#in all seriousness though this is what was kinda missing from s4

[scoopstrooptm]

it’s the way that steve, shirtless and having just been nearly mauled to death by demobats, is like “we can take em” at the prospect of the rest of the bats that are currently positioned between them and watergate, and robin immediately looking at him in the most unimpressed, this is the russian guard thing all over again way. see exhibit 1

[feldspursfiyero]

okay so some real quick thoughts of 3x05-08

cressida got seriously short-changed. but i don't think the writers were anticipating that people would even like creloise

eloise almost had like a retcon re her friendship with cressida? did she think that was all fake? from what i recall (i might be wrong ofc) she first played into hating her because she pretended she was LW, even though she totally knows she's not, but basically she wanted to take pen's side. and that was it, really. so... i feel like the cressida stuff (and her being shipped off to wales) could've been avoided if they'd just talked. idk

eloise is still... hmmm..... still has some growing to do. but it's fun now, watching her, because i don't find her annoying anymore, unlike in s2

benedict's really floating. but i do feel like his season is next. though, are they really going to have the actor for michaela on standby for four years, if that's the case (eta: i suppose she could have a sideplot for s4, if benedict is lead. i'd love that)

and, actually, i suppose i would not mind fran/michaela next. but i don't want john to die :( but even the priest knew he was gonna die!!!!!!!!!! so i guess he's gonna :(

i very very very much enjoyed anthony's pretty face :3

and all the a&b moments!!!

anthony was half OOC. but all his moments with benedict were lovely so i'm good :3 and he had a nice moment with colin too skjfgnkfg but, too short!! haha

i always need more anthony + any sibling. but i think i like a&b in particular because you can see how close they are

hmm i think i said this elsewhere but i think they resolved the LW stuff too easily. but yeah, they really are using the queen as like, the get out of jail card lol

still trying to decide if they gave cressida a storyline just to put a spanner in the works for LW, or for it to somehow be linked to sophie....... ... is cress gonna come back? hm

colin finalllly got malewifed... finally accepted his role as pen's number 1 simp. good on him. took him a while. had to get through some cringe fragile masculinity moments--or were they just 'wanting to be good enough for pen, wanting to do things for her, wanting to save her' - oh perhaps that's the same thing

i love portia!!! and polly walker is an amazing actor

i wish that cressida wasn't so alone that she felt she had to resort to blackmail. eloise abandoned her by pretending to think she really was LW... and she never turned back from that. kinda like she gaslit herself. idk, i'd have to watch it again, but idk if i can be bothered

as i said in the 3x08 post, iiiiiiiii felt like it was only the last 10 mins or so of that ep that really felt like bridgerton. and i enjoyed that part.

the pacing was off in places. and the characterisation. re pacing, the biggest problem ones i can think of are ep 2 and the first half of ep 8 or so. ep 8 didn't even feel like it should be there at one point.

anyway, these are all initial thoughts

tl;dr we got some lovely a&b!!! and anthony's face is pretty. and benedict and fran are queer. and there was lots of peneloise. and creloise got crushed to the ground

and i feel like i'm missing something. missing lots, in fact

eta:

pen continuing to write LW under her real name is not the same

the discussion of power they touched on in the show is interesting; i also rather liked it in A Thousand Cuts by wall-e-nelson, can't remember which chapter though

[fandoomrants]

Ok, tua s4, ep3, let's goooo.

This time it's not exactly while watching cause I realised I can't focus too well on the ep while also writing down stuff. Might not be following the ep completely accurately and also might miss some things.

Spoilers, obv.

-Thought the name of the ep referred to Ben and Jennifer. I guess it does. Tho, there's an actual squid there. What?

-Oh, and Jennifer is the girl, after all. So, is she one of the special kids? Is she special in another way??

-Since when is Luther so good at distinguishing goats and sheep and llamas?!

-Ouch. That argument between Klaus and Allison. He's right for himself. But I totally agree with her, we can't have him die.

-Him telling them all what their problem is, lol.

-And kinda thinking Lila is normal. Tbh, fair.

-But anyway, we get to see some very different and kinda dark Klaus here. Not sure if I like it. But I love how he's always saying the right things, usually others don't take him seriously.

-Well, you kinda are the villain of this family, Allison.

-Also, oh, so Ray did walk away?

-Them always having to turn to their father in the end. *sigh* Well, it is largely his fault.

-Ok, so I was maybe wrong, they do have some newish powers (I believe all of them, although we saw only some) but not necessarily some powers the other kids did.

-And again, I was kinda wrong. Their powers aren't exactly failing them. Only Five's.

-Now I'm actually thinking and hey! Wasn't Ben on a sub train in the end of s3? Could it be the same one Five ends up in?!

-Oooh, apocalypse timeline!

-Other Five trying to shoot this Five and Lila 💀💀💀

-Five's different versions trying to kill each other altogether....

-Oh. It was actually an alpaca 🦙🦙 They do smell.

-Kinda almost immediately knew that date would be the day Ben died. But it's not the right year?

-Okay, so they don't actually remember Jennifer and what happened to Ben.

-That thing with Klaus and Claire made me sad. 😞😞😞

-Also, Klaus is really getting into some troubles again.

-Wait. That's supposedly 6 years into the future? But Allison hasn't spoken to their father in five??

-I kinda like Reginald's wife?

-Could be just a mask, though.

-Oh, ok, now I can see why Victor wouldn't play the violin. Thoo, I was hoping for him to.

-Ok, Klaus is really in big troubles....

-Wow. Ben walking on these tentacles....

-Ehh. I expected some dance sequence but not from Gene and Jean. Kinda mad.

-I hope Lila didn't really mean the break thing.

-How much are we betting Reginald is up to something again?

+A side note:

I kinda feel like lots is happening yet it's the middle of the season (which is so short!) and almost nothing has happened??

I know they'll put everything important in the end but I hope we do get to see some characters again!

I hoped we'd have a peak at Pogo and OG Grace.

I also hope Sloane shows up. And Dave.

And Sissy!!!!!! I WANT SISSY BACK!

All in all, there are some plot holes that need filling. How Ben died isn't the only mystery!

I also hope the last episode is longer!

[kinardsevan]

10 TV Shows

Tagged by @v88sy. Please feel free to join.

Veronica Mars

I love a lot of procedurals, but this one found me at 19 and stole my soul. I love Kristen so much and refuse to accept that the final few minutes of season 4 exists. This is my ultimate rewatch, s1 all the way through. (Still haven't finished s4 though because of its ending).

2. Castle

Again. 19. Found this one in the same year, found out it was a crime procedural with a writer as the protagonist. SIGN ME THE FUCK UP.

3. Law and Order (original recipe)

I've only seen from s13 on because of the limitations with NBC streaming options, but I do love Jack. Dick Wolf found lightning in a bottle with this franchise.

4. Criminal Minds

(have we sensed a theme here yet?)

Guess when I found this one? (Still 2011.) My mom loved Shemar Moore on Y&R when I was a kid, so starting this one was easy. She doesn't get into the borderline gore and horror of CM though, so she'll really only watch the lighter episodes. Me? Seen everything up through 15 (school and work have kept me too busy for 16 yet).

5. 9-1-1

SOMETHING FROM AFTER 2011?! Found this one in the pandie. My best friend was watching it (we'd talked about it a few times from what I recall), and I know my mom was already into it and I had plans to watch it, but I was already in school, and 2019/20 was rough on my mental health between my job closing its doors, the pandemic starting, and me being back in school. Buck has literally always been my favorite. He's who I relate to most, and given the focus I put into the most recent rewatch, it's obvious why. We have a lot of things in common, both personality-wise and with childhood trauma. That all said, I've had spurts and starts with this baby. Started it in 2020, got caught up. Went through the mess of school taking over my life and falling off here and there, playing catch-up. I know I was fairly caught up in season 6, but post-infection with the brain damage, I kinda had to do the full rewatch this year.

6. Grey's Anatomy

Quite literally grew up with this one. My aunt told my mom, who told us, and then by season 3, the whole family was watching. I fell off for a beat when Mark died (he was my favorite), but then really fell off when Derek died. Only started playing catch up when I found out about Nick and the fact that Ellen wanted to leave the show. I knew they'd give her a happy ending (of sorts), which drove me to watch everything I'd missed (plus my mom still watched even when I quit, so I knew about Deluca, who she loved).

7. Nashville

Loved this one basically from the jump. Anything with music has the opportunity to steal my soul. It's also one of the reasons I can't get into the hate for Abby on 9-1-1. This show made me loved Connie Britton too much.

8. Schitt's Creek

So this one 😂😂😂 I think I started Schitts Creek three(?) separate times? Never got into it. The humor was too dry, I didn't really feel anything about it all, and...idk. It was just not my cup of tea.

And then my life went to shit 😂😂😂 In all seriousness though, this was one of those shows that I can point to and say "this one saved me". The way it made me laugh in the face of some really unimaginable pain and an existential crisis is something I will never forget. Definitely due for a rewatch this summer.

9. One Tree Hill

So. I started this show in season 2. Went out of my way to watch it after starting The OC halfway through both shows inaugural seasons. Literally everyone I knew didn't give two craps about this show then. They didn't care when it was nearly cancelled after season 4, and how hard the fans fought for season 5. Most of them didn't even really care after season 6 when CMM and Hilarie Burton were cut from the show. Nah, most of the people I know found OTH when it hit streaming a few years ago. I have complicated feelings about it now, given what we know about how MS treated the girls, and all of the trauma inflicted on them. I know that SB, HB, and BJL all support us still watching, but it's rough for me to contend with that even so.

10. Pretty Little Liars

So..... I haven't watched this since it ended. It started when I was 17/18, so I was easily sucked in by the teacher/student concept and fell in love with Ezria. I also had watched American Juniors and knew who Lucy was (and subsequently lusted after her making music for AGES; still do). However, being a full-fledged adult now with babies in school (my niece is in HS now), I can't justify how problematic this ship is.

BONUS:

11. Instant Star

Soooo a generous chunk of people know who Tim Rozon is now because of Schitts Creek and Wynona Earp, but have they seen this baby? Because I started this one after remembering Alexz Johnson from So Weird when she eneded up on IS in 2004. This was the show that got me through the end of of middle school and into high school, and I still listen to the music occasionally. I've done a few rewatches of it as an adult, and while I still don't like the age difference, these two at least waited until she was 18.

[warbarbie]

So with the alleged S4 pt18 super final last season AoT “leak” going around over on 🤢twitter🤢, I figured now was as good a time as any to state my take on the whole AoE thing. Obviously major spoilers under the cut for the manga end so read at your own risk:

Controversial opinion, but I really don’t want an anime original ending.

Not that the manga ending was amazing or anything, far from it imo. It just that for an anime as heavy as AoT, having an open end with Mikasa, Levi, Armin, Jean, Connie, et al surviving was kinda the best case. Eren being hailed as a hero I could do without, but ultimately, having the remaining scouts have a chance at peace and a normal life after everything they went through is nice.

And in my shipper brain, having Mikasa and Levi survive leaves the door open for them to build a life and a family together in peace. It allows them some softness in their lives that had been completely missing. It gives them the space to grow beyond “Humanity’s Strongest”. To just be Mikasa Ackerman and not “The Woman Worth 100 Soldiers”. To be Levi Ackerman and not “Humanity’s Strongest”.

And when you have an anime original ending where, if AnR is to be believed, everyone dies or even just Mikasa dies, it feels super shitty. Like super super shitty. AoT has always sorta been an anime about hope. Hope for a better tomorrow. Hope for the future. Hope for peace. And yeah, maybe it lost that message in the dumpster fire that was the Marley arch, but the manga end just reflects that hope. Yes the world is in a shit place after Eren’s stupid fuckery, but you can hope that, at least for the remainder of the scouts time, and likely their children’s time, they got to know peace and love and rest.

Killing everyone off denies them that joy and ultimately, I feel it twists and taints the message that AoT was trying to deliver. What is the reason for it in the story? So Eren can have “man pain” for the rest of his life?? What kind of an end is that for Historia? She gets to watch remorse tear her husband/lover apart for the rest of his life, while simultaneously being saddled with the knowledge that she might have been able to prevent it?

Mikasa killing Eren was a gift (that gross ass kiss excluded). It was the moment when she FINALLY realized that Eren was not the pure sunshine boy she had seen him as. She finally took of her rose tinted glasses and realized the Eren she had known and loved had died a long time ago and the Eren before her was who he really was: A 19-20 year old playing at god, because he selfishly thought he knew best. And I think she spent the next three years not only grieving Eren, but beating herself up for not seeing it sooner, for not steering him away from the path he took. For breaking her promise to Carla. If she gets killed and then gets to meet Eren again in scout heaven then that whole opportunity for growth is gone and she dies as she lived, seeing Eren as faultless.

I’m not going to go into all the massive plot holes in the end, that’s a rant for another post, (seriously though EVERY nation sided with Marley?? Even the ones that had been colonized???) but the manga as written, however shitty, ultimately had a half decent ending, and if AoE happens and everyone but Eren gets killed, I’m going to be so disappointed. AoT was never going to have a happy ending, but it had a hopeful one, and I think that should stay in place.

[darlenicy]

Hi!!! I'm very new to your acc but I absolutely love it here (cuz I love winx haha). I was curious - noticed in your bio it says that winx ends after the first movie. Do you personally dislike movie 2 and season 4? This is not an attack on your opinion, I am genuinely interested to hear your thoughts! Unless it's been answered before ofc.

OH MY, THANK YOU <3 Your kind words mean a lot and I am happy, that you enjoy my content >v<

About my bio: I just think Winx became pretty cringe after the first movie and to be honest, the first movie would have been a perfect ending. Bloom got her home planet and her parents back and has become a full Enchantix fairy and everything is alright. (And we got a hint of the Trix at the end, like and open end but that was good. Everyone could've had their own hcs what happens after TLK.) I can't really say if I like the second movie or not. i KINDA like it but it's already cringy and doesn't give a sh*t on continuity (why do they already have Belivix powers, why is Nabu still there etc.). But it's still fun to watch if one doesn't take it too seriously. xD

I recently watched s4 for the first time and comparing it to s5, it was watchable. Totally. But I kinda missed the original Winx spirit and was no fan of the earth setting (and the Love and Pet Shop, ugh). The idea of the earth fairies was excellent and I like Roxy a lot but as I said, I missed the real Winx spirit. It's just gone and unfortunately, Winx feels like cheap mass production to earn money in the newer seasons (but I will watch all of them now, I try my best but it takes a lot of effort for me to watch s5. I really have to force myself😂).

If you're interested in my thoughts on movie2 and s4, I wrote a messy reaction review for both (even though the one from the movie is quite a while ago and I will update it at some point). 😀

[runninguplenorahills]

things you want to see the most in s5? (other than byler endgame)

Hey anon 🌷

Oh, I really just want to see the whole party interact with each other and for the show to actually show the boys working together. I miss their friendship so much. I also like the idea of an Lucas/El team up but I’m definitely setting myself up for disappointment here because I can feel in my bones that they’re just gonna make it all about El…

Honestly, Lucas and Erica need a scene where they comfort each other/get comforted by others and I want it to revolve around just them! I just really need what happened with the basketball team to be addressed. 100% setting myself up for disappointment with this one as well…

I also desperately need Dustin to get a break from his interactions with Steve. They were great in s2, s3 was still kinda fun but s4 was too much. I seriously cannot handle Dustin/Steve interactions anymore. I want Dustin’s trauma regarding Eddie’s death to actually get a focus, preferably Dustin talking about it to friends that aren’t Steve.

I’m excited to see what they’re gonna do with Vickie and I’m still holding onto my delusional hope of getting a Robin/Vickie/Erica team up haha.

I need the Byers family to interact again and I need them to get a focus outside of El and Hopper. Like, I get that they wanted to showcase that El and Joyce have grown close but I hated how they put a focus on them at the end of s4 when they reunite. I would’ve much rather seen Jonathan, Joyce and Will’s reunion than just them hugging already and then having Joyce reunite with El as if she’s the light of her life lmao. Honestly same with the reunion at the hospital with Lucas/Mike/Will and Lucas/El. I get that it’s there to show that El and Lucas will probably be teamed up in some way next season but I really just didn’t like how Lucas’ reunion with his best friends felt so unimportant in comparison. So yeah, I really need the show to show how strong the other dynamics are instead of undermining them in favor of showing that El is important to them as well.

I also want Will to interact more with other characters and obviously I’m super excited to find out everything regarding the upside down and 001 and Will’s disappearance and connection to it all!! I don’t analyze that part of the show too much myself because I do want to keep some mystery and surprise for me in s5. I’ve been reading and reposting stuff from others but again, I’m not trying to find out what’s happening in that corner of the show beforehand. Which means I’ve been growing very fucking excited for this part of the show (as if I wasn’t exited for that before lmao). I’m also actually very excited to get more information on Will’s childhood.

Mr. Clarke coming back is also a need btw! I fell in love with this man when I first watched stranger things and it’s a crime that he wasn’t in s4 😭. Very confident that he’ll come back in s5 though as to me excluding him from s4 was a very deliberate choice. And if he doesn’t return I’m not watching /j.

There are probably more things that I’d love to see which I can’t remember right now though so that’s all you get :).

Thank you sm for the ask🩷

[goldentsum]

━ submissives and overstimulation

CHARACTERS: bakugou katsuki, todoroki shouto, midoriya izuku, and kirishima eijirou

GENRE: smut

TAGS: overstimulation (male receiving), slight bdsm, oral, penetration, pegging, submissive males 

AUTHOR’S NOTE: my first bnha fic please-! i missed bnha so i rewatched a couple of eps of s4 and i got an idea-- a sinful one anyway-

━ bakugou ♡

surprisingly submissive. you both know he can throw you off him if he wants to but bakugou lives for the dominance that oozes out of you. 

a kinky piece of shit 

in the moment, he has absolutely no filter and is a fucking brat about it, hips jerking and moans loud as fuck that after you two finish, his voice is all scratchy and raw. 

but when you two are finished, he will get all embarrassed and angry if you comment about it like he wasn’t the one humping you like a dog. 

overstimulating katsuki is always so fun! 

bakugou growls whenever you two do something sexual but after a bit, it slowly turns into broken whimpers and you take pride on that.

his voice is just so fucking heavenly, his dick heavy in your mouth, and he taste absolutely delicious. 

one of the reasons you love giving him head is his cum. his cum just taste so amazing. there’s a hint of sweetness to it that gets you hooked and keeps you wanting more. 

so when it’s the 3rd time he came in your mouth, his voice is all raspy and raw and his body jerking nonstop but did you stop? nope. 

he’s too fun to tease to stop~ 

“f-fuck, (y/n)! don’t... s-stop--!” bakugou gasping through his 3rd orgasm for the night, body all sweaty and sensitive, as he felt you swirling your tongue around his dick’s sensitive head. 

you let of his cock for a moment, a lewd pop echoing in the room along with bakugou’s heavy pants. you smirked up at him, your hand encasing around his spent cock and rubbed him softly. it gained you a broken groan and a full on shudder, hips not knowing whether to lean away from your touch or thrust into your hand. 

“do you really want to stop, katsuki?” you asked, taking the reddening head of his dick into your mouth and licking around it gently but even that was too much for bakugou

“j-just-- let me breathe a second... geez, woman--” he groaned out and sighed in relief when he felt you stop though you didn’t remove him from your mouth. bakugou closed his eyes, breathing heavily and trying to calm his rapid heart. but then he felt a harsh suck making his eyes snap open in surprise and sensitivity and looked down at you with wide blown red eyes. 

“s-shit” his eyes rolled back to his head when you started taking more of him, your pace getting faster with each moment.

guess he just has to cum again, not that he’s really complaining. 

━ todoroki ♡

todoroki is a brat. thank you for coming to my tedtalk. but seriously though, he really is. he likes getting on your nerves and testing you and your patience as he tries out different things to get you to punish him. oomf--

he likes seeing you angry and getting punishments. his favorite is over-stimulation and orgasm denial, either is fine but over-stimulation has a special place in his heart~ 

he is a masochist. periodt. 

you don’t really like hurting him or call him degrading names cus you just wanna love him and kiss every inch of his body but shouto has different plans from you. 

and as time pass, you kinda got used to it but never really full on be dominant and sadistic on him.

so when you snapped one day, it lowkey scared him but damn, the punishment was amazing. 100000/10 todoroki will repeat again.

ngl though, shouto loves your aftercare more than any kinky shit you two tried. even if his masochistic side just wants you to leave him aching and covered with cum and sweat as he feels so worthless like a used sex doll, your aftercare was everything. 

it grew on you too, seeing him all bruised up and messy with cum and all sort of fluids raised a sick obsession in you. 

just imagining the big powerful pro-hero tied up in your bed and letting you do anything to him was making you horny. 

bratty masochist! todoroki is one hell of a ride. literally. 

ragged breaths escaped you as you stared down at the male beneath you. todoroki moaning at the pleasure, his hips trying to match yours but it was a little difficult with all the restrains you have on him. the burning ache on his wrists and arms being tied to the bedpost for who knows how long as the build up for his 4th orgasm made him dizzy. 

you bounced on his lap, feeling his large cock twitching inside you as it threatened to fill you up once again with his thick cum. over the haze of pleasure, you continued to watch your boyfriend get lost in the pleasure with his mouth open as a thin line of spit trailed down to his chin. 

growling when you felt him cum again as you ride him through his 4th orgasm, letting your hands fall down to his bruised chest and scratched him, leaving angry red lines on his marked up torso. 

todoroki groaned at the pain, hips frantically thrusting up to you and letting the overwhelming pleasure flood his entire body. broken moans and curses escaped the man when your thrust didn’t faltered even after his orgasm. 

“if you think we’re finish here then you’re absolutely wrong, you fucking whore. we’re only gonna stop if you make me cum, got that. you’re nothing more than a useless fuck toy.” you spat out, gripping his chin to make him look at you. todoroki’s half-lidded and fucked out eyes stared at you, letting out moans in between words. 

“yes-... u-use me more, m-mistress--” 

━ midoriya ♡

this boy is one whiny mofo-- goodluck 

midoriya may seem innocent but do not be fooled, he’s a sinful one. he may act all cute and stuff like that but when you two are alone, he will jump your bones like it’s no one’s business. 

he completely trusts you so you two try all sorts of kinks even if the other is unsure. it’s not gonna hurt to try. 

one kink he never knew he’ll have is pegging and you’re damn good at it. midoriya just can’t believe how well you just swirl your hips around making the dildo hit every spot in his walls that makes him see stars.

he’s really not afraid to be vocal and try all sort of things so sex is verryyy interesting. 

everytime you fuck midoriya into oblivion with a strap on, expect him to cum multiple times until he can’t anymore. he’s super sensitive too so yeah. 

midoriya cries when he’s sensitive but goddamn he looks so pretty like that. 

tears spilling down his freckled cheeks, his lips swollen, and his muscles contracting from the immense pleasure you keep giving him. 

he’s a greedy man though, even if he came multiple times he still gets soooo needy. loving the pain over-stimulation comes with. 

you love seeing the number one hero putty in your hands~ 

sounds of skin slapping and midoriya’s loud moans filled the room, your tiring hips started to get slower making the man beneath you whine at the decreasing pleasure. you clicked your tongue at that, stopping completely and leaned closer to midoriya, your chest pressed against his strong back while he heave heavy breaths. 

“s-sweets.. please m-move” he whined, grinding his ass to your strap-on and arched his back as he tried to get you to continue while he leaned against the pillow next to his head. his cock hanging between his thick thighs, cum spilling down his skin and to the blankets beneath him. he was still hard like he just didn’t cum 3 times already. 

you bit the broken skin on his neck as midoriya moaned at your sharp teeth sinking into his skin and arched his back even more, grasping the blankets. 

“good boys should take what they are given. no asking for more or less.” you said, hands moving to his chest as you thumb his nipples making him jerk his hips back and a hoarse moan escaping him. 

you started to move your hips again while one of your hands went to his thick cock, pumping him with the same pace as your thrusts, and midoriya’s eyes rolled back to his head, loud broken moans escaping him. 

you leaned away and pushed his head against the pillows, muffling his screams as you quicken your thrust. the strap-on hitting his prostate head on. 

“let’s see how many times you can cum before you pass out, izu~” 

━ kirishima ♡

red riot is a switch but leaning more into the dom side but this sweet boy loves getting praises and lives to please you. he will do everything in his power to make you satisfied and know that you are contented.

even when subbing, there’s still a hint of dominance to him. but! if you overstimulate him, his mind just melts and all thoughts and rationality flies out the window. 

his reactions are also so fucking yummy~ teeth gritting together, sharp inhales, eyebrows furrowed in concentration and pleasure, eyes rolling to the back of his head, and hands gripping the covers of your bed as his quirk threatening to activate and just tear through the cloth.

i said it once and i’ll say it again, kirishima lives for praises. 

so please praise him. 

he’s also soooo sensitive. because when he was a teenage, he barely touched himself with how hectic UA was but when he finally had time and you came along, his libido just skyrocketed! 

at first, he cums way to early but do not fret, kiri will never never leave you unsatisfied. 

his oral techniques are top tier. you can’t change my mind. 

kirishima also is pretty quiet with just loud grunts and groans but when he already came multiple times, he really goes feral. 

he keeps on chasing the pleasure even though it probably hurts with all the sensitivity he’s feeling. 

his moans are broken and it only gets louder at that point. 

“baby girl, ahh- fuck--! you feel so good-” kirishima groans out, mouth open and showing those sharp teeth of his that you oddly had some weird fixation with. you looked at his lips, it was red and tender, as his teeth peaked out. you rolled your hips when you heard his small whine as your hand went to his mouth. shoving two fingers in his mouth, playing with his tongue that eagerly met your fingers. 

feeling his cock twitch inside you, you smirked down at the fucked out expression the man was giving you. you pressed down to his throat making him gag but his thrust never faltered and only quicken at your action.

“you look so fucking amazing, eijirou~” 

at your praise, his hips jerked and a loud moan followed it, a bit muffled by your fingers. riding him, you moaned at the pleasure he gave you as kirishima’s thick cock nudged your g-spot. 

the red-haired male groaned loudly around your fingers when he felt you clench around him, your velvety walls tight and warm as you rip an unexpected orgasm from him. 

hips jerking wildly when he suddenly came, pleasure coursing through his veins. a pathetic whimper escaping him when you continued to ride him. the sensitivity brought tears to his eyes but he didn’t stop you, body jerking when pain and pleasure hit him. 

“i wanna see you cum again, ei~” 

[yjwhatif]

With the semi/cryptic confirmation of Ed and Barts relationship in the series I have a question:

Do you think everyone knows about them (in world) or do you think they’re keeping it secret from some?

It’s just a thought that’s been in my head recently. It is most likely fuelled by the whole drama of G&B not being able to depict a “specific character” (it’s definitely Bart) as gay. They’ve had to hide the relationship from their audience - because of ridiculous reasons - but there are still moments that bring up the question - Are they? Before the reveals from AskGreg, I kinda thought- well they are clearly not together yet, but perhaps they both have feelings for one another and are just waiting for the other to make the next move because they’re nervous idiots who don’t want to have read the situation wrong — all while their friends are like - seriously guys? just get together already. Kinda like they did in s1 with Wally and Artemis - and I guess early Supermartian as well - which I would have been okay with... though with the likelihood of there being at least another two year time skip you’d probably have missed the getting together moment - which would kinda suck. Anyway. With the information about the chances being they were supposed to clearly be in a relationship throughout S3 — which makes the whole structuring of ILLUSIONS just make sense — it’s got me viewing their moments with a whole new energy. Also, I saw this post by Greg —

And let me just clarify, I have no idea if this is actually referencing the Ed and Bart stuff, it might not be (probably isn't). This is purely me speculating.

My reading of this is they got told they couldn’t depict Bart as gay pretty late on and that specifically affected ILLUSIONS where they likely intended to confirm the relationship with that first shot - the kiss on the cheek moment. Even now that moment is just odd - because it’s there but it’s not - because technically there is no actual kiss… which I think is absolutely the point. It plants the seed without actually breaking any rules - all by keeping the momentum but removing the specific kiss frame. It’s the only moment that I feel is explicit in saying they are in a relationship - everything else you can just read into and imply there’s something - but they technically don’t confirm anything.

The whole thing is actually quite interesting - despite the reasoning for it being totally ridiculous. By keeping/showing what they did... People notice it. People talk about it. People reflect on it. More people talk about it. People writing. Make. Create. Discuss it. An entire audience is formed who want and support it. It’s a whole thing now because people noticed it and generated a positive response to it - and that was before all the AskGreg information. The whole reason YJ got a season 3 is because the fans fought to get it back. Enough people talked about it - and kept talking about it - to convince TPTB that the show should come back. Greg and Brandon know this. They know the power the fans have and maybe they hoped that power would help them again in freeing Bart from these ridiculous restrictions. #letbartoutofthecloset

Obviously, we can't know until S4 is released whether G&B got the permission to confirm Bart's sexuality the way they envisioned - but maybe the responses that came during the release of 3b were enough to convince TPTB that they were fighting a losing battle. But who knows, people in power can be very stubborn at times, so we will just have to see what we get. Fingers crossed they eased up though - and not just because of the Ed/Bart relationship (which I am obviously a fan of -- it's fine if not everyone is) - but because these restrictions on LGBTQ+ content shouldn't be a thing and need to stop -- there is just no validity in them.

Anyhow. despite their not being allowed to officially confirm the relationship, Greg's comment about Ed's having a boyfriend they can't name basically confirms the fact without technically breaking any rules again. Masterfully done Wiesman. With this, it implies the pair are in fact dating during S3 which brings us back to the original question... but who knows??

With the comments of Virgil during ILLUSIONS, it's easy to assume their friends do in fact know. They also seem to have no problem being close and interacting with one another whilst in the presence of others -- that is, except for one moment...

Ever since the first time I saw this episode (ELDER WISDOM) I have always found this moment strange - because Ed seems to get kinda awkward when Barry comes to check on Bart. (Or that's how I see it at least.) He realises Flash is standing there and immediately pulls his head down averting his gaze -- almost like he doesn't want to be seen by the elder. But why? Does Barry not know about the pair -- or maybe he doesn't know about Bart and Ed thinks their current closeness is too revealing -- who's to say Bart's even fully out to the world yet -- who's to say either of them are? We certainly don't since we weren't allowed to be shown. We can't know until we know - so until then we can play the speculation game while we wait.

Bart is certainly a bit of a secret keeper when it comes to being himself. I'm still convinced the Bart we see onscreen is merely his interpretation of what he thinks people expect from a speedster in this time. We saw 'real' Bart, he was snarky and cynical and nothing like the Bart we've had for the past two seasons. He said it himself - he's playing a character - and I don't think he knows how to break out of it - not while the possibility exists that it might hurt those he's grown to care about. Bart wants to be seen a certain way to avoid acknowledging the truth of the past - if people see him as happy and smiley, then no one will question him on things he doesn't want to talk about. The problem with that is you can't hide yourself forever - cracks begin to form and eventually, the truth comes out whether you want it to or not. So who knows how comfortable Bart is revealing any of his true self to those he cares about. Maybe his relationship with Ed will be the thing that finally helps him find comfort in being himself, whilst also trusting others to still accept him as himself... and maybe getting him that bit of therapy he really needs.

This brings us to Eduardo… First, can I just say it made me so happy to see Greg’s confirmation of Ed being gay - though it is slightly annoying that he was robbed of his explicit onscreen reveal in S3 thanks to the drama with Bart. His whole relationship to his powers in S2 to S3 fits the representation of coming to terms with your sexuality/identity from a very negative point of view. Feeling like it’s something that needs fixing or needs to be “cured” - to then finding the light and freedom in accepting yourself for you. His growth between seasons is brilliant. He understands the hate and insecurity the teens are feeling because he felt it himself. He does all he can to help them because he never felt he got that help when he needed it - and no one deserves to feel worse for being who they are. Obviously, the things he talks about are framed in the context of dealing with/accepting the meta-gene - yet there are certain moments where it seems he’s saying more than that…

All of which got me wondering - why did Ed originally runaway? It certainly wasn’t because of the meta-abilities he did not yet have. All he’s ever said on the subject was he thought he wanted to be with his father - the man it seems he barely had a relationship with. No, I think Ed has been running from himself for a long time and his dad just happened to be an actual direction for him to aim for. The way he speaks about his wanting to be “cured” and “praying to get rid of his powers” suggests an upbringing around religion and traditional ideas of there being a ‘normal/proper’ way to be — while anything that doesn’t fit that way is treated as other or something that needs to be changed or 'fixed'. Maybe he ran to avoid being found out and run the risk of being ostracised by those he loved. Or maybe he was found out and leaving wasn’t entirely his choice*. If this was the case, I can certainly imagine him not wanting to come out to his dad for fear of his reaction and completely losing all chance of that father-son relationship they’re both trying so hard to keep. It can seem easier to live in secret than risk the reality of loss. So while the meta-gene likely wasn’t the main thing he was angry about in S2, it was able to become a physical thing he could blame and focus his anger on - without having to think about where his issues truly lied… Though with a bit of time it also became the thing he was comfortable conveying his feelings through...

“I’ve learned to accept, even love my meta-abilities”

I love this line so much and it’s all because of the delivery by Freddy Rodrigues. There is the slightest hint of a pause before he says “meta-abilities”, which gives the impression he was about to say something else before then remembering himself and who he was talking to. Then there’s the small inflecion he put on “love”, which makes it sound like it’s the first time he’s heard himself say the words out loud. I don’t hear him talking about the gene - I hear him talking about finally accepting himself - all of himself - for the first time in maybe ever and finally feeling happy because of it. I hear growth... From being the angry 14-year-old skater who just wanted to run away and escape any way he could. To the 16-year-old councillor/Outsider jumping straight into the danger to protect and inspire those who need it. Both he and Bart are such strong characters with so much more to be seen - especially when it comes to the insecurities which lie behind their masks. They both compliment each other pretty perfectly - both powers-wise and personality-wise - meaning while they try to hide themself from others, I don't think it'll take long for them to realise they can't hide from each other.

Anywho, that’s all the speculatary nonsense I’ve got for today. This turned into such a patchwork of vaguely linkable thoughts I’ve had which barely relate to the one I started with - but that is usually how it goes. Take it as you will…

Also, completely unrelated to YJ, but Bi Tim Drake now exists in dc canon which is really cool - seeing all of the joy it’s sparked has really given me something to smile about this week… There is hope after all. 🌈

— LB ⚡️☀️

* OK so here’s a little random snapshot into the chaos of my mind— as I was writing the Ed stuff I had a scene pop into my head of Ed finally -for whatever reason- having to tell his dad that he didn’t leave his abuelo’s home - he got kicked out. His dads confused about this and asks Why? What did you do? And Ed’s like Nothing… I didn’t do anything wrong… he just… found out something. So Seniors like Found out what Eduardo? And Ed’s getting really nervous now because he doesn’t want to say it - That I, um… I’m… Senior step a fraction closer as he picks up on Ed’s anxiety but remains an appropriate distance - Son? Then after a tensening silence he finally says it - sounding the most vulnerable he has ever been - I’m gay… The silence is there again, heavy and unnerving, neither saying a word. Ed can’t move as he’s lock in his elders unreadable glare. Expecting the worse his head drops to take in the floor - anything that isn’t the disappointment ahead - he feels the urge to disappear burning up inside him - consuming him. Then just as he’s about to escape he’s suddenly grounded by a steadying hand rooting itself on his shoulder. Tentatively he lifts his gaze to witness his father, there, with nothing but love and support in his eyes - Mijo. The clamping in his chest dissipates as all the tension escapes at once, along with the breath he hadn’t realised he was holding. Ed embraces his dad and the elder embraces his son. Together. A family.

Anyway. That’s probably a load of rubbish but hey my minds full of it… but basically I really want to see a tender moment between Ed and his dad. For whatever reason. Something where Ed’s in a vulnerable state and in need of some emotional support from his father - and without hesitation his father steps up - because that’s what we haven’t seen from them yet. It would perfectly portray the strength of their relationship as father and son - despite their previous struggles - and prove that Senior is willing to support his son no matter the situation as the father - not just the scientist. Its the final step in their healing journey and I wanna see it so bad!!

[mdverse]

Since you're talking about Rachel. I just have to say it, she's one of the reasons why I sometimes loose intrest of the show.

The show makes us want to empathize to her. She never gets in trouble for her actions, she broke Finn by(if I remember correctly) Rachel slept with Puck because Rachel found out Finn still liked Quinn, Rachel only cared for her, she gets ALMOST ALL the solos in almost every competition, her in NY is so unbelievably more unbearable.

I would've loved to see Tina or Brittany or Santana or Mercedes to take some solos and more covers.

I have to admit, the girl has talent and she could sing. But if you keep hearing her then you start to hate her.

Just my opinion

yeah! listen i was literally thinking earlier about how it's been a while since i've watched glee and i kinda miss it but then that compilation of rachel being shitty just hit me like a truck.

the finn/puck/rachel thing drives me insane omg i saw that scene in the video and just sat there in disbelief bc i had erased it from my mind. cuz like... rachel cheated on finn with puck after finding out that finn had slept with santana (even though they weren't dating when finn and santana slept together) and she straight up tells him to his face that she "wanted to hurt him just as much as he hurt her"??? seriously what in the fuck?? and then he broke up with her and she immediately went "you said you'd never leave/break up w me" like she didn't just admit to cheating specifically to hurt him? then a few episodes later she tells him that he should've forgiven her by now? the fact that finn did eventually get back tgt with her makes me mad, bc they really weren't a great couple. and idk she treated all of friends and bfs badly and then played the victim when they actually confronted her about it.

i do think she showed some growth in NY though. to me parts of s4 and s5 rachel had some sweet moments with kurt, santana, etc, but the growth never really lasted. it was always a 2 steps forward, 10 steps back situation with her, and that's frustrating because i feel like she could've had a really interesting arc and she just didn't. maybe i'm being a little bit harsh but overall i just find her exhausting to watch.

and you're absolutely right - i would've loved to see the other glee girls sing more. the fact that only one (1!!!) of tina's solos was a performance people took seriously makes me so angry (but that's a whole other post) and just in general i also got tired of hearing rachel's voice. i think the other girls (mercedes, tina and santana in particular) had a larger range when it came to songs they could sing - for rachel everything sounded kinda similar.

[macgyvertape]

Castlevania kinda had a pacing problem

spoilers for all of Netflix’s Castlevania. I haven’t seen much analysis for the show on tumblr, im honestly curious if discussions I had with irl friends mirror what fandom talks about

tldr: Castlevania seems inconsistently paced from season to season, and within season as well, leads to a lot of characters motivations feeling unclear so characters repeatedly explain why they are doing something while they’re doing it

overview of the seasons:

S1 I know somewhat of a test for Netflix but it has good main trio character establishment and sets the scale of the conflict

s2: pretty complete emotional arc for most characters and resolves the plot of killing Dracula while setting up additional characters to continue the story. Isaac, Hector, Carmilla all established with the audience as characters whose story would continue

honestly I would bet this is the most popular season

S3: s2 did a bit of worldbuilding, but this season really fleshed out the world with both a wide range of locations and exploring the question of “what now, Dracula is dead but vampires and night creatures remain”.

There were basically 4 plot threads: 1) Sypha/Trevor investigating the cult & Saint Germain; 2) Hector & Carmilla (also introducing Lenore, Striga, Morana); 3) Isaac’s journey of revenge & self discovery; 4) Alucard sits around the castle and is betrayed.

overall characters roughly feel like they are in the same place if not worse. A big criticism I saw at the time, which hold up after rewatching this before s4 is nothing felt resolved for the main characters

I would say this season is where the pacing issues start to become apparent, juggling 4 plot threads that lack a central theme or even mutual character connection. If there was a central theme it would be “humans are awful to each other”. The Judge doing Hot Fuzz style murders, The Wizard in the tower, Sumi & Taka

S4: it starts with the same 4 plot threads, though upfront it is made clear that the plot theme is “people are trying to resurrect Dracula”, and the progression of the plot works to resolve unrelated plot threads until the main trio reunites for the boss fights. To me and my friends watching it was obvious that the show would reunite the main trio, the question was how and how far into the run time.

Season 4 is why I’m writing this essay, for the past 2 days I’ve been like, yeah that character sure explained their motives repeatedly maybe with some philosophical discussion, but it’s just such a weird place considering where they were in s3

Alucard’s arc:

Where he was left in season 3, it was after killing people he had trusted in self defense and impaling their corpses. It was clearly meant to parallel Dracula’s dislike of humanity. However overall his character lacked a proactive motivating force.

Honestly the most interesting thing I found in s3 was Alucard clearly misses Sypha and Trevor, however they don’t miss him or refer to him

One reason Sumi & Taka betray Alucard is for the secrets and power of Castlevania. After inviting the village including St Germain who Alucard was warned of into the Castle, Alucard makes 0 effort to secure anything, not even his personal childhood room. Guess he really learned nothing

Discussing St Germain, I think it’s funny that they had a several minute flashback sequence for his lost girlfriend (who doesn’t have a name or a voice actor), to remind the viewer of who he is, and to justify how he’s suddenly back and down for murder.

In s4 there is the call to help the village, and the walk back to the castle is a montage of Alucard opening up to Greta and becoming friendly literally overnight. He laughs off the impaling, and basically all of the darker things he went through in season 3, which has me asking what was the point of his season 3 arc then? 

Honestly writing this I realize the biggest parallel he has with Dracula is the call to action from a bold woman with a dramatic entrance speech which then leads to a romance

Isaac’s arc:

in s3, with all the other themes of “humanity sucks” I was always unsure if the townspeople were meant to appear irrational while attacking a larger force instead of letting him pass through an leave, or him not caring about how he’s provoking them is meant to show his insanity

ive seen the discussion elsewhere, curious about the Discourse here

is s4 Isaac has the whole monologue about how he now has agency but him gaining that agency was his s3 arc. In s4 he’s already at the point of accepting it. By the end of s4 he’s one of those who comes the furthest from his first character appearance to his last.

s4e5 where of Isaac attacking Carmilla in Isaac’s 2nd appearance had him resolving like 4 plot threads at once (Carmilla, Striga& Morana, Hector, and Isaac himself).

but i do wonder if Trevor, Sypha, or Alucard even know any of these people exist. I think not

I was honestly confused if I missed a scene from his dialogue about building something and what is inherent nature, to “My plan has evolved, my plan is now conquest” because he only conquests the one castle and the rest is left unclear

Upon rewatch the connection there is “killing [the wizard] felt just ... I liked that feeling”, so the show says that Isaac in the end attacked Carmilla for the sake of justice and not revenge.

Isaac in his last conversation expresses the theme of s4 “build something new on these old bones, where people can live for the future”

however, his arc honestly feel scenes were cut, and then dialogue was written around it. He’s the only living character who doesn’t show up in the epilogue and the sentient night creature “what if I could empty hell” dialogue was some of the most interesting worldbuilding. Night creatures with sentience and possibility of regaining memories!!!!

The Council of Sisters & Hector’s arc:

oh I’ve already seen s4 discourse about Lenore/Hector while searching for character analysis, a chunk of it seems to be rationalizing the absolute difference between how s3 ended with these characters and s4. It was extremely confusing for me and my friends; wondering if 1) was Hector showing more emotional intelligence than before and putting on a facade to cover up hatred? Nope 2) did more time pass than 6 weeks for there to be some kind stockholm syndrome? No, Hector seems fine to let Lenore kill herself

The slave control ring: played up in the climax of s3 and easily solved s4. s3 Lenore says if he tries to harm them, flee, or take it off it would cause crippling pain, in s4 Hector just easily cuts off his own finger.

for a control ring that they take time to show a version being on the Rebus, it doesn’t do much controlling of Hector

also guess the definition of “do harm” just refers to direct action

Lenore in s4: has no purpose in conquest, has that useless remarked on by multiple characters, is imprisoned, then kills herself after a genre aware philosophical discussion. This essay is long enough, but what the fuck happened to this character who ended s3 clearly physically and sexually abusive? Seriously this was one of the biggest writing changes to the point where she was treating Hector as an equal. Compare her last words in s3 “shh the real people [vampires] are talking”. The change in the relationship is actually something I would have taken being shown, or atleast told of what exactly caused this change other than the vague “you adopted him”

Striga&Morana get the best arc of the Council. 3 scenes: the tent argument, Daybreak armor fight & argument resolution, declaration of feelings and turning away. You could argue Castlevania is plot to be connective tissue between fight scenes, but for all the dialogue about human resistance in different seasons it was nice to see it. Overall the scenes were short but had a lot of showing what their relationship is not just telling,

unlike Carmilla. For as much hyping up as they did with her, and as much power as she had, she only appeared in 2 episodes and no other group except Isaac knew about her military conquest.

the map scene where she states her motive for conquest of wanting to take things from old men is the key example of how characterization became tell not show. How interesting was that monologue compared to the past seasons flashback to her murmuring the old vampire lord, or all her repeated insults of men/man-children that shows how she judges people??

That monologue had to carry the weight of justifying the Sisterhood bonds falling apart as well as why her motivation changed from building a human pen from Styria to Braila to world conquest. I think it did so poorly

Sypha & Trevor

really Sypha & Trevor have the main plot in the show. I checked and post season 1 the only episode they don’t appear in is s4e6, which is entirely devoted to the Isaac, Hector, and Council of Sisterhood arc. Their partnership and adventures are the main plot of the show.

Its easy to see what Trevor’s arc was over the show: coming to peace with the deaths of his family, taking up the mantle of being a Belmont, and starting a new family with Sypha.

With Sypha I actually had to scroll through tv tropes for what is her character arc, and I guess hers is disillusionment from adventure and life outside the speakers? My friends joke that Sypha’s magic is what the plot demands to look cool in a fight, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Tangent: the ending of their arc was easy to guess: as soon as Trevor went to fight the final boss alone I literally said “oh i bet Sypha’s pregnant, Trevor’s doing a heroic sacrifice, theyll use the unexplained magical dagger mcguffin, and 60/40 odds that he goes through an infinite corridor to outright come back vs just the implication he might come back”

I guess my final thought of the show, was overall the SUPER Final Boss got my by surprise. It was a good twist I enjoyed. Not that Death appeared, I had guessed that from the heavy foreshadowing, but I was surprised by who it was, because I had thought I thought the characters involved feeling shoehorned into the plot was just more bad writing. The Alchemist who put St Germain on the path or murder for no discernible motive for helping? Sure gotta move the plot along. New Dracula court member Varney who has a whole introduction with almost every character he meets and banter about his smell? Sure thats basically how all characters talk with a snarky and acerbic voice.

[haltandcatchfiretothemax]

In which Cameron, much to Donna’s elation, is actually in the mood to celebrate on a holiday

[CN: spoilers for s4 of Halt and Catch Fire - major character death]

[CN: food/prep/dessert mentions; alcohol and social drinking mention]

.

.

.

It was late in the evening on Labor Day of 1995, the sun had already gone down, and Cameron was sitting in what was becoming her regular spot in Donna’s backyard: the second lounge chair from the door. She sat with her legs crossed underneath her, her dessert plate and fork in front of her, and can of ginger ale in hand.

Donna stepped out into the yard with her own dessert plate, overloaded with pecan pie, peach cobbler, and vanilla ice cream (Donna hadn’t been able to choose between which to bake or eat) and half of one of the churros Bos had made, and sat on the lounge chair next to Cameron’s. Thickly, Donna asked, “Hey. How’s your stomach doing?”

Cameron shrugged. “It’s not so bad. There are worse problems to have than ‘I ate too much again,’ right?” She glanced over at Donna, who was spooning a final mouthful of pie into her mouth, and then surveyed the rest of the party. Bos and Diane were already starting to say their goodbyes, they were talking to Tanya Reese, her sister, and some other Symphonic people that Cameron didn’t know over by the grill. Risa was in the pool, floating on Donna’s inflatable recliner and her partner was taking ~glamor shots~ of her, and Haley and Vanessa were playing hackey sack with a tipsy Lev and his partner on the other side of the pool, Yo-yo and his wife were chatting with Donna’s neighbors from across the street. All of it was illuminated with outdoor lights and torches that Cameron had helped put up that morning, after arriving promptly at 11:30 to help. (“Wait, but what about your whole, ‘Sorry I’m late, I didn’t actually want to have to come to this thing’ thing?!” Donna had cried as Cameron pushed past her and into the house. Ignoring her, Cameron had said, “I brought pineapples and mangoes, where should I put them?” Donna had been delighted, if shocked.)

“My business partner, she is once again lost in thought!” Donna said. “What? What are you thinking?”

“We didn’t do anything for Labor Day last year,” Cameron said. “We were working overtime on the Comet relaunch, and even if we hadn’t been, who was in the mood to celebrate? It’s just weird. I kinda really thought I’d never do anything like this ever again.”

Donna put her spoon down on her now only half-full plate and sighed. “We both know that websites and start ups come and go, they don’t usually last forever. But for Comet to shutter so soon after Gordon’s passing? I don’t think that I’ll ever be able to fully forgive that.”

“Seriously,” Cameron nodded. Then, she admitted, “I was miserable at Comet. And it wasn’t just because we all missed Gordon, though that was part of it. I guilt tripped myself into working with J0e and I was so annoyed at myself. There was no working with him, I was working for him. And the worst part of it was that he wasn’t even trying to be like that, it’s just, how it was.” When Donna didn’t say anything, Cameron said, “I was jealous of his partnership with Gordon. It really worked even with all of their baggage. It was special.”

Thoughtfully, Donna said, “Baggage is one thing. A former or current deep, romantic relationship where one partner has more power, and has betrayed you somehow, that’s something else.” When Cameron turned to look at her, Donna said, “It’s just different, with a man, and a woman! It’s like you said, he didn’t even mean to take advantage of you, but, like, history is nothing but men taking credit for their women colleague’s work and taking their wives’ labor for granted! How do we escape that?”

Cameron had no answer for this, so she took a sip of her ginger ale, and then she said, “I don’t completely regret writing the Rover algorithm. I mean I know I shouldn’t have, but…it was a way to work with you. Sort of. It wasn’t just about that, but it was a little bit about that.”

Donna grinned over at her. “I’m pretty sure that the reason I got so mad at you was because I wasn’t that mad, because I was excited to see your code again.”

Cameron grinned over at the sight of Haley and Lev laughing as they struggled to keep the hackey sack in the air, and then turned to Donna. “You still think it’s like a piece of music then?”

Donna’s face turned pink. “Yes. And I feel lucky, because I get to work with you again. We’re all lucky, everyone here has been ridiculously fortunate professionally.”

Cameron leaned forward to rest her elbow on her knee, and rested her chin in her hand. “That’s how it should be,” she murmured. “Everyone should be as lucky as we are. Everyone should get to make a good living from doing something that matters to them, with people that respect them.”

Swallowing down a last mouthful of cobbler and ice cream, Donna raised her spoon. With a little flourish, she agreed, “Hear, hear!”

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

Top 5 Most Hated Characters

As y’all can see, this week’s T5F is a request sent in by anon. I picked it because I guess at the time I thought it would be fun to explore some of TWDG’s least popular, and most hated, characters while also taking into account characters that I can’t stand. 

These are characters that the vast majority of us don’t like or downright despise for many different reasons. None of us are going out of our ways to defend most of these bastards, and anyone who is I get the impression they’re doing so for the sake of being Different™... though while looking around for info about these characters and what people were saying about them, I did find myself in some odd places.... come across, eh... odd fanart. 

But I guess this is the part where I say this is all in good fun and if you happen to be a legit stan of any of these people, that’s cool. Maybe you can answer some of my questions as to why??

5. Nate 

Okay, when I said that I found myself in odd places, it turns out that Nate actually has a bit of a fanbase. It’s not big or anything, from what I can tell, but big enough for me to question why because I was under the impression that we all agreed that this dude sucks.

Seriously, I would’ve put him higher on this list if I hadn’t discovered this handful of people making fanart for him and claiming him as a comfort character. While I find that an odd choice, you do whatever makes you feel comforted, y’know? Just would like to understand why. 

As for the rest of us, he’s terrible. Every time I go back to 400 days, he’s someone I never look forward to seeing. I’ve even tried not getting in the truck with him while playing Russell’s story, but in true Telltale fashion, you’re forced to drive along with this creep. 

Red flags start going off when Russell’s sharing his story about his previous group, something you can tell left some trauma with him, and Nate is just weirdly fixated on the girl Russell liked. Like yeah okay dude, I get it, it’s the apocalypse and you haven’t had any action for a while but oh my god. 

Then the whole walker thing that almost gets Russell chomped is annoying. Oh, and how could I forget about how it’s implied that he attacked the old couple before and was there to finish them off, which he does no matter what and it’s not great. 

Hell, he even uses the line Russell gave him but it’s worse because crazy eyes. And if you don’t say anything, Nate murders them right there without a thought and then continues to be a real creep. Fuck this guy. 

As the wise Eddie once said, “I don’t what that guy in my life, man!” 

4. The Stranger

Hey, have I ever mentioned how much this dude sucks? 

I don’t even have to tell you why he’s on this list. We all know the obvious reasons-- manipulated and kidnapped Clementine, which caused Lee to get bit by a walker and fucking die. No one here is white-knighting for this dipshit. 

Sure, it sucks what the Stranger went through. He lost his family and that would be enough to drive anyone up the wall. I mean, just look at Kenny. But this dude, okay. Look. Listen. I can only feel so bad for you when you lost your son on a hunting trip that your wife told you not to go on, then when you went looking for him, you literally left the car unlocked and running for anyone to come across. Then you come back and gasp. So your wife leaves you for being a moron... then when you find her dead, you cut off her head and keep it like a damn bowling ball because...??

At least that’s what I get from it. The writers probably should’ve done a better job with explaining what the hell happened but y’know. 

That’s not the only reason no one likes this guy. Oh no, you also add to the pile that the Stranger himself is dull. As a character, the dude is just.... boring. And I get that’s probably what they were going for with the whole “I’m just a guy, but you ruined my life and made me this way.” 

However, when you set him up the way you did with the talks over the walkie and the stalking, I was expecting a bit more personality outta this loaf of soggy bread. But no... boring yet crazy. Interesting combo and I’m afraid it doesn’t work. 

3. Larry

Larry?? On a list of most hated characters?? Nooo...

Yeah, surprise. Larry also sucks. Stop the presses. 

Larry is a pain in the ass to deal with for two episodes, constantly belittling the people around him and treating his daughter like shit. Oh, and don’t forget how he behaves towards Lee even if you try to be as nice as possible. Nope, he doesn’t care, he still thinks Lee is garbage and will continue threatening to reveal Lee’s secret to the group. Who cares if that could fuck up the dynamic and endanger the group? Larry sure doesn’t. 

Until the very end, this dude is just a splinter in the foot. By the time you get to the meat locker and he has a heart attack, you’re not gonna save him because you think he’ll be better if he survives. No, you’re attempting to save him for Lilly and Clementine’s sake, and if you don’t even care about that, you siding with Mr. Family Man to smash his head in. 

Not only is he a soiled diaper, he also don’t have much personality outside of asshole. He has maybe two moments where he’s shown to be just a bit chill? I mean, Lilly tells us that he has a lot of pain and that’s why he’s like this.... but that doesn’t excuse his behavior. 

Oh, and can’t forget that apparently he was obsessed with Lilly leaving the lights on so he let the power get cut, so Lilly couldn’t eat ice cream and had to let her hair air dry like a heathen. Unforgivable. 

So yeah, fuck Larry. 

2. Troy

Ugh, Troy. Fuck this guy. 

No really, out of all TWDG characters, this dude and my #1 pick are my most hated. Can’t stand Troy and the only reason I didn’t do a tie for #1 is because for a split second, Troy does show a tiny bit of humanity when Carver is beating down Carver, but blink and you’ll miss it.

Which had me a little concerned to find a handful of posts about having crushes on Troy and drawing fanart but.... again, I guess you do you? And if you can, please explain why because I honestly don’t understand. 

Just looking at the screenshot of him annoys him. He’s got one of those punchable faces, y’know? 

Anyway, when playing as Clementine, I’m always worried that he’s gonna pop up outta no where and grab her by the neck like he does later in ep3, even though I’ve played s2 a bunch to know that he’s not going to. 

But hell, he doesn’t need any excuse to smack anyone around, and there are a handful of times he can really hurt Clem depending on her choices. 

Not great, dude. 

Can’t say I’m too sorry that Jane shot your dick off. 

1. Badger

Yeah, you guys remember Badger. Y’know.... the man who murdered Mariana then laughed about it, claiming that he enjoyed watching her head explode and would do it again and again if he could? 

That’s what puts him at #1. He may not have the most screen time like Larry or Troy, but when he is around, he’s fucking awful.

He gets joy from killing Mariana, like it’s some sort of sick thrill for him to go around murdering children and other innocent people. 

Remember Francine? Caught her and used her as bait to try and get Javi to come down, and even went as far as to have some fingers cut off. Like, he gets off on destroying people, entire communities.

Shit, he seems to even get off to his own beat down. 

He’s fucking gross and outta everyone on this list, I haven’t found a single person being like “Yeah, he’s garbage but I like him kinda?” like no, you’re such garbage that even the Different™ crowd don’t want you. 

Fuck Badger. 

By the way, if you’ve never had Conrad kill him in your game, I suggest looking it up. It’s pretty good. Gives Conrad a little bit of closure after what happened to Francine, as well as give Javi some closure for Mari’s murder. 

Not a single soul wept for you, Badger. 

---

Dishonorable Mentions

-Joan. She’s boring, forgettable, and no one is out here gushing over her because most of the time, we can’t even remember her name. -Danny from Vince’s story in 400 Days. Y’know, the dude going to prison because he was convicted of SA. I’ll never understand why people go with him over Justin. Justin sucks, too, but not the same level Danny does.  -Lilly in S4. Ugh. That’s a whole other topic for another day. -Arvo, though I guess he has a bit of a following, too

---

Well there ya go. Do you agree or disagree with any of my choices for this list? Or have anything to add? I’m always down to chat.

Have any suggestions for future T5F’s? Feel free to send ‘em in! :D

---

Next week’s T5F Top 5 BROTPs

[amazonworrier]

Since you’re such a great writer, what are some of your favorite fics? Would love a list :)

Wow, I read the ‘since you’re such a great writer’ line and immediately assumed this was snarky anon hate haha, but thank you! What a lovely compliment.

I’ll probably get real anon hate for saying this, but I actually really struggle with how a lot of Brittana fics portray Brittany so a lot of the favourite fics that spring to mind don’t involve Brittana, even though that’s what I tend to write... Generally speaking, I just find that people overlook her autonomy as an individual character and write everything soooo much from Santana’s side of the story that Britt ends up feeling like a bit of a mouthpiece for whatever lesson Santana is meant to be learning. Or she just comes across as too dumb, or whatever. If the writing is decent, I’ll read those fics all the way through once anyway (because I’m a sucker for Brittana) but then I usually forget about them after that. 

The ones I always go back to are the ones that absolutely nail the characterisation/relationship dynamics we get in the show, then take it to new or interesting places. Sometimes that’s Brittana, sometimes it’s not. Often, it’s Pezberry or Quinntana. I just ship Santana Lopez with happiness, I guess... 

Top 5 (Glee):

1. Got You Stuck on My Body (Like a Tattoo) by random_flores - Quinntana. 

Seriously, I read this thing more often than I read anything else, fic or otherwise. It’s set slightly after the Quinntana slap then loosely follows s4 canon, all told from Quinn’s perspective. Chaotic Pezberry/Kurcheltana friendship, cute little OCs to keep Quinn company, somehow manages to respect Brittana while making you root for Quinntana. I live in hope it’ll either be updated or we’ll get a sequel from Santana’s POV but alas, it’s several years old now... 

2. I Don’t Want to Jump In (Unless this Music’s Thumping) by random_flores - Pezberry 

Pezberry future fic where Santana is a famous actress/DJ and she runs into Rachel after a few years of them not talking to each other. Rachel is a broadway star trying to make it big elsewhere, and she’s in an unhappy showmance with a man-child alcoholic. Pezberry excellence, a side of Faberry/Quinntana friendship, Kurt is an all-round legend, 100% respects canon Brittana up until Britt’s move to MIT, and Brittana are still close friends. I simply love everything about this fic. I want to go and re-read it right now, actually.

3. By The Light of the Moon by thefooliam - Brittana

They’re friends but nobody knows they’re friends! It’s a Grey’s Anatomy-esque AU and by thefooliam who wrote one of my favourite fics ever (Clexa) so obviously it’s gonna be good. Britt is a neo-natal surgeon (I think?) and Santana is the cranky paediatric surgeon who works the night shift with her all the time. Nails the characters, super cute, a little bit angsty, a dash of smut. What more could you want? 

4. Nothing Stays the Same til The World Ends Series by random_flores - Pezberry.

Is it obvious who my favourite Glee fic author is? Everything they write is magnificent, and I want to be like them when I grow up. This is a two part series. Apocalyptic Pezberry AU. Set roughly from season 2-ish onwards I think. Santana and Rachel get stuck trying to survive together after everyone else dies, and there are zombies (kinda). It’s just beautiful. End of story. I re-read it every time I want to hurt myself a little bit.

5. baby you don’t gotta fight (I’ll be here til the end of time) by therestisconfetti - Brittana. 

Remember how I said I didn’t like fics that ignore Brittany’s characterisation/POV? This does the exact opposite, and it does it really well. It’s basically all the moments Britt stood up for Santana that we didn’t see in canon, but probably should’ve. Also, as a side note this author does a heap of great missing-scene-esque Brittana fics, and I appreciate them all. So I’ve linked this one, but highly recommend reading the rest too. They make me feel things.

Bonus - one per ship, for equality: 

seen you skip that cautious lip by ratherembarrassing - Pezberry. 

Pezberry roommates drabble. It’s just cute/a little smutty. It’s kind of how I imagine canon Pezberry would’ve hooked up if that’d been a thing Glee was ever brave enough to actually do. 

I’m just saying by Eggandcheese - Quinntana.

Angsty as hell. Missing Quinntana friendship moments throughout canon, then some additional stuff post them sleeping together after Schue’s not-wedding. 

Rhythms by The Fooliam - Brittana.

Probably an obvious one because it’s a Brittana classic. Honestly, I’d re-read it purely for the body-shots scene alone. The rest of it is good too, but man, those body-shots...

[miraculouscontent]

“Didn’t Need Burrow” Masterpost (February)

Anonymous said:

Don't need Burrow: Finally, it will be revealed that Adrien is the main character and that Marinette was merely the narrator of his story (or history of their love).

The thing that we already know and won’t be a surprise.

Adrien didn’t have enough attention already but they were tired of using Marinette as their camera to his story.

Anonymous said:

Didn’t need burrow: Kagami wil decide to stay in Japan at the end of the Tokyo special. Prompting Chat Noir to start pursuing Ladybug again.

I doubt they’d make the specials official canon but I also don’t doubt Kagami getting sidelined so easily.

Anonymous said:

Alternative didn’t need burrow: Kagami won’t even be in the Japan special and all cultural knowledge will be explained by Adrien

Oh my gooooood.

*flashes back to Adrien and Gabriel greeting Kagami and Tomoe in Japanese*

Anonymous said:

Don't need Burrow: It will be revealed that Chloe is actually an innocent and naive little girl who acted like a malicious bully because she was manipulated and intimidated by Sabrina all the time. And it was Sabrina who made her bully the rest of the class and act as if everything had to revolve around her. And it will be retcon that Chloe did not abuse everyone to impress Audrey, but because Sabrina made her do it. (Note: I'm Anon that joked about Sabrina being more dangerous than Chloe)

fdjkhgjdfgfd welcome back, for sure.

I wasn’t ready for the Sabrina part since I was taking it 100% seriously up until then.

In before they say that Sabrina is just indulging Chloe and Chloe is how she is because Sabrina won’t do anything about it.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow to know that if there is finally a white little kid gets introduced to the show, he or she(though let's be honest, most often a he) will be a sweet little angel of sunshine who's always on their best behavior and never does anything wrong, unlike all those rowdy black children(barf). Bonus if the kid has blonde hair and blue/green/grey eyes. Double bonus if someone(say, Marinette or Nadja) says to one of the other kids "See, why can't you behave like they do?" Rolling my eyes.

OMG SOMEONE ELSE SAID IT. BLESS YOU.

I always feel so awkward hating on all the kid characters for that reason but it really does come down to they’re kids and I don’t like kids. Most of them are just written as “kid” and nothing else.

Friendly piece of advice to people writing children and are afraid of doing what this show does where the personality is just “stereotypical child”...

Write characters as if they’re teenagers first, and then “age them down.” It’s the difference between writing Mylene (for example) with the personality of “child,” and writing Mylene as a younger version of herself.

It also will make it less jarring if the character happens to grow up and become a teen at some point in the story, where their personality is better established; they’ll come off as a developed person rather than someone with a completely different personality from when they were little.

(If you’re having trouble imagining said child character as a teenager/adult, there’s definitely a step missing.)

Anonymous said:

Don't Need Burrow to know that when all the kids in Marinette and Adrien's class inevitably get Miraculouses of their own, only the girls will get theirs taken from them for one reason or another, either because someone else figured out their identity or they do something stupid and risk people knowing(or people actually do know), while the boys get to keep theirs permanently and Ladybug becomes the token Smurfette on her superhero team. Rena Rouge might be the exception to this.

G I R L  P O W E R

+ I mean, for Rena, Marinette’s already regretted giving her the miraculous at least once, so yeah.

Anonymous said:

Don't Need Burrow to know that when Marinette and Adrien inevitably discover each others' identities, defeat Hawk Moth and Mayura(the only good thing about this whole scenario), and gEt ToGeThEr, it(the latter, at least) will only be in the last episode of the last season, and we will get no time to see their development from "who dis?" to friends, to lovers. Love=ma^2 shippers will punch the nearest wall, while me and everyone else will sip our salty tea and ask what the fuck they expected.

If Season 4 decides the split between Lukanette and Adrimi, that means Season 5 is just going to be a love square shipping fuel fest of absolute and complete obnoxiousness with angst that’ll lead to reverse love square at best and then nothing more.

The tea will, however, be delicious.

Anonymous said:

Don't Need Burrow to know that Adrien will continue to steadfastly insist that Marinette is "just a friend"(such as saying so when Alya or Nino confronts him on it, or saying romantic sounding things to Marinette herself that are just intended as shipper-fanservice-bait, before adding something anticlimatic like "you're a really good FRIEND")...up until the moment when the plot decides to push them together and he'll magically change his tune and say that she was always more than just a friend.

How convenient~

Yeah, the plot has this habit of just changing things so immediately that it gives you whiplash, because they’ve never built anything up. I remember that it did that for me with the Miracle Box opening in “Sapotis” to reveal all the zodiacs.

Anonymous said:

Didn't Need Burrow to know that Alya(and possibly the rest of the girl squad, but lets face it, most likely Alya so that she can be the Black Best Friend) will be used solely as a plot device to get Adrien and Marinette together(against Marinette's protests, if I may add), and Marinette will get almost no chances to make a move on Adrien on her own. I know you salt on Alya a lot but you gotta admit it kinda feels bad to potentially have her pushed aside to only support the love square.

No no, I totally agree! I don’t like Alya but I obviously feel bad that her and Nino have just become love square/plot pushers. Add in Rena Rouge and eugh, no thanks.

Anonymous said:

Didn’t Need Burrow to know when Marinette finally tells Adrien she’s in love with him, he’ll reject her, and when Marinette gets over him and gets together with Luka, then he’ll probably get akumatised because of it, and it’s all Marinettes fault for getting over him(EVEN THO HE MADE IT CLEAR HE WASNT INTERESTED!!!) and entering a healthy relationship.

This one sent me through a whirlwind of emotions.

Also, inevitable "only notice the girl who’s wanted you forever because now she has a boyfriend,” because yay.

Anonymous said:

Didn't need Burrow: Ms Bustiers pregnancy is going to be handled one of two ways, but they'll both lead to the same outcome: either

1) her pregnancy will be ignored and she'll look the same as she always has until the one episode where it's plot relevant, and she'll suddenly look nine months pregnant, or

2) she'll go from looking the way she does in the New York Special to looking nine months pregnant in the first episode of S4, possibly with the addition of cringy pregnancy jokes peppered in throughout the season until the episode where her being pregnant is plot relevant.

The inevitable outcome of this whole 'pregnant teacher' subplot will be an episode where Ms Bustier goes into labor during an Akuma attack that she (and possibly the entire class) are caught in the middle of for whatever reason, she'll give birth either during or right after said Akuma attack. LB will have to juggle both fighting the Akuma and delivering the baby, Chat will be useless during the pregnancy subplot (50/50 that he won't be much help during the Akuma attack), and there will be a moment where the two heroes are both cooing over the baby, and someone will make a remark about how they'll be such good parents one day.

I know this is probably too specific to actually pan out, but I'm confident that at least part of this will line up with what happens in the show

dfkhgjdfkgdfg oh my god, Ladybug helping deliver a baby, please kill me.

The “good parents” line absolutely made me cringe because they’d totally do that.

The thing about how Bustier will look is also 150% accurate and it pains me to say so. Her looking pregnant is the most “fleshing out” that we’ll ever get from her.

I could also see her getting a substitute instead (I originally was going to shorten it to “sub” but then I just imagined Miss Bustier eating a sub sandwich) and then coming back at some point like “oh I already had the baby, here he/she is,” and that’s how they avoid making a model for her being pregnant.

Anonymous said:

Don't Need Burrow: A character will have a bad day and get increasingly mad whenever things continue to go bad for them/when other people annoy them, but he or she will still manage to keep it cool. Only when MARINETTE does something wrong will that person finally SNAP and get akumatized, and of course, Marinette will be blamed for it despite everything already going bad for the character to begin with. It's like the writers try so hard to make things her fault when she's barely a part of it.

oh my god

This is also totally Santa Claws/Bother Christmas but with Marinette instead of Ladybug. Gotta get both sides in there, you know?

[twdmusicboxmystery]

FTWD 6x12 - In Dreams

Wow! This episode was Amazing! As I told my fellow theorists, this is one of those episodes, much like TWD 10x18, Find Me, that’s kinda gonna be a holy grail of TD symbolism. So buckle up! There’s a lot here to unpack. 

***As always, spoilers for FTWD 6x12 abound below. Don’t read until you’ve watched!***

This episode really was amazing, but also super-sad. While obviously it’s extremely tragic the baby didn’t make it, I will say that I’m glad Grace isn’t leaving the show just yet. It was amazing for the symbolism but also for the masterful storytelling. I got to a point at the end where I was trying to decide which ending they were going for (whether Grace would live or die) but the truth was actually a third outcome I totally didn’t see coming. I write fiction myself and so it’s really hard to take me by surprise, but this episode did it. 

First and foremost, this episode is really great evidence that Leah is a hallucination and/or dream. I know I’ve posted about how we think the bright and somewhat fuzzy colors show that. But let me illustrate. Here’s is a pic from 10x17 of Daryl and Maggie in the woods. Just take note of the greens and browns. This is the filter they generally use in TWD and it’s not hugely saturated with color. That’s on purpose because it’s a post-apocalyptic world and they want it to feel bleak.

Compare that pic to the one below it from Find Me. See the difference?

Well, same thing in this episode about Grace. Here, they tell us flat out and pretty early that it’s not real. So they aren’t trying to trick us like they did in 10x18. So, this is evidence (if not proof in my book) because if the colors look like this and it’s a dream/hallucination for Grace, then it must be for Daryl, too, right?

Okay, but let’s get to specifics. First off, Roy Orbison. We’ve seen/heard references to him SO often, and usually in conjunction with Beth symbolism. Pretty much this entire episode centers around his song, In Dreams.

Not only is there the saturation of the colors, but there is tons of PINK. (Pink Theory).

So Grace wakes up in the middle of the woods, and already, things feel ethereal.

I didn’t even realize it at first, but she’s lying on her back and sees birds flying in circles above her. Just like Beth and Daryl in Inmates. 

A walker attacks her, and both it’s arms end up breaking. We saw that very recently in the Aaron/Father Gabriel episode (10x19). We’re not entirely sure what it means yet, but forearms symbolism has been a thing, in different iterations, for a while. So, that’s one we’re working on understanding.

She meets a young woman named Athena (who we’ve looked into before for various reasons; for one thing, the owl a symbol of Athena, and that’s definitely been a TD symbol in the past).

Athena asks her if she can remember her name, and Grace can’t. This is reminiscent of Dawn asking Beth at Grady if she can remember her name.

When Grace stands up, she pulls her sweater up over her shoulder. Even though this isn’t a romantic situation, it reminded me SO much of when Beth did it in 4x01 after hugging Daryl. And given the bright yellowness of the sweater? Yeah, she’s definitely a Beth proxy. 

In the opening credits, we see Grace, but just for a moment, there’s an overlay of Athena over top of her. We see her walking stick clearly, but then she disappears. I noticed that when I first watched it, and rewound, trying to understand what it was, but of course I didn’t until I watched the episode.

Speaking of Athena’s stick, @wdway did some research because she thought it looked similar to sticks the blind use to guide them. Check this out. 

So, clearly Athena isn’t using it that way, but the theme of being blind is there. I’ll talk more about this later, but we see several walkers get stabbed through one eye, which both suggests blindness and is part of the Sirius/one eye symbolism. The “blind” walking stick is just another way to show this same theme.

Athena takes her back to Morgan’s community, and we quickly learn that it’s been 16 years since the last episode, and Athena is actually Grace’s unborn child. So clearly, this is a dream or vision of some kind.

She had to convince Morgan of who she is, which she eventually does.

So, here’s the thing. I, for one, am very focused on what foreshadows Beth, right? And there is TONS of dialogue in this episode that could potentially be applied to her.

For example, in this scene, Morgan says, “You can’t be here.” Grace: “Why?” And then it just shows her grave stone. Morgan says, “I buried you myself.”

Now, we don’t think Daryl actually buried Beth, but he tried at a white church. (X). However, the idea of Daryl saying something like this, (You can’t be here. You’re dead.) works very well.

Later in the same scene, Grace says, “people don’t get what they wish for.” To which Morgan replies, “Sometimes things happen that you just can’t explain.” It reminded me of something Dwight said back in S4/S5 when he was still looking for Sherry. He says, “impossible shit happens.” He was referring to him finding Sherry again, which he did. This was referring to Morgan seeing Grace again after he thought she’d died. Which he also did (even if it was just in her dream). Although, it definitely gave the impression that maybe she did die for a few minutes in the barn before he resuscitated her. So, you could argue that that aspect of her dream came true.

I had to chuckle when June showed up to check her out. She literally checks her eyes and says she sees no sign of brain injury. Um, yeah. Brain injury CAN show up in the eyes, but just because it doesn’t, doesn’t mean she doesn’t have one. Clearly, they didn’t want to use screen time to show June do an entire, thorough check of Grace, but there was a little bit of medical unreality here. Of course, you could argue that this is Grace’s dream and she’s not a doctor, so she wouldn’t have known better.

But more to the point, they mention a concussion (which Edwards said Beth had), traumatic brain injury (which Beth sustained in Coda) and then combine it with Grace not remembering her name at the beginning, and the unrealities of Carol’s recovery at Grady in S5, and I’d say this is a very on-the-nose replay of Grady. 

We see a really sweet future where Strand and Daniel are friends and Sherry and Dwight are not only back together, but have two kids. A baby girl named Tina (Sherry’s sister who died in TWD S6 and, might I add, was a Beth proxy) and a little boy named John after John Dorie. Very sweet.

But I was thinking while watching it that chances are, none of that will actually happen. And I was thinking about it from an outside-the-story aspect. They’re already talking about people from Fear crossing back over to main TWD. And I don’t necessarily think we’ll see it in S11, but probably in the spinoff. So, I feel like this community Morgan is building will go down at some point.

And that doesn’t mean Dwight and Sherry won’t get back together. I actually think they will. I’m just saying it won’t happen exactly as Grace saw it in her dream. Compare it to Carl’s dream of the future during S8, before he died. Certain aspects of that have or will come true, but he won’t live to see it. So not all of it will. See what I mean?

And then the showrunner kind of confirmed this during the “inside the episode.” He said what Grace saw was just a dream and none of it was actually going to come to pass. ☹

Grace then asks Morgan how he managed to build the community and bring everyone together. He answers that it was Athena. Because they lost Grace, everyone rallied around her child and that’s what kept everyone together.

I actually think we saw this theme somewhat in 5b. After they lost Beth (and Tyreese) everyone sort of rallied around Judith, who was still a baby. I had an idea while watching the beginning of the episode that Grace = Beth and Athena = Judith. Now, Athena doesn’t survive, so I’m not sure how far I can push that. But it’s still interesting to think about.

This walker is an interesting one. We could really go down a rabbit hole iwth it. First off, there’s the shirt that says, “don’t mess with Texas.” As I’ve been talking about Eugene lately, I’m sure you’ll recognize the Texas/New Mexico/western theme.

The missing eye is sirius symbolism. But the glasses make me think of two specific walkers we saw in the past. The woman in the food bank that father Gabriel had a relationship with, 

and also this one that Glenn and Nicholas saw. You know, right before Glenn’s death fake out. 

I won’t go into what they both mean in detail. I’m sure it’s enough to say that both walkers, in both situations, are Beth proxies of one sort or another. 

And I’m sure we should be reading into the fact that it comes on a loop. They see/kill it over and over again as Grace becomes “awake” in her dream.

Of course, Athena has a Walkman and listens to music all the time. I’m sure I don’t have to explain that one. But what really caught my ear was the part where Morgan turned it off in the real world and in the dream, Athena said, “You broke it.” Very similar to the music box being broken in 5x10.

And then Grace says she didn’t break it. Morgan just turned it off. I’m seeing that as a hint that Beth was never dead. Just sleeping. When she finally starts connecting all the dots, Grace has lots of interesting lines that could apply to Beth, or could also apply to the Daryl/Leah situation.

“I’m unconscious.” (Beth)

“It’s just fragments of different memories. Things I’ve thought about. My brain is trying to make sense of it all.” (Daryl/Leah).

At one point, Grace tells Athena she is strong (Beth’s “I am strong,”) and that she’ll bring everyone together. Bring everyone hope.

Seriously, EVERY line of dialogue in this episode jumped out at me in some way.

Let me back up a minute. When we see the car with the “end is the beginning” graffiti on it, the trunk is open, which is significant.

Grace also talks about how she was on the highway with Morgan, and they saw this car, and there was an explosion.

Now, we’ve never talked much about anything like this with Beth because we don’t have tons of evidence for it. But I do remember that spoilers (the same ones that reported seeing her at the white cabin during S5 filming) mentioned a car chase near Terminus, and we never saw that, either. So, I think it’s possible something like this might happen during the missing 17 days. Just speculation on my part, though.

Also a major “wake up” theme here. I mentioned this about a week ago HERE when I did a bunch of mini rewatches. The symbolism of what’s real vs what’s a dream has actually been very prevalent throughout the entire series. I just don’t think TD homed in on it until the Leah episode just recently.

We heard it clear back in ep 1 with Rick. We saw it with Denise just before she died. And we saw Beth’s eyes flutter open at Grady when she “woke up,” so it’s safe to say this can be applied to Beth.

Morgan says repeatedly to Grace that she needs to wake up. Once she realizes she’s unconscious, she repeats it many times as well. “I need to wake up.”

In terms of how this might speak to Leah being a hallucination for Daryl, consider this. Grace is inside her hallucination, and she says things like this:

“I’m unconscious.” “This isn’t real.” “It’s in my head. Fragments of different memories…” Yeah, that’s what we’ve been saying about 10x18 for weeks.

Grace’s hallucination represents the future she hopes will come to pass, but what she actually sees is an amalgamation of people she knows and memories she has. Her brain just fills in the blanks.

By the same token, Leah represents something Daryl wants (not to be alone anymore) but she’s an amalgamation of past experiences and people he knows in real life. (Rick, Carol, and especially Beth.)

Then we have the white horse symbol. This is something we’ve known for a long time. It’s the black/white theme, but we saw a white horse and a “you’re still alive” sign near Morgan in 6x16. Rick also rode a white horse in 9x05, just before he didn’t actually die. So the white horse represents someone living.

Interestingly, the first time she sees the white horse, it’s a picture hanging in the air, apparently from nothing. But it reminds me a lot of the plate glass windows we see hanging from the trees during S8/AOW. 

Grace and Athena rode one to the barn where Grace lived and sort of reunited with Morgan. And yes, it’s a little bit sneaky, because both Athena and Grace were on the horse, and Athena didn’t make it. It was hard to tell which one it would apply to. But that’s exactly how the writers keep us guessing. It’s why we don’t usually know things for sure until we can see them in hind sight.

But in this case, we could have guessed Grace would live because of that horse. More on that in minute.

When Riley shows up in the hallucination, Grace kills him and realizes Athena represents her real baby and can feel the contractions too. She has an interesting line. “I was wrong. You are real. It’s the only thing that makes sense. We’re connected.”

This is the kind of line that jumps out at me as a foreshadow of Beth. For years, we’ve wondered if Daryl will see Beth and think he’s hallucinating. In the wake of the Leah episode, I suspect this more than ever. Especially if at some point, he realizes Leah isn’t real, when he sees Beth, he won’t trust his own eyes and his own mind. So this line could apply to some future storyline.

Of course Grace says things like, “I need to wake up so you can be born.” “I need to wake up so you’re all right.” I was writing so fast, my hand was cramping, lol.

While riding the white horse, they cross a small bridge, which is clearly symbolic. But I also noticed that Grace passed the truck we saw her driving around last season. In the cab is a walker in a radiation suit and a radiation detector (I’m sure there’s a more official name for that, lol).

It gave me a new perspective on the cars. While I’m sure they represent many things, they represent things that have happened in the characters’ pasts. And that works well for everything we’ve always said, because it means when Daryl sees a blond walker in a car, it’s all about his past. And Beth.

There’s a moment when Grace actually seems to die. She stops breathing and appears to be dead, even in the dream.

Couple of things here. 1) I’ve said for years that Beth may have truly, medically died for a short time period. As in, her heart stopped before restarting. That would be a sneaky way to fulfill all the “death” symbolism around her but have her still live/resurrect. This may be evidence of that. 2) Did you see everything run backward? It’s at this part when Grace stops breathing, we see everything run in backward motion for about 30 seconds. Almost as though they need to rewind or reset to get the story back on the right track.

The key. I guess we should talk about the key. Very interesting stuff. As per this episode, the key represents the cost of peace. And they talked about it being the future.

Remember back in S8, there was an episode called “The Key to the Future.” So this is a repeated theme. But we’ve seen keys around Beth for a long time, especially at Grady. It kept showing keys being used to open doors in order to get Rick and Daryl in to do the prisoner exchange.

So, here’s what I’m thinking for this. I think the cost of peace was Beth being shot. We’ve thought for a long time that Beth will save TF in some way. Probably during the CRM war or maybe in some way that has nothing to do with war (i.e. famine or lack of water).

We don’t know how that will play out, yet. But if key = cost of peace, then seeing keys at Grady probably shows that the cost of saving TF down the road is Beth getting shot. It went the way it had to. The way it was always going to. So she could save them.

@frangipanilove likes to say that Fear functions as our key (like the kind you find on a map) to understanding TD symbolism. And this is a good example. They told us what the key symbol stands for and it makes other things we’ve seen and theorized make sense.

In a more literal, plot-related sense, Riley also said, “That key is going to change everything.”

And, I don’t actually think it’s a good thing that they gave it away. I think Grace’s logic in the moment was absolutely sound. The baby was going to be the Savior. And the baby’s strength would supplant whatever advantage that key gave whoever has it.

But the baby, tragically, died. So…they probably need to get that key back.

Also interesting to note that back in S8, the book “A Key to a Future” was about building windmills and water aqueducts. Major water symbols, and once again, water = Beth. 

Speaking of the baby as savior, that’s definitely a theme, as I described above. The people rallied around her in Grace’s dream and she kind of saved everyone just by living.

@wdway pointed out that Grace giving birth in a barn on top of hay gives it a manger feel, which is probably what they were going for.

So, Athena, in the dream, is also something of a proxy for Beth.

When they enter the barn, we see something super interesting. There’s a walker point up at a cage with a dove in it. The walker doesn’t even try to get them when they enter, but that’s because it’s Grace’s dream. But this is SUCH a potent TD symbol. A bird in a cage = imprisonment. And there was an empty bird cage in Beth’s cell in 4x01, as well as near Connie just before she disappeared. 

We also think it was probably a dove (you can hear it cooing). So with the manger motif as she gives birth, from a biblical symbolism standpoint, a dove makes sense. The dove generally represents the Holy Spirit branchy of the Trinity. 

Just a super interesting symbol and, to me, it shows that this is all tied up in Beth symbolism, and that the person they’re foreshadowing here is the person who’s been imprisoned for a long time. The person who had the bird cage in her cell. 

I also think we need to appreciate that Grace had a dream that made her believe one thing was true (that she would die and the baby would live). But in reality, the opposite was true. We’ve come up with considerable evidence that Beth lived. But Daryl believes that she died. And the exact opposite will end up being true. They also tried really hard to convince us in this episode that Grace would die. We saw her accepting it and acting accordingly. Similarly, they’ve tried really hard to convince us that Beth really died. We’ve seen all the characters accept it and act accordingly. 

So, I said above that we saw several walkers get it in the eye, right? One of the sequences I noticed the second or third time through that I watched it, was when, in the dream, Walker Riley has Athena pinned against the wall. He was the first one to say, “I know you thought this would be different, but that was just a dream.” 

So, what I noticed is that he said this, at the exact same time that Grace stopped breathing or “died” and then suddenly revived. And directly after Riley said this, he got a stake through the eye when Morgan showed up. 

So we have this “dream” symbolism, Grace dying and then resurrecting and the eye/Sirius symbolism all within a few seconds of each other. It’s a very compelling and powerful scene. Maybe my favorite of the episode. I’ve watched it like a thousand times, lol. 

And of course there’s that heartbreaking, repeated line, “I [know you] thought this would end differently. But that was just a dream.” First, walker-Riley (super cool walker effect, btw) said it to Athena in the Grace’s dream. Then she said it while holding her deceased baby.

More lines that jumped out at me near the end, and could possibly apply to Beth and Daryl:

“You found us.” (Athena says this to Morgan when he shows up to kill Riley in the dream.)

“He’s here for me.” Grace says this when Morgan shows up and takes her hand.

Grace: “I don’t want to say goodbye, but I have to.” Beth hating goodbyes and not wanting to say them.

When Morgan is trying to revive Grace, he says, “Stay with me. Come back.” (Geez, if Daryl says anything like this during those missing 17 days, it’s gonna be freaking heartbreaking.)

When she wakes up, he says, “Good morning. You’re awake. You’re awake.” So there’s that awake/wake up theme again. But the “good morning” is interesting, too. It may be morning time as this scene is playing out, but we didn’t actually see them go from night to morning. 

We’ve said for years that the sunrise represents Beth and a new beginning, so that “good morning” line is highly symbolic of a new era in which Beth lives.

He also says, “I thought I lost you.” *coughs Daryl*

Grace replies, “I had to come back so Athena could be born.” And again, I really don’t think Beth will be pregnant when she shows up, but baby Athena represents the way in which she’ll save TF. Because Athena was supposed to be the Savior here.

“We don’t have much time,” is repeated two or three times. So that’s a time mention, but also probably foreshadows a future storyline where they’re up against a countdown clock in some way. 

“I had to come back.” Tell me you aren’t thinking of Beth when listening to that line. 

“The key is not the future. She is.” Okay, my fellow theorists and I have discussed that the child who will save the future may well be Judith. In that sense, Judith may be Athena, but that still leaves Grace = Beth. And hearing this line, I just can’t help but replace “she” with Beth. 

When Morgan asks Riley what the key opens, Riley says, “it doesn’t matter.” Also a Beth theme from Grady. 

And finally, after Riley takes it, he says, “Good luck.” Luck Theory. 

Phew. Quite a few of those, right? 

Side note: one of the reasons I really didn’t know if Grace would live or die, as I mentioned above, is that they were really trying to convince us she would, but a lot of what was said could be seen as dialogue foreshadow. 

That could be a problem for some of our theories. But here’s the thing. Going back through it again, the writers were super-sneaky. Most of it could be quantified differently than it came across. For example, Grace says to Morgan, “I don’t THINK I’m going to survive this.” Not that she absolutely won’t. See what they did there? I’m just pointing out.

Finally, I want to mention a few more things the show runner said in his interview at the end. 

First, in talking about Athena, he said they wanted to make her a very strong, together girl, so it was obvious she came from Grace and was trained and raised by Morgan. It just reminded me a lot of what they said about Beth after Still. The whole, “raised by Hershel, trained by Daryl, meet the new Beth Greene.” Athena gave off that vibe for sure, but the showrunner used almost the exact same words to describe her. Definitely side-eyeing that. 

He also talked about how they purposely crafted the “dream” so that it wasn’t only a dream that Grace was a passive participant in. Parts of it had to be real and have real world implications so she was driven by a ticking time bomb. For her, in this episode, it was because her baby was coming and she needed to wake up to give birth.

I just mention it because I can’t help but wonder what implications this will have for the Daryl/Leah situation. 

I think that’s what I have for this episode. But man, what a crazy, tragic, epic, awesome episode! Loved it. (And hey, they owed us a big one after killing off John a few weeks ago. ;D)