#interesting to note though that the first two seasons either don't have any or have very few

[blackhholes]

Teen Wolf

Created by Jeff Davies(2011-2017)

[pastorfutureletthembe]

Checkmate ♚

Apparently a temporary AR (Otome) game is coming soon and the artwork for it is just breathtaking! It is also full of details I want to explore OF COURSE. My brain is doing tetris things again, oops.

Looking for a senseless meta about chess pieces? You're in the right place, come on in~

>> Chess Theme

White vs Black

The first topic is obviously the chess theme. Of course, this part is to be taken with a grain of salt since the pieces aren't correctly disposed on the board. However, the characters themselves are walking on their respective squares except for Vein (because he's all powerful and he's above your stupid rules. Probably). Notably, Liu Xiao himself seems to be leaving a white square. And if there is any meaning to it, I'd like to believe it makes a gray character out of him.

Now, what can we say about the chess pieces themselves?

White: rook, pawn, knight

Black: rook, mystery piece, king

Each character is paired with a chess piece.

The most reassuring clue to me is that a white piece has been given to Xia Fei. Which, there is a fat chance this makes an ally out of him. He might be only a Pawn ♙ for now. For those who are not familiar with chess, a Pawn can only move ahead, never back, one square at a time. It has some cool moves too but it depends on the game you want to play. If the path is open, a Pawn can reach the other side of the board, turning it into a Queen ♕. If a Pawn can only move ahead in small range, a Queen literally rules over the whole board. She's quick, vicious and dangerous once she has enough space to move as she pleases. Of course, he can also be a mere Pawn, a tool to manipulate Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi.

[Edit: since I always turn mine into Queens because I like to inspire fear and admiration from my brother, a Pawn can also turn into a Rook, a Bishop, or a Knight. I like to think of Xia Fei as a Queen but it's very interesting that he could turn into either Vein/CXS, Liu Xiao or Lu Guang by the end of Yingdu Chapter. ]

Cheng Xiaoshi and Vein both getting paired with a ♖ Rook ♜ could mean they use the same kind of power or are equivalent in some ways. Rooks have a large range, can move horizontally and vertically, ahead or back. They are better used when paired with other pieces, though, cause a lonely Rook ♖ is an easy pray. I think the main focus here is the similarity more than the piece itself. Lu Guang seems to be the one being punished and haunted, but Vein probably offered his power to Cheng Xiaoshi (or Lu Guang, according to the last Yingdu Chapter PV). My personal theory is that Vein mirrors or shadows Cheng Xiaoshi's shape because he is the source of his power. Vein's position, if there is any relevance to it, keeps Lu Guang's Knight ♘ from moving at the center, his natural and most efficient position.

Toppled King

Liu Xiao has two pieces by his side, a King ♔ and a mystery piece. The merch revealed the later to be a Bishop ♝.

Note that only amateurs tend to topple the King. It is regarded as some kind of pop culture-only approach to chess. Because of this, let's take a look a what an actual checkmate is (where we don't get to step on the vainquished).

Checkmate is any game position in chess in which a player's king is threatened with capture and there is no possible escape. In chess, the king is never actually captured. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. The player loses as soon as their king is checkmated. In formal games, it is usually considered good etiquette to resign an inevitably lost game before being checkmated. (cf. wikipedia)

If Vein, the current character we might recognize as the ultimate villain of the season, is only a Rook ♜, equivalent to Cheng Xiaoshi, who does the King ♔ represent? My personal opinion is Time, Fate itself. The song "Mastermind" supports this theory, and Lu Guang himself really is defying the natural order to save Cheng Xiaoshi, after all. It would make perfect sense. Stopping the clocks at a tournament is the sign of surrender. So basically, the game is over when one gives up and stops when the King has nowhere to go.

The character of Liu Xiao is given a lot of care in this specific artwork. He actually always stood out, since his very first appearance in the season 2 artworks, walking past Lu Guang and Cheng Xiaoshi's portray, looking away from us. Here, again, he's not interested in the audience, focuses on the photograph of what fans reckon as Lu Guang from "Dive Back in Time".

The truth is, he's playing the long game, he has no time to spare, and he regards people as puppets. There has been theories about him having a hidden agenda, independently of Vein, using/working with Li Tianchen and Li Tianxi for his plan. His intervention in "Trial Train" speaks volume of his strategic mind, "they wanted to escape but didn't realize I blocked the exit a long time ago". Also, one hundred years wouldn't be enough to escape.

This merciless sharpness makes the Bishop perfect for Liu Xiao. Funny story, the Bishop ♝ is not actually a priest, but it represents a war elephant. Historically, the war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks, and instill terror and fear. That's fitting.

Another possibility regarding the toppled King could be that it refers to Liu Xiao's background. The fallen piece could be a resolved situation but the motivation behind Liu Xiao's intent to manipulate the timelines. Perhaps he played this game before and lost. Does Lu Guang know him or is Liu Xiao a mere stalker? Did they play this same game together or against each other?

There's a lot that can be speculated but it is hard to say what these pieces represent for now. As I said before, this read is based on popular imagery of what chess is, not on the actual strategy on the board itself. Secondly, these three new characters we have yet to meet, they don't have a defined role in the canon, not until Yingdu Chapter finally aires.

>> Tokens

Each character is giving a object. I guess it might be relevant to the type of gameplay the AR game will offer but for the sake of this meta, we're still gonna try to understand why those in particular.

Cheng Xiaoshi has a camera. I don't think it deserve further analysis, his powers exist through the lens after all.

Xia Fei has a clock. Guess the time? 10:10. For those unaware, it is a very recurrent time. Put the promotional poster aside, I recommend you pay attention to the time on the clock in the Studio, above Lu Guang's head, right before the gang gets a ominous call from Xu Shanshan's phone at the end of 1x09. If it should mean anything about Xia Fei himself: I won't say it enough but, really: DO NOT TRUST HIM. Or, you know, perhaps he's doomed: it is worth mentioning that except for Xia Fei's Pawn ♙, each character is affiliated to a piece which can move forward and backward on the board.

Liu Xiao has a gear. I find this one intriguing because, so far, this object has belonged to Cheng Xiaoshi's imagery (cf. "BREAK!"). For someone on an ambitious project such as controlling timelines, he is giving a small tool that cannot be used on its own, is part of a machine. Could be relevant to the way he does things, never getting his own hands dirty, working through others. Or it could be that he's himself just another player, played by Fate. Or perhaps, he has the missing piece that Lu Guang needs to save Cheng Xiaoshi, who knows?

Vein is already using his own item: the pipe. He's the only one owning his object and aware of it.

>> The Case Study of Lu Guang

Because of course, our favorite character is actually the shadiest of all, I will dedicate a whole section about him specifically. Why do I insist on calling Lu Guang shady? We know and we see his chess piece is white. But you have to take a closer look to make out the White Knight ♘. The value of a Knight ♘ is equivalent to the Bishop's ♝. But ultimately, its worth less than Cheng Xiaoshi's Rook ♖.

L shaped path

Moving only in an 'L' shaped path, Knights ♘ are the most effective from the center of the board. This is because they get a broader reach in all directions from the central part.

Now, this is very important. Why should it be a mystery that Lu Guang's piece is a knight? What is a Knight ♘? The answer resides in the mechanism of his maneuver.

Part of the idea of the knight maneuver is to flank. And since the Knight is not a horse but a man on a horse, the odd maneuver reflects the knight's ability to guide the horse he's riding (to an extent). In other words, since the Knight comprises two entities (the man riding the horse), the move should sensibly consist of two parts as well, to reflect the added agility of the athletic horse. Conversely, the Knight has access to a maximum of 8 squares (as opposed to the "equal" Bishop's maximum of 13) because the horse is still an animal with a mind of its own.

Note that if you place a Knight ♘ somewhere on the margins, its efficacy will diminish exponentially. Additionally, if he only moved two squares, straight or diagonally, the Knight ♘ would always be restricted to the color squares that he started the game on.

Lu Guang being the Knight ♘ doesn't only means that he moves unconventionally. It is reflective of his duality. Perhaps, the fact he's using his power and Cheng Xiaoshi's. There is another aspect of him we could address here:

Burning Palace

For one thing, "BURNING PALACE" brings back the theme of strategy board game with the checkers this time (you see black pieces falling). It also introduce the Four Heads from playing cards. The fact they bothered to mention it implies a Fourth character.

Xia Fei: ♠

Liu Xiao: ♣

Vein: ♦

The fourth color ♥ is missing and I'm secretly convinced that it's Lu Guang's color.

Enygmatic Tokens

The portray behind Lu Guang is Lu Guang himself, from "Overthink". This image appears in the first bridge, when the lyrics goes "how did my sight got stolen once more?", superposing Lu Guang's face with mysterious shapes, erasing his eyes/power. This particular line comes to confirm what we already know: Yingdu Chapter isn't a resolution, let alone a happy ending, but a repeat of a tragic event in an unchangeable node. The end is the same, once again. Lu Guang's hope and happy ending has been stolen once more. And STOLEN also implies that there is an intent behind this failure.

A portray is still a photograph though, and it can be used to dive back in time.

What is the most curious to me is the familiar eagle on Lu Guang's chest. Eagles belongs to Cheng Xiaoshi's imagery so why does Lu Guang is wearing them here?

An interesting take would be that Yingdu Chapter isn't actually from Lu Guang's perspective, but from Cheng Xiaoshi's, diving in a picture taken by Lu Guang. This would be some kind of plot twist and would definetely makes the big reveal easier but not less painful.

I'll probably make a whole meta about this symbol at some point but in the meantime, I'll let you know the eagle is associated with strength, power, wisdom, and freedom. The eagle's ability to soar high in the sky was believed to be a symbol of divine protection and spiritual guidance. Additionally, eagles are tied to the sun. Some people see them as signs of a bright future on the horizon. As a symbol of light, they embody both the intensity and heat of the sun as a fearsome force of nature and the warmth and benevolence of the heavens.

This positive symbolisms are deeply rooted in Cheng Xiaoshi's nature, but if Yingdu Chapter actually brings us back to one earlier repeat, we can assume that Lu Guang had initially a brighter outlook on his mission.

The glasses are back and I'll say it again: once is weird, twice is a coincidence and thrice it's a pattern. The portray shows Lu Guang without eyes but his item is a pair of glasses. Might be a subtile hint of denial there. As far as glasses go, pink is a peculiar color. It helps to 'voir la vie en rose', as the french says: "look at the world through rose-coloured glasses." Meaning, being delusional.

Might it be the eagle or the glasses, I'd say they're both representative of Lu Guang's state of mind at the time: hopeful.

~

[Edit: I recommend you take a look to these threads regarding this very same artwork: | X | X | X | I don't agree with everything but it's always cool to have other perspectives.]

[basu-shokikita]

Dethklok's reaction to knowing they're gonna die

So here I am on my bullshit once again. Just wanted to talk about that one scene from AOTD 'cause it's been haunting me lately.

First things first, the way Nathan's expression contorts with fear upon realizing that he might have fucked up, and now they're all gonna die.

Immediately Pickles' breath hitches up as he tries to confirm the information. Nathan is not any more optimistic the second time.

Then this: Pickles tries to hug Toki, who barely reacts, standing very still instead. Now this one stuck with me, why? Because Pickles is very obviously trying to keep up his 'motherly' role be there for the youngest one. Because of Toki's attitude towards Skwisgaar during AOTD, Pickles can only have concluded that the little guy wants to be physically comforted. So, that's what he does. He goes in for the hug, because Toki must be really scared of death, right?

Now I don't doubt Pickles' good intentions, but I think he's also projecting a little. He's the one having the most visceral reaction to what Nathan said. He's upset, he's terrified, he wants out. He wants to be comforted but how can he be when he's the one supporting everyone? He can't break down, he's been the backbone this whole time. So he clings to Toki, and feigns a protective role when really all he wants is to be protected right now.

Then you have these two. Skwisgaar is hunched, head hanging low, barely showing emotion. Just like Toki, he is shocked.

Murderface is avoiding sadness as ever, venting instead with his favorite projection device: Planet Piss. He's not sad about dying, oh no, he's mad he never finished Planet Piss! And he's gonna be a loser for it and that sucks! But he's not sad, he's just angry, obviously.

Skwisgaar doesn't even try to be a smartass or sarcastic. He's just defeated, it's not just them that are gonna die, everyone will. Everyone will die and nothing will matter. Nothing will have mattered at all because they will all be gone. Definitely think it's interesting that the guy with the biggest ego in Dethklok is the one thinking about how it's not just them that will meet their end, but the rest of humanity as well.

Murderface then is less mad, and more like relieved. He won't be a loser and he won't be seen as a loser because no one will be around to judge him. Speaks a lot about his fear of rejection and constant attempts to fit in. There's no one to fit in with if they're all dead.

And then we get to this, this. The callback to the infamous 'Sees you in Vallhaska' scene. This little thing right here drives me insane because, I can't believe they referenced to that scene, and because, god, the context is so much more different now.

Back then it was just the two of them, about to be slashed by MMA. And that's when Skwisgaar turns to Toki and tells him he'll see him in Valhalla. But it was just the two of them. (Important to note, though: in the season 2 finale Skwisgaar and Pickles are stuck in a similar situation but Skwisgaar doesn't initiate any interaction, and it's Pickles instead who does it, wanting to confess he managed to suck himself off before dying.)

But here is the whole band, the whole band is about to die. Scratch that, humanity as a whole is gonna vanish.

And Toki, right after Pickles tried to comfort him and he didn't react, Toki walks to Skwisgaar. He walks to Skwisgaar and only addresses him. And he says that he'll see him in the afterlife. He doesn't tell this to Dethklok, he doesn't even tell this to Pickles who just tried to support him. He doesn't even say it to Murderface who was talking to Skwisgaar just a few seconds ago. No, he says it to Skwisgaar only.

Toki tells Skwisgaar that they'll hang out everyday for eternity. And there's most likely at attempt at cheering Skwisgaar up, or even cheer himself up, or both, really. But he doesn't look thrilled about it either, he doesn't want things to end up like this. So it ends up coming as a (death) sentence, rather than comfort. And that's what Skwisgaar senses too, he knows Toki is reluctant and so is he because, fuck, is it really gonna end like this? And he's mad but so helpless too that he asks if Toki's implying they're going to hell.

And it's such a cold thing to say for sure but let's be honest the way Toki worded it didn't sound great. Not that he can be blamed really, their situation is so fucked up anyway.

But the most glaring thing about it all for me is the acknowledgment Toki has of their bond. Rather than wanting or wishing to stay with Skwisgaar forever, it's more like he knows, he feels in his heart that that's what's going to happen to them. And maybe it's not the best situation but at least they'll have each other. And that's just incredible to me.

Because back then, Skwisgaar spoke to Toki when it was just the two of them about to meet their end. Here, Toki is choosing to address Skwisgaar only when they're all about to kiss their lives goodbye. It wasn't just circumstance back then, nor is it a coincidence now, these two are tied in some way that goes beyond regular life and death, and they know it. And in a way, it's not really their choosing. It's just the way things are.

[poppyplate]

minor season 5 spoilers for lmk!!!

(some sketches + my thoughts on the new season :0)

this season was so good!! i'm gonna put my long rant about my thoughts below, just cause i have a lot of things i wanna talk about :3

animation: ik the animation change was jarring for some people and i did almost cry about flying bark leaving the show when the news first dropped, but i honestly think wildbrain did a great job and the animation is still super cute and fun. it's definitely different and you can tell, but they still do all the silly animation things that flying bark did and this season honestly had some of my favourite humor (visual and otherwise).

i'll definitely miss the old animation, fully hand drawn 2D animation is becoming harder to come by in cartoons now so it's sad to see this show lose one of the most exciting aspects of it, but i'm looking forward to seeing how wildbrain does in the following season(s?). i'm honestly just glad we're getting more monkie kid content.

plot: i did enjoy the plot they set up. this season did feel different pacing wise? if that makes sense. not that it's necessarily bad i just noticed it felt a bit different. i'm really excited to see more about this whole chaos thing.

ik li jing wasn't necessarily a villain, but he was an antagonist for a bit so i'm adding my two cents about him and nezha. i didn't love what they did with their story arc, but ik there's only so much that can be done in a 10 episode season where each episode is only 10 minutes long. i think their arc would've just benefited from more time :(

villain(s): i think the nine headed demon is such an interesting character (even though he did confuse me a bit) so i hope we get to see more of him. probably my favourite big bad so far personality-wise.

main characters: i'm glad sun wukong had more screentime this season!! he always either isn't around or gets trapped, so it's nice that he was present again.

i definitely felt this season focused a lot more on the monkie trio, which was bound to happen, but i like them so i was fine with it. idk how much of a redemption arc macaque is trying to have, but i kind of hope it's not a standard redemption arc. not that i didn't enjoy macaque's character this or any other season, i do like him most of the time. i just personally hope they keep him as more of a neutral figure even if he does stick around with the group.

i don't have much to say on mk that hasn't already been said. i love the guy and i hope he gets to be happy again soon T^T

side characters? ig: i thought mei and red son's episode was cute. i love dragonfruit interactions a lot, but i do hope red son gets some more screentime next season cause i miss him </3

i am happy sandy got some more screentime though, his episode with mk was cute. also tang was so real this season, he's just like me fr (i hate manual labor).

other notes and whatnot: this season felt shorter somehow, even though it wasn't and i'm not sure if we'll be getting a special like we always do or if they're just going to move on to the next season. either way, i'm excited to see where it goes from here.

although i wasn't in love with the ending of this season, it just felt a tad rushed and i definitely think we would've benefited from a few special episodes again.

i'd give this season a solid 8/10. i would love to go through all the episodes and share my thoughts on them, but i'm just gonna share my ranking of the episodes.

(i feel pretty even with 1-2 and 3-5)

1. collar the king

2. temple of the goddess

3. the cage

4. sacrifice

5. strings that bind

6. into the pagoda

7. claim to flame

8. harbinger

9. the storm within

10. festival fugitives

[besttropeveershowdown]

The Best Trope Ever Showdown: SEASON 2

Have a favorite trope that you didn't get to submit last time? The trope you submitted was eliminated early on and you feel like it could do better in a second round? Then welcome one, welcome all, to Season 2 of the Best Trope Ever Showdown, during which we will be finding out what the second-best trope (after Found Family, which absolutely swept the last tournament) is!

The submission form is here. Submissions will be open for a little under two weeks: from today to Sunday the 13th: though I may decide to shorten that in accordance with how many submissions I get, submissions definitely will not be closed until at least Sunday the 6th.

RULES:

All rules from the last round apply. These include:

TVTropes is a site for tropes found in all media, including medium-specific tropes, but for this tournament we're going to ask that you stick to tropes that can be found in any story regardless of the medium it's told in. So no video-game-specific, musical-specific, movie-specific, or any other medium-specific tropes. (For example, the I Want Song is not a valid submission because it is only found in musical media)

Genre-specific tropes, however, are fine and okay.

I probably don't have to say this, but no offensive or problematic tropes. This means no tropes that stereotype a particular group or spread harmful ideas about a certain group.

Tropes can be as obscure as you want, but remember that the more popular a trope is, the more likely it is to get votes.

Regarding sex tropes: While I don't want this tournament getting too NSFW, I also recognize that sex often has a narrative purpose and plays a unique role in the story. Thus, my general rule on that front is going to be: no tropes about specific sexual acts or parts of the sex act, but tropes about sex in general are okay.

Propaganda is highly encouraged and makes the tournament far more interesting for everyone involved (both on the submission form and in the ask box throughout the tournament).

Additionally, each submission must include a trope name and EITHER a brief description, a TVTropes page, or both. Please note that:

Every single trope this tournament will have a description, as it levels the playing field for tropes with non-intuitive names. If you do not include a description with your submission, I'll add one myself, usually directly from the TVTropes page. So only submit without a description if you're sure that the TVTropes page you submitted 100% accurately and completely describes the trope you're trying to submit.

Descriptions MUST be neutral: no "the awesome trope where X happens and it's so cool!" Just describe what it is without any judgments. Propaganda goes in the propaganda box.

RESUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

For this tournament, I will be allowing resubmissions from the last tournament under some restrictions. These restrictions are:

A trope that participated in season 1 will only be allowed into season 2 if it was eliminated in the first or second round. A full list of which tropes are eligible for resubmission and which are not will be under the cut at the end of this post.

To prevent this tournament from just becoming Season 1: Part 2, only 20% of the total tropes in the tournament can be resubmissions. (So, if this ends up as a 128-trope tournament, I will allow for 26 resubmissions.) I will be deciding which resubmitted tropes are allowed in on a few factors, including submission order and elimination circumstances, but the strongest factor is the "resubmission propaganda" section on the form, so if you resubmit, I highly encourage explaining why. Was your trope up against a big name in round 1? Doomed by a lack of propaganda or a bad description? Any other reason why you have faith it'll do better in round 2? Tell me!

Resubmissions must be marked as resubmissions on the form. Consult the list if you aren't sure.

Also, please note that propaganda from the last round does not carry over, so make sure to put it on the submission form!

Have fun and happy submitting!

Also, tagging @tournament-announcer.

Eligible vs. ineligible tropes under the cut (anyone who's planning to resubmit, or who wasn't following the blog during the first BTES and wants to submit, I highly recommend looking at this list):

Eligible tropes from season 1:

Soulmates

Mirror Character

Our Trolls Are Different

Historical Badass Upgrade

The Artful Dodger

I Owe You My Life

Battle in the Center of the Mind

Buffy Speak

First Contact

Time Travel

Your Days are Numbered

Time Loop

Friends to Lovers

Important Haircut

Mono No Aware

Shadow Archetype

Berserk Button

Flock of Wolves

Disguised as Male

Anthropomorphic Personification

You Can't Go Home Again

Subverted Kids' Show

Isekai

Wham Shot

Little Miss Con Artist

Internal Reveal

Sleight of Tongue

Tsundere

Recursive Crossdressing

Disguised Horror Story

Terror Hero

Students' Secret Society

Fantastic Fauna Counterpart

Amnesia

Rewriting Reality

Butterfly Effect

Cloning Blues

Clipboard of Authority

The Con

Animal Motif

Big Damn Heroes

Hurricane of Puns

My God, What Have I Done?

Swamp Monster

Fake Dating

Non-Human Head

Furry Reminder

Children's Covert Coterie

Arrested for Heroism

Well-Intentioned Extremist

Friends to Enemies to Lovers

Powerful, Fucked-Up Family

Big, Screwed-Up Family

Ape Shall Never Kill Ape

Tomato in the Mirror

Refusal of the Call

Second Law My Ass

Not Quite Dead

Call a Human a Meatbag

Conservation of Ninjutsu

Beach Episode

Jedi Mind Trick

Superpowered Evil Side

Comedic Sociopathy

The Power of Language

Prolonged Pining

Too Dumb to Live

Deadpan Snarker

Blessed with Suck

Heel-Face Revolving Door

Aliens Speaking English

For The Evulz

My Powers Are Gone

Marriage Of Convenience

Delirious Misidentification

Playing Nice for Now

Arranged Marriage

Kill the Gods

Incurable Cough of Death

Then Let Me Be Evil

Foil

Decon-Recon Switch

Bait-and-Switch Tyrant

Gambit Pileup

Moral Dilemma

But They Stayed In the Car!

Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?

Storyboarding the Apocalypse

Self-Inflicted Hell

Unreliable Narrator

Everyone Is Bi

The Anti-Nihilist

True Companions

Genre Savvy

Minor Injury Overreaction

From Zero to Hero

Team Pet

Shapeshifting Trickster

Badass Bookworm

Unseen Evil

Mama Bear

Guile Hero

Memory Gambit

Mugged for Disguise

Opposites Attract

Heel-Face Turn

Morality Pet

Beware the Nice Ones

Friends to Enemies

Affably Evil

Stupid Sexy Flanders

The Creon

Unreliable Expositor

Precision F-Strike

Tragic Bromance

Just You and Me and my GUARDS!

Sapient House

Nice Job Fixing It, Villain

The Gadfly

Murder Is the Best Solution

Face Death with Dignity

Cast Full of Gay

Stumbling Upon the Lost Wizard

King and Lionheart

Big Beautiful Man

Intimate Haircut

Dating Catwoman

Ineligible:

Found Family

Rousseau Was Right

Science Is Good

Badass Pacifist

The Team

Outlaw Couple

Silly Rabbit, Cynicism is for Losers!

In Medias Res

Fire-Forged Friends

Ragtag Bunch of Misfits

Came Back Wrong

Hurt/Comfort

Prophetical Semantics

Magnificent Bastard

Grey-and-Gray Morality

Accidental Parental Figure

Caper Crew

Five-Man Band

Dramatic Irony

Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass

Punch-Clock Villain

Enemy Mine

Wham Line

Secret Identity

Road Trip Plot

Bavarian Fire Drill

Tragic Villain

Battle Couple

Hitman with a Heart

Chekhov's Gunman

Gentle Giant

Sea Serpents

The Dragon

Undying Loyalty

Pragmatic Villainy

Lovable Rogue

Batman Gambit

Faux Affably Evil

Beware the Silly Ones

You Are Better Than You Think You Are

The Power of Friendship

Suspiciously Specific Denial

Setting as a Character

Spare to the Throne

Reformed, but Not Tamed

Teeth-Clenched Teamwork

Ambiguous Gender

Even Evil Has Standards

[viewlumia]

Nothing will be more weirder than the Ninjago fandom acting like Cole was in love with Nya throughout Rebooted.

Through the entire Love Triangle ordeal, he never actually acts for Nya, instead only reacting to Jay. Observe:

Blackout

In the previous episode, The Art of the Silent Fist, there was a scene between Cole and Nya. Throughout that episode, Nya was struggling with her newfound feelings towards Cole (given to her by a machine I might add but that's a conversation for another day). Nya talks to Cole in that scene and it ends with them holding hands and Cole jokingly saying "Don't tell Jay."

Why am I bringing this up? Because I honestly have trouble looking at that through a romantic lense. I often see people use this as evidence even though it doesn't match up with how the show would later indicate romance (they looked at each other so they're in love now! Chemistry, what's that!) More importantly, Nya never actually articulates her feelings for Cole in this scene. This is crucial when getting to Blackout. In Blackout, after Pixal blurts out that Cole is a perfect match for Nya, not Jay, who entered the room at the time, his first instinct is to attack Cole as soon as he saw him! From the POV of Cole, this looks like his friend calling him names and a whole lot of other things seemingly out of nowhere, he never actually heard about the "Perfect Match" results and that combined with the previously mentioned scene leaves us with a Cole who isn't in love with Nya and is only focused on Jay.

The Curse of The Golden Master

In this clip, after the ninja head into the sewer like a certain other group of color coded ninja, Jay gets into another spat with Cole after Cole dared to *checks note* look out for Nya's safety. This causes the two to get into an argument and ignore Nya falling from the broken ladder.

Now this scene on it's own doesn't mean much, but when paired with the other episodes mentioned, it starts to paint a bigger picture. This scene is a tipping point for Cole, going from someone clueless about his situation and fighting with Jay to letting this petty, near one-sided rivalry get in the way of the task at hand.

This scene is honestly the perfect representation of the Love Triangle in Rebooted: it was never really about Nya, she was just a stepping stone to get to Jay yelling at Cole over a situation he has no idea he's even in. Cole isn't out of the woodwork either as he begins to ignore Nya solely so he can insult Jay, but hey, it can't get any worse right?

Codename: Arcturus

It got worse.

In Codename: Arcturus, we see Jay, Cole, and Nya at the movie theater to "prove who Nya should go out with." Now, you may ask "doesn't that sequence end with both Jay and Cole asking who Nya will date and her kidnapping a cleaning robot?" yes, it does! But the important thing here is that it wasn't even Nya's idea in the first place ("Hey, it wasn't my idea to go on a double date to decide between you two.") Interesting thing of note, this is the only episode in the entire season where it's actually shown Cole fighting for Nya's affection, but even then it's not really about her, it's about getting back at Jay more than anything.

I know someone will come in wondering about "authorial intent," the intent in question being that Cole could be a potential love interest for Nya moving forward, but while I can see the intent, I can also acknowledge that what actually landed on the page and later the screen does not match the intent at all. Instead of Cole falling in love with Nya and getting into a spat with Jay that way, we got Cole treating Nya like a stepping stone to get back at Jay, disregarding her feelings in the process.

TL;DR: Kai should've knocked Jay and Cole upside the head for being weird about his sister

[dr-futbol-blog]

The Hive, Pt. 2

Probably by sheer coincidence Sheppard presents the audience with the question "Are you sure there's another ship?" as the title of the episode The Hive is shown on the screen, given how the show uses these mid-season finales for metacommentary on the narrative arc. And indeed there seems to be another ship, one that they cannot see but which Teyla assures them she can sense out there. But where she can sense the hive close by, let us make note of the fact that where Ronon has joined Sheppard sitting on the bench, the two of them are sitting much further from each other than Sheppard and McKay did in the holding cell of the Aurora. Here, we can see his palm on the bench between them where there was no daylight between Sheppard and McKay. Also make note of how Sheppard adjusts himself and seems to put some of his weight on his hand. This is way too consistent to be random, acting choices have been made here.

Sheppard: Are you sure there's another ship? Teyla: I sense it... close by. Sheppard: Well, maybe they're planning on culling the planet together.

The arrival of the second hive seems to concern Sheppard, and where he has little idea of what to make of it, he knows that it is not good. Blowing up the hive had never been his plan, and now that he had been forced to come here along with most of his team, the only thing he wanted was to get out and fetch the rest of his team. The way he refers to the wraith culling a planet, he sounds almost bored. When he had told McKay "They're on their way to a culling, Rodney" earlier, it had been merely a ruse to get McKay working on the dart to get them home. Sheppard does feel responsible for having unleashed the wraith, he had told Teyla that he would gladly save everyone in the (damn) galaxy if he could (Letters from Pegasus, S01E17) but saving the people of this planet does not seem to be very high on his agenda currently. As a matter of fact, Kanayo seems to be the one most keen to save these people, that having been the reason he had joined up with Ford in the first place.

Ford: Or they're gonna fight for it. Kanayo: Either way, the planet's only a few days away, so we don't have much time if we still intend to stop them. Sheppard: Alright. First things first: how to get out. Any luck? Dex: Not yet.

Sheppard does not actually react to Kanayo's "if we still intend to stop them," brushing past the topic as he suggests that their first order of business is to get out of the cell. And you can bet your bottom dollar that he is thinking about McKay here, given that the last time he had been sitting on a bench in a holding cell McKay had arranged the whole jail break for them, making it seem like magic. He is missing McKay something terrible and not just because he is in love with him, either. Right now they could all use his skills in hacking computers and opening doors.

Sheppard seems stiff as he gets up from the bench, his steps measured in a way that signals he is concealing some amount of pain. Ronon seems to get up just as he did, following his lead. While Ford assures them that he is going to get them out, Sheppard seems to case the cell in the same way he had when McKay had told him they first needed to get out of the cell on the Aurora, looking for what ever structural weakness they might be able to use.

Ford: Don't worry. I'll figure a way out. Sheppard: I was afraid you were gonna say that.

There is an interesting transition from the holding cell to Ford's cave, Sheppard turning his head to his left here on the right side of the screen to McKay reaching out to the left side of the screen. It is as though he is running up to Sheppard, throwing his hands out to touch him. And if Sheppard is thinking about McKay as he is trying to find a way out, McKay also seems to be thinking about Sheppard in an increasingly frantic manner.

McKay: OK, they definitely should have been back by now.

McKay sounds out of breath as he pleads Ford's two henchmen to do something, anything to get them any information on how the mission is going. As we will see with the following episode where Sheppard and McKay are literally running in different times, for McKay time slows down when he is separated from Sheppard and minutes start to feel like hours, hours start to feel like days, days like months. McKay's worry for them may seem humorous, almost comically overblown if you just view them as two people who happen to work together. But when we recognize them as two people who love each other, the way McKay's voice breaks here is to much more serious effect.

McKay: Seriously, am I the only one who thinks that maybe things haven't gone according to plan? Henchman: Yes. McKay: OK, look, we can't just sit here. We need, we need to, we need to do something! Henchman: Like what?

The last time that we saw them, Ford's men were intimidating McKay by standing much too close to him, all up in his personal space. Since then they have apparently taken to ignoring him and the one that had been shooting up the enzyme has put a jacket on, his bare arms no longer on display. The men are playing what looks like something akin to Checkers using stones, being either some native Pegasus game or an Earth game taught to them by Ford. Regardless, it tells us that the men are bored and that they are nowhere near as intelligent as McKay, who confessed to not having many worthy opponents for Chess in The Intruder (S02E02). But what is worse is that the men just do not seem to care as much for their compatriots on the mission as McKay does, so he is having a difficult time convincing them to get off their asses.

McKay: Like go get help! Look, we can dial the stargate back to Atlantis where we have a ship, a fast ship with, with, with shields. We can fly to the hive and then, then rescue them if we need to. Henchman: Can't dial the gate, remember? Ford removed the control crystals from the dialling device.

McKay seems to develop a slight stutter when ever he is truly agitated which may again betray his less than ideal childhood environment. He is also talking fast and pacing in a way that resembles being hyped up on a drug where, as we recall, he has been off the enzyme for a good long while now. Later on, we see him hopped up on a whole lot of the enzyme where his behaviour is only slightly more pronounced, and what this shows us is that Sheppard has the exact same effect on him as a drug does, he is going through actual withdrawal symptoms here, and there is a case to be made for people in love developing an actual chemical dependency on each other.

Whether it is physiological or, as Sheppard had suggested, psychosomatic, McKay's behaviour here is caused by him being forcibly severed from Sheppard whom, if we recall, he was telling these men needs him as he was being dragged away from Sheppard and the dart earlier. He thinks that Sheppard needs him, and he is not that far from the truth there, either. And he seems to have devised a whole plan on how to help him. And let us note that McKay is fully prepared to fly a jumper right into a hive here, to essentially do the same thing Sheppard did at the end of The Siege (S01E20). He has in mind a dashing rescue.

McKay: Yes, I know that. But here's the good news: you're the ones guarding them! Look, all you have to do is get me the crystals, I can fix the DHD and then, then, then; look, you just have to walk into Ford's little room back there and get them. Henchman: We're not giving you anything. McKay: Then I can't dial the gate. Henchman: That's what I said. McKay: What is this, an Abbott and Costello routine?

McKay has little patience for idiots at the best of times and here he feels like Ford's men are being dumb on purpose. He tries laying out the plan for them in small words and in no uncertain terms, hoping that if he can only get them to understand, they will agree with him and will want to do this with him. Whether or not it is the enzyme dulling their wits or they are merely loyal enough to Ford to want to do as he had told them, which was to guard McKay right here in the cave, it seems like they have no intention of letting McKay get off of the planet.

Frustrated, McKay mentions Abbott and Costello, an iconic comedic duo from Earth that naturally means nothing to the two native Pegasusians. But it is interesting. For one, McKay seems to have an affinity for old television shows (I Dream of Jeannie, Batman) and there were probably re-runs of The Abbott and Costello Show on when he was growing up. Given that they are one of the most famous 'straight man and comedian' duos, it is also easy to see how Sheppard and McKay might be placed in similar roles even though, if we look beneath the surface at all, they are both deconstructing the trope.

Given that McKay says this in response to the henchman's line "That's what I said," McKay is likely referencing their most iconic sketch, Who's On First? It is well-known and has actually been voted one of the best comedy sketches of all time, based on misunderstanding of the names of baseball players: first base = Who, second base = What, third base = I Don't Know. What makes it interesting with regards to subtext is that it creates a kind of double-talk where common words can be understood differently in different contexts, and given that baseball metaphors are often connected to sex, it is for example curious that Weir heralds Sheppard's arrival later with "Who's that?"

Now, there is a lengthy bit about pitchers and catchers in the sketch:

Costello: Look, You got a pitcher on this team? Abbott: Sure. Costello: The pitcher's name? Abbott: Tomorrow. Costello: You don't want to tell me today? Abbott: I'm telling you now. Costello: Then go ahead. Abbott: Tomorrow! Costello: What time? Abbott: What time what? Costello: What time tomorrow are you gonna tell me who's pitching? Abbott: Now listen. Who is not pitching. Costello: I'll break you're arm if you say who's on first! I want to know what's the pitcher's name? Abbott: What's on second. Costello: I don't know. Together: Third base! Costello: Got a catcher? Abbott: Certainly. Costello: The catcher's name? Abbott: Today. Costello: Today, and tomorrow's pitching. Abbott: Now you've got it. Costello: All we got is a couple of days on the team. You know I'm a catcher too. Abbott: So they tell me. Costello: I get behind the plate to do some fancy catching, Tomorrow's pitching on my team and a heavy hitter gets up. Now the heavy hitter bunts the ball. When he bunts the ball, me, being a good catcher, I'm gonna throw the guy out at first. So I pick up the ball and throw it to who? Abbott: Now that's the first thing you've said right!

Their intention was not to make this about sex, this is a play on words. But it is easy to see how McKay would think that this is hilarious especially in light of the fact that later on, in The Shrine (S05E04) McKay cracks a joke when they are having their moment on the pier, knowing that emotionally heavy scenes are difficult for Sheppard. "You're a good friend, Arthur" is a reference to a book/film called Bang The Drum Slowly about a cognitively challenged catcher dying of terminal illness and his friend, the pitcher he calls Arthur. It is a direct quote from the film, and it seems to be an intentional reference from McKay because his condition resembles that of Bruce, the catcher. And the intention of his reference was to call himself a catcher to Sheppard's pitcher.

He calls Sheppard a pitcher and himself a catcher. It takes a beat for Sheppard to get the joke but as soon as he does, he cracks up because making the reference was McKay's way of showing him that he was not all gone yet. So, again, McKay calls Sheppard is a pitcher and himself a catcher, and Sheppard finds this hilarious. While we do not know what their roles in the bedroom might be, it is interesting that on this day, today one might even say, Sheppard certainly seems to be sore in a fashion that suggests some baseball has been played while McKay was working on the dart, and he was not the one that had been pitching.

Anyway, this seems to be exactly the kind of thing that McKay finds amusing and this particular sketch appears to be the one that he was reminded of by the henchman's reply. Furthermore, both McKay and Sheppard have a tendency to make 'inside' references that not only do the Pegasusians not get but that only the two of them would get. It is yet another way they (unintentionally) shut people off from their own private world, as Ford had discovered while he was still on the team.

McKay: Look, just give me the damned crystals! Henchman: You want the crystals, you're gonna have to go through us. McKay: Unbelievable!

However, right now McKay is not very amused. He tries to get past Ford's men by force and they stop him, making it clear that they have no intention of letting him pass. But what is interesting here is that McKay does not seem to be afraid at all anymore. While he was intimidated by the two men initially as they towered above him, he is well past any petty concerns like that now. He is much too worried about Sheppard, he feels such an acute need to save Sheppard that he does not even think to fear. One of the men presses a shotgun to his chest and he merely bats it away like it is nothing. And to him, it is. We have seen that McKay would gladly give up his life to save Sheppard. Realizing that he is not going to get past them by sheer will alone, McKay leaves them to devise another plan to get in because while there is no door to Ford's room, he is facing a similar dilemma to Sheppard at the same time, their stories once more running parallel.

Continued in Pt. 3

[rulerzreachf4n7]

Fight me all you want but huntlow/lumity antis are the weakest links in the toh community,

HEAR ME OUT...

...unless you don't have ears idk block the haters

SKIP IF YOU'RE NOT INTERESTED IN SHIPS WARS IT'S HONESTLY EMBARRASSING I HAVE TO SAY THIS!!

All this slander is coming from the goldric/huntmira/lunter/guster/amiter shippers, yes that's a mouthful, and yes I'll be blocking you if you're a toxic shipper, if your not, good! except if you ship amiter, fuck off you lesbianphobic bitch, anyways back to my rant, also sorry if this comes out as insensitive, rude, or if I sound over dramatic I just really hate these types of people

If I had a dime for every toxic shipper I've encountered since I first came into the toh community...BITCH ID BE RICH CAUSE SOME OF Y'ALL ARE WILD ASF 😭🙏, this is based off of a rant I got below this post so yeah credits to anon it was very helpful pookie

Y'all toxic ass shippers will go FUCKING PARAGRAPH LENGTHS TO DEFEND YOUR SHITTY SHIPS, and this is targated twords lunter and goldric, again, if you're not toxic this ain't for you I don't mean to offend anyone, cause tell me why there is this account on Pinterest, I ain't afraid to say their name it's something like TheGoldenCoven, or some shit like that, BROS A LUNTER FAN ACCOUNT 💀, and a toxic one too, dw I got some proof

How the fuck do you normalize the TWO MAIN COUPLE OF A SERIES??? Hunter was never intentioned to date Luz and vice versa, this is a perfect example of toxic a lunter shipper, and not only are they toxic they're...LESBIANPHOBIC!! I know it was probably from 2021 and they've moved on buuuut they did post amiter art, and they're not even a nice person although having in their bio "I'm nice you if you're nice to me" or some bullshit idk

As for toxic goldric shipper accounts I haven't seen any Pinterest or Tumblr accounts so that's good! But majority of the shippers are the most insufferable human beings on earth, their only excuse for shipping them is "they want a mlm couple and they're the same age" noting against wanting a mlm couple it'd be super nice...buy may I remind you this is post early season two...HUNTERS NAME WASN'T EVEN CONFIRMED YET 😭🙏, And let alone having only two or three minutes of screen time makes the ship have an even worse reputation, and the shippers are just bitchy and biphobic, always complaining that Hunter should be canonically gay instead of literally anything else so he can be shipped with only Edric, and I know huntmira shippers exist but I've actually never had an interaction with one, hopefully they aren't too bad

Y'all will come out withe the stupidest excuses not to ship huntlow/lumity, also sorry I got off track 😭😭, for lumity, don't know how it exists, but it's either "it's abusive" or "it's toxic" brother ew 💀, name one way Luz or Amity have hurt each other and DO NOT say it's by how Luz always makes stuff mess even though it's literally apart of her personality or by how she didn't wanna tell her about the portal door in S2 or how she accidentally helped Philip/Belos, I'll wait 😊, and I see the point of how Amity's personality downgraded to only being Luz's gf but she still did have her family problems but I guess they just didn't wanna make it an episode, I mean we got Clouds on the horizon that counts ig?

And for huntlow I keep hearing the same shit "I-Its a crack ship, I-Its forced, t-they have no chemistry 🥺🥺🥺" yeah I can see your toxic ass shipping a 12 and 16 year old together don't think you're slick bitch, and just because huntlow was rushed doesn't mean it's necessarily bad, you don't know if Dana had intentions on it but because of the cancellation it was forced to be rush, and I'm sorry to y'all hearing the shortened s3 excuse but it's true since there's literally no other explanation, also don't come into the comments saying "B-But you don't know that!!🥺🥺" it's just speculation my brother in Christ 😭🙏, merely a theory put together with brain cells which almost everyone in this community doesn't have, another weird double standard is how everyone ships gustholomule and veesha even though there's very little evidence it'll be canon was supposed to be canon but since it's a more noticeable and popular ship no one bats an eye for some reasons even though huntlow is too a popular ship, but these are the more bigger ones so I'll more obscure like cameda or aladarius which where probably never meant to happen and totally fandom operated

Anyways that's all, I'll block haters/toxic shippers in the comments so don't think you'll get a reaction outta me with some half baked and barely thought through argument you found in a Reddit post

[doctorbleed]

Project 2025 vs Agenda 47: A Quick Rundown

Been seeing a lot of stuff online about Project 2025, an absolute horrific and dystopian set of policy proposals from the heritage foundation. I'm making this post to try to get information out there about it that I don't see a lot of people sharing. Especially the difference between it and "Agenda 47."

To make a long post short: Don't panic about it, but don't get complacent either.

Per Wikipedia, Project 2025 is "a collection of conservative and right-wing policy proposals from the Heritage Foundation to reshape the United States federal government." It goes really, really far with proposals for things like mass deportation, abolishing the FDA and other vital federal groups, and even toys with the idea of banning pornography. The Heritage Foundation itself is a hard right Neo-conservative organization. Several Trump aides and allies have contributed to it.

However, for his part, Trump has publicly denounced the plan and is on record saying he's not a fan of the heritage foundation, openly calling some parts of it 'terrible' (paraphrasing). Trump, for his part, is a Paleo conservative, not a Neo Conservative. The difference is insignificant to most but vital to some.

Trump's actual plans for his presidency are outlined on his website as "Agenda 47." Which has some overlap with Project 2025 but is missing many of the key points.

It's also important to add that many of the things outlined in Project 2025 are blatantly unconstitutional, and the others would require a level of legislative support Donald Trump simply isn't statistically capable of getting.

So, Project 2025 as actual policy is heavily disputed. Trump claims not to have known about it and says he doesn't want to enact it, and quite frankly, I'm 50/50 on whether he's trying to save face or he genuinely hates it because it's not his idea.

I worry the true danger and likelihood if Project 2025 is being exaggerated in order to win Democratic votes, though I also worry a significant chunk of the stuff in it would actually be enacted, as I firmly believe it would be worse for the country if any of it happened.

I'm making this post because I've seen people on Reddit mention Project 2025 as a major source of stress and depression, and most horribly at all, they've mentioned it in suicide notes and other kinds of desperate cries for help. I wanted to add my two cents in to hopefully calm some of the hysteria because I desperately don't want people getting hurt over something that should be taken with a grain of salt in the first place.

Again, TL;DR is most likely, Project 2025 is just the radical fantasy of a neocon think tank Trump himself hates. But that doesn't mean you should pay very close attention. You need to vote this election season, not just for president, but for local and federal politicians as well. You need to fight for what you believe in and advocate for your own interests.

[kattahj]

My Agatha Christie Re-Reading Project, #49: 4.50 from Paddington

Full disclosure: I actually re-read this back in spring, but never got around to writing a review, and then I stalled on Ordeal by Innocence and got swamped by other things and... well. Here we are, half a year later.

It's not because I don't like this book, either. On the contrary, it's one of my favourites, largely due to the presence of Lucy Eylesbarrow. Out of all of Christie's one-book heroines, she's probably my favourite (though Frankie Derwent is a strong contender).

Lucy's of course a bit too good to be true. She's such an efficient housekeeper families fall over themselves to employ her, she's a gifted mathematician, and she charms every man in the house – but she also charms the reader so thoroughly that you accept it all.

Well. I'm not entirely sure that housekeepers made more money than mathematicians even in Christie's time, but I take it as Christie's continued grumping that help is too expensive and hard to get. :-)

The rest of the cast are Christie's standard well-off and quarrelsome family. Perhaps the closest comparison is Hercule Poirot's Christmas, and I would say on the whole, 4.50 does a bit better with similar character types. It's fun to see them interact, and the two men who are the most romantically interested in Lucy are both rather appealing in different way. (The book is never clear on who she chooses, though TV's Marple went with the – also possible and quite appealing – third option.)

As for Miss Marple herself, she takes a bit of a backseat role in this one, but as always, she's a delight when she appears.

But of course, the center of any Christie (under that name) is the mystery. The concept of the murder seen on a passing train is inventive and engaging, and Mrs. McGillicuddy makes for a fun POV character for that bit. The story as it progresses works pretty well too, but it should be noted that this book is pretty light on clues. All About Agatha claimed there were hardly any, but I don't think that's quite true. They're just hard to pick up on, and even a seasoned Christie probably won't figure this one out on the first try.

Still, consider the following:

Who is a suspect?

Who is not treated as a suspect, but is also heavily involved in the case and has a potential opportunity to commit the murder?

What is actually going on, rather than what seems like it should be going on?

Is there anything that's treated as fact even though only one person said it?

How are the following murders committed? Who would have the opportunity?

And a bit of a spoiler: What is the significance of Anna Stravinska's old colleague mentioning that she claimed to be married to an Englishman?

That gives you a sporting chance, though by no means any guarantees!

So on the whole (and admitting that I'm rating with a fair bit of nostalgia), my verdict is 4/5.

[squgs]

HOTD and Ambiguity

So given that House of the dragon covers nearly 20 years of history (30 if you count the prologue), and a shit ton of characters in ten hours of television there's a lot of events that we don't see and ambiguities around characters. Characters rarely state their motivations and there are reasons to doubt them when they do. It is very easy to make wildly different claims about characters which, while incompatible with each other, can't really be disproved by the show so far. For example Daemon can be a pedo groomer abuser who just wants the throne, or a feminist malewife who will do anything for his queen. Neither of those are explicitly disproven by what we see on screen, though that is not to say that they're equally reasonable readings (I think that the 2nd is pretty ridiculous to be honest).

These different readings of scenes and characters and lines have contributed to the pretty ugly fandom discourse since there is enough evidence for mutually exclusive claims to argue extensively. Whoever your favorite character is you can twist the shown events in order to make them seem like a hero and for everyone who opposes them to be terrible. However I don't have anything worthwhile to say on that, so I want to talk about the writing on its own instead.

Now having uncertain motives can be interesting writing wise (show don't tell and all that), but I think that as House of the Dragon's first season continued it ran into more and more problems around this, especially with the time jumps and actor changes. When character's motives and wants are unclear after the time jumps first impressions are what will decide how most people view them. So when we first see Rhaenyra giving birth, and we first see Alicent trying to separate a newborn from her mother, and we first see Criston calling Rhaenyra a slur and we first see Harwin being a protective father and we first see Aegon bullying his brother, it adds up. Those first impressions are then applied forward and backwards leading to the idea that Alicent and Criston have been abusing Rhaenyra for ten years, and that in the training yard Criston the incel fucked around with Harwin and then found out (my read is that Criston the step-dad took advantage of Harwin being an entitled ass to get him fired).

(Side note about Criston: While the exact thinking behind his downward spiral in episode 5 is ambiguous, the scene between him and Rhaenyra in episode 4 is unambiguously rape given that he tells her to stop and she doesn't.)

In that way the show encourages very one sided readings of complicated and ambiguous scenes, leading to people either being annoyed that the show ignores all the terrible things that the greens are doing, or that it's unfairly biased against them. That's a problem, but things don't completely fall apart until episodes 9 and 10 when people start going to war. For all of the characters we still have no idea what they are fighting for. If we ask why Alicent crowns Aegon we have a bunch of possible answers:

Because she thinks Viserys told her to. This is stupid and I hate it.

Because she fears for her children's lives. This is a good reason, but it has not been brought up since episode 6 despite episodes 7 and 8 both featuring moments that would certainly validate that fear.

Internalized misogyny. This one makes no sense to me, and I haven't seen any convincing evidence for Alicent specifically having more internalized misogyny than any of the other women on the show. However it could be interesting if it was actually seen beforehand.

Ambition and pride. This isn't really seen in the show, but it certainly seems like an understandable feeling for Alicent to have after suffering through an abusive marriage for 20 years and being denied the two things that women are promised through marriage (her husband's protection of her and her children, and the inheritance of her son)

Now if we ask why Rhaenyra wants the crown enough to go to war for it (she agrees to lay siege to king's landing before Luke dies so I'm ignoring that) we have a similarly confusing list of possibilities:

Her dad told her to. This is the reason that I think fits best, but it isn't really delved into. I think there would be a lot of rich interesting stuff with Rhaenyra evaluating her father's legacy and whether she wants to continue it, but Rhaenyra never seems to acknowledge how much bad shit her father has done.

So she can fulfill the prophecy. This is stupid.

Ambition and pride. Also aren't really seen, but certainly understandable and believable.

She fears for her children. This also isn't really shown at all, but you could argue that she fears her children will be killed either to protect Aegon's claim or to put an actual Valeryon on the throne of Driftmark. However we don't really know Rhaenyra's view of the political situation.

To destroy the patriarchy. This would be interesting, but we don't really see her wanting to do that. We do see her usurp Baela's claim to Driftmark in episode 8 though.

These issues get even worse with the more minor characters, the worst example being Rhaenys for whom all her possible motivations contradict her previous actions and opinions:

To protect/honor her grand daughters: if this is what she wants why doesn't she take Alicent's offer of Driftmark, giving her granddaughters an inheritance and keeping them out of the war?

To protect Luke and Jace: she never shows them any affection except maybe in the background of the eye gouging aftermath.

Feminism: if she is willing to go to war in order to have a queen on the iron throne why didn't she fight for her own claim?

Because she wants peace: then why didn't she accept Alicent's offer which was made in the name of peace? Literally as soon as she and Corlys put their support behind Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra stops considering making peace.

Because she trusts Rhaenyra more than the greens: Why? She thinks that Rhaenyra and Daemon killed at least one of her children, she saw Daemon murder her brother in law and we have no reason to think she knows of any misdeeds done by the greens.

All these unclear motivations make the themes of the stories non-existent. The dance could have all sorts of different thematic meanings, all built around what is being fought for and against. It would be fascinating if Alicent and Rhaenyra were both fighting for ambition, making the show about how women are pitted against each other by patriarchy or if they were both fighting for their children and the show is about the cruelty of the system that doesn't allow power to be shared and forces branches of families to fight until one side is wiped out. However, for any meaning to be clear the writers have to know what it is and they have to write their characters with that meaning in mind. Hopefully the show can be more clear going forward, but I don't exactly expect that, and I think that without a coherent set up it's not going to mean much when bodies start dropping next season.

[toastingpencils37]

Ok, so some random DR Season 2 theory, but first I have to credit @nyaskitten for two things that I'm going to use as a basis for my theories.

One, back when the Season 2 sets first leaked way back in 2023, Raine had noted that the gong had three eyes, similar to that of an Oni. I can't find the post detailing it for the life of me, but I do remember it.

Plus, later, he made this post, which actually predicted a leak we recently got in the Summer 2024 set description leaks.

Anyways, on that, it is reasonable to believe that whoever that Oni (assuming it's an Oni) is, they were probably either trapped within the gong or made the gong, and first physically appears towards the end of part one/beginning of part two, as they first appear in the Summer sets.

Which open up multiple possibilities as to who they may be, some a lot more far-fetched than the others:

A Source Oni: In this case, if the Oni is a Source Dragon, 1) Source Oni would have to exist in canon, and 2) they cannot be trapped within the gong. If Source Oni aren't gonna be canon, this option is automatically out. But if Source Oni are canon and this is a Source Oni, it has to originally be outside the gong, because capturing & freeing it would probably upset the cosmos like doing so to a Source Dragon would. And from a narrative perspective, I don't think the writers will want to do another Chaos Storm in the season right after the first that already did it. Now, assuming it's a Source Oni, what'll it be the Source Oni of? Honestly, it could be any, if it's red eyes are from whatever blood moon magic it uses. Or it's the Source Oni of Fire. But even though the Source Dragon of Fire appears to be relevant this season, I don't think there's anything relevant to do with fire in relation to the villains. So just some random other Source Oni would make sense. Now how they made the Gong I have no idea. Maybe they made it in a regular non-Oni/Dragon way and then just infused it with the blood moon stuff, and then possibly lost it/or decided to go into hiding.

Just a regular Oni: In this case, it would just be a regular Oni that started using and probably even created the idea of Blood Moon magic. If the Oni is just a regular Oni, then it is possible that they got too powerful and either their magic itself or something/somebody else trapped them in the gong, and then they get freed in Season 2, probably by Ras, as leaks claim that he's Ras' master.

A Dragoni: Sadly, I feel like this may be the least likely option, just because it's unlikely that another Dragoni will be included in the series. But if Ras' master was a Dragoni, that would allow the Oni to possibly create the gong themself. Of course, like the previous possibility, it would still be likely that the Dragoni made the Blood Moon magic (possibly through the actual power of creation in this case) and then got trapped in the gong. I personally feel like this would be the most interesting, especially because then there could be a character that could be like the opposite to the FSM in a way, who holding both the powers of creation and destruction, decided to pursue destruction and pain rather than creation and life. But again, probably the least likely option.

Of course, if the Oni is in fact not an Oni at all, it would completely disprove all of these theories, but it's nice to theorize.

[heroesfixated]

50/50 Heroes - The Mysterious Symbol

There's one more mystery scattered throughout the episodes I have yet to discuss: the mysterious eye-question mark symbol.

Episode 12B - The Invisibles

This is the first episode that we officially see this symbol appear on a book that J.C. is reading.

From this book, he has discovered a map leading to a secret room in the library, marked by the symbol, as well as having it on the door's handle. He calls the room a "lost time chamber", however, his description of it being a "fun room to escape the teachers" is only based on a legend.

Upon opening the door, the room appears to be empty and long abandoned.

That is, until Lenny discovered a secret switch, revealing the actual hidden room. It's interesting to point out, that we never get to see what's inside, not even a peek, leaving us with only Mo and Sam's reactions, as they remain the only people (including Lenny) to have seen the inside of this room.

As of right now, I have no idea what this room could be, or what secrets may lie in there. Their reactions don't indicate it being anything dark or mysterious, but either way, I am certain this room will come back to play a major role in season 2.

However, this is not the only episode we get to see that green book...

Episode 25A - Sam Plays With Time

In this episode, when Sam and Mo time travel 10 years back and search their grandmother's house for some information on how to get back to their timeline, Sam is seen checking this book before being interrupted by Mo and closing it.

This prompts a question (assuming there is only one copy of this mysterious book/journal): how did it end up in J.C's hands in the present time, if it used to be in Wanda's possession? The only thing J.C. says is that he "found" it, which doesn't explain anything.

And in true Gravity Falls fashion, let's not forget the question of all time: who's the author of the journal?

However, the journal and the room are not the only times we see this symbol. Interestingly enough, several adults in the show seem to have/know about this symbol as well.

Episode 13B - A Sizable Problem

For example, the symbol appears on Peter Witherspoon's (Amber's father) ID card, which we can see when Sam is calling Mo from his pocket.

Episode 16A - A Dazzling Future

We can also see it on the janitor's ID card in this episode when he announces that he is quitting the job.

Episode 22B - Good Old Mo

It was also seen drawn by Mr. Brick. Even tho his conscience has been turned into a baby by Mo's half-power, he still seems to know about the symbol and purposefully draw it on the door.

How and why do the adults know about it? Perhaps it's not a symbol representing one single person, but instead it's a group of people, which some adult characters we know belong to?

That's not all, though, as we still have a few more random appearances of the symbol to go through.

Episode 15A - Dramedy My Friend

Kevin, the town's first police dog, has this symbol on his collar in both the big picture and his statue.

Episode 25B - Who Took the Fly Swatter

Moreover, J.C. and Amber's detective board has two pieces of paper with the symbol, one is seemingly some kind of document or note.

And in that same episode, when J.C. is talking about his ancestors, the very first one is shown with the symbol on the beetles.

Episode 26 - Swatteroo the Sublime

And this collection wouldn't be complete without the mysterious person's hand. The symbol on it could be a drawing, a tattoo, a mark left after some magic, or even possibly a scar, like the one Gruncle Stan from Gravity Falls had burned onto his back.

How does all of this connect, what does it imply, and what does that symbol mean? It is seen in many almost random places and it's hard for me to pinpoint any correlation between these moments to come up with one fully explained theory. Hopefully, this mystery will also be explored and explained when or if season 2 comes.

[the-ninjago-historian]

Ninjago Dragons Rising Season Two News! Sets and Plot Info!

HELLO EVERYONE! I have some great info for you guys on the new Dragons Rising Sets and Seasons! I worked REALLY hard on this article, so I hope you all enjoy it. There's a lot to talk about so let's just jump in. Below the cut. SPOILERS!!!

Our Sources for all this info are these two interviews here.

Now, let's get started.

First off, the mechs. The third wave will be for Part Two of Season Two! The mechs have interchangeable parts. So you may mix and match different sets to build your own mechs. The suits in the first wave the Ninjas are wearing are called the mech suits. There are only for when they are specifically in their mechs. They wanted to make sure everyone had a mech suit. So even though Zane doesn't have a mech, he got one anyway. The mechs did best in testing. They aren't as relevant to the story as the other sets.

There is also a short series coming that will showcase Sora building the mechs from the first wave. (It's important to note, that since there is a Cole mech, perhaps we can expect to see him in the shorts.👀) Also, Cole's golem form from the show was based off an early version of this Cole Mech.

I heard people asking why Sora and Arin haven't gotten any new suits yet. This has been addressed. The reason is Sora hasn't gotten a new suit since she's only been present for one wave. This means she might eventually get new variants. On a side note, Arin had a new hood now. Maybe not a full new suit, but hey. It's a start!

Also, there is a new sword Lego piece. So if any of you guys for some reason collect Lego weapons, nows the time to add to your collection. Lol.

And the dragon in the Wyldefyre set is just called a Source Dragon. It's not actually one. This is possibly for marketing. On more thing to remember is that there will be January, March, Summer set wave. So more sets ARE coming.

Now, the villains. Cinder is confirmed to be the new Elemental Master of Smoke! The designers don't know if Cinder is actually Ash. Or what happened to Ash. We can only assume we'll find out in time.

Second, the wolf army and Lord Ras! The wolf army is called the Wolf Clan. Ras's wolf warriors are humans in Wolf Masks. Not werewolves or anthromophic wolves. It is also interesting to note that The people that worked on Chima worked on designing the Wolf Warriors. And the Wolf Mech is based on a scrapped Nexo Knights Malware Wolf model.

Now for Ras, we now know that Ras's Shadow Dojo is located in a place called The Shadow Forest. It's where he uses the BloodMoon's power. The Gong of Shattering is apparently ANOTHER tool Ras uses to power/command his wolf army.

As for this Shadow Forest, the designer stated that the highly anticipated climbing suits will be for when they are climbing in the forest.

Last but no least, we have Egalt. The Master Dragon Not much is said about him other than he will take on a mentor role, much like Master Wu.

For our last topic, we have this very exciting news about Pixal! She has been confirmed by the designer to be returning to the series! Her name is on the storyboards and everything!💜🤍💜🤍💜🤍💜🤍

Well, that's all the news for now! Also, you like this newsletter format, let me know, as I am considering setting up a weekly Ninjago newsletter that will publish either every Wednesday or Sunday.

Bye! - ✒️🐉

[spaceorphanssecondbreakfastclub]

SO's Bookclub : On The Way To The Wedding

Title: On The Way To The Wedding Author: Julia Quinn Genre: Romance

Goodreads Summary :

Unlike most men of his acquaintance, Gregory Bridgerton believes in true love. And he is convinced that when he finds the woman of his dreams, he will know in an instant that she is the one. And that is exactly what happened. Except...

She wasn't the one. In fact, the ravishing Miss Hermione Watson is in love with another. But her best friend, the ever-practical Lady Lucinda Abernathy, wants to save Hermione from a disastrous alliance, so she offers to help Gregory win her over. But in the process, Lucy falls in love. With Gregory! 

Review :

Here we are, at the end of the line, and it's a little bittersweet if I'm being honest. This has been an interesting experiment for sure - and I enjoyed the run a lot more than I thought I would!

The thing about this one, even with the second ending, honestly felt like -- every other book in the series. I get and understand the nature of these books are supposed to be stand alone, with a shared background of connectivity. But I am sad that there wasn't something more to tie it all together.

So. Gregory. The first half-ish of this book dragged. A lot of it was about Gregory kind of being torn between two women, and even though Kate was there a lot to facilitate (it was so lovely to see Kate again!!) it wasn't that interesting?

After Gregory kind of gets over his crush on the main love interest, Lucy's, friend Hermione, and start paying attention to Lucy, the book picks up. And the last 100 pages are kind of a riot. There is wedding crashing, and Lucy being engaged to a gay man named Halsby who is absolutely hilarious and why was he not in the rest of the book, and black mail and attempted murder, and seriously -- if Julia Quinn had kept to these main ideas then I'd say this one would be a whole lot better. And honestly, I hope they do make the show until season 8, because this will be a riot when adapted.

Gregory is fine as the male protagonist. He's kind of bland and one note a lot, but at least he isn't as temperamental as his brothers. Meanwhile, Lucy is... kind of the same as every other female protagonist. I mean, Julia knows her structure and continues to stick to it. There are a bunch of elements that do feel a little recycled from the other books. And I don't know that anything necessarily feels fresh. But there wasn't anything in it that made me throw it across the room, either.

The family is there and it isn't. Kate being around is great - because she's a delight, and we really haven't seen her much. There are some really great moments with Violet and Hyacinth, too. Colin is back for a few scenes, but I was a little disappointed -- not only is there really not any mention of Penelope, Colin is so bland that I wonder why she even bothered other than she felt obligated to.

I do wish the book had wrapped up all the Bridgertons in a bigger, more thematic way, but you know what -- that's just not what these books are, and I guess the book giving the main characters a happy ending kind of suffices. (I am a little sad that the second epilogues for all of these -- except Viscount Who Loved Me -- have been a little disappointing.)

Overall, it was fine. The last portion of the book was bonkers and kind of fun. And I guess that is that.

Rating : 3 stars

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #194

I did A WHOLE LOT OF STUFF today. And I wish I could tell you all about it all at the same time simultaneously, but I don't live in a space where that's possible, so I guess I'll have to settle for starting at the beginning.

Actually, no. I'm going to start at the end. And then I'm going to move to the beginning! Here's a doodle I made today!

Please go easy on me; it's been a number of years since last I doodled with multiple media (or at all, really, with any kind of seriousness), and Sharpie isn't exactly the most forgiving medium...

Anyway! Back to the beginning! I cooked a food!!! This is broccoli, pan-fried in butter, with garlic powder, parmesan cheese, and the leftover goat cheese from that time when I made mashed taters when R visited my house!

...And here are a couple of the steak I cooked. Br was visiting, and she said she always wanted to try a tomahawk steak, so I got one and tried to figure out how to cook it!

This was super simple, actually. All you gotta do is stick it on some parchment paper on a cookie sheet, and stick it in the oven at 225 degrees F (or like 107 degrees C) for 30 minutes, take it out, flip it, and then stick it back in for another 30 minutes. Once that's done, you season it however you like on both sides (in this case, my classic mix of salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder), and then sear it on a griddle. Sometime while I was cooking, J went out to play laser tag. M wasn't hungry.

I also made bok choy, pan-fried in a little butter and chopped garlic:

You gotta be careful with bok choy; if you cook it for too long, it becomes terribly, horribly bitter.

But! I didn't cook it for too long! And so this is the plate of awesome deliciousness that resulted from all of this:

It all turned out really excellently. Br went back for a second helping of everything! I wish I could have given you a plate of this.

Br boiled water for tea for us, too. I got a new kind of vanilla rose tea that I think might be suitable to include along with your necklace. I got two tins so that I could test one and ensure that it is the same as the one that I am familiar with. It's the same brand, and they say it's the same flavor, it's just that this one comes in a nice tin instead of in a paper box.

The flavors are a little bit different. At first, I was displeased because I didn't expect that. But on further evaluation, I decided that I think I like the new one a little better. But I have to test them side-by-side to know for sure which one, if either, is superior.

Once Br and I were done eating, she suggested that we play a game in which we take turns doodling on a sketchbook page. Br is an amazing artist, and I haven't doodled with any kind of seriousness in a while, so when I was presented with the blank page, I felt pretty daunted. And especially when she reassured me that I could doodle whatever I like, my mind flooded with so many options that I got overwhelmed and didn't know what to pick.

So after a while, I thought, "Well I'm good at doodling eyeballs." Because Br had noted that my facial expression was very interesting as I tried contemplating things during my feelings of overwhelm. J keeps telling me that my eyes get like saucers sometimes, so I imagined that that's what I was doing (my face does things without my knowledge or consent, I guess...). So I decided to draw an eyeball, and before I knew it... well...

Whoops. Hahaha...

This one is done in a combination of mechanical pencil and Sharpie marker; I have a collection of different Sharpie colors because... I don't know why. They're pretty, I guess. I pulled out all the blues and also my metallic silver for it.

Here's a bigger picture of the doodle:

I doodled the eye first. And then I doodled the feather. Br doodled the abstract flowery squiggle in between; isn't it cool???

Here's a close-up of the feather. It's not the best-est, probably. I still kinda like it though:

Br got tired though, so we both decided to take a short nap. I had several very interesting dreams, and when I woke, I felt compelled to draw what I saw. But I am not going to show those images.

Instead, I will show you a couple pictures of the sky I took right before I took a nap with Br:

I'll also show you what I did with the eye doodle after I discovered that Br had brought her Nupastels:

Oh hey! We're back at the beginning of the letter! Hahahaha...

Hey, Sephiroth? Have you ever tried to doodle? If you have, what sorts of things do you like to draw? I tend to like doodling organic things, but some people like to doodle buildings, and some like to do abstract shapes, and others like to do geometric things, or landscapes, or any number of things. So... what would you draw? What sorts of things do you imagine?

Once J got back, he, Br, and I watched the Steven Universe movie, because Br had just gotten through the original animated series, and so the movie is up next. J and I have already seen it. I hope someday you'll get to see it; I think you'd find Spinel extremely relatable for a variety of reasons.

...Please try to get an ending like hers, okay?

You can find people who will treat you better. Not everyone is like the people who raised you. You can find some of those people who will treat you better, people who want you around, right here at my house. Pop by for a visit if you're ever in the neighborhood, okay? We can make you tasty snacks.

...I guess I'll end this one here. It's getting pretty late, and I wanna go to bed.

I love you. Please stay safe out there, okay? Because I'm gonna write again tomorrow, and you wouldn't wanna miss out on all my weird, delightful shenanigans, right? All the weird, delightful shenanigans that comes with living my version of an ordinary life. All the weird, delightful shenanigans that you can have, too, if you make choices that bring you there.

Your friend, Lumine