#speculating over each episode would have done me in

[misccy27]

They could have easily written Darius and Hunter’s relationship out of the show after ASIAS

I kept expecting them to. I thought they did at first. Maybe it played out differently for me because I first watched season 2 by binging it after it was over, but the continued existence of Darius and Hunter's relationship kept catching me off guard. Like. Here's how it played out for me:

Any Sport in a Storm ends with Darius being set up as a sort of mentor figure that will help set Hunter on the right path by undermining Belos’ teachings. But that role became (largely) unnecessary with Hollow Mind.

So I was watching Hollow Mind, watching the stakes change suddenly and drastically, and it ends with Hunter ripping off his cloak. And it's like, Hunter’s cloak is such a direct one-to-one analogy for Darius’ approval throughout the entirety of ASIAS. So when Hunter in his very next episode throws his cloak on the ground at the end of it, I absolutely read that as Hunter also rejecting his relationship with Darius. 

And it was sad, but understandable. Hunter’s whole life has just been pulled out from under him. He can't go back to the castle. He thinks Darius is loyal to Belos. So his relationship with Darius becomes a genuinely good thing that he has to leave behind in order to escape his abusive environment. Just another tragedy at the end of a tragic episode. The show, as they say, must go on.

And it did. Labyrinth Runners happened and I was like, yup. Here it is. Hunter is now in a full-blown coming-of-age story. I know how this goes. He gets no parents now; only friendships born of trauma. It’s fine, it’s whatever. It's how the story goes.

So I was absolutely 1000% unprepared for Hunter to roll up on the Day of Unity on a mission from Darius. So casual too, like:

Hunter you are not here on a mission. You are here on a quest. Look at your snazzy little color-coordinated outfit. You look like you're here to deliver bread to grandma's house. It is the Day of Unity what is happening here? Like???

I genuinely cannot overstate just how much this floored me. Because the way the story plays out it's like: a week ago (in canon), Hunter learned that the man he trusted and adored more than anyone else in the world - the man that his entire life revolved around - has been sadistically manipulating him his whole life with just the most absolute worst intentions that anyone could have imagined. It is a complete nightmare scenario: 

The next time we see Hunter after that, and the last time we see him before he shows up on the Day of Unity, coven head Adrian is the one traumatizing him. Adrian is taking up the mantle of psychological tormenting this kid, lying to him about reality, creating illusions of both friends and enemies alike: 

So after LR there is approximately zero reason for Hunter to trust anyone outside of Gus and maybe some of the other Hexside kids. He definitely has no reason to trust any adult ever again tbh. 

So yeah. I was not expecting Hunter to show up on the Day of Unity taking orders from Darius. We didn't get to see them interact at all between ASIAS and now. Last I checked, Hunter still had no clue that the rebellion even existed. Meanwhile, we see Darius preparing for the Day of Unity, apparently keeping his work life and home life entirely separate, good job ig. When did Darius even have time for this? The entire world is at stake and Hunter has run away from the castle and they somehow managed to get in touch with each other again anyways?

The implied off-screen interaction(s) here is A Lot, but I'm getting off-track. The point is, it didn't have to be included. The writers could have had Luz meet up with her friends in any way that they wanted. Like, this is a show stuffed full of plot contrivances. We still have no idea what Willow, Gus, and Hunter were doing between LR and the Day of Unity. The possibilities were endless. There were so many options with fewer contrivances than Hunter trusting Darius at this point.

But the writers chose to intertwine Darius and Hunter’s plots again anyway. They doubled down on a relationship that I had given up on. “Darius insisted” that Luz needed an escort. Darius ordered Hunter to do it. This was I guess just thrown in as a fun fact: yes there is indeed at least one adult still paying attention to this child's situation right now. That adult is sending Hunter away from the action, on the same mission that Eda gave Luz to keep her safe. The world is ending and everything has changed and yet Hunter is still on Darius' priority list. Okay. Cool. I can be chill about this I swear.

And then King’s Tide happens. And it is not enough for Hunter and Darius to just have any sort of relationship at all by this point. No, they have to make sure we know: Hunter is attached to Darius. Like, this?

Totally unnecessary. Did not need to happen. This serves zero purpose to the plot. Even in terms of emotional stakes and making Hunter suffer, it’s like. This happens in between Luz sacrificing herself for Hunter and Hunter seeing his Uncle brutally murdered in front of him. This was not at all necessary. Those kids did not have to stumble across Eda and the coven heads on their way to rescue Luz. It affected nothing. It was actually just put in the episode to attack me personally and I love it. Fantastic.

And then the season ends. And the setup for their relationship is so bad at this point, like? Darius is in some unknown terrible situation a realm away. Hunter just showed up on Camila's doorstep with his 4 best friends. This is a perfect opportunity to end the relationship. I was mentally prepared for it, going into Thanks to Them. Going along with the theme of grieving and letting go of childish fantasies and all.

Here's the setup: Hunter’s situation is changing drastically once again, but this time it's for the better. He is now spending months in the human realm, finally in a relatively safe and supportive environment. He's spending enough time there to gain context about the fact that authority figures can be not only good, but also nice. Hunter now has another adult that cares about his well-being and is helping him. It is a good situation for him to be in. I am genuinely happy for him.

So when Hunter’s sewing hobby first came up in TTT, I was prepared to disconnect that from where it started in ASIAS. When Hunter brought up the fact that Camila taught him how to use the sewing machine, I was ready for closure. I accepted it as “Yes. I see. Camila has displaced Darius both literally as Hunter’s sewing teacher and metaphorically in Hunter’s heart.” I was prepared for it. So this did, in fact, hit me hard:

Hunter. For all you know Darius has been dead for months. What are you doing? Why do you still care?? Just how familiar are you with Darius’ stitches anyway???

And it's again like. Literally none of these scenes were necessary. Everything we see about this relationship post-ASIAS could have been removed entirely without affecting any other relationships or the broader story at all. The fact that all of this was included means that we’re now at a point where it’s like:

Hunter got out of his abusive situation and he has a strong support network of people who love him now and also Darius just so happens to still matter to him anyway. This relationship still matters despite the plot pulling them in different directions every step of the way. This relationship has turned into a full-blown star-crossed found family scenario now. And how am I supposed to feel about that?

Because I really don't know what to expect. We get to see so little of Darius. He has had zero agency for the past however many months. The crumbs we got in Hollow Mind and with the Day of Unity mission show that Darius does care about Hunter. It's obvious that Hunter cares about Darius. I am all-in at this point tbh. So please just give me another crumb writers. All I need is just a halfway decent reunion, it can even be in the background, I can fill in the rest. Just. Let this end on a positive note for them please.

[endless-ineffabilities]

chemical override (2)

Ewan Mitchell x actress!reader

a/n : aaand I just couldn't let this storyline go. Typical. Best to read part one before this one :)

series masterlist ▪︎ main masterlist

The reader and Ewan have gotten a lot closer since the press tour for season two, but neither one has made a move. The reader is spotted with another costar, giving rise to rumours of romance.

The press tour came and went like a fever dream. From Paris to New York to London, everyone had been highly anticipating your upcoming show.

Albeit you had a minor role, it all seemed like everything you could ever wish for.

A blossoming career. Lifelong friends made from your peers. The overwhelming support from audiences.

Only two episodes have since been released to the public, and already your character has become a fan-favourite.

Sadly, you and Ewan only had that one press day together, after which you were paired with other cast members. That didn't stop the onslaught of comments under your interviews with him, fans stating how good you looked together. Speculating whether there was something going on between you two.

You are good friends, but that's all.

He calls you often, mostly in the evenings after you're both finished with work. He sticks close to you during premiere after-parties. Now and again, you would catch him looking at you from across the room.

But... well... that's all there is to that.

Maybe he's just being nice. Maybe he only sees you as a good friend, and this is just how he is. With his effortless charm and cheeky remarks that can be mistaken as flirting, you think that maybe you're reading too much into it all.

"Ewan likes you, you know," Phia looks at you over her shoulder, as she does her makeup in front of your dresser.

The cast is having a private get-together in Fabien's apartment for a night, and yourself and Phia decide to prep together, her own place only being five minutes away from yours.

"He's just being nice," you shake your head at her observation, as you sift through your closet looking for a top.

"He's not that nice to everyone," Phia laughs. "Trust me, that lad fancies you and it's plain as day. Ask anyone, I mean, Tom even pointed it out the other day."

"And Ewan was there with you guys?"

"Uh-huh," Phia swivels her chair around, all done, nodding at you, "Poor sod just about turned red as a beet."

"What did he say?" you ask, not even bothering to hide your curiosity. Phia's got your back, after all.

"Well..." Phia glanced away, weighing just how much she is at liberty to say. Ewan's her friend just as much as you are, and she doesn't know how deep she can meddle in this.

"How bad is it?"

"Nothing bad, promise," Phia walks over, then takes over the task of sorting through your closet, "He likes you. A lot. But it seems like he's apprehensive about jumping into a relationship right now."

You plop down on your bed in a huff, "I guess that makes sense."

"Chin up, darling," Phia turns around, arms folded behind her, concealing her chosen top for you. "You're both rising stars, with great careers ahead of you. If you're going to commit to each other, you're gonna have to do it right."

You smile, because you can't help it, the high from landing your dream career not yet subsiding.

"And," Phia continues, "even if he's too chicken to make a move, that doesn't mean you can't torture him with this." She grins, presenting a green satin top, the material weightless and shimmering.

"This? Are you sure?" It was definitely revealing, and it would have your back exposed, only tied together by two strings.

"Ewan loves green," she hands it to you, and you hold it up with concern etched in your features.

"I guess I could wear this," you mumble.

"Oh, you will wear it," Phia smirks, pushing you over to your bathroom so you can get changed.

Already wearing your trusty pair of bootcut jeans, you shimmy into the slinky top, calling out to Phia so she can assist with securing the strings at your back.

"You look absolutely gorgeous," she beams at you in your bathroom mirror. "Ewan is going to melt at the sight of you, doll."

"Huh," you say, checking yourself out in the reflection. "Okay then, I think we're ready - "

Your phone rings, cutting you off. Phia beats you to it, and her face is scandalous when she raises your phone up like it's precious evidence.

Ewan's name flashes bright on the screen.

"Oh, look who it is!" Phia practically sings, "Lover boy."

"Give me that," you demand, reaching for your phone, but Phia quickly sidesteps you and presses the screen to answer the call.

You gasp, and the both of you struggle to keep down an incoming fit of giggles. Phia then clicks on the speaker mode, and Ewan can be heard saying your name, his tone a bit confused.

"Are you there?" Ewan asks.

"Yeah, I'm here," you take the phone, waving to Phia so she doesn't make a fuss.

"Hmm," he says. "I hope I'll be seeing you tonight. The party won't be as good without you."

"Well, Phia and I just finished getting ready," you glance at her, and she makes a kissy face at you.

"Hello, Mr. Whipped," she playfully cuts in with this greeting, effectively letting Ewan know he's on speaker.

You hear Ewan snort on the other end, before he says, "Hello to you too, Phi."

"We should be heading out in 15 minutes, and we'll be there on time," you let him know.

"Okay, I suppose I'll see you guys there," he replies.

"Okay." A beat of silence passes, and Phia just shrugs at you.

"I, uh - " he finally speaks up again, but hesitates.

"Yeah?"

He clears his throat, having decided on saying, "Nevermind. See you soon, darling."

The line cuts off. You slowly let your hand fall to the side, sighing at how it abruptly ended. Shaking off your worries, you look at Phia once more, and she already has her line all prepared. "See you soon, darling," she recites in a low voice, imitating Ewan.

"Oh, shush," you shove her playfully, and she shoves you right back.

"I can't wait to see you, darling," she continues teasing you, laughing, and you can't help but blush and smile, finding her endearing.

"Well, let's go," she says, picking up her things, "your darling boy of Derby awaits."

▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎

Fabien greets you at the door with that perfect smile of his, arms outstretched to pull you and Phia into a hug.

"Welcome, welcome," he greets, leading you into his apartment, where most of the cast is already assembled, including Ewan.

You happily exchange pleasantries with everyone. Chatting with Emma and Olivia. Profusely thanking Matt when he gushes over your outfit. Catching up with Harry and Bethany. All the while sensing that Ewan watches you from somewhere in the room.

You're eventually directed by Tom to the corner table where Ewan and Phia share a loveseat, drinks in hand.

"I'll get you a drink," Tom kindly declares, heading to the kitchen.

"Thanks, Tom," you say. You sit next to Phia, leaving her between yourself and Ewan. You finally say to him, "Hey, you. How are you doing? Got here early?"

Ewan's jaw clenches and loosens, and you catch his eyes quickly drift down to rake over your figure. When he meets your eyes again, his pupils are considerably dilated.

The boy just shamelessly checked you out.

"Ewan," you hear Phia say, elbowing Ewan from beside him. "She just asked you a question, be polite." She wags her eyebrows at you, mouthing the words lover boy.

Ewan hears that, astute as he is, and it snaps him out of whatever haze he seemed to be stuck in.

He shakes his head at himself, offering a smile to you. "I got here just before you guys," he answers. His voice lowers when he adds, "You look really good, darling."

You smile in return. "Thanks. So do you."

Phia beams at the exchange, then makes some excuse of having to catch up with the others. The look she gives you before sliding off the seat reveals that she just wanted to give her two lovebirds some privacy.

"So," Ewan inches closer to you, his arm outstretched on the back of the seat, "how did the script turn out?"

"It was better than expected," you say. He refers to a script you told him about a week ago, for a potential project which will shoot in Atlanta in the fall. "I'm supposed to meet with the director pretty soon to discuss it further, but I think it might be the right fit."

"That's amazing," he expresses sincerely. "Rian Johnson's a brilliant director and they would be lucky to have you as their lead."

"Thanks, Ewan! Yeah, I'm really excited for it, it's a lot different from House of the Dragon, but I'm all in for the challenge, you know."

"Is it a drama film, or thriller, or - "

"Oh, it's a rom-com, actually."

"Oh," he nods, leaning back a little, like that needed a bit of processing. "And you'll have a romantic co-lead..."

"That's right, and - " you confirm.

He smirks, like he just thought of something amusing. "Well, maybe I could - "

But you finish your statement then, " - I think Jacob Elordi has just been selected as my partner in the film."

His face scrunches in apparent distaste, "Has he now?"

"Mhmm." You note the switches in his expression, how his face fell when you mentioned your upcoming co-star. He can't have something against Jacob; they already did a film together and it seemed like it went well on set.

That thing nags at you, that little spring of vanity and desire creating warmth in your stomach. That Ewan might be jealous.

Which is ridiculous, given your shared line of work. Besides, you were not together. What could he possibly be jealous over?

"You've worked with him, right? What's he like?" you continue the topic, keeping watch for the minutiae of his reactions.

"He's... he's a good actor, I guess. Dedicated and all that. Pleasant on set." His answer is curt, not giving away any details, tone flat like he's disinterested.

"Riiight," you nod slowly, smiling impishly at him to get him to lighten up, "I'm sure he'll be just as pleasant on our set then. Good to know."

He catches the look you're giving him, causing the corner of his lips to pull in a soft crooked smile. "Hmm, be that as it may... I think I'll do a much better job as your love interest, don't you?"

"Oh, will you now?" you lean forward, and he does the same.

"Yeah, didn't you hear?" he whispers conspiratorially, like there's a secret to be shared. "According to the internet, we have a lot of chemistry. Practically oozing with it, based on some comments I read."

"You've been lurking on comments? You? The last crusader against all social media?" you joke, fully knowing that he keeps a few shadow accounts just to keep up with how his work is being received by the public.

"Sure," he shrugs his shouders dramatically, " that, and also to stalk your page, of course."

"Oh, of course," you quip, "I wouldn't expect anything less."

You share another laugh, feeling light all over, and even lighter when his fingertips brush against your arm for a few seconds. Goosebumps erupt on your skin, and you sneakily rub your arms to cover the effect he had on you.

Tom reappears from the side, handing you a drink as promised, "What are you kids giggling about over here?"

"Nothing," you share, "just that Ewan is planning to join Instagram."

"A damn miracle, that!" Tom exclaims, lightly punching Ewan in the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah," Ewan looks at you warmly, playing along, "you can be in charge of keeping my account running."

"Tough job. All those fan messages I'll have to answer."

"Yeah, you'll have to quit your day job," Tom adds jokingly. "It was fun while it lasted. The industry will miss you."

You feel a pressure by your shoulders, and notice that it's Ewan's arm snug behind you on the seat. In the midst of conversation, he must have drawn even closer. You glance down briefly and see his knees touching yours.

You nervously take a huge gulp of your drink. There is no hiding the effect he has on you now.

"Don't you two look cute?" Tom comments, then he stands right in front of the loveseat and puts his phone up. Before you can say anything, a clicking sound makes it clear that he has taken a photo of you and Ewan.

"Awww, I ship it," Tom gushes afterward as he looks at the photo. He then reaches over and passes his phone to you.

The image betrays what the both of you are probably struggling to hide - it's there, clear as day. The attraction, the tension, the chemistry. Ewan practically has his arm around you, looking at you intensely with the inscrutable spark in his eyes. His teeth lightly clamping down on his lip in desire.

There's a subtle scrunch between your eyebrows as you return Ewan's look, a result of trying to maintain composure when he is so close. But your posture is relaxed, almost cozying right up against him, showing just how comfortable you feel around him.

As Tom just said, you ship it.

If only.

▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎

Two weeks after the party at Fabien's, the main cast members of House of the Dragon are engaged in an additional round of promo work. Season two is at its peak, and the media is just clamoring to get more from the cast.

Some are booked for photoshoots, others for interviews.

While a minor character in the show, they also wanted you to take part in engaging with the press, but you are already busy with your upcoming film with Jacob. You're currently out in LA, doing rehearsals in preparation for the actual shoot.

Ewan is yet again lounging in a hotel suite, about to do an interview with Vanity Fair.

He sends you a text, in response to your complaint about a difficult scene.

You had shared, It's a pretty dramatic scene. What if I can't cry on command?

He easily texts back, You can do it, darling. Trust me, you're one of the most talented young actors I know.

- Thanks, Ewan. Good luck with your interview!

- Thank you, good luck with rehearsal. I miss --

Ewan pauses typing. I miss you, he aches to send. He does miss you so much. Why can't he just commit to it?

He ends up sending, I'll see you soon, in its place.

He knows he wants to do everything with you. Take you out on dates. Sweep you off your feet. Travel to wherever you will be filming just to see you. Confess how much he wants you.

Why can't he? It's terrifying to him, being with someone, in danger of falling in love - truly falling in love - with a fellow actor, and that relationship exposed to much public scrutiny.

He's always been a private person, so will he be able to handle all of that? Acting is his first love, and he's devoted to the craft. If he succumbs to his desire for you, will that cause him to go off track?

What if the relationship is not well-received? He is aware of how passionate fans can be. What if they cruelly decide to make you the object of their ire as a result? He can't possibly put you through that.

But... but fuck it.

The Aemond in him turns proud and defiant. Why can't he? Why shouldn't he?

He types another message in a second, then clicks send.

And I miss you.

His publicist walks over to him, giving him a few last-minute instructions. In a few minutes, the room is all composed and the interview is ready to begin.

The line of questioning has almost become routine-like for him, a far cry from when he first started giving shorter interviews for previous projects.

The answers flow from him smoothly, stemming from his care for Aemond and the show.

Near the end of the interview, he is asked about the remaining normalcy of his life. Surely it has all changed ever since he landed the show?

"Well, I try to go back to my hometown as much as possible. Just, you know, spending time where I grew up really helps maintain a sense of normal, for me," he responds. "It keeps my feet planted on the ground, that is, when I'm not on dragonback flying high up in the clouds."

The interviewer promptly laughs at his last remark, then asks, "What's next for you? Your fans are just eagerly awaiting your next project. Maybe a film like your new costar? Everyone is excited for her film with Jacob Elordi."

Ewan can't hide the way he perks up at the mention of you, never mind how Jacob is included too. "Ah, yes, well there are some things down the line for me. More than anything, I want to choose a project that I am passionate about, with a story and a character that is rich and complex. Whichever that is, I guess you'll find out soon!"

"Yes, yes, we will!"

"And about her project, I mean, I'm just so proud of her. We've become really close and I think she's a fantastic actress and person. She's going to smash it in this film, that's for sure."

The interviewer nods enthusiastically, smirking as he adds, "Apparently a bit of romance on the cards for her as well!"

"You mean in the movie?" Ewan replies, half-smiling in confusion. But he spies his publicist gesturing to the interviewer from behind the camera, a signal that private affairs are off-limits.

After a final question, the interview wraps up.

His publicist grumbles to him afterward, as they prepare to leave the room. "It was clear that no private questions are allowed. Sorry about that, Ewan."

"It's alright, that was... well, what was he on about? Did he mean romance between the two of us?"

"I believe he's talking about Jacob and her. They were spotted out in LA today. The interviewer probably just wanted you to spill some dirt on your costar."

Ewan frowns, "What do mean they were spotted?"

His publicist appears surprised at his question, and his obvious interest. "They've been papped walking arm in arm in LA. Seemed pretty close, not that it's any of that interviewer's business."

As they walk out of the hotel, Ewan can't help but do an immediate Google search of your name, and sure enough, the headlines about your walk with Jacob are abound.

He can't pinpoint how he feels as he sees the photos, the statuesque Jacob with his arm around you as you beam up at him. He notices that his grip on his phone has tightened, so he turns it off quickly and shoves it in his pocket.

Whatever this is, and how it makes him feel, he doesn't like it. He doesn't like it one bit.

His phone vibrates from his pocket, but he ignores it.

So he doesn't yet see your reply.

I miss you too.

💌 next chapter

Ewaaaan! Make a move, my guy!

As much as we'd like to see them make declarations of love or get into the passion quick, I wanted to make it as realistic as possible. How would two young actors begin dating? Reader, kudos to you for keeping it cool as a cucumber thus far - it's up to Ewan to make the big move.

Part three may be the last. What'll they be? Just friends? PR relationship? Notorious fling? Or new celebrity power couple?

MASSIVE thanks for all the lovely feedback for part one! 💙

Update: if you wish to be tagged in part three, let me know in the comments 💌

[ghostdiva]

Jax's Character Gimmick

This is a theiry my brain has cultivated since watching the 4th episode, since it is a theory, don't take anything I'm saying as fact. it's purely speculation for now.

also apologies in advance, but this will be a wall of text, that is to say, a long post.

So, Each character in the Digital circus seems to have a gimmick of some kind. Ragatha gets hurt by the environment often, Gangle's got her breaking comedy mask, Zooble has their ever-changing parts, Pomni seems to have an existential crisis every episode, and Kinger has his fluctuating lucidity. But what about Jax?

well, in episodes 3 and 4, Jax either didn't get a lot of screen time, or didn't take many opportunities to cause mischief. Hell, in episode 3, Jax vacuumed up ghostly only because that's what he thought he was supposed to do for the adventure. after that Jax didn't get to do much on account of being tied up.

In episode 4, as far as mischief goes he just throws Ragatha in the deep fryer. but before that happens, I think we see the first glimpse of Jax's gimmick. it happens in the first minute of the episode, where Ragatha was helping Gangle learn to throw a baseball. Jax honestly seemed to just want to play a game in the moment, yet when Gangle threw the ball, and he hit it, the ball hit her right in the face. Jax might not have looked apologetic in the moment, but he did seem confused. and when Ragatha went to scold him about it (assuming he did it on purpose), he says "I actually didn't mean to do that".

This is interesting to me because in every other episode, Jax has done something to cause mischief. and said mischief usually involved someone getting hurt, thrown around, or having something of theirs broken.

Here's the thing, I think that Jax deliberately causes this mischief on purpose, because his character gimmick is causing harm to others. maybe when he first arrived in the digital world, he had tried to be nice, maybe even helpful, but those efforts would backfire in a wacky way, ultimately resulting in something or someone getting hurt. in other words, he'd accidentally do something that harmed someone or something important to someone.

I think at first he felt bad about it, accidentally causing harm to others. but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to go a day without hurting someone. and the harder he tried to avoid it, the more others would get hurt. So Jax, seeing the pattern, decided to embrace it. He started deliberately causing mischief, and found that if it wasn't an accident on his part, then he would have a level of control over how much pain he causes. like if he feels he has to cause chaos, at least he can control it to a degree.

over time, I think Jax started to find humor in others misfortune. and it sorta turned into a coping mechanism for the gimmick of constantly having to cause someone else misfortune.

[theunsinkableship1]

Lukolaland: What would it take to pull me away?

DISCLAIMER: This is LUKOLALAND only. Do not read if you're not a shipper. This is PURE SPECULATION. No harm intended.

Once again, Lukolaland finds itself in disarray, with many shippers feeling disheartened and disappointed after Tifaine.red’s recent TikTok live. While this may have come as a shock to some, we must remember that much of this is not new, and it doesn't negate what we’ve witnessed over the years, particularly during the press tour. We know what we saw, and we can't unsee it.

The adjacent presence has lingered for nearly a year, yet it hasn’t changed much. It's clear that she isn’t the biggest threat, she's a young woman in love with someone who doesn’t seem to reciprocate those feelings. It’s not her fault; she didn’t realize what she was stepping into. While her insecurities and attempts to capitalize on the situation are frustrating, she’s not the main player here, the clock is ticking.

So why should we stay and wait for them to sort things out? Because what speaks volumes in the Luke and Nicola saga is everything that isn’t happening, everything that remains unsaid.

This situation could have been managed differently from the start. There were multiple opportunities for clear communication and professional handling, yet these were not taken. Nicola and Luke never said that they didn't love each other in a romantic way, they have said that they're friends in a complicated and very special way that blur the lines and is not easy for us to comprehend, they have acted all the time as lovers even when we couldn'ts see them and behind the scenes. This is confusing for who pays attention and we do. Luke could have introduced A as his girlfriend before the tour, during the tour or after the papgate, establishing the relationship publicly. He didn’t do it maybe because he doesn’t consider her as his girlfriend. He doesn’t have to discuss his private matters with the public, but a simple acknowledgement would have decrease passion and expectations. the initial shock to the fandom would have subsided over time, allowing everything to proceed with less speculation. The lack of these actions, combined with what has been done under apparent pressure, speaks volumes about the true nature of the situation. His adjacent has a small but public presence and she seems eager to be claimed and shared with the world as she is doing the most to make it known. It could have been less drama induced episode.

Luke and Nicola could have clearly stated that their relationship was strictly platonic, curbing the growing Lukola frenzy, they were always elusive or evasive on the subject leaving space for doubt and ambiguity. Their professional teams could have made clear statements to put an end to the speculation.

Many great creators in this fandom have faced criticism this week for their Lukola content. I understand that, to outsiders, it might seem strange for grown people to dedicate so much time to shipping people they don't personally know. I used to think the same way and never imagined I'd care so deeply about celebrities' love stories. However, not understanding something shouldn’t lead to attacks. If you believe we’re delusional, allow us to be so in our own corner of the internet. We aren’t harming anyone; we’ve simply built a community that celebrates real love. Those who don’t believe Lukola Love have no need to be here.

It might seem ridiculous to some, and they are free to think so, but it's unfair to create spaces just to mock us. This community has brought light, laughter, and joy to many of us. The only people who have the right to ask us to stop are Nicola and Luke themselves, and they haven’t done so, stating multiple times that they find it sweet, because the majority of this community is neither harmful nor toxic. We genuinely love and support them. We condemn harassment and attacks on them and strive to be respectful by staying in our own space and respecting their boundaries. If Nicola or Luke ever express discomfort or a desire to reassess those boundaries, most of us would comply or,would stop because, contrary to popular belief, we are functioning adults with full lives.

I might not have understood this before, but now that I'm part of it, I see why so many are touched by what we've witnessed, I feel the love, it’s rare, pure, and incredibly beautiful. I always liked Nicola, I always had a soft spot for Luke, but seeing them together has enhanced that feeling. I truly believe they’re better together as they love and help each other in many ways. Most of us recognize that having something so special is a blessing, almost miraculous. It's because we value love, especially in a world where it's often missing, that we feel compelled to celebrate, encourage, and nurture it whenever we see it.

I will only leave this ship if their relationship becomes toxic or if something truly inexcusable happens. As long as they maintain their bond, I’ll support them silently, even through other relationships, marriages, or kids. If they appear to be single and uncommitted, I will continue to support them openly in Lukolaland. Why? Because I want to believe in real love, it makes the world better.

[writing-for-life]

Sandman Predictions

So we’ve been speculating wildly what the remainder of The Sandman might look like on here and in our community (join us!) for a while.

And I thought it would be fun to put my predictions to paper (so to speak) so I can be embarrassed about them later and laugh at how wrong they were 🙈

Taking all the casting announcements and BTS in consideration I’ve collected like a magpie (check out my #sandman S2 tag), I will have a stab at it…

Only 12 Episodes or Aiming for Renewal?

Both is possible, but I am more and more leaning we’ll get the whole thing in twelve episodes in two batches of five each with two wraparound episodes (one will be AGoY/THCoL in the middle, one the last three issues of The Wake).

We know the episode names for six episodes that are directed by Jamie Childs. That doesn’t mean they were in order, or that there won’t be other directors involved. It wouldn’t surprise me if they at least went for female writers/directors for AGoY/THCoL, and if that’ll be the episode that separates (or rather connects) SoM and Brief Lives. So here comes my totally unhinged prediction for 12 episodes, including the titles we know (mind you, they might also be working titles). The chapters from the comics are to be seen as fluid and not absolute, because there are a lot of scenes that are not linear in chronological terms and will probably be shuffled around a bit:

Batch One

“More Devils Than Vast Hell Can Hold” (that title is a direct quote from AMND): A Midsummer Night’s Dream, SoM Prologue & Tales in the Sand flashback

“Season of Mists”: SoM ch. 1-3, ch. 4 is getting dropped

“The Ruler of Hell”: SoM ch. 5 through Epilogue

TBA: AGoY & THCoL “Brief Lives”: Brief Lives ch. 1-3. Maybe the first parts of Thermidor (could also be ep. 5).

“Brief Lives”: Brief Lives ch. 1-5 “The Song of Orpheus”: Brief Lives ch. 4-6 and The Song of Orpheus segueing into

“The Song of Orpheus”: Brief Lives ch. 6. Bast is an excellent cut to SoO. “Family Blood”: Brief Lives ch. 7-9. Parts of Thermidor will also be in there.

Batch Two

“Family Blood”: Brief Lives ch. 7-9 TBA: TKO ch. 1-4

TBA: TKO ch. 1-4 TBA: TKO ch. 5-7

TBA: TKO ch. 5-8 TBA: TKO ch. 8-10

TBA: TKO ch. 11-13

TBA: The Wake (all of it apart from…)

TBA: Sunday Mourning/Exiles/The Tempest

Edit 19/09:

[strikeouts in text done on same day]

So I’ve read The High Cost of Living again over the past few days because it didn’t want to leave me alone, and I’ve now convinced myself we’ll get it as a side-plot to Brief Lives in episodes 4-6, and that we’ll get tiny bits of AGoY, (mostly to set up Wanda/Ruby for Brief Lives and Hazel/Foxglove for THCoL) as a side plot to SoM in episodes 1-3. Spoilers ahead, so skip if that’s not your thing:

Both Sexton and Orpheus have a death wish. I don’t want to drag this out too much because the post is long enough as it is, but suffice it to say, Sexton rethinks after spending a day with Didi/Death, while Orpheus is granted his wish. And this is what ultimately sets Morpheus on his own path. The meaning of “So live” would be beautifully contrasted that way because it has different meaning to different people, depending on their own experience. Add to that Death spending a “brief life” for one day herself, and I can somewhat see the vision.

Failing this, THCoL could also be a special in episode 13 that hasn’t been announced yet (I’d rather have Overture though if I’m honest).

In more detail:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest will be bookends, one before SoM, one after The Wake (they don’t necessarily have to be full episodes, they could be half each and make up roughly an hour combined. It really depends on overall runtime).

We’ll kick off batch one with Season of Mists (maybe the prologue and will also be in episode 1–there are several points in AMND that would make good cuts into SoM), and Tales in the Sand won’t be a full episode but incorporated as flashbacks (maybe around the family dinner). After we conclude SoM, we’ll get one episode of AGoY will be a side-plot to SoM, as per above (if it happens at all), and leads into THCoL as a side-plot to Brief Lives as per my edit above, because there’s a through-line in there for Fox and Hazel, plus we can set up Wanda/Ruby for Brief Lives.

Bonus 1:

Johanna will be somehow involved in SoM (she’s the Hellblazer after all), and we’ll get her to hook up with Murphy. No need for a longwinded introduction of Thessaly. Or, failing that, we just cut out the love interest completely, Morpheus does his moping session because Nada rebuffs him again, but Jo will still take Thessaly’s place as the crone.

We’ll move into roughly three episodes of Song of Orpheus/Thermidor and Brief Lives from there. Wanda will die in Brief Lives like Ruby, not in AGoY.

We finish the first batch with Morpheus alone on his chair after you-know-what 😩

Second batch: TKO and The Wake. Little bits of World’s End will be woven in where it fits, maybe already in the first batch as well. Same goes for little bits of standalone issues from Fables and Reflections.

Jo will take Thessaly’s place and protect Lyta because she’d just believe it’s the right thing to do (she also sympathises because she lost Astra). Whether she also holds a deeper grudge depends on if they set them up as having an affair or not.

My guess is four episodes TKO and one for the Wake. Sunday Mourning and Exiles will be done in one episode. The movie concept art that Jill Thompson did ages ago showed Daniel in the distance on the beach with the other three, and I think that’s a good tie-in point to lead into Exiles. Even the Tempest might fit in there if they make the last episode more feature-length. And you’ve got your two Shakespeare bookends.

Bonus 2:

Hob will be reinstalled to his narrative purpose because at least half the fandom will drop him like a hot potato and ship Morpheus x Cluracan instead. Because:

If you think 12 episodes are tight: Yes, if you want to see every detail and issue of the comics. But not everything you see in a graphic novel translates well to screen, plus you don’t perceive time the same way. What takes ages to read can be something like 30 seconds in a film. Add to this that the movie that never happened was conceptualised as a trilogy if I’m not mistaken, so probably 6-8 hours planned runtime in total. So they always had a definite idea how to streamline it, and they were planning for it before. 12 episodes with 45 to 60min each give us more to play with than a movie-trilogy (plus we can already take the time off that we spent on S1). I think it’s doable, but of course it means tightening arcs and dropping stuff.

However, I’ll be honest with you: With all that’s been going on, and having seen that they filmed right through until the end, I’d rather have them wrap up now. Because I honestly can’t see a S3 happening after all that’s already been cancelled and put on hold because of you-know-what (I’m thinking of Disney shelving The Graveyard Book and Amazon putting GO on hold and sitting on the Audible despite it being finished).

But also: These decisions have likely been made long before these considerations even became an issue: Renewal was on a knife’s edge, and choices were made back then we can only guess at. Scripts aren’t written over night, neither are sets changed around wildly on a whim (plus actors aren’t just tied to one project and can’t just willy-nilly change their schedules). And some sets for TKO were already confirmed and booked in May. So they were always going to do what we’ve seen in BTS shots. It’s not a sudden development.

In any case: If they aimed for more seasons than two, I think this prediction could still hold in general, we’ll just get it more fleshed out. In that case, I’d say 10 episodes of SoM and Brief Lives (5 each), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream and THCoL as standalones with the rest as side-plots woven in (that includes AGoY). Then S3 comprising TKO and The Wake with more space for standalone episodes and World’s End. Maybe even Overture as a special. I very much doubt they would go for more than three seasons in total though.

So these are my predictions, now I’d love to hear yours…

[rbr4c1ng]

Hii! I was wondering if you could maybe explain the bus bros fallout or p2p gate or pretty much all of the McLaughlin-Newgarden lore to me since I'm only getting in to IndyCar now and I want to be caught up before the 500. I understand this is a big ask but I've seen that youve posted about it and I just NEED to know. Any links to other pieces of lore would also be much apreciated. Completely understand if you don't want to write anything though so thank you so much I advance!! <3

YES ABSOLUTELY I WILL EXPLAIN! this is my special interest dw i could write an 18 page essay about their lore.

SO basically scott came into indycar from supercars in 2020-2021 ish and him a josef started getting along like super well, which is honestly a bit odd bc josef is known to not really let people get so close to him, so scotty is a bit of an outlier in that respect.

eventually! they make bus bros!!! wooooo everyone loves it etc etc they have fun making it…. until they don’t! leading up to their breakup there were QUITE a few clues that they knew it was gonna end in flames like scott talked about it on off track (see audio excerpt below) and on hot seats with hinch if i remember correctly?

there’s also a fair share of articles that mention it. they basically knew it was inevitable but i don’t think anyone thought it was gonna happen so quickly??

so then the winter break leading into the 2024 szn happened! this is about when i started getting really into bus bros and was honestly pretty present for some of this shit (i was at the daytona 24 and st pete so i’ve got some first hand evidence but we will get to that later)… anyways so the rumors start going around that bus bros is over around?? st pete time i think??? a little bit earlier. which is odd given that they seemed okay with each other at the daytona 24, even though i thought it was strange that they weren’t both on tower motorsports anymore cause josef switched to penske porsche but GENERALLY it seemed okay (although based on this pic idk their relationship seems a little charged atp but it’s all speculation really)

then after the rumors come out i think it was jenna fryer’s article that did it in? (idk it has a paywall on it for me right now and i don’t care enough to find it here but there’s definitely excerpts floating around) now i do recommend to take anything jenna fryer says with a grain of salt bc she is essentially a gossip columnist for all intents and purposes. but the article basically said that josef and scotty were done and scott wouldn’t answer any questions about it and was only saying that they’re fine or to ask josef about it (tea from todays 100 days to indy episode actually…). they promptly took down the bus bros merch site and have been relatively quiet since then. at st pete they talked on the podium and didn’t seem too bad but i’ve seen other clips where they won’t even sit next to each other or speak to each other so take that as you will. podiums are pretty much just publicity, cameras everywhere, you’d probably want to seem at least cordial with your teammate.

(pic 1 is mine, pic 2 is a pic of my tv from todays episode LMFAO)

so heres where most of the speculative stuff comes in. Josef dissolved his media company, unfollowed everyone, and cancelled bus bros leading into the 2024 season because he wanted to “get rid of distractions”, and really we could leave it at that, but i find it hard to believe that that’s the only thing that happened.

Josef is the dictionary definition of Penske Perfect, you won’t get any closer to it than him. he’s fucking OBSESSED with this idea of being perfect. perfect season, perfect body, perfect car, perfect team. obviously this isn’t feasible, but scotty seemed to have broken through that block in his little Penske Perfect brain and got him to LIGHTEN UP A BIT. and then the 2023 season happened. sure, josef won the indy 500 but it was one of his worst season finishes in a while and, to make matters worse, scott BEAT him. little scotty mac, supercars champion transplant from 2021 beat josef newgarden at his own fucking game after breaking down his walls and making him soft. i can see how that scared josef honestly. so he ended it. Scott doesn’t see things on a plane of winning/losing imo, everything is just experience for him. hell, he didn’t even know if he would end up in indycar and he sure as hell didn’t think he’d win races so soon AND beat his teammate. to josef, it’s JUST winning/losing. if he’s losing, he needs to be better. and he lost sight of that for the 2023 season. that’s why he had to come back and put an end to the shenanigans bc he knows scott makes him soft.

but that’s just my speculation!!!!! literally could just be nothing. maybe it is to josef, but i know for a FACT it isn’t to scott.

OH and with the p2pgate stuff! basically they had a component in their car that. was not supposed to be there! that prevented race control from turning off their push to pass like normal. (marshall pruitt has a rlly good article explaining it all here) and they were caught in long beach when race control forgot to turn on the push to pass during the sunday warm up and HMMMMM why do the penske cars still have it???? when has this happened before??? oh ok st pete! now they’re disqualified. josef used 9 seconds of p2p when it was not enabled and scotty only used 1.9 and will used none. so i’m led to believe that it was a josef-centered choice IF it was intentional to use the p2p when it was supposed to be inactive.

now josef really laid down the water works for that press conference at barber to the point that i was having a VERY hard time watching it. i felt bad for the guy. he seemed really fucking upset and i almost believe that it WASNT on purpose but. it’s just too good to be true right?

honestly i think this all could tie back to the downfall of bus bros in that scott maybe didn’t want to do the p2p thing but josef was willing to? and maybe that caused some sort of divide between them bc then again for josef it’s about Winning No Matter What, and yes scott wants to win but cheating isn’t the way for him. idk.

for more of their lore when they WERE friends, watch bus bros (duh), admit one, 100 days to indy, scott learns america: nashville, hot seats with hinch, and listen to scott’s episode on off track with hinch and rossi! also there are some very brief interactions between them on some older penske games videos before bus bros was even a thing but it’s not much. there are more but i can’t think of them rn…

sorry for rambling, if you have any more qs feel free to ask!!! i’m always available for brain picking :)

[theadhddimsenion]

Some more speculation from yours truly. This time on loona and octiava.

Let's first start with loona. This might surprise you all but I was formerly a loona anti. I at first though she was just an overrated piece of fur bait and I really hated her for that kick in seeing stars (and I still say that should have been done differently like maybe have her let blitz hug her at first but then she remembers she's supposed to be mad at him and that she's showing affection in public and THEN kick him, then she looks concerned for a moment then tries to play it off like she had meant to do that.) But after mastermind when she finaly showed my boy she cared i really came around to her (same with veroskia to a lesser extent) and as for what direction I think her development will take allow me to explain.

Loona is many ways is Both a orphaned kid and a shelter pet. A few of the things that those two things sadly tend to have in common is bad attitudes, severe trust issues and poor social skills. Loona definitely has the first thing, we all saw the way shs reacted when blitz absent mindedly told her he might replace her. (Again all that loona needed was just a few slight tweaks in that episode like maybe toning down the volience and actually seeing her be hurt by the suggestion.) She clearly fears the idea of being replaced a trait likely born out of her years in the pound where if you didn't satisfy the costumer you would never find a home.

The next trait her bad attuide is another much more obvious symptoms of her hard life. People don't tend to go through metaphorical and literal hell and come out with a perfectly sunny disposition. But more specificly her bullying of moxxie (which has gotten better) always came off to me as her old habits kicking in and her instinctively identifying the "weakest" person around and picking on them in a vain attempt to make herself feel better. Likely something she was on the revving end of and subconsciously adopted as a way to survive in the pound.

But there is one more trait that she definitely has and that's her poor social skills. On top of her angst she likely didn't have much in the way of friends and as anyone who has raised an abused child or dog can tell you it's important for them to have good connections with their peers and have them be comfortable around others. Have seen loona struggle to connect with other of her own species and it's only been until recently that she has actually seemed to make some real friends in the form of esme (the hound with the afro) and russ (the chubby looking hound with the dreedlocks) which she seems to have good connections with. (It also shows a bit of subtle maturity on blitzs part by not over protecting her like he used to do).

But loonas arc is far from over and given the that the 15 episodes of the next season evenly divide into a perfect three episode arc for each of the main five characters (blitz, moxxie, millie, loona and stolas.) I believe that loonas remaining development will be about her relationship with m&m as well as her learning to Navigate the social scene. But the real theory part of this theory is that I believe that Vicki (or however you spell her name. The poodle hound with the valley girl voice. You know the one that looks like Regina George's fursona?) Will be loonas equvilant to either striker or cash crimson or paimon. She was on screen for a total of what like a minute and a half but she already seemed to have some idea of who loona was and she also managed to get loona to cause a scene. She clearly had a mastery of the social scene that loona doesn't and she's seems to be a lot more popular than her to boot so I think she would be a great foil to loona. Vicki definitely seems she could be a roadblock in loonas development as she clearly has it out our beloved loonie and what's more as I have said has not just the motive to stunt loonas development by sabotaging her quest to make friends and put herself out their more and in turn learning that she doesn't have to keep her gaurd up all the time but the means as well. Plus she would be an interesting change of pace from the other villains who either try to brute force it (like striker), get others to their dirty work for theme (stella and crimson), try to politaticly weasel their way to victory (cash and andy) or are for the most part incompetent comic relief (dhorks and cherubs) while viki perfers to take a more velvet glove (pun and callout hazbin very much intended) approach by manipulating public opinion against our hellish heroine. Plus this would give loona one opponent that she can't just punch away and it would be interesting to see how she handles such a situation.

Now onto octativa. Before we begin i want to throw my hat in the ring so to speak and offer my two cents on the discourse surrounding the goetian soon to be princess. In addition to the fact that I completely agree with the fact that she is 100% valid in all of her feelings and that those who hate her for her choices are awful for trying to blame a teenager in a broken home for being irrational are truly cold hearted I believes that thr agreement that she should see Andy and stella for what they are falls flat because we'll I'm pretty sure she is aware of what they are but she's thinks that she's stuck in between a rock and a hard place. Yes stella and Andy are clearly bad people but they aren't the ones who constantly said they would do better but always failed to do so. That's what really hurt the fact that stolas put in effort to care for her but always came up short really hurt her and what's more she likely felt that stolas was her one light in life just she was to him and when she saw him ready to die for a stranger without so much as telling her of course she wasn't thinking right!! She didn't know why the trial was happening or that her father had only minutes to decide no with that emotion coming at her so fast and the feeling of seemingly being abandoned by the one person who had made consistent effort to be good to her that made her Crack. I think the griffin from american mcgee's alice said it best "true words and logic rarely defeat evil intent" and while the truly grotesque take on the queen of hearts in that game wasn't exactly evil more a manifestation of Alice's denial that the fire that took her parents and sister was just and accident the point remains. Just like blitz wasn't truly saved by just "facing" his issues in season one and two, you can't help octativa by telling her the truth here. Yes like you can't help someone who isn't mentally well to just "snap out of it" you can't help octativa here by telling her the truth about her parents marriage because while yes both just "snapping out of it" and figuring out that her mother was abusing him and he was taking pill because of that and not her are both logical conclusions. They are both just one logical conclusion against potential years of bad thinking habits and and shit ton of emotional turmoil that will take time to over come. Blitz said it best, she's going to need time to think and process her emotions and the reality of her situation properly but the the big problem Is as you might have guessed stella and Andy.

As we all know much to our surprise or at least to mine. Both stella and Andy didn't even bother trying to hide their true nature to octativa (which if it still bothers you that she is willing living with them after that keep in mind that a she doesn't have anywhere else to go other than then back to the father who always let her down with half baked promises and while stella and Andy are both clearly bad people they are the only family she has left and they aren't the ones who always let her down. They may not have even tried in the first place but they aren't the ones who always let her down and plus she is STOLAS'S daughter of course she is obviousl! and no she didn't want blitz dead she saved his ass from her uncles elsa) which I admirably should have seen coming from at least considering her complete lack of subtly and brains but that kind of behavior from Andy? Now that's odd. Perhaps he's more like his sister than we though or simply riding the high of his victory.

Well in any case as I have stated in previous posts that I believe that season three will conclude with a climactic battle to save octativa from her arranged marriage which will prove to octiava that her father really does care about her more than his personal happiness by not trying to ask for her forgiveness and simply stating that he wanted her safe regardless of whether she ever wants him in her life again but as for what happens in between that time I have a few ideas.

These may come in the form of shorts but I could see octativa trying to put up with her mother and uncles bullshit and getting increasingly frustrated and sarcastic with them and stella being unable to keep up the caring facade for more than a couple of minutes and Andy having to constantly butt in to get her to follow along with the plan.

Octativa clearly realizes something is very wrong with her new care takers but what it is specifically he can't quite put her talon on. In the meantime she has to sneak out to do anything rometly fun because stella is a prude and would rather die than let her daughter interact with the lower classes especially loona who she tries to convince octativa isn't a person but a mindless animal that will only tell her to go back to her father on behalf of "lt's" master her father new boyfriend who he "abandoned her for" but like I said Stella's incompetence clues octativa in on their masterplan. Maybe for one little adventure she could have she sneaks out for some new taxidermy after stella dumped it all and sighs when she sees one of the taxidermy owls and reminisces about her father and has a little internal monologs with her child self.

[devastatinglygreen]

Okay so now do what you think will happen after Colin finds out about Lady Whistledown. 🙏

so i sat on this for a little bit because i didn't really know how to answer it but i was chatting with @gleefullypolin, while totally not talking about polin nonstop, no. talking very normally i assure you.

i'm going to put the rest under the cut because it might have spoilers or speculation that people don't want to see:

alright so we know when colin finds out about LW, right? and we know they have a fight. a big one. obviously.

i think colin has to have a regression of his character. he's only been vulnerable around one person so far this season. penelope. and he loves and adores her and she's going betray (hello eros and psyche!) his trust.

there is no love without trust.

there's something very interesting we noticed while chatting about colin and his bro friends. they've been there each time he makes a choice about penelope.

the first ball, he chooses her over them after they're like, "the featherington girl? why concern yourself with her?" but then he tries to take it somewhere private and she checks him hard and cracked his armor. she was not impressed with that version of him and he knew it.

and he definitely will when he learns she's LW if he wasn't aware before

when he's not near them, he chooses her without thinking about it, he runs out after her at a ball when gossip about them is pretty much being said to their faces. even at the first brothel scene, he tells them he's late but then we see him at the market waiting for penelope. this man is a fake and a liar and we see him, we know what he's about. nerd.

in episode 3, he's with them at the balloon thing and they're messing with him about helping penelope and he's so dumb because he's like "i'm done with all of that. it's good to back" all cocky and lame like he wasn't just eating the same cupcake thing she did and staring at her. i was a dramatic teenage girl who once had a crush on a guy who i only saw at lunch and never knew his name and even i wasn't down that bad. good lord. embarrassing.

not really i love it, i love him so much

but he picks penelope over them again when he runs off to save her from the big mean hot air balloon.

we see them again in episode 4, at the library while he watches penelope through a mirror. because that's definitely not crying, screaming, throwing up behavior. they invite him out. for revelry. regency bro speak for possible syphilis and liver disease, it's fine.

he can't get down with his ladies of choice because he's knee deep in wishing he was balls deep in penelope instead. he stares at a wall. they manage to make us feel bad for a man sitting in a brothel. amazing.

we see them at mondrich's. they're talking about girls they probably didn't actually sleep with. oh sure, totally buy that you had access to a woman for 6 months straight. you bet, my guy, totally believable. colin is unhappy. he's like don't you ever want to have a feeling? they're like, no, i just feel the syphilis. it burns, bridgerton. we need antibiotics.

antibiotics won't be a thing for like another 100 years give or take good luck i guess

but he stays and drinks. he's picked penelope but he can't have penelope at this moment. he's in bed laying there waiting to sleep. or die. idk. he's a bridgerton, they're dramatic.

he sees them one last time in episode 4. they stop him. they're dicks. rude to will on top of it? pls. they invite him out and he says no. he's picked penelope once more but he doesn't say anything but "excuse me" and pushes through. they don't push back. they're like, fine. more chronic liver failure and fake stories for us, bro.

he finds penelope. causes a huge social upset that no one pays attention to because he's too busy ragging on debling for having the audacity to leave penelope for years. which is fair. colin would never.

chases penelope. catches her. not quite balls deep but knuckles deep at minimum, let's be real.

which, i am very sorry for this being this long at this point, is why i think we could see his "friends" again before the end. he's going to go through something world shaking and they're always there when he's making a choice but i think what's important to note is that he always makes the right one, he always picks penelope. i think he's not fully dropped that armor and it's easy to slip back into someone pretending not to care, especially when you're hurting. he's got to reject the man society wants him to be and, essentially, be the man penelope needs him to be. she's his purpose.

eta: colin loves to be penelope's hero. i think he's going to feel that pull over whatever else is going on.

i'm just saying it's a mirror of how penelope needs to reconcile how she's both penelope and lady whistledown. they both need to come to terms with who they want to be moving forward. symbolism or some shit.

or i'm totally wrong and all those words above mean nothing. either way i got to avoid folding laundry. time well spent if you ask me.

[justyourtypicaltuesday]

So What's Up With Logan? - a speculating post for the season 2 finale

While I, like everyone else, am anticipating the season finale, I thought I might as well summarise my thoughts in a post.

In LNTAO, Logan outright explains he's irritated with being repeatedly ignored.

"There will be times in which I must be heeded and given our... current circumstances... I clearly haven't been."

This really stands out to me. It's no secret that due to being consistently talked over, shut up and disregarded, Logan's struggling to deal with his emotions- and keep up the facade he puts up pretending he doesn't have any. This is only evidenced further when he throws paper at Roman. But this quote almost feels like foreshadowing, suggesting that there will come a time Logan's the only side with the right answer, and because of the sides and c!Thomas' practice, they won't listen to him and will exacerbate the problem doing so.

Another interesting quote from LNTAO is hidden in plain sight- the overlapping verses from Logan and Thomas in Incomplete.

"This just serves as a testament to the fact that you have a temperament, which is fine, you just haven't accepted it, if you'd let them finish they'd get to the-"

"This just serves as a testament to the fact that to me you're negligent, which is fine, it just works to your detriment, you not letting me finish is proving my-"

Both verses here provide context into Logan's character. This confirms that c!Thomas is fully aware that Logan has emotions, specifically a temper, and that, in his eyes, the song was an attempt to get Logan to accept that part of himself. This could be setting up a very powerful scene in the finale, Janus and/or Thomas confronting Logan at a point when Logan pretending he doesn't have emotions is actually damaging Thomas as a whole.

Additionally, Logan feels neglected by Thomas. That's a word which is not used lightly. He points out that being ignored is actively causing detriment to Thomas, which he conveniently doesn't hear as he's talking (singing?) over him at this point in time.

They're both right. Logan is ignored to the point of detriment, but he also thinks highly of himself ("I'm the most important side here!") and often disregards the others' contributions until he's actively proven wrong. This is a repeated character flaw of Logan's. It's also seen Growing Up, Moving On, and even in Asides like Can Plushies Improve Our Health?. While Logan's been the cause of minor conflicts in the series, having him cause a problem on a scale similar to Patton in POF would be intriguing to see from a narrative standpoint. It's clear that in the latest episodes, Logan is struggling and maybe at some point soon, constantly being antagonised by c!Thomas and the other sides is going to have an effect.

This brings me to WTIT. This is the last plot-dependent episode we've had, so it naturally is where a lot of my theories are coming from. While we can see a lot of Logan's progress as a character- specifically in prioritising Thomas' mental health- we also see his lowest point so far. Thomas' mental health has been steadily declining since SvS, introducing Remus, the discussions during POF and this episode all make it obvious. And this is reflected in Logan. Despite taking precautions and relaxing the schedule so Thomas feels comfortable, Logan loses his cool when he yells at Remus. What the orange eyes mean is TBD, but Logan's emotions in that moment say one thing and one thing only: he can't keep it down much longer. Each time we see Logan lately, he's been more and more distressed. In LTNAO, he throws paper at Roman, in SvS he's left out. In DWIT he's exasperated the whole time trying to calm down the others. In POF he's clearly done with exerting any amount of effort getting them to listen to him. And here is the result of all that pent up anger.

"I just want to help Thomas become the best version of himself he can be, and in order to do that, he needs to listen to me. Unlike yours, my methods aren't the flashiest, and it's not very often I get the chance to get through to him. Please understand my insistence on the matter."

The words right before his outburst mean a lot too. Logan's been already established as a perfectionist, but here he outwardly admits his goal is to improve Thomas as much as possible. We've already seen c!Thomas second-guessing himself because of difference in opinion between sides, so here's an opportunity to explore Janus v Logan conflict. Logan questioning Janus' advice to Thomas to take it easy could mean that the rest isn't as effective as it could be and cause a problem they'll need to discuss. Logan's been largely absent from Janus-related episodes, so an argument in which Janus explains Thomas has worth as he is while Logan is focused on perfectionism and improvement is not unbelievable at this point in the story.

On the topic of Janus, I believe he's going to play a huge role in Logan's character development. The main thing holding Logan back is that he's lying to himself. He repeatedly insinuates and sometimes outwardly states that he doesn't have feelings, and both c!Thomas and Janus know this is a lie.

"I don't feel anything."

"Oh, of course you don't."

My theory is that Janus, as practically a living lie detector, is going to confront the sides about the lies they tell themselves, and being more truthful about themselves will help Thomas long-term. While this can be explored for each side, I'll save that for a post for another day and point out how specifically Logan's lie about not having feelings is already questioned multiple times in the series, setting it up to be confronted soon.

In conclusion, my speculations for the season finale are:

Logan's going to have another outburst- in full view of c!Thomas and the other sides this time, and it will have to be addressed.

Janus/Thomas and Logan are going to confront each other, Logan over being repeatedly ignored and sidelined, and the others over Logan consistently lying about not feeling emotions.

Logan is going to be the outright antagonist in at least one episode of the finale, along the lines of Patton in POF.

On the contrary, in one episode Logan will have the right answer, but be ignored because... well, duh.

Janus v Logan conflict is going to be a large plot point- addressing perfectionism and to what extent you should accept yourself as you are and to what extent you need to work on growth.

If you got this far, thanks for reading. It's my first post as a blog and I hope you enjoyed reading my guesses to what we'll see surrounding Logan in the finale. I'm planning on continuing with in-depth analysis of other sides and other theories I have, but so far this is what I've gathered in regards to Logan's direction at this point in the series.

[consultingfujoshi]

can you please share a bit more of your thoughts on the spoilers? i haven't seen them anywhere and it would be nice to know them coming from you

hiii tumblr mobile does not give timestamps for asks so idk if this is in regard to the spoilers from the interviews or the screenings but all my thoughts are kinda connected to both so SPOILER WARNING FOR THE FIRST TWO EPISODES OF SEASON 2 UNDER THE CUT LALALALA

I don't even know where to start like. I have been in a state of shock all day because literally everything my friends and I speculated about is real. literally all of it. all of our wildest theories about aziraphale and crowley's first meeting were confirmed by the fans who saw the screening. I have never won this fucking hard and ive won AT GOOD OMENS OF ALL THINGS. 2022 me would be laughing. june 2023 me would be laughing. two days ago me would be LAUGHING. I genuinely think this may be one of the best seasons of tv ever guys

like. do you understand. how much this changes. how our understanding of crowley and aziraphale's dynamic throughout time has been totally flipped on its head. aziraphale approached crowley first. crowley was the one who sheltered aziraphale with his wing. so eden was aziraphale returning the favour. DO YOU UNDERSTAND. AZIRAPHALE FELL FIRST. HE DIDNT TAKE SIX THOUSAND YEARS TO CATCH UP. HE HASN'T BEEN CLUELESS THIS ENTIRE TIME. they've literally been connected this entire time, right from before sides or the concept of evil or hatred or enemies were even invented. of course they'd never buy into the whole "hereditary enemies" thing. AZIRAPHALE KNOWS HIM. HE KNOWS CROWLEY. HE'S ALWAYS KNOWN HIM.

and it doesn't even feel like a retcon. it doesn't feel like we need to ignore a bunch of stuff from season 1 to accept or enjoy the added content this season. it's literally just. more shit to help quantify the depth of their love for each other. their connection over countless millennia. I mean if you go back to the very first scene in season 1, aziraphale literally does a double take when crowley appears next to him. that's him realising who it is. he fucking recognised crowley and freaked out for a second. that's why he didn't hear what crowley said!!! he was processing!!!! AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON HOW MUCH MORE SHIT FROM SEASON 1 HURTS NOW. AZIRAPHALE PLEADING WITH CROWLEY BECAUSE HE WAS AN ANGEL, ONCE. CROWLEY WANTING TO TAKE AZIRAPHALE AND RUN AWAY TO LIVE IN A GALAXY THEY HELPED BUILD TOGETHER. AZIRAPHALE ALWAYS TELLING CROWLEY NOT TO QUESTION GOD AND BEING SO AFRAID TO DO THE SAME BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT'S EXACTLY WHY CROWLEY FELL IN THE FIRST PLACE. it's not retconning its just making everything worse!!! azcrow is canon and everything is worse now!!!!!!

the biblical minisode. well. I cannot think about that without having to pace around my house like a person going into labour. I literally stress cleaned my entire house earlier to distract myself from thinking about it. crowley has always always ALWAYS protected aziraphale. always. literally the only reason aziraphale has never killed anything is because crowley has protected him from ever having to do that. crowley's dedication to preserving aziraphale's goodness and allowing him to be his own definition of angelic/holy is the greatest act of service he could bestow upon him and it makes me SICK because him pushing aziraphale to kill adam in 1x06 after all that shows just how desperate he was. both of them realising and understanding at the exact same time that the only person in the universe who really understands them or knows what they're going through is the other, the only person they can rely upon is the other, its just. we've been so wrong. about aziraphale. about the extent to which he knows how important crowley is to him. he's always known. he's just been so afraid. him being prepared to fall to keep doing what he believes is right is so fucking heartbreaking and weve done him such a disservice all these years for calling him naive and mocking him for being slow on the uptake. HE'S ALWAYS KNOWN. HE JUST COULDN'T DO ANYTHING WITH THAT KNOWLEDGE. AND THAT'S SO MUCH WORSE

basically I have never been more scared in my entire life because if they packed this much into the first two episodes and it was deemed tame enough to show ahead of release then what the fuck is in the next four. what are we getting ourselves in for . it's really dawning on me the scope of what this experience is going to be and I simply dont think im going to survive it. again I never expected any of this. this was my definitive "high hopes low expectations" season of tv and it's now it's shaping up to be one the best things I've probably ever seen in my life and. it's cognitive dissonance in its crystallised form. how did we fucking get here.

AND GOOD OLD FASHIONED LOVER BOY??????? PLAYING IN CROWLEY'S CAR AS HE GOES TO MAKE UP WITH AZIRAPHALE?????? SAY SIKE RIGHT NOW THIS ISN'T FUNNY

in conclusion

[6feathered6siren6]

Repeating

Notes: Part 3 of the time loop reader, have a happy holidays! I will be celebrating by sleeping after posting this.

Trigger warnings

Light trans speculating

Mentions of death and killing

Depressing episode's

Slight ooc of Vince(I am trying to any info about this man)

˚₊‧꒰ა❤︎໒꒱ ‧₊

『00:92』

 Nightmares only welcome you when you sleep, the murders you’ve done, seeing the ones you loved either dying in your arms or hands, or you dying. And it seems each gets worse than the last. It leaves bags under your eyes and the anxiety of anything that could happen. After just 2 months of joining the server, it leaves a mark on the server to the point of worrying everyone in it.

You were just supposed to take a simple shower, less than 5 minutes. You couldn’t stand looking at your body. The missing scars, the random flashes of blood, the injuries you gained but now missing, your hair, either changing in color or being cut. It all was freaking you out at the moment. The amount of times you broke your mirror couldn’t be counted on your fingers. You could barely see yourself in the mirror. You were so done with this time loop bullshit. 

You felt the anxiety, your breathing quicking, your eyes burned against your reflection. You couldn’t look away. A moment of black and your fist was bloody again. Your mirror was broken. 

“Fuck…” You let your breath go. It was the only thing you could do. Your vision blurred with tears threatening to fall.

A knock. A few of them, but someone was here. You slowly open a drawer and slip out the knife you placed. With how anxiety ridden you’ve been, you hid weapons everywhere. With Victim playing with you, you needed something. Something to protect you. You crept up to your bathroom, holding your knife with practice and ready to strike. Slowly opening the door, you dropped your knife. It was a familiar face.

“Woah, woah. Watch that pretty blade, sweet slayer.” It was Ronin, but what was this dumbass doing here? He sees your shorter messy hair, your bathroom, your face, then to your fist. You were covered in new clothing but with slight blood from your injured hand. His eyes soften, but you don’t recognize why. 

“Bad night, heh?” He had that fake smirk you can recognize quickly. He picked up the knife and placed it onto the bathroom counter, away from you and himself. His trace back to your hair and fist. 

“Yeah..” You hugged yourself, and shifted your gaze away from him. You couldn’t see that fake smile of his. But felt a hand on yours, it burned like hell to you. He had your injured hand, and slowly went to the sink. 

“Got any tweezers?” You pointed the drawers beside your sink. “You got yourself good there. Impressive damage. Could probably kill someone if you keep at it.” He gently shoved you onto your covered toilet. 

You stared at your fist, the glass was deeper than before. You could easily treat yourself, it wasn’t the first time it happened. Ronin was in front of you, grabbing your hand, and picking out the glass. It was quiet, but it was a nice quiet. Not like the loud noises before. 

“How… How are you here?” You spoke a bit above a whisper. You didn’t want to break the quiet, peaceful moment. 

“Angel begged me to check up with you. A few others as well. Everyone was worried. And since I was the closest near you, I showed up.” Now twisted words nor any confusing lies. He’s blunt. Rare.

“Thanks.”

“Darling, got some demons dancing in your mind? Tainting you?” You rolled your eyes, but you nodded. “Well, luckily, the devil can quiet them tonight. Now, what’s rotting your mind?” You could see the quick glance to the mirror and your face. 

“It's…” You paused. Can you really tell him? Would he call you crazy? You looked down. “Nevermind..”

He finished pulling the last one before putting the tweezers down. He looked up at your hair, he raised his hand about to graze his hand over it. He had this… look. Like it was familiar to him, but you still couldn’t put your finger on it. He took his hand away before even touching it. He sighed and stood up, grabbing the first aid. “Wash out your hand. I’ll bandage it.”

You nod and do what you are told, putting the water lukewarm and washing your hand. As he sorted through the first aid, he spoke again. “How long have you been like this, driving yourself mad.” 

You look at him before going back to the water. “Years. I guess…”

“Well, welcome to the fucking club, gender dysphoria does the worst to ya. Can be a massive bitch.” You stiled… Did he think… Did he think that you were having a meltdown about your gender? You mean, you did questioned it but with this whole fucked up situation, you couldn’t. There were more important things to worry about. But it was funny to you. You started laughing. 

The Butcher himself, looked at you confused. You can see him questioning if you were insane. 

“Sorry, just… sorry… this.. Wasn’t that.” You turned off the water and looked at the male. “I promise.” 

He looked at you before giving a small huff. “So what, you're into fighting mirrors and cutting your hair. Looks like you fought a raccoon and lost.”

You rolled your eyes as you sat back on the lid of your toilet. Giving your hand to him again, you smiled. “It’s a long story…. A bit… personal for you to know yet.” 

He took your hand and gave you the cocky smile, “Well, we have all the time in the world for me to get to know your demons.” 

Yeah, all the time in the world.

『00:93』

You were done mopping again, after the last loop of having that sweet moment with Ronin. You wanted this to end, you thought back to the past loops, the time you spent. It was December, 2 weeks from Christmas, you forgot you were in VC until Vince joined in. 

“Hello, (User), how are you?” The Sunset Slasher spoke up while you were deep in thought. You realized you never got to know him nor his wife. You instantly felt bad. Now thinking of it, you barely got to know some of the people from the server. Sure, you know Luca and Felicity were into each other, Luca likes surfing while Feli is in Uni. You barely knew them, dragging you into another mopping rabbit hole. 

“User?” Vince spoke again. Pulling you out before it gets worse.

“I’m here, I’m here. Sorry, got deep in thought!” You spoke quickly. You looked back at your screen. 

“Ah, well, how are you today? Hope the sunset was great.” 

“I wasn’t able to see it today, I got pulled into a call by Ronin and Angel.” You said, you saw the time. 3 hours after they left. You were always losing track of time, and it was getting worse by the loop.

“Well, hopefully, you take a photo to share tomorrow. I know movie night is in an hour, but do you want to talk beforehand?” He sounded interested in talking to you. Maybe… you can get to know him. 

“That sounds good. Hope I won’t bore you.”

“You won’t, you have been interesting since you joined. A cryptid killer with little to no call off. I want to know how you kill.” You paused. Have you killed anyone in this loop? Like you got the same bat before but… did you use it yet? You did start having gaps in your memory every once in a while. But you guess you could be honest, you have killed people before, hell, became a mass murder who wasn’t caught yet.

“Well, my main weapon would be a bat. Smashing their knees then their heads.” You said as you thought about what you did in the past. You also used a knife and a gun. But a bat? That's your weapon. Afterall, Victim has started to use them when you kill them. 

“A bat? Huh, I guess you and Ronin do have similarities.” Which perked you, you didn’t pursue him, but Angel. “Feli and Luca were right, she does have a certain type.”

Which makes you pause again, like… Ronin… Shit… are you… like them now? A killer? You shook your head. No, you are doing this to find whoever did this. “Well, how are you doing? I never got to ask.”

“I’m doing well, same for my family, my wife and I will be with our kids for the next few weeks, so I’m happy to be with them. Especially, two days from now.” He sounds happy, you wish you were able to be older and without worrying. 

“Well, that sounds exciting. I’m happy for you..” You were able to mask your voice, making him think you were happy. 

『00:95』

You were with V, somehow you reached into his bunker, earlier than other loops. He realized you weren’t a killer, at least, not in this loop again. 

You sat at his kitchen table with a cat on your lap. Listening to classical music playing from his computer. Surprisingly, they were calming to you. If you weren’t in this bullshit time loop… These sweet moments were soft and you always wanted more, or at least to stay in a loop. But your wish will always be denied. 

As you get deeper in your thoughts, the cat bites your finger, making you yelp as you pull away. “Ow, careful, pretty one.” 

V looks over to you, hearing you yelp. “Are you okay, Love?” 

You turn your head to look at him. “Yeah, she just nipped me, I’m good.” 

He paused, he just stared at you with such a thinking face. Deep in thought. “Were you… thinking of something not…” Pausing. “Reader… Have you been having depressive episodes lately?” 

“What do you mean?” You raised an eyebrow. He never really stumbled on his words before. And depressive episodes? You… you never got them. “No, why?”

“Well, that cat on your lap, her name is Mango. Her past owner passed and was kidnapped by the killer. Brought her here. But she is a service animal for mental episodes. She nips sometimes when someone is in an episode. Soo..” He gets up and sits across the table. “Are you sure that you are fine?”

You realized something there. This loop thing… it’s fucking with you.

『00:96』

You sat at the desk, just staring at your hands. You were fucked. This time loop thing was fucking with you. You saw murder was okay. Killing someone was normal, felt normal. You were fucked. You are a killer as well. Memories were flooding in, when you killed the four you liked. Your… partners? You didn’t know anymore. YOU DON’T KNOW. You were fucked. 

How could anyone decide from here? No one had this problem before. You looked everywhere for a solution, you tried to kill people to find the Victim. And who were they? And why did this curse affect you?

『--:--』

A person was on the roof of a building. Their hair was flowing in the wind as they looked down. Staring right at you. There was no sadistic smile, just a neutral one. Throwing an envelope down to you before walking off. 

“Just killing randomly won’t work. Nor doing what you were doing. Use your brain dumbass. - Victim”

『00:99』

Triple digits. 100… You stared at your drink. It was the next loop. Maybe you do need help.

[on-softs]

Maxiel Bachelorette AU Snippet

Since I'm never going to finish it, I'm just throwing up the first scene of the Maxiel bachelorette AU I started writing. Enjoy!

Max doesn’t actually meet him on the first night. He only sees him for a second, through the doorway of the mansion, which is done up in this sort of Italian only it is not Italian way, American-Italian, maybe, with all this wood framing and tile.

The doorways in this house are massive, excessive, meant to be peered through. Max first sees him when he’s outside meeting her– Heidi– in the big, exploding garden that’s the front walk. The driveway and walk are both still wet from it raining earlier. Max had been so dizzy with nerves after the first impression that he’d been worried about tripping up the front steps on his way in. His dress shoes are still wet, and so are the shoulders of his tuxedo, though the wetness has spread and seeped by now. His armpits are wet for other reasons. He should not take off his jacket, tonight, even though the producers said they may not go to sleep until four or five this morning. It all depends on Heidi, of course. He should already be thinking about how to get his one on one time with her. Jos had jabbed a finger at the video clip on his laptop and said: Look at him. The ones who don’t get one on one time the first night are as good as worthless. They complain and are dead weight. 

Max takes a sip of his drink, which is something mixed served in these short, thick-plastic tumblers made to look like cut glass. There are non-alcoholic options on the sideboard, but a producer in a black t-shirt keeps stocking all the mixed drinks on a tray in the middle of the table, so Max has obligingly kept drinking them. All the producers are wearing black t-shirts. When he turns his eyes to the side over the rim of his cup, the other contestants are watching the guy having his introductory conversation with Heidi, so he feels fine to keep staring along, too. They can’t hear anything, this far away. It’s all been hard to make out. Some of the guys have started chatting with each other, sometimes speculating about what could be going on, but it’s become a sort of sport, this waiting on the couch for the next new man to come in, greeting him, then going back to watching. Sometimes, it’s as long as twenty or thirty minutes between the new contestants because of hair and makeup. 

A doctor from the east coast of America, but not New York, with dark hair and veneers, tried to talk to him earlier, when Max had first come in, still rattling with nervousness. He hadn’t really remembered what Heidi’s face looked like, when he saw it up close. Not even after studying her Instagram photos for several weeks, before. He hardly remembered what he’d said. 

“Where’re you from, man?” the doctor asked, politely extending his hand in a– Max quickly adapted his own open hand for the fist bump. 

“The Netherlands,” says Max. The doctor made a surprised face, maybe at the accent. 

“Oh, I heard about you. Dutch, huh? Little boy with his finger in the dike?” 

It took Max a second to know what he was talking about, what kind of joke this is. 

“That’s what they call me,” he said, graciously. 

“You were on Love is Blind, right? Oh, or, is it bad to talk about that here? I don’t know what’s a faux pas with the reality TV people. I’m just a guy.” 

“Yes, a while ago. Just for a little bit.” 

Max mostly remembers the brutality of the body work, before that one. His shoulders needed to read, said Dad. All for two stupid episodes, which he could hardly watch when Dad played them back on the house TV, later, so they could go over them together. Twenty thousand more Instagram followers. He knew the people who make this show know he was on Love is Blind, too, of course, but he wasn’t really sure whether or not they could talk about it, either. That hadn’t been in the paperwork. 

“Seems like that show would suit you,” said the man. It took Max another beat to understand that he was being insulted. “Nah, I kid, I kid,” the man says quickly. 

Max laughed, like he was hearing a funny joke, and it wasn’t even a fake laugh, or a bland one, but as real as he could make it. He was proud of how it sounded. Guys like to joke, says Dad. They don’t care if you get upset or not. The ones who try and get you upset will be off the show soon, anyways. 

Then a bulky guy with slick hair appeared at the threshold of the room and the producers needed quiet to compose a suitably upset reaction shot, so they’d thankfully stopped talking. 

I don’t even need to say it, but don’t make buddies, Dad had said. That seemed easy so far. 

The guy outside talking to Heidi isn’t a buddy. Max isn’t even sure why he stands out, at all. He’s shockingly good looking as the rest of them. Dark, curly hair, long on top and short on the sides. Nose a bit too big, but then again, Max hasn’t fixed his own, either. That sort of thing tends to be obvious on camera. Max blinks as the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out what looks like a corny shark-tooth necklace and hands it to Heidi. Maybe he’s a surfer. He can only see the scooped back of Heidi’s dress so he’s not sure what she thinks of it, until she reaches up to give him a ginger hug, which the man reciprocates, hands resting chivalrously on her upper back. His hands are tan as the rest of him. 

“We’re moving to the pool table room,” someone says, nearby. A producer. Max suddenly realizes a lot of the guys have already left the couch room. The producer’s got an iPad clutched to her chest and an Airpod in one ear, looking busy. 

“Do you need anything?” she asks. 

“Ah, no,” says Max, and gets up.

[sensational-blue]

TADC Episode 2 thoughts

Imma Just dumb my little thoughts and catches from TADC episode 2: Candy Carrier Chaos

Spoilers are below

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.

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So starting off with Pomi's nightmare. Pomni at the start od this episode definitely is still stuck in a "trapped and alone" she feels as if no one here (and maybe in the real world) would care if she was gone.

I think this is because of the initial smoothing over of Kaufmo's death, but after seeing that the cast was preparing to have a funeral for him (which is kept secret from Caine 👀) she realizes that yeah everyone here truly does care for each other.

Also Jax both having a reaction to hearing about the funeral (his split-second sad expression) and his not showing up for it hints to me that his want for violence throughout the episode is his coping mechanism.

He wants to let his emotions out through violence rather than sadness to try and protect himself from the painful feelings 🥺(I speculate that either Kaufmo was important to him or someone else that was died and this reminded him of their death)

Pomni's heart-to-heart with Gummigoo is what ultimately makes her feel better about being in the circus (well until he dies. RIP) I think talking to someone that is in a similar situation to herself helped her to make sense of her feelings of hopelessness. being the voice that she needed to someone else helped her in the end.

What the fuck did Caine mean by he would lose track of "who is and isn't an NPC"? HAS HE DONE THAT BEFORE AND KILLED SOMEONE? If he cant keep track of many people then why are there so many rooms? why not just have rooms for the main cast and do away with the old member rooms if you don't want to add anymore?

What was the "figurine incident", Jax? 👀

Im glad we see that Zooble really does care. they set up the funeral themself and even spoke during it 🥺I love them more now.

Ragatha trying so hard to make Pomni feel better is so endearing but she really does not know how to comfort someone lol

[literary-illuminati]

2024 Book Review #64 – How High We Go In The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

I truly do not know how this ended up on my TBR or who first recommended it – it’s certainly outside of my usual wheelhouse, and has been sitting on the list for long enough for me to forget how it was added entirely. In any case, I went into this entirely blind, which led to a truly severe case of narrative whiplash between the first and second chapters before I realized what the book was actually about. Overall a well-done bit of more literary sci-fi, if slightly overstaying its welcome and drowning in its own sentimentality.

The book begins with a grieving father travelling to a Siberian archaeological dig to collect his daughter’s belongings and try to connect with her through her work after her tragic death in an accident – only to find himself quarantined at ground zero of a prehistoric plague being unearthed by thawing permafrost and loosed upon the earth with near-apocalyptic results. The second story is about a guy finding a job at an amusement park that’s built over an abandoned prison, there for infected children to have a day of carefree fun before they’re euthanized. The second is the more characteristic story, as the book skims across continents, generations, and even planets, jumping from the absurd to the supernatural and surreal and back again.

The world is constant, thought quickly transforming (and deforming) from the progress of the plague and the effort to fight it, but for the most part any major character in one story will be nothing more than a cameo in one or two others. The story is much more united by theme – each story is probably best understood as a twilight zone episode or similar, the speculative elements there to dramatize and exaggerate an exploration of one angle or another on dealing with death and grief.

Your experience of the book will, I think, depend basically entirely on your tolerance for sentimentality and writing that is shamelessly, obviously there just to tug at your heartstrings. I personally thought there were more hits than misses, but it really did run close to the line of tipping over into maudlin (if not too absurd to take seriously) the entire way. But – and being fair this is entirely own to it hitting my own baggage very keenly, I’m sure – the stories that worked were really some of the emotionally impactful fiction I’ve read all year.

Though even saying that, you could – and probably should – have cut one or two stories without losing much. Hitting the same emotional beats from so many different angles only works for so long before it just starts feeling repetitive. The last story in particular – the highest concept by far, and the one that attempted to neatly explain and tie all the others together into a neat whole – just didn’t work for me in the slightest. The book would have been much stronger not even bothering trying, but if it had to, ther eare so, so many better ways t do it.

This was a post-COVID book, and oh but you can tell. The dual threads of slow-motion climate catastrophe and species-decimating pandemic, and the way the two of them are woven together into one anxious, apocalyptic thread very of-the-moment to the early 2020s. I suppose we can only hope it will feel horribly dated in a decade or two.

[douglysium]

Episode 14 TMP Quick Thoughts

Housekeeping and Prologue

Hello, this is Douglysium and you might not know me as that guy who wrote over 100 pages of analysis on the Eye (which can be read on Tumblr here (https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/735599414228484097/the-relationships-between-the-dread-powers-the) or Google Docs here (The Relationships Between the Dread Powers: The Eye- Knowledge is Fear and Ignorance is Bliss)) or as that guy who wrote an article on the Extinction (which can be read on Tumblr here(https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/717929126195003392/what-would-avatars-of-the-extinction-be-like-a) and Google Docs here(​What would Avatars of the Extinction be like?: A TMA Speculation)). Suffice to say I might be a bit of a TMA fan. Also, spoilers for TMP up until episode 10. You can read my ramblings on the last episode here (Episode 13 TMP Quick Thoughts).

However, Protocol offers a very unique opportunity and experience for me because I didn’t actually get into TMA until after it was over and I binged all of it. So this is my first time experiencing something even remotely similar to what the original TMA fans probably experienced when waiting for each episode week by week and slowly having to put everything together with the limited information they had. So I decided to throw my hat into the ring since this might be my only chance to do something similar. However, I’m working on some longer form TMA content so I can’t spend as much time on these articles giving a bunch of super detailed thoughts. I will try to keep these short and that inevitably might mean some could have questions about why I think or predict certain things and in those cases I would probably recommend you read at least some of the two articles I mentioned above to get a better idea of where I’m coming from. This also means I won’t be giving you a play-by-play of every single thing that happens in the episode so I encourage you to listen to or read them yourselves and feel free to comment if you feel something is important.

These reviews are probably going to end up focusing mostly on the Entities and their manifestations as they are what I have thought about the most and spent the most time interpreting and there’s been a lot of… interesting theories floating around about how the Entities are manifesting that I want to go over.

Finally, I’m just going to say it right now, spoiler warning for all of The Magnus Archives. I know that Jon and co said one could start with Protocol and be fine, and while that’s probably true, media like this tends to be made in conversation with or take into consideration what came before it in the irl chronology in order to connect them. While I’m sure you could skip The Magnus Archives, I don't really see the point of skipping over it when we are already getting characters from TMA showing up in TMP in Protocol. So to me it’s pretty clear that if we want to understand the full picture of TMP and all the things it is trying to say then we can’t just try to pretend TMA doesn’t exist or scrub it away. Just because you could understand what’s happening without the context in broad strokes doesn’t mean you're getting all the nuances.

These articles are meant to be quick and short so sorry if there’s typos and if I don’t address every possible question or possibility. I don’t want to repeat myself too much in this series outside of the prologue so be sure to skim some of my other articles.

Episode 14 “Pet Project”

As usual, we cut to a device listening in on the cast. This time it’s a camera in the breakroom as Celia and Alice grab a drink and Alice gives Celia a Choco Leibnitz (what I assume is a legally distinct version of Choco Leibniz for copyright reasons or a brand i haven’t heard of). They start talking about the date Celia went on with Sam and Celia explains that while the date was good they mostly just talked about work. Alice says “Oh Sam.” implying that this is something that is expected or been done before. Celia even admits that Sam can be a little… “intense sometimes.”

Alice notes that Sam has been acting weird ever since his date with Celia: “Yeah. What were you actually talking about? He’s been kinda worked up about the job ever since you two went out. It’s like watching a dog with a toffee – funny at first, but it’s hard not to worry... ” Celia says that she and Sam were speculating on “what the deal is” with cases and “the big ‘why’” in regards to what even is the point of going through the cases. Considering that Sam showed up to work drunk after his date with Celia, Alice’s point about Sam’s potentially odd behavior holds some weight. In all likelihood, the possibility of the cases being real, and maybe even the possible less savory reasons the OIAR goes through the cases, is weighing on his mind. 

Alice also admits “Sure, I went through the same thing when I started.” Confirming that, like Sam, she was once very curious about what the OIAR was doing and if the cases were real. So when Alice tells Sam to not ask any questions she is probably speaking from experience after watching someone else get into some sort of pickle or because she herself ended up somewhere dangerous mentally or physically. It could also be that she just didn’t find any answers and gave up. Celia alludes to the fact that she and Sam will have another date and Alice’s attitude seems to suddenly change.

Celia asks if there’s going to be a problem and Alice responds with extreme sarcasm. Celia says “I’m serious. you need to tell me if you’re going to have an issue with us. I don't know what the deal was between you, but I’m not interested in getting tangled up in workplace drama.” and Alice responds with “(dripping with sarcasm) The only drama is the dilemma of how I could possibly get by without you all to myself! ” “…am too intimidated by your genius intellect and desperately hot bod and think we should just stay friends? I couldn’t agree more. ” “And on that note I’m going to head off before I make you any more in love with me. Just try to restrain yourself yeah? Sam’s masculinity is already hanging by a thread.” There’s so many levels of sarcasm here on Alice’s part that it’s a little hard for me to pinpoint with certainty the exact reason why she seems to take issue with Celia going out with Sam again. The most obvious and straightforward reason would be that Alice still has feelings for Sam and she is jealous of Celia. She might have been fine with the first date because she didn’t think it would go anywhere. But Alice does note that Sam started acting concerningly weird ever since his date with Celia so it’s also possible that Alice is once again worried about Sam’s mental state and the more protective side of her personality is kicking in. It could explain a potential change in opinion here since Alice might’ve been fine with the first date until Sam started acting weird afterwards and she is growing worried about what Celia wants with Sam. Whether Alice is actually suspicious about Celia, is worried about Sam, this is just some petty emotional drama, or some weird combination of all of these things feels possible to me.

Lena encounters Sam in the office and asks him if he knows where Gwen is to which he says he does not and the next case starts. I think it’s interesting that Lena has started looking for Gwen. Gwen might be purposefully running late or outright trying to avoid Lena or Lena simply has another letter ready for her.

We start this episode’s statement, and it includes something I’ve been looking forward to and many fans have been asking about since TMA. That thing being snakes. I think sometimes people get a little too caught up about the lack of snakes in TMA or read too much into it (the only real direct reference to snakes is in regards to The Extinction with references to mythological world ending serpents such as Jörmungandr and Apophis from Norse and Egyptian myth respectively). While TMA has a lot of episodes, at the end of the day it can only fit so many statements so it’s plausible that even a more common fear might slip through the cracks or end up not getting a dedicated statement. Not to mention most of TMA takes place in the UK and there aren’t a whole lot of super dangerous or big snakes running around. The only poisonous snake I could find after a quick google search is a kind of adder that “is the UK's biggest venomous animal, but they are rarely a threat to people or dogs.” The again most spiders aren’t super poisonous either and they show up plenty and fears can be far from rational. This episode finds an interesting way to include an abnormal amount of different snakes by setting the case within a pet store.

Chester starts off the statement with

Treatment Report. 

Elima Pest Ltd. 

Attending Technician: Alyssa Beck 

Date: 01.08.1995. 

Job No. 8146 

Client Contact: Anthony Walker. 

Property Type: Commercial. 

Address: Resounding Reptile 

Emporium, Hartshill, Newcastle Under-Lyme 

Follow up Required: Yes 

Report Type: Call Out 

Note: Follow up postponed until location of attending technician determined. 

Initial Assessment - 15:30 

So we can surmise that some kind of exterminator (Alyssa Beck) has been hired to deal with something by Anthony walker. Alyssa explains “Client reported that a rat had been spotted in the shop’s break room.” and meets with the proprietor / owner who explains that they are “concerned about the potential of fleas or ticks brought in by the rodent.” Alyssa notes that the shop’s owner “...had clear red/sore patches around his neck from itching. I assured him that unless he had come into close contact, it was unlikely that he had been bitten or suffered from parasite transference. Most likely psychosomatic phantom bites as an effect of the current heatwave. Worth noting however, that the strong odour of the shop indicates that the IAQ of the Reptile Emporium is likely below recommendations.” So the owner is worried that he had been bitten or infected, Alyssa explains that it’s probably just the heat, and the shop smells absolutely terrible. But Alyssa then begins to hypothesize that mosquitoes might be the source of the sore patches: “Follow-up probably required. I suspect that due to the heat and humidity of the shop, mosquitoes may be present, which might also be the source of the shopkeeper’s skin irritation. The Resounding Reptile Emporium backs onto a marshy nature reserve, which increases this risk, although none spotted during initial inspection.”

Alyssa requests that the shop be cleared of customers so they can perform a full inspection and the owner becomes increasingly agitated, “presumably due business worries, 

resulting in a brief altercation. Kept mentioning “his burden” and grabbing at my sleeve. Received slight scratch by accident, but no escalation or violence, so no need for a full incident report, although anyone following up should be advised there may be a mental health problem.”

The inspection begins at 15:41 (or 3:41) and Alyssa describes part of the store “Break room situated in an annex separated from the main shop by a formerly external door (adequate barrier between main shop and affected area). Customers vacated from premises by client.” They find uncovered food in the breakroom: “open bin containing various unfinished food items and empty frozen mice packets (snake food, presumably). Discarded crisp and sweet wrappers on countertops. Even with window open, there is a  strong smell of spoiled food. Recommended consideration: sealed waste disposal and food storage.” They also find ants in and around the cabinets and take note of them in case of a possible full infestation.

At 15:50 (or 3:50) they note “Found Cylindrical droppings with sheared ends, indicating squirrel. Minimal volume: likely just the one. Woodland area and trees directly outside breakroom window. Recommended prevention: mesh grate over window to prevent further ingress. Squirrel discovered on overhead cabinets. Window left fully opened to aid exit. Area sealed. 

At 16:10 (or 4:10) Alyssa notes “Retrieved live capture trap from van. Customers granted re-entry to shop floor. During room preparation small hole discovered between wall of breakroom and adjacent room. Used by squirrel as point of egress. Adjacent room locked, key requested and signed out with client. Hole sealed.”

Then at 16:30 (4:30), “Squirrel found among storage boxes and captured alive with trap. Will seal ingress hole after removal. Captured squirrel appears lethargic, likely injured or poisoned. Remov-” and we suddenly cut to “Police aren’t here yet. They say any minute but I don’t think it’ll matter. I can still hear the operator on the phone, but it’s just noise.” Alyssa says that somehow thousands of snakes are in the store and they leave a final message for their dad, saying that they know their dad will believe them and that it’s not his fault.

Alyssa speaks of the room they are in. One that the squirrel made it into and it acts as a makeshift CCTV office, complete with cameras. Although Alyssa does say “Just a storage closet, really. All the cameras show the shop interior.” So it’s probably about as small as a closet and used to be one too. They explain that just after they had caught the squirrel and began to head out they saw something on the screen of one of the camera monitors. The shop owner “...was reaching over the counter, grabbing at a customer, while their daughter stood crying nearby. I recognised the girl, or at least the toy gosling she was holding, remembered how she looked at her Dad when I told the two of them to wait outside. It reminded me of us.” and “It’s selfish how I wish you were here now dad.”

When Alyssa “unsealed the shop floor the shopkeeper seemed obsessed with continuing his sales pitch to the pair. He was adamant that they purchase a snake, and pretty much ignored me entirely. It made me a bit uneasy, so I hung back to watch. Thinking back… I should have noticed he was off.” Alyssa watches the camera monitor as “the shopkeeper suddenly lunged forward, clearing the desk, smashing the glass on his way with a crash I heard even through the closed door, leaving him sprawling among the crickets previously boxed on the shelf behind him. They were jumping, flowing, twitching. Thousands of them, just juddering pixels on the monitor, but the noise was palpable, punching through the wall like a fist. I grabbed my phone and called the police. I should’ve gone out there and helped but- but I was scared. I just couldn't.” Alyssa tries to explain what’s happening to the police but doesn't listen to their response on the phone. “On the screen I could see the customer had scrambled to his feet and he and his daughter were nearly out of the entrance. The shopkeeper lunged one last time and that’s when I noticed he’d… started to change. He was bloated. Swollen around the neck.” The door slams in the shop owner’s face and something falls out of his mouth, but Alyssa can’t make it out through the monitor.

“Moments passed with no noise except the screaming crickets and my own thudding heartbeat. The shopkeeper lay completely prone, he hadn’t moved at all, and I wondered if the fall had knocked him out, cracked his skull or something. Then there was movement near his head, and he began to twitch and spasm. I thought it might be a seizure but then, his mouth began to open, wider and wider, impossibly wide, his jaw bones snapping with the strain. And then a horde of slender shapes slithered out.” “Snakes, Dad. Thousands of them. All from inside him, pushing up through his deflating throat. The floor was lost beneath the heaving, writhing mass of them. I could hear the scrape of their scales on the linoleum, but they made no other sound. Then the owner's body began to slide across the floor towards the closed door between us. It took me a moment to realise his body was being pulled over the broken glass and debris, carried on the creatures' backs. Towards me. I got the door locked just in time. This room, it’s a mess. Printouts, delivery notes, a bunch of rejection letters from some institute he pinned to the wall with a kitchen knife. And it's hot in here, dad. Too hot. Oh god. I can feel it. My throat is swelling. And it itches. I can still hear all the snakes brushing up against the door and… in the walls, I think. Christ, they’re in the walls… Oh god. I forgot about the hole. I love you Da-”

In my analysis of episode 12 (Episode 12 TMP Quick Thoughts) I tried to look for any discernible patterns or correlations for when certain computer voices show up. Episode 13 was a live phone call, so we didn’t get the chance to hear any of the voices. However, this statement is told by Chester (Jonathon’s voice). A youtuber by the name of Maddie’s Maxis (This Channel's First Video - The Magnus Protocol Analysis and Theories) hypothesizes that Chester covers statements related to the Institute. Something that probably holds true here since I think it’s safe to assume that the rejection letters could be from the Magnus Institute (meaning that the owner was rejected like Sam). I myself proposed that Chester seems to show up in regards to statements that are connected to looking for things, which also holds true here. In this case Alyssa is an exterminator, which means their job involves looking for and catching things like pests (and they end up tracking down a squirrel). Considering the Institute rejection letters mentioned, it’s also possible that the shop owner is looking for information about The Institute. This also could relate to what Sam mentioned on his date with Celia about a string of bad luck after being rejected from the Institute. Alyssa also mentions “Printouts, delivery notes, a bunch of rejection letters from some institute he pinned to the wall with a kitchen knife” implying that the shopkeeper harbors ill will towards the Institute or blames the organization for something.

It’s interesting that Alyssa mentions that their dad would believe them and that this isn’t his fault. It could simply be that Alyssa’s dad really trusts them or that their dad is the reason they took this job for some reason but it’s also possible that Alyssa’s dad has some connection or experience with the supernatural that would lead to him believing Alyssa. He could have been part of some sort of faction or mentioned weird occurrences, or maybe Alyssa even experienced a supernatural encounter with him.

If we were to view this through the lens of Smirke’s 14 (plus The Extinction) from TMA this case actually falls pretty cleanly into the domain of an Entity like The Corruption. There are also some themes of The Hunt, with all the snakes seemingly hunting Alyssa down and finding their way to Alyssa through the walls, and maybe even The Eye in relation to the camera system and the fear of seeing too much as well as the snakes immediately knowing Alyssa’s location and finding them. There is also thematic overlap with The End, since Alyssa potentially dies and the snakes could be poisonous, The Slaughter if you see what the snakes are doing as a violent action, The Buried with how Alyssa is trapped in a small room, The Flesh with how the shop owner’s body contorts and the body horror involved, and The Desolation if you want to talk about some parts of the store being broken or the shopkeeper fearing that he might lose business.

However, I think something like The Corruption has the best argument for multiple reasons. First, I need to go over The Corruption a bit to make sure we are all on the same page. The Corruption is a fear that is connected to disgust. Most of this is obvious with the connection it has to gross creepy crawlies or illnesses but The Corruption also has strong themes of love, toxic relationships, and shame with some self-loathing. I’ve seen people express confusion over this but these themes actually still connect to the idea of disgust when used by The Corruption.

It’s important to remember that the Entities don’t always relate to just physical fears. It is possible to fear something that is physically disgusting but you can also find certain actions, behaviors, mindsets, and other non-physical attributes to be disgusting or repulsive. Certain behaviors or actions might be described as “gross” or “shitty.” So in the case of The Corruption it’s forms of love often connect to unhealthy or “disgusting” relationships (not just romantic relationships either). The Corruption does also seem to have a connection to shame and self-loathing which also makes sense for its connection to disgust. It’s possible to feel disgusted towards one’s own self or their own actions. Someone might feel unworthy of love because they are disgusting or they might feel like “shit” because they feel gross or terrible. It is possible to perform actions that make you feel “dirty” even if you aren’t physically any dirtier. Additionally, the more disgusting you are the more others are likely to judge or avoid you. I should make it clear that The Corruption isn’t the only Entity to have manifested as weird diseases or the only one that could ever relate to love (for example we see Annabelle Cane attempt to use the love her family feels towards her to manipulate them in TMA before encountering The Web. Love can easily tie into themes of control or breaches of privacy with Entities like The Web, The Eye, etc.). There’s also possibly a whole thing with feeling like you’re so disgusting and undeserving of love that you feel like dirt and the only things that could possibly love you are other disgusting things or rot itself because it’s what you deserve but that’s for another time.

Looking back at the case itself there are a lot of parallels to The Corruption. First the shop itself seems unsanitary. There are open bins of food in it (which can attract pests), ants crawling around before crickets later escape(and we know The Corruption often gravitates towards gross bugs), squirrel droppings, a terrible stench, etc.. The store is also located near a swamp, a biome that can have tons of stagnant water turn it into a vector of disease. Alyssa even hypothesizes that mosquitoes might be present in the store, and we know The Corruption has manifested as mosquitoes previously (like in MAG 45 (Blood Bag)). This is probably because mosquitoes are great vectors for disgusting diseases in addition to having the association of being a gross bug. The store is also extremely hot and heat can cause things to rot, spoil, or decompose faster (such as the uncovered food Alyssa finds).

The shop owner also has a strange sickness or infection taking the form of itchy red sore patches. He seems worried that he was bitten or infected by a parasite since Alyssa had to assure him otherwise. The Corruption has a connection to sicknesses and infections with how gross people find them and how gross they can make you feel. Later a bunch of snakes spew out of the shop owner’s mouth and Alyssa mentions how their jaw contorts unnaturally which might generate feelings of disgust and relates to the whole snake thing. Some people might find snakes related to The Corruption of all things to be weird since The Hunt, The Slaughter, or The End seem like more obvious answers for what kind of fears snakes could relate to. But I have met people who have said that they find snakes gross or disgusting so I don’t think someone fearing snakes because they associate them with something gross is completely unheard of even if it might not be why you yourself find them scary. Some might find how and what snakes eat gross too. Considering that the owner’s mouth opening unnaturally wide to release snakes resembles how snakes can unhinge their jaws, I have to wonder if the sore patches are meant to resemble an animal shedding their skin or if the infection was actually caused from a supernatural snake bite. It could just as well be that the show owner was infected by a scratch similar to the one he gave Alyssa.

The shop owner also mentions some sort of “burden.” Something that I think could tie in pretty well to the previously mentioned feelings of guilt, shame, or self-loathing. The owner might feel disgusted with himself which creates the feeling of some sort of burden. It could have something to do with the Magnus Institute but it also sounds similar to Doctor Webber is episode 3 (TMP Quick Thoughts 3). A character who also clearly feels a heavy burden due to an anxiety caused by some sort of action (presumably the death / killing of his wife). Alyssa mentions that the owner scratched them at some point, which sounds somewhat similar to something like “The Tale of a Field Hospital.” An artifact tied to The Corruption that would leave papercuts that quickly became infected if one interacted with its pages. We never get to see if Alyssa’s wound would have actually gotten infected specifically but some of their last worsd are “...and it's hot in here, dad. Too hot. Oh god. I can feel it. My throat is swelling. And it itches..” So they are getting infected by something and there’s an implied connection there. The store is already noted as being hot and they are in a presumably small room but it’s possible that they have a sickness which is causing their body temperature to increase. Which is kind of funny when you remember that many snakes can sense infrared radiation, which means they basically have a sort of heat vision. So if someone got sick and their body temperature started rising it would be easier for something like a snake to find them. It’s possible that the snakes were able to find Alyssa so quickly because of the wound acting like some sort of weird supernatural heat beacon.

Alyssa is an exterminator which we know is an occupation that has come into contact with The Corruption previously. In TMA Jordan Kennedy was a pest exterminator that encountered The Corruption. This makes sense because exterminators are usually hired to get rid of animals that are either dangerous, disgusting, or both. Especially, since things like bugs and rats can be a vector for diseases (something that can easily relate to The Corruption). Alyssa seems to reminisce about her dad a lot which seems like it could relate to The Corruption and love (familial love in this case of course). It’s hard to say how unhealthy the relationship sounds, if at all, but Alyssa does say “It’s selfish how I wish you were here now dad.” implying that they might feel some sort of guilt for wishing that their dad was present. Alyssa insisting that their dad is not at fault for what’s happening could also potentially allude to some sort of guilt present. It’s possible one of them accidentally hurt the other or there was a falling out of some sort. The case mentions “Note: Follow up postponed until location of attending technician determined.” at the beginning. Meaning that, at least at the time, Alyssa disappeared or a body could not be found. Maybe the snakes were looking for a new host and Alyssa is some snake version of Jane Prentiss or maybe the snakes simply devoured their body so there were no remains.

This episode has some pretty notable thematic similarities with the case of Webber in episode 3 (Putting Down Roots) which makes me inclined to believe that, Smirke’s 14 or not, the force in this case and Webber’s case are the same (or at least very similar).

We cut back to the office and Sam tries to wave off the mention of the Institute by saying it could be any Institute. Once again, I feel like something or someone is purposefully trying to entice or stoke Sam’s curiosity. Gwen startles Sam and she says “(putting bags down) I didn't “sneak up”. It’s not my fault if you're distracted.” Sam getting sucked into a case is somewhat similar to how some characters would get sucked into the statement they were reading but this could always just be because the events are horrifying or Sam’s “intense” personality, if Celia and Alice are to be believed. Gwen says “Just now. Seems pretty straightforward to me. Snakes, not sure what the collective noun is, horde maybe? Cross link with infection too probably. I wouldn’t have thought the letters have any bearing on the classification.”

Sam tells Gwen that Lena was looking for her to which Gwen asks how long ago this was. Sam replies “Dunno. Few minutes ago. She seemed uh… not happy.” and Gwen quips “Is she ever?” We then get this interaction

GWEN 

“What did you tell her?”

SAM 

“Hmmm? Nothing. Just that I hadn’t seen you. Something wrong?”

GWEN 

“Nothing you can help with.”

SAM 

“Listen, Gwen”

GWEN

“Just leave it alright. Focus on your cases. You wouldn’t understand.”

SAM 

“(cold) Of course not.”

GWEN 

“That’s not- (heading off) I don’t have time for this.”

GWEN exits. 

SAM 

“(muttering to himself) No-one ever does.”

Clearly, Sam is becoming annoyed by the lack of transparency and Gwen doesn’t think Sam will believe her about her encounter with Mr. Bonzo. It’s also possible that Gwen is even trying to protect Sam by keeping him out of it but this seems less likely. Gwen immediately wondering what Sam said about her whereabouts makes me suspect that Gwen is probably up to something or trying to avoid Lena.

Conclusion

I didn’t realize this till a few episodes ago, but the transcripts have the categories and forms the cases are filed under. Although, I can’t see anything that would change what I’ve said previously or shed a ton of new light on anything so I didn't really think about them. I still don’t have anything to say but here’s the one for this case:

CAT1RB4426-01081995-15032024 

Transformation (snake) -/-horde 

Incident Elements: 

- Body Horror 

- Snakes 

- Implied Harrassment 

- Mentions of: rodents, insects, dead animals 

Protocol quick thoughts archive- TMP Quick Thoughts Archive

[erenfox]

Y'all.

Episode 4.

It's the best piece of work Marvel has made after they made IW and Endgame.

spoiler alert 🚨

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lemme start off with our favourite Miss Jolly Rancher Unhinged Clock and Victorian-Era HWR Fangirl. I KNEW Ravonna had somehow helped HWR in building the TVA, but him erasing her memories was straight up evil.

Then we come to the absolutely gruesome deaths of Dox and the others. HOLY SHIT MISS JOLLY RANCHER IS AWFUL like she was enjoying every second of Dox and her hunters literally getting crushed to their deaths. B-15 was traumatised, to say the least and you can see on Ravonna and Brad's faces a hint of disgust. But Miss Minutes grinning like that - outright disturbing.

I can't get over OB and Victor fanboying over each other's work - it was so funny yet wholesome.

Now let's talk about Loki and Sylvie. As a diehard Sylki stan you know I am, my fangirling heart was overjoyed seeing these two lovesick ducks working together willingly! I mean, yea, they did have that rather awkward talk in Pie Land (mind you that's it's official name henceforth) but after that they worked together as teammates! Now I must say, I completely agree with Sylvie on snapping on Mobius, because, well, yeah, the multiverse is a bigger priority than pie and I legit don't get why tf antis hate on Sylvie for doing so. Like you hated her for not giving a damn abt the TVA + the multiverse, but now when she stood up to do so y'all are hating on her again?? Like?? Make up ur mind, smh.

Anyways, back to Sylki. Sylvie got stuck in the elevator and the way she and Loki worriedly called out each other's names was so soft! And the "You ok?" trope CAME BACK OMG! THAT PHRASE IS LITERALLY THE BACKBONE OF SYLKI! When I tell you my fangirling heart screamed with joy omg-

The the whole paradox scene which brought Ep 1 back in a circle. I absolutely loved the way our Loki realised what he had to do and went real slow to prune his past self just so that Past Loki could get a glimpse of Sylvie; which would then lead him to be more determined than ever to go look for her. And I quite literally died on Sylvie being confused af as to wtf she just witnessed.

Then there's the telephone scene. OH MY GOD it was literally OB all this time when fans were out here speculating it was Kang or someone lmao. Both Loki and Sylvie yelling simultaneously to turn the security thing off gives out so much Couple Vibes, I absolutely loved it AAHHAHAH-

AND. THE. BRAD. SCENE. OOF.

our friendly neighbourhood lovesick ducks teaming up to enchant Brad was just too good. Loki in his hot, creepy voice luring Brad into a dark area while Sylvie very swiftly just straight up grabbing his face from the back - pure horror. Absolutely loved it, 10/10. Tho I must say, to do execute elaborate scheme, these two must have done some detailed planning (=more Sylki moments we were robbed off).

BUT THAT ENDING DUCKING MURDERED ME BROO OMG

Can we talk abt Victor's redemption? Man had been portrayed as evil since Quantumania, and has been manipulated by both Ravonna and Miss Jolly Rancher, but at the end of the day, he was a sweetheart. Man fanboys OB and basically became besties with him and Casey, worked together to create the solution to a mess he most certainly didn't want to be a part of, and then himself stepped up to fix the Loom once and for all to prove to everyone (and not let Sylvie's choice of sparing him go to waste) that tho he contained HWR's DNA, he wasn't HWR - he was a far better person HWR could have ever been. Seeing him getting spaghettified was tragically heart-wrenching, man deserved so much better :(

BUT HOLY SHIT DID THAT ONE HECK OF A GODDAMN CLIFFHANGER LEFT ME SPEECHLESS LIKE WTF WAS THAT?? U can't just kill off a character who had redeemed himself, and then make our main character and his homies watch literally EVERYTHING THEY WORKED SO HARD FOR GET ANNIHILATED TO THE GROUND-

But we know our God of Mischief isn't dead, and so are his homies eheheh.

However the looks on everyone's face was tragic. Loki knew all was lost and had tears in his eyes. Sylvie looked like she had accepted defeat and her death. Mobius and OB were in denial, refusing to believe that Victor was dead. Casey and B-15 looked horrified, as they realised what was to come now upon them.

Tldr, this episode was an ABSOLUTE BANGER. IM READY TO CLAIM IT SUPERIOR THAN ENDGAME, come and fight me. Its a top cinematic piece, and the suspense to Ep 5 is eating me up.

Ig i should go and study for the 4 tests this week before ep 5 ;-;