s mom practically mourns the idea of little blond miniature Chases for the rest of the evening. It goes really well. No tears.

*

Cameron gets a job running the ER at Northwestern Memorial, better than the one she’d had lined up when her and Chase were meant to be leaving together, and for the first few days she keeps stumbling over her words whenever someone asks, politely, if she’s married. “My husband died,” she says at first, which is somehow both true and dishonest. She practices saying, and I’m separated from my second husband in the mirror until it flows smoothly off her tongue. It feels truer than the D word. It feels right. Divorce, she thinks, implies that he is no longer a part of her. That he is entirely gone. That she isn’t still watching her cell phone and hoping for a New Jersey area code to pop up, just in case.

*

“These don’t go through if he doesn’t sign them, right?” Cameron checks with her attorney. She feels silly and naïve; her knowledge of divorce comes mostly from television and grapevine gossip, no intimate knowledge to impart—her parents are still, after forty years, uneasily married, and she feels cut adrift.

She is calling his bluff, she thinks. Chase loves her. He does. He will not end their marriage over this; once he sees that she is serious, that she isn’t going back to Princeton, he’ll capitulate. Chase wants forgiveness, she thinks, more than he wants to own his actions. She can give him that. Please, Cameron thinks as she gives the go-ahead for the paperwork to be faxed. Let me forgive you.

*

Foreman calls every now and then. It’s always a little stilted—outside of work, they never really were quite friends—and Cameron gets the sense that he dances around most things, House especially, but Cameron hasn’t lived in Chicago for the best part of fifteen years and it’s embarrassingly comforting just to hear a familiar voice, a filed-down East Coast accent. They talk a lot about nothing: Cameron’s new job, his apartment renovation, what’s on the news. He will occasionally mention Thirteen, and even more occasionally Taub or Cuddy, but no-one else. It’s strange, Cameron thinks: the two most significant people they both had in common have been completely erased from their pool of conversation.

She knows it’s bad news when he calls her less than three days after the previous time. Cameron’s head goes to worst case scenarios: suicides, bus crashes, random shooters. She thinks, absurdly, of Chase’s younger sister all the way over in Australia, although she’s fairly sure that Foreman doesn’t know about Danielle and, besides, Chase hasn’t spoken to his sister in years. And it isn’t any of those things, of course. No reason for it to be. Instead, Foreman says, very apologetically, “House took Chase speed-dating the other night.”

It’s the first time he mentions either of them directly, and it hits Cameron like a punch to the gut. He was supposed to come with me, she thinks blankly, as she makes all the right noises about how she appreciates Foreman telling her and that there’s no hard feelings. She can’t go back; if it’s a ploy to make her jealous, it works, but Cameron knows what she wants. She can see herself being happy in Chicago. Being free. Her only concession is that he was supposed to be here by now.

“Robert, it’s me,” she says to an unfamiliar new answering machine when Foreman eventually hangs up. Her palms are slick with sweat. “Please sign and fax over the papers I sent you. All the best.”

Cameron regrets saying that last part immediately, but what is she to do. It is a far less offensive trio of words than I love you.

*

The truth is that Cameron has never been a particularly patient person. As a child, she always bemoaned her August birthday and having to wait so long between Christmas and birthday presents; as a college student, she always raced through test papers as soon as they were in front of her; as an adult, she is little different. As she regularly tells patients, no news is good news. Chase’s lack of response to the calls, to the divorce papers, is a good thing. It means he isn’t saying no. It means he’s thinking about it.

I can’t keep chasing you forever, Chase told her once, when they were in that horrible quasi-argument that had been about her apartment drawer and not about the drawers at the same time. Cameron is beginning to understand his sentiments. The wait is torture; she signs for a new lease, and catches herself wondering if she’ll have to break it if Chase moves over and they decide to upsize. She finds herself thumbing over his contact information with a religious regularity—like the rosary he used to keep in their nightstand and sometimes pore over when he was restless and thought she was asleep. He was supposed to come with her, and he didn’t, and she doesn’t know how long she can keep limping on—

It’s a silly detail that pushes her to book the flight, in the end. She’s having another one of her biweekly chats with Foreman when, ever so casually, he says, “It was just after Chase punched out House,” the embargo on either of their names lifted, and Cameron freezes.

“After what?” she asks, and she can practically see Foreman’s little self-cringe behind her eyelids at the question; God, there’s a version of herself out there that wouldn’t believe this, but she does sort of miss him. “When was this?”

“Not long after you left,” Foreman says tactfully. “House kept asking questions about the—divorce, so Chase clocked him one.”

Chase, Cameron knows, is not typically an angry person; he is even less typically angry at House, even when he was tucked away safe in surgery and refused to have anything to do with Diagnostics. The anecdote suddenly makes it very hard to swallow. He was supposed to come with me, she thinks. If he is angry at House now instead of her—

Cameron is sick and tired of waiting. Either he’ll sign or he won’t. Either he’ll come home with her, or he’ll stay. And it is safe now, she thinks. He will see her with the papers in hand, and he won’t be able to ignore her. He will know that this is it.

He’ll make the right decision, she thinks. This time, he will. She books a single plane ticket to New Jersey, and gambles on a double return.

[tommyxgrace-always]

Peace - 11th hour - Grace!!

In s6 finale, when the bell chimes, Tommy looks at his watch and says “11th hour. Armistice. Peace atlast”.

I was aware of Armistice day (end of war) but only recently found out that 11 am was the exact time WW1 officially ended on that day.

And my Tommy - Grace shipping brain immediately found a correlation of 11th hour with Grace!! Peaky’s use of symbolism blows my mind!! The show always made it clear he only felt at Peace with Grace, here’s a compilation of ALL subtle and not so subtle references to this.

S1:

THE MOST OBVIOUS. He tells Grace, “I dont hear the shovels anymore” and the morning after we see him sleep like a baby, warm and peaceful.

S1:

During Soldier’s minute speech, we see he is thinking of Grace and their time together. When he looks at his watch it says 11.01

11.00 signifies peace for him but now that Grace will be gone, he passed his moment of peace. Thus the watch shows “one minute past 11”. Now he prepares to continue fighting the war both inside and outside.

S2:

Post Charlie Chaplin date, Tommy and Grace are back at Ada’s. While kissing, Grace says “it’s too late Thomas” to which he says “it’s 11.00 Grace”. Now as audience, we understand Grace is due to be back by midnight, so plotwise it gave us a sense of time. But symbolically, 11 represents his time of peace and Grace is with him at that moment.

S3:

During his wedding toast he says “to love, to peace to marriage”. He looks at Grace when he says “peace”

S4:

When the family is back at Arrow house, Arthur announces he is staying and then proceeds to raise a toast “our enemies are gone, war’s over. To peace.”, Tommy doesn’t raise his glass and just stares blankly. He looks uncomfortable, he is aware his peace is already gone, he will just be empty. Few minutes before the toast scene the camera zooms past everyone in his house, Grace’s picture is at one of the corner tables with a lamp. It easily catches the eye when we see the scene.

Adding one more..

Thanks @korinthya for pointing it out.

In s6, the bell chime at 11 am, marked the end of war trauma for Tommy (confirmed by SK in an interview). It’s interesting that he found that peace in 11th year after Grace’s death.

[dotthings]

So, in the overall of these final S7 eps, there are multiple characters showing varying degrees of caring about Cas. It’s not that it’s only Dean. There’s Meg, whose primary motive is to use the Winchesters as her doorway to get back at Crowley and use Cas as protection, but she does have a tiny soft spot for Cas and she does stick up for him. There’s Sam, who sits down and talks to Cas and tries to find out how he’s doing, and he is very gentle about it, and that’s good.

But of all the players in the story who care about Cas, Dean is the one who keeps blazing on his arm how much he cares. He is the one most personally impacted by Cas’s situation and he keeps trying the hardest to get through to Cas. And Dean proceeds to show again and again how much he cares, even if he doesn’t always handle it the right way.

There’s a scene where Sam and Meg confront each other, and it’s a power struggle over Cas as a strategic asset. It’s really noticeable how different it is for Dean.

I noticed several instances where Dean was tired, kinda chillin’, zoning out a bit, when there’s news about Cas he immediately snaps to attention, eagerly demanding information, is Cas is okay, where’s Cas. His whole energy changes.

On Cas’s side, he only throws himself physically back into the fight when it’s to defend Dean: when Hester advances on Dean, going into Sucrocorp HQ with Dean, and when Dick Roman lunges toward Dean and Cas shoves Dean behind him. They then team up to kill Roman.

Cas is clinically suffering from a severe case of PTSD. He’s not so far gone he has no awareness of what’s up in his own brain at all—he says “It took everything to get me here,” he tells Sam that taking on Sam’s pain was a way to blunt the guilt and anguish of what he was already feeling for the things he did—almost like a form of self-harm. Take on a different pain, to make the original pain more bearable.

It’s not only what Cas did in S6/7. This was all that landing on top of pre-existing trauma as well. Some things the show hadn’t actually revealed yet by S7, but since we know it now, it’s applicable—the millennia of brainwashing resets. Then everything we saw so far, where everything Cas thought he knew, his entire belief system, collapsed, Cas rejected Heaven, sided with humanity, was hunted by his own kind, followed by Apocalypse II electric boogaloo and the things Cas did in S6/7, believing it was the only way to save the world and his family, believing he could take it all on by himself, and he was wrong, and then all the guilt for the things he’d done crashing onto him, followed by his absorbing Sam’s hallucinations.

It’s no wonder Cas is shattered. And Dean is not okay either, struggling as he watches Cas go through it.

Dean’s frustrated and terrified. He lost Cas, then he gets Cas back, but then semi-loses Cas again because Cas isn’t entirely himself, unable to fight, talking nonsense, caught in a disassociative episode, and talking about bees and monkeys because he literally, just actually, can’t.

Yelling at Cas isn’t effective to shake Cas out of his trauma-induced state of numbness. But Dean doesn’t only lash out. I completely understand Dean’s pov and why this is so personal for him and why he is so distressed and scared by Cas’s mental state. It is a reflection on how deeply emotionally entangled these two are. Dean is just too close to this, and because Dean relates to Cas, maybe he fears seeing that vulnerability—if Cas could break, so could he. But Dean is also so very patient and repeatedly keeps trying to reach out to Cas and talk to him.

When Dean finds Cas in the game room, he tries talking first, plays a game of Sorry with Cas, he makes every effort to put aside his own fears and frustrations to try to reach Cas, and then after some time has passed, Dean finally snaps and flings the game on the floor.

Cas very purposefully getting down on the floor and picking up each piece so carefully is so loaded. What is going on there. Is this Cas trying to signal to Dean his regrets, via the care he is taking by picking up the pieces himself, even though Cas isn’t able to articulate things fully to Dean yet? Is it another way Cas is saying I’m sorry?

There’s nothing performative about Cas during his PTSD episode. His brain is cooked by trauma and he’s is struggling to find his way out and back to himself, and his ways of communicating are ineffective but he’s trying. He needs time and he needs compassion. Dean is short on patience, it’s true, but he has plenty of compassion.

Also in play is Dean’s panic seeing how vulnerable Cas can be. Cas is an uncanny eldritch horror who can do angel magic and he is immortal and bullet-proof, and Dean has lost so many people he loves. Cas is the friend Dean can care for who should always come back. Who should be safe. Being confronted with Cas’s vulnerability shakes Dean to his core.

“Nobody cares that you’re broken” arises in part from Dean’s fear, pain, and worry, plus there is a certain degree of projection in play too. It’s how Dean was raised by John, what Dean heard growing up. Dean was never given that space to process the horrors of growing up a hunter, the traumatic things happened to him.

“Nobody cares”—the opposite is true in fact, it’s that Dean cares *so much* he can’t bear witnessing what Cas is going through. And Dean has no idea how to fix it.

Here’s another thing about Dean: he already welcomed Cas back. He knows Cas is good. He already forgave him. In Born Again Identity, he believed in Cas and his ability to make things right, without question, he didn’t reject him. He believes in Cas more than Cas believes in himself. So when Dean, who believes in Cas so hard, while Cas by his own admission says he’s afraid he will screw everything up, sees Cas refusing the call, over and over, that’s going to scare Dean even more.

Dean telling Kevin the angels don’t have “the equipment to care. Seems like when they try, it just breaks them apart.” Right there in front of him, Dean having to see the wreckage of Cas, who cared so hard he imploded right before Dean’s eyes.

Over the course of these set of episodes, Cas slowly starts to emerge from his PTSD bubble, slowly starts saying more rawly honest things, reacting more emotionally and more seriously and doing less and less deflecting, until finally he’s ready.

It’s Dean who finally gets through to him, not by yelling, but by reaching out with his words and showing acceptance. “I’d rather have you. Cursed or not.” Dean believes in him—Cas just needs to see it and believe in himself the way Dean does.

“Nut up. We’re all cursed. I seem like good luck to you?” is Dean going even further, reaching out by relating himself to Cas—to help Cas see they aren’t so different. So that maybe Cas can see himself reflected in Dean and see his own capacity for goodness and for bravery, and finally come home.

[eddiediazismyhusband]

One Fan’s Thoughts on 9-1-1 Season 7

(fair warning this is about to be a long ass rant post so buckle up; if you, like me, get anxiety over speculation and discussion of the show, this may not be the post for you to read… but i need to get my thoughts out there because i have kept them bottled up for so long that it is taking a mental toll on me.)

there’s something so gutwrenching about laying awake in bed thinking about how you have been the closest you’ve ever been to actually seeing a queer ship you’ve stuck with for six years actually going canon just to be hit with an immensely overwhelming sense of doubt because every time the story presents a natural path to develop in that direction, the writers completely veer off in an insanely different direction despite constantly trying to push this narrative of “if it goes there naturally” while ignoring the plethora of times it already has gone there naturally but has been passed over for some insanely far-fetched plotline that contradicts points that have been set up in the past…

i’m not trying to put a dampner on things or worry anyone, and like i mentioned in my previous post i am NOT closing on buddie, but i still can’t help but feel cinical and pessimistic about it when it feels like Tim is just blatantly baiting us at this point. Like at times it doesn’t even feel like he’s actually open to exploring buddie when he is constantly retconning his own storylines from previous seasons, and making excuses every time he deliberately chooses to ignore the countless number of chances that crop up in the story, instead deciding that because he wants to redo hitchcock he’s going to rewrite the history he created in order to fit a convoluted plotline that borders on farse just to a) not give fans what they have been begging for for years, b) shoehorn in his vertigo fanfiction, c) stir up drama rather than actually giving us something pointing in a positive direction to combat the 5000 other depressing plotlines he’s trying to cram into a 10 episode season.

i really thought tim was going to bring back the old vibe we had before KR took over and messed things up, but so far this season has felt like a jam-packed rushed mess that resembles a middle schooler’s first forray into a wattpad angst fic, and it’s disheartening to have sat with the show since the first season just to see it fall off so hard w s6 b, only to rebuild hope that things might go back to normal w s7, just for it to spiral even further into jump-the-shark territory.

And this is not just about buddie. There have been numerous times this season that have just been recycled plot points from previous seasons rather than something new and fresh, simply for the sake of melodrama. Old plotlines that had been seemingly finished are being rehashed and recontextualized out of nowhere, characters are getting entire traits and development completely rewritten and replaced with something almost unrecognizable to newer fans, there has been very little positivity within the narrative to allow us to breathe between traumatic moments, and the few positive moments we have received have been lukewarm at best, and have done nothing but cause derision and hate to be spread throughout the fandom.

PR for this season has been a mess. At times it feels like Oliver Stark is the only actor who exists on the show, and that Buck is somehow the titular character— not that Buck’s coming out storyline is not important, it absolutely is, but the entire season should not be focused solely on him just because of a two episode arc that honestly didn’t tell us anything new about him besides canonically confirming what we’ve known to be true since the second season.

We have cast members stirring up drama by indulging fans through paid video responses, and cast members on live getting asked to weigh in on fandom drama that they honestly have no reason to be involved in. We have news outlets constantly being approved by the PR team to ask questions about a popular ship to bait viewers into watching the show when there has not been any concrete evidence either way of whether or not they actually plan to go there, dragging things out for another season when they have no confirmation yet in whether or not they will get a 9th season (and if they do, probably coming up with some other bullshit reason to drag things out), confirming that certain plot points were planned to happen in the past but for some reason now they are like “but that’s not what we’re doing anymore so you have to live with present and be happy with what you get.”

There is no reason why 6 years can’t be a long enough time for a slow burn. There is no reason for characters to be given increasingly convoluted arcs that callback to plotlines that have been otherwise nonexistent for years at this point. There is no reason to drag fans of a ship along just because you’re too scared to lose they’re viewership rather than just flat out saying “no we aren’t ever going to do it” or actually committing to it one of the hundreds of times the story opens a path to it.

No, the choices made this season were not “the only way” we could have been given the same dramatic beats. The choices made have not been some sort of end all be all to the story with no other possible outcome. Tim did not need to send the show off the rails the way he has just because he wants drama. Yes it’s a drama show, but there also need to be moments to breathe. Yes it’s a drama show, but that doesn’t mean you can’t let characters be happy. Yes it’s a drama show, but that doesnt mean you have to fuck up the narrative every time it starts going in the direction of something the fans have begged for for years just because you don’t want to give it to them.

It’s disappointing to see how careless they are being with things this season when previous seasons the actors and writers have been so cautious about what was said about buddie. now we have every interview mentioning buddie in some way, yet we only get told “idk ��” and see nothing concrete in the story to firmly hint one way or the other. It’s disappointing when you start feeling like you are being dragged along because a corporation knows that ship baiting won’t ever actually backfire/have a negative affect on them, so it ends up being a lose-lose situation for the fandom.

Maybe it’s because I have been burned too msny times by TV shows in the past, but nothing about this season or the PR surrounding it has given me faith that Tim or the writers actually care about anything other than viewership. Otherwise we would be seeing clear signs of the growing seeds of buddie, but so far all we’ve seen is the same framing choices that we’ve seen in every other season that are being made to deliberately keep buddie fans drawn in and theorizing when the writers have most likely already thrown out any plans that there might have ever been for buddie to go canon.

Mostly, I am disappointed in the fact that Oliver has been so heavily involved in pushing buddie speculation after being so careful to not lead people on in the past- i know that some believe that this was a sign that buddie is coming and he knows it is, but as the season draws to a close it feels more like he is just showing where his loyalty lies even though he knows the show isn’t going to take it there. I am not blaming oliver for buddie not going canon or trying to insinuate that he is queerbaiting in any way, but i can’t help but feel like i wouldn’t be so dejected about the way this season is going if he hadn’t started interacting with and sharing buddie content before any sort of confirmation was given.

now do not get me wrong i absolutely ADORE oliver and i am not in any way trying to attack him or speak against him in any way, I am simply saying that his sudden vocal support and campaigning for buddie is only going to add on to my disappointment in heaps if they don’t make buddie canon, especially after JLH said Tim made Madney happen bc she asked for it, but he still hasn’t made any sort of definitive move towards buddie after the same amount of time.

and lastly my disappointment also lies with the fact that ryan’s acting ability has been wasted on this crackfic plot… ryan is one of the most underutilized dramatic actors on the show, and the fact that the only serious arc he has gottne this season isn’t even that serious because of how out of character and preposterous it is is really disappointing. ryan deserves better, and eddie deserves better, and it is disappointing seeing him acting his entire heart and sole out in a plotline that makes his character out to be the bad guy in the situation when this is something eddie would never do under normal circumstances. Ryan’s talent has once again only been used to show trauma and this time it wasn’t even trauma that feels natural within the story, and especially after his recent interview it disappoints me that we are once again reiterating that eddie is somehow mentally unstable enough to have an emotional affair with a woman he knows nothing about just because she looks like shannon. Eddie has simultaneously had so much yet so little development, and seeing some of the theories of where his character is going in the context of ryan saying s8 will be a “reset” for eddie doesn’t fill me with excitement over where his story is going and actually makes me worried that we are going to see regression rather than progress for the sake of drama… i just don’t want to see eddie’s character revamped to a point where he has lost all of his development from the past 6 seasons just because Tim wanted to turn eddie’s plotline into a melodramatic telenovela.

Anyway, sorry for the rant— maybe it’s the stuff that’s going on in my personal life combined with the fear of getting played by yet another network tv show ship baiting that’s making me feel this way, but this season has left me feeling so pessimistic and cynical about the show as a whole, but mostly about buddie and it hurts. I love both of these characters dearly, and i want them to finally understand that everything they’ve ever needed in life they have in each other, but it feels like ever time we are on the verge, another wild card is played and it’s getting old atp.

i don’t say any of this to cause an argument. i don’t say any of this to poke and prod at people. i say this as someone who has loved this show and given it 7 years of my life who feels like my experience as a fan is being shat on in favor of melodrama rather than thoughtful storytelling… not to say there haven’t been really good moments this season, but overall, it has really soured things for me the way Tim has handled/taken the narrative in many ways, and I don’t know if I will be able to watch season 8 until i see concrete evidence that things will be better. i am not kidding when i say this takes the spot as my least favorite season after season 6, regardless of if we get any hope or not next ep… and that is what upsets me.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Thoughts from Dreamer's Nightmare

Each of Wonderstorm's graphic novels has given us extra content outside the scope of the show, and each has teased us with hints and foreshadowing that fall in line with the greater themes of the multimedia story they're presenting.

Through the Moon gave us a greater understanding of the purpose of the Moon Nexus, which the new trailer has shown will be expanded upon in S7. We got to see the mechanics of rescue and resurrection through Phoe-Phoe's rebirth and Rayla's visit to the world beyond life and death, which foreshadowed Runaan's return in S6.

It also gave Rayla and Callum a reason to hold love and pain in their hearts at the same time, so their struggle to come back together after separation, in S4 and beyond, would mirror the greater struggle of the humans and elves all across Xadia as they try to find ways to stop fighting their endless war and achieve peace and love with one another.

Bloodmoon Huntress gave us a new villain, Kim'dael, who appeared in the show in S5, and set up what feels like a rematch between her and the moonfam. It also gave us Runaan and Rayla's bonding origin story, allowing greater understanding of her heartfelt focus on rescuing him.

We also got the tiniest peek at Keeper L-------'s existence. When Rayla sees him in S7, his lore will expand.

And then there's Runaan and Ethari's relationship, which was expanded a lot in the graphic novel. Whatever we get in S7, we already know that they're an effective battle couple, each with their own strengths, and that they're devoted to each other and work well as a team.

Puzzle House did so much heavy lifting with its foreshadowing, I'm in awe. The unicorns were a fun throughline that no one suspected would lead us to Leola, but it has. The meta moment when we've left the cute childlike area behind and now we're in the dark scary part is delightfully self-aware and holds such importance for the constant growth and maturing themes in the show. The hint that the greater multimedia story of Xadia itself is like a puzzle to be solved is subtle, but accurate. We can find valuable secrets hidden inside if we take the time to think and analyze properly.

Claudia's ability to read Viren's map foreshadows options in S7, and the concept of a pure heart, first touched on with Amaya in S3, is expanded upon here as a real phenomenon that has real in-universe effects, so when we came back to it in S6 with Soren - with comments from Corvus and from Viren - we are left with a much expanded understanding of what that means for him.

So, what does Dreamer's Nightmare have to offer us? Let's take a look. (This is just a high-altitude pass, looking for peaks rising from the fog. I'm not going to delve into every aspect of the book in this post.) The things that stand out to me at similar heights to the other points I've mentioned for the other graphic novels are these:

Callum and Ezran's relationship is fraught during much of this story, even though they do love each other. It's reminiscent of TTM's approach to Rayla and Callum struggling to find common ground despite their fathers' conflict, and I think that's where it's pointing again, too. With Runaan returned, Ezran and Callum will find themselves on opposite sides, despite their love for each other. And they'll have to try to work through that if they want to reach an understanding. Callum and Rayla didn't get there in TTM - it took them much longer, so we might not get a complete and tidy result just from S7.

The dream warden holds the rest of the big themes I see as foreshadowing. They circle around time and identity.

The warden itself was young when it made a friend, and then it lost them. Connection and loss are constant themes in TDP, from all the parents our main five kids have lost, to the choices they make that take them away from each other, to the ways they choose to seek each other out again. The warden lost its connection to the little one it loved, and over time it grew angry, hurtful. This feels like a parallel to Aaravos and his loss of Leola, and the darkening of the star on his chest. Its plan to attack the adults for leaving their dreams behind is similar to Aaravos' grand scheme in some ways.

The other aspect of the dream warden I feel is themey is the time gap and loss of identity it suffers once it's calmed. It returns, and for a moment it is still very alone and uncertain. More than one show character has stood in such a position, and yet more may stand here soon. Rayla stood here when she finally sought Callum out after two years. Runaan is standing here now, between S6 and S7, uncertain where the battle lines have shifted to in his absence, and who is on his side. Aaravos may stand here if he stops causing chaos and truly looks at the people he's been harming. Claudia could stand here as well, seeing the way she's been pushing those who love her away and changing herself in pursuit of her goals. The warden's storm can represent a host of too-big, negative emotions, and plenty of characters carry such a storm inside them.

The hopeful side of the identity moment is that the warden takes on parts of the identity of those supporting it. Little bits of the other creatures live on in it. It is already not as alone as it may feel. It already has support, even before it begins to reach out in dreams for new friends. It's choosing to emulate those who helped, and that will help the warden become a helper itself, once more. A new cycle is beginning, and it can spread to anyone receptive to it, anyone who takes something good and makes it their own and carries it forward to touch other lives. Runaan was not always an assassin. Aaravos was not always a manipulator. Claudia was not always a killer. If you live, you can still learn.

Cycles aren't inherently bad. They're just tools. Big, giant engines, massive cosmic things we build with our will and maintain through our choices - all of us, together.

Here's to Season 7 of The Dragon Prince, and the conclusion of the cycle we've spun together. I'll see you on the other side.

[feministsouthpark]

South Park Filler Guide - Season 11

Link for Seasons  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10

You know the drill by now, I’ll judge whether an episode has all the qualities of a canon one, or is it just shameless filler. S11E1 With Apologies to Jesse Jackson is LORE

N-word for white people gets banned instantly. Again, a major character in this one will return as a henchman later, but that's a minor role with one line. S11E2 Cartman Sucks is FILLER

Butters goes to camp. Eric gets himself in a tricky situation that will be forgotten by next time. S11E3 Lice Capades is FILLER

The boys have lice. Clyde's lice moves on. S11E4 The Snuke is FILLER

Bahir moves in, he moves out, a bomb doesn't even do anything in the end. S11E5 Fantastic Easter Special is CANON

Because Jesus is shown to resurrect himself time and time again, which explains his future appearances, otherwise his S6 death and later returns would be pretty much unexplained. S11E6 D-Yikes! is CANON

Janet has an interesting change when she realizes her attraction to women, a part of her character journey of self-discovery. S11E7 Night of The Living Homeless is FILLER

Eric breaks record of jumping over homeless people. While I consider this as filler content in South Park, remind me if I ever do a Happy Days filler guide to include this one as canon! S11E8 Le Petit Tourette is LORE

As with South Park is Gay from season 7, this one helps to establish Craig Tucker's interest in boys, and this one even foreshadows what's his type is like! S11E9 More Crap is CANON

In my mind, when I started writing about this season it started like: Can you imagine the world where I would say this one's canon? And then I would make a joke and advise everyone to skip it. However reading through the transcript of the banned episode 200 of Emmy Award winning series South Park just to make sure, I found Bono making a very specific reference to this one episode, unlike Sally Struthers for instance, who says very basic things about South Park that made her episode only important enough to count as LORE, as did many other celebrities. Thanks Bono, you have a new record now, interfering with my calculations and gaining the longest paragraph in my guide. S11E10 & S11E11 & S11E12 Imaginationland is FILLER

I know, I know, everyone wanted these to be canon, including myself at one point. And don't worry, my step-sister is going to beat me up over this one so it's already taken care of. My bottom line is that these episodes (also once retconned into a second movie) are somewhat a separate entity from the rest of the series, knowing the characters is needed to it, but the world-building is vastly different from the rest of the show, so this is where it ends up. Imagination is real. Filler is real too. That's the main takeaway. S11E13 Guitar Queer-O is FILLER

After what just happened I can't even take this one seriously. It's like robbing a bank and then jaywalking. S11E14 The List is CANON

Stan and Wendy make up. That's a spectacular episode anyway, but for our intents and purposes for inspecting a continuous story, unlike imagination territory, or a random terrorist attacks, relationship drama is exactly the kind of stuff that gets a pass.

SPOILER-FREE RUNDOWN

Again, CANON means you should watch it, FILLER means you can skip it, LORE is somewhere in-between, any episode with the LORE label will have an explanation that helps you decide if you should include it or not. S11E1 With Apologies to Jesse Jackson is LORE* S11E2 Cartman Sucks is FILLER S11E3 Lice Capades is FILLER S11E4 The Snuke is FILLER S11E5 Fantastic Easter Special is CANON S11E6 D-Yikes! is CANON S11E7 Night of The Living Homeless is FILLER S11E8 Le Petit Tourette is LORE** S11E9 More Crap is CANON S11E10 & S11E11 & S11E12 Imaginationland is FILLER S11E13 Guitar Queer-O is FILLER S11E14 The List is CANON *Two minor members of a later organization gain their motives here **If you want to learn about Craig's type in dating

CANON counter:

S1: 9 out of 13  S2: 3 out of 18  S3: 6 out of 18  S4: 10 out of 17  S5: 8 out of 14  S6: 11 out of 17 S7: 6 out of 15 S8: 4 out of 14 S9: 8 out of 14 S10: 4 out of 14 S11: 4 out of 14

Overall: 73 out of 168

[raayllum]

Cube Hostage Exchange Theory: Ezran Edition

Cause I've been feeling this one and figured I may as well toss in the newest two cents.

This is something I've talked about before (X, X) but much more briefly, and with the theory still on the table for S6, I figured I'd cover more of my bases.

The usual caveats / disclaimers to get out of the way:

Cube Hostage Exchange Theory (CHET) is a TDP theory dating back from September 2020 (shortly after Through the Moon released) speculating that Rayla would be taken hostage in exchange for Callum freeing Aaravos by handing over the Key of Aaravos. It was based on ideas of 1) the key being important to Aaravos' plans, 2) the irony of Callum literally freeing Rayla while chaining himself further to Aaravos' will, and 3) that Callum would be a pawn in Aaravos' plans (deduced well before S4) due to this thematic ties to freedom.

The biggest assumption the theory made/makes is that the Key of Aaravos is something that Aaravos is actively seeking/wanting, or something he needs; this aspect of the theory is still (technically) pure speculation.

CHET may not happen in S6 due to the fact it beat for beat already basically happened in 5x08, just with Finnegrin swapping in for Aaravos as an instigator. This is partially due to the fact that the irony regarding chains and freedom (Rayla being freed by Callum chaining himself) also came to pass alongside the captive/loved one's life being threatened and Callum subsequently being willing to help said antagonist.

That being said, I still fully think a Variant will happen, if you will, whether that's due to Callum getting in over his head with the coins, or something more directly threatening Rayla.

This theory resides on the (canon) interpretation of Callum being willing to do anything to protect his two most important loved ones (Ezran, Rayla) even if that means helping Aaravos and/or putting the world in danger. This post itself is not going to debate or explain this interpretation, but if you are interested in learning more about it, I'd recommend this meta and this tag.

I still think Callum making a choice that risks subsequent possession / world ending behaviour is more likely to be for Rayla. This is for a few reasons: 1) they still have an ongoing relationship rift/conflict to heal, and this could be a way to do it; 2) we know thanks to 6x01 that Callum and Rayla are heading to the Starscraper alone with Ezran being back in Katolis, so there is just more opportunity; 3) more of the narrative legwork has been done with Rayla specifically, particularly in regards to the possession plotline in particular; 4) Ezran has never represented destruction to or for Callum, but Rayla has more overtly negative associations which would fit; 5) Rayla has had more scenes and lines with said Cube / Key of Aaravos throughout the 4 seasons its been displayed (1x04 multiple times, 1x05, 2x07, 3x08, 4x02, 4x03, 4x07) than Ezran has (noticeably only one in 4x07).

All that being said, let's talk about the way the narrative might work / the evidence we have at present for CHET happening, but Callum dooming the world for his brother instead. Otherwise known as CHET: EE (Ezran edition).

The Necessary Narrative Legwork

As stated, CHET: Ezran Edition would only, to me, have a strong enough narrative purpose to happen IF it served as the basis or conclusion for a reconciliation arc between Callum and Rayla (currently ongoing) or between Callum and Ezran. While the brothers are not currently fighting, that doesn't mean they won't in the future.

Season six might have to squeeze it — it would have to be in the latter half of the season, which might be too delayed for Aaravos' proper release, but who knows? — but it definitely seems like the brothers are hurtling towards some sort of conflict.

However, I think the way the conflict is framed / what it ends up being centred on. For example, if the brothers just fight over whether or not to free Runaan (as there are indications that they might), I don't think that by itself leads to a resolution like CHET: EE. But if the brothers fight over Runaan, and it makes Ezran feel like his brother isn't choosing him, and they part on bad terms... Now we're talking.

Now, S6 could have room for a broyals conflict. They could fit over Runaan, as noted, or even other issues in their relationship. This would lay the groundwork for something like a CHET: EE based reconciliation happening, provided there was conflict to resolve first.

I'd also like more scenes / lines concerning Ezran with the cube. Thus far, Ezran has been there in 3/4 seasons where we've seen the cube (S5 is the only season with zero appearances outside the 5x08 intro), but he's only commented on it in 4x07 with "Callum, put away your cube!" when it's glowing because the moon opal on the Bridge of Darkness.

Episodes such as 1x05 particularly feels like a missed opportunity, perhaps, if this was the direction they were going to take, given that Ezran easily could've stepped in during Callum and Rayla's miniature disagreement over it (the "it's a glow toy" + "this doesn't end well for you" foreshadowing is there in addition to Callum looking at the Star rune) to make a comment about it still being worthwhile / perhaps a fun toy. But if Ezran's hide and seek game motif (more evident when they were searching for the hidden prison) comes into play and is tethered further to the cube's game motif, that's alright by me.

So yeah, two key points I would need to happen could happen, largely:

The brothers having some kind of serious conflict wherein Callum prioritizing Ezran in this way could help reconcile it

Ezran having more screen time with / regarding the Cube and Aaravos in some manner

That's not to say there's no legwork already put in, though, for an EE, which is part of the reason why I'm making this post. So let's talk about the two biggest points in this edition's favour:

The Orphan Queen Connection

Despite not receiving the Key himself (which could be a parallel to the Sunfire siblings regarding Kim'Dael's collar), the EE has a significant point in its favour due to Ezran's associations with the Orphan Queen. He's been directly compared to her both in appearance and in personality, as he shares her ability to Truth Tell in the face of lies, narratively speaking:

I should have seen it before. Ha! Long ago, it was a human who saw through the Fallen Star’s schemes and helped Xadia put an end to them. You look so much like her.

I've written before about the parallels there seems to be when it comes to the Jailer and Callum, two clever human mages, and the Orphan Queen Ezran, two royals of a blood line tethered in some way to truth telling and Aaravos. This parallel connection of the Jailer and the Orphan Queen being involved in imprisoning Aaravos, and Callum and Ezran witnessing / failing to stop if not also being involved in his release would be an ironic layer.

There would be another additional layer if the Orphan Queen's use of the cube was what led to him being sealed away, and now the Key is being used to spare her descendant, his brother's, life three hundred years later.

Thus far we don't know much else about the Orphan Queen besides this, so I could see Ezran's role with the Key being to partially discover what it is or what it might do, and for Callum to figure out further how it works and how to use it, but we'll have to see. I think this piece of evidence would be stronger if both brothers had been very involved and interested with the Key thus far - a true piece of dual heritage for both of them - but given that it's been so much more in Callum's corner and much less in Ezran's, I think this aspect is probably what would need to be developed the most in S6 to work out.

That said, the strongest piece of evidence we have for an EE of CHET is namely the place where we first learn the cube is called the Key of Aaravos at all, which is in...

Harrow's Letter

Harrow's letter exists in story for a few reasons:

To resolve Harrow and Callum's arc with each other, particularly to affirm to Callum that he belonged within his family / as Harrow's son. This is folded into Harrow discussing his sons' bond and what he wants for both of them in addition to point 3 and 4

To largely tie up Callum's grief regarding Harrow, as while we still see bits and pieces of it (you can argue 2x08 and 4x03 touch on it), 2x06 is the last time Callum's specific grief about Harrow is discussed (at least for now)

To complement Viren's narrative of what happened with Harrow's own take on the same events, particularly to push forward and the name the Narrative of Love vs Narrative of Strength dichotomy (which S4 and S5 have spent a lot of time deconstructing further)

To explicitly introduce the concept of the Chains of History and Harrow's own desire for freedom, which is alluded to in early S1 but not fully developed, and therefore pave the way for him to show up in Callum's 2x08 dreams

To give us the info about the Key of Aaravos early enough we could sit with it, and also let the foreboding build

I do think the placement of the information about the Key is interesting, because the way it's presented perhaps fulfil more of our traditional expectations in the fantasy genre. Of course the protagonist happens to stumble across a neat, funky family heirloom with a tease for a cool power-up to come. It is, after all, the first time we hear the name Aaravos.

However, they very quickly (aka like 1.2 episodes later) give us the name of Aaravos, and we immediately know it's nothing good. The more negative associations with the cube are also added to in 2x08 with the dream imagery, which makes a lot more sense now that we know just how deep the ties between Aaravos and dark magic really go.

With this in mind, the most telling lines from the letter for an EE CHET is, I believe, this from Harrow:

But as a father, I have a selfish wish. For you and Ezran to be... free.

Now the letter itself talks about Freedom almost as much as it talks about Love, and indeed, love — specifically a Narrative of Love — is posited as something that can and will free you, in contrast to the Narrative of Strength bound by the chains of history. We also know Startouch stuff is associated with wishes, so that's another point. And Harrow's last words to Callum were "Take care of my brother." From a familial standpoint, there's more than enough permission / merit here to go ahead.

The letter introduces the Key and talks about the brothers. It talks about chains and love and freedom. And these are all things that would be very much literally present in in a Cube Hostage Exchange in which Ezran is the hostage or person the key is being handed over to save.

And while I think it could be a possibility on the table, because Callum absolutely would do this for his brother... I still think if we're gonna get a scenario like this, it's going to be Rayla, or it's going to be no one. And here's why.

The Other Side

You may have noticed throughout this that this edition of the theory depends on even more could haves than traditional CHET already does, and hasn't really talked about Ezran's personality or interplay with sacrifice as a theme. This is because that, without an external conflict pushing things forward, this display of devotion doesn't really affect Ezran much. He knows his brother loves him and has never doubted this; Ezran is very measured about sacrificing himself for what he believes in, but is also always willing to accept help and other people's aid. Ezran is sacrificial, largely adjacent to his crown and his childhood, but his arc itself is centred around concepts of power, duty, and justice over a core theme of sacrifice or even freedom.

Subsequently, Ezran likewise has not been associated heavily with chains, nor is Callum someone who has broken Ezran's cycles or chains, literally or metaphorically. Although Ezran is undeniably tethered to freedom because "a child is freer than a king" and him being briefly (meaningfully) in prison, freeing Ezran has never been a main plot concern Callum or Rayla has had to contend with. The closest they come are the boys working together to free Rayla in 1x04 with Bait, Callum and Rayla working together to get Ez out from the icy water in 1x06, and Soren freeing Ezran from prison (and getting him to his council) in 3x05... and that's about it. Nor is Ezran a big part of Callum's mage arc; they normally discuss things other than magic, Callum rarely uses magic to protect his brother (although S5 definitely had an uptick), and Ezran is pretty separated from notions of magic within Xadia outside of his ability to talk to animals. (It's kind of like how while Callum and Zym have a strong bond, Ezran has a more emphasized one and largely carries the human side of human-dragon reconciliation alongside Soren, whereas their siblings are more elf and magic focused.)

This might shift if/when freeing Harrow from a bird is a possibility, and that's not to say it couldn't be Ezran just on this basis — but that TDP usually prefers to include things at a lower stakes level or even as a joke, and then ramp it up continually until it reaches a breaking point. We can see this even in 6x01 with a scene of Soren leading a blind folded Opeli for comedic effect, only for blindfolds to clearly be important later on in S6 with Callum and the Celestial elves. Similarly, Callum freeing Rayla both literally and metaphorically was set up consistently and periodically throughout the first 4 seasons, to the degree I could predict some of the specifics in 5x08 even years ahead. Then, the show reaffirms this pattern as well as early on in S5 (5x01 in particular), so when it came to a head in 5x08, it felt natural and earned from a thematic standpoint.

Even if S6 went in hard with the Broyals having a fight in the back half, they would still have to drench Ezran in freedom associations to me to effectively get to where I feel like a CHET: EE would totally work. That's not to say there couldn't be over avenues there I'm not seeing now, or a thread I've missed that's been steadily building all along that S6 then makes evident, but this is largely where I've arrived with everything we currently know.

Conclusion

TLDR; Cube Hostage Exchange: Ezran Edition has merit largely due to the Orphan Queen parallel and Harrow's letter, but does not seem to have enough plot buildup at this time to make me lean in that direction. Instead, I still learn towards if there is going to be this scenario or a variant, it will either be for Rayla ( / her parents adjacently) or not at all.

[weirdfreakshow]

YIPPEEE COPY N PASTE BC I ALREADY WROTE IT IN YOUR ASKS 10 MINS AGO!!

okay, hear me out in s6 i feel like Grian would have a huge addiction to sh (due to past yhs/kov and probably family stuff that hasnt been resolved) and he would do it anywhere he could find privacy and time, sometimes he'd just let the blood drip off and dry because he was so desperate for the pain and harm, he did it alot around mumbo's place alot simply because he liked being around mumbo, and blood blends in with redstone (imo) and thats where we transition(🏳️‍⚧️/j) to mumbo, he has always had an odd fascination with blood imo. also mumbo has awful self asteem thinks he is shitty all the time and thinks hes dumb if he fails even 1 thing (was deff pressured as a child+labled gifted and got burnt out), he also deff has seen some stuff on the internet and thats how he heard of self harm, over the time it became a thing that he did more often, definitely not as much as Grian though, But mumbo always kept a stainless steel razor blade in one of his pockets if he ever needed it. One day Grian was cutting himself in a more risky area late at night (11pm-1am)and mumbo caught him (in Sahara's redstone area maybe? idk) grian was cutting with a super shitty blade but he still managed to get good results. mumbo noticing the shitty blade walks up to grian and this scares the SHIT out of grian bc hes been caught by not so nice ppl b4, he thinks hes about to get yelled at or something but instead mumbo pulls a new blade out of his pocket and gives it to grian says something like "use this instead, i dont want you to get tetanus or something" bc i feel like hes a bitch abt being healthy in that way/lh(paranoid) grian took the blade thankfully but also shocked bc like mumbo jumbo? self harm? thats kinda gay😕/j (im a fag dw) also mumbo was also wearing short sleve so his cuts and scars were showing too (he took off his hoodie(its night hes not wearing his suit) to show grian "hey same dude"). Grian unwrapped the blade and asked he he could continue, MJ said yes and pulled out his own blade and joined grian.

Thats how they had their first cutting sesh together:3

HCs for this: Grian usualy does bean cuts and Mumbo does a bunchh of styros / cat scratches, he's done bean b4 but it made him almost pass out. Grian was deff Scene once and showed off his scars. Grian and Mumbo get high together all the time (and maybe a little toutchy 🤭🤭🤭).

ough i wanna make this like . a mini fic or something

also Grian and Taurtis totaly cut eachother for the funzies all the time

this is so big brain, and so extensive I don't feel like I'd be able to add anything substantial to it, but I'd like to say that I just love the image of Mumbo always carrying one or two new, fresh razors on the pocket of his suit. Something about it, about not really feeling ashamed of cutting but still having them hidden under the sleeves of his pristine suit. I also think of him having a strange fixation with everything red. From redstone, to red foods, to blood. Watching the cuts form, especially if they're clean, made with a sharp enough object it's just like cutting through butter. He finds it so satisfying in such a strange way, scratches his brain that perfect way he didn't know he needed.

Grian, shaky and afraid of being judged before Mumbo just places a shiny razor in his palm. So good.

Might not be accurate at all, but just thinking of .. Cuts giving Mumbo a sense of euphoria while they give Grian a sense of control.

"Mumbo has seen some shit on the internet" oh I KNOW that guy watched copious amounts of gore. He likes watching beans cuts but he just doesn't have the endurance to handle them, unlike Grian. A total expert, huh.

Can't help but acknowledge the mentions of yhs. I'm sure Grian learned from Sam, i KNOW Grian found Sam cutting more than once. Sam would be COVERED in scars too, always. He pushed Taurtis to cut for the first time too, insulting him in so many ways that taught him to hate himself, hate his own body ♡ so much fun

[saturnaftertaste]

Do you have an answer to the hirarchie kiss question? This one that has been going around THOUGHT EXERCISE TIME you have to script one (1) hiram/archie kiss into the existing show somewhere. no plot impact at all, it's never going to be brought up again onscreen it just becomes part of the overall texture of everything that's already going on in canon between them. where does it go, for maximum high camp and/or dramatic impact (double spaced on lined paper by whenever)

fair warning before i answer this: i have never considered this before. like, it never crossed my mind that this was a scenario that could take place. that being said, i have two places where this could work

no. 1: instead of the bomb under archie’s bed being planted before archie and betty come home and get into bed, i think hiram should sneak in cat burglar style, place the bomb under archie’s bed while him and betty are asleep, and then hiram leans over archie, who is passed the fuck out, and pulls off his mask (that he wore to sneak into archie’s house) says something dramatic and kisses archie before disappearing into the night and detonating the bomb. (this is of course after veronica and the riverdalians have run him out of town -> he does a big loop to do this last thing and then runs away forever -> forever meaning him getting killed by ronnie’s hitman in s6.) i just think it would be so youthful of hiram and so “if i cant have you an enemy no none can have you” of them

no. 2: archie sees the rotting painting of hiram in the babylonium under a sheet in veronica’s office and takes a second to furtively make sure no one is around…and then he leans in it and kisses it, forever sealing the ronnie-archie-hiram triangle. this of course takes place while he’s heavier. denser. also invulnerable. which means there’s not plot carry forward. but it’s weird alright. maybe veronica sees it later on the cctv and never brings it up. who knows. fathers and their weird relationships with their capos/ex-sons-in-law/mortal enemy

[tvckerwash]

I'm thinking about price again my dudes. like I honestly don't think he was a bad guy or that he had bad intentions. he—like everyone else involved in project freelancer—choose to wholeheartedly believe in the director, and he genuinely thought that an out of the box/unconventional solution like project freelancer could've been the key to winning the war.

I also think that he did genuinely want the best for the freelancers, and that his psychological experiments were not intended to result in the outcomes that they did. I don't think price wanted to see /his/ freelancer agents that he personally hand-picked fail—or continually be put into positions that would result in failure, but, unfortunately, he was at the mercy of the director's whims and a fundamentally broken system as much as the agent's themselves were.

when I look at the way he interacts with wash in recovery one and s6, I don't see someone who is doing what he is solely due to underlying ulterior motives. like don't get me wrong, price didn't trust wash, and the extensive therapy sessions did have hidden agendas, but I think he really did want to see wash up and running again, and he does express some level of remorse over the whole epsilon incident along with south betraying wash and shooting him in the back. but again, unfortunately for price, he's dealing with a man who already had an inherent dislike of people poking around inside his head, who also doesn't want to beat around the bush and deal with all of price's bullshit therapy jargon because he's fine, so just give him a gun and tell him where to shoot.

at the end of s6, price wanted to negotiate with wash and meta, but unfortunately (for the umpteenth time), he was dealing with 3 people who were far past the point of negotiating and already had their minds made up. wash was prepared to die if it meant the destruction of freelancer and the meta, the meta was prepared to do anything he was asked if it would lead him to the alpha, and the director was prepared to continue using his agent's to carry out his personal agenda and eliminate those who got in his way.

then price gets sent to jail, left to rot by the man who he trusted. some years pass and he hears about how a group of colorful soldiers brought the director to justice, and then the prison transport ship he's called home gets hijacked by some mercenaries, and finding himself free (relatively speaking) for the first time in a very long time, he decides he's not taking any chances.

sharkface was doomed to die—price made sure to direct his single focused rage and desire for revenge towards agent carolina, for she had always been an empathetic and deeply caring woman even if she wasn't the best at showing it, and her competitive nature was an easy and obvious exploit. unfortunately for sharkface though, with all of his attention on carolina, that meant that agent washington would fall off his radar, and he would have no problem delivering the finishing blow that carolina herself couldn't—wash is a pragmatic man first and foremost, and he has no qualms about killing people if they pose a danger to himself and those close to him, and unlike carolina he only let's his emotions get the better of him in the field when he can logically justify his actions to himself as being unrelated to his feelings.

locus is a man who has been irreparably scarred by the great war along with so many others, and he has no sense of identity outside of being a soldier. his interest (and subsequent disappointment and anger) over agent washington not accepting him as a fellow soldier is very telling. price wonders what locus would think if he told him that agent washington had been court-martialed and demoted prior to being recruited for freelancer for disobeying orders and attacking his CO.

when locus has a sudden interest in the meta, he decides to take the opportunity to sow the seeds of doubt and open locus' eyes to the truth of his partnership with felix, and how the other man wants locus to stay a broken, mindless soldier when he does not need to be one. after all, price is and always will be a counselor, and while he thoroughly failed at his job in the past due to things that were both in and out of his control, here he sees a chance to do some good and make amends on his own terms.