#i hope at least 1 of my predictions would be correct because that would be cool frfr

[maxiwaxipads]

im kinda attached on the idea of winter wonderland in tuxedo sam kingdom, but imagine SEEDs that could bring eternal winter or summer? maybe with tuxedo sam kingdom, we could have reference to london fog and the SEEDs make its own version infused with negativity or them hiding in the fog. with tuxam having sherlock holmes influences…

[claramelooo]

HEYYY! It's me again! I'm so happy with all the support words and the great proportion this story is taking that I got excited and I just want write more and more to you guys!! (I'm vacations btw lol)

First of all, I would like to say that I don't know much about the US admission system, so if I got it wrong, please correct me.

Second, if you have any suggestions to improve the story's progress or speed up my writing, feel free to contact me.

Last but not least: enjoy it and comment plsss <3

MINORS DO NOT MUST INTERACT

Paring: Mommy Dom Wanda x Brat Fem reader

WARNING: +18

Summary : Wanda wraps you in the web she has created.

Read here: Prologue | Part 1 – Predator | Part 3 - On your knees

Velvet Chains

The Prey

It was around 3 a.m., and Wanda sighed, staring at the ceiling of the bedroom. The silence was broken only by the lazy whirring of the fan. Vision lay asleep beside her, turned away, breathing deeply. The space between them on the bed felt like an unbridgeable chasm. She turned her head to look at him for a moment but felt a weight in her chest as she realized there was no warmth there, no real connection.

Sex with Vision had always been… functional, almost mechanical. It was always about him—his needs, his desires. There were moments when she tried to convince herself that this was normal, that love was above all a commitment, but nights like this made it clear: something was terribly wrong.

Wanda shut her eyes tightly, trying to push away the frustration building up inside her. It wasn’t just the sex. It was everything. The suffocating predictability, the lack of intensity, the absence of something she had never been able to name but missed with an almost painful ferocity.

And then there was you.

The memory of your face, the way you looked at her during dinner, came rushing back like a storm. Your eyes held a mix of defiance and uncertainty—something Wanda couldn’t get out of her mind. Since seeing you, there had been a growing need inside her, something primal and overwhelming. It wasn’t just desire—though that was undeniable. It was the way you made her feel, as if she were alive for the first time in years.

Wanda sat up in bed, running her hands through her hair, frustrated with herself. It was wrong. That much was obvious. You were young, inexperienced—a delicate soul who deserved freedom, not the weight of the obsession she felt growing inside her.

But the more she tried to rationalize, the more inevitable it seemed. There was something about you—your innocence mixed with a quiet resilience, as if the world couldn’t break you, no matter how hard it tried. It was hypnotic. She wanted to shape you, to dominate your strength and fragility all at once, to explore every nuance of you until there was nothing left to hide.

A shiver ran down her spine, and she pressed her fingers against her temples, trying to stifle the thoughts.

“This has to stop,” she murmured to herself. “This isn’t who I am.”

But the truth was, she wasn’t sure who she was anymore. With Vision, with the life she had built—it all felt so distant, so colorless. And then you appeared, and the entire world gained a new vibrancy, an intensity she hadn’t realized she craved until she felt it.

She looked at Vision again, still turned away, still oblivious to the storm raging beside him. For a moment, Wanda felt a wave of guilt, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. Because the reality was clear: she would never feel whole with Vision.

The clock read 3:23 a.m. when Wanda slipped out of bed, her bare feet meeting the cold floor. She needed space, needed to think, but she knew that every step she took was leading her deeper into dangerous territory—a path of no return.

Reaching the living room, she grabbed a bottle of whiskey—Vision only drank it to celebrate work promotions—and took a swig straight from the bottle, hoping to drown out the chaotic thoughts of you, of Vision, of herself.

But they didn’t go away.

As the alcohol coursed through her veins, Wanda felt her body float. And then, she felt ready to do something she had never done before. With trembling hands from adrenaline and excitement, Wanda picked up her laptop from the coffee table and searched for what had been on her mind since the moment she first laid eyes on you.

The video was artificial, the expressions of pleasure fake, the moans hollow. But the scene itself sparked Wanda’s imagination.

She pictured you moaning beneath her as she slid a good, thick strap inside your tight little pussy, pinning your arms above your head, leaving you completely at her mercy. She imagined slapping your pretty face until you gave in, sticking your tongue out to accommodate her fingers, letting her lubricate them before slowly sliding them into your tight little ass, driving you wild.

Denying you orgasms until you begged her with teary, pleading eyes. Pushing you until you finally said the one word you so desperately needed to say—and that she so desperately needed to hear.

Wanda also fantasized about riding your face, making you drown in her wet pussy, suffocating on her juices. Marking your neck and chest with bruises she would proudly touch the next day.

These thoughts alone were enough to make Wanda forget the adult film on her screen and focus entirely on you. Her fingers worked diligently over her clit, her body trembling as the signs of orgasm built within her. Moments later, she came, her eyes rolling back, her legs shaking.

Oh, fuck. She had to have you soon.

 [...]

The city library was a sanctuary of sacred silence, where whispered voices mingled with the soft rustle of turning pages. You had returned to the country with a single purpose: to study. Your mother never missed a chance to remind you that your bright future hinged on a prestigious university. But after everything, Yale felt like an unattainable dream.

Not anymore.

You still had a chance to transfer and adapt to a new routine—though adjusting had never been hard for you. You’d spent your 18th birthday alone, blowing out the candle on a strawberry cupcake someone had given you, wishing for the power to change your life.

And now, here it was.

Determined, you worked tirelessly to achieve an excellent GPA, nurtured relationships with your professors, and spent the remaining months meticulously preparing your early decision application.

Then came the waiting—waiting and waiting for that damn call. Time passed. You turned 20—too old for a Christian boarding school, too young to face the world—and found yourself staring out of the same window.

When your father finally called, his expressionless voice carried the weight of your shattered dreams.

And now, here you were, standing before an old building with beautiful architecture that probably held some intriguing history. With a pile of notebooks and a battered binder in hand, you pushed open the heavy doors and stepped into the library's main hall. The comforting scent of aged paper and polished wood enveloped you.

The plan was straightforward: find a corner, avoid distractions, and lose yourself in formulas, essays, and reading lists for the next few hours.

But fate, it seemed, had other ideas.

As soon as you entered, your eyes locked onto something—or rather, someone—that made your stomach churn. Behind the lending counter stood Wanda Maximoff.

She wore thin glasses that only accentuated the intensity of her piercing gaze. Her hair was tied back haphazardly, loose strands framing her face. When you walked in, she looked up, and a dangerous spark flashed in her eyes—something intense, hypnotic, and unnervingly expectant.

It was as though she’d known you were coming.

You felt the shift in the atmosphere before you could process it. Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction—dangerous, predatory.

"Oh, my, my… What a surprise," Wanda murmured, her voice low and sweet, yet carrying an underlying weight that twisted your stomach. She left her computer and moved toward you, hands clasped in front of her like she owned the place.

You cursed softly.

“And to what do I owe the pleasure, Dekta?” she asked, her accent curling around your name in a way that made your core tighten despite your best efforts.

“I’m here to study.”

“Ah, yes… Yale, isn’t it?” Her lips curved into something between a smirk and a sneer, making your fists clench at your sides. “Your parents mentioned it,” she mused. “I admire ambition—though ambition without focus is a waste, don’t you think?”

Your eyes narrowed. "I have focus."

She took another step closer, her presence suffocating. “Do you now?”

“I’m not a child, Wanda,” you snapped—perhaps a bit too loudly for a space that demanded quiet.

For a brief moment, her pupils expanded, eclipsing the green in her eyes. If you weren’t so innocent, you might have seen the excitement pooling in her gaze. But you felt it—the way your body betrayed you, heat pooling low in your belly, your nipples hardening beneath the thin fabric of your bra.

Her expression shifted, the intensity replaced by a false, sugary smile.

“Oh, of course, because you’re such a big girl now, aren’t you?” Wanda tilted her head, her tone deceptively kind but dripping with condescension. Her eyes seemed to dissect you, reading your every reaction like an open book.

“I’m an adult,” you retorted, forcing your voice to remain steady. “I don’t need anyone treating me like I’m still in a school uniform.”

Wanda’s steps were deliberate as she sidled past you, gesturing lazily to a nearby table. “An adult, you say? Funny, because what I see…” Her gaze swept over you and then to the table, “…is a little girl with big dreams, crumbling at the slightest challenge.”

Your entire body tensed. You loathed the way she spoke to you, as though she had the right to dissect your maturity.

“You don’t know me,” you shot back, defensive.

“Don’t I?” She raised an eyebrow, her smile slow and menacing. “Then why are you trembling, Dekta?”

You opened your mouth to deny it, but the words caught in your throat. She was right. Your hands, clutching the binder, were trembling slightly, your heart pounding too fast.

Wanda noticed. Of course, she noticed.

“See?” she whispered, stepping closer, her voice soothing yet laced with control as she reached out to brush a strand of hair from your face. “Adult or not, you still have a lot to learn.” Her words dropped to a murmur, almost too soft to hear: “And I’ll teach you everything.”

Before you could react, Wanda straightened, creating distance as she adjusted her glasses—a deliberate motion that left you inexplicably yearning for her touch again.

“Now, find your table and study. Show me this sharp ambition of yours.”

“You don’t control me,” you snapped, anger flaring briefly.

She chuckled, the sound devoid of warmth. “Oh, Dekta… I don’t have to. You’re already doing exactly what I want.”

With that, she turned and walked back to the counter, leaving you trembling and unsettled, as though you’d just lost a game you didn’t know you were playing.

After 40 minutes of calming down and trying to stop thinking about the woman, you finally manage to focus and regain control of your thoughts. Math had always been something very abstract to you, perhaps even more so than philosophy. There was something about numbers that seemed to elude the logic of your brain, as if every equation were a puzzle with its solution written in a language you couldn't quite comprehend.

You sigh, your eyes fixed on the book's page, where a series of elegantly aligned formulas stared back at you with an almost cruel indifference. It had always been this way. Essays were your forte—your words flowed like a river, structured and persuasive, but numbers? They slipped through your fingers like sand.

With the pencil in your hand, you begin to scribble what seemed to be the first step toward a solution, but your mind soon wavers. Math, with all its precision, left little room for intuition. Every mistake was exposed, every misstep impossible to hide. You had always hated that.

Suddenly, Wanda's presence invades your thoughts again, like a shadow you can't escape. The way she looked at you, as if she knew exactly where your weaknesses lay. Worse, as if she was willing to exploit them.

You shake your head, trying to banish her image, but it’s useless. It’s as if she were still there, standing behind you, watching, waiting for you to fail.

And maybe that was exactly what you needed.

"Okay," you whisper to yourself, turning the page of the notebook with more determination. "This isn't about her. This is about me."

Your strength had always been your ability to adapt and overcome challenges. No matter how impossible something seemed, you had an inner resilience that kept you trying. That was what made you special, even when everything seemed against you.

But that strength came at a price. You were stubborn, almost obsessive, and the idea of failing—for yourself, for your parents, for Wanda—was intolerable. That need to prove your worth, to be good enough, was both a gift and a curse.

Feeling a touch on your shoulder, you jump as if you’d been shocked. Looking at the hand that touched you, it belonged to an elderly woman with a friendly expression on her face.

"Looks like your study session was productive, right?" the lady asked in a voice trembling with age. You simply nodded, still confused by the sudden approach. "But I must inform you, dear. We’re closing now."

"Oh. Yes, of course… I’m sorry," you said as you stood, hastily packing your belongings. "I didn’t even notice the time." You offered an embarrassed explanation.

The lady just laughed, sweetly.

"It's all right! Wanda asked us not to disturb you," she said as if it were nothing, but for you… you felt your pulse quicken with your heartbeat, felt your heart warm at Wanda's indirect gesture.

You looked around, hoping Wanda would appear again to provoke you—to make you surrender to her dominant aura.

But with a click, the library lights turned off, leaving you alone with your confused thoughts.

Letting out a tired sigh, you enter your house. Today had been exhausting, but your mind was at peace from finally breaking out of your loop of procrastination and self-sabotage. It was draining, but it was gratifying—enough to make you proud of yourself.

Arriving in the living room, you see your mother smiling, which makes you raise an eyebrow at her unusual gesture. Noticing you, she stood up, laughing.

"Sweetheart! Come here!" she called, making grand gestures that filled the room.

As you reached the center of the living room, you saw her.

There she was. Wanda Maximoff, sitting in your living room as if she owned the place. Her posture was impeccable—relaxed, but not sloppy. Long legs crossed, her expression composed. She held a teacup in her left hand, her long fingers resting on the porcelain as if it were a luxury item.

Your heart raced. You froze in the doorway, looking from your mother to Wanda and back to your mother.

“Oh, sweetheart, finally!” your mother exclaimed, her voice full of enthusiasm. "I can hardly believe our luck. Wanda offered to help you with your studies! You know how much I worry about your preparation for Yale, and now she's willing to guide you!"

You opened your mouth to protest, but no words came out. Everything felt like a blur. Wanda? The woman who had just turned your afternoon into an emotional whirlwind? Now she was here, in your house, looking more dangerous than ever?

"I simply did what anyone would," Wanda replied, her voice soft but firm. The tone carried a duality: apparent humility, but a pride you could feel beneath the surface. She rose slowly, placing the teacup on the coffee table. Her gaze met yours, and you felt that same shiver from the library.

"Good evening, Dekta," she said with an intonation that made your skin tingle. “I hope you don’t mind my visit. Your mother and I were discussing how I might be helpful for your academic ambitions.”

“Of course,” you responded automatically, trying to keep your composure. “Thank you so much for your help, Wanda.”

Wanda smiled, a small, calculated smile. There was no genuine warmth in it, only something... satisfying. As if she were celebrating an invisible victory.

"In fact," she continued, taking a step closer to you, "I thought we could make this mutually beneficial. Your studies require dedication, and I noticed you have potential. In exchange for my guidance, perhaps you could help me a few hours a week at the library. There are tasks that require... youthful energy."

Your mother seemed more than thrilled with the idea. “Oh, that would be wonderful, wouldn’t it? You’d spend more time learning, in such an inspiring environment!”

You knew you had no choice. Your mother was already beaming, and any refusal would be a family disaster. But above that, there was Wanda, with that look that seemed to pierce your soul, as if she knew that deep down, you didn’t want to refuse either.

"Sure," you finally replied, trying to sound neutral. “That sounds great.”

Wanda took a small step back, satisfied. "Excellent. We’ll start tomorrow."

Your mother clapped her hands, excited. "I’m so proud of you, sweetheart! And so grateful, Wanda, for being willing to help my baby.”

Hearing your mother’s last words, Wanda’s body tensed, clearly disliking the way she referred to you.

Wanda looked at you again, placing a light smile on her face, but her eyes... they had an almost predatory gleam.

“It will be my pleasure,” she said, but you knew there was much more to that phrase than your mother could understand. "Well, it’s late, and I still need to put Tommy and Billy to bed. S/n, would you walk me to the door?"

Finally, you snapped out of your trance upon hearing your name. "O-of course."

As the older woman passed through the door, she turned to look at you again, her eyes gleaming. “You looked beautiful today, darling.”

The compliment made you blush, and the air felt thin, making it hard to breathe.

“Hmm, what do we say when we’re complimented, Dekta?” Wanda broke your trance once again, touching your chin in a firm grip, forcing you to look at her.

"Thank you, Wanda," you replied softly, in an almost submissive tone. Almost. The exhaustion of the day weighed on your shoulders, and Wanda’s sweet voice left you weak, hypnotizing you and slowly turning you into a needy kitten.

"Good girl." She caressed your face with her fingertips, almost as if you were a raw diamond—precious and ready to be shaped. By her. By her hands.

You hadn’t noticed—perhaps due to exhaustion—but Wanda's hands were trembling. The woman trembled as she touched you, as she felt the warmth emanating from your fragrant, untouched skin. Wanda felt blessed, as if finally that scared kitten was learning to trust her.

"We’ll see each other tomorrow, yes? Good night, beautiful girl." She didn’t want to say goodbye to you. She wanted to stay, make you kneel, rest your head on her lap, and stroke the top of your head to hear you purr.

The mark she left on you lingered until you fell asleep, embedding itself under your skin, making you dream of her, of her floral scent—it was something citrusy. Orange? Lemongrass, perhaps? The fragrance clung to your body, your mind, and suddenly, Yale seemed like a distant dream, and Wanda was the only thing you could dream about.

~*~

Poor S/n... A milf caught her.

Tag list <3

@rosekjsses @vyvvycg @3liyuh

If I forget someone, pls remind me in the comments!

[ryuzakemo128]

Ghoap x Female Reader

Content Warnings: Female reader is Italian and speaks Italian. Swearing. Cursing. Insults thrown around. Reader talks about their wealthy family ties. Philosophy talk about death and what it means to accept death. Car accident in somewhat graphic detail I guess?

Note: If you want more of this type of thing, let me know, and I'll whip up a part two in a heart beat.

Note 2: Camion is Italian for 'truck'. At least, I think it is. But please correct me if that is incorrect.

You were still unconscious from the car accident, you weren’t the one who caused this forsaken mess, and yet you were the one who suffered the consequences of somebody else’s actions. Doctors said you suffered greatly, but then again anyone who was railed by a camion would have.

The term ‘suffered greatly’ is absolutely vague and at this point? It felt almost deliberate. Who knew when you would wake up? Let alone wake up at all? The nerves bundled up inside the both of them. Unsure why they had insisted it was safe enough for you to go there alone.

As the rain hammered down upon the asphalt road. As the camion came beside you inside the car that was small enough to be crumpled with too much ease. You didn’t see it coming. Not that you would have now, would you? It wasn’t like you could predict the future and considering the past is set in stone. It wouldn’t do any good trying to change what already happened.

“I will not be subjected to your lack of taste. Nor do I expect you suffer from my own tastes.” You told them months ago about Italian opera and how much you enjoyed it. “Either way. What you need. You shall have. No strings attached and no favours required.”

You are far too ‘selfless’ sometimes. According to them. But you loved them for what they did for themselves rather than what they did for you. What good is assistance if they can’t hope to help themselves.

“Hey, I will not have you speak negatively about yourself or wishing death upon yourself either. Neither helps you and nor will it help you heal either. Just because can doesn’t always mean that you should. You told me that once and I think it should be said to you too.” You gently scolded them once.

You showed them your AGM-1 carbine, your Italian Bullpup Carbine, once, ��Its nice. I quite like it.” You said to Ghost one afternoon. “Its one my favourites. Along with the Barrett M8A1 I use.”

Soap hasn’t stopped pacing around the hospital waiting room. He was sure you would be dead before the two of them got to start dating you. Couldn’t have that now can they? But much like life itself.

Moments like these aren’t fair. Ever. You told them life shouldn’t be taken for granted. Cherish the time you have now and mourn the people you eventually leave behind. You knew this more than most people. You studied it in subjects like Forensics Anthropology, Forensics Pathology, Thantology, and Archaeology.

“Death cannot be cheated, nor can it hope to be delayed. To think you can do just that is beyond naïve. Hopefully idealistic in the act of thinking humans could ever dream of immortality.” You told them once. 

“Unless you are like my lineage, I doubt your family is going to have their own homegrown cemetery attached to their own churchyard. ‘Can’t have the ‘common folk’ get anywhere near our dead or something like that.” You added in.

When you do wake because death had decided it wasn’t quite your time to leave the earth just yet. Denying you passage to death’s cold embrace. How long would it take for you to get used to your new arm you wonder.

Ghost still remembers hearing about your favourite flower being ‘Lilly of the Valley’. Shocking him because they were light coloured flowers and the total opposite of your aesthetic. You said it was because of the fact life gave them such light colours to such delicate things. It was your mother's favourite for a while, along with flowers like sweet pea.

You didn’t like them until she passed, and thereafter? Loved them completely. Roses were fine. You weren’t going to turn away from them completely. But the sentimental value from the light pink lilies were far more than any dark red roses could offer. It was like comparing a sunrise to a sunset. Both were beautiful, one had a taint of sadness captured in it that you found absolutely charming.

“I find them prettier than I did when I was younger. Perhaps it was because my mother valued them so much? I can only guess that was the reason I took a liking to them.” You told him looking back at him from looking out the window. The rain hadn’t stopped pouring down from the look of things.

You continued speaking after a brief pause, “Though I do remember bringing her red and white snapdragons on Mother’s Day one year. I didn’t think it would affect her so much, until she said she had chosen them for her wedding bouquet. Her mother-in-law hated it, said it clashed with the ‘atmosphere’ and yet she decided to go with it.”

“You should have seen her, inside of white, she wore a midnight blue with silver embroidered stars along the fringes of the veil and the dress’s long train. Like she was walking straight from the depths of the sky. I said it was like the moon was loaning her its stars in the attempt to woo her into staying with him instead. In her refusal he gifted them in remembrance.”

You didn’t speak about your family’s ludicrously magnanimous volume of worldly goods, nor did you want to. Why would you?

How do you put in plain words to someone that it was reaped by taking care of the dead? You know you didn’t have anything to be embarrassed of. But in what way does someone go about telling loved ones their family’s legacy lies inside the act taking caring of the dead or the ones about to die?

Even though it was your mother’s side who dabbled in such things and not your father’s. Your father’s side were the more pompous kind of rich, lavish, extravagant and excessive with their wealth. It was your mother’s side that was more grounded, more in touch with reality. Creating the overture combination of a rich girl with the heart of someone who knew of suffering.

Though parts of your furniture does seem odd. Like the Marc Held for Prisunic Moulded Fiberglass Bed, c. 1966. You had decided to place a waterbed mattress to it, just because you wanted to make it feel older.

The black silk sheets and crimson silk pillowcases were the things inside your bedroom. These things? They made it feel more 70's. You liked that era, you also loved the 60's and 80's. Which despite the gothic shades, tones and colours. It was like you were trying to hold onto a piece of your mother.

They didn't know how to cope when they first heard you were in a car collision with a camion, you weren't going too fast. You weren't intoxicated. You weren't high. You were just driving back home after a rough case, and fate decided it was time to throw you curveball. A fucking curveball no one saw coming.

Soap slept in your bed that night, inhaling your scent from the silk sheets and clutching your whale shark plush. The heavy blanket draped over him. The fur blanket made from real deer fur. You told him it was made from the first deer you hunted with your grandfather months before he passed.

You had killed it yourself. You remarked it was your grandfather’s way of making sure you respected the animal you slaughtered. Use every part otherwise its murder and not hunting. A beautiful blanket which has lasted longer than most things you bought. In colour it’s a deep, rich brown, almost auburn in the right lighting. Soft to the touch. Eerie to think it once was a creature roaming the forests freely.

When you woke and Ghost had been in the chair beside you the whole time? “What……what time is it?” you asked like you had rolled out of bed.

“Two in the morning. You’ve been asleep for seven days and eight nights.” Ghost answered calmly. Knowing the doctor told him to keep the excitement to a minimum.

“I don’t know why, but I jumped, panicked a little, thinking I had to wake up for work.” You mumbled, you are still completely out of it from the amount of morphine inside you.

[vroomvroomthoughts3381]

F1 Predictions (Pre-testing)

These are my predictions for the 2025 season. My predictions are made without real data, but just how the last couple of races went. This is prior testing, so it is all based on the 2024 season.

Let me know what you think and if I totally make no sense. Post testing I will have a clearer view of cars and drivers.

I would love it if you could reblog, so other people could speak some facts that can help me make the list better.<3

WCC This is not in order,yet!

Mclaren-We have all seen how Mclaren improved their car a lot since the last summer break and I won't be surprised if they win the WCC again. They have two good drivers and I am sure they will have a good shot at a drivers championship too(if they fix the random teamorders and just have a clear strategy.)

Ferrari- With the seventh world champion, Lewis Hamilton, entering the Italian team, the team is ready to not become second again. Leclerc will hope he can win his first Championship and Hamilton will still be hungry for an eighth one. I think dynamics would change a bit in the team. If they keep it consistent, (please Ferrari work on your tyre strategy, what the fuck was canada), they could have a good shot at it.

Mercedes- The Austrian team has made improvements during the season, but not enough to come even close to consider third in standings. Next to that, they will have a rookie in the team and even if this is considered a top team, it won't be weird if Antonelli doesn't score a win. I do think Russell has a high chance of a fourth win, if they can keep his car at the correct weight. (Like you have one job, don't break the simplest rule to follow.) Their standing would mostly be based on how fast the rookie can adapt to the formula 1 car with his lack of experience.

Red Bull- Where to fucking start man. This team is so bipolar. ( supporting this team, apart form HM and CH, this season has been a rollercoaster,) Do I think the driver change was smart, not completely, but I understand why, and I am scared for Lawson if he doesn't perform well in the first couple races. I wouldn't know who they would move up, because Tsunoda has never crossed their minds apparently.

This team had a bit of a 'downfall' in the middle eight races, but managed to go back on top in the end. I don't think they will win it, as much as I hope, half the team is leaving and it is falling apart. I hope they can at least be racing for podiums and I need Ver5tappen.(Delulu) Even though Lawson isn't a rookie, having a total of 11 races, I do think it would be difficult.

Aston Martin- I have hope for upgrades. As much as it pains me to see Newey leave red bull, I hope that the green car can finally become a bit faster. Who doesn't want a third Fernando Alonso Championship. Top of the pyramid is probably out of reach, but closer to the 4 top teams needs to be possible.

Alpine-Briatore and Oakes have upgraded that team and the car isn't overweight anymore( I think)Doohan has had one race, so he need to practise a bit. Then he also has the problem of Colapinto taking over his seat if he doesn´ t perform well. They need to work on their brakes and engine. Now the thing is that most of their points are scored in brazil and without the probably be p8. So I don't really know.

Haas- After Guenter left, this team has improved. They were close to p6 in standings, but Brazil was heaven sent for Alpine. They do have two new drivers, Ocon who is of course quite experienced so that shouldn't be a problem. Bearman has set out high expectations in his three race starts. They have a high chance of best of the rest.

Williams- In my mind the scored more points this season, but the those crashes weren't in their favor. That car is held together by duck tape and the power of friendship. Sainz has brought good sponsors, (fucking santander) so I hope that car will become a bit more stable then a lego car. They could improve, but if everyone does it they still be out of points.

Sauber- I ain't counting on it. The points scored this season can be counted on one hand and it is highly unlikable to turn it that much around. They made an upgrade in the last three races, maybe with the help of Audi management, they could develop the car to score some more points, but I think this season the would be the bottom of the 10 teams.

Top 10 predictions

Ferrari

Mclaren

Red bull/Mercedes

( The rookies, I don't know)

Aston Martin

Haas

Williams

Racing Bulls

Alpine

Sauber

DC

Charles leclerc ( Ferrari get your shit together, pretty please, a MV fan)

Lando Norris ( This is based on the fact that Leclerc scored 0 points in a race three times and Norris once, and there are only around 20 points between them.)

Lewis Hamilton ( I think an 8 isn't possible, f1 curse. He does need to finish above the Mercedes. Fuck shelve life.)

Max Verstappen (Please let me be wrong,but I don't trust RB)

Oscar Piastri ( I don't really know, I need car info)

George Russell

Fernando Alonso( Based on my prayers)

Liam Lawson ( His dislike of older drivers has to be studied, i think it will go against him.)

Kimi Antonelli

Esteban Ocon

Oliver Bearman ( High expectations. 7 points in three races, Two in haas. No one blames you for Brazil.)

Lance Stroll ( Mate, I don't know where to put him. Hope he has a better season.)

Pierre Gasly ( Great driver, deserve a better car.)

Carlos Sainz ( Cannot pass Gasly in Ferrari, so why in williams?)

Yuki Tsunoda ( Prayers )

Nico Hulkenberg ( I understand you want Audi, but dumb decision.)

Alex Albon ( drivers at Williams)

Isack Hadjar ( Have not seen a lot)

Gabriel Bortoleto ( Have not seen a lot. Car is shit)

Jack Doohan ( I don't think you drive every race)

Rookies

From zero to 5 rookies on the grid. Hadjar, Borteleto, Bearman, Antonelli and Doohan will all have to adapt to the thrilling life of formula 1.

We have seen a lot from Bearman against the 1/2 Free practices(Has bortoleto done one?) or One race of Doohan. Even if FIA said Bearman is not a rookie anymore, I will count him. I think he has the highest chance of performing the best among these drivers, but Antonelli is in a better car. I do think Bearman will over perform his car more and Kimi under performs the Mercedes.

The thing with Bortoleto is he will drive a tractor. F2 champion gets the worse car??? I love Isack hadjar. You can imagine how I shed a tear in Abu Dhabi when his car decided to not do what it is supposed to do. The two were very close the end of the season and both are great drivers, but their cars for coming season are not that great to show that.

Not in standings, in how much they perform!

1- Oliver Bearman

2- Kimi Antonelli

3- Gabriel Bortoleto?

4-Isack hadjar?

5- Jack Doohan

[moxie-girl]

DRDT EP 13/14 ANALYSIS/THEORIES

I said I'd do this once I collected my thoughts! haha Warning! This is super long…

To start, I'm going to pick apart all the stuff I predicted for ep. 13 (I'll try not to make it too long…)

Levi's Secret

Well. Levi sure did admit to. All that! I think this eliminates any last doubts I personally had about him being the killer… (your honor just because I'm a serial killer doesn't mean I killed that specific person /ref) I really like that he isn't shown as a bad person just because he lacks empathy, and he's actually actively trying to be a good person… the fact that he just admitted his secret because he thought it was the right thing to do is so funny though, there go all my theories lol! (I'm still a little worried about rule 14 though…)

Ace's (Almost) Murder

Yeah!! This is probably what we're gonna spend episode 14 talking about, with murder method and alibis, etc. I still don't think it was Nico though! (I want to say I called that it'd be relevant, but it felt a little obvious…)

The Murder Method

I think we can say this has been all figured out, with the method being exactly what several people much smarter than me all figured out.

The Possible Culprits

Rose was still acting a little odd, but I think Whit on the other hand, despite whatever all that was, is off the hook for now, so my number 1 suspect is still Hu! I'm like 90% sure she was the one who tried to kill Ace, at least, and that's become very important now!

Secrets

Well, we got all the secrets figured out! (Hu :( ) The fandom interpretation was pretty much correct, except for Teruko's (we'll get to that later…) I do hope that after this trial, some of the secrets that are not relevant/haven't really been discussed do get adressed, because I could even see them becoming motives for murder again. But also, I just want the characters to talk about them! (gimme that juicy juicy angst…)

Ace

He didn't re-open his injury or really freak out like I expected, but we got some vulnerability (and a new sprite!) from Ace, and considering next episode is probably gonna focus a ton on him, I'm still expecting at least one of the two to happen…

Teruko

Luckily for Teruko, we didn't have anything unlucky happen to her this episode! But she sure did get her time in the protag spotlight anyway, I'm glad she didn't let the mistake from last episode get her down!

☆ ☆ ☆

Also, my bingo card! I got a bingo!! (ft. my messy tiny notes if you want to read them)

A few of my other bingo predictions I'm still going to hold on to for the next (few) episodes, but now, onto some new stuff!

Final Arei Flashback

Whoooah boy was that scene a doozy. I'm starting to think David's murderous rage towards the blackened at the start of the trial was genuine, because me too, man. I'm really glad Arei got at least a little bit of closure before she died, though! She also had an interesting take on the "good person" role, something that has been very important to this trial thus far and will likely continue to be. (I'm thinking that the killer may have had a "good person"-related motivation for killing, which is why it's the chapter's overarching theme?)

Also, to adress the elephant in the room… EDEN??? Well, no wonder Xander "didn't expect her to attack [him] like that" - and from her expression I wonder if she expected it either - I'm really looking forward to learning more about what, exactly, happened before the killing game that involved them! I didn't really believe in Mastermind!Eden before this, but it's starting to look pretty plausible... (Also Xander is the king of haunting the narrative oh my god lol)

Teruko's Secret

Many of us, myself included, were hoping/guessing/assuming that when all the secrets were figured out, David would reveal that he actually had Teruko's, not Xander's. While that didn't happen, the way he reacted after she claimed "her" secret essentially confirms it, as does a lot of other evidence:

That secret being hers would complete a secret circle of Teruko -> Rose -> Whit -> David -> Teruko and a secret pair of Xander <--> Min, which makes sense considering all other secret swaps are either circles of four or in pairs.

Xander and Min would have each other's secrets logically since neither of them can receive secrets, so theirs would probably be separated from the rest.

MonoTV's line about not knowing whether they're all correct feels like a reminder/a hint that some of the secrets are incorrect, and those two feel like the most likely options.

Teruko apparently has no idea which secret is actually hers, so may have just guessed the one that sounded more like her, except we know she never knew her parents and only had one sibling (as does Charles… I wonder if he'll notice)

EDIT: I cant believe I almost forgot, but I feel like David’s attitude towards Xander (and Teruko) makes more sense with these secrets, because why would he idolize Xander if the killing game was his fault, but he would idolize him if he thought Xander was trying to end the killing game by killing Teruko, the person David now thinks/knows is at fault.

However, since David didn't claim out loud that Teruko was lying, it's likely that this piece of information will become relevant much later in the series, and he'll be keeping it to himself for now.

Veronika and Hu

When did Veronika and Hu make their pact? And how did Hu, presumably the one who wanted to make the pact, know that Veronika had her secret? Also, what on earth do you mean, Veronika, that your secret isn't the worst thing you've done???? This little section with the two of them could just be entirely innocent and a way for the dev to get the rest of the secrets on the board, and let Veronika be a little unhinged as she tends to be, but I get the feeling at least some of this is relevant. (I'm betting on either Accomplice!Veronika or Veronika's actual "worst thing" being important to a later trial…)

David

Ohhhhh, David. I feel like Veronika with how much I want to psychoalanize this guy. He is on the verge of a breakdown, and I can feel it! The question being, of course, whether Arei's death was enough to make it happen this chapter, or whether this is something that's gonna last another chapter or two before coming to a head. My money's on the second option, because I think this trial is about to be about Ace and his impending breakdown :)

I do hope after this trial we do get to see a little more of what David's actually like beyond his facades/the roles he's been playing! Also, as much as I'd like to see David survive and have to deal with the consequences of revealing his "true" personality on live television, I think it's more likely he'll go the way of DR antags trying to end the killing game via self-sacrifice.

(We also better keep a close eye on anyone who tries to befriend or help David in Ch3, because they're gonna die next! /j)

J's Morality

This is a short one, but I just wanted to comment on another analysis I saw point out that J has been one of the most vocal people anytime murder has been brought up. I think that behind her rougher personality, J is a more empathetic person, and/or has very strong morals, making her a narrative foil to Levi now, so I do hope the two of them interact in Ch3!

Whit??

Whit. Whit why do you know so much about hanging??? Being serious though, I saw someone else bring up that his mother might have died by hanging and he researched it afterwards as a coping mechanism or something? That's the saddest possible explanation, but it does make the most sense by far… I honestly don't think that Whit is the killer, because then why would he be being so helpful in figuring out the murder method, but he's still so weird and suspicious sometimes.

Nico!

Even though I still don't think it was Nico (crime scene makes more sense if seen as Nico trying to help Ace, they may have just admitted to it because it was the less confrontational option, next ep is def not the last one and I think it'll be about proving who it was other than Nico, and if you look at Nico's secret quote…) I still do hope they get the chance to get mad! Get mad at Ace! Get mad at David! Get mad at whoever the (attempted) killer was for putting the blame on them! Idk I just want them to have their moment.

☆ ☆ ☆

And finally, here are my new bingo cards for the next episode:

(I can't believe ep14 is gonna be 40 mins + there's a "non-spoiler" thumbnail rn oooooh I'm so nervous)

[menop033]

Some thoughts about the new Batgirl ongoing title

If you didn't notice already, in 2024 a new Batgirl ongoing title started. In celebration of the upcoming January 26th, I am posting my thoughts on it. Tate Brombal is the writer snd there are a lot of nods to the original series, published throughout the early 00s. I am now going to try to gauge his direction for the title, seeing his tendency to build on what was already established and what he might want to do, as I decipher the story he wants to tell.

Canon and possible retcons?

First of all, what's canon? There are clear references throughout the text to Batgirl (2000), however, because of a few directly contradicting passages, we are sure not EVERYTHING is canon (Despite what the Infinite Frontiers claims). In #3, there was a literal editorial note to #25 (2000), but can we assume it was the same? Probably not. Well, we know that Shiva did at least kill her and revive her.

The thing that confuses me mildly is the fact, that Cass clearly recognizes Nyssa Raatko, while being unaware of Carolyn Wu-San's existence. In the last arc, Destruction's daughter, Cass met Nyssa Raatko in the League of Assassins outpost, and, as far as I am aware, that was the only time they met, both Post-Crisis and in Rebirth, though I might not be correct, I did however try to fact-check with a wiki. In #73, the last issue of Batgirl vol. 1, the same arc, Lady Shiva does tell Cass a few tidbits about her childhood and mentions her sister. We can therefore assume these events, such as Cassandra's third death or Shiva's death, never took place or took place differently. Which is, honestly, pretty good. I am all for revising and retconning that frankly disgusting Shiva's backstory.

For those unaware, David Cain basically saw some sort of potential to kill, decided to lure her by killing her sister Carolyn, Sandra decided to avenge her, Cain defeated her and forced her to have a child because he wanted to raise a perfect killer. Enter Cassandra Cain. We might be getting therefore new or revised backstory once Cassandra asks (knowing her, confront would probably be a better word tbh) Shiva about Carolyn. That would make sense, given the series' big emphasis on their relationship so far. I am wondering how will it all mesh with Cassandra's backstory from No Man's Land, Batgirl (2000) and Batman and Robin Eternal, given their obvious differences. I am not sure what is and isn't canon, honestly, this is way too confusing.

Where the hell are they going?

As of the last issue, we know that Cass and Shiva are embarked on a train away from Gotham. All we know is the fact that it is because they are being targeted by Kalden and the Unburied. This seems pretty interesting. Partly, we got an answer in #3, it's probably because the Order of Shiva is traveling with them and it would be pretty cumbersome to transport all those people... It also doesn't really answer where they're headed to, the only thing we know is the fact that they are running away from a bunch of undead ninjas pursuing them and that place is presumably reachable from Gotham by train and therefore somewhere in America.

It could be that they are going to some random town, although given that this is a story written not to be the most realistic possible, but to be the most interesting possible, I am leaning towards it being somewhere significant. I think there are multiple possibilities. It could be some... hidden outpost, hell maybe the one from the Batgirl finale, or, hear me out, Detroit. I checked, it is a long train ride but it is doable from New Jersey, the place where Gotham City usually is located. That could make sense based on what I said earlier and it could easily be what happens in the issue #5, based on the start of the synopsis (and I hope those poppy-induced hallucinations will be Steph but like, that is quite predictable, based on the fact that she already hallucinated her two times in her original series. But also).

The surprise attack?

In the synopsis of the upcoming issue #4, we learn that a surprise attack will "change everything" and it ponders whether Cass will join "the enemy of an enemy". The enemy in question will obviously be Lady Shiva, Nyssa Raatko, Angel Breaker and... that guy. Who is their enemy? Now, this is an interesting question. For Lady Shiva and Angel Breaker, I could see their common enemy being Black Canary but I can't see Cass not taking Dinah's side in this lol. I am also thinking of Ra's Al Ghul and the League of Assassins in general, mostly because of the appearance of the League of Shadows, as they are those who decided to split for the League of Asssassins.

Apparently, in Batgirl #5 there will be a surprise visit from a family member and given what I just said, it might be Damian... I don't think those two interacted much and honestly, it might be pretty surprising. Or Jason, he has ties with League of Assassins throught the time he spent there with Talia after his ressurection. It could be interesting, given their very conflicting morals. Although I have seen much more probable predictions of Steph (though that isn't surprising, it is pretty predictable, though I would love her to be in this book at some point, given that she doesn't get much content these days), Azrael, Duke or even Helena. The surprise attack could easily just be those Unburied, though, and I am reading too much into the "surprising" aspect of things.

Some new characters

The biggest unknown, so far, are the Undead, Kalden and the guy on the train. We don't know much about them, we just got some exposition from Shiva. I can't really make up a theory because there isn't that much to work with, despite the arc already being half-finished. I do think that Lady Shiva is not telling something. She was shown to be pretty manipulative in this run so far. She mentioned that they woke up centuries later with vengeance in their heart. That implies that there was something done to them by Shiva or someone else that they think was connected to her even. This makes me think of the One year later arc in Birds of Prey (1999) #93-95, where Lady Shiva was a title of a protector and the best fighter of some nondescript village, so maybe one of the previous ones...? There is zero basis for this and I am just making things up, however.

Honestly, the guy on the train is a pretty wild card. I haven't seen anyone identify him. It is entirely possible he is a new character and so he is a total blank slate. There is no point in theorizing about him if all we know is his appearance and that he knows Nyssa Raatko and Angel Breaker.

[canmom]

a few critical comments on "The Busy Worker's Handbook to the Apocalypse"

so i read this one very doomer medium article The Busy Worker's Handbook to the Apocalypse the other day, which attempts to argue that with the amount of GHGs already in the atmosphere, collapse of human society is inevitable and imminent, in a way that the scientific establishment such as the IPCC is instutionally unable to admit. I will warn, if you're prone to anxiety, don't read it, because the article is bleak as hell and quite effective rhetoric. it opens with a largely correct overview of climate science which lends it credibility, before jumping to the worst imaginable conclusions about various feedbacks and tipping points.

and like... it got me a bit. immediately after I read it, I was left with a horrifying feeling that this is as good as it will ever get, that the end of it all was only years away, that all my hopes for what I'd do for the next few decades and what is prefigured by this or that social development were utter delusions, and all there was left to do was just try and make the best of the last few years before we all die in the big cascading-failure famine.

but... ok Bryn, hold your fucking horses, let's do some research eh?

to begin with, I found one critique video that points out a number of places where the author makes scientific errors, misunderstands his sources, or doesn't justify his conclusions. for example, the author argues that a 'blue sea event' where the polar ice melts would lead to immediate, catastrophic warming as the latent heat of fusion no longer absorbs any incoming radiation, and also that the success of measures to reduce air pollution will accelerate warming; these seem to both be straight up wrong. but that doesn't cover everything I had questions about.

for example, one scenario discussed in the 'handbook' is 'multi breadbasket failure'. the idea is that, given that most of the world's food is produced in a few specific regions, this is a scenario where two or more of the major food-producing regions suffer very low yields in the same year due to climate shit. and this isn't farfetched, there is mainstream scientific discussion of this concept. for an accessible analysis, I found this article by some major capitalist consulting company (assess bias accordingly) which gives some actual numbers, including estimates of which crops are more likely to fail as the climate changes (rice, corn and soy are in trouble, but wheat, oddly enough, could actually do better in a warmer world).

however, while the author of the guide to the apocalypse suggests that, thanks to 'just in time' supply chains, there are almost no reserves of food and everything is on ships... the mckinsey article quotes a figure of 30% 'stock-to-use ratio', meaning there is a fair chunk of food in the granaries. they seem to predict that if two 'breadbaskets' fail in the same year, causing a 15% drop in yield, that ratio would drop to about 20%. the immediate result would be food price spikes (which means a lot of people would starve) but it's not a complete 'global megafamine' collapse.

'course, the question then is what happens if it happens again a few years later? but at least theoretically the 'multi breadbasket failure' scenario could be drastically mitigated by 1. producing food in more different places so the eggs are in fewer baskets 2. storing more food when times are good (something discussed in the mckinsey article) and 3. the world broadly eating less meat (since most crops are grown to feed animals, which adds a trophic level of inefficiency), so less grain is needed to feed everyone. i don't know if that's actually gonna happen, but it's not prima facie impossible.

on the other hand, the author of the Handbook argues that a world renewable energy transition is not just infeasible but physically impossible, because it demands reserves of metal that do not exist to roll out all the wires, turbines, etc etc. I was already fairly pessimistic about whether the renewable energy transition could happen in time (since there is little evidence that the current renewable deployment is making any sort of dent in GHG emissions, which remain resolutely coupled to economic activity); I was also conscious that the amount of mining to produce all the batteries and so on would have its own devastating impacts. but the argument that it is impossible even in principle is new to me.

so is that actually true? the Handbook bases this point entirely on the work of Dr Simon Michaux of the Finnish Geological Survey, who presents the calculation in this hour-long presentation based on this report (summary). this is honestly an excellent presentation, explaining the methodology really clearly - it reminds me of SEWTHA back in the day, a book I found very formative. And actually McKay also raised the question of materials:

To create 48 kWh per day of offshore wind per person in the UK would require 60 million tons of concrete and steel – one ton per person. Annual world steel production is about 1200 million tons, which is 0.2 tons per person in the world. During the second world war, American shipyards built 2751 Liberty ships, each containing 7000 tons of steel – that’s a total of 19 million tons of steel, or 0.1 tons per American. So the building of 60 million tons of wind turbines is not off the scale of achievability; but don’t kid yourself into thinking that it’s easy. Making this many windmills is as big a feat as building the Liberty ships.

McKay's analysis was based only on the UK; the figure of 48kWh/d comes from McKay's estimate of plausible maximum wind capacity for the UK only. He also takes into account some modest reductions in energy use. So my sense was that a completely renewable energy system would be an unprecedented megaproject, but not utterly implausible.

By comparison, Michaux's analysis (which I took a bunch of notes on, I'll post in a minute) has a worldwide scope, and rather than using back of the envelope physical calculations, relies on data on existing systems which largely did not exist when McKay was alive. It is nevertheless a rough estimate, and crucially, focuses on the question of completely replacing current fossil fuel use. Where good data did not exist, like the amount of steel and concrete used in a wind turbine, it was not included in the analysis, since the purpose was to get a lower bound.

The report covers a number of different minerals, many of which existing reserves fall short and it would take thousands of years to produce enough at current production levels. Copper is the big one: he estimates some 4.5 billion tones would be needed, where only 0.88 billion tonnes of reserved are publicly known to exist, and the rate of new discoveries has tailed off to near zero. I see no error in his calculation (though I haven't checked the numbers in detail, the method is sound).

However, there is a major caveat. The vast, vast majority of this copper would go to millions of battery banks used to provide just four weeks of storage to make it through the wind production lulls in the winter. This covers about 4.2 billion tonnes; by comparison the amount of copper used for one generation everything else (wind turbines, EV batteries etc.) is a still-hefty 0.3 billion tonnes. So that raises the question of whether there's an alternative to all those batteries, mature enough to be deployed at a scale to provide 0.55PWh of energy storage (or likely, more) in a decade or two. My understanding is most other tech (flywheels etc.) is still on the 'tiny pilot plant' sort of scale.

Anyway, as far as like the future of humanity goes, I already agree with Michaux's main point that maintaining current rates of energy consumption is just not viable; the future is necessarily going to be much lower energy. (I also don't really think 'decoupling' economic activity from energy use to somehow preserve capitalism's exponential curve is really plausible.)

However, the way the author of the Handbook uses Michaux's estimates is not supported. Michaux proved that a 1:1 replacement of fossil fuel energy consumption with renewables is not possible; that necessarily implies that (since fossil fuels are just starting to run dry and becoming less viable) we have to get by on less energy. And yeah, that obviously implies substantial changes to how people live in rich countries, crushing the super-rich etc.; it's fair to say the whole system must become less complex, in ecological terms.

I do still agree it's more than understandable to be pessimistic about whether that will happen without everything collapsing first - to put it mildly, there is a lot of inertia in a system this complex! - but it's not physically impossible that humans could accomplish a renewable energy transition, contract and rationalise how we use what energy we can get, and still have everyone live relatively comfortably. (After all, life on Earth has managed to live sustainably on solar power for billions of years, indefinitely recycling carbon, nitrogen etc. between high and low energy forms and dumping all the unusable high-entropy energy into space; I stand by the belief that there is no intrinsic reason that human society, even with complex technologies like computers, could not eventually assume a similar equilibrium if we survive. Though could does not mean is likely to....)

So I'm not convinced that we're a few years away from the first domino falling in the apocalypse. The situation is very very bad, don't get me wrong, I do basically agree the current socioeconomic world system is not capable of adapting fast enough as it stands, and I do find it increasingly hard to imagine the prospect of it being overturned, so I don't think the gigadeaths future is out of the question or even unlikely. But it's at least not the imminent near-certainty this essay makes out. If it comes, it will be more drawn-out than that. We don't need to live as if we will certainly die in a year or five.

So... now back to not thinking about it and fiddling while the world burns, I guess? :/

[yeniayofnymeria]

Theory: The End of A Stark "Will Sansa Die?"

Hi, Selam!

This week I would like to revisit a theory that I read years ago, but I have to say that I have rewritten it with my own additions and ideas. I want to say at the beginning what I'll say at the end, to be honest, for years I've had a 50% chance that Sansa will live or die at the end of the story, but I'm a little bit more on the possibility of her dying, but I have to say that it's still not a definite idea, I'm still not very sure.

Here I will not only discuss Sansa's possible signs of death, but also include some ideas between the lines on how her story might progress.

(It's going to be a bit of a long post and I hope my bad grammar doesn't kill your enjoyment of reading.)

As you know very well, none of the characters are safe, except for one person at least. For this reason, we approach almost every character, be it the main character or the lead, with the possibility that they might die.

While characters have their own missions in the story, the writers also impose other missions on them, and the two missions can be completely opposite as well as compatible. For example, even if character x sees himself as the savior of the story, the author can turn him into the villain of the story. People like Martin place hints about missions and story development in the text from the very beginning, and if we pay close attention we can see them, but sometimes we don't fully understand the purpose of the characters' existence. For example, I still can't figure out why Val exists. I think it's easier to predict the protagonists, after all, they are the main focus of the author, they are the characters that drive/shape the story.

Sansa is one of the main characters, like Cersei and Jaime, and there is no doubt that, like every character, the author has a mission for her. We're not going to discuss that here because that's not our topic, but the meaning that is attributed to her can affect the ending of the story.

In my opinion, the author has not yet used Sansa for her purpose. Yes, she served as Arya's foil at the beginning of the story, but I don't think her part in what happened between Ned and the Lannists is her raison d'etre, at least not her sole raison d'etre. Most fans think that she is the one who will turn into a player for the throne and make up for the Starks' lack of intrigue; some readers don't attach any special meaning to her; or some - like me - think that she will be partly involved in a game for the throne, but against Jon, to his detriment. It's impossible to know which of these three ideas will turn out to be exactly right without reading it, but some uncertainty about the character's purpose in the story creates a similar uncertainty about her possible ending, at least for me.

I'm thinking of two possible scenarios.

The first one is that, like when we start the book, she takes some actions against her family, which in this case it's Jon and Arya, but in the end she realizes what she did wrong, corrects herself and helps destroy the family enemy, which would be Littlefinger. That's a bit of a classic character development, so I'm actually leaning a bit towards that idea, especially with the prophecy of killing the giant that we think is Littlefinger.

In these scenarios, there are usually two possibilities; (1) the character survives and finds her own happiness by turning into a figure who supports her family until the end, or (2) she sacrifices herself for the sake of protecting her family / righting the wrong she has done(There are readers who think that because the Lady died instead of Nymeria, Sansa will sacrifice herself for Arya).

In the second scenario, she becomes the villain within the family and continues to reinforce her betrayal and is eventually executed within the family. Of course, the adjective "villain" here does not mean turning into a devilish temptress. For example, the desire to protect the inheritance rights of her brothers (against Jon) with good intentions and to elevate / secure her own position in return for all that she has suffered is quite possible and I think it would be a reasonable desire. Although I already think that she will act in this or a similar way, as I just said, she is more inclined to the possibility of correcting herself, but if she does not, "death" would be inevitable for such a figure. The person I got the theory from already thinks that Sansa will die by Arya's hand.

For this reason, we can approach the theory with two separate questions: Will Sansa die and if so, how/by whom?

First, let's look for an answer to the question "Will Sansa die, or rather, are there signs that she might die?". The short answer to this question is "yes". As we have already said, no character seems to be safe, so it will be possible to find at least one sign that could point to death for almost every lead and main character.

So, what are these signs for Sansa? Let's take them one by one.

Death Signs / Arguments

1- Our first sign is RED ROSE and SWEET SMELL.

When the characters smell sweet from someone or something, it is considered to be danger bells. Of course, we do not claim that they will die 100%, they may be there as a sign that they will face death and return from death, but if they have received more than one sign, it may be difficult to say that they will simply fall into a coma.

The red rose that Loras Tyrell gave Sansa at the tournament in the first book is remarkable. While he gave white roses to everyone else, he gave her a red rose, which Loras didn't even remember. It was probably a political gesture to honor his father for being the daughter of the Hand, which he did at Renly's direction in the show.

While white roses are usually associated with purity, innocence and cherishing, red roses are the most remarkable and most acceptable of all types of roses because they express love and passion. It is for this reason that it is the most valuable, at least spiritually, which is why Loras gives a red rose, but if we look at the author's intention, the fact that a sweet scent emanates from this rose can be interpreted as a sign that Sansa may die for the sake of love/love, considering the importance she attaches to love. Now let's elaborate on this scenario.

When we think of love, we usually think of romantic feelings between a man and a woman; if you remember the SanSan theory, Sansa's emotional bond with Sandor may be a path that leads to their deaths in the future. Almost everyone thinks Sandor will die in his fight with his brother, probably very few think he will survive. The part that interests me is the idea of how this will happen.

I have actually opened two threads for this in the past. Bran's coma dream, which refers to Sandor's fight with Jaime against his brother, and Sandor's motivation. If you haven't read it or forgotten the details, I recommend you to read it again.

Roughly summarized... So in the fight of the three shadows that we saw in Bran's coma dream, Sandor's motivation to fight his brother the Mountain could be to protect Sansa. Sandor will probably die protecting Sansa at the end of this fight.

Alternative Interpretation of the Rose Sign

Apart from the love for Sansa and Sandor, the red rose reference can also be interpreted as "love for family". After all, what we call love is not a uniform thing. Usually, when we buy roses for our mothers, we prefer red roses. This could fit the scenario that Sansa comes to her senses and dies trying to protect her family. Of course, I am closer to the love interpretation, but I think this is a possible scenario.

The Red Rose is the strongest death argument for Sansa. The ones after that can be considered equivalent or relatively less strong.

2- Let's continue with Lady The Direwolf.

Everyone knows that wolves symbolize their owners and are a sign of their fate. The Lady, like her owner, is a graceful and calm animal, but she is killed because of Cersei's hatred of wolves. Some interpret Sansa's naming of the wolf and its untimely death as a sign of two things. The first is that a character who was expected to be queen in the first book (because of her betrothal to Joffrey) will remain a lady forever , and the second is that Sansa will die with the early death of her wolf.

While I agree with forever lady interpretation, but I can't claim that I see the wolf's death as a sign that Sansa should also die, at least not directly. Yes, I'm not ruling it out as a possibility, maybe it is indeed a sign, but there is a more weighty view(for some people), which I'm a little closer to.

Wolves symbolize Stark children and their Stark identity. They are also the key to triggering the warg abilities. We know that Sansa is a warg, but it's a dormant ability that never triggers because her wolf died. Whereas all her other siblings have their wolves and their warg abilities have awakened.

So what does this detail mean for Sansa? Why is Sansa the only one of all the children who is deprived of this?

Well, like Nymeria, the Lady could have been kept alive somehow, but the author did not choose to do so. For some view is that Sansa is no longer a Stark as an "identity", that this aspect is dead. Don't get me wrong, of course she is still her father's daughter and a member of the family. We are talking about her spiritual Stark identity. If you remember, after letter she sent to her family, when Robb reacted angrily and asked what was wrong with this girl, Bran's answer was "her wolf is dead". It's a rather meaningless thought when you look at what's going on, but I think the writer is sending a signal here that Sansa's spiritual bond with the north and with the Starks has been severed.

In 2001, we see an interesting dialogue between the fans and Martin (actually, I remember there was something similar, but I couldn't find the source).

Well, 20-odd years later this information is still there, so I'm proceeding from the conclusion that it hasn't been refuted. And this is parallel to what I'm about to explain.

So, what exactly does Martin mean by that?

Now Sansa is disguised as Aleyna in the Vale and keep her role of father and daughter, as if performing a theatre with Littlefinger. No doubt she still remembers Sansa in her mind(even she is Sansa), but at LF's request, they continue to play father-daughter roles even when they are alone(it's important detail).

However, if you pay attention, there are changes in the names of the characters starting from the 4th book, this is a detail that Martin later thought of and added. The POV name is written in this way if the character feels himself as what or who he is at that moment.

In an interview in 2006, Martin explained that pov names are a sign of how the characters, but especially Sansa, think of themselves, and even in 2008, when asked if the Hound and Sansa will get together, He says: “Why? The Hound is dead and Sansa may be dead too, there is only Aleyne Stone.”

What is meant by death here, of course, is not bodily, but as a "spiritual-identity". There is a nice theory that the Hound is not essentially dead, but that the Hound within is dead. We've probably seen him in Brienne povs anyway... The author (seems) has made a statement that the same identity-spiritual death is also for Sansa. In later years, he explained the changes in these pov names of the characters as "identities are under attack." As a matter of fact, although we talking about Sansa, the identities of many characters such as Arya and Theon are also under attack. It looks like Theon has finally found himself, as we look at Mercy POV, we know Arya's holding onto her identity thanks to Needle and Nymeria, but Sansa?

She has neither a wolf nor an anchor like Needle to connect her to her identity.

Martin said the imaginary kiss was intentional and hinted at something; He explains by pointing to Sansa's psychology. When we first met Sansa, we saw that she told a little lie and we didn't dwell on it, we said we all tell little lies like that, but then the lies started to get bigger and more serious. Worse still, Sansa lies to herself the most, which is made most obvious by the imaginary kiss. Lying is one of the most striking situations in Sansa's story. She lies so often now that she begins to remember events that way (something we actually saw in the first book with the Mycah issue).

Considering Martin's emphasis on Sansa's psychology and Aleyna identity, in addition to the reason for the changes in pov names, Sansa will probably begin to consider herself as Aleyna in the future. It looks like Sansa will lose her identity while the readers wait for Arya. Of course, to me, this loss of identity will not be like the Faceless Men. Sansa will be well aware of herself, but she will see herself as Petry Baelish's bastard daughter Aleyna Stone; As we are used to seeing in spy movies, we can expect to see in Sansa the character starts to integrate with the identity she is acting after playing long enough.

In fact, this situation can be seen from time to time in actors who show method acting, they cannot get out of the role and their behaviors change because the point of this technique is not to portray the character, but to live. Like a method actress, Sansa does not portray the character of Aleyna, she is officially live it. You can easily observe this between the lines. Remember the scenes where Theon goes back and forth between The Reek and Theon. This shows that she will not be able to get rid of the LF effect for a long time, which is one of the reasons why I think she will act against Jon, because she is under the LF effect.

To summarize this matter, the death of Sansa's wolf is a sign for her breaking of her ties with Stark and the north, her distance from being a Stark spiritually and her slowly starting to assume the identity of Aleyna Stone. This, in the LF effect, makes her a pawn to be used against the Starks. If Sansa cannot find her identity again at the end of the story, I don't see it possible for such a person to live, she will definitely die at the end of the story.

3- Another argument, Blood Oranges

Actually, this is a bit sweet and death theory thing . Blood Oranges are death symbols that symbolize murder in the series. It caught our attention mainly in the Doran Martell scenes; Hotah was talking about the sweet smell of overripe and falling blood oranges, which, as you can see, also has a sweet side. Another notable example is the phrase "whatever you do, keep your hands clean" in the scene where LF squeezes and drinks a blood orange while LF's with Sansa, where they're talking about Joffrey's murder. Of course, these two are not the only examples, but the example that interests us is in the first book, between Arya and Sansa...

...the two sisters were talking about the Mycah murder at a time they were arguing at dinner and Sansa was lying again, Arya said "liar", squeezing the blood orange in anger, then she throws it to Sansa. The orange falls first on her head and then on her lap, staining her dress. Sansa's fear of Illyn Payne from the first moment she saw it; When we think about things such as having terrible dreams/fears that her head will be cut off, does the blood orange that hit her head indicate that she will be the victim of such a murder? Moreover, the orange falls into her lap, which is actually where her private area is; When she took off the dress, she was having a fit of crying, seeing that it was also covered in her underwear. Here Martin may have signaled that Sansa will be killed, there seems to be strong symbolism, especially when we combine it with the red rose scene.

The fact that her white silk dress was dyed a dark color (I think it was black) because it was stained shows that her innocence has been lost. Even if that's not his intention, the fact that she's poisoning Sweet Robin is a sign, or that she blames the singer for Lysa's murder. No doubt we have reason to justify this latest incident, but there may come times when we can no longer justify it, when Sansa can do things we can't justify.

4- For now, let's briefly touch on Sansa's dreams as the last argument.

Contrary to what we are used to, Sansa's dreams appear as psychological dreams triggered by her trauma. This shows that they have a lot of violence, of course, there are some that are not, some of them include longing for home and family. Sansa often dreams of Payne and is afraid of dying. She had seen the rebellion in a dream and had been struck with a sword in the stomach. Although it is a weak approach, the fact that dreams are so violent and bad, but especially the Payne detail, may be a reference that Sansa's fear of death can become reality.

I have theory about "Tully Women Mental Health."

Even though they have a strong psychology image at the first stage, after a point, the last generation Tully women are like iron like Stannis, but they have a mind structure that is so sensitive that they break before they bend over. I thought that Sansa had her share of it because she looked like her mother in everything. When you combine it with what I have told you so far, it may be possible to predict that Sansa has a very sensitive psychology and will experience a breaking moment in the future.

Further of the death marks and the Possible Sandor Scenario, could Arya have an interior in Sansa's death or murder?

While I don't think Martin would get Arya to kill her sister or anyone in the family, I can't dismiss the possibility because the conflict between the two sisters is not to be overlooked. From the very beginning, Sansa was created to be Arya's foil. Foil characters are those in which the meaning of existence is opposite. Martin wrote Sansa because he didn't think everyone got along well in a family. So the "conflict" between siblings is Sansa's main purpose of existence.

As a matter of fact, the Sansa'a arc, which I expect to come to the fore in the story, will be exactly in this direction; The escalation of her conflict with Arya...

The development of tension between the sisters...

We already know Sansa in the first Arya POV, and as the contrasts between these two are revealed right before us, a small and simple sibling conflict is staged. After that, the two sisters have more conflicts with each other during their time together and they are getting bigger every day, but then the Ned case happens and the sisters separate. It has gone beyond being a simple sibling quarrel between them, but we cannot claim that it is an irreversible situation that still crosses the threshold; at least until Arya finds out that Sansa has said her father's plan to Cersei. Even then, the threshold may not have been fully crossed, but if Sansa, as Aleyna, starts making moves against Jon by advancing under the influence of Littlefinger, as I believe she will, then the threshold will be crossed for Arya.

After all, Jon's appearance as a surprise egg is definitely an obstacle to LF's goals, and he must eliminate Jon to realize his thoughts about the north. The most useful tool for this is Sansa herself. We can read a triple attack as I believe LSH will come and join this duo, but LF will stay behind to keep his hands clean as per his life philosophy.

It becomes much more meaningful at this stage that Arya is equipped with abilities that she can use in Game of Thrones, such as understanding lies and learning to gather information... etc. In any case, the point of "understand a lie" becomes more meaningful when you think of Sansa and LF, who are constantly lying and are used to telling, and it becomes a more important skill. Of course, we should not forget the likes of Varys and Illyrio. So it looks like the author chose Arya, not Sansa, to make up for the Starks' lack of intrigue. I mentioned and explained these abilities in a old thread of mine and I even mentioned that the Kind Man teaches Arya of mother languages of Dany, Illyrio, and Varys besides Braavos.

But yes, Sansa will also get involved in intrigue/game of thrones as LF's student, but she will use it against Jon. This will bring the conflict between Arya and Sansa to the peak.

We read that Sandor said that when he looked at Arya in one scene, he said he thinks Arya want to kill Sansa; It's also worth remembering that Arya said "I don't hate her" while Ned admonished her not to stab Needle into her sister, saying "that was just half a lie". Of course, these may be red herrings, but the possibility of not being must be considered. This might be a reference, as it was Arya who threw the blood orange at Sansa.

These are my opinions in general, what do you think about it? Will Sansa die, and if she does, how?

TLDR: There are several signs that could indicate Sansa's death. These are the sweet fragrance of the red rose; blood orange scenes, killing/injuring in her nightmares are a few of them. In addition, the death of Lady may indicate that she dies at the end of the story as a result of her breaking away from her Stark identity, and it may also be a sign that Sansa begins to see herself as Aleyna Stone over time and enters into a game of throne against Jon and Arya under the control of LF. As the tension between Arya and Sansa grows, in addition to the possibility of Arya having a share in Sansa's death, there may also be a possibility that Sansa will die here by taking part in the Sandor and Mountain fight.Of course, you have to read the articles in detail for them to make sense.

Thank you.

[accirax]

Disventure Camp All Stars Power Ranking (Round 16)

Ah, the sweet sixteenth. At this crucial final 5 vote-out, will I be able to rein my theories in, or will I just be horsing around? With this few players left in the game, it's harder to distinguish between yay and nay.

In case you haven't seen my previous power rankings, the Power Ranking Format is essentially a way of ranking how well each player is doing in the game. So, in essence, this is a long form way of predicting who I think will be eliminated from the competition in the next episode. There will be spoilers for last week's episode (obviously) and its power ranking, so make sure to read that first if you don't want to be spoiled on how I ranked our last boot. If you want more clarification on the rules, that first post will help you out as well. Furthermore, I'm going to be spoiling the preview for next episode, so if you want to go in TOTALLY blind, save this for later. Let's go!

Recap - Alec's Elimination

Current Score: 70 acquired/103 total

(Points versus @venus-is-thinking: 21 acquired/29 total)

"But, I really feel like it has to be Riya's time to go. If it isn't, well... I hope the rest of my list holds up well enough."

Given that Riya didn't get eliminated last week, I'm happy to report that I did put the correct boot in my second best spot. Makes me feel a little better, after my Gabby and Aiden blunders. What I'm not happy to report is that one of my favorite characters this season (and in Season 1) is now out of the game. That's quite saddening. But, I'm not too upset about it.

In the entire pre-merge portion of the game, I knew as I was watching Alec absolutely slay that he was going to have a downfall eventually. Now, I didn't know that said downfall would involve a romantic entanglement with Riya and getting idoled out, but I also didn't know that he'd be able to repair and reflect more on his relationship with Connor, so, pros and cons! Or, rather, cons and pros. And he gets to be in the Loser's Motel episode with Fiore now, hehehe >:)c

While I wish he could have had a nicer exit for his sake, I understand that villains need to be "punished" in shows like these-- and, y'know, at least he wasn't blown up and exploded at age 6 with no support! (/j) Plus, he did get some closure in the form of coming to terms with why his relationships were failing, and having hope for moving on in the future. It was kinda bs that he lost that puzzle challenge because he needed to not be immune for plot reasons in this episode, though. The Alec I know could have smashed a twelve piece jigsaw in seconds. (/j)

Trailer Analysis

Trevor and Emily are back at it again. Are the interns also not allowed to use their phones, or is that just the campers? Just looking out for Trevor's future employment potential, especially in light of Kristal potentially quitting as host.

I guess Riya is worried about appearing in front of a camera now? Perhaps Connor proving how pathetic she had become might have had a more profound impact on her than I might have assessed.

Ooooooh, are we doing letters from home? That would be so interesting. It could also factor into Riya looking nervous in front of the camera-- if the message from her family isn't so supportive of her actions. ...It's a good thing Alec went home before this episode, if true.

The women's alliance is real after all! It wasn't just a myth created and spread by me!!!!

horse

While I absolutely feel for the riggers in this situation... good lord these horse rigs are rough. Their legs just do not move as much/in the right way as they should. I wish the animators retroactive luck in animating this challenge. Also, Riya is the only one who seems to really be struggling with the horses in the preview.

Grett's entering her challenge beast era.

Who the fuck is throwing sticks at Jake? Is it Ally, or is it part of the challenge?

"Final three, let's go~!"

See, told you the women's alliance is real. This is definitely from the same scene we saw earlier of Grett, Riya, and Ally standing around. The real question is just whether or not this will remain as the plan for even this episode anymore.

Power Ranking

#1: Ally

Look, I know I keep putting Ally way above where Venus has her, but... well, it's worked out for me so far, hasn't it? At this point, my vibe check honestly says that Ally is more likely to be a finalist than not (and not just because everyone theoretically has a 60% chance of finalist at this point), even if I can't pinpoint exactly how she's going to get there. I'm sure part of the reason why is because Seasons 1 and 2 treated the Final 4 very differently-- Season 2 had a vote-out with idols fully permitted, while Season 1 had half of their competitors have immunity and choose between the two losers. But, I digress. This is about the Final 5.

The main reason why I think Ally will survive is because she has Grett's favor. I think that Grett will be looking to protect Ally this episode, even if the favor doesn't work the other way. Jake may very obviously want to gun for Ally, but Grett knows that she (and Ally) are the swing votes. Grett will want to take out Riya instead, and if Jake and Connor refuse to comply, she can always eliminate whichever one of them may not have immunity alongside Riya. And, if Grett chooses to work with Riya/the women's alliance in the first place, then Ally is totally fine, too!

The only way I see Ally going home is if Grett decides to abandon her, which I don't think is going to happen. As I see it, Grett currently views Ally as a pawn, and while that may cause Ally to rebel in the future, Grett doesn't seem too concerned by that at the moment.

To be clear, I really hate putting anyone anywhere near the top, because I do think that everyone has a genuinely good reason to be eliminated at this point. It's easy for that to be the case when there are so few competitors left. However, I think Ally has the least reason to go home at this point, so I feel most comfortable with her in the #1 position.

#2: Jake

Not going to lie, pretty much every reason why I don't think Jake is going home this episode is a meta one. If Grett and Ally decided to ride the women's alliance to the end, and if Jake doesn't have immunity, there is a high likelihood he could just die. They voted for him last time. Why not do it again?

That being said, there are a lot of meta reasons why Jake would stay in the game.

Under the assumption that the writers would plan for a mix of Season 1 and Season 2 characters in the finale, and for at least one man to make the finale (as they've already had an all-women Final 3), if Jake goes home, Grett has to be in the finale as the only other Season 1 remaining, and Connor has to be in the finale as the only other man remaining. It's a lot simpler if Jake just makes the finale.

On top of that, Jake's character arc just seems like it's been leaning winner as well. I won't explain all the reasons why, because that would take a long time, and I've been mentioning it in my Power Rankings and initial thoughts for a while now.

While their relationship does have nuance, overall, I think we're supposed to root for Jake and against Ally in their rivalry. Thus, I don't think that they'd want to let Ally actually eliminate Jake. He's a fan favorite, while Ally seems to draw in new haters with each episode.

Jake was already eliminated at Final 5 after being saved by an idol at Final 6 once before. I doubt they'd want him to get eliminated in the exact same way again.

There might be even more, but I'm not thinking of them right now. At any rate, all of those meta elements combined gives Jake enough power to survive being put at a lower placement for this round, at least. Whatever happens in this challenge, I think they'll find some way to save him, whether it's giving Jake immunity, Grett deciding to work with Connor and Jake, the girls deciding to target Connor this time, or whatever else. Still, though. It's scary having him this high.

#3: Connor

Once again, a character conveniently lands in the middle of the ranking because I think they have good reasons to stay or go. Or, at least, I think that's happened before? Possibly even with Connor. Kinda scary that that point is third place, though.

So, why would it make sense for Connor to stay in the competition? Well, like I said with Jake, I think that there'll be at least one man in the finale, so if Connor goes home, it would make it "pretty obvious" that Jake is locked in for the finals. He also still hasn't yet outplaced Riya in this season (or at all), which is something I've been predicting will happen for a while. I also think that Connor would make a very sensible last place finalist, as someone who we can root for but understandably get rid of (because he's already rich) in going from Final 3 to Final 2, opening the stage for a more dramatic showdown between Final 2 rivals. Uh, to be clear, at this point, I'm expecting a Jake/Ally/Connor Final 3 with placements in that order. I didn't really set out to put the three of them in the top 3 positions of this week, but, I guess my internal biases got the best of me?

Screw all that, though-- why would it then make sense for Connor to be the one going home? Well, even though he hasn't been there to see Riya voted out, the end of last episode and this trailer have made it pretty clear that he's already had a moral victory against Riya. Honestly, that might sting for Riya even more-- even though Connor didn't even outplace her, he still seems more content than she is. Why?! Eliminating Connor here could also create a very dramatic do-or-die scenario for Jake at the Final 4. If Jake then wins immunity to secure his spot in the Final 4, it could also lead to some intriguing drama at the Final 4 tribal. I'd love to see Riya going out in that fashion: voting out Connor actually leads to her downfall, as it exposes that her social game wasn't strong enough to save her at the eleventh hour.

Also, if Connor and Alec still need a final conversation at the Loser's Motel, Connor would need to be... well, in the Loser's Motel. To be honest, though, I could actually see the fact that Alec and Connor hugged it out already as being a good sign for the fact that Connor doesn't need to be in the Loser's Motel episode. For that reason and the ones listed above, I think Connor is decently safe... but even decently safe will land you in spot #3.

#4: Grett

After Ally started to sneakily pick up what Grett was discreetly attempting to put down last episode, Grett's life in this game definitely started to flash before my eyes. At this point, it seems to me like Grett is being set up for a pre-finale downfall. However, I think we might still need a little bit more time for Grett's threat level to rise enough for her to truly feel like a final boss archetype.

To quickly explain what I mean by that, modern Survivor (at least) has very frequently edited the show in a way that makes the Final 4 or 5 boot into a final boss that the true winner of the season has to defeat before rightfully claiming their crown in the finale. This is because, a lot of the time, the best strategic players of the season make it really deep into the game, but are such obvious threats to win that the rest of the players scramble to take them out before it's too late. If you've seen Survivor 42, 43, or 44, some names might jump to mind. I don't know if the ONC writers might have been trying to specifically emulate that phenomenon with Grett or if it's just something that could occur naturally, but either way, I think she may receive that treatment.

Part of it is just that I think she's decently likely to win immunity this episode. We've heard that Grett enjoys working out and being athletic in these past few episodes, and she seemed to be kicking ass on that horse. She also has a rich(?) background, so she might have more inherent knowledge of horses than some of the other competitors.

There's more I could specifically say about what I think might happen in these last few episodes involving Grett, but I'll save that for #5. But, if I'm so convinced that Grett will be safe this episode, why put her at #4?

Well, truthfully, I'm not. First of all, I said the final boss can be eliminated at 4th or 5th place, and this is 5th place. Granted, I think 5th place final boss is more warranted for Survivor, with their Final 4 firemaking twist, but it could still be the case here. I could also see Ally convincing everyone else that Grett is too threatening, and everyone working together to vote her out of the game. Even if Jake would hate to work with Ally, I don't know if anyone would be able to pass up such an obvious "as long as it isn't me" opportunity this close to the finale.

While I do still think Grett would be a deserving winner, she's entered into wide enough of a danger zone that I fear she won't make it to the finale. The debate in my eyes is whether it'll be this episode or the next that takes her out. I'm leaning next episode, but I'm unconfident enough in my prediction that Grett goes at #4.

#5: Riya

Alright, back to my direct predictions about what will happen. As long as Riya doesn't win immunity this episode, I think that what will happen is that Grett will decide to turn the tables this time, and plan to vote with Jake and Connor to take out Riya. That way, she can fulfill her personal vendetta against Riya, as well as prevent someone who almost won last season from getting a chance at a re-do.

Given that Grett is locked in with Connor and Jake as Riya votes, there isn't really much of a point to voting for someone else if Ally is in on the plan. But, that doesn't mean that Ally won't be mad about it. The line where Ally seems so happy about going to the Final 3 with Riya and Grett would factor into this. I think Ally might genuinely believe that that's the plan moving forward, before Grett goes "lol no of course we're taking Riya out this time." At that point, Ally will put two and two together, and be confident that Grett tipped Connor and Jake off about the idol play without telling her. Some super close ally she is!

Going into the Final 4, Ally will be sick and tired of Grett bossing her around, not taking her opinions into account when it comes to who to vote out (Jake still isn't out of the game!) and treating her as essentially a second vote. That rage will cause Ally to somehow get Grett out at the Final 4-- possibly in combination with a Jake immunity win or some other situation where Jake is immune from being voted out. Or, maybe Ally would put her hatred of Jake aside in seeing Grett as a bigger threat. Doubtful, though-- she really fucking hates Jake.

Anyways, I feel bad that I haven't actually talked about Riya much in this Riya section. Of course, I don't know if anything that I'm going to say about Riya will make me feel any nicer. I really don't think that Riya is going to be a finalist again. I think that Grett or Ally make more sense as a "villain" finalist for the series, between Grett being a former member of the villains' alliance and Ally being one of the most detestable characters at this point. (Not saying I personally detest her.) If Riya isn't a finalist, it's now or next episode.

And... really, the thing that makes me want to put Riya on the bottom this week the most is wondering what the hell she would be doing still in the Final 4. If she gets there, it's probably either a Connor or Jake boot that gets us there, possibly Grett in the "Ally convinces everyone to vote Grett" scenario. What does that get us?

If Connor is eliminated, Riya is just an awkward third wheel on the Ally/Jake and Ally/Grett scenarios.

If Jake is eliminated, I guess she continues beefing with Connor, but about what? Whatever they have to talk about will probably be talked about in this episode.

If Grett is eliminated, then... I mean, I guess we'll focus in on her and Ally? And she can keep beefing with Connor about whatever. I don't know about you guys, but to me, that feels... kind of fruitless?

The main issue is that, at least in my eyes, Riya has already lost. She's not going to win this season, and everyone in the audience knows it. With Alec's elimination, she lost any sort of power she could have had. She doesn't have Alec to order around, she's officially made a fool of herself in front of Connor, and she doesn't even seem to enjoy the presence of the cameras she's always loved in the trailer. I think Riya may kinda quietly go off into the night this episode, which is the saddest (/pos) method for eliminating her there is. TV's greatest villain, taken out by Grett as an obvious move with very little fanfare. Is this where her relentless ambition and manipulation has gotten her...?

Oh, and she still needs to talk with Alec in the Loser's Motel, probably. Kinda fitting if they're eliminated back-to-back, as well.

As we close out this Power Ranking, let me reiterate that I genuinely could see any of these competitors being eliminated this episode. I wound up having stronger opinions about Ally and Riya than I thought, but I really struggled with where to place everyone at the start. I don't want to get 1 point this week, but I wouldn't be all too surprised if I do. I just have to hope that the power of the horse is on my side.

... wait, Venus was born in the year of the horse! Dammit, I'm totally gonna lose! Unless we have the same person at #5...? As I write this, I haven't read hers yet, so I guess I'll have to wait and see. To the episode!

[idk-my-aesthetic]

Spy x fam 76 spoilers!

There was so much incredible about this arc, and I want to talk about more of it, but I want to start with Nightfall

I’ll say it again I wasn’t a huge nightfall fan before this arc. I lowkey thought it’d be cute for her to develop a bit of a crush on Yor in a comedic way but besides that didn’t think too much of her

This freaking arc tho??? Oh my g-d???

1) this is just a general statement about the series as a whole but sxf truely is like. Both a love story and a spy thriller. You can’t take away the themes about love (both romantic and platonic) and family without completely compromising the story. It’s just one of the best stories I’ve ever seen with the way the creator weaves in drama and action and the SYMBOLISM. The PARALLELS. Im losing my fucking mind so-

1.1) listen. Listen. I know it sounds like I’m saying nonsense but I cannot express how IMPRESSIVE the story telling here is. Doing this so well is HARD. There’s a reason so many action movies have garbage tacked on romance plots. It takes a lot of different skills to make a good action drama vs a romantic or emotional drama. And this series just does such a good job at having an engaging world, stakes that feel genuinely scary and grounded, and characters that manage to both work as narrative tools while still feeling like real actual multidimensional people.

And that ability to have such incredibly multidimensional characters that still push the narrative is what brings me to Nightfall

2) this was the first time (at least in my opinion) nightfall became more of her own person and not just a token romantic rival to progress Loid and Yors romance. She’s starting to feel more like a real person.

One of the things about her that absolutely jumps out to me is her similarities to Yor. Her willingness to self sacrifice for the people she loves, her sheer power, and most importantly the way she views love

Yor and Fiona both view love as a strength. At the moment Twilight views it as a weakness. He also assumes that’s how the others around him view his attachments, as a form of weakness. Including Nightfall, he assumes she’s going to think him weak and she’s too flustered to correct him

I think there’s two possibilities with what will happen with Nightfall and Twilight.

A) Nightfall is going to help Twilight realize it’s okay to be in love with Yor and to love Anya (because I do think he will begin to view her as a weakness as well). It’s probably going to break her heart but we can already see how much she’s willing to sacrifice for him

(In an ideal world she’d go through a lot of character development, fall in love with Yor as well and then they’d be a throuple, but I am realistic enough to understand that’ll probably never happen and go write my own fic or smthn lol)

B) nightfall becomes a representation of the parts of himself that Loid will eventually sacrifice/turn away from in favor of his family. This is honestly what I was expecting to happen before this arc, especially cus it would be easy to do a mirroring thing with Yor and Yuri. (For the record I don’t think it would be a thing of like fully rejecting their old lives for either Loid or Yor but I also can only predict so much lol).

3) I really really hope nightfall continues to evolve. Yuri as well. As much as it is important to have rival or threat characters like them in this type of stories I feel like their characters have so much potential. But at the same time that’s one of the huge struggles with writing! It’s incredibly difficult to balance the narrative role of a character while still making them feel real. I think they’ve done and incredible job so far and I am curious where they’re going to go with it

[imbonewary]

Shifting Sans Chapter 2 "In Which, Sans is Very Confused"

~

Chapter 1 - Chapter 3

~

I flinched hard at a knock on the door. I must've blacked out for a minute.

"We heard something fall," a hesitant voice called through the door. "Is everything alright in there?"

Ah, that must've been me that fell, seeing as I'm on the floor, curled up in a rattling ball.

"'m fine,” hopped out of my mouth before I'd decided to respond. I’m not sure I’ve ever been "fine" but whatever. If that really is my brother than I don't want him to worry, and if it's not... show no weakness or it'll be used against you. I decided to stay on the floor as I went over what I knew; no sense wasting precious energy sitting up. 

So. 

I really did absorb a piece of the human's soul. 

A piece of that thing is inside me now. 

I don't think there's any way to un-absorb a soul.

I'll never be free of it. 

...

Welp.

I'll just have to get used to that. 

What else do I know.

I guess I still have full control because I only absorbed a piece of the human’s soul, not the whole thing, so there’s that. Small blessings. Not sure what I’d do if I could hear that little demon in my head all the time. 

I moved one of the wings into my view to examine it more closely. 

While I'm not 100% certain, I'm pretty sure the wings are coming from that soul piece; they are the same color, after all, and seem to be more like conjured flesh than feathers. Human souls are powerful so it would make sense that a monster who absorbs one would have to accommodate for the influx of magic somehow. Did anything else change besides the wings? I didn't notice anything different while getting dressed, so maybe not. In that case, I guess I'm glad the only change was the addition of wings. Coulda been worse. 

And apparently I can fly now, but I’ll think about that later. 

Grabbing the soul piece must've interrupted the reset; that could be why everything is so weird, but resets only affect time, and they only go back to when the human first fell. At least, ever since they took the power from Flowey anyways, and even then, he technically only had it for a few months. There wouldn't have been enough time, let alone need, to convert the closet into a bathroom. Besides, it was clean but obviously used and definitely not a new feature. 

That skeleton out there... He hadn't corrected me when I called him "Papyrus" but he’s so different than my brother. He could speak softly, not only knew about Gaster Blasters but could summon his own, he was wearing jeans and a white shirt instead of his Battle Body, and he'd called me "buddy" instead of "brother" earlier... I hadn't caught it at the time but now that I think about it, that's even more weird than the rest of it!

I don't... I don't think that skeleton is my brother. Not unless a lot more has changed than just time can account for.

I need more information. I could spin my wheels for hours getting nowhere unless I ask my "hosts" some potentially awkward questions. I just hope they're willing to humor me. 

I sat up, taking a deep breath before standing, once again using the sink for support. As I reached for the door a sudden fear of the unknown washed over me. After such a long time dealing with predictability how well am I gonna handle not knowing what comes next? I wonder how rusty my people-reading skills have gotten...

I shook my head, no more stalling. Swallowing my trepidation, I opened the door a crack, as quietly as I could. "Alphys" was sitting on the far side of the sofa with her tail curled around  her; the white jacket she'd been wearing earlier was gone, leaving just the black dress, as she held the bundled up blanket I'd probably been using earlier. She had darker stripes on her forearms and markings around her eyes but no glasses. That didn't quite account for how much younger she looked. No sign of "Papyrus", though I could hear cooking sounds from the kitchen, solving that mystery. The door creaked and I instinctively pulled back as "Alphys" glanced at me, smiled, and turned her attention back to the low volume TV. I squared my shoulders; now or never time.

I was filled with DETERMI-

OH MY GOD, WHAT IS THIS FEELING?!

I retched, falling forward against the door, onto my knees, as waves of strength, power, and resolve coursed through my entire being. It wasn't painful, per se, but the phantom burning memory of molten magic lancing through my bones was plenty real to me. I hadn't felt anything like that since...

The Labs.

My mind was flooded with old memories I thought I'd buried long before the resets ever started. I saw the sadistic glee in his smile as he held a syringe filled with a sickly green substance; he said it was green healing magic mixed with the barest hint of red DT but the whole thing looked tainted as he injected it into the mana lines in my chest. As close to my soul as he dared get without actually piercing it. It wasn't the first time and sure as hell wasn't the last. 

I whimpered into my hands as I let the memories wash over me. 

It was a well practiced mental exercise I'd developed over the subjective years spent repeating the same goddamn days over and over. Let the mangled memories run their course, acknowledge their presence, send them on their way; and pray that I make it to the other side without losing the rest of my tattered sanity.

If you're goin' through Hell, don't stop.

Several torturous minutes later, the pain filled visions of needles, restraints, rough hands, and strange substances, faded. 

I stayed kneeling on the floor, breathing ragged as I let my fluttering soul calm back into a steady rhythm.

I struggled to my feet, leaning heavily against the wall, and didn't give myself time to think before opening the door, trudging over and plopping onto the couch opposite Alphys. I didn't look at her but I could practically feel her smile... Wait a sec, I could feel it, like a warmth radiating from her but not one I could feel on my bones; one I could feel on my actual soul. Flowing into me from behind, right where the wings were attached to my back. 

Put that on my growing list of weird things to think about later.

Something else I could feel with the wings was every fiber of the couch cushion I was leaning back against. That was an uncomfortable amount of sensory input, especially from new limbs I wasn't used to yet. Or maybe they were just hyper sensitive to touch. Or both, I didn’t conjure flesh often. Either way, that's really annoying. I tried to subtly find a more comfortable position but my fidgeting became less and less subtle the more frustrated I got with the over stimulation before giving up, flopping over the side of the arm rest with a groan of resignation. 

A throat cleared and I flinched hard.

I turned with an easy smile, pretending I hadn't just jumped out of my nonexistent skin, to find "Papyrus" with an amused grin and two bowls of food. Schooling his expression to carefully neutral, he handed one bowl to "Alphys" before offering the other to me. I could still feel his amusement, just like I could feel Alphys' smile earlier. I took the bowl with a quiet thanks, leaning forward to avoid letting the wings touch the couch again. It would be easier to avoid making a mess like this anyways.

A sob caught in my throat as I looked down at the bowl of spaghetti.

Maybe he was my brother after all. 

Swallowing the tears that pricked at the corners of my sockets, I shoved a forkful of noodles in my mouth and, as much as I love my brother, I could admit his spaghetti never tasted as good as this did. I ignored the confusing mix of emotions as I continued to shovel food in my face. It tasted good, sure, but I didn't realize how hungry I was until I... was out of food. I blinked at my suddenly empty bowl.

"Nyeh heh," Papyrus chuckled, holding out another bowl. "Would you like some more? I made plenty."

I grabbed it greedily, trading him for the empty one as he got up from his chair. I hadn't noticed him sit down next to Alphys; where did the chair even come from?

"Oh my g-god, that was adorable," Alphys snickered behind her hand. 

I blushed, looking away. My eyelights had definitely blown wide at the taste; I really hope they didn't turn into stars or, god forbid, hearts. I wiped off my sauce covered face with the back of my hand; guess I made a mess of myself anyways. I debated for a moment before licking it off; shouldn't let it go to waste. I started eating at a more reasonable pace and Papyrus soon sat down with another bowl. Alphys had barely started her own bowl. So where had the bowl he just gave me come from?

Papyrus gave me his own god damn bowl of food, didn't he? I am such a terrible house guest.

We ate in silence a bit longer.

"Thanks for making dinner," Alphys said. "I-it tastes great."

"As great as the skeleton who made it!" Papyrus preened at the praise, hand on his puffed out chest. 

Another lump caught in my throat. This is getting ridiculous, are you my brother or not? You're so like him in some ways but in others you're the complete opposite. It's giving me emotional whiplash! 

"I suppose we should introduce ourselves, now that everything has calmed down a bit," he continued. Now that I've calmed down, you mean. "My name is Papyrus, though you seemed to already know that."

He hid it well but I could feel the undercurrent of suspicion coming from him.

The fact he felt the need to introduce himself means he doesn't know who I am. Which means he can't be my brother. I tried not to wilt visibly. 

"And this is my sister, Alphys."

I choked on my spaghetti. 

SISTER?! The FUCK?!

"That seems to surprise you." His suspicion was leaking out from behind his carefully neutral mask.

"Yeah, it does surprise me," I finally spoke. "You're supposed to be my brother."

[discotreque]

Red Yarn & Thumbtacks Into Darkness

We all know I can’t predict plot points to save my life, and my track record w/r/t this season of Picard is quite bad so far… but neither can I stop myself from formulating wild theories about where this whole hot mess is going. And maybe it’s just the meandering narrative, but the show keeps getting opportunities to disprove these, and it just hasn’t, which means now I have to inflict them on y’all so my head doesn’t explode. Buckle up!

Theory #1: Remmick’s Revenge

(Speaking of exploding heads…)

The thing in Picard 1.0’s brain that isn’t Irumodic Syndrome after all? The thing that’s also in his DNA, and has therefore has been passed on to Jack? The thing that isn’t part of Picard 2.0’s positronic body? The thing that seems to be beckoning Jack, with creepy red organic imagery, to join/connect with some kind of hive mind?

It’s one of the parasites from “Conspiracy” in TNG S1. It got into Picard during that episode, but after the other parasites were exposed and killed, it went dormant and waited for a better opportunity to strike, rewriting his DNA to make sure he’d be an ideal host when the time came.

But that time never came, and the DNA modifications and/or the presence of the parasite slowly damaged Picard’s brain (in a way similar to Irumodic Syndrome, I guess), which eventually killed his original body. And when Section 31 retrieved that body to take to Daystrom Station, the parasite was still inside: maybe dead too, maybe still dormant, but nothing that a nice fresh sample of modified, ideal-host DNA from Jack couldn’t fix.

Whoever’s giving Vadic her orders when she talks to the hand isn’t (just) trying to reignite the Dominion War—they’re trying to resurrect the parasite conspiracy.

Theory #2: Lateral Advancement

I loved that Lower Decks S3 presented not being in Starfleet as an equally valid and (at least potentially) equally rewarding path for Mariner. Obviously she chose Starfleet, but they made the alternative appealing enough that the obvious choice still had some weight to it. And every week I’m getting more and more sure that PIC S3 is mounting a similar challenge to the idea that every Starfleet officer, if they survive long enough, will—and wants to—become captain of their own ship.

Because listen, I love Shaw as much as the next damaged bitch who confuses “asshole” for “charm,” but babygirl does not seem like he’s thriving in the big chair. The only times we ever see him remotely comfortable—and neither lashing out nor squirming with the effort not to—is when he’s forced back into his old grease-monkey role.

If Captain Shaw survives the season—and at this point, it feels like he probably will—I think (and also hope) that he’s going to transfer out of Command entirely and become the first four-pip Chief Engineer since Scotty in the TOS movies. He and everyone around him would be so much happier.

Theory #3: Feint Praise

They had to know this season would be released weekly while they were writing it—like the seven preceding seasons of live-action New Trek were—so the fact that it’s obviously been written and edited for a binge-watch can only be deliberate sadism. Those fuckers.

However. Earlier this season, when I first watched 3.03, I thought it sucked pretty bad as a standalone episode: weird pacing, incomplete arcs, multiple anti-climactic lacks of payoff, etc. Then I rewatched it back-to-back with Episode 3.04 a week later, and realized 3.03 is actually a pretty decent first half of a two-part episode, and the absolutely outstanding second half corrected or cancelled out nearly every complaint I’d had anyway.

Well, here we are again, and I have a lot of complaints about 3.07. The pacing is weird, the character arcs feel incomplete at best, the amount of setup vs. payoff is way out of whack, and it seems to break some pretty fundamental rules of modern cinematic storytelling for no better reason than to suddenly start rushing this slow-ass plot along.

And all of those complaints are well within the ability of next week’s episode to retroactively address, if it’s indeed the second half to this week’s first. And especially so soon after my last volte-face, I’m more than comfortable giving them an extra week to dig themselves out of this one—they might actually pull it off.

[purgetrooper77]

The Bad Batch (Post Season 2) theories, predictions, and an announcement

 Warning: MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE BAD BATCH SEASON 2!!!!

I finished watching the Season 2 finale of TBB and I have to say, it was an emotional rollercoaster. That Season doesn’t need a rating from me, it needs a reward of amount of hearts broken it caused. I loved every single second of it and the plot twist of Emerie Karr being a female clone caught me off guard. Bravo writers bravo. Now onto the rest of the post.

Theories: Remember my Mark Omega Cloning Theory? I believe that is going to happen in Season 3 but there will be a twist. Omega is not going to be the only one being experimented on, other clones would take part of the Mark Omega project as well. My theory is that Dr. Hemlock will take so much DNA out of Omega, he would have enough to make a second clone army along with the rest of the clones. 

My new theories: So far I have two new theories of the ending of the current season. 

New Theory #1: Emerie Karr is a 2nd Gen Clone. Basically she was created at the same time the other Gen 2 Clones were created and Karr was hidden from Lama Su by Nala Se. It is confirmed that Nala Se kept secret cloning information from Omega and Emerie’s existence was one of those secrets. Her being a Gen 3 Clone makes no sense to me because that would mean she is younger than most of Clone Force 99 (if I am mistaken please correct me) Or she could be a failed Clone Commando that was supposed to be on special ops mission. Instead she began to become an Imperial Scientist. It is also confirmed that Nala Se is hiding some secrets to Lama Su since we all know that Se has a soft spot for different clones. But then again this is just a theory. 

New Theory #2: A civil war will erupt in Coruscant. Allow me to explain: in the finale of Season 2 of The Bad Batch it is revealed that many people are now Clone Rights activists and obviously there are some who believe clones are Imperial property. There will be a short civil war in Coruscant between those two kinds of people which will instantly get the Empire involved. That civil war would cause all sorts of conflicts which will have a huge effect on the entire galaxy. This could be one of the reasons why Tarkin dissolved the senate like he did in Star Wars: A New Hope. 

Here are my predictions: Crosshair will lose his mind when he hears about Tech’s death, Hunter will become Star Wars’ version of John Rambo (or John Wick), Dr. Hemlock will die in Season 3 (assuming that season will happen), and last but not least, Phee Genoa will start an underground crime organization all because Tech has died. Or did he? Let me know what y’all think in the replies. 

I would smother Season 2 of the Bad Batch will all of my love, consider that my rating for the show. Please let there be a Season 3, I am praying hard for it to happen.

One more thing... 

I said I have an announcement and here it is... I have been writing some fanfiction on my own. The fanfiction I am currently writing is coming to an end at the time of this post. This fanfiction won’t be about Clone Troopers nor anyone involved in Dave Filoni’s current projects. Once I finished writing the finale of this fanfiction, I will announce it what it is so stay tuned for that. Anyways this is Purgetrooper77, signing out. 

[burnwater13]

Miggs Mayfeld holding Grogu while the Twi'lek Xi'an looks on, aboard the Razor Crest. Image from The Mandalorian, Season 1, Episode 6, The Prisoner. Calendar by DateWorks.

Note: This story originally ran on April 20, 2024. But it's Labor Day in the US and to minimize my labor, I am running it again with minor edits. Cheers!

Grogu looked up at the guy holding him and marveled at the fact that the balding man was able to be quiet for that long. So far on this trip Grogu had tried to get some rest, but that guy was never quiet. He was always talking. Always laughing at something no one else laughed at. Always trying to provoke the others into saying things that just seemed kind of mean. And everything he said was kind of mean as well. 

Who were these ‘friends’ of the Mandalorian? They seemed pretty suspect to Grogu. Not nice, open, easy to get to know people like Kuiil or Cara Dune. They weren’t even cute like Peli Motto or kind, like Winta’s mom. Nope. They were all criminals or something very close to being criminals. How did someone like the Mandalorian even meet them?

Grogu had thought that the ‘job’ was going to be something quick and easy. Fly a few folks to their destination, wait for them to do their business and then take them back home. Sort of like being a public transport, only you didn’t have to wait for the right speeder to show up. You just told the pilot where to go and they got you there. 

Having seen their weapons and listened to them ‘chat’ with the Mandalorian, it was Grogu’s considered opinion that they were going to do something that usually caused a bounty to be taken out against a person. Was the Mandalorian hoping to bring them in warm? Or cold, Grogu’s personal preference, or something else? Grogu didn’t know, but he sure hoped it wasn’t something else. That didn’t bode well for either of them. 

It had been his experience that when people showed you who they are, well that’s who they were. Abrupt, mouthy, bit of a bully, well, that’s what they were, a mouthy bully who did unpredictable things because that’s how they felt most comfortable. And that was just the Mayfeld guy. He seemed like the nicest one of the three people he actually met. 

And just to be clear, in case anyone felt like correcting him, Grogu knew that a droid went with them on that trip. The droid was the scariest and least predictable member of the group and Grogu did not consider it to be a person. He also would have preferred not to have met it. He has spoken!

If he had thought that the Mandalorian would have listened to him, he would have gladly advised the bounty hunter to leave immediately and go some place with fewer criminals. Maybe Takodana. Or Corellia.  Any place but that repair station and definitely not wherever they were headed. But the Mandalorian didn’t listen to people smaller than him, more or less. He had listened to Peli, but Grogu was pretty sure that she was the exception that proved the rule. 

Grogu bit his lip and pretty much stayed to himself until he wanted some food. If he didn’t eat in a timely manner he just got cranky. That wasn’t a good thing. He lost his patience more quickly. He snapped at people. Literally. And he was more tempted to use the Force to get what he wanted and doubted that the Mandalorian would thank him for that. 

Apparently his timing wasn’t all that good and it turned out that the droid was flying the Razor Crest and the other people were standing around trying to get on each other’s last nerve. Grogu should have expected that. It was part and parcel of all the bad vibes he got from them. 

He expected the Mandalorian to warn them that they were traveling with a Jedi, now that they all knew that Grogu was on board, but strangely he didn’t. Instead, and Grogu couldn’t believe his ears, the bounty hunter told the motley crew that he was a pet. A pet! Uff. He had absolutely nothing in common with a Loth cat and everyone could see that. 

Okay, okay, to be fair, that blabber mouth Mayfeld suggested that he was either a pet or a child that the Mandalorian and the Twi’lek person had when they knew each other. On that basis Grogu didn’t really blame the Mandalorian for choosing ‘pet’ over ‘child’. He had certainly been someone’s child but despite the similarity in the outward appearance of their teeth, he had nothing else in common with the Twi’lek. 

He was glad of that. She liked playing with that knife too much for Grogu’s comfort. That was a good way to get cut. He’d heard that warning from Master Drallig everyday for a year, until the Jedi Battle Master accidentally dropped his lightsaber on his own foot. It hadn’t been activated but it still hurt based on the hopping, cursing, and complaining that took place right after the incident. 

Grogu was about to warn her about that when the ship suddenly dropped out of hyperspace and then did a whole series of swoops, flips, turns and drops before it landed on something. Unfortunately the artificial gravity on the Razor Crest was of no use during a maneuver like that. You were supposed to be strapped into your seat when you have to evade an enemy, not stand around playing with knives and being obnoxious. 

For some reason the Mandalorian was worried more about Grogu than his ship and picked him up and checked him out as quickly as he could before putting him back in the tiny single person cabin they shared. It was just as well. Grogu had just remembered where he had stashed some snacks and he wanted to eat them before anything else happened. With people like this as part of his team, Grogu was certain that the Mandalorian would end up having to save them all from their own selfishness and Grogu didn’t want to have to witness that. They were who they were and he believed them.

[dkptx]

On Pollarding

Forthrighter on twitter nerdsniped me with a picture of an unhealthy-looking pollarded beech tree in Cambridge Mass, and my half-assed explanation in reply made me realize that I didn’t really understand pollarding.

My basic understanding was 1. It’s bad. 2. But people do it, and have been doing it for centuries, on some very long-lived trees, so maybe it’s not that bad. 3. And so there are “correct” ways to do it and incorrect ones.

My pre-conceived idea about my own blind-spot, however, took the form of the question: “But how can they predict which trees will survive pollarding, and which ones won’t?”

Upon a bit of further investigation, this question falls under “not even wrong,” because that sort of prediction is not really part of the equation, at least today.

I suppose historical peoples who were depending on the products of those pollarded trees, even though they had far less understanding of scientific tree physiology than we do now, might have had better heuristics about that sort of question, because they faced more dire consequences if the tree died. But that’s a question for historians.

Anyway, the basic reason people pollard today is that a tree is large and dangerous: it is likely to fail.

So modern pollarding, which almost never cares about producing wood as building, coppice, or heating material, is done as a hail mary that might let the tree survive, when the only other option is complete removal.

However, if you’re gonna do it, you should do it in winter, when the tree is dormant, because: 1. The tree has stored most of its energy in its roots at that point, so it will have more energy to shoot out in spring. 2. Harsh, full sun beating down directly on bare limbs can do a lot of bad things. One of these is called “sun scald,“ but you can also see the way the bark is has peeled away from the tops of the cuts? Might indicate the cutting was done in summer.

Basically, if you cut in winter, the tree has time to grow itself a little shade before the full-on summer sun starts hitting it.

You would want and expect the suckering to happen at the tips of the branches. Instead, with that beech, there’s more surviving suckering lower down on the main trunk. That’s a bad sign.

The other thing is, you can’t pollard just once, then let it spend twenty years getting big again. When you’ve made big cuts like that, they’re always going to be likely to decay. The solution to that is to let the tree build up a sort of “shoot ball” at the end, where you make the same little snips of small suckers every … year or maybe three years max.

If you let new shoots grow for five or ten or fifteen years, they’re always going to be badly attached, and a hazard.

I suppose the one tree I’ve had a hand in pollarding proves the instance of the pattern which is: “Tree that probably should have been removed entirely, but landowner just couldn’t let go. So cut it way back and then hope for the best.”

Anyway, I sort of wrote this to correct the tone of my reply to Forth, which implied that pollarding was an acceptable thing to do, but they had gone about it wrong. That … just isn’t really the right logic for that situation. Maybe they did the cutting at the wrong time of year, and (to me) it looks like the cuts aren’t quite ideal (see the way the third shows that weird flare, that’s bad) but anyway, the … general tactic of cutting a tree that size down to … that size is … well, it could potentially have been a sound decision.

[when-did-this-become-difficult]

Here i go, again. I have some things to get off of my chest and frankly im curious what do you think!

We are almost halfway season 2 - 1 episode away -, and things still haven't happened, we still not see Milo enough to know what he is up to, we still have not seen Mike actually doing something but at least we got some Kyle and Miriam. Im curious what Mike thought when Bunny told him they are moving them to another prison. That he is bluffing? He seemed so surprised at the end when he found the empty tents. Like i get it, he is a fixer of Kingstown. But im sure there is a major and a senator and such, so the correctional facilities tasks and businesses are far higher than Mike can reach. If could have intervened, he should have by now because now it is out of his hands reach. And also where is my Robert Sawyer dose of the week? I would have bad feelings about this if i would think that the plot is actually gonna move forward - i was afraid that Robert and Ian, and a bunch of guys who are on the side of the law are gonna get killed or seriously injured because they have been mentioning if they loose the prison, they loose Kingstown and then it is really war, but i still don't understand how that could happen and what it means to certain characters. Im a little disappointed so far.

Yeah, I feel like Milo's doing very very little this season still in a way that I find kind of annoying. I was overjoyed that they dealt with the box in the ground! Finally! That seems like an interesting piece of money/power that will maybe end up giving Mike something to work with, because the whole episode he just felt like he was running round saying the exact same thing to every little stakeholder, but not making any moves or decisions at all himself.

I am cautiously in favor of them at least making an effort with Mariam, and I think the new environment of the juvenile detention center might work out a little better than her former stuff. The Kyle stuff I'm also cautiously open to. I found him talking to Mitch being a real </3

I'm a little bit dubious about Taylor Sheridan dealing with release of nonviolent offenders in this way. Am I really supposed to believe that some guy who got arrested for weed or something is really a huge threat? As opposed to—oh well, you know the whole spiel by now. There's a lot more that's caused chaos on the streets.

Not a fan of Sawyer, but I have a happy prediction for you, which is that he'll probably turn up in the following sequence of events: the removal of everyone from tent city makes the leadership lose faith in Mike -> the leadership is unable to keep hold of their people and violence arises again -> Sawyer & co have to go arrest people about it. So he'll almost certainly be in the next two episodes at some point, in my mind.

Ian is one of those characters where I know he won't die because he's played by Dillon, but I'm not even mad about it, he's an easy hang especially compared to the vast majority of other characters.

I again appreciate Tasha Williams's direction, and hope she returns for season 3 (if there is one)