#my own speculation and theory for season 6 and 7

[nothingtherefornow]

You summed up perfectly why this long-awaited revelation of Lila's true nature in front of her classmates and teachers tasted terribly bitter and disappointing.

Because in the end, if Sabrina hadn't finally decided to grow a conscience, Lila and Chloe's plan would have perfectly worked. Marinette's so-called friends would have entirely believed that she was guilty, that she really tried to sabotage their future out of jealousy and resentment.

And on top of being unfairly expelled and having such a serious transgression, of which she was never guilty of, permanently imprinted on her school record could have ruined Marinette's future, Marinette would have also lost all her friends. Even her parents would have believed in those lies, and their relationship with their daughter would have seriously deteriorated.

And Adrien, too used to being silenced by authority figures, and knowing that his worlds would be disreguarded by his so-called friends, he would have remained helpless and silent in the face of his girlfriend's horrible distress.

The only reason why Marinette escaped such misfortune and slander, she owes it not to the friends and allies she trusts to the point of entrusting them with miraculous, but to one of her former tormentors.

If Marinette's classmates had been just that, classmates, acquaintances with whom Marinette wasn't particularly close to, their behavior and reactions would have made sense. Yet they're supposed to be her friends, people Marinette feels that she can rely on behind her mask, that she can allow to be temporary heroes, yet none of them seem able to return the support and trust she has always given them.

And worst of all, neither of them apologized to Mainette, Kagami at least had not only acknowledged her mistakes in believing Lila's lies so easilly, but deeply regretted her misjudgment and asked for forgiveness to those she harmed under Lila's influence.

I just ... really can't understand why the writers are making Marinette's supposed friends in such a way, that's not how friends behave, and it pains me that the writers might think that's how friendship works.

How can i appreciate the temporary heroes which are so often promoted, while knowing that they make very poor friends for the main character ? I know they are guenuilly good people, better that what most classmates in real life are, but their lack of faith in Marinette is hurting the heroin, and I don't think this is right to show that it's okay to remain friend with people whose can mistrust you so easilly in favor of somoene who always hurt you.

It's so unfair, because Marinette shouldn't have had to rely on the help of a former bully to thwart Lila's plans. Even if it was good for Sabrina's redemption, the way they turned things out in this episode demonstrated that ialso shows that Apart from Socqueline, Luka, Zoé, Adrien and even Kagami, Marinette's friendships are very fragile, and it seems like she can't even count on the one she considers her best friend.

And yet ... There may be another potential explanation about why the ml writters are portrayng things this way :

The ml authors must integrate so many plot points in such a short time that sometimes they simplify many progressions by giving the characters attitudes and decision-making that are very questionable and that sometimes seem out of character. It's a form of scripwritting ease, and it can indeed sometimes mess up the writting.

Thus I have this theory that the ml writers put Marinette in a situation where her own friends can hurt her and deeply disappoint her (even though she doesn't seem to realize it yet) to set the stage for her future akumatization in either season 6 or season 7.

We already had Adrien/Chat Noir akumatized twice, and they never risked akumatizing Marinette before because it could have meant Gabriel's victory served on a silver platter. But I beleive season 6 and 7 will change a lot of statut quo from before, that this time akumatizing Marinette will be possible, especially know that it was established that Marinette has allies to whom she can entrust the ladybug's miraculous, allies who know her secret identity.

But if they want to go toward the akumanette road for the future seasons, especially with Lila being the future butterfly miraculous, they'll probably want to really push Marinette to her limits, more than they've ever done before, and put her in a situation where she really feels like she's all alone. And what better way for that than to have Marinette own family and friends hurting her in a way that she finally doubts their love for her ? Hurting her in a way that for the first time, Marinette finally feels anger and betrayal at them for turning against her so easilly, as if her own love and friendship never meant anything to them ? Especially now that we know Lila can still manipulate people under another fake identity, and has proven that she could also fool Marintte's own mother.

This is the only explanation that makes sense to me, because if the ml writters are able to show serious subjects on screen like school bullying or parental abuse, and in such a representative way of reality, why would they have a such a discouraging view of friendship ?

But this is only speculation on my part, every fictitious work has their flaws, and maybe some of mirculous writting of it's side and secondary characters is just one of those.

Liar Revealed

So Marinette and Sabrina worked together to lure Lila into a false sense of security that eventually led up to her spilling everything in front of an audience she was unaware of. Now everyone knows she’s been lying about everything, she’s a horrible person, and she and Chloé are about to be expelled for good… After 7 years, the fandom finally got what it wanted.

…then why do I feel like I’ve actually wasted those 7 years of my life? 

Buckle up, ‘cause this is going to be a long ride.

Afficher davantage

[superhellstiel]

The Season 8 Destiel Meta Post Nobody Asked For (and why I think the writers had a Destiel endgame option in mind for season 8)

Okay, so here's the long version of this post that almost nobody wanted, but I'm writing it anyway. This is LONG. I'm sorry. And I want to start with it seems like s8 is polarizing, but I rather liked it, and I think it's because I live in the (delusion?) truth of this theory. Stay with me if you want to Believe too. I think Season 8 was written with two possible outcomes in mind; and with an endgame Destiel being the more likely of the two that the writers anticipated. Sounds insane, I am aware. You will need to stick with me here and extend some trust, but I promise I can show my work.

We need to set the scene: It's 2012. We are launching headfirst into the height years of tumblr fan culture. Gangnam Style grips the nation. Destiel is huge in fanfiction & tumblr land. However, interestingly, we're about two years past show's peak. Already once SPN was slated to end with S5's natural arc conclusion, but it didn't-- it was renewed because it was making the CW money, simple as. They have pushed on into the Sera Gamble era with Seasons 6 and 7, which have their respective flashes of brilliance, but all-in-all generally struggled to find footing in the post-Apocalypse Supernatural verse that was never actually planned for. It's pretty evident that the writing and plotting isn't nearly as tight as S1-5, simply because 1-5 was all mapped out from the get go.

It's been interesting returning to the fandom after a decade, because I'm finding a lot of people now who really liked Season 7. No hate, to each their own, and maybe it was just the circles I was in at the time, but in the moment S7 wasn't received well at all. It felt like they kept inflating the "big bad" to heights that sometimes struggled to get fully fleshed out (which, to be fair, continues to be a writing problem going forward). And while watching S7 in Netflix binge-mode it doesn't feel quite so bad, at the time having a year's worth of your fave TV show where Sam and Dean are systematically and pointlessly stripped of everything that gave the show its signature personality was nothing short of torture (killing Cas, the Impala, torching Bobby's place, killing Bobby), all in the name of more man-pain. All of that punctuated with a lot of filler episodes that felt like more misses than hits, the absolutely insufferable Amy Pond plot, and dick jokes just because the writers thought it was funny.

Everyone's opinions on S6-7 aside, though, Supernatural wasn't landing financially for the CW either. Season 5 aired on Thursday nights, which is a fairly well respected time slot for established and successful shows, but with Season 6 and 7 we see a demotion to Friday night, 9 PM ET. This is basically the kiss of death for a cable TV show. You sent your shows to Friday night to die. The CW was looking to the future with newer shows and the writing was on the walls that this circus was probably wrapping up soon.

However, in true Supernatural fashion, it wouldn't fucking die. Honestly, and I can only speculate here, I imagine such a die-hard and still-growing fanbase coinciding with a huge spike in social media + ease of access to fan spaces with the surge in commonplace smart phones/laptop computers is probably what kept performing CPR on this show.

So along comes season 8. The show is being passed to Jeremy Carver and Ben Edlund as a returning writer to head up the show. Other people have discussed the Sera Gamble era in depth, but what you need to know here, basically, is that the Carver/Edlund mind are ones that a) have not shied away from queer themes and b) are a lot of those Destiel classics. We're talking Ghostfacers, The End, My Bloody Valentine, On the Head of a Pin, The Man Who Would Be King (Carver), and Free to Be You and Me, Point of No Return (Edlund). Essentially, Sera's philosophy tended to be "strip it back to just the Winchester brothers" and Carver & Edlund were generally more open to having the surrounding cast of supporting characters. And these two definitely don't shy away from Dean & Castiel's relationship.

Here is where my theory gets a little speculative: I believe this is the point where where SPN was given one last hail mary by the CW. New writers and a Wednesday night slot, you have one more chance to make this work, otherwise you're getting the axe. It was renewed pretty late, in early May of 2012 (compare to S6 being announced Feb 2010). S7 had barely scraped its renewal in late April the year prior, too.

Okay, so let's put ourselves in that position for a moment as showrunners sitting down in the Supernatural writer's room in May of 2012. There are two things that might happen: 1) you just might pull it off, and you do such a good job you pull the show from the proverbial grave or 2) you don't pull it off, and you need to make sure the show ends on a satisfying note that wraps things up neatly. And you need to write and film a season that, until you get the yes or no from the CW, can do either and both or neither, and you may need to pivot in one direction or the other pretty quickly while you're filming the back half of your season.

Enter the Destiel endgame theory, which I believe was their scenario 2. Time to introduce the exhibits from the season.

General: Flashbacks. I wish they'd explored Purgatory more too, but it would've taken up too much time if they might have to fast-track a series finale later. (Also Amelia should've been all made up in Sam's head to cope with losing Dean but again, different post. Maybe it became a time constraint to explore too much too, if they thought the show might be ending.)

The evidence:

8x01 We Need to Talk About Kevin & 8x02 - & What's Up Tiger Mommy? We get flashbacks of Dean tearing Purgatory apart to find Castiel. When he finds him, he makes it clear he's coming back to Earth with him.

8x03 - Heartache- This episode focuses on the love between an immortal being and a human.

8x05 - Blood Brother - Benny/Queer Dean discourse deserves its own post. You can take or leave this one for this post's theory.

8x07 - A Little Slice of Kevin - 1) Dean is clearly hiding a boner when Cas gets out of the shower? 2) We introduce that Dean is deeply upset that Castiel didn't make it through the portal-- to the degree he's faked an entire memory because he'd rather it be his fault Cas is gone than have been abandoned by him

8x08 - Hunteri Heroici - Castiel wants to join Dean as a hunter; we're beginning to establish Castiel's genuine desire to spend his life with the Winchesters. This is then juxtaposed when Naomi forces him to stay away at the end of the episode, further telling us this is Cas' desire vs. Heaven's.

8x11 - Larp and the Real Girl - This is mostly a fun episode, but it's an example of queerness being gently nudged to the forefront of plots without immediate dismissal or being the butt of a joke-- rare for SPN at the time.

8x13 - Everybody Hates Hitler - Ah, the Aaron "He was my Gay Thing" moment. Dean leans all the way into the flirting. Does not give the "don't swing that way" speech, gets flustered, is at a loss for words. He appears disappointed later when he was wrong. This has little precedent on the show when Dean's been perceived as gay, he usually dismisses it very quickly.

February 11, 2013: Supernatural is renewed for season 9, a week after Everybody Hates Hitler airs.

Per these estimates, 8x18 is the next episode to be filmed post-announcement, beginning 2/12.

8x16 - Remember the Titans - A Forbidden Love plot. You can take or leave this one for this theory.

8x17 - Goodbye Stranger - OK, here is our inflection point for editing, in my opinion. The last month of eps, more or less, have been pretty trials-centric or one-off. This episode airs 3/20/2013. At this point, we know we're getting a season 9, but we've been building with all of the above, and this ep was filmed pre-S9 announcement... so much so that we have an "I love you" in the original script for the infamous crypt scene. I fully believe it was filmed and edited out in post.

Second, Castiel turns the walls of Naomi's office/lobotomy lounge the bi pride colors during the crypt scene. Someone on the crew at Supernatural literally tweeted that morning to be on the lookout for special choices in Naomi's office. It was very intentional. Why else pick these colors and declare they're intentional? (I have searched up and down for this tweet but it was rare i was there i remember it [the tweet] all too well please trust me)

UPDATE: Tumblr hive mind found it and it was Jerry Wanek saying they were… crosses? In the intersecting lines in the windows? (that's how lines work? lol) And it was amidst a spell of saying fans were reaching in their analyses, and though some of his replies have that tinge, it's not direct about the color commentary. I never saw the back half of that saga or forgot about it, didn’t mean to misrepresent anything! Either way I’ve been corrected but that office is still bisexual and you can’t tell me otherwise

And don't get me started on the "unicorn" stuff, that one person you'd throw everything away for (but I understand this can be interpreted in many ways) However, the season is renewed, we've picked the path they never thought they'd actually pull off-- now we've got to backpedal this Destiel just enough to not impact our precious CW bottom lines, but not piss off our faction of fangirls who watch to ship.

8x20 - Pac Man Fever - Charlie tells Dean she thinks Castiel seems "dreamy". Charlie is very gay and would only say this to elicit a reaction from Dean, we don't really get much of one. Again, lack of a "speech" on his sexuality.

*Note 8x18 Freaks & Geeks and 8x20 Pac Man Fever are filler eps, I think they could've been pulled if we needed the extra time to sprint toward a series finale*

8x21 - The Great Escapist - 8x23 Sacrifice- We hit a real fast escalation toward the season finale from here. I actually think this overarching plot was more or less always the idea for the ending, but how exactly it was executed depended on the renewal status.

The Alternate Series Finale Ending (That I believe they thought they'd have to do when they wrote it): If they hadn't gotten renewed, we are set up for Sam to close the gates of Hell and Metatron to use a spell to close Heaven using the heart of a nephilim (product of human + angel love), the bow a cupid (an angel that arranges love in humans), and the grace of an angel in love with a human. Hell and Heaven shutter up, Sam dies, and Dean is left with a human Castiel who has, for the better part of the season, already been "testing out" being a hunter alongside Dean and has literally moved heaven and earth to have this. He will not have to be the immortal doomed to love a human, as in 8x03, or have the forbidden love of 8x16; we receive resolution on those subjects for our heroes that the monster-of-the-week characters did not. They resolve their feelings for each other, because if we kept Dean's crypt "I love you" and we establish Castiel's grace was in love with a human... well, what else is there to say? (Oh, yes, and they did exactly this and pulled the Destiel trigger in S15 when it was all ending.)

The Actual Ending (That I think they got surprised about the renewal and had to do): Backpedal. Edit. Only drop little subtext again. We just need Castiel's Regular Grace TM for this spell. We can keep selling merch and con tickets and get views if we appeal to the widest audience possible, and we're not taking risks now that we've performed a literal miracle rescue from a Friday night 9 PM slot.

And once we start Season 9, we get a LOT of being hit over the head with Castiel & Dean's Heterosexuality TM, so much so it's awkward and even out of character. (Human Cas sighing about boobs in early s9? Like please. Get real.) It's a HARD left turn, but it makes more sense if you consider it all in the context above. I just don't think they'd have gone in so hard on the bullet points I listed if they had thought Season 9 was in the bag.

TL;DR: I think we might've had Destiel in 2013, but if we had, we wouldn't have also had the rest of the seasons. Whether or not that's a good thing is up to you, but I think it was a combination of a lot of external factors, capitalism, and, well, it being 2013, sadly. I think they were cowards about it, but at the same time, even the writers probably weren't pulling every string, they also needed to answer to other agendas. Television is a medium that is rife with the push and pulls of a thousand factors that aren't the pure story. Idk how to really wrap this, but this has been over ten years in the making so enjoy the fruits of my brain rot.

[rewvyu]

The Tragedy & Fate of Queen Philomia

In this post, I will be sharing a story about Queen Philomia.

This story will cover details from Queen Philomia's childhood till present day of Miraland, all based on in-game lore notes and conversations with the people of Wishfield. So if you are curious about Philomia and don't know where to start, then this story will be a great start.

There’s a lot to delve into, so get comfortable—grab a cosy blanket, your favourite beverage, and maybe put on some soft background music.

Let’s begin.

>spoilers below<

By continuing to keep reading, you have agreed to Spoilers for Eerie Season's Story Quest and the available Philomia's Lore.

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Preface:

This story is written purely from an Infinity Nikki lore perspective, without reference to the previous Nikki games. It is based on in-game lore notes and conversations with NPCs, which I have restructured and rewritten to present as a complete narrative. Some aspects of the story involve my personal interpretation, filling in gaps where details remain ambiguous.

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Index:

- Chapter 1: From One Princess To Another

- Chapter 2: From One Queen To Another

- Chapter 3: Palace Or Prison

- Chapter 4: The Exiled Princess

- Chapter 5: Dear Philomia

- Chapter 6: Dear Olivia

- Chapter 7: Illusibloom And Her Majesty

- Chapter 8: The Three Pillars

- Chapter 9: Fate Always Has Other Plans

- Chapter 10: A Promise Left For Centuries

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Chapter 1: From One Princess To Another

Philomia, once a princess of the Heartcraft Kingdom, would later be known by a far grimmer title: the Tyrant Queen.

Little is known about the truth of her reign. The whispers that remain paint her as a monster, a ruler so cruel that even her own family turned against her.

As a child, Philomia lost her mother, the late Queen, under circumstances that remain shrouded in mystery. Before her passing, the Queen left Philomia a book, an anthology of music chronicling the lives of the world’s greatest musicians, their inspirations, and the intricate theories behind their art. This was no ordinary gift. Every page was filled with knowledge the Queen had gathered herself, learnt first-hand on her travels to distant lands. The book became Philomia’s solace, her obsession, and the one remaining thread connecting her to the mother she had lost.

But even the most beautiful melodies could not drown out the storm that was brewing around her.

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Chapter 2: From One Queen To Another

With the late Queen gone, a new Queen was crowned. The King's consort, the mother of Philomia's younger half-sister, Olivia.

It was around this time that Philomia was cast out. Banished from the Royal Palace, she was sent to live in exile in Wishfield, within the now-crumbling halls of what is known today as the Queen’s Palace Ruins, south of the Breezy Meadow.

Why was she exiled? The truth remains elusive, buried beneath centuries of rumour and speculation. Some say it was her father’s doing, that he blamed Philomia for her mother’s death. A single letter from Olivia to Philomia hints at a painful betrayal. The King had forbidden Philomia from returning, even to attend her own mother’s funeral.

A princess cast out. A book filled with secrets. Philomia’s story was far from over. It had only just begun.

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Chapter 3: Palace Or Prison

The palace Philomia once lived in was not always a place of exile. Long before it became the Queen’s Palace Ruins, it was a home she and Olivia shared in their early years—a place where music and childhood dreams intertwined.

Though records of their youth are scarce, one thing is certain: the bond between the sisters was far from the cold indifference told in rumours.

As children, they were raised away from the Royal Palace, confined within the grounds of their residence. There, under the watchful eye of their caretakers, they had only each other for company. It was within those walls that their love for music flourished, a shared passion that gave them a voice beyond the silence of their isolation. Together, they composed melodies to fill the empty halls, creating a song that would one day echo through the ruins Philomia left behind.

But as they grew older, their paths diverged. Philomia eventually left for the Royal Palace, where she took on the responsibilities expected of her. Olivia remained behind, waiting for the day she, too, would be allowed to return.

That day came sooner than expected—but under circumstances neither could have foreseen.

Philomia was exiled, cast out of the Royal Palace and sent back to the childhood home she once shared with Olivia. In a cruel twist of fate, the place that once held their happiest memories became her prison. Meanwhile, Olivia was brought to the Royal Palace, stepping into the world her sister had been forced to leave behind.

Before their separation, they exchanged gifts. Philomia crafted a delicate doll for Olivia, naming it Livie, a cherished childhood nickname. In return, Olivia gifted her a doll named Philene, a reflection of Philomia’s own name. These dolls were more than tokens of affection; they were symbols of an unspoken promise.

Even as fate tore them apart.

Even when exile sealed Philomia’s fate.

Their dolls remained.

Their bond endured.

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Chapter 4: The Exiled Princess

Even in exile, Philomia did not abandon her duty. From her palace in Wishfield, she ruled with a steady hand, issuing decrees that reshaped the lives of her people. Her reforms were bold, some might even say radical. Taxes were lowered, wages protected, and unjust reductions outlawed.

Among the common folk, her reign was met with approval. A public opinion survey showed widespread support for her policies, a rare testament to a ruler cast away from the heart of her kingdom. But not everyone welcomed these changes.

The nobles and high officials, those who had long profited from the burdens placed on the lower classes, saw Philomia’s decrees as a direct threat. Their wealth, their influence, their control—it was all being undermined. One by one, they gathered in secret, whispering among themselves, seeking ways to dismantle the power of the exiled princess before she could dismantle theirs.

Perhaps it was here, in the hushed halls of the nobility, that the first cracks in Philomia’s legacy began to form. The stories of the Tyrant Queen did not arise from nowhere. They were sown, carefully and deliberately, until truth and fiction became one and the same.

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Chapter 5: Dear Philomia

Among the surviving letters from Olivia to Philomia, one written in the spring stands out. It is a letter filled with both joy and sorrow. Olivia writes of a potted plant, a gift from Philomia, that has finally bloomed. Yet despite her happiness, there is an underlying sadness—since Philomia’s exile, Olivia has never received a single reply.

Perhaps this is where the rumours began. Some believed Philomia despised her sister, that she had abandoned her completely. But the truth remains unknown. Was Philomia too burdened with her duties to respond? Or had their father ensured that no letter from Wishfield ever reached Olivia’s hands?

In this same letter, another heartbreaking detail is revealed. Their father had forbidden Philomia from returning, even for her mother’s funeral. Young Olivia, unwilling to let her sister’s grief go unanswered, secretly placed a bouquet on the late Queen’s grave in Philomia’s stead. A quiet act of defiance. A small gesture of love.

Despite the silence between them, Olivia never stopped hoping. In her letter, she extends an invitation—her birthday banquet, a chance for them to reunite at last. For years, Philomia had been unable to attend due to her responsibilities, but Olivia believed this time would be different.

Philomia had never told her she cared. She didn’t have to. Olivia already knew.

And so she waited.

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Chapter 6: Dear Olivia

Though it remains uncertain whether Philomia ever replied to Olivia’s letter that spring, one thing is clear: Philomia cared deeply for her younger sister.

In the Palace Inner Court Construction Records, a direct decree issued by Philomia stands as evidence of her affection. She instructed her palace gardener to ensure that the courtyard be maintained in a way that would provide a peaceful, restorative space for Olivia when she visit. The decree went further, specifying that evergreens and flourishing flora be planted throughout the courtyard—not only to enhance its beauty but to purify the air. Philomia emphasised that those tasked with this responsibility must devote themselves fully to the task, striving for nothing less than perfection.

This decree speaks volumes about Philomia’s feelings for her sister, but it is not the only act of care she took. Philomia also mobilised the palace servants to prepare for Olivia’s coming-of-age banquet, ensuring that everything would be in place for her sister’s special day.

Through these actions, Philomia’s love and dedication to Olivia are undeniable, even in the midst of her own exile and struggles.

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Chapter 7: Illusibloom And Her Majesty

Philomia's life in exile was far from peaceful. While she focused on her duties, she began to feel something slipping away—something far more painful than the passage of time.

Her memories, once sharp and vibrant, began to fade. It wasn't age that caused this erosion. It was something far more sinister.

Philomia started experiencing vivid illusions, distortions of reality that made everything from her past feel distant, as though it had never happened at all. Desperate, she tried to reconcile with these illusions, hoping they might preserve her memories, but it was in vain. The wounds of her past—her mother’s loss, her father's betrayal—had left her too broken to remember. The pain was too much, and it was unravelling her sense of self.

The quiet of the palace, once a refuge where she could reflect on her music, only deepened the emptiness. In this silence, she struggled to compose a single note, her mind lost in a haze of fading memories.

But the truth was not that Philomia was losing her mind. She was suffering from the effects of the Illusibloom, a mysterious flower whose fragrance could blur the line between reality and illusion.

At the time, little was known about the Illusibloom. It bloomed only under the full moon, casting a soft, eerie purple glow. Its scent had strange effects on the body, making the Bullquet weak and listless. Philomia had written numerous letters to scholars in Breezy Meadow, sharing her observations about the Bullquet and the Illusibloom, but no one had yet discovered the true nature of the flower’s powers.

It wasn’t until much later, in present day, that the Wondrous Life Association uncovered the truth: the Illusibloom’s fragrance didn’t just induce weakness—it also caused hallucinations, warping reality and harming the person who inhaled it.

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Chapter 8: The Three Pillars

Though Philomia was destined to live in exile, she was not entirely alone. Three loyal servants chose to stand by her side until the very end: Sir Percy, a knight; Lord Strange, a nobleman; and Ms. Glove, a musician.

Little is known about the three, but their significance in Philomia’s life was undeniable. Centuries later, their lingering spirits would hold the keys to unsealing the Queen’s Palace Ruins, serving as both guardians and remnants of a forgotten past.

Sir Percy was a knight of unwavering loyalty, highly respected for his sense of duty and fairness. He treated everyone equally, from nobles to palace servants, never allowing status to cloud his judgment. Though his expression was often unreadable, his actions spoke louder than words, revealing the depth of his character.

In contrast, Lord Strange was a nobleman of humble origins who had risen to claim the highest seat in the royal council. He was rarely seen without a smile, yet his calculating gaze unsettled those who met it—as if he were constantly assessing the people around him like goods on a merchant’s shelf.

The friction between Sir Percy and Lord Strange was well-known among the palace staff. Whenever the two were in the same room, they would clash, engaging in verbal duels that neither could concede. One servant recalled a particularly heated argument over Princess Olivia’s coming-of-age ceremony—whether it should be held in the Royal Palace, as tradition dictated, or in the palace where the two sisters had spent their childhood. They refused to yield, even in Her Majesty’s presence. However, according to a senior servant who had once intimately served Queen Philomia, she viewed their constant quarrels not as hostility, but as a sign of their deep, if unspoken, camaraderie.

The last of the three, Ms. Glove, was a musician whose real name had been lost to time. It is believed she was Queen Philomia’s chief musician, the one who played the piano alongside her during their years in exile. If she truly held this esteemed position, then it is likely she was also responsible for arranging the music for Princess Olivia’s coming-of-age ceremony.

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Chapter 9: Fate Always Has Other Plans

As the days drew closer to Princess Olivia's coming-of-age ceremony, fate turned its cruel hand once more. And this time, it was not for the better.

Just before the long-awaited reunion with her sister, Queen Philomia was poisoned by her enemies. The exact details of how she was poisoned remain lost to history, but one thing is certain—her death by poison was widely known among the people.

Perhaps this was the final blow that cemented the false rumours surrounding Queen Philomia’s legacy. Had she lived to reunite with Olivia, perhaps history would have told a different story.

At the end of Queen Philomia’s reign, Princess Olivia and her sister’s three most loyal servants swore to protect her final resting place. Sir Percy, binding his ghost to the massive sword he once wielded, vowed to stand guard over the palace even in death. Lord Strange, his spirit inhabiting a straw effigy that bore his likeness, swore to safeguard Her Majesty’s treasures—cursing any who dared lay their hands upon them. Ms. Glove, true to her name, became a spectral pair of gloves, forever playing the piano in memory of the Queen’s love for music.

Princess Olivia, determined to let her sister rest in peace, sealed the palace. To ensure that only those worthy could enter, she entrusted each of Philomia’s loyal servants with a key, making them the eternal gatekeepers of the Queen’s Palace Ruins.

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Chapter 10: A Promise Left For Centuries

More than three centuries later, the people of Wishfield remember Queen Philomia only as the Tyrant Queen who once ruled the Heartcraft Kingdom.

It is said that the ruins of her palace are cursed—that anyone who dares set foot on its grounds at night will never return. Rumours claim that those who go missing are transformed into stuffed toys, their souls trapped forever. Fearful of the legend, no one has dared to enter the palace grounds after dark.

That is, until recently.

A young pink-haired girl, Nikki, and her strange cat-like companion, Momo, were tasked by Captain Hiya of the Florawish Guard to investigate the mysterious disappearances.

Through trials set by the Queen’s three loyal servants—who had remained steadfast guardians of the palace for centuries—Nikki and Momo uncovered the truth. Deep within the ruins, they found Queen Philomia’s ghost, still waiting for her sister, Olivia, to fulfil the long-promised coming-of-age banquet.

Though Philomia had been unable to keep her promise centuries ago, the past was not beyond repair. With Nikki’s help, she was finally able to fulfil her promise to her younger sister.

Reuniting Philomia with Olivia’s treasured doll, Livie, at long last brought the Queen peace. As her spirit faded into rest, those who had been turned into stuffed toys were freed from their cursed fate. The false rumours that had shrouded her legacy for centuries were dispelled, as news of Nikki’s encounter with the Queen’s ghost spread across the land.

And so, this story comes to its end.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

If you have read till this far, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read. A lot of effort and research went into this story, so if you had enjoy it, please share/re-blog this post so that more can learn about Philomia and her story.

[timeagainreviews]

Well, Well, Well, Look Who's Back

It’s a rare quality in a Doctor Who story where the true nature of the story is left unanswered. The Eighth Doctor audio “The Chimes of Midnight,” is one such story. The Doctor is given no solace at the end of “The Satan Pit.” Was that the devil? Like, the actual devil? Was the entity in “Listen,” all in the Doctor’s imagination? Perhaps one of modern Who’s best mysteries comes from the series four episode “Midnight.” Of all of Davies’ scripts, it is perhaps my favourite. Which is why when it was revealed that the Doctor and Belinda were on the planet Midnight, my heart sank a little. Ahead of season two, Russell T Davies issued a warning against spoilers for episodes three and six. He knew the reveal of Midnight was going to be huge among the fandom. So why was I hesitant?

The original script for “Midnight,” was written over a weekend. Its success was somewhat of a shock to Davies. It was a companion lite story that took place mostly in a single location. It was as bottle episode as bottle episodes get. Yet the story was so gripping, the performances so stunning, that it became a surprise hit and fan favourite. It was so simple yet so effective. It wasn’t just that the episode was genuinely scary, but that it also allowed the mystery to remain. Part of Midnight’s success lies in the questions the audience is left to ponder. It’s a story I personally would never have given a sequel. Why mess with greatness? But it’s RTD’s story to tell, not mine. So hesitantly, I held out hope.

The Doctor continues dragging Belinda back home with the vindicator. Davies’ rush to establish character pays off as they spend considerably less time convincing Belinda to fill her role as companion. Something this modern era really likes to do is the “in one door out the other” instant costume change. I like that it feels like the TARDIS wardrobe exists in a pocket of its own time where the Doctor and Belinda can spend hours getting their hair and clothing just right. I like to imagine some sort of George Jetson contraption that does their hair. It could just be a stylistic edit, but I like that you can think of it that way. However, I did find it a bit odd that the Doctor and Belinda walk out wearing the exact costume of the crew they’re about to meet outside the TARDIS doors. I can imagine some explanations. If the TARDIS doesn’t always take the Doctor where he wants, but rather where he needs, perhaps it can also suggest appropriate attire. Maybe the Doctor has prior knowledge of the Lombardic military’s uniforms. It mostly feels like Davies saying “It doesn’t matter. Let it go.” It’s another means to get on with the story. It’s like the crucial moment at the beginning of any D&D campaign when the players decide to work as a team because otherwise, there is no campaign.

Luckily, the story gets into things fast enough that we the audience don’t start looking at Tiktoks or something. The Doctor uses psychic paper to establish himself as a “secret shopper,” type of inspector. But not all of the crew is entirely on board with this mysterious stranger. The troops have been sent to planet 6-7-6-7, to find out what happened to the mining crew of Colony Base 15. However, due to the galvanic radiation, communication with the crew is virtually impossible.  The bodies of the crew show the signs of a violent struggle. Planet 6-7-6-7 is an uninhabitable irradiated rock, but it’s also rich with mercury. But this is no mere Mad Hatter Disease. Those without the burn marks of a laser gun exhibit evidence of blunt force trauma. Every mirror has been smashed and there appears to be only one crew member still living.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have this episode slightly spoiled. An unfortunate side-effect of being a Doctor Who fan are the Doctor Who theories and spoilers that sometimes get thrust upon us by YouTube thumbnails or some dick on Facebook. It seemed like the usual speculation rot. The same people who said that Alan’s golden visage in “The Robot Revolution,” was the new look for Omega, were the same people saying the Midnight entity was set to return. Annoyingly, this was one of those one in a million moments when the speculators were correct. It only slightly ruined the reveal, as I had cottoned on earlier through context. There aren’t many planets in the Whoniverse that exhibit 6-7-6-7’s traits. And of course, as soon as they mention X-tonic radiation, most of us knew immediately.

My reaction to the spoiler when I first heard it was “That’s stupid, why would they do that? They just did a spiritual sequel with ‘The Wild Blue Yonder.’” Truly, this episode had a lot to overcome from my perspective, and it’s not like my worries are unprecidented. One might argue that while enjoyable, the Weeping Angels have become less and less effective with each new appearance. It wasn’t enough for them to knock people out of their place in time, but now they must also break people’s necks. The image of an angel is now an angel. So not only can you not look away from them, but looking at them infects you too. This is the problem with long-form storytelling. You write Batman for long enough, and eventually some edgelord is going to have the Joker cut his face off. Have you seen how many powers Superman has these days? The lore becomes overwrought.

Of course Davies has to introduce more powers to the Midnight entity. When the sole survivor, Aliss, is discovered, it is quickly learned that she is host to the entity. However, 400,000 years have passed since the events of “Midnight,” and the entity has added some new tricks to its repertoire. One could even say it has adapted over the years. The time jump is an effective way to change the rules a bit, but they didn’t change them so much that the entity is unrecognisable, or at least as recognisable as a faceless entity can be. The hallmarks of paranoia and fear are palpable as the crew begin fear one another. Like the last time we met the entity, it pits people against one another and toys with them. It would appear that 400 millennia have done nothing to soften the entity’s attitude.

One of the entity’s newfound abilities is to hitch a ride on the back of their victims and anyone who stands at their “midnight” position gets thrown violently. Technically, that would be their six behind them and 12 o’clock would be directly in front of them, but whatever, it’s poetic license. The troop’s leader and future Big Finish lead, Shayla Costallion, is trying her best to allay the fears of her soldiers but the Doctor’s claim of having visited 400,000 years previous, throws his credibility into doubt, and by extension, Shayla’s. Cassio Palin-Paleen, aka Trooper 1 and not a brand of wristwatch, has been suspicious of the Doctor and Belinda since their unannounced arrival. Mix in the paranoia created by the entity, and you’ve got the workings of a mutiny on your hands.

Aliss’ deafness turns out to be her strength in this episode as she is unable to hear the entity’s whispers. It can’t turn her paranoid like everyone else. Though it’s not like it’s helped her much. Everyone around her is dead and now troops are pointing weapons at her. One aspect to her deafness that I did find a bit odd was that the sign language she used was British sign language. I say odd because she’s supposed to be an alien. Her people have never even heard of humans. It would have been interesting for the Doctor to say something like “It’s not British sign language, the TARDIS is simply translating it.” That could have added an extra dimension to the TARDIS translation circuits that we’ve never seen. It feels odd that the TARDIS is supposed to translate language and yet on the two occasions when the Doctor has met deaf people, it doesn’t translate their signing. I’ve read Doctor Who stories where the TARDIS translates the movements of a species that speaks in dance. Clearly this is an inconsistency of the TARDIS that crops up as narrative dictates, but it could have been very interesting to see them explore the implications of non-verbal communication.

Cassio’s mutiny throws the entire squad into a frenzy, including Aliss who begins turning, thus revealing her back to the troops flinging them back violently. Despite the fact that the troops are dying grizzly deaths, the tone was on the verge of becoming silly. However, Shayla’s command to Aliss to turn in such a way as to kill Cassio brought things back on track. Not only did it put an end to the mutiny, but it also grounded the story into a more serious place than people cartoonishly flying backwards. It’s hard to keep the same tension as an intimate story like “Midnight,” when you’re telescoping the focus to be bigger and broader. In terms of tone, “Midnight” is to “The Well,” what “Alien,” is to “Aliens.” One is a quiet brooding survival horror, while the other is a soldier filled action thriller. You trade the intimate single location set of the tour shuttle for a big expensive mining facility. It’s not a bad thing, but it does remind me of Omni-Man saying “Look what they need to mimic a fraction of our power.” Midnight achieved so much more tension with so much less.

Tone really is the overall factor. And while it may not be fair to compare them, “The Well,” never reaches anything close to the same level of tension as its predecessor. But one tone that the episode does deliver on is that it feels like something straight out of the first Davies era. And I don’t mean because it was a sequel to a classic Davies story, or that they reused familiar visual cues like the pit from “The Satan Pit,” or female captains offing themselves like “The Waters of Mars.” It feels like a solid classic episode of very safe and very fun Doctor Who. This is the kind of episode people were expecting when Davies came back on as showrunner.

It’s weird to feel so cynical toward an episode I enjoyed the hell out of. These past three episodes have been such a pleasure to watch. But I find myself struggling with the themes of this story and its implications, especially in its ending. Like “Midnight,” before it, the entity is supposedly neutralised by a fearless woman giving her life to save everyone else. I say supposedly because the existence of “The Well,” implies that the first time only took the creature out of commission. The second time, Shayla’s great sacrifice is almost immediately nullified by the persistence of the entity on the rescue ship. It’s as though Davies undermined her sacrifice in favour of a tired horror trope of the monster surviving their supposed death. Since when did Doctor Who need to suddenly explain the reappearance of a villain? The Master comes in and out of life and death as he pleases, but suddenly we have to explain that the entity survived.

I keep saying Davies, when what I mean is actually “Russell T Davies and Sharma Angel-Walfall.” But since Davies gave himself top billing, and I have no idea what Sharma’s contribution was, I have been defaulting to Davies. Perhaps it truly was a collaborative effort, but I would love to see Davies actually let these writers have their own stories eventually. I imagine Davies had the seed of a story and had Sharma write it. That’s pretty common in situations like these. It makes sense that Davies would be more involved on this story as the Midnight entity is from one of his most celebrated stories. I just wish I knew who to praise, and what for.

The Chekov’s gun of broken mirrors plays into the entity’s apparent demise. The Doctor orders Shayla and her troops to shoot the pipes carrying mercury. Using a cascade of liquid mercury, the reflection of the entity behind Aliss now has itself behind itself. I liked the use of reflections here as it was a nice nod to the way the entity would mirror the Doctor and others aboard the tour shuttle. It felt appropriate for the mythology of the entity. It’s funny how I mentioned Davies remixing his old work, because much of this story was evoking Steven Moffat. Stopping the entity with its own reflection reminded me a lot of trapping the Weeping Angels by forcing them all to look at each other. But how well does it work? As it would appear with this creature, the only thing anyone can do for sure is slow it down, and even then, I’m not so sure.

If you recall from “The Robot Revolution,” Belinda asks the Doctor about the physiology of Missbelindachandrakind and whether it is similar to that of humans. It’s odd then that basically the same question is asked about humans in comparison to Lombardics. Is this some weird detail to pay attention to or a bizarre coincidence? Remember how the bees disappearing and alien invaders with lost planets ended up being the secret behind series four? The way Davies writes, it could be nothing, or it could be everything. I’m not saying it is something, but if nothing else, it’s weird that it happened twice. After it is revealed that the entity has left Aliss and latched onto Belinda, Shayla shoots Belinda in an effort to transfer the infection to herself. While the Doctor fusses over Belinda, Shayla tears ass down the corridor in order to throw herself into the pit.

Shayla’s sacrifice does save the life of Belinda. Her gamble of shooting Belinda in a non-lethal spot was enough to trick the entity off of her back. The Doctor gets Belinda back onto the TARDIS and hooks her clothes up to the latest in airpod technology. Belinda continues to delight throughout this episode. I love her reactions to every “new” piece of the Doctor’s tech. The bewilderment on her face as the Doctor pulls out his psychic paper is such a nice attention to detail. It’s easy for us to forget that all of this is still quite fresh for Belinda, especially because she seems so well-suited for the job.

I mention Shayla is a future Big Finish character, but that’s because she reminds me a bit of Bernice Summerfield. She has a sort of badass who has probably been on quite a few adventures air about her. She has all of the makings to be a fan favourite like Sara Kingdom or Amelia Rumford. In another reality, she would be a recurring character. But here we see her cut down in the line of duty, and worse yet, seemingly for no real reason. Ultimately the Midnight entity gets away, possibly even hitching a ride off of the planet depending on whether or not anyone on the ship survives. They’re not deaf like Aliss, so they might succumb to the whims of this ancient evil. Or it did die in the pit. Though I imagine its survival instinct is stronger than that. Going by this metric, the Doctor is 0 for 2 when it comes to facing off against this baddie. His only victory in both instances was escape.

To their credit, neither Davies nor Angel-Walfall ruined the mystery of the creature. What little we saw of the creature were vague glimpses over people’s shoulders. My biggest worry about this story was that they would explain too much and they did not. They found a nice middleground and stuck to it. However, I am still struck by the feeling that the story still feels unnecessary. No new information was gleaned other than “You really can’t kill this thing.” I was reminded of Michael from “The Good Place”  when he said “There's something so human about taking something great and ruining it a little so you can have more of it.” He was talking about froyo, but it applies. My friend, Anathema, said she was glad that RTD didn’t turn the entity into some God of Chaos in the Pantheon, and I am in full agreement. But the introduction of Mrs Flood at the end of the story did have me wondering if she didn’t orchestrate the entire thing.

Speaking of Mrs Flood, isn’t it a bit bizarre that they’re doing the same thing with her as they did with Susan Twist last season? It’s such an odd choice that I expect them to reveal Mrs Flood to be some lady who also can’t make tea. I’m curious what her response to the Doctor’s vindicator is going to be. Whatever that is, I imagine it will take a couple of weeks for us to find out as next week is looking to be a Doctor-lite episode. Even weirder, the episode stars Ruby Sunday as opposed to Belinda, which I guess makes sense considering Belinda and the Doctor’s current predicament. I don’t see them having many opportunities to split up. Pete McTighe is returning as a writer for this one. I don’t know how to feel about that as none of his stories have been particularly good. We’ve only really seen him write under Chibnall, so maybe having RTD as showrunner will elevate his work.

This one was difficult to write about. On one hand, I had a lot of fun watching this story unfold. It was a very solid episode of Doctor Who. But it had a lot of weird baggage attached to it. I didn’t care for either of the endings. One felt nullified by the other, and the other felt like corny horror schlock. But dammit if it wasn’t a lot of fun to watch. Ncuti did a beautiful job portraying the same level of fear David Tennant delivered nearly 17 years ago. I do feel that the episode struggled to make a case for its own existence, but perhaps its strongest argument is that it was so damn good. It felt effortlessly good. Instant classic stuff. If someone’s biggest complaint about the RTD2 era is that it doesn’t feel like the RTD era, this is the episode for them. They say you can’t revisit your childhood, but for a portion of the fandom, this episode was something of a time machine. Three episodes in and season two is really starting to shape up into something special.

[pro-depresanti]

Speculation time:

What if Season 1 reveals the main antagonists for the upcoming seasons

Tldr, my idea: Season 2 is about Vox, Season 3 is about the other two Vees, Season 4 is about Alastor as an antagonist for Charlie, Season 5 is about Heaven, Season 6 is about Rosie, Season 7 is about anything left about Lilith/Eve/Roo and whoever antagonist else is left standing.

If we're left with just 4 seasons total, this would crunch to Season 2 – the Vees, Season 3 – Alastor and perhaps Rosie, Season 4 – Lilith/Eve/Roo.

Ep1 – we are introduced to Adam and Lute. The major conflict of Season 1 revolves around stopping the Extermination, aka Adam

Ep2 – we are shown the ongoing rivalry between Vox and Alastor. Season 2's main antagonist/s will be Vox or the Vees in general.

Ep3 and 4 – the antagonists we focus in these episodes are Velvette and Valentino respectively. I don't think they'll get their own season to shine individually, but maybe they could be the focus for Season 3 (mini speculation that Vox ends up being majorly injured/killed/losing his Overlord status in Season 2), or for the sake of this speculation be grouped with Vox for Season 2.

Ep5 – the episode is about Lucifer and Alastor, both as them separately and the conflict between them starting. I don't think Lucifer will ever be made an antagonist against Charlie and the Hotel, so for this next hypothetical season they would have Alastor as the main antagonist for the Season after the Vees have been defeated/subdued and/or most of their storylines being finished.

Ep6 – the two conflicts in this episode are about Heaven and Hell (more specifically against Charlie's ideas), and Valentino and Angel. Whatever happened with the hypothetical previous season with Alastor could have caused and uproar with Heaven, proving that perhaps Heaven is right – not everyone deserves redemption. To add to that we can include Valentino in that theme of "some people don't deserve salvation" which would be interesting to see Charlie come to terms with.

Ep7 – we are properly introduced to Rosie. This is another personal theory of mine but I do think she's more important than we're let to believe. Alastor respects her, I'm pretty convinced she isn't just a regular sinner turned Overlord, something fishy is going on with her. I'm calling it now, she's somehow connected to either Lilith, Eve, or Roo; or is one of them in disguise. That episode also focuses on Carmilla, but again, I don't think she'll ever become an antagonist for Charlie and the Hotel.

Ep8 – we wrap everything up. Any loose ends, perhaps in this hypothetical final season whatever antagonists are left team up together; oooor, we see Lilith/Eve/Roo in their true potential. With the case of Lilith we have Charlie's family conflicts; Eve, we could have this theme of connection between Heaven and Hell and Earth; and Roo, if she ever becomes a proper character, as the main source of evil

[suckerforobliviousidiotsinlove]

I was just thinking about my theories for the next few episodes based on the episode descriptions for 6 & 7 and an interview with David Jenkins and I came up with something.

Don’t go further if you don’t want spoilers for the episode 7 description, this is all speculation at this point. If this happens to be similar to what actually happens it’s completely an accident.

Anyway read further at your own risk

So I’ve seen some of the reactions from reviewers who have got the final episode early and it’s very similar to what reviewers were saying about good omens season 2 so I’m not really expecting a happy ending. I mean this is David Jenkins so it’s definitely going to be a cliffhanger.

And then I saw this episode 7 description and David Jenkins interview on TikTok:

Now I really focused on the whole Stede wanting to be a great pirate and Ed wanting to retire part.

And I thought what if the season ends with Ed settling down to retire on land and Stede setting off to be a great pirate with the promise to return after a certain amount of time (let’s say a year). Now this would be technically happy but in a bittersweet way because they would be separated so soon after they’ve reunited.

And then it got worse…

I thought about Ricky and this other pirate guy (I can’t remember his name) and how they would play into this.

What if after Stede takes off on his pirating adventure he gets captured. Ed wouldn’t know because there’s not exactly an easy way to communicate so it wouldn’t be odd to not hear from Stede. And that’s where the season ends.

Season 3 starts. It hits the one year mark and Stede isn’t back.

No worries though maybe he got delayed by a storm or something.

But then more time passes and Stede still isn’t back so Ed goes looking for him (which would parellel season 2 Stede looking for Ed and we know how much they love a good parallel) but Ed has no idea if Stede is dead, has been taken, or has decided Ed wasn’t worth it after all.

And then if I was writing this because I’m really mean I wouldn’t let the audience know whether or not Stede is ok either. The only thing we see is Stede being taken so we don’t know if he survived until Ed finds him.

Anyway hope you enjoyed please don’t kill me and if this happens it’s not my fault I did not manifest it.

[lillie98]

Using the new Casting Announcement and website, I compiled Family Trees for the Stranger Things families. Some things I noticed:

1) Bob Newby’s sister is Black. His mother is not mentioned, but his father is white. Maybe she was adopted? Why is she never brought up in the show? Was there a contentious relationship between Patty and Bob?

2) Bob Newby’s father was a Priest. They call him Father Newby. We know religion plays a huge part in this story, so I’m interested to see how this storyline plays out. Makes Joyce and Bob’s relationship that much more interesting. There’s a promo shot of a little girl seemingly trapped inside a church, placing her hand on a window. Maybe it’s Patty (Bob’s sister) or Alice Creel? Did Father Newby have something to do with the Upside Down? Did he know Brenner? What happened to him? I had no idea they were going to focus so much on this family. Makes me so angry they killed off Bob!

3) Eddie’s father’s name was Allen, but his mother is not mentioned. How did an abusive, neglectful man end up alone with his son? Did Eddie’s mother die or leave them? Was Eddie trafficked across state lines? We know Allen is incarcerated, but Eddie doesn’t elaborate on why. Did he kill his wife, leaving Eddie and him on the run until he was eventually found and charged? Is that when Wayne stepped up?We know Wayne is not fond of his brother so, whatever Allen did must have been awful.

4) Claudia Henderson and Virginia Creel are both listed with their married names, whereas Sue (Anderson) Sinclair, Karen (Childress) Wheeler, and Joyce (Maldonado) Byers are listed with their maiden names. Did the church (Father Newby) not approve of their marriages. What does it mean?!

5) Hopper is a Junior and his father was also Police Chief. Was he killed in the line of duty? We know from Hopper’s monologue in Russia that his father was verbally abusive and made Hopper feel he had to prove himself, thus he ended up in Vietnam. Is that why Hopper took over the Chief position, to continue his father’s legacy? Maybe if he became Chief, his father would be proud? Also, his wife, Diane, is not mentioned. They had Sarah together before she died. We don’t know what happened to Diane or where she went/came from. Sarah’s life and death are such crucial parts of Hopper’s life, it would make sense to include them. Unless Diane and Sarah never existed—another case of falsified memories. This is getting trippy.

6) Alice Creel is not mentioned in the cast, but I added her because she’s a part of Henry’s story. Did she not exist? Is Karen Wheeler the actual Alice Creel as some have speculated? Is that why she had her own Season 4 poster?

7) Steve’s parents are not mentioned, though I really wish they were! I want to know more about this boy and his family. Is his father really a loser? Did he abuse Steve? What do they do for a living? Tell me!!!

8) Terry Ives (Eleven’s supposed birth mother) is not mentioned. She and Becky (Terry’s sister) were always an interesting duo to me. Why not include her if she birthed one of the most important people to our story…unless she didn’t. I’ve always said Terry is not El’s mother, but I won’t get into all that right now. This only solidified my theory that El and Will were twins separated at birth, but the memories were changed. They look too much alike. If that’s true, it adds a whole new layer to the story. The real Wonder Twins.

Overall, I think these small findings will have major implications for the story, especially Bob’s family. I’m excited to finish out this incredible story and learn the truth about Hawkins!

[miki-13]

So if you follow me or know of me, you know of this post I made after episode 1 of Helluva Boss season 2 which details my theory on Stella’s bitchy self.

https://www.tumblr.com/miki-13/691625047016849408/stella-is-a-bitch-and-the-amount-of-people-who-are

What you don’t know is that sometime after I posted the above but before episode 4 aired, I actually got even more theories that change some things in said post.

Paimon is not the only king of hell: in the Ars Goetia, there are nine kings of Hell.

1. Baal/Bael (I like the Stargate one better) 

2. Paimon- wait

3. Beleth (KITTY)

4. Purson. (HOT KITTY)

5. Asmodeus- dammit wrong one

6. Vine/Vinea (am now vibing with him being akin to a nuckaleeve in his design)

7. Balam. (That exposed nipple tho)

8. Zagan/Zagam. (”... the fuck are you looking at?” energy)

9. Belial. (Shadow Clone Jutsu before it was cool- manifesting this for his power)

After them are the different groups of grand dukes, dukes, princes, marquises, counts, grand presidents, regular presidents and the solitary knight.

My theory is that each king of hell’s children are sorted into these classes depending on the rank of said king and the age of said child (it’s possible consorts have ranking as well but to keep this from getting too complicated/ speculating on the unknown, it will not be a factor here). Paimon is ranked second of the kings of hell, so Stolas is a prince.

Meanwhile Andrealphus is ranked Marquise, which while it is one rank less than Prince, is ultimately ranked 65th in the 72 known Ars Goetia (compared to Stolas’ rank of 36). I put my money on his father being King Zagan, due to him being king over the sect Andrealphus is in. 

Andrealphus may be a marquis, but he was only a marquis of the second-to-last king of hell; and if fate had been crueler, his own noble title could have been a count, or Lucifer-Forbid, a mere president (for example, the death of another or multiple children ahead of him in succession). This fact haunts his every step and, in a world where rank is everything, it makes him especially grasping for more power.

Stelle being Andrealphys’ half-sister still works in this context, albeit paired with a different king than Paimon. Her being related through only their mother would explain why Andrealphus resembles the peacock-like form the original Ars Goetia depicts him as, yet Stella resembles a secretariat bird more.

And this can still work with Stella’s hypothetical backstory. 

Andrealphus, wanting more and more, decides that his half-sister is the perfect way to secure him more power. Angry at the world and everyone close to her, Stella was already alone and without power… just what he needed.

So Andrealphus either makes Stella legitimate or he covers for her so that she can live her best worst life, hence her whole attitude. Because she was covered up for most of her life, Stella was able to do what she wanted with little to no consequence. It didn’t matter she was a bastard or that her mother screwed over an actual king of hell, not with Andrealphus by her side.

Even her not caring about Stolas’ inheritance passing to Octavia makes sense: she’s already not only rich but she (in her mind) would have access to Andrealphus’ superior (in her mind) legions and resources. What did she have to fear in losing what little (in her mind) Stolas had to offer? After all, her precious brother was already superior to him in every way.

But to Andrealpus, who wanted to be more than a mere marquis, Stella trying to kill off Stolas without gaining anything from it was the worst possible scenario. It didn’t matter he was already the upper crust of hell. It didn’t matter he already had his own armies and powers. It didn’t matter that the sister he manipulated and wrapped around his finger believed that all they needed was money and power.

As long as Andrealphus is anything less than THE king of hell, it would never be enough for him.

Extra:

Stella is starting to give me Namami vibes, and her+ Andrealphus’ dynamic is giving me Nanami+ Touga vibes. If you know, you know. 

I would not be surprised if the two had something going on, if they do there’s two things for certain: 1. Stella absolutely is not 100% consenting to it, and 2. the only reason Andrealphus is doing this is to keep Stella under his control)

(Note: I was about 3/4s done with this post before watching this

And it influenced just a few things. Many thanks, Sarcastic Chorus)

[snowlessknitter]

The Masked Singer: S13 E4 (Group B; “Voices of Olympus” Night)

A new group enters the competition, which means we have five new celebrities to speculate on! As always, I post before seeing any unmaskings, so these are just my guesses and not meant to be spoilers.

Boogie Woogie 🕺 🪩: Says he had “extravagant dreams…of being a clown” and took up juggling before trying to become a magician. Says he won a talent show, but ended up busking. We see four quarters in his hat. We see him playing a piano. Has a good singing voice, so maybe he’s a singer and possibly an actor or comedian. The voice kinda sounds like Gavin DeGraw, but I haven’t seen any clues pointing to him. Rita Ora’s guess of Criss Angel sounded the most plausible, but I’m kinda stumped at the moment. I’m just gonna throw Gavin DeGraw out there, but I’m probably way off. I think he survives this round, though.

Space Ranger 👽 🤠: Says he “lives on his own planet”. Says he won gold and excelled in PE. So, I’m gonna guess that this person is an athlete who possibly competed in the Olympics. We see a house of cards. His hat also has a model of Saturn 🪐 hanging from it. Saturn is the 6th planet from the Sun, and I’m wondering if his jersey number is 6? We see a box of chocolates. His song was originally performed by his “bestie”. The song is “Bad Blood” by Taylor Swift. Well, Taylor’s current boyfriend is Travis Kelce from the Kansas City Chiefs. So, I’m guessing this could be Travis or one of his teammates. If I’m sticking with my number 6 theory, then this might be Bryan Cook, a defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs and more importantly wears the number 6 on his jersey. Apparently his belt could be a clue, too, but I can’t quite tell what it is. The “Lucky Duck” clue giver confirms it, saying “Tick tock”, and it looks to be a clock of some time. Could he also be a TikTok influencer?

Griffin 🦅 🦁: We see him holding a sheriff’s badge. He gets hit by what looks like a school bell reading “School’s Out”. We see him holding a videotape with a pumpkin on it. I’m starting to think Alice Cooper, but let’s see if there are more clues. I don’t know if his voice is pointing me towards Alice Cooper. It sounds too young. Some other possibilities I’m thinking of are Eric Estrada from CHiPs and Armed & Famous and Simon Rex from the Scary Movie franchise. If I had to guess, I’d actually go with Simon Rex at the moment, because Scary Movie 3 actually has a plot involving a cursed videotape and Simon has also recorded some music.

Bat 🦇: Says she’s a “misunderstood creature”, portrayed as a “villain and a bloodsucking backstabber.” She holds up a business card reading “Bat at Business”. We see a tapestry with a bear on it. We also see a TV reading “24/7”. My immediate thought is that this could be someone from the Real Housewives shows. Another thought is Kate Chastain from Below Deck and the first two seasons of The Traitors (where she was definitely a villain of her seasons). I’m also thinking Kim Zolciak from The Real Housewives of Atlanta. She also knows both Jenny McCarthy and Nick Cannon. Larsa Pippen (who was formerly married to Chicago Bulls superstar Scottie Pippen and dated one of Michael Jordan’s sons, I think his name was Marcus) appeared with her then-boyfriend on The Traitors in season 2. I’ll go with Kim Zolciak for now.

Pearl 🦪: Says she’s pretty tough, and loved performing. We see her catching a baseball. Maybe she’s married to a baseball player or former baseball player? We see her holding a pink umbrella and eating from a bowl of cherries. My first thought is Joanna García-Swisher, who played Reba’s oldest daughter on Reba and who is married to former Major League Baseball player Nick Swisher. But I don’t think Joanna’s a professional singer, and this woman sounds like she might be an experienced singer. She says she’s never dressed “this fancy” before. So she probably came from humble beginnings. Rita Ora suggested Joan Jett because of the cherries (both the lead singer of The Runaways, Cherie Currie, as well as their song “Cherry Bomb”). However, Pearl doesn’t sound like Joan Jett, who’s always had a bit of a gruff-sounding singing voice. However, there was one other member of The Runaways who went on to have her own successful singing career, and that is the woman who I’m guessing for this round: Lita Ford. She had hits with “Kiss Me Deadly” and “Close My Eyes Forever” (with Ozzy Osbourne) and her voice has a bit more melody to it compared to Joan Jett’s.

[violethowler]

Me, My Self, and I: An Analysis of the Operation Kuron Storyline

Back when seasons 3, 4, and 5 released on Netflix, Voltron fans were split into two camps regarding what was going on with Shiro: One camp insisted that we were still seeing the same Shiro as the one we saw in the first two seasons, while the other argued that the current Shiro was a clone programmed with the memories of the original.

On the surface, the show’s 6th season appeared to side with the clone theory fans, and I saw multiple people who had argued for it being the same Shiro lamenting because they felt that all the development Shiro had gotten after the end of Season 2 had been wasted now that we knew the Shiro we’d been following since Season 3 wasn’t the real one.

Even then, however, fans who supported the clone theory were upset because they felt that the resolution of the original Shiro’s consciousness being transferred into the clone body was effectively killing off a separate, unique character who deserved to have his own life independent of the original Shiro.

Yet while I could understand where both sides’ complaints were coming from, I never had that same feeling of outrage.

At the time, I assumed it was just because I noticed that it served as a bit of meta commentary on how the original 80s cartoon took two identical looking characters in GoLion and melded them into a single character.

But after talking to @leakinghate​ and @dragonofyang​ a while back, I realized that there was a deeper meaning and symbolism to the whole Operation Kuron storyline that, in hindsight, I had managed to pick up on subconsciously thanks to being exposed to similar ideas in other stories.

And once I became aware of those similarities, I couldn’t help but look back at Voltron and realize that many of the assumptions the fandom has about the details of Clone!Shiro’s story are not actually supported by the show’s lore.

For example, despite the paladins referring to him as such in Seasons 6 and 7, the idea that the Shiro we see in Seasons 3-6 was a clone in the usual sense that we expect from science fiction - that is, being a unique individual made from an existing character’s DNA with their own separate consciousness who develops their own identity and personality independent of the person they were created from - is not actually supported by the show’s lore.

For starters, the only people who use the word clone to refer to the other Shiro are the human characters, who do not have any intel on how “Kuron” was created. Meanwhile, none of the characters who are involved in Operation Kuron use the word clone to refer to him at any point in the series. In fact, even Haggar herself treats “Kuron” and Shiro like they’re the same person when she’s telling him to lead Keith away in S6E05. When you would think that if there was no point in pretending anymore she would at least acknowledge that he’s not the original.

Furthermore, based on what we are shown of the technological and magical capabilities of the Galra empire, it is not possible for Haggar or the Galra to just download Original!Shiro’s memories into Clone!Shiro’s head. Pidge and Hunk speculate in S2E03 about the possibility that the Empire implanted fake memories of escaping in Shiro’s head via his prosthetic arm are part of an elaborate trap. But not only are they proven wrong, but the series never even confirms that such a thing is within the mystical or technological capabilities of the empire.

The Galra military is never shown doing anything tech based with memory manipulation or the kind of brainwashing that would be required to make “Kuron” think that he’s the real Shiro.

Meanwhile on the mystical front, the only person in the empire who is shown doing anything that involves messing around with other people’s minds is Haggar. And the only abilities that we have seen her demonstrate in that regard are:

Looking into someone’s mind and viewing their memories (seen with Zarkon in S3E07).

Using a person as a conduit for Haggar to spy on the person’s allies (seen with Narti in S4E03 and Shiro in Seasons 5-6).

Removing a person’s spirit/consciousness from their body and storing it inside herself (seen in Season 8 with the spirits of the original Paladins).

Forcing someone to comply with her orders and bend to her will (seen with Shiro in S6E04-5, Lotor in S8E06).

Flipping a psychic kill switch and remotely killing someone from a distance (seen with Luka in S8E01).

Projecting someone’s consciousness outside of their body (Seen with Zarkon in S2E03, S2E07, and S2E12).

Transferring a person’s consciousness from one body to another (Seen with Myzax in S1E02 and Prorok in S2E03).

Nowhere does she demonstrate the ability to create an exact copy of a person’s memories and personality that can then be implanted into another person’s mind so thoroughly that they think they are the first person.

Based on what we’ve been shown of Haggar’s capabilities, the only way it’s even possible for the clone to have Shiro’s memories and personality is for Haggar to transferring Shiro’s spirit into a new body.

Which is pretty much the same thing that we’ve already sen her doing when she creates her Robeasts in Seasons 1-2.

She transfers the test subject’s quintessence from their original body into their larger, robotic one. And her words to Myzax in S1E02 Some Assembly Required indicate that the Robeasts are all meant to remain aware of themselves in their larger form and have all of their memories intact.

Because why would Haggar bother asking if Myzax wanted revenge against Shiro if he wasn’t even going to remember anything after she turned him into a Robeast?

This basically implies that all of the extra Shiro bodies that we saw at the cloning facility in S6E05 The Black Paladins were basically the organic version of empty Robeast shells - lifeless and incapable of independent movement until Haggar does her ritual to transfer the pilot/model’s quintessence into the new body.

And she has previously demonstrated that physical distance from her target is not an obstacle to being able to transfer a person’s soul from Point A to Point B. Because Season 8 shows that Zarkon was one of the spirits trapped inside her mindscape, even though she wasn’t anywhere near the planet he died on in S5E02.

In fact, “Kuron” being Shiro’s soul moved to a new body would also explain how Haggar and the Operation Kuron staff knew to release “Kuron” when they did. How could Haggar know Shiro was missing from Team Voltron unless she already had the ability to locate, and therefore manipulate his consciousness.

But there’s still one question about the logistics and timeline of “Kuron’s” creation.

Because in S6E06, Shiro indicates that his consciousness has been inside the Black Lion since the end of Season 2.

So how exactly could Haggar have yanked his spirit into a new body if he was inside the Black Lion from the end of season 2?

Well perhaps it’s something akin to how Steven’s gem turned into a copy of him when White Diamond removed it in the finale of Steven Universe Season 5.

That even if she couldn’t get his entire soul before he got absorbed by the Black Lion in S2E13, she only needed a fraction of Shiro’s consciousness in order to animate the new body.

In theory, this could hypothetically allow her to split Shiro’s mind into multiple bodies at once, explaining why S6E05 showed that she had made so many extra bodies.

It would also mean that the merging of the two Shiro’s in Voltron was the equivalent of Steven and Pink Steven fusing back together: Two halves of a single individual being made whole again, rather than one character being sacrificed for another.

But if the lore indicates that this is one Shiro with two bodies rather than two separate characters, why does Shiro treat his clone self like a separate person?

In one of my older essays, I pointed out how the visuals of Season 6 frame Haggar reclaiming her identity as Honerva in S6E01 as a parallel to Shiro and “Kuron” being merged in S6E07

Once Honerva goes through her “merging of two selves”, she tries to distance herself from her actions as Haggar, acting like the things she did to Lotor and others were done by someone else.

And her reason for doing that is obvious: she doesn’t want to face the fact that she hurt and abused her own son.

So following the parallels between, Shiro treating his actions in Seasons 3-6 like they were committed by a separate person logically reflects a similar level of denial. 

Like Honerva, he doesn’t want to face the fact that he’s capable of doing the things he did as “Kuron”.

Because Shiro in Seasons 3-6 is not as patient or compassionate with his team. He’s less considerate of others, and focused on his own priorities above everyone else’s.

And Season 6, he physically attacks and in at least one case injures the people he cares about.

Thanks to WEP’s meddling with Seasons 7-8, the payoff where Shiro recognizes and makes peace with that part of himself got left on the cutting room floor.

But the parallels with Haggar helps to at least make it clear what the writers were going for and what the point of this whole storyline was.

I’ve seen multiple people over the years note that Honerva’s transformation into Haggar, particularly the state we saw her in immediately post-Rift and shortly after Lotor’s birth in S5E02 and S8E02, can be read as a metaphor for Post-Partum Depression or something similar.

If you use their status as parallels to apply a similar logic toward the existence of “Kuron,” then the entire clone subplot can be seen as a fantasy representation of how Shiro is affected by his PTSD.

He goes through a traumatic experience and comes out mostly the same as he was before, but slightly off enough that he doesn’t feel right.

He initially hides his struggles and tries to pretend that everything is fine, downplaying what he’s going through. But eventually the strain starts to become too much and he tries to reach out for help, as we saw him attempt with Lance in Season 5.

But as we saw, he was brushed aside and his concerns were not taken seriously.

Without support, Shiro eventually reaches his breaking point, culminating in a fight with Keith in The Black Paladins, where - in contrast with his silent and stoic demeanor when carrying out Haggar’s orders - he repeatedly taunts and antagonizes Keith as if he's trying to goad Keith into killing him.

But Keith refuses to leave Shiro or let him die, and makes it clear in S7E01 A Little Adventure that he will never give up on him.

By refusing to let go in S6E05, Keith demonstrates that he will always support Shiro unconditionally, no matter what. This allows Shiro to finally begin to heal and come back to himself.

He’ll never be the same as he was before, but all the pieces of himself are finally whole again.

As I’ve outlined in older essays, the main theme of Shiro’s character arc is learning to accept that you don’t have to deal with your problems alone, and that needing support from others does not make you weak.

So when viewed in that context, the entire Operation Kuron subplot serves as a demonstration of what happens when Shiro doesn’t get that help and keeps on trying to deal with his problems alone.

TL;DR: While I understand how the idea became so widely accepted, the concept of “Kuron” as a separate character from Shiro is a fan headcanon that isn’t supported by the show’s lore. Instead, the themes and patterns of the narrative indicate that the “clone” is literally Shiro’s soul in a duplicate body, and the whole Operation Kuron subplot is intended to represent the consequences of his reluctance to let others help him manage his PTSD.

[pikahlua]

I saw your post about the parallels between PLW Shigaraki's death/awakening and Katsuki right now. I can't promise this'll be up to your standards, but I did notice some cool parallels XD. 1: Both think about an early childhood event before nearly (or literally) kicking the bucket. 2: Both show signs of an awakening quirk before their "deaths"

3: Both are facing a major obstacle in the war they're seeking to win, one way or another. 4: Both are having to face extreme pain as their quirk awakens. Shigaraki through the experiments, Bakugo due to his quirk overwhelming his body. Almost like it is experimenting itself, day by day.

5: Both seem to be getting help from an outside source of some kind. Shigaraki has Dr Ujiko helping him under go experiments, whereas One for All seems to be either lending Bakugo a hand or is becoming connected to him. 6: When Dr Ujiko's experiments on Shigaraki are shown, Shigaraki's chest has been pierced open, with tubes opening wounds much like the first time Bakugo sacrificed himself.

7: The ongoing experiments get interrupted and Shigaraki's body is left at 75% completion, which echoes how Katsuki's quirk was awakening but hadn't completed itself yet. 8: Both Bakugo and Shigaraki experience hallucination-like dreams as they appear death, both centered around early childhood and their mentors. 9: Despite the heroes destroying the tank at 75%, Shigaraki awakens with a fully powered quirk due to his own memories, willpower and newfound sense of purpose and identity. 10: This is simply speculation: Shigaraki pulverizes the heroes when his quirk finally awakens, but quickly starts to be manipulated by afo. I'm guessing that if this theory holds true, Katsuki will pulverize the villains when he wakes up, but afo's manipulations will strike again. After I read your post I decided you had a good point so here you go XD. Hope you enjoy!

Publishing for everyone to see. I think there are some here up for discussion and likely even more to identify from here, but here's a good start :)

(I'd add more if I wasn't having my worst allergy season in a while. Just trying to clear out the ask box however I can. <3)

[photon-bytez]

Ultra's Ramblings- Top 10 Predictions/Hopes for PHP Season 2

A few weeks after my own hypothetical post about the second season of Prehistoric Planet was released, we finally got news about it a few weeks ago! Now, it’s no secret that I’m heavily obsessed with this series, and for a good reason; It’s everything that I could ask for in a modern-day dinosaur show, aside from a few things about it being outdated after the episodes were released. And to that, I say it’s alright. The series was a bit too late into production for some of these errors for the producers to go and fix (Things like the Carnotaurus’ scales, the size of the Nanuqsaurus, Antarctopelta having a tail just like Stegouros, etc) so I’m alright with it. Now that news of an actual Season 2 have finally been announced, I figured it would be nice if I shared 10 predictions/hopes for what I’d like to see show up in this next batch of episodes. Given how we’re returning to the Maastrichtian epoch of the Late Cretaceous (Which lasted from 72 to 66 mya), it’s a good possibility that we’re gonna see many returning faces from last time (Given how T. Rex has been confirmed to return, Hank himself will hopefully return), alongside a slew of new creatures making their debut, along with plenty of new traits, behaviors, etc. I’ve already rambled on for long enough, so let’s just get right into it.

10- Maastrichtian Baitball

It’s no secret that baitball hunting is a staple of natural history programs. For those who don’t know about this phenomena, it’s where a school of fish gather together for safety, only to attract multiple predators from all sides; Sea lions, diving birds, sharks, dolphins, various large fish like tuna, and even whales are the usual suspects in these sorts of scenes. With that in mind, maybe PHP could have a scene like this be in one of its upcoming episodes, maybe one about the open ocean. Given how Coasts was already taken up in the last season, maybe we could see a return to the oceans of the Prehistoric Planet. For my take on this idea, the scene revolves around a school of fish similar to Enchodus being hunted by various predators, all taking advantage of this moving feast. Creatures like Zarafasaura, Dasornis, either Alcione and/or Tethydraco, Squalicorax, Stratodus, and even Prognathodon, all feeding on the bait ball as it shrinks and shrinks. It’d be nice if the show did its own take on this sort of scene.

9- Ankylosaur Fight Club

With Tarchia being the first confirmed new animal to appear in Season 2 (Aside from a cameo in Deserts, this species barely had a major presence until now), one of the ideas that I had for the creature is one that not only has been speculated by scientists, but also an idea that I’ve covered in my hypothetical Season 2 article; Ankylosaurs using their tail clubs as territorial weapons. It’s a theory that’s been getting traction in the last few years, so an example of that being in Season 2 is a huge possibility. Bonus points are gonna pop up if the Tarchia come equipped with colorful tail clubs, that would make the whole idea pop even more.

8- Pug Croc

To those who aren’t familiar with Simosuchus, I bet you weren’t aware of how there were cute, plant-eating crocodiles during the Cretaceous. A huge hope that I (along with many people) have for Season 2 is the use of more animals not belonging to the Big 3 (Dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine reptiles) in the new episodes. And which other pick would be perfect than a crocodile that’s basically the reptilian equivalent of a pug?

7- Gone Fishin’

In terms of species that were scrapped for Season 1, Austroraptor was one of them. This particular species of dromaeosaur wasn’t just the largest of its kind in South America, it was speculated to be a piscivore (AKA, an animal that mainly feeds on fish). And given how it was considered for the show, maybe we’ll actually see the beast in action during Season 2’s run. Bonus points if its design is heavily based on a heron.

6- Ain’t no party like a Non-Dinosaurian Party!

Let’s be real here; We all love dinosaurs. Like, alot. With that said, however, a common complaint that fans had about Season 1 is how little non-saurian creatures that don’t belong to the big three (Dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and marine reptiles) show up. Darren Naish had implied that we’re gonna see not just dinosaurs, so maybe this particular prediction could come true. It could be possible that we might see more non-dinosaurian animals. Some of my biggest guesses/hopes include Gargantuavis (Alright, fine. That one is technically a dinosaur, but you get what I mean), the aforementioned Simosuchus, Xiphactinus, Didelphodon, Ocepechelon, and Diplomoceras.

5- Sequelitis

This idea originally came from the show’s WMG page on TV Tropes, but I like it enough to consider it fair game for this list. It would be cool if some of the segments in Season 2 were sequels to previous segments from Season 1. Something like the aftermath of the Dreadnoughtus fight, where the carcass of the fallen bulls are preyed on by scavengers, is just one example of how this idea could work.

4- India, Land Ho!

Similar to the Austroraptor, both Isisasaurus and Rajasaurus were considered for the show, even having unfinished footage that was quickly hidden by the channel that posted it by accident. Given how close to completion they looked, part of me thinks they’re being saved for this season. After all, why put perfectly good footage of dinosaurs to waste? They could definitely finish it up and drop it into Season 2.

3- “Bit of a Dodgy Question”

The long and short of this part; More tracks that have Hans Zimmer involved. It’s more of me being curious, given how Kara Talve and Anže Rozman have killed it in the Season 1 soundtrack, but would Hans be down to come back for this show? This is weaker than the other predictions, but it’d be interesting if the man himself returned with Kara and Anže on making more tracks that bang.

2- Into the Deep (Ocean)

Plain and simple, I’m hankering for an Open Ocean/Ocean Deep episode. Granted, this one is more of a wish than a prediction, but I feel like it would be awesome if one of these upcoming new episodes focused on the open ocean and/or deep sea. While this sort of thing wasn’t really know from the fossil record, a good animal to put in this particular episode would be Phosphorosaurus, a mosasaur species from Japan that has adapted to hunt in deep, dark waters, possibly having eyes that gave even ichthyosaurs a run for their money. Just have that hypothetical segment be like a mix of the segments that respectively featured the Scaphitids and Hoff.

1- The part where Ultra rambles on about how he wants Apple to turn PHP into its own franchise

Eeyup…This is one of the biggest wants that many PHP fans, myself included, have. Given how this show is THE biggest event of paleomedia since the original Walking with Dinosaurs miniseries, it should make sense that it should be successful enough to get a franchise of its own. Both The Future is Wild and the aforementioned WWD went through the same thing due to how massively successful they were, it should make sense that PHP goes through something like it. It definitely has a massive fandom, so the people behind the show should consider how they should dive more into it. And it makes sense that I saved the most ridiculous (Yet, biggest wish regarding PHP) wish/prediction ‘til last.

And those are the top 10 things I either predict or want to see in the second season of Prehistoric Planet. Funnily enough, as I finished writing this, today is the first anniversary of the show’s official reveal (on April Fool’s Day, of all days), so, while this started a few days after Season 2’s announcement in early March, consider this a neat first anniversary gift, from me, and to the PHP fandom. As I post this, we still haven’t gotten any updates. However, since it’s now the first anniversary of the show’s first teaser trailer, we could see something pop up later today, fingers crossed on that one. With that said, here’s to more years of pissing off awesomebros with science, logic, and chonky T. rexes with lips!

[amarynthian-fortress]

It’s all coming together

With the rest of  the “big 4″ episodes of Helluva Boss finally arriving, we can already deduce from the previous ones the very important story bits that hint at what may happen in episodes 6, 7, and 8. 

Firstly, Stolas admitted in episode 1 that he knows he is giving them the book illegally. This already sets up the fact that he can get in huge trouble with both other Goetians and the Deadly Sins if they were to find out how he is using his grimoire. Considering that eventual conflict with Mammon and Asmodeus was already hinted at in both Loo Loo Land episode and the trailer for season 1, Stolas’s whole arrangement with Blitz could have very dire consequences. 

Secondly, in episode 2 we see that Stolas is fully aware of hired assassins being after him, and all of them are most certainly sent by Stella. Since Stella desires his downfall so much, it could very easily be possible that she eventually collaborates with the Deadly Sins against him, as well. 

From Robo Fizz we see that he is owned by Mammon, however Fizz also says that he is shipped from “Big Ozzie’s” factory, and from the trailer we already deduced that Ozzie is short for Asmodeus. From all the posters in Loo Loo Land we see that Robo Fizz also has erotic mode features, and this shows that he is basically a collab product of Mammon and Asmodeus’s profit. 

Additionally, the IMP did immense damage to Mammon’s property by destroying both Loo Loo Land and its robotic Fizzarolli, and it is certain that he would wish revenge for such an act. 

Which then leads us to Wally Wackford. I have already described my thoughts on him in another theory post, so I will not go too much into details on why I believe he is Mammon in disguise, so I refer to that post for more details. 

Now, notice how Wally began suspiciously following them around Hell right after the whole Loo Loo Land disaster, and this not only gives him access to knowing exactly how IMP is operating, who they are getting access to Earth from, and whether the Sinners they deal with are valuable to him. He manages to be exactly where they are, hears them from places he could not possibly hear them (especially when bursting in to recruit Loopty and Lyle), and hosting the Harvest Moon Festival exactly when the IMP are there. All of this goes beyond what an ordinary imp (or even an extraordinary one like Striker) could be capable of. 

In addition, we can only speculate what Lyle and Loopty are able to build for him, and at worst it can be a whole robotic armada. 

This coincides with Verosika’s rather enigmatic appearance and a very odd answer on how she managed to suddenly leave rehab and be hired by one of the more “infinitely successful companies” to lead a team of succubi for Spring Break. Now, who could be the owner of an infinitely successful company full of succubi? (I bet your answer would be Asmodeus)

Verosika may have easily lied when she said that she was released from rehab merely because she was famous. I believe she was bailed out, specifically by someone who had both the influence to do so and who needed use of her, and that someone could very well be Asmodeus. She quite literally is the most convenient spy on the IMP in episode 3. This way Asmodeus would gain knowledge of Stolas’s grimoire being used in illegal ways.

Which leads us to the importance of episode 5. The conflict with Striker not only gave us information on demon royalty being vulnerable to angelic weapons, but the angelic rifle itself is now left in IMP possession after Striker escaped them. This cannot be a simple one-off thing.

Since a conflict with Asmodeus and Mammon is inevitable, this gives the angelic rifle that the IMP now possesses a whole new role to level the playing field. This rifle can be the only thing that can help them in battle with Asmodeus and Mammon, their only shield. 

And finally, how the Cherubs can fit in all of this.

The Cherubs are now stuck on Earth, very vulnerable to any potential attempt of capture by the high level demons that are able to come to Earth and use them for getting more angelic tech. As we saw, Cherubs are capable of spawning their own arrow weapons. This cannot be a coincidence that this ability is shown to us. 

Having all this in mind, the culmination of all this build-up in final battles is bound to be phenomenal. In addition, they are already recording Season 2 and we can prepare for quite a wild ride. 

[hanna-water]

How and why did Isi and Constantpain become friends? 🤔 Since season 6 I was curious to know why Isi and Kieu My are actually friends with Constantin. They both expressed that they had issues with him (Kieu My: ”he can sometimes be a real asshole”  and the Spongebob/Patrick/Plankton analogy from Isi) and always had to take care of him when he was in “Consti-world” or fix his mess (Maike).  Since season 7 didn`t manage to give us a satisfying  😤  answer to that question, I will share my own theory about Isi and him: Isi was wearing acessoiries and clothes that society would call “feminine” (obviously clothes have no gender) since season 5 and we could imagine that it has been like this for a few years or maybe always. No matter how liberal and open-minded Berlin is compared to other german cities, I am sure that Isi often had a hard time because she is non-binary even before she could name or realize that. Other kids and teenagers in school surely made them feel uncomfortable by saying stupid and mean things about her appearance. I imagine Isi as a shy and more reserved kid because of that. Being considered “different” is never easy. I would assume that boys gave her a harder time about it then girls and that might be one of the reasons why Isi stopped playing football.  Besides all the negative things we can say about Constantin, I don`t remember him ever giving Isi a weird look or making any comment about Isis choice of clothes or make-up. I even would go so far to say that Consti liked that Isi was doing her own thing, beeing a bit extra. I remember one scene from season 6 (or 5?) were Kieu My is painting Constis nails. So he seems super relaxed and doesn`t give much about gender roles. A part of me wants to believe that Consti occasionally used to wear nailpolish too (long before Lou) because he wanted to make Isi feel more comfortable and encourage her. But that`s just me speculating.  Now imagine Isi, who has probably gotten a lot of shit from other boys (except Sascha) for her outfits and identity, to meet Consti for the first time and realize that this boy is accepting them how they are and maybe even thinks their style is really cool. It must have meant the world to Isi especially because Consti must have seemed super confident and cocky. I could understand why Isi would have given anything to become and stay friends with Consti, simply because he finally had someone in school who made them feel stronger and not as if there is anything weird about them. Isi maybe even looked up to Consti (hard to imagine, I know) because they saw him as someone who was what Isi desperatly wanted to be: strong, self-assured and invulnerable.  Even after all the hurtful and negative things Consti did over the time (to Ava, to Nora, to almost everyone)....that glorified image of him that Isi had must have  been the reason for holding onto this toxic friendship and beeing blind to the truth, that Consti is actually just a broken mess with anger-issues.

[maeglinthebold]

I posted 14,156 times in 2022

That's 4,856 more posts than 2021!

58 posts created (0%)

14,098 posts reblogged (100%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@tasyfa

@megan-is-aa

@chuplayswithfire

@beautifulcheat

@ladynox

I tagged 14,148 of my posts in 2022

#our flag means death - 1,808 posts

#roswell new mexico - 1,482 posts

#blackbonnet - 1,067 posts

#our flag means death - 958 posts

#important - 724 posts

#blackbeard - 699 posts

#stede bonnet - 505 posts

#star wars - 481 posts

#tolkien - 423 posts

#fashion - 413 posts

Longest Tag: 135 characters

#the fact that rose and finn didnt get fancied up for their casino planet infiltration just shows how little rj thought about them 🤷‍♀️

I sent 1 gift in 2022

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

the greater chaves county area polycule, part deux

36 notes - Posted September 6, 2022

#4

Roswell, New Mexico Finale Cocktails 🍸👽🍹👽🍷👽🍾👽🥃👽🥂👽

Instructions below the cut for the following:

Joniz Attempted Murder Margarita (shot)

Rum and Cosmic

Dr. V's Iced Tea

DeLuca Daiquiri

Rosalinda's Spicy Lavender Lemonade (nonalcoholic)

Joniz Attempted Murder Margarita (Shot)

Strawberry margarita mix to mostly fill the glass; separately, mix blue curaçao with silver tequila to “lighten” it (literally to reduce the weight) so that you can use back of a spoon to layer the blue on top. The sweetness and amount of tequila you need to add to the curacao make this drink an excellent shot. 

See the full post

41 notes - Posted September 4, 2022

#3

i like that i haven't needed to follow any new ofmd blogs to get ofmd content it's just. we're all ofmd blogs now

52 notes - Posted April 12, 2022

#2

See the full post

98 notes - Posted June 18, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Reasons why Michael Guerin Has a Mustache this season, some speculations

Following the predictable trend, the entire 13 episode run of Season 4 will take place over approximately 9 days. Not too long for a mustache experiment. But why, you ask? Why would God and the CW do this to us? Here are our best theories:

During production there was a "Michael" mix up and they gave Trevino's mustache to Vlamis, but once they realized the mistake it was too late to go back and re-film everything and they didn't want to be like Justice League Superman

What is left is an attempt to CGI the stache away

Entire season takes place during the last week of Movember

Michael lost a bet

Kyle bet him he couldn't grow one

It's the Michael Guerin version of gaining 20 lbs. once he's in a stable relationship

Michael is going to be Ted Lasso for Halloween

He's trying to look gayer

He's trying to look more hipster frat-boy Vlamis

It's his Freddie Mercury bicon phase

He's testing how much Alex loves him

He's helping Maria move on (and not want him back)

It's a standoff with Alex to make him get better hair

He's going to be in a community theater production of Brokeback Mountain

Disguise so Ramos doesn't recognize him

Disguise so Flint doesn't recognize him

Pandemic-related razor-shortage and he selflessly opted to go without

Speculating on the soup strainer is fun for the whole family! Reblog and add your own below! (image)

111 notes - Posted January 7, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[salmonthestoryteller]

Salmon’s Roswell New Mexico Meta Masterlist

This is the last season, but I’ve written so much on this series, it kind of deserves its own list separate from the fanfics.

Alex vs Jesse

All about Isobel

Echo’s Series Finale Ending

End of Season 2 Reactions and Season 3 Speculation (RNM)

End of Season 3 Overall Likes and Season 4 Wishlist (RNM)

Friendships - Roswell New Mexico

How to Side Character - RNM Version I Have a Theory (RNM s4 Plot Speculation - Collective Consciousness)

Isobel and Female Character Stigmas

Just Gonna Nope on Wyatt Long’s Arc in RNM S3

Let Maria Be Angry (s2)

Liz & Michael (s2 & s3)

Liz Ortecho (s1)

Malex - Bunker Scene s2 Argument

Malex & Character Growth

Malex - The Guitar and Financial Status

Malex - Heading in the Right Direction (Season 2)

Malex - s2 Growth Malex - Summer Flashback and Miscommunication

Maria & Being a Caretaker

Maria - Being Irresponsible over her Health (s2)

Maria - Loneliness and Hope

Maria, Mimi, Elderly Care & Undiagnosed Illness

Maria’s POV (S1)

Marosa Feels Michael & Alcohol

Michael & Liz

Michael Funds His own Science Lab Michael’s Headspace 1x13

Michael’s Mindset (s2)

Mr Jones and Alien Powers Spec

My Struggles with the Writer’s Character Choices for Maria

Not Cool Max Part of why I dislike Miluca in s2

Pick a Character - Liz

Pick a Character - Max Please Stop Kidnapping Your Characters - I’m Begging You!

RNM Kidnapping Plot Struggles

RNM Season 2 & Health

RNM Season 3 Complaints RNM Season 4 Episodes 1-2

RNM Season 4 Episodes 3-4

RNM Season 4 Episodes 5-6

RNM Season 4 Episodes 7-8 RNM Season 4 Episode 9 RNM Season 4 Episodes 10-11

RNM Season 4 Episode 12 RNM Season 4 Episode 13 - Rant RNM Seasosn 4 Episode 13 - Rave RNM s04e06 Rant

RNM s04e08 Rant

Roswell New Mexico Ships - Plot Speculation (written before s2)

S1 Miliuca vs S2 Miluca Science Bros Season 4 Parallels The Stowaway and Nora - 47 Flashback Speculation

That Darn Love Triangle

That Scene (02x06) Tripp Manes & More 47 Flashbacks Speculations

Why I’ll Never Be Over Losing Nobel Why Wyatt Long’s Insto Redemption is Cringey