#nothing is actually confirmed and i think that was a deliberate choice

[gideonisms]

tamsyn could say two characters fucked nasty and people would still interpret it as platonic. And they might be right, depending

[endiness]

okay, i have gone through probably 50+ s2 interviews of hc researching this so far and i have to say that at this point i really don't see how he wasn't deliberately trying to manipulate the fanbase and the media against the writers and the show to get them onto his side. (and also, like, a very specific, extremely toxic section of the fandom at that.) (it's the sexist incel gamerbros. i'm talking about them.)

"I wanted to represent as much of a book-accurate Geralt as possible and a lot of the fans did as well, and so I campaigned really hard to make sure that he was more verbose, he sounded more intellectual, his choice of words was more thought out and that his approach to Cirilla and everyone else wasn’t antagonistic. Because it initially came across as he was just grumpy all the time with everyone and everything and I really wanted to show this three-dimensional character […] It’s gonna be tough to do the stuff which is as brilliant as Sapkowski’s writing, but it’s something I’m always gonna campaign for and it’s hopefully fit into the vision of the show."

there are so many interviews (ie virtually every interview out of 50+ with the exception of maybe, like, 3) where hc says the exact same thing about how he just cares so much about book accuracy, specifically where geralt's characterization is concerned, and that he really started to push for a more book accurate geralt in s2 and wanted him to be more verbose and intelligent and show that he isn't just a one dimensional character who just grunts and says hmm all the time like in s1 — and at no point does he ever take any responsibility for how that was due to his acting choices in the first place because he would cut his lines.

he also just straight up lies about the situation because the writers originally wrote geralt as being more verbose and book accurate in s1 but then changed the way they were writing him due to the acting choices he made. and yet he acts like that was never the case and that geralt was never originally written that way and he pushes this idea that a book accurate geralt went against lauren's vision. even though, once again, that was the original vision and it only changed due to him.

and on the extremely rare occasion (i'm talking, like, maybe 2 con panels here) that he ever takes any kind of responsibility for his role in all of that, he still waffles about and tries to present this image that he wasn't really cutting that many lines and they weren't really that important anyway and it didn't really matter:

"I didn't even cut that much. Just little bits when someone says how they feel, I thought if Geralt says nothing, and maybe the well-known grunts or hmms and sometimes the occasional f-word, people can take from that what they will."

even though that can't be true as confirmed by joey:

"Henry likes to cut his lines, 'cause he's lazy. No, he literally just likes to cut them. He likes to do more up here [frames his face with his hands] and just with face and hmms and grunts. There's a lot of hmms, and so I often have to take a lot of his lines and turn it into a lot of my stuff so that the plot happens."

and even hc himself confirms this and what joey said in a s1 interview:

"All the grunts, I either added or I didn't say anything and just grunted instead. It was often up to the other actors to go, 'I think he's not gonna say anything now.'"

i also have to point out that hc directly links his push for a more book accurate geralt to reading comments on reddit as i think that's very relevant to what section of the fandom exactly that he's pandering to and why he's been so vocal about it while lying about the role he played in everything and what actually happened:

"I’m on all the Reddit forums. I’m reading all the reviews. I’m literally trying to get everyone’s information. Some of it is not useful, and other criticisms are incredibly useful. I take it all in, and I look forward to bringing it even closer and closer to Sapkowski’s writing. I think any of those criticisms, they often lie in things like I was saying—we don’t have the advantage of a long involved conversation or dialogue with Geralt, so they are criticisms which I think I was prepared for. So for me, it’s about seeing that, understanding it, and working out how I can do my job better within the framework provided, [how to] appease and make those people feel comfortable that I do actually understand this character—and love this character just as much as they do."

"As a source for information, it's really helpful for me to see what everyone's saying, what everyone's thinking, and to see how much my thinking falls in line with whichever side of that spectrum it is and whether I'm doing the wrong thing, for example, by campaigning hard for the book Geralt to exist or whether I'm doing the right thing."

and just another important thing to point out imo: virtually the only times hc ever takes any responsibility in any capacity whatsoever for his own role in the show not adhering to the books (which even then he barely does and it's still always with a lot of excuses), it's only ever at con panels — which are far less likely to get picked up by news outlets and seen by a broader audience — and not in formal interview settings. (except for, i think, one interview he gave early on when s2 first went on hiatus. but even then, it still has the same problems that the con panels have where he comes up with a lot of excuses that don't match what happened.)

then there's an interview hc gave where he went on about how he added some book dialogue into a scene and he made it out to be like it was some kind of rebellion against the writers and he didn't consult them as he was just going to do what he wanted, consequences be damned:

"I did not feel like having long discussion about whether I could add this bit somewhere. So I just did it, said the words in front of the camera, and was ready to face the consequences."

and meanwhile what actually happened was that lauren eventually let hc have free reign and rewrite a scene that he was unhappy with. which, y'know. kinda fucking weird to present what happened in the way he did.

and then there's him pushing this narrative that the female characters — namely yennefer and ciri — were given more depth and focus than geralt and the male characters as if that came at their expense and all of which is somehow due to lauren's women-centric vision of the show as if that's somehow opposed to how the books themselves are:

"On season two, I wanted to bring as much of 'Book' Geralt into the show that Lauren's vision and that the plot would allow. That's a tricky thing to do, because the plot, as Lauren has said, is very centred around bringing women into the centre of The Witcher."

"In Season 1, there wasn't really much of an opportunity for expansive dialogue which Geralt is known for — in the books, he's often known to monologue — because we had two original origin stories which were the center point of the show."

"Lauren’s vision was more of an ensemble piece than the first Witcher books. It’s driven a lot more by the characters of Yennefer and Cirilla."

"I wanted to make sure we really explored as much as showrunner's vision could allow. She has her own plan, so I’ve got to toe that line between book Geralt and Lauren’s vision."

"I wanted to try and bring as much of the book’s Geralt into Season 2 as possible, and as much as the vision, the plot and storylines would allow. The toughest part for me was finding that balance between the showrunners’ vision and my love for the books, and trying to bring that Geralt to the showrunners’ vision."

"It’s important for me to have the character be three-dimensional and it’s tricky to do, as I was saying earlier, because there’s a certain vision and there’s a certain set, storyline and plot. And so, it was about me trying to find Geralt’s place within that."

"There’s only so much space to provide the same character from the books within the showrunner’s vision. But, I did my best to provide a bit more of a three-dimensional character with a bit more emotionality."

"It's important to me that the men in the story are three dimensional as well."

like, first off — and not to continually reiterate this but — that's not true. in s1, geralt was originally written as being just as verbose and intellectual as he was in the books and that only changed due to hc cutting his lines and we know that joey often had to take his lines, too. so there was, in fact, always plenty of time for geralt to be book accurate and for yennefer and ciri to have their own focus. these things were never mutually exclusive and it's definitely some kinda take to imply otherwise.

secondly, while it is true that geralt is the main character of the short stories, ciri is the main character of the main series starting from blood of elves, the book that s2 adapted. and despite claims otherwise, her pov has always had the most focus — yes, even more than geralt (sans baptism of fire, obvs.) and it's not like ciri is the only female pov, either, or that there aren't other important female characters that make up the series. there's yennefer, triss, milva, philippa, fringilla, nimue, condwiramurs, kenna — and that's just off the top of my head. there are plenty more where that came from. women and their stories have always played a central role in the books. nothing about that goes against them or is unique to lauren's vision.

and just with boe in particular, like. triss's pov is either focused on more than geralt's or at least about as much as his depending on how you want to break things down. and with dandelion following very close behind them, too! like, ciri may be the main character of the main series and geralt may be the main character of the short stories and their povs are the most focused on overall, but the books are still very much an ensemble piece made up of a collage of many, many povs to paint a full picture of the universe. and, yeah, the women make up a huge part of that. so the show focusing on ciri and yennefer and the women — and, yes, the men as well because it does actually do that! — is um, still book accurate. so y'know, why the fuck is he presenting this idea that's somehow not the case.

in general, hc emphasizes in a lot of interviews how much he fought for "male characters to be three dimensional." which yeah, given the context of everything else, is some suspicious kinda phrasing because it gives this undertone that the show wasn't writing three dimensional male characters in the first place as opposed to the women and that it's only due to his efforts that anything changed.

also, i have to highlight this quote of him talking about the three dimensionality of men because ~curious that he omits women from the list of people real menTM can be loving and caring toward:

"I believe that real men are very sensitive. They are very capable of doing things which can be violent, if possible, or necessary. But at the same time, they are incredibly capable of love and caring amongst men and towards children and family and all sorts."

and then there's the way hc talks about changing things which comes across as so suspicious, too, imo. especially when there is every other cast member to compare him to. because the way the rest of the cast has talked about this is that they all very consistently say that the whole process is very collaborative and that lauren is very much willing to hear them out about their thoughts and concerns and that it really feels like a team effort and that everyone is working together. and meanwhile the vibes that hc gives off is either "me vs the world (ie the writers)" or "but there's nothing that i can really do to change anything and it's all on the writers~" either way, his attitude very much comes off like all bad decisions are the writers' fault but meanwhile any good decision was due to him and him alone (or maybe the rest of the cast, but definitely not the writers.) like, weird af to play it off that way especially since every other cast member didn't seem to have any problems and they all gave credit where credit was due ie to lauren and the writers.

in conclusion, it'd be one thing if hc had just taken the l and admitted that he is the one who fucked up geralt's characterization in s1 and so he sought to rectify that in s2. but yeah, he doesn't really do that. instead he lies over, like, 50 times to create this narrative of him pushing for book accuracy as if that's somehow in opposition to lauren and the writers and as if they didn't originally write geralt book accurately in the first place and as if he played no role in the lack of book accuracy at all. and then that there's also him pushing this subtle (or not so subtle) narrative about how the women were taking a more central role as opposed to the men and that's somehow unlike the books and something purely due to lauren's vision, too? even though women have always played a central role in the books to the point where ciri is the main character of the main series? and that he's directly linked this narrative he's pushing to reading comments on reddit? (and that he also has a history, since s1, of trying to cater to game stans?) yeah, i just don't see how this doesn't add up to him trying to manipulate the media and audience — especially the worst parts of the fanbase — against the writers and the show and onto his side.

(also just one last thing i'd like to note as i find it super weird that when hc was asked about giving freya any advice, he immediately shut down the notion that he would ever do anything like that and he would never offer her any unsolicited advice and he would only ever give her any if she came to him first. like, there are literally s1 and s2 interviews where freya talks about hc giving her advice. i mean, maybe she did come to him in the first place, idk. but the immediacy in which he shut down the idea that he would ever do anything like that as if offering someone younger than you advice and being a mentor to them is wrong… weird. sus, even. like, why are you scrambling to cover your ass for something that's not even bad and, also, why are you lying about it by omission in the very least.)

[btbonescanon]

ok so bear with me here, this theory is based on nothing but vibes and dreams and delusions.

buddie is going canon in 8x12 which is also episode 118 of 911.

i still find it so interesting that they decided to make bi buck canon (i will never ever ever ever get over bi buck canon, btw) in episode 100 of the show. i know that nowadays episodes 100 of shows are not as big as they used to be (mainly because shows rarely make it to them) but they still mean something big. something big enough to warrant press and cakes and such. and what did 911 do with their 100th episode? they made it about bi buck. in a way that forever links the essence of 911 and bi buck forever. and i find that so incredibly beautiful.

it would be logical to argue that episode 8x12, which is episode number 118 of the show that revolves around station 118, has the potential to be something different and special too. i think that the best way to honor this would be by making it a mostly lighthearted team-focused episode. give me bottle episode at the station where the team receives 0 calls all shift, give me an episode from the 3rd person pov of the people that they help on calls and how they view the 118, give me a the 118 gets locked in a room silly episode, just give me something fun and heartfelt that shows the 118 as the family that they are!!! and then.... and then....

give me the first real confirmation of buddie going canon at the end of the episode. and i mean the very last scene of it.

they already connected a big episode (7x04 aka episode 100) with a very big moment that many many fans had been waiting for (bi buck). why not connect the other very core episode of the show (their 118 episode which is nothing really and yet so special of them) with the other big anticipated thing that fans have been dying for for years.

and like y'all, bi buck is important in and of itself and i hope we all know that. but bi buck is so intrinsically connected to buddie too. and i mean both in fandom and in the canon as well. like we know what subset of fandom has been reading buck as bisexual for seasons now and it's not most of the casual viewers (though i hope some did). it was the buddie fandom. and in 7x04 the way that buck's realization arc was so incredibly connected with eddie and their friendship is astounding. like i still can't believe that it went that way. and that is a deliberate choice. there were a thousand ways in which they could have done it and then said "we are putting eddie diaz, evan buckley's best friend and the guy that everyone who wants bi buck ships him with, in the center of it." so it would be very on brand for producers and writers to give us the actual buddie of it all in episode 118 which could be an episode to touch the core of the show -found family, the firefighting aspect, the hope- which at this point includes buddie as well.

now we know NOTHING about s8 right now so this is where more vibes just get added but it would also make sense that it happens in 8x12 because that it the second half of the season. i feel like s8 is gonna start a little "dark" (and i just mean sad) for the 118. gerard is gonna be ruining their lives and making everything wrong. and eddie is gonna be doing badly, y'all. of course he is. so we can use the first 8 episodes to "solve" these things. eddie can finally be in therapy again for more than his ptsd. the 118 can be fighting to get bobby buck. the bucktommy relationship can be worked towards a break up that moves buck to the next stage of where he's going. and then s8b starts. and we have a "lighter" feeling. hopefully chris is back. bobby is back. buck and eddie are single and we can see that there is something there but for now it has been things that still maybe not everyone can catch on to. so then 8x12 happens and BOOM. buck and/or eddie realize/aknowledge/voice the truth of it all: it's always been about buddie. and then we have 6 more episodes in the season to explore that!!! which is a pretty fair number, i think.

so yeah, that is my-based-on-nothing-but-i'm-now-convinced-is-happening theory for a buddie canon confirmation in 8x12 aka episode 118 of 911.

[buddiebeginz]

Fandom I'm begging you all to wait and see how the season plays out. Everything right now seems to be pointing towards Buddie and sure I could be wrong but I also think it would be the shows downfall if they didn't make Buddie happen this season and I think Tim and abc know that.

This isn't just about catering to fandom whims this is that since right before s7 they've done so much to put focus on Buddie way more than with any season before. Deliberate choices have been made that if they're not leading to Buddie can't not be seen as queerbaiting. And yes a show with queer characters can still queerbait if they're using a popular queer ship to garner attention and views. Though I don't think that's what's happening here.

The only reason I think more didn't happen with Buddie last season is because the season was short and they got renewed for s8 early. You can tell if you watch from eps 1-6 that they were leading somewhere with Buddie (they had them singing a karaoke love song ffs) but changed gears after getting renewed for s8. At the same time Tim still didn't put more development or focus on b/t so it's not that Buddie happening was shelved (as in it's never happening) it was just paused.

Also I see people spiraling about that pic Ryan posted assuming because he's in a robe and because he put "Don Diaz" on it that it's a reference to Don Juan and this means Eddie is going to be hooking up with a bunch of women. I just don't see that happening. Ryan could have easily just been making a joke or trying to mess with fandom or it could mean nothing. It could be a Godfather reference. Or it could be something like Eddie tries to hook up with a random girl and he just can't do it and then that leads to him talking to the priest. Unfortunately we aren't going to know what that pic really means until the episode airs.

I know we've all been burned by the show (and other shows) before and I get being nervous about what could happen this season. But remember that Buck was supposed to come out in s4 (this has been confirmed by Oliver) and Eddie in s5 (this has been confirmed by the the insider) and presumably that's when Buddie would have happened. Buddie has been in the works for years. The main thing stopping it before was Fox and last season it was just too short to have Buck to come out, Eddie come out, and then Buddie to happen. 10 eps was just not enough time to tell such huge important stories for the show and these characters.

I know Tim and others behind the scenes of the show have made decisions we haven't always loved and maybe it's naive of me to still have trust in them after all this time but it's not just that. I see the signs. If I had seen more effort being put into b/t last season and into promoting them as a couple and especially if I saw that happening this season I'd be a lot more skeptical about the likelihood of Buddie ever happening. But I haven't seen any of that.

This season Tim has talked about how b/t are still together but he doesn't talk about the ship like it's this important thing, he talks about it like T*mmy is just like any other person Buck has dated. Meanwhile Eddie is ALWAYS mentioned when b/t are talked about including by Tim. Networks and showrunners know how to handle these kinds of things. If they wanted to minimize the attention Buddie gets they would have done so. We know this because that's exactly what they did in past seasons while they were with Fox, particularly after Tim left. Instead though since last season they've actually been putting more attention on Buddie, Ryan, and Oliver.

Like I said I get being nervous that something we've all hoped for for a long time might not happen. I know that Buddie and Eddie coming out means more to a lot of us than just some fictional characters and a ship. I know a lot of us see ourselves in them and we also see how important and groundbreaking in a way it will be when they finally go canon. I get why the anxiety around this season is heightened probably more so than any other season before it. We've never been as close to Buddie happening as we are now and that's so exciting but also scary.

But this is why I think we need to take every bts and spoiler etc that we get from the show and people involved in it (including the journalists who review it) with a grain of salt. We just aren't going to know what each episode is about until we watch them. Even when the season starts we need to remember to let the story play out. We might see things we won't like with b/t or Eddie in 801 but there will still be 17 more eps to get through where anything could happen.

We are so lucky that 911 is still on the air with most of the original cast still there and not looking to leave. That all the people that matter Tim, Oliver, and Ryan have all spoken out in support of Buddie happening. I've shipped non canon ships before that just were never going to happen, where showrunners and actors literally made fun of the fans for even shipping it. That's not what's happening with 911. Buddie now is being treated like a legitimate possibility we just have to be patient.

[lemotmo]

Deleted scene ask

Q. Have you seen the deleted scene? I'm gnawing my own arm off. I think it's actually going to happen and I'm going to lose my mind.

A. I'm gnawing my own arm off, anon. You're not alone. How does that episode make it out of post production with that scene on the cutting room floor? Everything, absolutely everything, that was nonsensical about the Eddie/Kim plot was explained in that one scene. Everything. How do you delete that?!? The conversation in the canoe on the lake was a recreation of the day they met (and that scene was weird as hell prior to today). Christopher wanting to go to Texas, where the lake is, after seeing 'Shannon' makes perfect sense, and had nothing whatsoever to do with running to his grandparents. Eddie making a point of telling Buck that the only thing he wanted from Kim was to talk to her. Eddie doing what Ryan said he was doing, which was romanticizing his relationship with Shannon prior to everything going wrong. Eddie's entire plot this season. IT'S ALL IN THAT ONE SCENE.

The other thing that scene did was continue to reinforce the emphasis the show had of paralleling Buck to Shannon this past season. Ryan started paralleling the two characters immediately following the finale, which is also the same time he switched to solely using gender neutral pronouns. In the clip when Eddie stops saying 'she' and starts saying 'they/them', which was definitely a deliberate writing choice, he could have very easily been talking about Buck. Eddie focusing his first meeting with Shannon on the fact that she did all the talking while he was just happy to listen, is a direct parallel to his relationship with Buck. It is canon that Eddie likes to listen to Buck's ramblings. It is canon that Eddie is amused by Buck's ability to talk about and be fascinated with absolutely nothing. Having that be the specific thing he told Christopher was a deliberate choice. Having him switch to the gender neutral pronouns immediately following telling Christopher that was a deliberate choice. This is an intentional pattern. There is no other explanation. I haven't decided yet where I land on the whole ' your mother wasn't my first girlfriend' thing because 'I married the first girl I ever dated' is a canon line. It was also immediately followed by Buck saying ' you mean the first girl you ever slept with'. So it's possible they could just say he had a girlfriend prior to Shannon but they didn't sleep together. But him talking about a crush on or brief encounter with another boy is definitely realistic as well. I do think we are absolutely going to get young Eddie at some point this season. We are getting flashbacks of Eddie in some capacity.

I will also bet money, right now, that the next deleted scene will be a Buck scene. And they will once again have positioned Eddie as being in the middle of Tommy and Buck. The first deleted scene was of Tommy. The second deleted scene is of Eddie. If they do that I am taking it as confirmation. We are way past the point where what the show is doing and what Ryan has been saying can be dismissed as coincidental.

I was about to go to bed when this was dropped into my inbox. I had to jump back on my laptop to post it. How could I not? LOL!

Thank you Nonny for thinking of us! :)

I agree so much with the uproar on why the hell they left this scene on the cutting room floor. It's all over the dash at the moment. This scene explains so much of what happened after and yet they chose to cut it. I don't know why, but whatever the reason, it better be a very good one. I'm looking at you Tim. 0_O

I agree so much with Ali's interpretation. So many of us do. I've seen a lot of people posting about the Shannon & Buck parallels.

The only thing I would like to add is to that one line of Eddie's: 'Your mom wasn't my first girlfriend.' Not going to lie, I kinda hope it's because he actually had a boyfriend. But realistically he could have said it for a couple of reasons. The possible reason I propose you can read here in a seperate post I made earlier.

But yes, I also think we'll get Eddie flashbacks to when he was a kid. I think we might even get an Eddie centric episode where his past will be shown and explored. Ryan said that Eddie will struggle in season 8, having lost his son and being 'isolated', he is also alone with his thoughts. That might cause him to think back on his childhood and his early years as a teenager. I'm crossing my fingers this isn't just wishful thinking.

What are your opinions?

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If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[aachria]

sooo I recently found something out, in the manga (and anime I'm pretty sure) in the strawhats crew, no one is ever stated to be the first mate! Luffy says Zoro is his swordsman but never says that he's his first mate. from outside the crew people assume that he's the first mate but in the crew's hierarchy its the captain then the crew and the roles they play but no first mate. it was actually confirmed by oda in an sbs. although nami calls him the first mate in the LIVE ACTION, that's the thing, its only the live action. ive definitly seen online debate about the before but ill say it again

there is no first mate, zoros just the swordsman of the crew. creating a title for him of vice captain or first mate and saying it over and over again doesn’t make it true. unless luffy goes to zoro and declares him the first mate/ vice captain, he’s not. it kinda goes to show how much of a family they are huh? they're all equal except for Luffy being the captain but he is the captain, sooo.

as I was writing this I also realized that in the fic, Ed is called the first mate by themself, Luffy, and the crew which would be a huge mistake, right...... well it is canon divergence so lets pretend that's its apart of it!

Nope, no one is ever given the title of First Mate in canon outside OPLA. I knew it was a fanon thing since before I actually watched OP, and honestly I'm of the opinion it's usually something people use to try and keep Zoro above Sanji in the loose hierarchy of the crew lmao. I do think it's a deliberate choice by Oda, especially given the emphasis we're given on the Wings of the Pirate King and shit like that. The Strawhats are a very nontraditional pirate crew, so that fits for them.

That being said, obviously Ed being First Mate isn't a mistake. In the beginning of the fic when Ed is struggling with the title, that is them playing into the fanon idea of Zoro as the First Mate, but that's mostly used as a crutch for Ed's internalized ideas about not being enough to adequately fulfil the position or support the crew. The shift between Ed trying to grow into the shape of Zoro as First Mate, and trying to grow into the shape of themself as First Mate has been pushed over a huge chunk of the fic, with LRLL being a big turning point and the nothing happened scene being another huge moment.

Basically there's a lot of factors that contribute to Ed being First Mate even though it's not a canon position on the Strawhats, and there could be arguments made for all kinds of shit doing it from the influence of pseudo dad/uncle to fucken divine intervention. As it stands that's just the way it works, and that's the way it works for them.

[iwonderwh0]

I wanna expand on Emma's character. She likes attention, she likes filming herself. There are piano in their room, so it's practically inevitable that she learns to play it. Who is her teacher? It's possible that it is human as, you know, music, maybe her rich parents think that it's best to learn it from humans. At least, we never heard that household models could teach playing instruments. Or actually, she probably learns using built-in program in the piano itself. Like, we saw this holographic screen when Markus was playing, it must include some learning modes.

She has favourite bands. She probably has some kind of spiritual beliefs, probably not like any specific religion but a mix of some new-age ones, at least their home looks like they are like this, like, if I remember it correctly there are Buddha statues so that's one thing. I think Emma, at least, believes in a few things, like karma and manifestations.

Her wrists are full of those handmade bracelets. Did she make them with someone? Alone? Are those friendship bracelets and there are some friends of her that have them too? She must've made at least one of those with Daniel, and it would be such a nice detail for him to wear one in-game. Missed opportunity. Maybe he took it off?

Daniel was activated for four years (huh, I thought longer, but it's still years though), so his character must've been quite developed for a while even prior to deviancy. Or, actually, maybe he deviated a lot earlier than the day we see him in the game. It is entirely possible that there was another event that made him freak out of his line, perhaps after fucking up and accidentally endangering Emma (they kept it a secret. I headcanon that Emma loves secrets. It makes her feel special), but he just stayed and continued his life with Phillips as if nothing happened without change because he liked it and felt responsible about it. I mean, it's not like he had somewhere to go — he doesn't know about Jericho as was confirmed in the evidence room. But ever since that day of his potential deviation he started to accumulate suspicions and paranoia that tipped over when he found out about AP700.

You know, it's kinda ironic that kids with household androids raise them as much if not more than household androids raise them. For kids those androids are part of their life, for androids it's their whole world (I mean, outside of some additional errands and other family members interactions that I don't think are composing even half of the time androids spend with kids they're looking after). Emma was 5-6 years old when Daniel was first introduced into her life. She must've already had friends and all kind of interests by that time, so Daniel didn't raise her from infancy.

You know, it's possible even that those kinds of androids get jealous of kid's other friends and family members. Daniel definitely feels like a jealous type, I doubt August 15 was his first time feeling resentment. The fact that he became Emma's first choice in four years must've been a really deliberate effort on his part, which, I mean, he spends the most time with her so he had this advantage.

Daniel belongs to the Phillips family but at the same time Daniel developed such a possessive attitude towards Emma as if she was his property. He integrated himself into her life as a "need, not want" and he will take her with him on his death row. He wants to believe that Emma needs him, but the truth is he needs Emma much more than she ever could. And it drives him mad.

Hear me out

What if

What if he was so jealous of Emma's other friends and so paranoid about her distancing herself from him that he cultivated circumstances where Emma preferred him over anyone else. A victory. And he put so much effort competing with other people for her attention that possibly of Emma replacing him with another android never crossed his mind. Until it hit him like an anvil. All of his work was for nothing. All this time he thought of himself as her friend. A person. Competing with other people. Turned out he wasn't even within the same category. He had always been only a toy.

[fuesch]

Agatha All Along 1x07 with mentions of my boy again, my apologies

Hello again. We are at the beginning of my 2nd watching of this episode, so I can polish my review. Except I haven't even finished watching it the first time: I had the episode paused at the very beginning of the credits, because of that song. Okay, let's get through this…

We finally see Lilia again - only to cut away from her without explanation. Argh, what is patience?! What, was she resurrected just for her trial? Give me answers!

"I have a mom." Awwww <3. Good thing Billy can't remember his previous life or he might not have accepted the Kaplans, even after 3 years.

"Is Wanda Maximoff really dead?" - "Yes. … No. Maybe." Pfft, it's like when Peter asked Raven if Magneto is really a bad guy XD. Wait a minute! There's more than just the structure in common here! It's a Maximoff asking their reference person (Is there a film/TV term for a character who's another character's main contact point?) - who's a baddie but not really - about one of their birth parents.

"Did you see a body?" Look at him using his brain! I like it when characters do that.

"Hey, you want straight answers, ask a straight lady." LOLs were had. I love her, your honor.

I'm loving all the banter, but then the mood takes a turn. Ouchie. And I wonder if Agatha's definition of success will change. After all, what's the point of living if you have nothing to live for?

Agatha in disbelief over Billy not believing her, but she doesn't look crushed. Maybe someone who sees through her facade is exactly what she needs.

Daaamn, horns look good on Billy (very nice outfit & make up, 11/10). Which is obviously a reference to his multiverse uncle, our beloved Mr. Horny Stiffy.

Lilia & Jen are alive! \o/

Ooh, here we have Lilia's predictions in order. It's so satisfying when stories give you enough information to put the pieces together and then confirm that you did it right.

We're in an earth tunnel with not much happening and yet the story is so good! Exposition, feelings, bonding!

"We're not cool, Teenager." - "Damn, using his full name." XD

Loving the Dory reference. Loving even more that Jen is defending Lilia.

"I was doing a reading for you." - "That's right." Billy remembers the bar mitzvah! So is he also still William or just got his memories?

Lilia really only cast the sigil because Billy needed time? I mean, it makes sense, but it's so anticlimactic.

That Maestra is great, I wish I could put it into better words.

Ooh, I didn't expect to get more of Lilia and Jen bonding.

Jen calls Lilia's mind travelling in time a "mental walkabout" and I wonder if that was a very deliberate choice of words. As a Lost fan that show is the first thing I think of when I hear "walkabout" (though that word might be far more common than I'm aware) and it had a character's mind uncontrollably time-travelling. Actually apart from Lost and AAA, there's only one other example of mental time travel that I can remember (not that I have a memory like a sieve) and that was Logan's controlled journey to 50 years in the past. But let's not talk too much of X-Men. ahahaha

Heyyy, Billy's spell book! So I guess the Salem Seven pick it up and then lost it in the tunnel.

As Billy calls himself the queerent, Agatha gives him a fake laugh. Jeez, girl, you didn't invent the queer puns, let others have them too!

"Am I William or am I Billy?" Yeeess, let's answer this already! He is so focussed on the important questions this episode, I love it.

The disappointment that punched me in the gut when I realized that what Billy and Lilia had been talking about earlier in the ep wasn't the tarot reading from his bar mitzvah but from the trial. This non-linear editing is so cruel. Hey, show, I didn't a demonstration of what it's like to be Lilia!

Reunion, huh? How ambiguously worded. If there isn't some disappointment ahead, I'll eat my tinfoil hat. Hey, in German we say "broom" instead of "hat" - combined those objects might refer to a witch. Fascinating.

Hahaha, Agatha hating on the subjectivity of tarot.

There was a subway station for real! But what is it doing there? And a little fun fact: That underground tech reminds me of Lost's hatch. Wait a second, it was mentally time-travelling Desmond who lived in down there!

So proud of Jen choosing to go with Lilia instead of the subway.

Jen has immense spiritual power? Man, am I looking forward to seeing that in action!

Oh, is that a crown on Rio (and what is she holding in her left hand)? Since she's the Green Witch, I'm assuming those crowns mean that their wearers are the most powerful in their category. Wait, so Billy's is blue and if the shade doesn't matter, that would make him the heir of Evanora, so it's super fitting that Agatha is mentoring him. But what does the blue even mean? I thought it represented water as in potions, but that doesn't work with Billy. But if Jen has spiritual power, maybe that's what she has in common with Billy: I have no idea what exactly they mean by "spiritual" and if it intersects with Agatha's spirit witch stuff, but the spirit is the mind, so that would fit with Billy's mental powers.

Rio is actually Death herself, not just one among many reapers as I had assumed. Man, that workload must be insane, she's gotta have underlings! Anyway, why was she appearing in the tunnel? Did she save Lilia and Jen from drowning in the mud? Does she have more things planned for them?

The roots are glowing green and I'm confused. Since I had the thought that the Witches' Road must be Death's invention, it wouldn't make sense for Rio to have a trial. And neither would having that trial in the penultimate episode already… unless that last one is a denouement ep. Oh, please, no, I don't handle those well.

I love that by turning the tower card, the room turns as well. Lilia defeating the Salem Seven* is awesome too, I just wish this show wasn't so deadly for its main characters! *I hope that's what's happened here, but are they even alive and thus killable in such mundane ways? God, I hope Lilia did more than just buy her coven some time.

See? See?! If the Salem Seven are gone, that only leaves Rio as the villain, so if she's up next, that sounds incredibly anticlimactic for the final episode. Maybe that's why we get eps 8 & 9 together. Oh, or it's a two-parter, yes, yes. *fingers crossed*

What exactly is that last scene trying to tell us? That time is circular, you're dead now, but one day you'll be born again? Or that even right before the end, Lilia was skipping through time, living some more?

Very familiar guitar notes playing. Credits start, the song dares to continue *gasp* YOU DO NOT PLAY THAT SONG! UNLESS YOU ALSO MEAN SOMETHING ELSE BY IT! They can't be fucking with us that badly, can they? Nah, they mean the MCU will come full circle with the Fox X-Men and one in particular. Everything is fiiiine, lalalalala.

In conclusion: Another great episode, right in the fucking feels though. So mean to give me amazing character stories only to take away the characters right after!

[searchingfortheuniverse]

Side A - I Hate To Hear That You Won't Come Home

Part One of my gift for @terresdebrume! This one sort of snuck up on me because I wanted to make sure I'd written as much as you deserved for your gift after I'd already finished writing Part Two, so you get surprise bonus Webgott. I hope you like it!

Rated T, mainly for swearing. The title comes from Listen to the Man by George Ezra and the fic can also be found on AO3. This one is intended to be read first, but it doesn't really make too much difference.

Pairing: Joe Liebgott/David Webster, referenced Bill Guarnere/Babe Heffron Summary: After the war, Joe Liebgott seems to have disappeared; Web isn't letting him go that easily.

When the door opens in front of him, David flinches.

It's not that he's actually afraid, or startled, or any of those things. It's just that this is a deeply uncomfortable situation and he doesn't really know what to say.

"... Webster," Grant says, and it's hard to tell if the delay is a result of shock or the brain injury.

"Sergeant. Grant. Uh... Chuck?" David can't help the way he cringes at his own inability to decide how to address this man he's known for years.

"Jesus Christ," Grant says. There's a slight hesitance and a mild slur in his voice that never used to be there, almost a hitch allowing for extra time to think, but other than that he's doing pretty well for a guy who got shot in the head. "I'm embarrassed for you at this point. Come in."

David follows him in the door, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it on the coat hook Grant directs him to. He finds himself guided to a small kitchen and he watches as Grant makes him a cup of coffee. It's noticeable that one hand can take less weight than the other but David keeps his mouth shut. Eventually, there's a mug in front of him and Grant sits in the chair opposite him at the table.

"So, uh... How's the recovery going?"

David hits himself mentally. What a stupid question. Grant must be sick of being asked that by now.

"It's fine," Grant says, "Living the fucking dream." He sticks a cigarette in his mouth and lights it, then offers one to David almost more out of habit than deliberate choice. David takes one anyway. "What are you really doing here, Webster? You haven't come all the way out here to ask me that. It's not like we were close."

After a moment, David sighs and admits it. "I'm looking for Liebgott."

He's never seen anyone look less surprised than Grant does right now, which... Well. It feels almost like it should be insulting but he's not quite sure why.

"I don't know where he is any more than the rest of the company," Grant says, "So showing up here was sort of a stupid idea." His speech is worst on the S sounds, David notes absently.

"You must have some idea, though," David argues, "He wasn't that far from you. You must have at least an old address or something."

Grant shrugs with just his good shoulder. "Nope. All I know is he definitely went back to driving his cab. Outside of that, nothing."

"I'll leave you in peace, then," David says, because it's not like he and Grant were ever actually friends in a way that wouldn't leave this as the world's most uncomfortable conversation, "You want me to grab you anything? For your hospitality?"

"It was coffee and a smoke, Webster," Grant says, unimpressed.

"Still..."

"If you want to bring Liebgott round when you find him, I won't object," Grant adds, "And you can bring a pack of cigarettes at the same time if you want. Or some more coffee. I probably actually have a harder time with the coffee."

"Sure thing, Sergeant," David agrees, and he leaves as Grant rolls his eyes.

From the moment he leaves, his quest begins in earnest. Grant's confirmed two important details for him: Joe really did come back to San Francisco, and he's driving a cab. So David starts hailing cabs.

It's like the most ridiculous vacation in history. David climbs into a cab, asks the driver if they know Joe Liebgott, gets a negative response, and then asks them to drive him to a popular tourist destination so he can at least make the most of his stupid search for a man who doesn’t want to be found. He's giving up on the third day and about to ask to be taken back to his hotel when the answer changes.

"Liebgott? Shit, I know Joe Liebgott."

It's almost embarrassing how fast David finds himself sitting up straight in the back seat. It would be embarrassing, even, if not for the fact that this is a much smaller step in the search for Liebgott than crossing the whole damn country and so this is probably not at all embarrassing in comparison.

"You do? Do you know where I can find him?"

"Sure do. Saw him not ten minutes ago heading to the Third and Townsend Depot to see if there were any fares down there. If he hasn't had one, he'll still be there."

"Jesus," David says, "Thank God. Can you take me down there?"

"Pal, as long as you're paying, I'll take you wherever," the cabbie says with a shrug and a grin.

Once they've arrived, he flings more notes than necessary in the driver's direction, throws a hasty "thanks" over his shoulder, and disappears into the throng of pedestrians. He emerges again with a better view of the taxi rank, squinting even so slightly as he tries to see—

His breath leaves him in a rush at a flash of a half-genuine smile on sharp features as Joe Liebgott reaches for a woman's suitcase. David doesn't even notice his feet carrying him forward until he's there, saying words that are probably the biggest social faux pas he's ever made (which is really saying something) but which he can't regret because Joe is there.

"Hi, sorry, can you find a different cab?"

The woman stares at him in astonishment.

"What the—?" Joe starts.

"I'll cover the cost of another one for you, I'll pay you extra, but I need this one."

Dumbstruck, the woman blinks. Then, to David's blessed relief, she nods, clearly deciding that arguing with this insane man isn't worth the hassle. He thrusts more of his money in her direction, and she shrugs at Joe before reaching for her case and backing away.

"What the hell is your problem?" Joe asks, clearly livid.

"What the hell is your problem?" David retorts. "I'm not the one who vanished and stopped talking to everyone!"

"No, you just stalked me and cost me a cab fare!"

"Alright then, I'll pay you to drive me somewhere!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

As a final act of defiance, David sits in the passenger seat rather than the back, tilting his chin up stubbornly as Joe glares at him from the driver's seat.

"Where the fuck am I driving you, then?"

David snaps out the name of his hotel, then folds his arms. It's silent in the car for a good few minutes, which for them is quite impressive. Eventually, though, David caves.

"You never wrote to me."

"You never wrote to me either," Joe retorts.

"You never gave me an address!"

"Yeah, and anyone else would think that was a clue!"

"I did write to you," David admits quietly, "I just... didn't know where to send it."

"You– What?"

"I wrote to you, Joe, it's not that hard to understand!"

"Fuck you," Joe says, but it sounds more like a filler, something reflexive.

Once again, that uncomfortable silence fills the cab, and David's reminded forcibly of a jeep in Europe. All they're missing in this awkwardness is Skinny in the back.

The drive seems much longer than it should be. It quickly becomes apparent that that's because it is; a few landmarks pass that David knows are in the opposite direction to his hotel. Instead, they end up on a residential street. His confusion must show on his face, because Joe rolls his eyes.

"Fucking Christ, Web, are you coming or not?"

David blinks at him. It's only now that he sees the house key in Joe's hand. He scrambles out of the vehicle, hanging back slightly until the door's open and then practically bolting inside. He's... Well, he's not surprised. A little incredulous, maybe. He's definitely not surprised that Joe's house is tidy and... normal.

"This is a nice place," he says, and then, almost unable to help himself, he adds, "It's yours?"

He's willing to admit that he deserves the flat look he gets in response. The words he hears next, though, are tired, not accusatory as he'd half-expected.

"What are you doing here, Web?"

Now that it's come down to it, all his words have left him. He hesitates, lips parted as if his mouth has started trying to speak while his brain is still considering, and then manages weakly, "I didn't want to lose you."

"We've been through this," Joe says tiredly, "There's nothing to lose. It was a war thing, Web. Nothing else. It can't be."

"I don't believe you," David snaps, that familiar will to argue with Joe bubbling up inside him.

"Alright, fine, you don't believe me. Now what? It doesn't change anything!"

"Sounds like it's working out for Guarnere and Heffron," David counters.

Joe blinks. "What the fuck–?"

"They're living together," David says, and– There. A flicker in Joe's eye, a hesitation. "They're making it work."

"How?"

"I… I don't know," David admits, "But we can figure it out, right? I want to figure it out."

There's a long moment. David's heart is in his throat, watching as Joe's gaze flicks down to his mouth in a way it usually does when he's about to kiss him. And then, finally, Joe says, "Fuck. Okay."

And then he really does kiss him.

[void-speaks]

What I find interesting about our protagonist (who I am going to address as 'Joey' to indicate that the protagonist is a younger version of Joseph Randolph) is the way he says some things, more specifically, the way he translates words from German to English. Almost always whenever he translates something, he adds something like "'Cafeteria,' I think," "That's like the patients who are celebrating their birthday today I think," "I think that means 'maintenance'" and probably more. He seems to almost always add some indication of doubt in his words. Which, by the way, the fact that he even needs to translate it is already kinda telling, and he is translating those not just for us but for himself too, because he first says the word in German and then translates it into English. I also find it interesting how instead of using the german word for liver Joseph uses iucer, which is the Latin word for that. And I know that names of medicine usually come from latin words or are latin words, but not the name of organs. Which makes me think that maybe this confirms that both Joey and Joseph kinda suck at German. That would be strange though, being a doctor in Germany and not knowing German well... and at the same time, both their speech seems perfect. Joey understands what everyone says to him without problem, and Joseph speaks German well too. It's specifically written German that they both have trouble with.

Of course, it would be way easier to just chuck it as the staff and patients speaking English, but I find that less likely. Also, Joseph is not a common first name in Germany, and neither is Randolph, but Randolph at least has a German origin. So I'm thinking that Joey is actually from the UK/US/somewhere in that part of the world. He probabaly finished high school there and went to university in Germany (which actually requires you to know German and/or English well from the google search that I did). So that makes me assume that his mother was probabaly a woman from the UK/US and his father was a man from Germany (not the other way around because typically the woman takes the man's surname when they get married). They fell in love and then maybe moved to Germany where Joey applied to med school. Also, by the way, if Joey is from Germany but his parents just decided to name him something uncommon, he would've finished med school by 25, making him maybe in his 30s in the game. If not, than he'd be just a year younger or nothing would change.

But also what I find interesting about the theory that the player is a younger version of Joseph is how Joseph says that he doesn't recognize us. I think if I would've seen my younger version I would've probably recognized him? And that kinda ruins the theory? But maybe Joseph and Joey are so different, that Joseph doesn't recognize his younger self, so full of hope and ambition as opposed to him now, filled with wrath and whatnot.

It would also explain what we're doing there in the first place. Assuming that our arrival at the hospital is not a part of the timeloop (like in Little Nightmares 2 where [spoilers] once you defeat the Thin Man he travels back in time and becomes Mono while Mono from the first timeline is in the process of becoming the Thin Man), Joey was probably a trainee at the Heilwald Klinikum. Which would mean that he stumbled into the loophole and everything went to shit from there. It would also make a little bit more sense as to why Helene tells us that we're "not qualified" to bring her the medicine. Not that we're a patient and therefore just can't do that, but that we're not qualified to do so yet. Idk, I just think that wording was a deliberate choice. Plus, she didn't tell us the name of the medicine, she just said that it's special and that it would help her, but we somehow knew that those two specific bottles were the medicine we needed. Of course, it could've been simple stuff like painkillers and even a patient would be able to get that, but Helene said the medicine was 'special.' Again, deliberate wording in my opinion.

Oh and by the way, if Joseph is in his 30s, then Joey is somewhere between being 20-24 (depending on if he's from Germany he'd be in the age of 21-24 and if not 20-23), but just based on the way that Trash Collector calls him son but still talks to him with relative ease makes me think that Trash Collector is also in his 30s but Joey is like, 21-22, somewhere in the beginning or just past his first year as a trainee.

This is like... all over the fucking place but yk. Ya gotta do whatcha gotta do when the fancy chemicals hit yer brain.

Oh and btw Joseph's way of speaking does differ from everybody else, or maybe I'm just imagining it. But the way he talks sounds a little weird.

Maybe it's because Joey is still so shocked about the loophole thing that he mistranslates some of the stuff Joseph is saying and/or misplaces some words, or maybe Joseph just still didn't learn how to speak German properly.

[demadogs]

hello loveliest person ever. would you consider no byler to be queerbait ?

hey bestie

if byler didnt happen i would genuinely believe that their intention was to go through with it but they dropped it or were told to drop it. because if its queerbait theyre literally doing it all wrong? the ultimate goal of baiting is to gain an audience from a selected community, in this case the queer community, by promoting the media as potential representation and yet they have done everything in their power to AVOID this with byler.

for starters the majority of queerbait is usually achieved in the marketing side of things. and yet there was ZERO joint press with noah and finn, where they could have promoted byler the most. almost all of their scenes are together but they deliberately separated them so there wasnt even a chance for spoilers about byler. that is not how you queerbait.

queerbaiting is supposed to be obvious. it shouldnt require elaborate theories, it should be thrown in our faces. this article shows a clip of a trailer from riverdale that includes a gay kiss. i think the kiss was just to distract the character, it wasnt intended to be romantic at all and yet they put it in the trailer? that was obviously for the goal of getting queer audiences more excited and more likely to watch this (absolutely fucking horrendous) show.

on the flip side!! theres also straight bait and again, aaaaalll in the marketing.

i cant even believe these are real lmao.

they did this for s3 too. theres a flash of this in the s3 trailer, which had lots of mlvn shippers thinking this was the season of nothing but love for them and yet el broke up with him in the second episode. we also get audio of mike saying “we’re not kids anymore” but no visuals that showed he was talking to will and definitely not the “its not my fault you dont like girls” line, which would have been such a clear opportunity to queerbait.

and s4 was very gay and they could have so easily grabbed a LOT of peoples attention and curiosity by adding some byler scenes in the trailer but there was nothing.

could you imagine if they showed one of these in the trailer?? they had such a clear opportunity to queerbait and they didnt.

the only thing they did include was this and i didnt even notice will the first time i watched it.

the only things we’ve seen in the marketing that relate to byler are from netflix accounts in other countries that loosely imply that they ship byler but thats literally it. and these accounts dont actually have any access to the writers room. theyre not implying or confirming anything theyre just trying to be relatable and a lot of people would relate to the post if they mention byler.

aside from them just avoiding the topic in the promotion for the show, theres also the fact that byler has inspired loads of in depth theories and analyses based on how they portray them in the show. the point of queerbaiting is to throw it in your face. “look a gay kiss! watch our show to see gay people!” the fact that we’re reading into shit like lighting, colors, music, framing, all this stuff that the ga doesnt read into is a big sign that their goal isnt queerbait. one time i got an anon that summed it up perfectly, “why would they queerbait only to gay film nerds?” and its so true.

queerbaiting should not have people thinking too hard. like the kiss in riverdale, its supposed to be shoved in our faces in order to actually achieve what theyre trying to do. not everybody has time or cares enough to read entire analyses on specific film choices, and because of that, they would be completely failing to bait people. the goal is to gain their audience and no one has been baited for this because it doesnt seem obvious that its actually going to happen.

because of all this if byler didnt happen i dont think queerbait would be the right word. itd be a whole different thing entirely and i would genuinely believe they were forced to not go through with it if it didnt happen. but i highly highly doubt that would ever happen. its netflix’s biggest show and they trust the duffers and its the last season so even if people dont like it its not like theyd lose money because people would stop watching. by then theyd already finished the whole show.

[kingedmundsroyalmurder]

Blue Castle Book Club 2.0 - Chapter 6

I still don’t love the utter contrivance of Dr. Trent receiving the phone call about his son the very moment he is about to tell Valancy his diagnosis. I know these things happen, and it is on such conveniences that plots are born, but it feels forced.

But we’re working a theme, and that theme is Nobody Cares About Valancy. As we’ll start to see, only some of that is actually true in objective reality. Valancy has been so trained by her family and her own unhappiness that she has started to see deliberate slights where none may actually exist. I’ve seen fans speculate that her heart condition is actually panic attacks, and she definitely seems to be displaying something reminiscent of social anxiety with how she assumes that everyone in the world is scrutinizing and judging her at all times.

But of course, in Valancy’s case it’s made worse by the fact that people are scrutinizing and judging her at all times, and it does make sense that she would expand what she knows of how her family treats her onto everyone else she meets. So she assumes Dr. Trent has forgotten her because she’s so insignificant as to not be worth remembering, rather than assuming that whatever news he got must have been dreadful indeed.

And it turns out that it was, actually, dreadful news that distracted him, rather than anything to do with her at all.

Valancy goes home via lover’s lane, because of course she does. I am lightly shocked that Deerwood allows canoodling of any kind in public, although my assumption is that “canoodling” in this context is closer to making out than it is to actual sex acts. Presumably if there was actual sex happening then the young girls in pairs would not be allowed anywhere near the place.

Valancy, of course, runs into both a pair of friends and a romantic couple, just to hammer home what she herself is missing so badly. Once again, she is positive that everyone is talking about her. Even in her Blue Castle everyone is always talking about her, even if there everything they have to say is positive.

Of course Lover’s Lane “debouches” onto the street. Nothing so pedestrian as “ends” or “gives way” or even “emerges”. No, for Lover’s Lane we must be French and lightly suggestive. Even our verb choices serve to remind us of what Valancy so desires and has never had.

And, of course, upon whom do we debouche? Why upon Barney Snaith! I see you, Lusty Mind Montgomery.

Barney Snaith, who gets a properly excited introduction. Barney Snaith, who gets a proper physical description and a rundown of all the worst gossip that Valancy can’t quite bring herself to believe. Barney Snaith, who is the first person we have met thus far whom Valancy never once assumes is thinking of her. Everyone else is smiling because they must be laughing at her; Barney is smiling and all Valancy can think is how much she envies him for his freedom.

But Valancy doesn’t get freedom, not yet. Valancy has to go home to her dreadful house and listen to her dreadful relatives. We know that there is change coming for her, because the story has told us so, but she doesn’t know that. And so, as Maud tells us:

Valancy’s day of destiny had come and gone. She ended it as she had begun it, in tears.

Colors mentioned:

Pink organdy dresses

Premature grey

Tawny hair dashed with red

Dark-brown eyes

Black with grease

Black pipe

Black stockings

And not a color, but honorable mention to Valancy feeling “colorless” as she walks down lover’s lane, which I am taking as communication to me directly from Lucy Maud beyond the grave confirming that I have successful picked up on a deliberate writing choice. (I mean, I knew I had, but I appreciate it just the same!)

Anyway, Barney gets a couple colors, but nothing very exciting yet. Later, his eyes will be purple. For now, they're still just brown.

[variousqueerthings]

watching doctor who confidential onwards into season 2, and of course we reach some of the more... considered romantic-type episodes -- school reunion up through age of steel, because of sarah-jane, renette, and mickey

what i find interesting about the ways people describe the dynamics between the doctor and sarah-jane/rose/renette, it immediately becomes much more Alive than simply using the word "romance," which ultimately says nothing. people will throw around the word "romance" and then start talking about "well the doctor is possessive of his companions because he's terribly lonely," "well, rose thought she was Chosen to be special and save the world, but discovered that there had been many people before her who had subsequently (often) been unceremoniously left behind on earth once again without their consent," "the doctor cannot bear saying proper goodbyes to various companions, because it's too painful and so deliberately used to try and keep it casual," "the doctor knows what the companions don't quite understand, which is that they will always die and the doctor will always live," "sarah-jane had a bit of this magic and then was abandoned," "rose sees her future in sarah-jane," "renette goes into the doctor's mind and sees the loneliness there," "the doctor sees this person he knew as a girl grow up and then die in a very short space of time and it's tragic"

and that gives much more flavour to the various dynamics the doctor has with their companions. at one point dtennant describes different "relationships" without using the word "romance" and while I don't know if that was conscious, it's much more accurate and doesn't put a dynamic on the relationships that's quite... limiting. I think it's quite telling how much people tend to conflate the two words, because romance is unconsciously put on that highest pedestal, so if the relationship is intense it must be romantic, because... well romance must be intense (also, from what I've seen, not necessarily true)

it's not enough that renette encapsulates some of the doctor's worst fears (a companion simply dying because humans will always die, and there's nothing that can be done to stop the passage of time), or that she briefly caught a glimpse of some of the doctor's true loneliness and helped assuage/distract it for a little bit, before it all came crashing back tenfold, or that she as a human from a certain time period conceives of the doctors through terms like "angel," as if all of those things aren't intense

it's not enough that the doctor has left companions time and time again without saying goodbye, and that this has now been confirmed in nu!who as being because it's too hard to let them go every time and actually say goodbyes that have proper meaning, and the doctor consistently wishes for them a life beyond the tardis and sometimes they make the choice, but often it's the doctor's decision (most times without them even knowing) that now they're at a point to move on without the doctor, or doesn't need the doctor anymore, or it's too much/dangerous, or whatever that choice is based in. and that often in the past this choice has been related in them finding romantic relationships that have superseded what the doctor has to offer (skill issue, but then I'm aromantic -- I do acknowledge that the ponds is one of the only times this hasn't quite happened, which is funny because I too tend to become swallowed (with affection) into various couples to various degrees) and the doctor accepts this

once again, the worst quote came from stephen moffat, saying that in renette the doctor had finally found an equal because she was educated and cultured, which feels like a (probably not on purpose but still quite noticeable) slight against rose being able to be considered an equal -- rose who deliberately was introduced as a young woman who never finished highschool, and in the idea that romance is about... equal knowledge? equal education? unclear, but it's another example of all the talk about romance being quite waffly compared to actually describing what's going on in these narratives, which is a fascinating set of dynamics that can't be encapsulated by that word

also ofc in rise of the cybermen/age of steel mickey finally lets go of rose, and there was a description there about how mickey did read the doctor as this other guy who came in and swooped rose off her feet and had so much to offer -- but that makes sense, because mickey is a human man seeing his girlfriend prioritise someone who to them both looks like an attractive young man (who owns a time machine to boot). whether I would personally read mickey as thinking it's romantic, I don't think it matters much because mickey mainly just recognises that the doctor is more important to rose than he'll ever be, and it's a rare-ish example of the doctor taking precedent over another romantic pairing, which was quite interesting (also, again, from an aromantic perspective)

[terrence-silver]

If Terry's father had cut him out of the inheritance, where do you think the money would go? Everything about Terry screams only child to me, at least, but do you think he had siblings? If so, where do you think he falls in that dynamic? Oldest, middle, or youngest?

I think he's an only child too. Sole heir.

That type of thing.

Do we really think that if he had siblings he'd speak about having no legacy whatsoever? Do we really think Terry Silver, insanely devoted as he tends to be when he truly wants to, wouldn't be here embracing nieces, nephews and extended biological family, for example? Do we think he would be here trying to make random ass Robby Keene and Kenny into surrogates for something he doesn't have well into his old age if there was any possibility of even one blood related sibling of his existing somewhere out there who happened to have...you know...actual Silver offsprings? I don't think so. I think he's all alone, and it is proven in a great many behavioral patterns of his. Has always been the one progeny his family had. Furthermore, well into the twilight of his life he's the only one remaining too. There's nobody else. Never has been anyone else. Might even add new dimensions of explanation to his care for John Kreese (and Ponytail).

They are, quite literally, the only brothers he ever had.

Terry Silver's unique and the last of his kind.

But, when he was born, in equal measure, I think he was planned, very much wanted and the fact that he was an only son was also pre-calculated as an outcome. There's no accidents for people of wealth and power. Most things they do are deliberate, tactical and practical even when they ''bashfully'' might pretend they ain't to cultivate an air of relatability (after all, Terry himself must've gotten these traits from someone, because nothing exists in a vacuum). Where insurmountable generational money is concerned, I like to imagine that Terry's parents wanted just one child for the sole reason of not cutting their own dynasty into multiple pieces; it's easier if they don't, simply from a legal standpoint. Ask any lawyer. One heir for one legacy. That's the way to go. Which is why Terry Silver going off to Vietnam might've come as quite a shock (or such a huge risk, if we believe his father sent him there under an ultimatum). If he would've had multiple siblings, especially male ones, surely, the blow and the stakes wouldn't have been quite so high because there would be always someone to take over all family businesses instead of him. But, if Terry was the only one, well then ---

I also in no way think Terry was ever cut out of his inheritance.

Where does this notion even stem from?

For some reason, and this is nowhere confirmed, so take this with a grain of salt, but I envision whoever his father was, he was, according to my imagination anyway, too much of an self-absorbed, prideful egoist to simply just...give away dynastical levels of wealth willy-nilly like that. Dare I say, it would take someone insanely charitable and with saintly levels of selflessness to do something like that even if out of spite, and I don't believe whoever Terry Silver's father was was anything like that --- the charitable part, anyway. Giving his only son threats, ultimatums and conditions --- sure. But, cutting him out entirely and writing off his own money to someone or something else? I don't think so. I think, when it came down to it, the process of Terry's inheritance ran very smoothly for all intents and purposes and that if it did not, Terry himself was simply willing to lie, cheat, scam, fabricate and step over literal corpses to secure what belongs to him by birthright. Like it was intended to. He was always meant to inherit the Silver family fortune and so he did just that. By any means necessary. After all, he was the only Silver available.

Was there any other competition or choices stacked up? Didn't think so.

[kendrixtermina]

The Hamburg Defamation Case Update

To summarize from here:

What was ruled as defamation:

the I dare say obviously fictional 'hearsay' stories from "a friend of a friend who knew a former crewmember", such as the italian man story, the idea that they called it a 'slut parade', Till & richard arguing over some girl. Frankly it's ridiculous they even printed that. Obvious fiction, exaggeration, no one behaved like an actual human, tons of ambulances called but no one noticed?

spiking with KO drops (only ever claimed by Shelby, who was on meds that shouldn't be mixed with tons of booze, kind of caused a mass panic where people who were drunk or saw drunk people (Kayla) retroactively wondered if there may have been drugs involved - plus every single witness has confirmed the “bottles opened in front of guests” thing)

That the parties were intended primarily as sex things / to get Till potential partners or that people were deliberately gotten drunk with the intention to sexually prey on them/ that sex was expected (which is consistent with statements of loads of former party-goers on social media that they were just normal parties where he occasionally hit on someone)

What they're still allowed to write: (in the sense that it was ruled 'plausible enough' and/or 'in the public interest')

that Till may have sex with people in at least potentially questionable states of drunkenness (seems all but indisputable at this point, multiple accounts with affidavits)

that there was a 'system' where people were explicitly 'recruited' to parties with booze and some chance of later sexual contact - hm. Certainly technically true it was the case that influencers or just ppl from the metal scene in the town the concert was in were contacted on insta (also confirmed by posters here) but with that word choice allowed one wonders if it will be sufficiently distinguished from the third bullet point above. 'Inviting people to parties where there may be booze & flirting' =/= 'inviting people with the explicit purpose of perving on them'. There is booze and flirting in most parties, after all, some even have discounts for women.  the main point of row zero was ultimately to have some pretty, rocker-looking ppl standing in front of the stage so it looks good on photos, bonus points if they're influencers or something. So there's nothing per se nefarious about contacting pretty, rocker-looking ppl on insta. I suppose some might find it objectifying to put up attractive ppl as 'decoration' but they're getting free booze, backstage passes & exclusive invitations out of it so no different from being a model really.

This is all just related to the case with Till for now.

The stuff that was ruled defamation wouldn't have been dismissed if it wasn't too ridiculously lacking in evidence to even consider reasonable report, and the criminal investigation will only be stricter about evidence.

So unless some wild new unprecedented evidence turns up now suddenly several weeks in, I think we can confidently say at this point: 

Roofies thing 100% debunked

the idea that it was some bordello-like thing where ppl were deliberately picked to be pressured into sexual stuff, 100% debunked.

& having drunken sex in a hotel room, whether criminally relevant or not, is something any guy can do, so definitely not 'abuse of power'. (that would be, like, making your goons restrain someone or threatening their job etc.) - the moment it's just you & him alone somewhere he's the same as any lowly mortal. (Lowly mortals, of course, can still do ordinary crimes.)

We (or rather, the prosecutors) shall see about the rest, I guess.

Regardless of particular conclusions (I don't think I'm fully decided where I fall either, yet, i dont want to form biased, emotion-based conclusions and get attached to them), at least we all gotta agree that even if they’re guilty of some stuff,  we're dealing with a very different claim and level of potential ambiguity, severity and intent.

Any sane person would consider roofies or being pressured in a locked room to be rape, but drunk (but still walking & talking) is more of a gray zone.

Most ppl would say when someone is full on incoherent or unconscious & this was outwardly recognizable it’s obviously rape but almost no one would say that about being, like, slightly tipsy, and realistically, lots of people have shitfaced sex & consider it totally normal. These are evidently situations where everyone was smashed. No one’s gonna argue that this was the world’s most responsible behavior

So it depends on details & specifics that hopefully will be brought forth by fair judges asking the actual involved people non-leading questions. 

Defamations against jerks is still defamation even if it’s, say, calling a dude a serial killer if he only killed one guy. its not about defending anyone its about truth & logic. 

Far and wide you see people reacting as if the first three points were indisputably true seeing as they have been repeated over and over in the tabloids. Death threats, vandalism, random fans being accosted for wearing t shirts, calling for boycotts of any nightclub that lets them in (ironically with Michael Jackson T-shirts for sale nearby) ... this isnt rule of law, guys. 

They even pulled Flake’s book from circulation on spotify which, like... even actual undisputed criminals shouldn’t lose the right to publish books. If there is ANY way that any citizen can be deprived of free speech, you create an incentive for that to be applied to people one wants to silence. 

You can buy books of war criminals & murderers. You can get the memoirs of OJ Simpson and the Austrian Incest Case guy, for crying out loud!  & most ppl who do that are probably motivated by morbid curiosity & wanting to know how a crazy person thinks, not any desire of “supporting” them. Understanding people is not condoning them, indeed understanding crime is how you stop & prevent crime, so this kind of censorship wouldn’t be ok even if they were guilty. 

Also don’t think for a moment that the labels, companies etc. care so much about morals (michael jackson... still on spotify), it’s about avoiding controversy for advertisers because ads & corporations rule everything and rage gets more clicks than anything. 

[rebelwriter99]

Yep. You guessed it. Crosshair appeared in an episode and I am a sobbing mess.

Before we get to the soul destroying trauma of crosshairs beautifully executed character arc, the rest of the episode!

Echo is practically a patron saint of imprisoned clones at this point. Did not stop cheering him on every second he was around. And he rescued Howzer! (Why do I feel like this a consolation prize?). What I love so much watching this sequence for the second time-I went straight back to the beginning again-is how obvious it is that they’ve done this before. The clones all act like this is their average Tuesday and the imperials are almost helpless. I think it’s been made clear over and over again that the empire underestimate the clones consistently-and I’m not looking forward to them inevitably realising their mistake.

I then spend several minutes dying laughing when Tech gets to experience his own driving. I don’t think he’s ever been more visibly or audibly terrified before. They are all big brothers and it’s fantastic. Hunters conundrum is getting interesting though-I’m starting to think his decisions are going to be in focus next. Everyone else has had their development and made their choices so far, but I think just as he’s tentatively come to terms with Pabu and peace, he’s going to get dragged back into trouble trying to protect his squad.

And Crosshair. Oh Cross. This entire episode confirms so much to me about who he actually is as a character. The “Drs” are either very clever and deliberately manipulated him into sending a distress signal, somewhat unlikely since they shut it off, or incredibly stupid. Revealing that they want Omega, who is honestly going back to the empire over the bad batch’s dead bodies, was a fatal mistake. He knows threatening omegas safety is ultimately a threat to kill his brothers. He will do anything to stop that from happening. Everything it cost him just to warn them-and I’m honestly not sure we’ve ever seen him miss before He wasn’t fighting because he could-he had to. In that situation there was nothing else he was capable of doing, other than risking everything to save them. And if he says ‘wrong’ again I’m going to start crying as a Pavlovian response.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, someone please wrap him in a blanket and give him back to his brothers. I cannot wait for the finale episodes next week. Really hoping this isn’t a season 2 of rebels situation. I need them all to be back together again. Safe somewhere. Please.