#like we’re talking about 8 episodes total

[chirpsythismorning]

Netflix has already confirmed they won’t do episode by episode for Stranger Things. I remember a while back they were talking about considering doing it more with the rollouts for their content going forward, and it just so happened ST was brought up and they said with only one season left, and with how well the show has done with being released in whole for the most part, they never intend to change it beyond doing split volumes. So we can pretty much rule out weekly releases for s5.

I guess it really depends on how long the final episode is. I honestly didn’t like the way s4 was split into 2 with 7 episodes for Vol. 1 and then 2 episodes for Vol. 2. It just felt a little uneven.

If they were to split s5 more evenly, with like Vol. 1 being episodes 1-3, Vol. 2 with 4-7, and then Vol. 3 or the final part or whatever being episode 8 with it being over 3 hours potentially, then I don’t think that’s too bad honestly.

I like the idea of volumes because it means the hype can last a while between releases. One episode a week almost sucks more just bc you get like over an hour and then have to wait a week. It’s just not enough to sit back and enjoy imo. I do generally like streamings format for that reason.

But I also don’t like the idea of s5 altogether with the hype dying down after 2 weeks or a month at most. With 2 volumes we could get 3 months of hype, with a 1-2 month waiting period in between. And with 3 volumes we could get like 4 months of hype in. And maybe the wait would be shorter in between in that case with less than a month before the next volume drops.

I could honestly see this happening though if 5x08 is over 3 hrs long and the rest of the episodes are averaging 1.5.

Hi bylers 🫶🏻 what are your thoughts on this?

[lavendermoonlitskies]

I wanna talk about why I think Dead Boy Detectives means so much to so many people after only 1 season

So, we’re all angry and sad and confused right now and I think Netflix needs to understand why canceling this specific show was so upsetting to so many people, myself included.

First of all, they’ve made this a habit. The list of shows that they cancel after only one or two seasons is growing longer and longer, and there doesn’t seem to be any conceivable reason as to why. They hardly advertise their own show, they ignore its impact on the audience showcasing itself right in front of their eyes all over the internet via trending hashtags and campaigns to binge the show so Netflix doesn’t cancel it, and then they cancel it anyway.

The main question is why. Why do they keep canceling these shows that are so well received and manage to grow a passionate audience so soon in its run? The shows aren’t all necessarily similar to each other in the writing, casting, mood and what-have-you, but they do seem to have one thing in common: the audience is full of queer people. Regardless of how society has progressed in the way of LGBTQ+ acceptance, big corporations still have no interest in adding to that if it will hinder their financial gain in any way.

Whoever’s in charge over at Netflix HQ is not interested in taking risks. They seem to have forgotten that a show is rarely going to have record breaking numbers after one season, and if the show doesn’t specifically cater to a cishet audience, that’s all the more reason to pull the plug. That’s why shows like Riverdale go on for so long, that’s why Stranger Things hasn’t been cancelled yet (yes I know there is one single openly gay character in that show, but they’re not actually going to do anything with that and you know it), and that’s why there are countless shows with interesting and entirely unique plots and characters and settings who only get 8-12 episodes in total. Shows that cater to a cishet audience are safe, and despite the fact that Netflix is a multi-billion dollar corporation that can absolutely afford to risk having faith in something that diverts from the norm and attracts the weirdos of this world who just want to watch something that makes them feel seen, they just won’t do it.

I can’t really speak for a lot of these other shows, but Dead Boy Detectives was one of the most unapologetically queer shows I’ve ever seen. In just one season, it left us with some profound commentary on the horrors of hate crime against minorities and how when it occurs, it is all-too-often swiped under the rug and justice never comes. Edwin and Charles were victimized for being different and it is a very real-world issue to see kids like them simply ignored until it’s too late. Do you know how many queer kids saw themselves in Charles as we learned about his abusive father and all around terrible home life? Or how many saw themselves in Edwin when we learned what happened to him? That’s basically a tale as old as time but Netflix must’ve decided that it’s too uncomfortable to bring up to a cishet audience, once again deciding that going with what’s safe for them is better than giving an audience who needs it something to make them feel seen and heard.

It’s even more insane when you realize that the very first Netflix original series was Orange Is The New Black, because now it’s as if they’re going backwards.

[anthurak]

Why I think Grimm!Summer is Going to Happen

So over the last few months I’ve seen a bit of discussion and theorizing on the prospect of Grimm!Summer actually being a red-herring for an even bigger reveal, such as Summer having actually joined Salem and is working with her entirely willingly. With what seems to be a decent chunk of this idea borne out of the idea that Ruby just straight up figuring out the Grimm!Summer twist in Volume 8 feeling like an ‘obvious’ setup for a fakeout.

The thing is (and this is rather ironic given that I was pushing the idea of Grimm!Summer being a red-herring pre-Volume 9), I think we’re not only getting Grimm-Hybrid Summer, but also that Ruby’s big ‘That’s what happened to Mom…’ theory in Volume 8 is actually basically LEGIT. And furthermore, that the writers have actually kind of ‘locked in’ Grimm!Summer to the point that doing some kind of fake-out would significantly undermine and even outright contradict some major plot points in Volume 8.

But to begin, let’s talk about “That’s what happened to Mom…”

The thing is, I totally get why some people might be suspicious of a fake-out here. After all, the main character essentially piecing together what is clearly a massive twist BEFORE the big reveal is something we very much DON’T normally see. This is basically Luke Skywalker walking out of the Dagobah cave in Episode V, sitting down next to Yoda with an absolutely HAUNTED look and straight up stating: “Vader is my father, isn’t he?”

But when has RWBY ever done things NORMAL with fantasy tropes? And Ruby in particular has always been a very ATYPICAL protagonist. So I’d say RWBY’s heroine piecing together a major reveal ahead of time would actually be rather appropriate.

Furthermore, I think what we see play out in this scene is actually very important to one of RWBY’s major overriding narratives: The counterpoint to the repeated use of Unreliable Narrators. With how much RWBY has made use of this trope, that naturally raises the question ‘How can we/the characters be sure of ANYTHING?’ And I think we’re seeing the answer here:

The characters have to piece the answers together themselves.

Ruby finding out that her mother was taken by Salem and turned into a horrific grimm hybrid monstrosity is very much NOT a case of the Unreliable Narrator. Nobody TOLD Ruby this information, she simply figured it out herself.

First, Ruby learned from Tyrian back in Volume 4 that Salem specifically wants her alive.

Then in Volume 6, Ruby learned from Maria that Salem used to simply have Silver Eyed Warriors hunted down and killed. Meaning that something must have changed between Maria’s time and now.

Then in Volume 7, Ruby learned that her mother apparently MET Salem on that fateful final mission of hers.

Finally in Volume 8, Ruby sees this horrifying, monstrous Grimm Hybrid that Salem has created… with a Silver Eyed Warrior inside it.

And with that, the pieces fall into place:

As Ruby herself puts it: “Salem used to kill people with Silver Eyes, like Maria. But she’s always wanted ME alive. But why would that change unless… When she met Mom, she learned she could do something new.”

This isn’t even the first time the show has done something like this. Back in Volume 6, Maria’s and Ruby’s theory that the Silver Eyes originate from or are otherwise connected to the God of Light is NOT something they are ‘told’ but rather something they infer based on observations made during Jinn’s vision.

Given how much RWBY has made use of Unreliable Narrators, I think it’s actually only natural that the information our heroines come across and piece together themselves would be the far more legit answers.

Obviously it might not be the whole story, but it is at least the START of it.

Next let’s talk about Grimm!Summer herself and why I think Summer turning out to have joined and is serving Salem entirely willingly… doesn’t really WORK with everything that’s been set up so far.

The thing is, the big Hound reveal in Volume 8 essentially ‘locks-in’ Summer being the ‘Patient Zero’ of Salem’s whole Grimm Hybrid project. Again, as Ruby herself laid out; Salem used to kill people with Silver Eyes. But now she seems to want them, like Ruby, alive. And it turns out she actually met Summer Rose in the meantime. And now Salem is making horrific Grimm Hybrids using Silver Eyes Warriors. Ergo, meeting Summer is when Salem ‘learned she could do something new’.

So if Grimm!Summer turns out to be a red-herring… then WHERE did the Hybrids come from? Are we supposed to find out that ‘Oh, it wasn’t actually Summer, but rather thanks to some OTHER Silver Eyed Warrior who also just so happened to fight Salem that she learned she could start making Grimm Hybrids’?

Because I don’t think I need to explain why that would be an EXTREMELY UNSATISFYING as a twist. In the ‘red-herring that exists ONLY to be a red-herring’ kind of way.

And with Grimm!Summer as the starting point of Salem’s Hybrids essentially locked-in, I think that kills any possibility that Summer has joined and is working with Salem willingly. After all, I think it’s hard to imagine Summer working with/for Salem fully willingly if she’s also spent years as effectively the Patient Zero for Salem’s twisted hybrid experiments. As I’ve stated elsewhere, I think Summer’s mental state at this point is that she’s ‘willingly’ working for Salem, but only because she’s been so psychologically BROKEN by everything she’s been put through.

Finally, there’s this idea that Ruby ‘figuring out the twist’ in Volume 8 somehow ‘kills the reveal’ of Summer being a Grimm Hybrid. To which I not only VEHEMENTLY disagree with, but I also think it actually MASSIVELY ratchets up the tension surrounding Summer’s fate going forward.

Thanks to essentially figuring the reveal out early, now Ruby has to LIVE with this knowledge. Now this fact of Summer not only being alive, but likely some terrible grimm monstrosity can LOOM over Ruby, Yang, Weiss and Blake, as well as Qrow, Raven, Tai and others who were close to Summer once RWBY fills them in. Going forward, this knowledge will be sitting ominously in the back of Ruby’s mind. I mean it’s pretty clear that this was one of the things weighing HEAVILY on Ruby during Volume 9.

And it gives the appearance of more Grimm Hybrid further down the line an ominous, haunting inevitability for Ruby and her family. Because now she KNOWS that one of these monstrosities isn’t just a silver-eyed warrior like her, but her MOTHER.

It’s basically Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘bomb under the table’ theorem applied to long-form storytelling.

All in all, I do think there’s certainly a lot of really interesting ideas to Summer joining Salem willingly. I just think they don’t line up with where the story seems to be going.

[mlmarint]

so here’s my thoughts about the “daddy issues” thing with the whole anti tommy shit

you guys are such fucking hypocrites

i would be totally on board with someone bringing that it’s not okay to sexualize someone’s trauma if that was the case. but guess whaaaaaaat???? THATS NOT THE CASE. and it’s not “terrible dialogue” either, there’s so many scenes with terrible dialogue in this show, but some of you should really stop and ask yourselfs WHY you didn’t like this one.

if eddie was the one to make a comment like that some of you’d be OVER THE MOON. i’ve NEVER seen ANYONE in this fandom talk about how a LOT of the buddie explicit fanfics have a daddy kink on it. and before any more comments, i REALLY HATE buddie fics with daddy kink because it always reminds me of christopher and do NOT want to think about christopher in that moment.

“that’s not the problem. the problem is that once again buck it’s with someone who doesn’t care about his trauma” oh grow the fuck up.

tommy LITERALLY decided to not date buck because he thought buck wasn’t ready for it, he gave buck his space, he at first didn’t want to go to maddie and chimney wedding with buck because he thought buck was acting on impulse and wanted him to take his time to be okay with who he is, and after he was sure he tried his best to be on time to his date.

and also!!!! buck is a little “freak” in bed guys, he was a literal sex addict in season 1. every now and then the show reminds us this (like the ring cutter scene), also this is the second buck’s relationship with someone who’s like older than him. i wouldn’t be surprised if buck has a canon daddy kink because GUESS WHAAAAAT some people who have daddy issues??? THEY HAVE DADDY KINKS!!!!!

but you guys wanna know what i truly think?

i think that some of you (these tommy antis) are only here for buddie. you’re not here for the show, you’re here for buck and eddie. you’re not here for all these amazing characters!!! you’re not here for the fact that buck being a bisexual man discovering that side of him in his 30s its one of the most important things that happened in this show when we’re talking about lgbt+ characters and the importance of having something like that to be on media.

you’re not here for bi buck, you’re only here if this means that eddie will be with him. you’ll won’t be here if they decide to give a eddie queer discover story non related to buck on season 8 (and i truly think we’re going that way).

you only liked buck and tommy when you could sexualize two man kissing.

if you want to talk about something that is not okay that tommy did why don’t you rewatch the older episodes he’s in? he wasn’t a nice person back then and honestly i would like for them to bring that up!!! for them to show how a person can change and grow out of their prejudice and realize that they don’t need to be an ass and be okay with who they truly are. in fact why don’t we talk about how they hinted the fact that tommy didn’t like who he was when he was working with gerard? that he doesn’t like gerard and that he was a toxic person and that tommy grow up with a racist, homophobic and sexist dad???? that’s why he wasn’t a nice person back than but he’s different now and he’s a proud gay man and that once again that’s a nice thing to have on media because it shows how it’s NEVER too late to come in terms with who you are and change the way your are for better????

tommy isn’t perfect (and no one that he hurt before seems to actually care about it cause he did truly changed), but that doesn’t mean you need to cancel the guy FOR ONE SINGLE comment!!!! part of the 911 team made fun of buck for being sexually assaulted by his therapist but no one canceled them for it, did they?

honestly i am so fucking tired with fandoms in general.

at this point i hope we don’t get buddie being canon FOR A LONG TIME cause i want you guys to suffer with tommy and buck being in a happy relationship.

just remember: eddies it’s not canonical queer yet, there’s hints of it and they probably are going on that road with the whole thing they’re saying on interviews, BUT buck IS BISEXUAL and HE IS dating TOMMY you like it or not and it’s by far the most healthy relationship he EVER had in this show, can’t you be happy for him????

you can be a buddie shipper and still enjoy bucktommy because what we should truly want more than anything it’s buck and eddie to be happy with who they are.

and I SAY ALL THIS BEING A BUDDIE SHIPPER FOR YEARS

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive (please let me know if you've seen the preprint the article mentions. I'd like to read it and I'm having a bit of trouble finding it--and it's not linked in the article... XP)

By Greg Toppo

New working paper is believed to be the first to link weaker memory and diminished ‘flexible thinking’ skills to the pandemic’s academic downturn.

New research may help educators and families zero in on exactly how the COVID-19 pandemic caused such an unprecedented academic slump, suggesting that the culprit lies in something basic and crucial: children’s ability to think, remember and problem-solve.

And here’s a twist: The same core difficulties are bedeviling teachers too.

The findings, contained in a new working paper, are believed to be the first to identify brain changes as an explanation for why students have suffered, both inside and outside the classroom, since the pandemic drove millions out of the classroom.

Nancy Tsai, a Harvard University psychologist who studies the effects of stress on executive functions and who is the study’s lead author, said the new findings offer the first evidence to help us “understand the ‘why’” of the pandemic downturn — “what is actually causing all these issues that we’re seeing and talking about in the news.”

The paper, from the private tutoring firm MindPrint Learning, examines the cognitive skills of students nationwide and finds that, simply put, over the past several years, kids’ famously ever-changing brains have changed for the worse.

Since the pandemic’s onset, students across all ages and economic levels have begun to demonstrate weaker memory and “flexible thinking” skills — those represent the mental bandwidth needed for multitasking, shifting from one activity to another and juggling the day’s demands. But for a few groups, such as younger and lower-income children, the changes have been more profound.

They also show that their teachers’ brains are weaker in almost identical ways, which could help explain high rates of frustration and burnout. They suggest school districts have their work cut out for them if they want to keep their best employees on the payroll and returning to the classroom each fall.

Understanding the ‘why’ of pandemic downturn The data come from a large, widely-used assessment, the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery, developed in 2013 at the University of Pennsylvania. It consists of a series of cognitive tasks that measure subjects’ accuracy and speed in several major cognitive domains, including working memory, abstraction, sustained attention, episodic memory and processing speed.

MindPrint has administered the assessment periodically to its clients over the past decade. The most recent rounds totaled 35,000 students and 4,000 teachers in 27 states.

By most measures, U.S. students are suffering. Last year, NAEP scores showed the average 13-year-old’s understanding of math dropping to levels last seen in the 1990s and reading levels dropping to 1971, when the test was first administered.

More recent research has shown that while older children are showing encouraging signs of academic recovery, younger kids aren’t making the same progress. Many students who weren’t even in a formal school setting when COVID hit are already falling behind — especially in math.

The Penn assessment found that children who attended elementary or pre-school during the pandemic and who are now 8 to13 years old showed the largest declines in memory.

“Younger kids haven’t really developed a lot of these core cognitive skills,” Tsai said. “It hasn’t solidified for them, either through development or just through practice in the classroom. And so younger kids are more vulnerable to these pandemic shifts.”

But students across all age groups showed worse flexible thinking, which researchers now theorize contributes to lower academic performance — as well as challenging behaviors.

Tsai said kids from lower income backgrounds were more vulnerable to these changes, specifically in verbal reasoning and verbal memory, than their higher income peers, with bigger declines in verbal scores, which are highly correlated with academic achievement in all subjects.

Adults in the study had similar declines in both memory and flexible thinking, possibly explaining higher reported levels of teacher dissatisfaction and low morale.

Nancy Weinstein, MindPrint’s CEO, said weaker flexible thinking isn’t necessarily a problem for experienced teachers who have developed strategies to cope with stressful situations and can modify plans on the fly. But those with less experience may be unable to change gears when lessons go astray or students act out in class. That may lead to higher teacher burnout.

Across the board, teachers’ skills suffered in areas such as verbal and abstract reasoning, spatial perception, attention and working memory, but they saw the greatest losses in verbal memory and flexible thinking.

“If we care about that, we need to know how to help them,” Weinstein said. “And there are some tried and true things you can do.”

She said schools should consider sharing data like this with teachers so they can understand that their frustration in class might not be due to students alone. That could make a big difference, she said, in “their willingness to put in the effort to change, as opposed to saying, ‘Why bother?’”

For students, Weinstein said, offering them more opportunities to practice skills with breaks and rest between study sessions could help. Schools should also consider “scaffolded memorization” techniques that break learning into chunks and address each individually.

Could such techniques help students — and teachers — regain a measure of pre-pandemic skills? Weinstein suggests the answer is “Yes.”

“The environment will matter, but certainly we can regain some of that if we do the right things,” she said. “And we know what the right things are to do.”

Crystal Green-Braswell, coordinator of staff wellness and culture for the Little Rock School District in Arkansas, said offering the Penn assessment to teachers and staff has helped many think more deeply about their work — and about their own thinking.

“People who have had the assessment will say, ‘Now, you know my processing speed is slower — y’all are going to have to give me a moment,’” she said.

That’s a huge change in a profession in which most workers have been asked “to take ourselves out of the equation and just get the work done,” Green-Braswell said.

She sees offering such insights to educators as part of “rehumanizing” teaching. “When we provide this kind of assessment and we provide this kind of space for folks to actually get to know themselves, we are humanizing this profession and helping people to realize, ‘You play a role. You play an active role. You matter.’ ”

[eddiediazismyhusband]

(Please don't apologize. You may call it pessimism but I see it as realism and I truly appreciate it. I've seen people SO excited to see the cast back this week and all the excitement about the new season, optimism for canon buddie, what hair/tattoos/wardrobe might look like. And I feel bad because I don't want to rain on anyone's parade. But I cannot be bothered about whether Oliver will keep his fluffy hair or have any new tattoos or Ryan's mustache because I don't want another season of boring, repetitious storylines that don't do anything to the characters, especially those of color (thinking of the cartel and Mara right now)

I'm hopeful that because season 8 will be a full 18 episodes things won't have to be as rushed or thrown together at the last minute as season 7. But yeah, please don't apologize for your opinions because you're not the only one thinking similar thoughts <3)

im moreso apologetic because i dont WANT to be a debbie downer but its like…. ive been burned by shows (this one included) far too many times to be super optimistic and excited over things that could very potentially not be good for us… like i’ve said, most of the people i know with that mustache are awful human beings and when you add in the fact that gerrard also has a mustache like that AND that tim has been showing so little care for eddie as a character/care for poc characters as a whole it doesn’t seem far fetched to me that tim could very easily commit one of the most egregious acts of character death by veering eddie so far off the natural path simply to create cheap drama

like im so glad we seem to be getting fluffy hair buck… unfortunately fluffy hair buck doesn’t negate the fact that he’s currently in a relationship with a racist and that they’re ignoring 6 years of subtext built between he and eddie to try and further reiterate their “totally platonic dude bro” relationship, on top of giving eddie a look that exudes macho straight republican man…

(and don’t get me started on the fucking cartel plot or the mara plot bc what the actual fuck is wrong with tim minear 💀💀)

i just want them to stop dragging their feet on buddie while seemingly writing everything else as this whirlwind of convoluted messy nonsense drama plots and actually decided if they’re gonna commit to just ship/queerbaiting or to the subtext and plot theyve infused into the story since eddie’s literal first episode.

like personal feelings aside for the mustache, i think we’re giving the writers too much faith in portrayal of queer characters to actually say that it’s eddie “embracing queer culture” simply bc it looks like eddie mercury… we’re talking about the same writers who gave the main wlw couple a cheating plotline, have boiled down buck’s sexuality to just sex, and have relied on playing into stereotypes of mlm/wlw side characters rather thsn actually putting time and thought into it… like it’d be one thing to say “it’s a nod to freddie mercury” if the show has actually shown any kind of care beyond using sexuality plotlines for cheap drama (henren) but the reality is that they haven’t shown us that we can trust them in that way yet.

and who knows maybe it IS a nod to freddie mercury, but we don’t know for sure and im not going to set myself uo to be disappointed yet again when its just as likely to be s nod to them making eddie an antagonistic character with gerrard… yeah, that plot wouldn’t make sense for eddie as a character but neither did the vertigo plot so who’s to say tim wouldn’t go for it?

at the end of the day, i am just not looking forward to s8. nothing yet has given me any inclination to actually watch it until we are shown that they are making strides to actually tell a meaningful story that doesn’t rely on minorities for tokenism plots or putting them through needless pain again. yes this show is a drama, but there are other ways you can create drama (hell it’s a show about first responders) than putting poc characters through the fucking wringer time and time again, profiting off their pain, while simultaneously telling lowkey racist stories that involve the fucking cartel coming out of nowhere to burn down a LA fire captain’s house???

so yeah, i’m just not feeling great about it. i also don’t wanna rain on anyone’s parade but i don’t wanna get my own hopes up when i would just be setting myself up to be let down yet again by these writers

[meebochii]

what's your overall favorite scene of tua?

There's so many great scenes we've gotten over the years but I think my favorite of them all... It's probably in Season 3; Episode 8 where Sparrow!Ben and Klaus talk about Brelly!Ben during the wedding.

Ben: Why don't you like me? Klaus: Because you're a huge puckering asshole. Ben: Okay, but you like the other Ben. Klaus: Yeah, we love the other Ben. Ben: Why? What was so special about him? Klaus: Because he was a know-it-all. He was a scold. He was a tiny dark cloud on a perfect sunny day. Ben: Those... Those are all bad things. Klaus: Yeah, but they looked great on him.

And I especially love this one quote:

Klaus: We’re a complete and total shit show. Ya get it? And our Ben, my Ben, was just that kinda disaster, and it made him ridiculously easy to love.

[accio-victuuri]

(candy vault) : alexander mcqueen shoes, nike off white and yibo’s missing mole 🤍

this fandom has lots of candies in the past years and there are ones that fall through the cracks or things that i simply wanna talk about. also for the benefit of new turtles who probably missed it & a good trip down memory lane for those who’ve been here for a while. i made other posts similar to this before and i haven’t done a good old mini compilation so here ya go. ^^

2/23/2021 WYB was in Beijing, participating in the recording of CCTV’s Lantern Festival program in the evening. The actual broadcast was 2/26/2021.

In the materials initially sent out by YBO, for the photos, you couldn’t see AM shoes. Maybe the shoot was better off focusing on his face, which I totally agree, but it was like they didn’t want to focus on it that much. We only saw the shoes when they released the BTS video where it would be tricky to crop it out.

During the actual performance he changed into a more comfortable looking Jimmy Choo shoes. He was wearing AM outfit so it made sense that the shoes should match too. This should’t really be a big deal or even a CPN, only because changing shoes is sort of normal at events like this. Maybe he was more comfortable with the Jimmy Choo, although the choreography for this performance is not that complicated like his other routines. The way I remember it, WYB usually sticks to the shoes he has on.

The CPN alarm bells started going off tho when ZZ flew from Beijing to Shanghai wearing the same style McQueen shoes. He had shooting back in 2/24 and there were some talk that he was more than a half hour late as planned on set. So going by our collective galaxy brain, they could have spent some time together during late 2/23 and some time on 2/24 which is after the CCTV shoot. WYB probably lent the shoe to him or he just got it from their shared closet lol. This is why ZZ was sort of late, because he was with WYB. The pattern of ZZ being later than usual on set when he is with WYB is something that still happens this year. I’m not implying that he is slacking off when he is with WYB but more of just adjusting his schedule so he can accommodate the love of his life. they both deserve that in between their busy schedules.

maybe this is why YBO didn’t want to highlight that on the materials they released 2/26 ; because they knew where the shoe went 😂😂😂

While we’re in the subject of shoes, let’s take it further back with their matching nike off white in 2018. It’s one CPN that is often given as an example but I haven’t discussed on here.

AAAAAHHHHH! I miss the days when they could still wear Nike shoes. Oh well….

Looking through the airport pictures of ZZ before joining the CQL group from 2016 to 2018, there are no pair of Nikes that could often be seen in pictures of him. There are 2 back in 2017. Before CQL, ZZ had quite a variety of shoes, including a few pairs from Adidas. Like WYB, it is obvious that he likes to buy Nike co-branded products, likes to grab the latest models, and even buys more for collection.

Now let’s focus first on the shoes, it’s a collab of Nike air vapormax X off white. There are two shoes of the same style but in different colors. The black model will be available at 3/30/2018 and the white will be available at 4/18/2018. We know that at the time, WYB will surely have what’s new when it comes to NIKE. It’s either it will be sent to him cause he has a relationship with the brand or he will buy it himself. He is known to always wear the latest designs released. He is also a collector, so he most likely bought the black and white version.

WYB wore the white version on 4/28 and ZZ wore the black model on 5/8 based on photos.

As for ZZ, he was recording an episode for a show and he also used this shoe for the rehearsal. It is the same show where he had to dance and the choreography was taught by WYB. We’ve seen this in the BTS and ZZ talked about it himself.

WYB was seen again with the pair during PD101 on 5/10. It’s funny cause this is the same day where XZ was filmed candidly behind the scenes and he said he hasn’t seen LWJ all day.

These two. Honestly. They only formally “met” and then started shoot 4/16 and it hasn’t even been a month but they already have a couple shoe and ZZ was out there emoting about missing LWJ/WYB? It’s a common discussion that leads to alternative timelines like DT or 2017 or it could just be that it’s one of those rare instance where you connect with someone so quickly.

I have 3 possible explanations:

1. It’s totally unrelated. They bought their pairs separately since they like the style and collab.

2. WYB gave the shoe to XZ. I am a fan of both of them giving gifts to each other. And if you are someone who believed XZ gave him a lego set even before they started filming as a gesture of goodwill then this should make more sense to you. Also WYB is known to give gifts and that includes shoes ( for example SDC 3, he gave out multiple pairs ). This reasoning is not necessarily a CPN of them being boyfriends, but more of being close enough to give each other gifts. and not just the usual one you would give to a colleague cause if WYB only has the white and XZ has the black, it’s a couple shoe. WYB low key hinting at the prospect if them being a pair and XZ accepting it.

3. They bought it together, as you would when you’re with a friend and are scrolling through shopping apps together. I think there are fake rumors of that, the two, in between takes scroll through their phones and buy each other stuff or same style clothes. Again, it doesn’t necessarily mean boyfriend behavior, but more of being close enough to do that.

A clue for that is WYB was seen with the black pair during CQL filming around early 6/2018. You can clown that he is wearing ZZ’s shoes or he did buy the 2 kinds for his own and ZZ got the black only.

Lastly is the stolen mole!!!!! ♥️

Since cpfs are obsessing over WYB’s very visible mole from the Bazaar shoot.

It’s one of my favorite fake and it basically says, The reason why WYB cares so much about ZZ’s mole under the lip, is because WYB also had one like this when he was little. The elders in the family said it’s something good and it means he will have a happy life. However the mole disappeared. Or i guess in his case it’s not as prominent and has faded instead.

While filming, GG has scenes where he didn’t have make up or it gets taken off because of the heat. WYB looks at him closely and points out his lip mole, saying that he had something like that before but it disappeared. GG then added that his mom told him that his mole appeared only after a while when he was young.

That’s when WYB said GG stole his mole. When it disappeared, the mole transferred to GG 😂😂😂

Maybe this is why WYB is so fixated with his mole that he even includes it in his drawing of XZ/WWX.

-END.

[waitmyturtles]

TW: probably unpopular opinions on Step By Step’s filmmaking!

I’ve had an insane work week so far, so I don’t have the largest amount of time to write an analysis of Step By Step, episode 8, and I’m already late in watching it anyway. But I will largely point everyone in the direction of @lurkingshan’s EXCELLENT analysis of Jeng’s reaction to Pat’s reaction that Jeng is gay (and to @neuroticbookworm’s post-Shan analysis of their prediction of the road ahead, which I subscribe to). 

I’m also late in watching this because I allowed myself the spoilers yesterday, and was admittedly frustrated to learn that the payoff of this episode is that Pat learns about Jeng’s preferences... in an episode that’s over an hour. It’s a very unpopular opinion I have! The editing and some of the writing of this show suck. I’m gonna repeat myself -- I would prefer crisper writing and dialogue. But I am still in favor of the deep focus on Pat and his mindset. It’s just that in some moments (like in the second restaurant), he’ll disappear and we won’t get feedback on that disappearance until MUCH later. (And forget about Jaab and Jen, I’m leaving that alone for this analysis. The show definitely had the time to examine that more in an hourlong+ episode, but didn’t.)

ANYWAY. Citing @bengiyo‘s and @ginnymoonbeam‘s conversation about Pat’s radar -- I want to build off of @bengiyo‘s comment for a moment, on something I realized when Jeng was with Tae, when Jeng got the text message from Pat that the restaurant crawl was on. Something I realized when Tae was asking Jeng about Pat’s intentions is that:

For Jeng, WORK IS LIFE. We’re spending a lot of time, and the show spends a lot of time, dealing with the boss-to-subordinate conflict. BUT. I would argue that Jeng’s whole world is work. The man is LITERALLY WORKING TWO JOBS, TWO HIGH-LEVEL, EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP JOBS. Man’s insane. 

I give Pat the gigantic benefit of the doubt that he “could” or “should” have known Jeng’s preferences intentions. (@lurkingshan, @bengiyo, and @ginnymoonbeam all know that before seeing the episode, I did state incredulity that Pat DIDN’T know this, so I recant before you all!)

BECAUSE: what PAT is seeing in front of himself, vis à vis Jeng, is a man that is WORKING ALL THE TIME. So I think Pat’s radar is off, in my opinion, because he can ONLY see Jeng as a boss and a leader, and would not allow himself to cross the boss-subordinate boundaries, even in settings where they are “working” on Jeng’s “other” job, because Jeng is a boss in that other space as well. 

And while Jeng doesn’t see this as “working,” Pat certainly does. 

I mean, I’ve tried to get glasses of wine with some former bosses of mine, just to create intimacy and get to know them out of office spaces, and like, all we talk about is work. Some people can’t relax and separate. I get that.

I think Pat ASSUMED Jeng was like that, because in doing social activities, it seems, from Pat’s perspective, that Jeng is still working -- and for that restaurant crawl, he totally is! And Tae knew to call that out and maybe tease Jeng for being a little delulu, which, accurate. 

So I write this, now not in criticism of Pat’s radar, but in grudging support of it, and I say grudging because I do not think the editing of the show is supporting the slow burn anymore. Unpopular opinion, I know. I think this show is doing Pat dirty. I believe the payoff will be good. But the show is dragging and not giving us enough by way of internal communication on Pat’s part to demonstrate intriguing development that grabs me. 

But we get a confession next week. Let’s see how long it’ll take to get there. 

[paopaupaus]

Part 4 of the Buddie Development

part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8 | part 9 | part 10

As you will noticed there are jumps between episodes, this is because in some we have no interaction between Buck and Eddie, as some episodes are backstories, and in others the interactions are minimal or irrelevant.

S2:E4 Stuck

Okay so tell my why our resident idiots were talking about their type and they kept walking into each other? they bumped arms and shoulders a total of 6 times, i counted. And it was HILARIOUS why can’t these guys walk straight?? oh wait-

i really recommend to watch the scene again and maybe even take a shot each time they bump into each other 🤪

Buck accompanies Eddie to the hospital when he thinks Chris is injured. Husbands’s gotta be supportive smh

Now later in the episode Buck and Maddie are talking about Eddie and Christopher and Buck goes into his praising Eddie rant, admiring him for how much he loves Christopher and he’s a great dad, and queen Maddie says:

“So does this boy crush on Eddie mean that you’re finally ready to move on from abby?”

HAHAH maddie i could kiss you, does anyone think the Buckley siblings came out to each other (as bi) prior to the events of the series? i heard that theory but idk because Maddie is a few years older than Buck and they said they hadn’t talked in 3 years, so idk about how close they were back then.

Buck proceeds to respong “that’s cute” 🥰

And special mention to Buckaroo for helping his husband find help for Christopher, introducing him to Carla. we love Carla.

we’re skipping to…

S2:E6 Dosed

Chimney, Buck and Eddie are helping Maddie move in and once Chim and Eddie are in the kitchen Maddie turns to Bucky and says:

“he is soo cute”

Buck answers “yeah he gets that a lot, uh, you should meet his kid though” staring longingly at Eddie

plotwist Maddie’s talking about Chimney and Buck can’t think about anyone who isn’t cute apart from Eddie.

In this episode the team helps traffic reporter Taylor Kelly and i guess Buck is a fan of hers? so when she goes to the station to film them, Buck comes to say hi, AND EDDIE INTERRUPTS THEM like the jealous boyfriend he is; to ask if she’s okay, but like, he jumps into the conversation kind of aggressively? it felt like jealousy to me, and i also feel like if they were straight everyone would see it so clearly (?) like the guy who’s jealous of other guys talking to you and jumps into conversations out of NOWHERE.

also during the episode eddie treats her and the cameraman just like Bobby does, guarded and dry. except that i don’t think they have the same reasoning…

and that was it for relevant conversations in this episode :) i’ve developed a deep addiction for the show, pls send help

[carigm]

Today Millie had a fan panel in which she answered that her ideal ending would be Mike and El getting married and Will being happy and confessing to Mike (lol) and ofc the Stranger Things fandom kicked up the old Byler vs Mlvn war once again, regardless of the fact she doesn’t write the show. But I want to break down some points here about things I’ve been noticing today, but also for a while and that I think need to be discussed. Keep reading if you want.

I’ve seen a lot of hostility towards Byler and Bylers on Twitter lately, saying we’re delusional and don’t know what we’re talking about. This always seems to be the go to argument even tho it’s all in the narrative. Today it got really bad after Millie’s comments and even people that were merely disagreeing with her opinions got called everything from delusional to misogynistic.

IF the Duffers suddenly decided to ignore everything they’ve carefully crafted and put into their narrative that doesn’t make anyone delusional, it just makes them terrible writers. Who would be doing a great disservice to all three characters involved in the love triangle.

There’s been an insurgence (on Twitter) of so called “Will stans” who seem to be completely fine with the idea of mlvn being endgame because “Will can just get another boyfriend” Not only is this insulting to what the writers have already established for Will’s character but it’s also a defense and endorsement of the worst kind of lazy/bad writing that could graze our screens.

The Duffers CHOSE to tie Will’s character arc to Mike’s and El’s.

How do you expect them to undo that and create a well fleshed out character that’s deserving of Will, in 8 episodes that we know are not just gonna be dedicated to Will’s supposed love interest, because there’s a shit ton of stuff to resolve?

If this was the route the Duffers were going for, they could’ve clearly given Will a love interest last season (like with Robin) or two seasons ago (like with Dustin) And yet somehow, people think it would be totally okay for Will to get the most meaningless romance of all time as the writers ignore the same story they’ve created.

Another point I’ve been seeing a lot from these people is “Mike won’t come out. Let it go. He’s just a very unlikable character” What does that say about the quality of the writing and content you’re willing to consume then? You’re okay with characters being poorly written? And please someone explain to me how Mike’s actions, especially in S4, make any sense unless he likes Will.

The more people try to simplify this story the more plot holes and inconsistencies it creates.

The funny thing is that a lot of these “Will stans” used to be Bylers themselves but are so deathly afraid it won’t be endgame that they’ve started to use the same rhetoric mlvns use every day to justify what would be atrocious writing.

And this next thing might be controversial but I think it needs to be said.

So many people on Twitter have hit those who disagree with Millie’s opinion today with “y’all are misinterpreting Millie’s words” and let me tell you, no one has. She’s been saying the same stuff for forever and quite frankly she’s never had a coherent thought about Will. Which is fine, at the end of the day that’s not the character she plays. However, I haven’t forgotten how last year (at another panel) she was asked about Byler and said it was just a reflection of Finn and Noah’s friendship and that was what people were seeing…

Whatever the fuck that means, I guess.

Again, I’m not taking her answer today too seriously cause truth be told she’s been saying some version of this since she was around twelve, and has even at times said she was joking about it. If a wedding were actually happening she wouldn’t be able to say it cause I’d literally be a spoiler, even if she doesn’t have the scripts yet or doesn’t know I’m sure there’s things that would be off limits for any actor to say at this point.

But this defense squad that formed today begging for us to not misconstrue her words because “she really cares about Will’s character” is laughable.

Her answers regarding the topic of the love triangle have been anything but nuanced. If she doesn’t want to get into it or address it, that’s fine. It’s her choice.

But of course, mlvn stans are gonna take her answers seriously, as well as those who are now “Will stans” who basically ship mlvn too.

And to me there’s a fundamental flaw regarding the ship wars in this fandom, which these people don’t seem to grasp. At this point, it isn’t so much about “which ship is better” but “which outcome isn’t violently homophobic”

That’s it.

I don’t care how much you ship mlvn, this is the undisputed truth here.

But when your lead actors act like it’s not a big deal, it’s no surprise the fandom doesn’t give a shit.

I can only hope the Duffers were smart enough to see reason and were able to write the only outcome that won’t set television back around 10 years or so.

And hopefully one day, when S5 is out, we can get a more in depth and honest conversation with the actors about all of this.

As for me, I’m gonna lay low and not give much of a fuck until we start getting those Reddit leaks, which were very much accurate for last season. I’ll take a peak at those, and depending on what they look like, I’ll stay around or dip completely.

If you read all of this, thank you.

[gumy-shark]

ok gumy, i actually would like some more elaboration in this moon big season such as:

The cults, what the fuck is up with that?

something, something bdubs’ last stand as the moon crash down on him (bc almost every king tag in the last 101 mentioned that and my ears are perked up)

the graphic of the moon crashing into world looks so pretty where we’re you when this happened 🎤 ?

hehehe you’ve fallen into my trap >:D

THE CULTS:

there were at least two cults formed in response to the moon big: the Mooners and the Order of Octa.

the Mooners cult was formed by mumbo jumbo at the end of november. mumbo believed that the moon was angry because hermits kept sleeping to skip through the night, so he gathered the other members of boatem village (impulse, pearl, scar, and grian), and they and cubfan135 all decided to stop sleeping in hopes of appeasing the moon.

as they went longer and longer without sleeping, the mooners got a little. silly. and by silly i do mean insane. their skins got more disheveled, eventually turning out to look like this

(in order: grian, mumbo, scar, impulse, cub, and pearl. i know you aren’t v familiar with these guys and what they normally look like, but i think you can get the picture)

the mooners even resorted to human sacrifice to try and appease the moon, but nothing worked. eventually they gave up, tried (and failed) to blow up the moon with a missile, and started sleeping again.

the other cult i don’t remember as much about. the Order of Octa, comprised of rendog and docm77, had been doing an ARG all season, which culminated in them getting a little bit possessed, shaving their heads into monk tonsures, and going around beheading people while chanting their names. for their finale, they gathered all the heads together and input a code? i think? that opened up a portal out of the simulation that was season 8 (note: the season being a simulation is only canon in ren and doc’s storyline)

BDUBS’ STORY:

okay yeah this one’s pretty tragic. for bdubs’ finale, he rides his horse around the server, collects the profits from his shops, business as usual. except the moon is giant, the ground is basically disintegrating underneath him, and for the large majority of his episode there’s just nobody there. he doesn’t seem afraid of the moon or the chaos at all, instead spending the whole time talking about how everyone’s leaving, so that means that really, all this stuff is his now! how fortunate for him!

all his friends are already gone. his only companions at this point are his horse and his pet parrot. he does his usual outro, saying goodbye to his audience and telling us he’ll see us in the next episode! and then he turns around, and the animation of the moon crashing into the server plays- it is clear from the animation that he could not have survived the impact.

that on its own is sad, but what kicks it into high gear is tango’s finale. in tango’s final episode of season 8, he’s on the moon trying to figure out a way to knock it back into its usual orbit, and he receives a transmission from bdubs. this message shows bdubs a couple days pre-impact, and he is panicked, yelling about how everything’s going to shit (static cuts off the “shit” part bc this is a pg server) and everything they’ve built is about to be destroyed. as he finishes the message, he urges tango to stay in space, because things are so bad on the ground, and talks about trying to find a way to escape.

in this context, the general consensus/implication of bdubs episode is that he tried to find a way to escape the falling moon, failed, and decided to live out the rest of his hours in total denial before dying in a massive fucking explosion. which is significantly more tragic.

WHERE WAS I WHEN THIS HAPPENED?

in the kitchen. i remember being super excited for new episodes, and then got gut-punched by nearly every hermit i watched uploading their finale at the same time.

[nerdieforpedro]

Weekend Update 04/14/2024

Nerdie, you’re kinda late tonight.

Yeah, it was all taxes this weekend. 😭 Ugh. But it’s done. Let’s not talk about it anymore.

OK…So what’s new?

Back to work after time off. Adjusting and writing. I did watch the Ryan Gosling SNL episode. I laughed so hard.

I did get a manicure and pedicure - 💜 purple hehe!

I did read some fics this week:

1. Something Old by @fhatbhabie (Javi G x plus size female)

2. Sexting by @reallyrallyauthor (Steven Grant x Marc Spector x Jake Lockley x You)

3. Enchanted to Meet You by @beskarandblasters (Din Djarin x f reader)

4. Fires at Midnight by @inept-the-magnificent (Lucian Flores x f reader)

5. A Midnight Plea by @soft-persephone (Marc Spector x fem reader)

6. A Galaxy Far Far Away part 6: Halloween at Juniper Cottage - Pick your own pumpkin by @grogusmum (Din Djarin x earthling f reader)

7. I’ll Give You The Moon by @soft-persephone (Marc Spector x fem reader)

8. Mi Santa by @fhatbhabie (Frankie Morales x reader)

I did write some this week 👀 I’m sorry I’m advance. Things ended up dark. 😭 Those are marked with the red.

Back & Nose, Hair and Hat - (Only Parts of you Mr. Morales Series)

Her smile was worth it - for the iamasaddie writing challenge 2.0 (Pero Tovar modern AU DARK FIC)

Interlude Two - Tell me about her and Part Seven Merging the Star Clusters - (The Lake between us Series)

Scarlet Stains and their Echoes (DARK FIC) - Post Apocalyptic Fluff and Stuff

Chapter 3: Can we talk for a minute? - This is the Neighborhood Din Series.

This week there were a few things, like the writing challenge 2.0 @iamasaddie put together. We sent in asks, pick a color (I did it to myself, I asked for mob enforcer- where else was the fic to go but dark?) Despite being kinda freaked out at what I wrote (I’ll need to process that later) I like it. I usually don’t do dark fics but given recent themes in my writing it’s there. 👀 So I’ll write it if it pops up in the brain.

And this past weekend (I totally missed but sweethearts @perotovar and @honeyedmiller tagged me in) was the @swiftiscruff friendship exchange. From what I saw, people are writing fics for each other, making gif and moodboards and proving much needed friendship and fun. 😎

I’m sure there are other things. But I dunno what they are. 🤣 I hope everyone enjoys what they’re working on. And if you need to rest, drink some water, dance around, nap, all the things.

This week there will another chapter of Din’s neighborhood, I FINALLY have more Din fluff. Well in the neighborhood and Star Ocean Series. I should have another chapter of Benny and actual fluff post apocalypse. It escaped last week. So we’re bringing it back.

No more Ezra and his gumbo or tanktop 🥺 Part 8 will be up next Sunday. His prose will be no more for now. 🙃

My Frankie miniseries will be almost done. This Friday and the next Friday of my math is right. lol

Special thanks:

@mysterious-moonstruck-musings for finding an excellent pic of Frankie’s back and giving me notes on smut that I chose not to use for now

@connectioneverywhere for letting me talk their thumbs off and putting them to sleep. 🤣

@soft-persephone I see you 👀 Two words: Dem noses. 👃 You know. 😄

@megamindsecretlair You need to write about some curls! Telling me and Softie to write about them. You know which curls. 🤭

@soft-girl-musings Songbird, Cabbie and loud ass Marcello on drums. Why did I half expect him to be playing drums on SNL? 😂 He was wearing a very loud shirt so half credit.

@tinytinymenace it’s always fun seeing your namesake laying and just relaxing. 😎 With a dope poof.

@604to647 I really appreciated your ask and messages this week. 💜

Have a great week everyone! 🥰

Love Nerdie ❤️❤️❤️

[allhalesterekstilinski]

Let's Talk About Love

Every “I love you” in Teen Wolf and the responses. All “I love you”s are valid, whether it is romantic, familial, or platonic.

Season 1

Episode 1

Allison to Victoria: Okay, okay. I gotta go. Love ya.

Response: Unknown

Episode 3

Melissa to Scott: Love you!

Response: Love you, too...

Episode 8

Stiles to Scott: Wh--? I love you. I love you. You’re my best friend in the whole world!

Response: None

Episode 11

Scott to Allison: Because I love you.

Response: A kiss, but not saying it back

Episode 12

Allison to Scott: Because I love you.

Response: A kiss, but not saying it back

Season 2

Episode 3

Stiles to Scott quoting Allison: We’ll get through this. Uh, I know, because I love you. I love you more than—

Response: Smile, but did not reply likely since it wasn’t necessary

Episode 8

Scott to Allison: I-I love you.

Response: (flatly) You too.

Episode 11

Scott to Melissa: Okay. I’m going. I love you.

Response: Nothing

Episode 12

Lydia to Jackson: I do. I do still love you. I do-I do still love you. I do. I do. I do still love you. I do.

Response: A hug, but no verbal response

Season 3

Episode 1

Lydia to Allison: Allison, I love you. So, if you need to do that thing where we talk about me and pretend like we’re not actually talking about you, it’s totally fine.

Response: A smile, no verbal response

Episode 6

Man to Woman: I love you.

Response: I love you, too.

Episode 15

Melissa to Scott: Yeah, because it’s your name too, honey. I gotta go sweetheart, okay? I love you.

Response: No response

Episode 16

Lydia to Natalie: Love you!

Response: Love you, too.

Episode 23

Allison to Chris: I love you. I’m proud of you. Uh, I-, I’m proud of us.

Response: A kiss on the head, no verbal response

Allison to Scott: I love you... Scott... Scott McCall...

Response: Crying, pleading, no verbal reciprocation

Season 5

Episode 4

Scott to Kira: God, I love you.

Response: He walked away before she could respond. No verbal reply

Episode 13

Kira to Scott: I love you. I love you so much.

Response: Kissing, no verbal reciprocation

Season 6

Episode 1

Stiles to Lydia: Just remember... Remember I love you.

Response: No response

Episode 8

Liam to Hayden: I love you.

Response: Then go.

Episode 10

Stiles to Parrish: Buddy, love you, but we’re way past that, okay?

Response: No response

Stiles to Liam and Mason: Love you guys!

Response: No response

Episode 20

Mason to Corey: Is this a weird time to say that I love you?

Response: Not if I love you, too.

6 familial “I love you”s. 2/6 have a verbal reciprocation. Natalie being the only parent to say it back.

4 platonic “I love you”s. 0/4 have a verbal reciprocation/response.

12 romantic “I love you”s. 3/12 have a verbal reciprocation. 6/12 have a response of some kind. 3/12 have no response.

5/22 have a verbal reciprocation. 6/22 have a response, but not a verbal reciprocation. 3 of those 5 have a romantic physical reciprocation.

[heyclickadee]

A couple of season three thoughts:

1. We don’t actually know what being clone x’d means. We talk about it as though a clone is completely wiped clean, total mind reset, but the Clone x we met in season two wasn’t really a blank cypher. He was more of a zealot. He had a personality, in fact he had a very strong personality, it was just a terrifying one, and the way he talks about being “elevated” a “believer” makes him seem a lot less like a drone and more like a fanatic. I think what’s happening is another step or two in chip augmentation beyond what we saw happen with Crosshair, so it goes beyond blind obedience and right into almost religious devotion. It’d mean the clone underneath is still there, but twisted around the programming in a terrifying way. I hope our boys find a way to help the X’d clones.

2. I still kind of want the new doggo to be what Rubies look like when they grow up. Partly because I really want to see the Durands come back.

3. One Tech lives possibility that we ought to consider is Tech coming back with a TBI. Aphasia, memory loss, Tech having to re-learn certain motor skills or even how to fly—that could happen. And it could happen through a weird Star Wars lens, of course, but it could happen. It could also be very interesting to watch. And if I see anyone saying that it would have been better if Tech had died if he does come back with a TBI (or a Star Wars metaphor for TBI) then I swear to God that it is ON SIGHT.

4. Angsty possibility: Omega hits a point in Tantiss when she does lose hope, and that’s what pushes Crosshair to start trying to help her with the escape. Not because he has any hope, but because he can’t stand to see her like that.

5. I still think Omega and Crosshair escape Tantiss as early as episode two, mmmaaaaaybe episode one, and that they get separated so that Crosshair reunites with at least Hunter and Wrecker (and Echo if Echo’s not off doing secret things) well before Omega does, but I also: one, hope that we get at least one episode of Omega and Crosshair free, together, and just trying to survive, and; two, I don’t think Omega’s going back to Tantiss after that. I think she gets caught and that she and Crosshair get separated, but I also think that we’re not going back to Tantiss again until the end of the season after the first few episodes, and that when the team does go back, it’ll be as a whole team, and it won’t necessarily be to rescue Omega.

6. The moment Crosshair finds out that the boys kept his armor is going to kill me. You know they could have sold it. They’ve been broke and struggling enough the whole show to have had justification in doing so, but they didn’t.

7. I kind of want to see an episode where everyone’s separated. No two or three together, everyone just on their own.

8. They’ve been dragging AZ around for two seasons. I mean, not literally, they left him on Kamino and then on Ord Mantell, but they’ve kept that little medical droid around on the show and made him accessible to the gang, and I would like to know why. Chekov’s AZ

9. Also chekov’s zillo beast, chekov’s Romar’s last words to Omega, etc.

10. I’m. Very excited for Hunter this season.

[cryptidorchid]

The other day I read the-somwthing’s life series analysis of the Scott-Joel rivalry. And so I decided to write my own analysis on Scott’s view of Joel, which was inspired by “I think [Scott] sees Joel as some sort of embodiment of senseless murder” from the-somwthing’s analysis

Scott Pretty Consistently Thinks the Worst of Joel

From the very start, in Third Life, Scott sees Joel as a force of destruction mostly.

Third Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 6 - 40:09-40:14 After they find out Joel burned their wall and tried to kill Scott Jimmy: We need a reason why he’s done it Scott: The reason is just because it’s Joel. I don’t know what you expect.

After Joel burns down his wall and tries to kill him, Scott explains Joel’s behavior as just an inherent fact of Joel. Joel causes chaos and destruction. That is just who Joel is to Scott.

This perception of Joel never changes throughout the Life Series.

It shows up in Limited Life.

Limited Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 7 - 26:42-27:05 Scott and Pearl walk upon Joel fighting the Clockers Scott: Hi, Pearl Pearl: Hello! Scott: We’re just watching this? Pearl: Yep Death messages appear saying Joel killed Grian and Scar Scott: Oh, Grian was slain by Jo- gasp Joel: Oh, no! Gosh! Scott starts shooting at Joel Scott: Joel, you killed Grian? Joel: Guys, guys, guys, guys! Scott: Joel! Scott lands the killing shot against Joel Pearl: Joel’s about to be out of the season. That’s why he killed Grian Scott: Oh

In this case, Scott assumes that Joel killing a teammate was a betrayal and joins the fight against Joel at least partially because of that. Scott is like the king of self-sacrifice plays but he didn’t even consider that Joel’s situation could be the same. This implies to me that Scott still doesn’t think Joel can be trusted not to attack the people around him, no matter how close with him you are.

It comes up in Secret Life too.

Secret Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 8 - 6:32-6:40 Joel: I’m good, I’m good, not up to anything mischievous in any way whatsoever Scott: See, the thing is: Even if you weren’t red, you always are up to something mischievous. Nothing has changed

Scott literally says nothing has changed! I could not make this up! Scott is just constantly suspicious of Joel and always has been.

And this manifests in an interesting way in Double Life.

In Double Life, Joel and Etho die while playing a fishing rod game with Grian, Pearl, and Impulse. Scott goes to collect their stuff and put it in a chest.

Double Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 4 - 24:25-24:32 Pearl: It wasn’t intentional! It wasn’t intentional! Grian: I’m sure they’ll understand Scott: You’ve met Joel and Etho, right?

Scott saying this, combined with him collecting Joel and Etho’s stuff for them, paints a picture of Scott trying to appease Joel.

For one thing, him collecting Joel and Etho’s stuff is incredibly strange for Double Life. When Ren and BigB died near Scott, Scott ran over to steal their stuff, not give it back. When Joel and Etho died the first time, Scott laughed about it because they had been “gloating so much and stealing from everyone.” But now that they’re red, he’s suddenly quite helpful to them specifically.

For another, Scott must think Joel is especially unreasonable since Joel has no reason to be mad at Scott here. Scott was totally uninvolved with the fishing rod game. In fact, he was the one person (as far as I remember) arguing against it. So, the fact that despite all that, he still felt the need to appease Joel and Etho, really implies that Scott sees Joel as both unreasonable and violent and that he’s scared of that.

(He also said Etho but I don’t know that Scott has enough negative interactions with Etho to make that judgement so I think he’s just lumping Etho in with Joel, especially since I can’t remember him ever talking about Etho this way outside of associations with Joel)

This leads me to my next section:

Scott used to be Scared of Joel

Scott's reaction to Joel and Etho going red implies that, by Double Life, Scott is scared of Joel. Honestly, that tracks.

In Last Life, it is so clear that Joel, specifically Third Life Joel, is Scott’s image of a scary red name. For one thing, Scott has an intense aversion to the idea of red names having dogs.

Last Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 5 - 17:38-17:47 Scott: Oh, there’s a dog here. Whose dog [...?]? Do we kill the dog? Pearl: I don’t wanna kill the doggy. The doggy hasn’t done nothing wrong. Scott: But what if it’s, like, Joel’s? Or Grian’s?

He finds one (1) tamed dog in the wild and wants to kill it just in case it’s Joel’s or Grian’s. Pearl convinces him not to in this instance, but when he finds a pack of dogs in a bunker, he kills those. He doesn’t even know either of the red names have dogs at this point.

Last Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 5 - 25:50-26:07 Scott: We also stumbled across Grian’s secret bunker that had about 40 wolves. There should now be about 4 because I burnt them all alive. Martyn: Good job Mumbo: That's good Scott: Some of them tp’ed to him, so he does have some. I'm trying to find when they're not at their base, so I can go in and finish the job

He’s so insistent in this killing all the red names’ dogs thing that even after killing a bunch of them, he wants to go back and take out the rest. Granted, dogs have attacked people a lot over the course of the Life series; you might think this response is reasonable, until you remember that in Third Life, Joel’s dogs (and Joel for that matter) killed no one. They were totally ineffective. This is not the most logical fear to have.

(Also, I find it funny that the amount of dogs has increased from the last time he told this story to Lizzie, when there was only 30 dogs)

More than that, Scott is unusually gung ho about the whole murdering dogs thing. No one is as insistent about it as him and most people will show some guilt or disgust about burning dogs alive.

The second thing Scott seems to be worried about a lot is someone coming to burn down his walls.

Last Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 2 - 4:32-4:35 Scott: I won't use a wooden wall. I learned my mistake last time

Last Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 2 - 17:27-17:31 Scott: Jimmy, did you not learn last time not to do wooden walls? Like, I want to burn these down for the sake of it

And to be fair, unlike the dogs, Joel burning his wall actually had an appreciable negative effect. It makes sense that Scott would be wary of having to rebuild his wall again just because someone had a flint and steel. But he never stops bringing it up, even after Last Life.

Double Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 3 - 16:57-17:01 Scott: I know you're probably thinking, Scott, what are you going to build the wall out of? It has to be something strong and not flammable. No, I'm building it out of wood. Is it a smart idea? Probably not, but I'm still doing it.

Secret Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 1 - 23:21-23:26 Scott: Anytime I build anything out of wood, I just imagine Joel coming and burning it down

So, Scott worries about red names having wolves and coming to set his base on fire, both things that Joel did in Third Life. I could talk about why this is: Joel was the first person to try to kill Scott or attack his base in Third Life. Joel was again the first person to attack him in Last Life and, this time, succeeded right before becoming the first red name. And then Joel stayed a red name for nearly the entirety of Last Life. It makes sense for Joel to seem like the largest threat for the whole of Last Life.

So, it makes sense that, going into Double Life, Scott would be wary of Joel coming after him again. And in Double Life, Scott was basically proven right because Joel is the only person who murders him (one of them was by killing Pearl but same difference).

And Joel managed to kill Scott by chasing him down. Which becomes a bit of a pattern. Joel kills Pearl (and Scott by proxy) by chasing her down. Joel chases Scott and Pearl across the server twice before eventually killing Scott. And then when Limited Life happens, Joel starts chasing Scott to try to kill him again.

In Limited Life, Scott basically admits that he’s scared of Joel specifically.

Limited Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 6 - 23:40-23:49 Scott: The way I currently stand is the only person I’m really scared of is Joel. Joel is the unhinged one who will just kill me. Pearl and BigB, I feel like I can just kind of run away from.

He specifically says he’s only scared of Joel. To be fair, he’s naming Joel out of a list of, like, three people that he thinks might be a threat. Because he’s on good terms with the Clockers and TIES, he has a deal with Jimmy, and Grian is still yellow, which leaves three people.

But I do think that his explanation sheds some light on why Scott is scared of Joel specifically. Joel’s “unhinged.” Joel could attack at any moment. Joel will “just kill.” Other people hesitate to kill. Other people feel guilty. Other people can be persuaded to stop. Other people can be avoided when they try to kill him. Other people Scott can just “run away from.”

Which I feel was exemplified best when Joel killed Pearl in Double Life (which is ironic that it’s not even one of the times Joel killed Scott directly but honestly, I feel like that makes the moment even more potent for Scott because Scott was totally helpless in this situation, he could not have avoided that death), because Pearl went to give Joel back the chestplates she stole and he kills her without hesitation and later yells,”You think YOU’RE UNHINGED, PEARL?” Joel neither hesitated nor felt guilty about killing Pearl, even when a lot of people would hesitate to kill someone just over stolen items, especially if the person was trying to give the items back. And I think that’s what really scared Scott about Joel, a fight with Joel was very hard to avoid.

In Limited Life, Nosy Neighbors weren’t particularly violent so as long as Scott didn’t start it, a fight with them was easily avoidable. Scott eventually struck a deal with Jimmy so Jimmy can clearly be persuaded. Team TIES were hard to avoid a fight with but even after killing Scott, they let him join them in their attack on Bad Boys and Scott made the time back up in kills, so they’re not hard to work with (Honestly, even when they were trying to kill Scott, they were kind of apologetic about it). Even Grian was easier to avoid a fight with than Joel, because Grian relied on traps and tnt, meaning if you avoided walking into one of his traps/under him when he was on Skynet, his threat level diminished by a lot and you could basically walk up to him without much fear. Meanwhile, Joel often attacks Scott on sight, chases him down, and won’t be deterred. Joel being out to get Scott specifically and unrepentantly violent about it made him scary.

However, I think Limited Life killed a lot of that fear when Scott killed Joel 5 times and Joel killed Scott 0 times.

And sure, Scott has killed Joel before. He took Joel out of the series in Last Life, but even when Scott permakilled Joel, it wasn’t triumphant so much as it was stressful.

Last Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 9 - 32:24-32:27 Right after killing Joel Ren: Yeah, well, that was just carnage all around Scott: That was scary

Limited Life was different, because for the first time, Scott had fun killing Joel.

Limited Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 7 - 22:41-22:56 Joel is walking up a hill while Bdubs and Scott approach from the top of the hill Bdubs: Hey, Joel! Joel: Oh! Hey, guys! How’s it going? Joel turns and runs back the way he came. Scott laughs. Scott: Hi, Joel! Good! How are you, Joel? Joel: Just fine, fine, fine. Just fine Scott: You sure? You’re feeling fine, Joel? Scott starts shooting at Joel Joel: I’m feeling fine Scott: You feeling great? You sure? Bdubs: Are we killing him? Scott: I kind of want to after everything he’s done Bdubs: Let’s do it! Okay!

In this kill, it immediately starts off with Scott taunting Joel and then he and Bdubs only start chasing Joel because Scott wants to. This kill is purely for fun and while chasing him, Scott continues to taunt him (“There’s pufferfish around here! Be careful\~”) and after killing him, reiterates that this was for personal satisfaction (“That felt good!”).

And when it came to his other kills on Joel, he seemed fairly happy about those as well. In all of these kills, Scott never seemed scared or worried. Joel tried to kill Scott multiple times and never succeeded. Scott tried to kill him and succeeded 5 different times (There's also the fun role reversal of now Scott's the one chasing Joel in a couple of these kills). It’s hard to be scared of Joel after that. Ultimately, Limited Life changed the game for Scott because fighting with Joel became less scary and more fun.

Which leads into Secret Life, where Scott isn’t as scared of Joel anymore so he feels comfortable acknowledging the fact that Joel has it out for him personally.

Secret Life - Scott’s POV - Episode 9 - 7:00-7:03 When Gem brings up an alliance with the Mounders Scott: I mean my main issue was Joel so if Joel's going to choose not to go for me...

It’s easier to accept a rival/nemesis when it doesn’t feel like a constant threat on his life, but rather something that he can handle easily. Which is where they are now: Scott’s just not that scared of Joel anymore.