#like literally from s1 cooper was all over him!!

[thiamblogger]

cooper definitely fell first and harder!!

[columboposting]

I say this as a certified gwen cooper stan and defender and lover etc etc so if i see anyone in my replies coming for my girl its on sight. But it is honestly completely batshit insane to me the way seasons 1 and 2 of torchwood consistently do this thing where on-screen development or depiction of Jack and Ianto’s romantic relationship is directly preceded by a category five Gwen and Jack Unresolved Sexual Tension event. Like, Jack propositioning Ianto over Suzie’s corpse comes right after a scene where Jack and Gwen make moon eyes at each other from across the Hub; in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang Jack only asks Ianto out on a date after a failed attempt to woo Gwen; in Reset, Martha’s conversation with Ianto about getting him and Jack a red UNIT hat comes after her convo with Gwen where both of them are like “man we must be the only two people in the world who havent been with Jack.” The obviously most insane example is in Something Borrowed when Gwen and Jack dance together extremely intimately AT GWEN’S WEDDING and Ianto literally has to WALK OVER to take Jack off Gwen’s hands. (If I missed any more examples please tell me because i feel like I did. Also Fwiw not every Janto scene follows a Gwack UST event, though by the same turn not every Gwack UST event is followed by a Janto scene. But I think there’s enough here for it to be a pattern.). So there’s this consistent thing where we see Jack make moon eyes at Gwen and only going to Ianto after this fails to result in anything substantial. This creates the impression that Ianto is Jack’s second choice for a partner, and that Gwen is his first.

You could argue that this pattern constitutes Jack choosing Ianto over Gwen, but… I dunno. The obstacle that consistently stops Jack from pursuing Gwen further in the scenes I’m talking about is not his commitment to Ianto but Gwen’s commitment to Rhys. (If you want an example of TW S1/2 actually showing Jack choose Ianto over Gwen I’d point at End of Days: Gwen metaphorically awakens Jack by kissing his corpse (he doesn’t seem to object but Gwen is obviously the one initiating), and then Jack immediately runs off to make out with Ianto. Compare with, say, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, where Jack tries to initiate with Gwen, gets cock-blocked by her engagement ring, and subsequently asks Ianto out. You see the difference?

To set my cards on the table I am obsessed with Jack and Gwen’s straightbait situationship, and I think it is completely fine and cool and entertaining, actually, for Jack and Gwen UST to coexist with canon Janto (Jack is from the Free Love century and has two hands; meanwhile it baffles me that people get on Gwen’s ass for the crime of (checks notes) being into Jack Fucking Harkness, as if being attracted to him is not completely normal and understandable), HOWEVER the show’s scene to scene editing CONSISTENTLY gives the impression that Jack would choose Gwen over Ianto if given the opportunity. So for all that I think a lot of Gwen hate is like, people being unfairly mad at Gwen for “getting in the way” of a gay ship that, per the show’s writing, she never actively interferes with or disapproves of and is generally shown to support, the way the show uses the language of editing does actually kind of value Jack’s hypothetical straight relationship with Gwen over his existing gay relationship with Ianto in a way that frankly fucking sucks. I have no idea whether or not this was intentional or whose fault it is (if I had to blame anyone I’d blame the writers involved and the editors involved, but tv production is complicated and this is a systemic problem that would be difficult to identify if you’re only looking at one episode at a time) but whatever happened its like. A lowkey homophobic element of an otherwise mostly queer-friendly show. Literally what were they thinking.

[gotskamstuff]

Soooo I woke up to this pic of a script of a possible JJ’s revival scene being all over social media going around in the fandom, ALLEGEDLY being spread by a friend of Cooper Pate (Jonas Pate’s son) who shared it with his friends and there’s a couple of things I wanna say about it.

Not to rain on anyone’s parade and ruin the party, I’m the first one that would want to see JJ in season 5 (literally the only way I’d watch S5) and I don’t think it’s a secret at all how vocal I’ve been in my disappointment, but first and foremost my biggest advice to the fandom would be to not be so gullible over everything that is put on the internet, especially when the source is vague and unreliable.

Realistically in this case in particular there are way more reasons for this to be fake than being real.

1. Although yes, this looks like a proper and valid page taken from a script because of its font/structure/language and it looks like a real picture of a page sitting on a desk, it can still be something that anyone could do. All you need is a quick search on Google typing “script page examples” and you have these exact type of documents that ANYONE with a laptop, a printer and a pen can recreate on their own (also this coincidentally happened a few days after the pilot’s script was all over Twitter all over again)… you’d be surprised by the lengths people would go to spread false rumors and to troll people on the internet just out of pure entertainment and self enjoyment. Remember when the show was in the midst of season 3 production and someone spread this picture that we all went wild about FOR MONTHS? Only to later discover that it was a behind the scenes taken from an entirely different show and accurately edited by someone just to troll the fans. So yeah, people are bored and have time to waste, especially during the holidays.

2. THIS precise description doesn’t make any sense with the season 4 finale. By the looks of it, the part above where it seems like the Pogues have just made it back to Kildare, it seems like it’s supposedly the season 5 pilot or at least one of the firsts episodes (considering they haven’t even finished writing the season as of now) meaning that in this scene described here JJ is still exactly where they left him and it’s being described as if his body is getting uncovered by the wind blowing the sand away, this is the body reveal…SO WHY IS THE CROWN THERE? We’ve speculated a lot about the crown and we know it’s the only way to bring him back, but the Pogues didn’t have the crown and JJ didn’t have the crown, Chandler Groff did and he ran away with it so only Groff could be the one to go put it on JJ’s head and therefore having to dig his body out. This scene written here instead is making it seems as if JJ was buried with the crown and his body coming back alive is being uncovered by the sand blowing away. It doesn’t connect with the final scene of S4, either he was buried with the crown and the sand blows away or Groff put it on him but he’d have to be the one digging him out.

3. Let’s just say this picture is actually legit, this is truly a piece of the Outer Banks script, written by the Pates and Burke, sitting on Jonas Pate desk that his son Cooper went to take a picture of and sent it to his group of friends, this is original and 100% real… still who’s to say this is from season 5? We know they had multiple endings for S4 and allegedly even shot multiple variations of it, this could easily be the script for one of those alternative endings in case Rudy Pankow decided to not leave the show, after all “cut to black” is for sure one big cliffhanger and it would’ve been a callback to S1 when the Pogues believed John B and Sarah to be dead but then we saw them alive. CONVENIENTLY this picture was spread on the internet with this top part being censored…the part of the page where the numbers of scene, episode and season are supposed to be along with the title of the episode.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, JJ being back somehow will be the only way for me to watch season 5 and I’m the first one who wants to see it happening and foolishly hopes for it, but we need to be careful with both what gets spread online and with what the people from the show themselves will say in the future.

From now on until the day season 5 gets released in 2026 we’re gonna see a BUNCH of things, some of which will surely be fake and made with purposeful intent, I can bet everything that I own in my name that when the cast gets on set it’s gonna be a nonstop of fake pictures and fake news about Rudy being there, ‘cause it’s amusing to people. Even the way the show is gonna get promoted will for sure have some false hopes to get the fans attention and they will say whatever they can to milk things, just think about season 4 press and all the things they said that we never saw in the end? They’re gonna say and do whatever to keep the audience engaged and trolls online are gonna have the most fun playing with this scenario.

For real, even if JJ would ever be back it would be considered a major plot point for the show, not something that the son of the producer spreads to his friends on a Wednesday afternoon and if he does…he needs better friends.

Long story short as much as we want it, don’t believe everything you’re gonna see and hear in the following months, ‘cause trust me WE’RE GONNA SEE AND HEAR A LOT OF STUFF COMING FROM OUT OF NOWHERE!

[actual-changeling]

We need to talk about the Archangel Michael.

No, seriously we NEED to talk about Michael because I think she's going to be way more important than we currently think.

(quick side note: I will be jumping between pronouns for everyone involved because I go by vibes and also bc I'm trans and I like doing it. Hopefully it won't be too confusing, but I'll try to make it clear who I am talking about.)

So! Welcome back to Alex's unhinged meta corner. In accordance with the usual essay rules, let's begin with my hypothesis before we go down a long, probably very unhinged spiral.

I completely underestimated how thorough I was going to be, so to not overwhelm everyone with a miles long post, I will be dividing this meta into parts and will post them as I finish them.

A lot of small details have been fluttering around my mind over the last few weeks, and I think I am finally starting to put all the pieces together—and there are a LOT.

Part 1: Season One and Michael's Rank

We know them as one of the three (four—but that's another post) Archangels next to Gabriel and Uriel. While Gabriel's title was that of the Supreme Archangel, Michael's is explicitly stated in episode one of season two as 'duty officer', which, broadly speaking, makes them the Watcher, the one in charge in the case of Gabriel's absence for whatever reason, taking command where he can't; usually that probably meant him simply being busy and not him being unemployed and naked.

Their position is further signified by their ring, which resembles the Ophanim, the many-eyed angel wheels.

They are the one to keep a literal eye on things—they find pictures of Aziraphale and Crowley in S1 in the Observation Files, they watch over the heavenly hosts, they oversee plans, everything.

Michael even takes it a step further and (presumably created) the grapevine with hell, having direct contact to higher ranking demons such as Ligur, most likely also Dagon, and Beelzebub.

This is where we get to my theory: Michael is actively working with demons against both heaven and hell. It doesn't mean that they care about preserving earth, though they might later on, but that whatever plans heaven currently has are to be stopped.

I'm going to take this one step further and say that Michael also knew about Gabriel and Beelzebub, and helped him escape.

Now to the fun part: the evidence!

In season one, they are interested in stopping Crowley and Aziraphale from preventing the apocalypse, but that does not mean that they agree with the plans heaven has for said event—only that they need it to happen so their own agenda can stay on track. She has information she technically shouldn't, like, well, literally all the details about how, when, and what is going to go down

This is due to heaven and hell's general cooperation, which is its own post, but all of that runs through them.

That 'apparently' is doing a lot of heavy lifting here, it's the basic and plausible deniability that's required for them to not be in trouble. She is also in charge of ORGANIZING the troops, fulfilling her role as a navigator.

On top of that, the way she talks to Ligur highly mirrors the way two covert operatives might talk to one another, using phrases like 'our man' and 'working for you'. The mere assumption Michael makes here, that Aziraphale could be a spy, implies that there ARE already spies and angels working for hell.

Consorting with the enemy is allowed as long as it is done within a very specific framework, so Michael and Ligur are free to do so, while Aziraphale and Crowley are working outside of it, which gives heaven & hell the basis to punish them for it.

I think the phrasing of this sentence is also quite interesting.

Not "time to come back to heaven" or anything along the lines that takes Aziraphale's ethereal status into account, no, she simply says he needs to 'choose sides'—and who is to say that he needs to choose heaven or that heaven and hell are the only sides one can choose? Additionally, Michael is the one to bring the holy water to hell while they send one of the Erics, and while the trial as a whole holds a certain tension, there does not seem to be any open animosity between him and the dukes of hell.

In short, Michael is working with hell behind the scenes, likely pursuing their own goals, and standing in opposition to heaven.

Moving on to season two, and here it gets REALLY fun.

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

(hopefully it will just be five. it was supposed to be two. then three. but here we are)

[usermischief]

People saying Stiles is stupid and gets bad grades is actually hilarious, especially because he’s supposed to have ADHD. He’s over here keeping up perfect grades, stated by Gerard—the principal—in season 2, and take it from someone with ADHD, that’s not easy. People took that one scene about Stiles answering a question on the wrong topic and took it to mean that he’s bad at school; a) Coach literally says that was on the last question and “last” implies that there were other questions as well so it’s doubtful Stiles did that on the entire test since Coach probably would’ve mentioned him messing up on the whole test and b) this is the same scene where Finstock, the very teacher we learn about the Econ midterm from, claims Stiles is “super smart” but doesn’t take advantage of his talents and can’t focus (you know, one of the main symptoms of ADHD)

So many people called Stiles super smart. Did he fuck up by completely going off topic by talking about an entirely different subject on a test? Yes. Does his brain not cooperate sometimes? Absolutely (and I feel that, so much). Are those reasons to call him stupid? No. Sometimes the ADHD brain does what it wants. So 🤷🏼‍♀️

Stiles isn't the genius of the group, but that doesn't mean he's not extremely smart. Not at all. Because he's the one who always figures it out. I mean:

Lydia: You don't need the instructions. When was the last time you've ever used instructions? Am I right? You don't need them because you are too smart to waste your time with them, okay? You can figure it out. Stiles, you're the one who always figures it out. So you can do it. Figure it out.

-

Stiles: I don't know that. How would I know that? Peter: Because you're the clever one, aren't you? - Gerard: Mr. Stilinski. Oh, perfect grades but little to no extracurriculars.

Getting perfect grades is super hard even without ADHD.

Theo: He was smart! Smart enough not to trust me.

-

Scott: With Stiles back, he'll be able to help us figure out a plan. Malia: He's good at that. Peter: So the plan is to get Stiles to come up with a plan.

And I feel like there are more instances where people talk about how smart Stiles is, but those are the instances I remember. It's also a thing that happens throughout the series. s1, s2, s3, s6, and not just a random comment somewhere. But we don't just hear people talking about how smart he is, we see it too. He watches Lydia make a molotov cocktail once, then turns around and does it himself. The bear trap. He copies key cards. He figured out himself that he/the nogitsune was the one who gave the order to kidnap Kira.... and more.

[bylertruther]

random thought, but i feel like putting all of the blame on karen for the fact tht mike doesn't open up to her is a little ...................... (insert vague hand motion here bc i can't think of a fitting, not-childish eloquent word) ????

yes she's the parent and yes she does have to make the effort to create an environment where he feels welcome to share and talk to her, but karen cannot force mike to open up. mike doesn't respond well to his parents being overbearing and honestly he doesn't react well to ANYONE coming at him head-on no matter how close they are to him.

mike needs to come to people on his own terms when he's ready and collected himself. and karen knows that! she literally says that to ted when ted offers to go talk to him in s1 because they know will's death and disappearance is hard on him. and no i don't think they should've taken away his toys aka doled out a punishment when mike wasn't cooperating in s2, because that's simply Not how you handle such a situation, but they did it because they thought well if us being "soft" isn't working then maybe us putting our foot down will get through to him. it's not like they did it bc they thought to themselves "lmao fuck that guy 🖕".

and even though mike doesn't seek support through verbal means like nancy does, he does seek comfort from her through physical affection! and karen does give it to him! whenever he feels like he's lost will, he goes to her and breaks down in her arms and she drops everything to go hold him.

the point is that when mike does go to her, she's there. they all care about and love each other in that family, including ted. karen and ted are not plot-involved parents like joyce and hopper are, and we're not going to get a deep dive into any of the other families unless it's relevant to the plot. ... as we've literally already seen before?

and ted is the way he is because he's written as the kind of father that spends all day at work to provide for his family and gets home and just wants to watch tv and eat dinner and go to sleep and repeat that ad nauseam for the rest of his life bc tht's just what you do and you only have so much energy (smth smth silly little play). i'm not saying he's father of the year and no one should ever comment on his involvement with his kids, but... that's just his role to play in this story.

he's clueless abt the crazy shit that goes down in hawkins the same way that everyone else is clueless abt it but that doesn't make him a bad guy lol. there's purposeful juxtaposition of him chillin' watching the news cover everything up while joyce and hopper and the kids are out there losing their minds almost dying fighting monsters saving the world etc etc. it's supposed to be comical. he lives here and he has no idea what's really happening, unlike us and the central characters of the show.

not every family has to look or act like the byers or sinclair family to be Good. you can try your best to get someone to talk to you, but they're not going to do it if they don't want to. mike is a hothead that doesn't often share or even totally understand what he's feeling, and if he does, he rarely opens up all the way. he still keeps certain things to himself and only reveals just enough to achieve his goals. it's mainly when he's apologizing over something big that he manages to be open, and that isn't even something that happens often or outside of a situation that necessitates it.

and the whole "not knowing exactly where your kids are, but knowing they're with their friends somewhere and that they'll be home later tonight" isn't a sign of abuse or that they don't care. that's what life was like before the technology that we have now, and that level of freedom was the POINT. it's a big part of WHY the duffers chose the eighties. such a story wouldn't work with our current technology. that isn't even an experience exclusive to those that are 30+ or whatever. i'm in my twenties and i remember my childhood being like that.

like. i don't think it's as black and white of an issue as some people suggest. the wheelers haven't been perfect parents, but they're not malicious and they do love their children, even if they clearly don't always understand them. saying that karen and ted don't care about or love their children and that they're on the same level of neglect as lonnie is just... i mean. what?

[katsidhe]

your meta is one i either completely agree with or can understand where you're coming from, so i would love to hear your thoughts on the more flawed aspects of sam's personality, bc i feel like fandom always somewhat misunderstands them and/or makes up flaws for him to fit their narrative. loved the recent chapter of aware, arise btw!! <3

Thank you!

Mmm, Sam and flaws. yeah, this area is rife with pitfalls. The big problem here, which makes fandom interpretation so wildly variable and often off-base, is that there are a lot of things that the show, or Dean’s POV, would like to categorize as Sam’s fundamental flaws that simply... aren’t. The big examples are hubris, rage, and disloyalty. 

But, I mean, since when does Sam have a rage problem? When he shoved John in s1? When he shot Jake, who actually, literally killed him? When he confesses in s5 that he is angry about the horrible circumstances of his life, the ways that he’s been manipulated and controlled and hurt both by people close to him and by powers beyond his control? Frankly, I would be more concerned if Sam weren’t angry, and in fact I get concerned about this very thing in s6+. Wrath is only a ~~flaw~~ if it’s consistently externalized in ways that hurt people. To say that there is a rage beast underneath Sam’s iron control, to hammer on this idea that this rage is oooh more scary because Sam’s generally in control of himself, rather disregards what actually makes anger issues... issues. 

Hubris, and disloyalty, well--that’s Dean’s perspective for sure. It’s Dean, rather than Sam, who struggles with being too controlling, and with over-dictating the course of their lives. Sam’s actions in even s4 aren’t particularly based in an overwhelming hubris, but rather in a grim, goal-oriented tunnel vision. There’s a sense less of grandiosity, more of sick determination. 

Okay, so what about actual flaws?

So, like, the thing with Sam and Dean is, well, they’re serial killers for a living. And there is a certain amount of hideous moral compromise that has to be wrapped up in that career, in knowing that you intentionally kill sapient beings all the time, and moreover that at least some of those beings are innocent, or at least don’t strictly deserve death. And all that’s without tallying up the collateral. 

Dean overcomes this hurdle by identifying himself strongly with the righteousness of his motivations, deeply woven into his identity. His own subjective perspective is privileged above those he kills because he, personally, embodies and must always embody a hero. Consequently, his moral struggles are all about placing his own needs and his own (emotionally informed) perspective above that of other people, even, and in some cases especially, if it still causes him personal anguish. He kills Cyrus and narrowly avoids killing Jack not because he hates them, but because he places a higher premium on his conviction that they’re Destined For Evil than on any other potential for mitigating factors.  

Sam does not engage with his personal subjectivity like that. When Sam does something morally objectionable, it tends to be because he’s doing the opposite, which is to totally outsource his moral conflict based on the extremity of the goal he is pursuing or based on his reluctance to trust his own judgment. Sam has the ability to write off harm to himself when he thinks it’s necessary, which, okay; but this also means he can and will write off harm to others too. Sam can rationalize and rationalize and rationalize.

It’s far easier for him to see the big picture than Dean, and thus easier for him to excuse wrongs on the basis of the greater good. Sam’s tolerance for both personal and collateral costs rise exponentially when he thinks there’s a clear end clause in sight--eg the Apocalypse in s4-5, the trials in s8, the Mark in s10, cooperation with the BMoL in s12, saving Mary in s13, even getting to Michael in s14. There’s a certain pragmatic ruthlessness in Sam that’s really, really visible when he’s soulless. 

And sometimes it serves him well! It sometimes means that Sam finds it a lot easier than Dean to engage in the moral grays of sparing individuals on a case by case basis, because his identity is less wrapped up in black-and-white heroism. Though often, Sam’s moral triumphs come when he over-identifies with monsters, such that he’s able to inject and rely on his own subjectivity. And, look, Sam’s goals are, for not an insignificant portion of the show, to prevent the actual literal end of the world, which makes quite a lot of collateral relatively justifiable. But in the end, Sam’s world is just as insular and claustrophobic as Dean’s, with that same inevitably skewed sense of scale, in terms of putting his goals before other people. Sometimes, eg in s13, those goals shift from “prevent the end of the actual world” to “save my family” and that is something that it’s a lot less morally permissible to kill for. 

This flaw is connected to another of Sam’s big problems: he’s altogether too willing to excuse, enable, and even participate in the patterns of harm that others, mostly Dean, engage in, especially in late seasons. Sam has developed a tendency to overcorrect against the involvement of his own perspective. Dean may have spearheaded the plan to trap and later kill Jack in 14.19-14.20, but Sam tricked him into the box, and that is a failing. Sam has adapted to survive, but he tends to externalize and project his own adaptations onto other people as well, even when they aren’t in his situation or don’t want to be: Jack, AU!Charlie, Gabriel, Kevin to some extent. 

It’s a fascinating kind of thing, in which Sam’s tiny, tiny world is thrust against his tendency and even his need for big picture goals and idealizations. It leads to sometimes uncomfortable generalizations and moral justifications.

[alyblacklist]

Hey!!

I am new to your tumblr but I read your fics all the time (and reread them more often than I should admit lol)

I think you’re really amazing!

I’m so relieved that you answer asks and discuss speculation because I really need someone to talk this through.

So, I have watched a couple of other thriller series along the same lines where the makers don’t have any issues killing off major characters off the show.

There are a couple of things that are happening in this show which I think (and I honest to god hope I’m wrong) are building up to them killing off Ressler.

They get together, they partially admit their feelings (which we’ve been waiting for too Damn long) - so they get closure. Ressler is in the hospital, they show him deteriorating, he goes into v-fib.

And all of this is not that much of a game changer but hear me out. The task force is being dismantled and they need to give the viewers sth that they won’t expect. And bring some new spice in s9. With Liz going full time into crime, it seems a lot easier for them to kill off Ressler.

My only counter debate to my point is that they would have killed him off the moment he got shot (like they did with Meera) rather than show him being treated.

I really need to know what you think. Please tell me he’s not gonna die cause honestly who on earth will watch the show then?

Hi there! I have to say a special thank you to you, @alrightygirl, and to my anon (above) who I have lumped in, for the shoutouts on my stories. I came to Tumblr in the first place during the hiatus between S2/S3 in part because I realized some of my fav fanfic authors (@aussieokie !) were here so I am especially happy to read this.

I'm not sure people realize how much we fanfic writers thrive on feedback, and especially on the multi chapter works we invested so much time into. So thank you, and I have to say I really am looking forward to the end of the season so I can step away from the BTS hunt and my inbox and get back to just creating. Hopefully the writers will leave things in a good place in 8.22 so there's plenty to work with. Ok, on to the substance of your ask and I'll put in a jump because I can already tell this is getting long.

I really do NOT think Ressler will die. I didn't think so before 8x19 and I still don't think so after the "medical drama" of 8x20. Because that's what I think they're doing - they're creating drama because it's the end of the season and they want people freaking out and guessing over who will survive. Call it the curse of cable, or thrillers or whatever, but we as audiences have been conditioned to believe that major characters have to die every year, even if it's pointless.

The thing is, The Blacklist has never been that show. They have killed three "main characters" in the life of the show. Meera in S1 (and I later read Parminder only had a one-year deal), Tom in S5 (with huge fanfare and foreshadowing and an entire "hero" arc following a failed spinoff with a new series eagerly awaiting him at NBC), and Samar in S6 after the actress specifically requested to be released from her contract after S5 and gave them time to write her character an appropriate conclusion arc which also had huge foreshadowing.

Could they go a different route this year? Sure. We're late in the life of the show and twists and cliffhangers and budgets all come into play but the thing is - I just still really don't see it when it comes to Ressler.

For me, the characters' perspective is always paramount. What purpose would Ressler's death serve? It would make Liz more upset (because, you know, Sam, Tom, Katarina, her sister, her whole team weren't enough?). And other than that......?

The audience already knows the gravity of the stakes. So does Liz. So does every other character. The only purpose Ressler's death would serve that I see (and to be clear, I am focusing only on the characters in the show not the irrational fandom hate for his character) is to "punish" Liz more, to make her feel worse about what she's done, to deal another body blow on top of all that she's suffered already.

I don't think Liz needs that. (I'm positive nearly all of Reddit disagrees).

She turned herself in to Cooper because she recognized the bloodshed needed to end after she FEARED losing him. She stayed by Ressler's side and spoke her entire speech in the hearse and by his unconscious side because she can't handle losing him too. This is exactly the scenario the writers teased when Eisendrath teased all those months ago that maybe he would use her feelings for him to get her to come back.

Source (X)

He didn't overtly "use" her feelings in the end because that is not Ressler. He is not that guy. But in the end, her feelings for him were EXACTLY why she turned herself in.

I don't think Liz doesn't need to be punished further or suffer more in anyone's eyes except those who still can't come to terms with her war against Red. I don't think the writers feel that way about her character. To the contrary, they introduced a hallucinated Kaplan to try to give her a pass and also had her give lengthy explanations to both Ressler and Aram defending her behavior. I think from all I have read and seen that the writers view Liz as a victim of circumstances caused by Red - something Cooper has also articulated to Panabaker along the way in defending why Liz has done what she's done under extraordinary circumstances. We can all agree or disagree on the why and the method and the extremes but the bottom line is that I think the writers still view Liz as more "victim" or "forced criminal" than diabolical villain so killing Ressler, on top of everyone else Liz has lost, is just another deep blow on top of all the blows that have turned her into who she is. I think we're past the point that that is necessary and we'll be even further past that point after 8.21/8.22 when Liz learns some truths.

This has gotten crazy long so I'll just add these final thoughts which I have also articulated in prior posts:

- I think if the writers were going to write out Ressler - an original character from the Pilot - they would do so with more hype and fanfare and story than what he's gotten this season. Sure he was present in 8x19 a lot but it was really Liz's story. She was the heroine saving him and moving them from place to place while he suffered. I think the writers have enough respect for Diego to give him at least as much substantial story as Tom and Samar got in their sendoffs if this was really the end. He's a good guy and a good character and he deserves more than for his final moments to be a quiet fade to black in Vfib in a hospital with only Park present (or even Liz present for a final, vague, goodbye). A show that can't do that isn't a show I'm interested in watching, you know?

- his agents congratulated him on the S9 renewal back when it was announced. Hardly an indicator that a major character is getting jettisoned.

-You'd also think, if he was leaving this season, that he'd be doing more to elevate his profile on social media like he did at the end of Homeland to gear up for a new gig. He's done NOTHING.

-Finally, there has been literally nothing in JB's recent interview with The Blacklist Exposed, any of the BTS, the press, the episode descriptions, the crew photos, or anything else to date to indicate that a major actor/character is leaving. I know people can hide the ball but usually in this show, something slips through. So far - nothing. (No, I don't take Megan's thank you's or wrap party photos that way).

Anyway, hopefully we'll all be here at this time next year (or a few weeks earlier if things are back to normal), analyzing S9 and all that has happened. Thanks for the ask!

[mangywayway]

Okay, having a Pokèmon AU myself I'll add "my team" and why I think it suits them (also YES PLEASE BILLY WITH A BANETTE IS A FANTASTIC IDEA OMG)

This will be messy af, sorry in advance lol

Billy's team on my part: Audino, Floatzel, Typhlosion.

Audino, Billy's mom pkmn (in my AU but it can adapted in case 👀). Not a pkmn that ppl will associated Billy with because you know, he's small, he's extremely sensitive and he's a fairy type. But this little thing is a FUCKING TANK. Literally. It can be strong as fuck and really resilient. From on side I want Billy to have something from his mother, and the other I want to give him a shield (kinda).

Also quoting the pokedex: This Pokémon has a kind heart. By touching with its feelers, Audino can gauge other creatures' feelings and physical conditions. Audino's sense of hearing is superb. Not even a pebble rolling along over a mile away will escape Audino's ears.

Yeah, considering Billy's family situation I think it will suit it (give my boy a breath pls)

Floatzel. Literally Billy core. I'm not even going to explain it, just trust me. If Billy was a pokemon, it would be a Floatzel.

Typhlosion. A Pokemon starter, and a fire type. Cyndaquil (the first state of this evo) is small and shy, but at the last it becomes this explosive pokemon. Again, quoting the pokedex: If its rage peaks, it becomes so hot that anything that touches it will instantly go up in flames.

And also: When heat from its body causes the air around it to shimmer, this is a sign that it is ready to battle.

Steve team, on the other hand is: Servine, Ampharos, Gengar.

Okay, Servine, starter pokemon. His entire evolution line is based on royalty. Serperior (it's evo) is called the Regal Pokemon) so I think it will suit well Steve and all his King title. It's also the starter from the Unova region (so basically the USA inspired region) and I think it will the classic starter set chosen by the middle-class fa,ily and stuff like that.

Also quoting from the pokedex: Servine’s one weakness is its inflated sense of pride. It takes a while for Servine to be able to cooperate with other Pokémon. <- this scream a lot s1 Steve honestly

Ampharos is a pokemon used a lot when ppl get lost in the sea, because the type of it's tail is really bright (Ampharos, the Light Pokémon. Ampharos emits a strong light from the tip of its tail, which can be seen over long distances and serve as a beacon to those who are lost). Outside of the fact that this is the most motherly pkmn I could think of without it being too obvious, I also love the idea of it serving as beacon to those who are lost (Flayed Billy coff coff),

Also pls, look at the Mega form and all its FLUFF

Last one, Gengar .

Again, she's just perfect. Usually this pokemon it's considered a prankster, but usually people have a lot of prejudice against it (being a Ghost type etc). So yeah, I think that it will be a pokemon Steve will bond with for various motives (and also to piss of his parents).

Pokemon AU Billy and Steve's teams ideas...GO

Cause I wanna draw them. However Steve having Tinkaton and Gengar are a must have. And Billy has a Banette

(For people unaware, about Banette lore: "Being driven to life by a powerful grudge, it keeps its life force safely in its body by the means of its zipped up mouth. If unzipped, it would lose its energy.")

Just saying Billy holds alot of grudges. Thanks to @lamay13 for this idea! 🥰

Also tagging: @mangywayway @thediktatortot @half-oz-eddie @stranger-rants cause I'd think you guys would enjoy this lmao

[thetaoofbetty]

what's the sad thing about all this? it's the fact that in season 1 polly and betty seemed to care about each other a lot before alice sent her daughter to the soqm. betty lost her sister way before s5, we pratically saw polly disappear slowly from betty life. she might be the one who's surrounded by a lot of people but right now she's the most lonely, the rest of the core 4 at least talked a bit to someone, even cheryl tried to with minerva, betty still keeps everything inside. she lost a father, a sister, her boyfriend (people think she's happy that she kissed that red-head, literally so happy that when he said he still have feelings for v, she was like dude who told you i wanted something more with you) her bestfriend (i miss beronica pls), her brother i guess (charles memeber of the bughead funclub, comeback) and now she has to take care of a mother in pain and her nephew and niece. this is so sad, i really don't want polly to die :( how much pain betty can stand until she snaps??

i feel like polly disappeared from the start tbh. 

she was already at the sister’s in s1 then she went off to the farm? they didn’t even know she’d had the twins, right? really should have gotten some naming advice there, pollykins. 

betty doesn’t really talk to anyone who isn’t jughead, let’s be real (and sometimes cheryl, it’s sort of an interesting thing where they stick cheryl in there nowadays but they should either make them friendlier or use the family connection so it seems less odd. kevin this season sometimes too which makes me think there’s a reason for it later on but we’ll see). betty is very closed off and with good reason to be? what did talking get her growing up? nothing. archie is shown in the very start of s1, ep 1 to not pay attention to a word she’s saying so it probably just reinforced the idea that no one cared what she had to say. 

i find jughead very interesting in contrast to betty, where he’s not as closed off as she is but gives the impression that he is. he’s also written in a very femgaze manner when it comes to her. he doesn’t just hear her, he sees her. that’s very important in how they write bughead and it’s very important to the way betty interacts with him. she’s not scared to talk to him because he’s a: not judging her and b: she knows he’s listening to what she’s saying. 

(i have many thoughts about the writing and why this is both a good and bad thing when it comes to betty’s character: mainly, again, things becoming about jughead’s reaction to betty’s trauma vs remembering that it’s betty’s trauma that the scene is about) 

but yes, i don’t know how much more she can take in the context of what’s going on with her. the serial killer, her missing sister, her likely dead sister. her mom, her lack of a support system, her repressed issues, etc. it’s a lot and i have a feeling it’s probably not all going to come out until the musical. maybe before a little? the musical seems like it’s definitely already being considered within the cooper storyline so i think we’ll see a lot of stuff looking back once the season is over. 

i do think, in the end, someone will be there for her. and we all know who that’s going to be.😭

[beautifulterriblequeen]

Trust No One: Aaravos as Plague

This is a messy and convoluted and branching set of headcanons and theories so I’m going to keep it to bullet points as much as possible. But if you ever want to know more about something on here, just ask!  My thanks to @kotikala​ for brainstorming with me for a few hours one night last week (and for making the gif below). It was a whole ride, and we had crazy amounts of fun.

It all started when I got to looking, yet again, at these two pix:

1000 years ago, the Sunfire and Moonshadow rulers held their own staffs

but 300 years ago, they had diversified into warrior and wizard

in the first pic, Aaravos’s eyes are glowing

in the second, the two staffbearer elves’ eyes are glowing

glowing eyes means using big magic

Aaravos’s eyes glowed when he was controlling Viren

so what’s he up to in the pic? Controlling someone else?

is that even Aaravos or do we just see his spooky astral form while he’s actually possessing some other poor elf there, like he did with the Sunfire mage at the Sunforge?

Theory: Aaravos hacks people with his magic. He’s is a hacker, and he can spread his influence from person to person this way, like a plague.

It’s what he did with the elves after Xadia was split.

It’s what he’s doing with Viren.

He’s going to keep using the same tricks.

It’s what Viren was trying to copy with a dark magic workaround.

And it’s what Aaravos is doing to others in the show already.

It’s what he did with the elves after Xadia was split

The most terrifying thing about Aaravos isn’t his powers. It’s that you never know who Aaravos is, so you don’t even know when his powers are being used. Who can you trust, when more than one person around you might be Aaravos, or Aaravos-manipulated?

Basically: TRUST NO ONE (ghhhh I love shows like this so much)

Aaravos sent a caterpillar to Viren because a worm is a type of virus

Dark Callum was an attempt to hack Callum’s mind while he was sick, and he was only saved because of Harrow’s influence on him

the plan to split Xadia interfered with Aaravos’s own plans, so he set about foiling the elves by hacking them and puppeting and/or impersonating them, and then making important decisions of state in disguise, by manipulation, and by creating an environment of isolation and mistrust

at some point, the elves finally realized what Aaravos was doing and had to band together to stop him

enter the Sunfires and the Moonshadows, defenders of the border and the peace, such as it was

the book pages involving Aaravos all show Sun, Moon, and Stars on them, but no other identifiable primal symbols

so what did they discover? Aaravos can turn into other people, using their primal magic, in perfect copies of them. The elves had no way to tell which among them were the OG elves and which were Aaravos

It’s what he’s doing with Viren

the pod that’s growing at the end of S3/in TTM has a black-eyed Viren inside it--eyes black like Aaravos. Yet the Viren we saw Claudia resurrect has normal skin. Maybe Aaravos stole Viren’s magic--and his gray skin with it--and plans to impersonate him, while Claudia resurrected Viren’s corpse using enough vitality to restore him to his original appearance after Aaravos pulled his magic out. Each of them only intended for there to be one Viren, but now there are two, because Claudia took a shortcut

the pod is the final step in copying a person, but it starts with the blood ritual, and the caterpillar needs primal magic to grow (see: Viren getting irradiated by the Sun staff and spitting out a much larger caterpillar than he swallowed)

that means it would be a lot easier to grow elves than humans, because they already have primal magic in them, and they’re in Xadia which is also full of primal magic. Aaravos had to lure Viren to Xadia to get the caterpillar to grow

not knowing who to trust among the ruling elven leaders changed things up

the elves split their rule, from having a single ruler who also wielded the primal stone staff to having two. 700 years after Xadia was divided, the Moonshadows are led by a mage and an assassin, and the Sunfires have a queen and a mage. That way, if one of them gets podded or possessed by Aaravos, they can’t make unilateral decisions and use their power or magic to create chaos

but not everyone Aaravos manipulates has to be a ruler. If he can whisper in a baker’s ear, or a servant’s, or a certain soldier at just the right time, that person can do the influencing on rulership for him. There are always myriad targets for Aaravos to choose from. How can the elves possibly protect their people?

cue the Sunfires and Moonshadows again, as basically the Order of the Phoenix--oh hey, Phoe-Phoe!

we saw what Queen Khessa did with the Sunforge, using it to attempt Viren’s murder. She���s probably killed other humans this way over the years. We see the device as cruel and the practice as racist.

but once upon a time (and this is what gives this theory some actual weight for me) the Sunforge could have been a tool of detection in a world of lies and deceit

the Sun arcanum is about revealing truth, just like Viren’s true face was revealed

300+ years ago, Queen Aditi used the Sunforge to test her fellow elves for truth or Aaravos-level deception. Any false pod elven pretenders who were placed in its scorching beam would be destroyed, while true elves who had not touched dark magic would not be harmed

the Sunforge was one of the only ways the elves could truly trust each other: they all had to submit to the bodyscan, just like in Among Us.

maybe the Moonshadow elves had to turn a bit KGB in this part of the story, using their stealth to sneak in and drag people out of bed in the night to take them to the Sunforge by dawn so they could be tested by Aditi

possibly Moonshadows were sent on pod hunts back in the day, to take out creepy pod people who weren’t finished growing--or who had become nothing but batteries for Aaravos’s schemes--a dark mercy either way, but very Moonshadow

but if the Sunforge was a detection device, the Wonderwall was a prevention device. A firewall, run on Moon power

Nyx said that the Wonderwall keeps out soulfangs and husks. Each of those is an unnatural creation: either too much soul or too little. Either way, the Wonderwall seems to let living things pass only if they have one soul and one body (that match, if it can detect that)

Aaravos couldn’t step in there inside another elf without getting burnt out of them

the oasis isn’t just a safe haven from the desert, it’s a safe haven from uncertainty and mistrust, the one place Moonshadows know they can trust someone to be who they seem, possibly used as a meeting spot to plan Aaravos’s capture, and maybe even execute it

Aaravos had to take Aditi out somehow - she ran the Sunforge and it was ruining his plans. The way he destroyed Khessa looked like he was burning her Sun magic out of her, and that’s super karmic not only because she was trying to kill Viren that way, but if that’s how Aditi ran the Sunforge the last time he knew her

He’s going to keep using the same tricks

the first place that Aaravos took Viren in Xadia was back to the Sunforge, to disable it. Now the Viren body he’s growing in his pod cannot be detected in the usual way, and he can go about doing whatever he wants. Except that Claudia totally resurrected OG Viren, so... Claudia actually becoming a problem for Aaravos? Hmm.

The next step should be the oasis then, since it’s specifically meant to keep out Aaravos’s puppets (a term used in the art book, and possibly meant literally as well as figuratively). He should be looking for a way to bring it down, which means more Moonshadows and Nyx

since we haven’t seen pod Viren hatch yet, I’m not sure whether Aaravos needs the original alive as a tether for his copy, or if he discards them like he did the Sun mage. Maybe he did want Claudia to resurrect Viren after all because he needs his life force to power pod VIren. Or maybe he was genuinely done with Viren because he had all the power he needed (ahaha Viren quote) to grow his own Viren, and it can live on its own now

It’s what Viren was trying to copy with a dark magic workaround

remember when the creators said in an interview about Harrow that yes, he’s dead, but that we would see him again?

maybe Viren was trying his darnedest to make that happen in S1

yes I’m back on my Dadbird bullshit okay, it’s a really fun theory, bless whoever came up with that one

here’s the new hot take: Viren did swap Pip and Harrow’s souls via the soulfang, and once he had Runaan imprisoned, he did indeed plan for the elf to “walk out of here” once he cooperated...as Harrow

in the novelization of S1, Viren used a black candle to aid in transferring Runaan into the coin, whereas the red candles are used for making smoky creatures come to life

in the show, there was a black candle in the dungeon cell on the table

That bowl of ash could be Harrow’s ashes, his DNA basically, Viren never throws anything away, too pragmatic

the second that Runaan gave up the goods on the mirror’s secrets, Viren would’ve “repaid his wise counsel” in a different way than he did for Lain and Tiadrin: by using Harrow’s ashes and the black soul-transfer candle to scoop Runaan’s soul out of his body, morph it into Harrow’s form using his DNA imprint from the ash, and then fetch Pip from the cage to put Harrow’s soul back in a body that looked exactly like his old one. Runaan’s body would’ve walked out of that cell, but it wouldn’t have looked like him anymore, and he wouldn’t have been inside it

looking at that mirror and knowing he was being watched by an elf who’d crawled inside other people and ridden them around Xadia must’ve been so freaking creepy, especially to a Moonshadow, no wonder Runaan got skeeved and called it worse than death--and he barely avoided the same fate himself, even if neither he nor Viren knew the connection

And this whole plan of hopping bodies and souls? It’s the dark magic version of what Aaravos does with his pod people, just like the coining spell is a dark magic version of how Aaravos is trapped

It’s what Aaravos is doing to others in the show already

once you realize that a character has the ability to flawlessly imitate other characters, all bets are off on who’s who

that goes for anyone else Aaravos might already be talking to in caterpillar form or possessing astrally, since he probably can’t make pods of people in Katolis due to a lack of primal magic

I started wondering if there was another poor person Aaravos was already puppeting in the background, and I found one: Saleer

in S2E1, Councilman Saleer advocates against retaliation in a council meeting and Viren isn’t pleased

what do you do with those who defy you to your face? You persuade them to join your side

in S3E1, Ezran’s banther just up and growls at Saleer, as if it can sense that something’s off about him, hmmm animal instincts

Saleer is the last to bend the knee to King Ezran

later in the same episode, Saleer reacts differently than everyone else to some surprising news, seeming to murmur about it toward his own right ear

at some point I think Wormavos bit Saleer, and he’s been puppeted by Aaravos ever since, just like the Sun mage was--except that Aaravos is keeping Saleer alive because he’s not done with him yet. This is extra scary because it means Aaravos could be controlling Viren, Saleer, and the Sun mage all at the same time, or be able to switch at will amongst them, a la Horde Prime or Ultron

Saleer orchestrates Viren’s release from the moment he hears that Rayla and Callum are taking the egg back to the Dragon Queen, but our eyes are usually on Viren so we don’t really notice that he initiates everything including working the crowd

basically every time other people are shocked, Saleer isn’t

when Viren does the Hearts of Cinder spell, Saleer moves to stand on his right to avoid getting bespelled

then back to back shots show that Aaravos replaces Saleer on Viren’s right. Even though Aaravos has 4 inches on Viren in height, he’s shown shorter than Viren

since the HoC spell takes place after the Sun mage’s possession and death, it seems Aaravos’s sudden appearance is a direct hint that Aaravos is currently possessing Saleer’s body like he did the Sun mage, and by inference has been for some time, what with all the calm collectedness and the smirking he’s been doing most of the season

Saleer survives the final battle unscathed and is arrested without anyone knowing of his connection to Aaravos or his extra connection to Viren. This raises the question: what will Saleer’s fate be in S4 and onward? Will he die mysteriously, abandoned now that he’s of no use? Will Aaravos keep using him to cause chaos in Katolis? Will anyone figure out that he is/was a puppet?

I sure hope Jonathan Holmes is having fun voicing his complicated messy evil guy with Jason Simpson! The boys deserve to have fun at work.

the fandom is contractually owed one (1) conversation between Barius and Runaan as balance now, I don’t make the rules

So, to sum up

Wormavos functions just like a worm virus, establishing itself in a host and then seeking out additional systems to infect via bite, and everyone that gets bitten becomes an at-will vessel for Aaravos to use, expanding his system exponentially

it’s impossible to tell who is under his control without extraordinarily powerful primal magic tests, which he’s disabling

he’s already spreading and no one knows he’s even there yet. Saleer might not be the only character Aaravos is operating, and we might not know who he gets a hold of in the future until it’s too late

in short, trust no one, and fix the Sunforge asap.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Timeless Ask; If you're a Flynn stan what are your thoughts on Denise? Especially considering what she does at the end of S1

It's curious that you should ask. The show never circles back to that or calls her out on it. Early Season 2 still has everyone but Lucy in a state of mistrusting Flynn, so no one thinks of it as the wrong move. Eventually, the (fanmade) Season 3 finale has Lucy throw it in Denise's face, but by that point it had been so long since it happened, not to mention Denise orchestrated Flynn's escape. I think that may have been meant to be her "making it right" with him. So ironically, Lucy came across as the jerk in that argument, at least to me. But back in Season 1, when it happened, Denise definitely crossed the line. She didn't just betray Flynn, she betrayed Lucy by using her as a pawn to capture him. Lucy seemed to get over it rather quickly, but on the other hand - she hasn't gone on the "Rescue Amy" mission yet so she doesn't have much choice but to be okay with it. What confuses me is that Denise's actions are clearly motivated by her lawful good alignment. So in that sense it does add up for her character to do this...but here's my question: What, exactly, is Flynn being arrested for? What charges? The show never really specifies. Denise mentions terrorism but like...how? She knows the truth now, why he stole the Mothership. He's also agreed to surrender it and been generally cooperative with Lucy’s plan. True, he committed armed robbery, but no one was hurt, and he was stealing the Mothership from Rittenhouse. Y’know...kind of like what the Time Team did toward the end of S1? When they stole the Lifeboat from literal government agents? And Denise was an accomplice? If Flynn is a “terrorist” then so is everyone on the Time Team. 

Pretty much everything else is stuff that he did in the past - meaning there’s not a shred of evidence. How are they going to prove that he shot Lincoln? No body, no weapon. Sure, Al Capone said Flynn was behind him shooting Rufus, but...it’s the word of Al Capone. All of the examples are like this. The only crime he commits in the present is killing Anthony, and he can easily pin that on the recently un-masked Emma, especially since she had motivation to protect the Mothership as well. All of this is moot without testimony from the Time Team, and they never get called in to testify. Even if they had, Flynn has the journal. His lawyer can argue that Lucy started all this by leaving him detailed instructions. Speaking of that...did Flynn ever get a lawyer? I don’t recall seeing one. 

Seriously, Denise knows about Rittenhouse now. She must know by now that Flynn didn’t kill his family, that he was framed. Even if she doesn’t, Ethan Cahill discovered the identity of Iris and Lorena’s killers in the dossier he made. Lucy literally hands Flynn proof of his innocence just before he’s arrested. (Conveniently, they never state the charges.) So my question is, just what is Denise playing at? Why would she do this? She’s the “McGonagall” of the team, she is mama bear, but she obviously trusts Lucy’s leadership in her stead. When Flynn goes on his first jump with the team, she immediately declares Lucy to be in charge. So why doesn’t Denise trust Lucy’s judgment call on this? If she trusts Lucy, and Lucy trusts Flynn, shouldn’t that be enough? Barring that, why is he arrested if Rittenhouse has been exposed to the world? That should logically lead to Flynn being exonerated. 

[safflowerseason]

have you listened to the oc pod? you totally called it on melinda making it work! she's doing her homework! and actually steering the conversation to interesting ground. i think the first episode benefitted from bilson/schwartz's comfort with each other. it will be truly fascinating to see mckenzie/brody/barton on

Hi Anon - I did manage to find the time yesterday to listen...although I had to divide it up because I just don’t have two spare hours one after the other, lol.  It was definitely better than I thought, just in terms of the quality of the hosting. Melinda Clarke seems to have really done her research and really wants to delve into all the nitty gritty dimensions of the show, which is great. Rachel Bilson wasn’t as bad as I thought, she had some thoughtful things to say. She has this kind of...diffident goofiness about her that sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t...at some point she had really incisive things to say, and at other times she had nothing to say! Since Josh Schwartz was the guest, they were obviously just going to let him talk about whatever he wanted on his own time and not over-direct the conversation. 

I had actually never read or heard or seen an interview with Josh Schwartz before, so it was interesting to hear him talk about the show for the first time. I didn’t come away with a great impression...he just seemed like a typical east coast condescending white male who is aggressively mediocre yet thinks of himself as very artistic and philosophical and brilliant. I thought it was significant/funny that he mentioned how basically the Fox execs would never have let him run the show on his own because he was so young and green. And the part where he talked about how the first season of any show is a like a start-up and you hope by the time you hit season two you know what works and what doesn’t...man, they just had no sense of what was good about S1 and what wasn’t. 

Sadly I don’t really think we’re going to get any groundbreaking Marissa Cooper takes on the show...I think both Josh Schwartz and Mischa Barton (if they ever get her on) are pretty unreliable narrators where the character is concerned, and they’ve both had a lot of time to tell themselves their own versions of the story to get over what happened to Marissa and to the show as a whole. It is also very clear to me after listening that Schwartz really conceived of this show in terms of the male relationships and the male experience, and the female characters were just there to create drama for the men. Like I basically agreed with everything he said about Ryan and Seth and Sandy and how he conceived of the characters...he wasn’t wrong about it was really unusual to see genuine male friendships and male bonding experiences presented positively on tv at that time, and I can give credit where its due around the writing of that trio and their relationships with one another. But the male perspective was so unfailingly centered again and again...in some ways I believe that Schwartz just doesn’t consider Marissa to be that important even though the character was so iconic. And he just got lucky in casting great actresses who managed to elevate the material (esp. Clarke and Kelli Rowan.) 

There was also a moment where Schwartz corrected Rachel Bilson’s grammar ON TAPE and I literally said “are you fucking kidding me” aloud in my room. i cannot believe they just left that in, it was such a bad look! It was kind of weird but their banter made me think less of him...he came off a bit too snarky and snotty where she was concerned. also sending in his own voicemail about how great he was...that was very un-charming. 

There were some fun tidbits, though...I loved all the casting stories, because I’m obsessed with casting...when Josh Schwartz talked about how Ben McKenzie’s face just did so much for him in the pilot, totally agreed with that...how originally there was supposed to be a car accident at the end of episode seven, instead of the overdose...and Melinda was so thoughtful and calm and just a great host, I really hope she just takes the lead and delves into the research and gets into all the messy, critical stuff. 

There are definitely some things they’ll need to work on, like coordinating messages/questions from fans with the theme of the episode. that awkward moment where Melinda played a message from a fan asking about an iconic fashion moment and then they all got distracted when Rachel Bilson brought up Ryan’s choker? But also was that question just for the pilot or in general?? so a few knots to iron out for sure, but there’s definitely promise! I think it will be important to see how Rachel Bilson does when her literal brother-in-law is not the guest. 

[cadomoisspokenfor]

Legion Rewatch Notes,

Chapter 8:

The Revolution

Aw man, how unfortunate what’s happened to Clark. I feel soooooooo bad. I mean he was just humble div 3 agent, doing his job, gaslighting marginalized individuals, participating in a genocide. How cruel of those bad bad mutants to injure him so badly. He was only actively about to kill David. What could he possibly have done to deserve any of this?

In other words, the Clark propaganda is not working on me this time. At all.

Maybe don’t participate in a genocide? Idk :/

I normally hate when people type in the passive aggressive way I have been for the past few paragraphs, but goddamn, Clark deserves it.

He’s not quite as damaged... but he’s kind’ve like old David here, from the over-medicated living with Amy timeline. Again, not quite as damaged as that though.

Clark considers mutants a “threat to democracy.” 🙄 “Moral panic” I guess?

“The second I walk outta this room, i’m going to war.” There’s that word again. Clark could just... not, and they’d probably have more time to figure out how to safely eradicate Farouk. But because he doesn’t and David busies himself with peace treaties, Farouk escapes and continues to be a problem for the next year. Clark has a family. A husband and child who love him to death. And he chooses war over them. This pattern will repeat in other character. Technically this isn’t even the start of it.

Suit change, new cane, same Clark. This really doesn’t change anything, does it? He could go through the rest of the series in the suit he wore before and it wouldn’t make difference. The valiant hero dressing for an expected victory over their long time (relatively) rival, only to be stopped immediately by an unforeseen development. This pattern will repeat... tragically.

Considering Farouk!David woulda just dusted them, it’s probably nice for his friends to see the real him is much less violent. He just stacks em like a Jenga Tower, no need for anything more.

Also, Wilhelm scream from one of the soldiers.

He’s also talking strangely. In an almost too calm voice. Measured. He talks like this a few other times, but I think those times have sadder context. Maybe they reflect on this moment. He talks like how he talked when Farouk was mind-melded with him, but his intentions aren’t evil this time around. I guess this is just his “fully in control” voice.

Clark’s literally shaking where he stands.

The zoom in to Clark’s blind eye is reminiscent to previous zoom in’s to Walter’s foggy eye. I guess Clark has taken on the role of Walter, artificially. Makes sense since he’s now the main D3 representative/antagonist like Walter was before.

“I don’t care if you save me, or the world, if you don’t save yourself.” David will eventually choose himself over the world, and Syd. And Syd will hunt him for it. Goes to show how much things change in s2.

“You know the most dangerous thing about schizophrenia?”

“You’re not-“

“The most dangerous thing is believing... you don’t have it! That’s the trick, the mind killer, your disease convinces you you don’t have it. So, for example, one day in the hospital you meet a girl and she has some friends, and they tell you you’re not sick. You have superpowers. And more than anything you wanna believe it because that means you’re not crazy! That means you can fall in love and live happily ever after. But you know if you believe it, if you surrender to the hope and you’re wrong, then... you’re never coming back.”

“I’m here. I’m real. The power is real. You gotta accept it, otherwise we can’t move on.”

“I was in Clockworks for six years. Drugged, doing nothing. Contributing nothing. And now, finally I can be useful! I can help! Don’t you get it? I am so sick of myself. This only works if it’s not about me.”

“David...”

So... that’s a lot. David believes being crazy means he’s not allowed to fall in love, or be happy. He said the same sentiment to Amy before Clockworks. This whole season and this episode especially push David into his full “I’m not insane, I won’t believe you if you tell me otherwise” mindset. At the very least that’s the stakes we’re playing with. If David fully gives into the hope, even for a moment, he believes there’s no possibility for recovery. No possibility for love or happiness. Why even try after that? It’s life or death for him. “If the choice is between life and death, I choose life.”

I know this is all already known and talked about and circulated 100’s of times over in various fan circles, but it’s probably the most important line for David’s character (the speech, not the Farouk quote). It’s very ableist, yes, but at least in the moment it’s coming from someone who’s just being too hard on themselves, and not ya know, being actively validated by the show.

2 episodes ago David talked about being worried about an “invincible” feeling. The dangers of mania.

We also know from that episode that David is more at peace in a calm, responsibilityless setting (with Syd) than he is out in the real world. David’s gonna take on a ton of responsibility, some of it’s gonna draw him away from Syd. At multiple moments throughout the show David has known his own mental health better than any of the others, and even warned them about potentially dangerous slopes he could fall down without their help. Despite this, David is pushed further down a path he tells them is dangerous and is still blamed for what happens in the end. I feel like Oliver’s line from ep4 is relevant here again, “We are the root of all our problems. Our anger, our confusion, our fear of things we don’t understand.” Everyone wants David to be something other than... David. A hero, a god, there projected image of a perfect partner. Not just... David.

Man, the more I realize about David’s self-awareness in s1 the madder I am at Syd for saying all that ableist stuff to him in s2 as if he wasn’t already down on himself 24/7. “It never occurred to you that you’re the problem not the solution?” It’s occurred to him like 5 times by now and has been shut down by you at least 3 of those times. I don’t understand.

What’s strange is... to my recollection David doesn’t believe he’s invincible at the end of s2. Or that he’s not sick.

“Saint David.”

“I’m not saying that. I make mistakes.”

“Say you’re gonna let them kill me if I don’t let them turn me into something different. Something easy. Something clean.” He sounds sinister here, but it is an indication that he knows he’s not perfect. In fact it sounds like he’s trying to appeal to Chap 1 Syd’s mentality. Your disorder is what “makes you you.”

So what’s the message here?

“We can’t just kill people. Or is that who we are now?”

“That’s who they are.”

The justification for killing here is that they’ll kill them if they don’t. Div 3 will kill Summerland if Summerland doesn’t kill Div 3, is what I meant. David has a similar justification for killing Shadow King in s2. Well, he has a LOT of justifications for it, but that’s one of them. Syd doesn’t hear it then either. She does attempt to kill David herself though. I don’t quite understand where the line is.

“He was gonna kill you, twice.”

“With that kind of thinking wars would never end.”

So... he shoulda just talked to The Shadow King when they were both powerless? Talking is what ultimately ends their fight in s3... hmm...

Cary is more humane to their POW than Melanie and Ptonomy are.

The show doesn’t necessarily say it was Cary’s fault for leaving Kerry. Either way though, Kerry needs some space.

Melanie calls David a “world breaker” and outright says now that he knows that’s what he is, div 3 doesn’t stand a chance. I suppose... knowing that... is why they so readily team with Farouk. They stood no chance otherwise. Even then, at least hide him away till after the intervention.

David’s floating meditation pose is seen more in s2 and A LOT more in s3.

He puts the onus of ending the war on Div 3. As if to say, “If things get violent again, it’ll be on you, not us.”

People keep talking about “gods” “waking up” and “realizing they don’t have to listen to us/them anymore.”

When Clark says it David’s first response is, “Isn’t that the history of the world?” But it’s a red herring (or something else) cause he follows it up with, “People of different nations, different languages, learning to live together?”

Clark is afraid if mutants gain power they won’t show humans mercy or equality. This is a common belief among fascist. The “they’ll treat us like we treat them” argument. Only it’s rarely self-aware, and it isn’t here either. Clark genuinely believes he’s not doing anything wrong. It’s all somehow in “self defense.”

Ah, so Farouk and Syd are connected psychically. He entered her mind whenever she entered David’s. He psychically affects her at multiple points throughout the series.

Syd here is convinced to help The Shadow King by The Shadow King. And while he’s wearing a mask at that. Yeah yeah, this pattern will repeat. But still, Syd gives in relatively quickly here. Perhaps she just... doesn’t fully trust Summerlands capabilities? They are legitimately trying to get rid of Farouk, but Farouk has proven time and time again how dangerous he is. Or maybe the “unmake soup” thing is just that convincing to Syd.

Clark’s still standoffish, but he’s slowly becoming more cooperative.

Syd rolled a 4 on that hero speech. She needed at least a 7.

I legitimately NEVER noticed before that Syd secretly turns on the lab camera feed for Clark to watch. They weren’t trying to show him that.

David gets a chance to look back at his whole life and recontextualize everything.

David straight up halts Farouk’s theme. If Clockworks Podcast is right and he can hear that whenever Farouk shows up, this would be evidence of it. Alternatively, he was halting Farouk, and the music halting was for the audience. A fun subversion of expectations.

David describes him and Farouk as, “The Sun and Moon.”

Division 3 sees it. The monster they saw on infrared. Clearly a separate entity from David Haller. Clearly of a different disposition than David Haller as David Haller has acted very differently and non-hostile compared to when they saw him roaming those HQ halls. The monster and David are not the same. They see who their real enemy is now.

It seems evident there was no chance of David beating Farouk on his own here. I wonder why? Was it true? Is Farouk just too ingrained in his mind? Cary said he was like a, “Computer virus. Learning his systems, bypassing his defenses.” Maybe Syd remembered that, and that’s why she believed Farouk. Cause Cary had already said something similar before.

Clark could've escaped, but he stayed, then tried to help fight Farouk.

I feel really sad Oliver got possessed. It never occurred to me before he could even tell Melanie he remembered her. Melanie’ll just go on thinking he never remembered her for a year.

And thus it’s established. There are “good mutants” and there are “bad mutants.”

No one checks on Ptonomy :(

The Lenny that’s talking to Oliver here is still just Farouk.

Did the orb go back as far as it could? Or was this time specifically chosen? If it was chosen, it was probably because it’s very soon after Farouk had been expelled from David’s head, and before the big race for his body starts.

[staliasjeronica]

Riverdale S5 Ep18 Thoughts *Spoilers*

Thoughts under cut to keep tag clean :)

- My boy Fangs giving Betty a free drink <3

- The twins 😭😭

- God Lili is such an incredible actor I wish she was able to truly show it (aka not cringe scenes where she’s pretending to be badass)

- OH THAT’S CHARLES I WAS LIKE?!!? WHO TF? But omg their voices are so good?!?!!? Lol they amplified s1!Betty by a million fshdjf

- “Those seven years we lost after graduation” acting like you two were supposed to be together? He cheated on you with your “best friend” but anyways at least I know VA are bones after this episode

- Britta living at the school aw my poor sweet child “THERE’S NOTHING DEVIANT ABOUT YOU” wait but the Choni parallel?! I love Toni sm

- fuckkkkk Lili’s voice 💕💕💕 “And I miss my mother”

- “Jones, does that work for you?” FUCK ME UP. I know that they’re currently fake dating but still MUAH “You could just ask me to be your real boyfriend” shut the fuck up I am going to collapse?! “I’m trying to tell you I like you” JABITHAAAAAAA RISINGGGGGG “I could be perfect for you, I might be lazy, a loner, a bit of a stoner"

- Jabitha kiss has a million times more chemistry than any bh scene we love to see it thrown in everyone’s faces <3

- “Glamazon” lmao but poor Betty watching her mom spiral 😭😭

- Jeronica eating at the same table muah nah but Jughead always gets her references smh why couldn’t Jughead have stayed </3 LET JERONICA HAVE AN ACTUAL FRIENDSHIP YOU COWARDS

- Polly’s ashes </3 “tell Betty to stop being such a brat” god we missed out on Cooper sibling arguing and rivalries it’s so not fair :(

- Considering I lost my mom a few months ago this hits so hard, and just trying to get out and do something is so relatable.

- Veronica and Jughead finally having that comic like friendship but did she have to say redacted that was so??? weird. But Archie staying at the station just so he didn’t have to be with Veronica I giggled for the demise of Varchie

- “to your false gods” so is yours Penelope??? shut up

- Penelope so offended but this bitch really

- a licensed stockbroker… isn’t that what Veronica is? I don’t know jack shit about any of that shit so sjflajdfkaljsfl I just know “wall street” and money that’s it

- REGGIE TALKING ABOUT NYC AND VERONICA HAVING THAT LOOK BC THAT’S WHAT SHE WANTS. IT TAKES REGGIE FOR HER TO REALIZE THAT HER AND ARCHIE AREN’T ON THE SAME PATH? We could have said that in season one and we have but anyways glad it’s finally happening.

- Again, Lili’s voice <3 and also Charles and Polly singing is so good FUCK we deserved so much more

- Betty drove Polly away?? We saw her for two seconds and she was getting into drugs and gangs and shit while living with you… I know she’s just lashing out but damn :( “She died because of you” no but my sister saying the same to me about my mom this shit fucking hurts poor Betty

- “Can we check in” his face was immediately “ugh why…"

- He sees himself in Riverdale and Veronica sees herself in New York mmhm but like that’s literally what s5 before time jump said and so it’s like???????

- that handhold was so platonically romantic wtf

- A BETTY AND KEVIN SONG!? does this mean they can actually act like friends now instead of it being all Betty and only Kevin when they need him for two seconds?? Aw her leaning her head on Kevin’s shoulder

- OMG VERONICA AND TONI TOO YESSSSS

- Aww Kevin and Betty’s hug <3

- TABITHA GO OFF! Defend Jughead muahhhh

- HE GRABBD A FUCKIN ROSE TOO I’M SICKKKKKK A VISION IN BLUE!!! THEY LOOK SO FUCKING GOOD they just ditch love that!

- Jughead’s hands rubbing over her arms FUCK Stalia had that too omg we love ships with immense chemistry! Bughead 0 Jabitha infinity AHHHHH THE KISS AND THE SOUND OF THE KISS?!! I’M DEADDDDDDDDDDDDDD

- Toni going to Cheryl for Britta 🥺💕 “I loved you, and I felt your love. And I know the huge capacity for love your heart has.” FUCK we love Choni

- VARCHIE’S BREAEK UP BEING A DULL BLUE AND BARCHIE’S SCENES ALWAYS BEING GOLDEN AND LIGHT AND HAPPY MMHM

- Veronica initiating the breakup is just so good since she’s the only one who ever put any effort into thee relationship.

- “go back to dating” then what the fuck are you doing now?? Is there a difference???????

- BETTY STAYING IN RIVERDALE FOR HER MOM, AND ALSO ARCHIE SEEING HIMSELF IN RIVERDALE FIVE YEARS FROM NOW?! BARCHIEEEEEEEEE RISING (sounds out of pocket but I know what happens in the end/in the promo for next ep so)

- This is lovely but also does this mean Betty stops trying to be an FBI agent? Hopefully she can be an investigative journalist or something instead because it fits her so much better

- Lili and Madchen’s voices in this song muah so beautiful

- I still find it so interesting that when they don’t have bhva they can actually write better

- wait you’re supposed to bury ashes…? isn’t the point to just pour them someplace the deceased would like and put it in jewelry—

- “I think I love you.” “I think I love you too” I knew it was probably going to happen with the baby and such but where did these feelings come from? Toni and Fangs never showed ANY hint of romantic feelings I—??

- FANGS SINGING? OH a kiss okay-

- VARCHIE BONESSS YASSSSSS FINALLY we’ve waited for this for four seasons!

- This funeral scene though is so </3 I was about to ask why Penelope’s there and then I remembered that she’s related to them asdfghjkl

- VEGGIE AND BARCHIE, CHERYL BEING KIDNAPPED AND SET ABLAZE LIKE SHE’S A WITCH?! BRO WHAT oaky but this promo slapped… we miss them being good at promoting and writing better (s1 we miss you) it’s still crazy but it’s not overly and annoyingly obnoxiously insane to where it’s boring and dumb af I can’t wait!

[leverage-ot3]

notable moments from The Lonely Hearts Job

look at nate and eliot being all domestic reading in the pub

- - - - -

eliot will literally use ANYTHING as a weapon,,, last ep he used an umbrella, this time he used the fucking book he was reading

- - - - -

eliot grabbing the guy’s arm as soon as it got anywhere near nate

im soft eliot wants to protect his family at all costs

- - - - -

*guy starts crying*

nate and eliot, visibly distressed: sOpHIE

- - - - -

Sophie: You don’t have a romantic bone in your body.

(Eliot walks up, laughing)

Sophie: Oh.

Nate: Oh, really?

Sophie: And you’re one to laugh. You don’t even bother to learn their names. They’re just waitress, nurse, stewardess.

Eliot: First of all, it’s flight attendant, all right? They don’t like being called stewardess. And, second, I know their names

okay but I love eliot so much for a NUMBER™ of reasons but one of the things I love about him is that he goes completely against the toxic masculinity trope

he cooks, he likes things clean, but in this scene, it’s yet again established that he listens to and cares about his lovers even if it’s just a one night stand

he doesn’t disregard them, he doesn’t ever disrespect them

eliot spencer drinks respect women juice and I stan him SO HARD for that

- - - - -

Parker (walks in): You guys having a three-way?

Sophie: What?

Nate: What?

Parker: Three-way fight

she’s trying her best, your honor

also I LOVE how nobody looked disgusted or outraged by her question,,, like the concept of a three way (or three person relationship *wink wink*) is not scandalous or frowned upon by them

especially since the ot3 becomes canon later, idk this was a nice little tidbit that just supported the idea that none of the members of the team had anything against non mainstream relationships and I love that

- - - - -

Parker: Let’s go steal a sweetheart. (looks at Eliot) No? A widow.

Eliot: Unh-unh.

Parker: No? Spider?

(Parker and Eliot smile at each other)

Parker: Spider

they’re pure, your honor

- - - - -

Parker (taking pictures with her cell phone) : No matches on Hardison’s software yet. (sees jewelry on an older woman and takes picture) Ooh. Sparkly.

Nate: Parker, no burgling.

Parker: But these jewels, they’re just asking to be taken.

she’s so cute- she deserves all the shiny things

- - - - -

San Gui: Then let’s meet Austin, Texas, native Jackson Cooper!

Eliot (to Hardison): Austin, Texas? Did you write that? (walks forward)

hardison is a troll

San Gui: All right. Now, not only is Jackson the founder of Baren Oil, he also led the underwater team that capped the well in the Gulf. (crowd oohs) Oh, yes.

(Eliot glances back at Hardison)

TROLL

- - - - -

San Gui: That’s right, ladies. Let’s give it up for our last eligible bachelor, Mr. Steven Melching. Come on, Steven. Steven comes to us straight from his compound in Silicon Valley.

Parker: Whoa, whoa, whoa!

parker specifically cheering for hardison gave me serotonin

- - - - -

parker punching hardison’s date in the face and then HOLDING HER BACK BY PUTTING HER HAND ON HER FACE BC SHES SO MUCH TALLER LMAO

+ parker looked so proud of herself as she was carried out by security she’s baby

- - - - -

parker setting up the con board (idk what to call it) and nate bringing her in on the plans

MASTERMIND IN TRAINING

- - - - -

sophie in that dress could punch me in the face and I’d thank her

- - - - -

Hardison: Oh, sure, right. Speaking of which, did you ever find that steak place?

Eliot: The bet’s off.

Hardison: What you mean the bet’s off?

Eliot: The second that we found out they were grifters, the bet’s off.

Hardison: That doesn’t count. You didn’t set --

Eliot: Page 189, rule number 7 in the bro handbook.

Hardison: What? There wasn’t no rules. You didn’t set any rules.

Eliot: The bet is off in a situation where --

Hardison: I’ll be damned if it’s off.

Eliot: All right, then! I’ll make you some prime rib when this is over.

Hardison: Bone in, well-done?

Eliot: Well-done, bone in

they’re both idiots I love them

also they both smiled and chuckled after agreeing on the ribs bc they may fight but it’s not real and they actually love each other

- - - - -

Eliot, looking resigned: Do you want me to teach you about the wines again?

Hardison: That’s just hurtful. Just -- just making assumptions and presumptions that I don’t know what I’m -- Yes, I need you to teach me about the wines again, yes.

the fact that they’ve had this conversation BEFORE lmao

- - - - -

the parker being an absolute RECKLESS driver saga continues

- - - - -

Sophie: True love does exist.

Eliot (raises bottle for a toast): May it always prevail

eliot is the biggest fucking softie and no I will not change my mind

- - - - -

bruh I’m C R Y I N G

eliot cares SO MUCH about his family

he bought gifts for parker and sophie so that they’d be happy, but also it would help their relationships with hardison and nate

he knew parker would like a plant that “does something” (see s1 when parker said she got a plant and asked hardison “what does it do”)

he got sophie her favorite flowers

and was SELFLESS and took none of the credit

he just walked away and smiled

- - - - -

also you cannot convince me that he’s not still thinking about parker and hardison ,,, last episode we had the interaction between him and eliot and the whole “that would mean that I’d be thinking about you and parker, which I never do!” debacle

he thinks about them. all the time. just, until that last episode, he never really realized just how much or what it might have meant

and now, here he is, not too long after, working a con where the team is knee-deep in romance

and eliot thrives

he knew what to get sophie. he definitely knew what to get parker. because he listens, he cares. he doesn’t let the little details slide.

when he picks out the fly trap for parker, he smiles to himself because he knows she will like it and it’ll make her happy. and that will make hardison happy.

eliot doesn’t ask for much. he doesn’t think he deserves half of the wonderful life he’s built with his team.

he won’t let himself be happy in the way the couples can, and would never even dream of being with parker and hardison for real, but he can make them happy. and for him, that is enough.