#tell me why the lighting is different for two shots of the same scene??

[khaotungsfirst]

Ai Di & Chen Yi Kiseki: Dear to Me (2023)

[kimberleyjean]

The Ineffable Detective Agency Presents: What Happened in Before the Beginning?

Hello Good Omens clue hunters and detectives! I’m super excited to share what we’ve discovered in Before the Beginning. Read on if you want to see what no one else has spotted yet!

To put a long story short, something is “up” about Good Omens - Season 2 in particular. While the eagle-eyed have documented a number of odd things in Season 2 already (summarised here), I’ve never seen anyone call into question what was presented during the Before the Beginning scene. Let’s take a closer look shall we?

Remember this scroll to start the nebula? Well, guess what - it changes!

Here’s the first scroll we see on screen, I’m going to call this the “new” scroll. Note the straight edges and completely pristine look, like brand new paper:

Then suddenly, here’s what it looks like as they start up the nebula:

Whoa, that’s looking pretty old and ragged! It’s got rips, a bit of discolouration, several wavy bends running through it. That’s a significantly more worn scroll than we were just shown. Let’s show that in close up just to be sure:

Yup, that’s certainly not meant to be the same scroll!

During this scene, the old scroll is seen again during the close up of Aziraphale holding it. However, once Crowley instructs him to put it down, it’s the new scroll again. (And then at this point it disappears into hammerspace like in a cartoon, or drifts off into space, never to be seen again).

So... there's TWO scrolls?

Well, yes, but also, no. If you're wondering, “Are they both real scrolls? Are you telling me they had two on set?” the short answer is no, this was done with VFX. To explain why we know this, I’m going to hand over to our resident Art Director, @noneorother:

Hi all, @noneorother here. Sure. So it's mostly to do with the shadow inside the scroll curls and under the right hand side curl. You can see when it's the real scroll that the shadows are all orange or brown, because of sub-surface scattering:

It happens when light partially passes through a thin porous object like skin or paper. So when the scroll is new, it's real. Where they've added "scroll is old now" VFX on top of the shots, it's very well tracked, but there's no more sub-surface scattering because it's VFX, not filmed. So the shadows are now base-black inside the curl and to the right hand side of the image. This is the VFX scroll here:

They already perfectly tracked the astronomy animation into the center of the scroll, so they had all that tracking info just sitting around. It wouldn't have been very expensive to add the "old scroll" the way they did it (the cheap and dirty way).

Thanks @noneorother! So there we have it folks, the Good Omens team have intentionally designed some shots with the old-looking VFX scroll and some without. They had the assets created for the old scroll and the tracking to place it correctly, so how could they possibly make the “mistake” of adding it sometimes but not others? This wasn’t a budget thing. If it were budget related, they wouldn’t have created the old scroll VFX in the first place.

Personally, I think this discontinuity was to tell us, the dedicated rewatchers, that what we initially saw in S2 was not the whole story. There is something else at play during S2. Something that, depending on what we find, may make S3 even more enjoyable.

So, why do this? Is this scene being conveyed from different perspectives? Are we viewing different characters’ memories of the same event? If so, why would that be important? Is someone tampering with past events? Did “Before the Beginning” happen multiple times and we’ve seen a spliced together version? What do you think?

One More Question...

The other question worth asking here (which Aziraphale helpfully asks for us) is “which way up” does the scroll go? Look closely at the central rings.

Is it the top version (small rings to the right)?

Or the lower version (small rings to the left)?

... and what happens if you create a nebula upside down, I wonder? Here I’m reminded of the Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square lyrics:

The moon that lingered over London Town Poor puzzled moon, he wore a frown How could he know we two were so in love The whole darn world seemed upside down

In a season where something is going "Down in the Up", and the answer to Gabriel’s mystery is achieved by turning the delivery box upside down, this is yet another up-down reversal we can add to the list!

..................................................................................

If you’ve been following our Good Omens posts up until now, you’ll be aware that this is not the only time scenes have been inconsistent or discontinuous. If this is new to you, please check out my summary post on Season 2 discontinuity here. For more of our posts, plus a collection of Clues and metas from all over the fandom, see here.

However, there is still more to come, so watch out for future updates. If you’re not currently puzzling over Good Omens and would like to join in, please do! We’d love to hear what you find - you can use the tag #ineffable mystery.

Special thanks to @noneorother, @embracing-the-ineffable, and to all the other lovely people at @ineffable-detective-agency (@theastrophysicistnextdoor, @ghstptats, @somehow-a-human, @lookingatacupoftea, @dunkthebiscuit @havemyheartaziraphale, @komorezuki, @251-dmr, @maufungi).

[kaijuparfait]

long ramble of me going through the venom trailer because i am insane totally normal about it

this isn't anything professional, just me spouting out random words as i run around in circles like an excited dog-

OK LET'S GO:

firstly... king please change your clothes its been years, why are you still wearing that exact same outfit???

BUT i am a sucker for the light going over and past Eddie as he walks, i just think it's so cool hehe,,

E: "You should probably know that I have a really dark and unpredictable side to me."

hmmm... i'll believe you. at first, it sounds like he's telling this to Venom, but I wouldn't be surprised if Eddie is telling this to someone else and this "dark and unpredictable side" is Venom.... Or he is telling this to Venom and Eddie just really wants to kill now which. I am ok with that, love that for them, they should be allowed to do what they want

cleanly punching off the lock via the ~ Power of Friendship ~ (or something like that)

not the dogs :( i'm assuming this is a place to hold dogs for like. dog fighting?? i think? which is terrible and those guys deserved to get their heads eaten!

E: "I'm giving you a chance, sweetie."

LET. EDDIE. KILL. everyone say thank you Tom Hardy for being Eddie cause WOAH i am. normal.

V: "Just say "when"." E: "...when."

WE'RE SO BACK its just like the "Mask!" "Copy." bit from the first movie omg we're so back, these two make me ill i love them sm

also Eddie not even flinching at the knife, most likely Venom turning off the pain (or something) but I like to think Eddie's just cool like that (these close ups of Eddie's face makes me wanna do a study on him, just draw him a million times for the fun of it, and i will! Tom Hardy is a beautiful man!)

either venom is fully acting as shoes or Eddie is wear the most busted up pair of crocs i have ever seen and both options are so great. either way- KICK! that guy is GONE you even see him slouched against the wall, surrounded by bricks in a later scene, Venom and Eddie are not messing around this movie!

I- hhhhh. ok. I'm ok. Yeah these two are NOT messing around, Eddie could not care less about these dudes, there is no hesitating, no guilt, no fear in this man's expression AND I LOVE IT <333 GET ANGRY! GET SCARY!!!

AND WE HAVE THE BOI. THERE HE IS!!! the roar sounds different too i think, it's very cool tho, feels like a shrill, higher pitch than i expected but i don't dislike it

let the dogs be free! they immediately start attacking those guys and i love it <3 doggy :3

AND EDDIE IS FIGHTING TOO WOOOOO i need to redraw all of these frame cause WHEW! making me blush with these shot compositions, so good. so much trust, Eddie knows Venom will keep him safe and jumps in! literally! i adore how Venom's head is following him too, it's so creepy, the way it just slithers through the air, I wish to send all my love to the teams who work on Venom, there are so many points from the trailer and the first 2 movies that I wanna dissect, just to point out all his little movements, very fun

speaking of his little movements- squinty eyes :3 and the half venom, half eddie face again! always a win, forever iconic <3

tearing apart this venom scene OK! the little tendrils by Eddie's face, the way they move around is so UGH its so weird and i adore it! This "pose" is also fun because we really get to see the inside of Venom's mouth, most importantly his teeeeeth, in a long, pretty still shot that isn't when his mouth is wide open, the artist in me is loving it

also the team always does an amazing job on just making Venom look alien- the thick veins, the shiny black skin, and the tendrils that are holding up the bad guy split apart, instead of being just one tentacle, very gross, but in a good way

E: "We.. are..-" V: "WE ARE VENOM!" E: "We.. are..-" V: "VENOM!!" E: "No.."

They share one braincell, holy fudge, I love symbrock fjdkslfjsdk

and Eddie just keeps trying! same tone, same level, and Venom is so excited

V: "Oh!"

(I also love these shots because we get a nice close up of how Venom's mouth moves when pronouncing words)

E: "Yeah.. We.." V: "We.." E + V: "are... Venom." E: "...We really need to work on that."

and they get there eventually lmao, the way they say it is so in sync, even the eye movements are the same, how they open wider, and THE VOICES hhhh the voices.,,.. Tom Hardy is such a good. voice actor? in this sense ig.. i am on the ground, pure joy with how Eddie and Venom's voices overlap here

and Venom goes to town! lovely meal <3 getting a meal with the bf <3

I am LOOKING oh my goodness his mouth can open WIDE... normal feelings rn, yup, mhm!

doggy :D dog friends :D also Eddie no shot you stole that guy's shoes lmao??? nice boots tho (as someone who wears cowboy boots often, i would love to see Eddie in a full outfit.. putting that in the drawing idea list...)

V: "DELICIOUS! You take me to all the finest places!"

see! dinner date! :3 I can just hear the smile on Venom, i love when he's happy

and the world's most pathetic wet cat of a man (I say with the upmost affection) is back!

more proof that Eddie is never NOT sweating and that Tom Hardy's Eddie voice has the most confusing accent- i think he's saying

E: "Honey, I don't know."

but he could very well just be stuttering, or maybe he stopped midway and instead said "I need- I don't know." but i'm hoping they're at the point of pet names, go full comic, let Eddie call Venom "love" and "dear" and "my darling"

[Edit- thank you @.bridoesotherjunk for pointing out that he says "I need a Tylenol." i need better listening comprehension i guess??? lol?]

i don't know 100% of the Venom lore, still have tons of comics to read, so i won't talk much about the potential storyline here but- 4 SYMBIOTES!! maybe maybe maybe the Life Foundation Symbiotes... these babies got some funky colors.. they already used the name Riot but these 4 could be Lasher, Phage, Scream and Agony if i pray hard enough, the colors don't match but i can dream!

totally not emotional over this little bit of Venom that was left behind from that one after credits scene trying to bond with a host gently. yup yeah my heart isn't hurting at all!

LET MY BOY GO, HE DID NO WRONG!!!

my favorite local cryptid, what a creature

and he changed! finally! nice shirt tho, buttoned up only part way? the HAIR??? good stuff

fire seems to be a known weakness now, looking at the background, and i can't guess what they're looking up at, Eddie does speed up for it tho. I'm gonna say either a helicopter or something else they're gonna try and jump up to? Venom does go-

V: "OH SHIT"

during this scene so maybe it's one of those Symbiotes from before? Who knows, I could guess a hundred things but idk

THE WATER SCENE!! FROM THAT ONE BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTO TOM HARDY POSTED!!!

Venom in the last bit and Eddie being just himself if the first portion of these clips show that these guys 100% know what they're doing and have some sort of device (shown in the right image) that is capable of doing some crazy damage to Venom! Which! Oh no!!! I enjoy fight scenes underwater tho (Looks at Godzilla), very hyped for this one, I really wanna see how Venom swims. Yeah that sounds a bit weird but like. no way he's swimming like a human, c'mon now

E: "We are living the dream, my friend V: "You mean it?!" E: "NO."

Can't get over Venom's delivery here, he sounds so genuinely, it made me laugh, especially to how exhausted Eddie sounds lmao

LAS VEGAS??? y'all guessed right, they really are gonna get married in vegas,,

Eddie in a suit, HELLO??? my guy is looking snazzy! really tho, he looks so nice a suit, the BLACK AND WHITE suit? perfect. I saw people saying that they hope that Venom is the suit and just. me too..

MRS. CHEN RETURNS omg this cast are all so <333 she is GORGEOUS that dress is beautiful on her AND HER HAIR Mrs. Chen my beloved

Mrs. Chen sounds so happy to see Eddie, and Venom also very excitedly say hi, my heart is going to burst, it is overflowing, this part of the trailer makes me smile so much AND THEN THEY DANCE WITH EACH OTHER!!! I know it's called The Last Dance but I was not expecting a dance with Mrs. Chen??? I am more than ok with this tho, Venom and Mrs. Chen, dancing on the stairs, they look so happy, they're having such a good time i can't, my heart can't take this <3

AND LOOK HOW THEY HOLD HER HANDS.. they... they care about each other so much i'm going to cry in the theaters- no i'm gonna cry NOW.

is that a xenophage i see??? that thing is HUGE HUH??? i fully understand Venom in this (side note, i ADORE how Venom goes "JESUS CHRIST" upon seeing this thing, the line delivery get's better every film, that was so genuine) this design is insane tho, i might spend some time doing a study on it

Toxin is here! YIPPEE!!! love the voice, thought it was Venom for a second the first time i watch this but its pretty good

I have no clue who the people are that are in this tower thing, I've seen a few theories but i ain't embarrassing myself by guessing wrong here lmao

(running out of image spaces sorry!)

in the clip of Venom walking into this lab (?) and then getting violently shot at, is it just me or does Venom seem small? I'm guessing the door is just really big but like. idk maybe i'm just mixing up my Venoms and thinking that he's not as big as I remember

really quick cut of what may be 2 more Symbiotes like the 4 from earlier? maybe they're the same and are just changing colors, maybe they're new, who knows! I love their colors tho, the one on the right (in the clip) looks like it's blue and pink and i think that's cute

Xenophage breaks into this lab, love that for her, she is still terrifying!

E: "We may not make it out of this alive, buddy."

haha what do you mean by that king?

V: "Eddie... the time has come..."

HAHA PAUSE. uhm. he said the same thing last time at the end of Let There Be Carnage and Eddie didn't let him go but, istg, IF THEY DIE AT THE END OF THIS MOVIE. i know its the last of the trilogy BUT THEY DON'T NEED TO DIE, SONY, MARVEL, DON'T DO THIS TO ME. i am going cry violently at the writers... i don't think i will ever stop crying if they die at the end

they're in this busted up helicopter, already intriguing, but when it zooms in on Eddie's face, he's tearing up??? this movie is checking off every emotion, i need to remember to stay hydrated before i go see it, i will cry so much

I don't even think i'll be able to handle just one of them dying, the end of the first movie made me tear up the first time i saw it, and that was before i was as insane about them as i am now, i will be UNWELL in the theater

And last but certainly not least. HORSE VENOM WOOOOOO

the design for this things is insane, i didn't think i'd ever wanna draw a horse in my life but like.. kinda changing my mind ngl (weird detail, Venom horse has hands and feet and not hooves!)

E: "Be honest with me, how fast do you think you can make that thing go, without killing it?" V: "..ONLY ONE WAY TO FIND OUT!"

Venom sounds a bit muffled in this clip which makes it a bit more funny to me, i won't lie. Eddie is hanging on FOR HIS LIFE THOUGH, geez i know he said "how fast" but Eddie gets LAUNCHED OFF VENOM when they go over that cliff. fun reference to the first movie, how Venom grabs onto Eddie as he flies up, like on the motorcycle <3

this horse scene has to be earlier on because Eddie is in The Outfit and is also not wearing shoes??? i refuse to believe he'd put it back on, and in the helicopter-"it is time" clip, Eddie is wearing that white shirt, which looks like the undershirt to the suit (maybe) so the Las Vegas scene happens before them running from the explosion/fire.

oh right, the song that's playing? Space Oddity by David Bowie? yeah it's about an astronaut dying along in space.... which... is not very comforting...

god this trailer makes me so hyped, October cannot come faster i need this movie NOW. please.

man the trailer is kinda confusing, i'm already making guesses on where things happen and what the context could be, but literally anything could happen in this film. there are so many things that just don't make sense yet and it's hurting my brain I JUST WANNA KNOW! are those new Symbiotes or not? What even is the plot? Will Eddie and Venom profess their love to each other? Will Sleeper be real? How many times will this movie make me cry? Only time will tell

...and it's only the first trailer! head so full of thoughts, heart so full of emotions!

[aashiqeddiediaz]

something about the diaz home as a symbol of everything sacred to eddie.

something about the diaz home representing eddie's privacy and his life and by extension, christopher's, and that it's a constant, recurring motif of a life that he's built with his son. and it's always interesting to see that his home is always warm (in terms of lighting, color combos, etc etc) and welcoming, which feels so vastly different to the other two homes we've seen for him in eddie begins

something about the way he has to physically open the door to let people in to his life, and how many shots of that we've had of just him opening the damned door since. something about the way he physically lets shannon in in 2x07, or the way he braces himself with chris' encouragement before opening the door to ana in 4x08, or the way he happily lets carla in in 4x13 or the way he softens and smiles when he opens the door to buck in 6x12. it's in the way the only people we've really seen in eddie's home as "not guests" are the ones that he chooses to let in.

in that same vein, we can always tell when there's someone in there that doesn't quite belong. 5x11 is a prime example of this, and not just because of the episode title, "outside looking in." it's evidently obvious that the only reason taylor's in his house is for buck's sake, and maybe that's why we never see eddie actually letting them in. 5x03 is similar to that, in the sense that ana stays for three days with chris at the diaz home, but when eddie comes back, it's a metaphorical and physical mess that he's left standing in the middle of, alone.

and it's very, very interesting that we've never seen his parents in his house. ever. and yes, it could just be the fact that they rarely come to los angeles period, but i just think it's interesting in terms of eddie's journey with them, that the closest we've gotten to them physically being there is that facetime call with his dad, and that phone call with his mom - both of which happen after he goes back to texas in 5x17 where he point-blank tells his dad he's trying to be better for himself, and his dad meets him halfway. it only happens after his relationship with his dad starts improving.

i just constantly think of the diaz home front door, and now that i've thought of it, there's so many other moments that scream at me:

buck unlocking eddie's door in 4x14 and swinging it open to the party, and then later standing in the open doorway almost like he's protecting eddie and the life he's built in this one way because he couldn't protect him in the other way

buck unlocking eddie's door with his own key in 5x13, then bursting through yet another door to get to eddie, just to step in and sit with him in his grief - and how much that scene symbolizes that eddie may have built this life but it was after burying demons that later just crawled up through the cracks of his new home.

buck standing inside the diaz home after eddie gets home from therapy in 5x14 like this is a regular occurrence.

the way eddie's discomfort is visible in that split second scene we get of the police officers storming his home in 2x15

eddie asking shannon to leave through the back door because he may have let her into his life but he's not ready to let her into chris' and thus, he doesn't truly let her into his life - and actually, even the shot of eddie, chris and shannon at the end of that episode takes place outside the diaz home. which is...telling methinks.

eddie opening his door post-date in 4x07 to buck meeting him at it (always meeting him halfway), and just. the domesticity of it, set off by the warm lights, the discussion they have, and the looks on their faces the whole like

eddie opening his door to buck in 6x12, looking apprehensive for a second before he realizes who it is and his smile grows and eyes turn into heart-eyes and buck just pushes past him without waiting for eddie to step aside, only to go and swing his feet up on the coffee table like the diaz home is his, too.

there's so many examples but @sevensoulmates and i put this whole meta together because the symbolism in this tv show is off the charts

[critter-of-habit]

When I watched the new What If episode with Peggy & Nat I immediately thought of you, your art, and what your reaction would be. Especially since it was kind of a retelling of Captain America & The Winter Soldier.

What are your thoughts on the episode?

Seeing as you asked, I WILL TELL YOU MY MANY THOUGHTS. WITH PICTURES.

under the cut for length lol

First of all, as usual the animation, particularly the lighting, was incredible. Also the effects! The explosions, smoke, everything. Always blows me away how much effort and love these animators put in to What If.

I love that it's Winter Soldier based because by god do I love that movie - but I also love that it's so very different to my AU cos that means I can keep going with it lol.

Okay here we go with the highlights - Blatant flirting and showing off:

This???:

Just how in sync they were with every fight scene - even in the Battle of New York when they had only known each other for a few hours.

HEY LOVELY. LOVELY:

Angst. And how soft Nat is here:

"Hey, Peg. I got you."

Natasha's inability to sit in a chair properly:

Peggy making a star wars reference and Nat calling her out on it like .. Nat you RECOGNIZED the reference you're a nerd too

"You know I always wondered how you got all those GI Boys to follow a woman into war: question answered." ie. "I'm so into you right now":

This Natasha stabbed Dreykov to death with a corkscrew and I love her for it.

Natasha instinctively putting herself in between Peggy and Steve even though they're both twice her size

I've already mentioned but, the choice to focus on Natasha's face in this scene:

Nat's face here:

Natasha only getting taken down by the robots because her gay-Peggy-focused-ass gets distracted when Peggy runs off to protect Steve: (I'll come back to this point later as a negative)

MELINA.

Was anyone else looking to see if Yelena was there

"Let's unpack that later, shall we?"

"I don't know whether to kiss you, kill you, or dissect you." "Let me guess, all three?"

I bet the Captain Carter film was baby Nat's gay awakening lol:

Melina's glorious slo-mo "grandma, it's me, anastasia" coat drop:

Peggy running to save Nat T_T

These shots:

Nat wearing the same outfit from Winter Soldier:

Natasha "too-loyal-and-infatuated-for-her-own-good" Romanoff going along with Peggy again to look for Steve without even being asked. (in stark contrast to the end of Winter Soldier when Natasha did not go with Steve to look for Bucky, I might add)

New reaction image:

Peggy and Nat calling and reaching out to each other when the portal opens and ALMOST making it - then Natasha punching the ground in desperation T_T

These two look SO COOL and I can't wait for the 1602 episode.

Negative points:

Rehashing Ste/ggy all over again - we already HAD that and it was endgame, why do it again?

As much as I adore Natasha's intense loyalty, it's very one sided in this episode and I'm wondering if that's intentional. Peggy is hyperfocused on Steve and leaves Nat behind to run after him multiple times, even though he is in an entire suit of armor and is FINE and Natasha is the one actually getting injured. Then she's leaving at the end without saying goodbye to go find Steve again (despite there being no reason to think he's alive? he EXPLODED??) even though Natasha just went through a trauma too and shouldn't be abandoned. Kinda feels like Peggy is taking Natasha's always being there for granted and I really hope it's addressed in following episodes (though I doubt it will be - it'll just be Steve focused again -_- )

Okay I think I'm done. This was a LOT I'm not sorry I've been waiting for more content for SO LONG I can't wait for the rest of the episodes to rip my heart out and stomp on it :3

[xvxblahhhxvx]

I really, really hate when people say that Dazai doesn't care about Akutagawa and that he never did.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying that what Dazai did to him was right, nor that it was justified. He treated him awfully, he abused him, and I'm not trying to insinuate that his treatment was fair, or that his motives excuse the actions. But what I am trying to say is that the motivation behind it wasn't cruelty, both in the past and present.

For starters, this is the interaction when they first met, from the short story The Heartless Cur:

He told him right off the bat that he wouldn't be treating him well. He never forced Akutagawa into anything, and even offered to give him and his sister enough money to live the rest of their lives content, never to hear from him again. But he told Akutagawa he might be able to give him a reason to live-something the boy had been lacking his whole life. By giving him a "master" as the short story says, someone to look up to and follow. Again, the way he was treated was brutal, but Dazai's intentions weren't evil.

Now, I don't want to do a "Dumbledore said calmly" meme, BUT... check out the difference between this scene in the anime vs this scene in the Dark Era light novel (apologies if the audio sync got a little messed up)

Dazai sounds frustrated, like Akutagawa isn't worth the breath it takes to speak of him. But vs the light novel...

Yeah. Pretty different. This scene came after the one where Dazai punched and shot Akutagawa for killing the soldiers, forcing Akutagawa to learn to use his ability in a way he never had before. And then now- "Dazai grinned from ear to ear" - that sounds a lot like he's proud rather than ashamed. He clearly does think Akutagawa is powerful (as Atsushi says later on, Dazai acknowledged him long ago). And then he admits that he truly feels he could be powerful, and that Akutagawa would destroy himself had he not stepped in to train him.

Now. This doesn't make what he did right, and we see from Beast how Akutagawa might have turned out if someone like Oda had been the one to find him and take care of him. But the fact of the matter is, Dazai believed he was doing this for Akutagawa's own good. And this was the world he lived in; Dazai was incapable of treating someone like Akutagawa well in the place he was in mentally. He saw his own darkness in him, and therefore, couldn't treat him the same way he could Odasaku and Ango. But he did care for him, and more importantly, he wanted to help him learn to stop killing.

Which brings us to the present.

Dazai's actions towards Akutagawa, especially at the beginning of the series, are of a different nature than they were in the past. He doesn't hit him, but he riles him up. Tells him Atsushi is better than him with the intent that he'd go after him brutally. Hangs up on him, makes him desire Dazai's approval, essentially manipulating him in both the finales of season two and three, as well as in season five. And this is for one reason that is expressed in beast: he believes that Akutagawa and Atsushi would work extremely well together, but that they'd need to fight in order for their souls to truly connect and for that trust to be built up. Dazai admits that he'd been considering them as duo since the moment he met Atsushi-which proves he never forgot about Akutagawa, or even considered him second rate in terms of power. But he felt that he needed to push Akutagawa in order for the two of them to connect, putting both of them in danger, yes, because he knows that the two of them possess strengths that balance the other out, both in literal attacks and in their philosophies. Which is why he looked so happy at the end of season three when Atsushi tells him about the deal with Akutagawa not killing for six months. Atsushi was able to reach out to Akutagawa in a way Dazai never believed himself capable, even if he had to manipulate both subordinates to achieve it. And again, this isn't to say that Dazai is right for using the both of them like that, or treating Akutagawa like dirt in order to force a relationship with Atsushi. But it wasn't down of out malice or apathy, that Dazai never truly cared for him and only for Atsushi. Because if that were true, he wouldn't bother to have them work together the way he did. It also comes down to the fact that Dazai himself grew as a person since he met Akutagawa. And this is most evident in the finale of season two, when he puts his hand on Akutagawa's shoulders, smiles genuinely and says "you have become strong." Only after does Akutagawa temper his anger and desire to kill to work with Atsushi to protect the city, Dazai calls him strong in more ways than one. Because all he ever wanted for Akutagawa was, in a way, what Odasaku and the rest of the agency was telling him in beast: to control the raging beast inside of him before it consumes him.

This isn't to say that the abuse was justified. That it was ok for Dazai to insult him and use him in order to achieve his goals. But I really hate when people say that Dazai never cared for Akutagawa, because at the end of the day, it's not true. And that's what really hurts the most about abuse-most of the time, it's done out of love than malice.

[the1northlanderprincess]

It has become apparent that we're in that typical late season stage of panic and/or negativity surrounding our somewhat unique ship. I don't want to see us or this tag spiral so out of control that it causes major divisiveness. I know we've seen a "breakup" already before the feelings were revealed to be subtly romantic, but we're just about to get into the real meat of it. I want us to be excited.

Okay, now, I want to address the subject of the whole "Haladriel is toxic" thing, which @deus-sema discussed in her post. Are they? Sure, to an extent. I mean, the dude impersonated her brother AND tried to brush it off like he wasn't. And the recent obsession on his end certainly isn't healthy. But I've seen so much worse. I think for the majority of their interactions, though, has been positive. There was a lot of trust, happiness, and support. You had some small arguments sprinkled in, but they were pushing one another to try to make the other better. You need that in a relationship.

If anything, it's just a plain ol' forbidden romance; they're haunted, as others have iterated. There is no way they can be together in a balanced, honest manner, and they can't handle it. Sauron and Galadriel are both highly intellectual immortals, above common Men. Although, you could argue that they each display human characteristics from time to time (Sauron especially). However, you can also argue that there is very much a nature vs. nurture aspect present. It's safe to guess that Galadriel grew up in a loving environment, whereas Sauron was likely surrounded by cruelty and harsh discipline. He probably knew nothing of what real love was like.

However, after recently rewatching season 1 Haladriel for the first time, I was able to view their scenes in a different light. The finale, in particular, had my attention. Before the confrontation, Halbrand tells Gal how much it meant to him that she stuck up for him and empowered him. He was so grateful, he wanted to do the same for her (and I think that was genuine). He got a glimpse of true friendship and compassion, and he wanted to revel in it...and her.

That brings me to the hand-wringing over the finale, about whether or not it's going to be a redux of 1x08. I paid special attention to the raft scene. After they were arguing over semantics and the like, it came down to them, hilariously, screaming at each other and Sauron disappearing. In all honesty, not a lot of stuff happened between them. That needs to change. The two have exchanged how they feel around one another, but they really need to address the hurt and why it hurts.

If that beautiful shot of Dark Prince Halbrand is anything to go by, I conclude that when their swordfight ends, they will come to some sort of complex, uneasy truce, beginning with Gal showing Annatar the ring.

[dinitride-art]

Sometimes we make mistakes. Sometimes we intentionally look at differing opinions and interpretations and begin to think that maybe we weren't as correct as we thought we were. Now that I’m here, only evidence in the show matters. No interview or tweet or confirmation or interpretation matters. It’s just me, my own brain, and what’s right in front of me.

Fisher, why is Will in front of the disco ball at Rink O’ Mania? It looks like the Mind Flayer and the blue and yellow strip lighting is just a reference to season two when Will had an episode at the arcade. 

What is the point of this interaction between Mike and Will? There is an unresolved conflict from season three. It needed to be addressed. (What was the conflict from season three?)

What are Mike and Will’s motivations in this scene? There’s been a shift in Mike and Will’s relationship. (Caused by?) El and Mike’s relationship. Their relationship also affects Mike’s relationships with his other friends besides Will. (Who is Mike fighting with about this change?) Will. (Why?) This change has affected Will differently than the others. 

Do Mike and Will have a closer relationship with each other than they do with the rest of the Party? 

Why were these scenes different? Mike couldn’t repair his relationship with El like he managed to do later in the story with Will. (Why?) 

Is there any significance to over the shoulder and perspective shots of another character with soft lighting? Does this commonly convey a characters feelings towards another character? Why is Will lit like this?

Why is Mike looking at Will in this scene? 

He’s listening to Will's explanation of the painting he just gave him.

Why isn’t Mike looking at the painting? If this scene is about El’s feelings why is Mike looking at Will? Why is Will lit in a way that commonly conveys the romantic feelings of another character?

Why is Will important in this scene? He has feelings for Mike. (Why is Will in the same shot as Mike?) 

Why is Will still in the same shot as Mike? Does Will’s presence in this scene tell us more about Will’s or Mike’s feelings? What do we know about Mike’s feelings? Why couldn’t Mike tell El that he loved her? Why didn’t Mike reach out to Will? Why were we told that he did but wasn’t able to get through? 

What did Will’s presence in that shot tell us? Were Will’s feelings already conveyed by having a close up shot of his reaction to Mike’s confession? Why was Will important in this scene?

What does this scene tell us about Mike?

Why is Will in the same shot as Mike again? Does this scene suggest anything about Mike? 

Why isn’t El next to Mike? Why is Will standing next to Mike? 

Why is Mike standing next to Will? 

Why is El’s exit from this scene emphasized? Will asks Mike if she’s talked to him. They talk about how what happened has affected her.

What is the purpose of this scene? Mike and Will talk about Vecna/One/Henry and Will tells Mike that he is still alive. It tells us that they’ve lost. (Why is Will telling Mike that Vecna’s alive?) Will confided in Mike about the Mind Flayer in season two. He trusts him.

Why does Will trust Mike? Why does he tell Mike first? 

Why is it important that Mike reaches out to Will to reassure him? Why isn’t Mike trying to talk to El? Why isn’t there a scene where Mike and El talk? Why is this action prolonged?

What does this scene tell us about Mike and Will’s relationship? They have worked through the conflict from season three. (Is it significant that Mike is the one reaching out to Will? What does Mike reaching out to Will tell us? Do Will’s feelings about Mike change the context of this action?)

Why is Mike standing next to Will.

[littlegaybean1]

HOLY HGCTSHFJCGS

OK

OK

OK

I AM NOT OKAY.

So I'm watching 9-1-1. The wonderful, silly, light-hearted gay firefighter show. So silly. So light-hearted.

I just watched Season 6, Episode 10: In A Flash.

HOLY FREAKING GOD. WHY MUST THEY DO THIS TO ME.

THERE'S SO MUCH TO SAY

IT WAS SO FREAKING GOOD OMG

I'M GOING MAD SO I'M GOING TO RANT ABOUT ALL THE COOL THINGS THAT HAPPENED IN THE FINAL SCENE.

First things first, you should know that my favourite character is one Mr Evan Buck Buckley. So naturally this is the most invested I've been in an episode since Survivors.

I love the decision to make Buck take Chimney's place so much. The idea that Buck wasn't originally going to be there, but ended up in harm's way in another's place just makes so much sense. Plus, I'm really excited to see what this means for Chimney and any potential survivor's guilt he might face because of it.

I love how it had such a short build up directly before the incident, but still felt like it had been perfectly foreshadowed. It reminded me a little of Suspicion, but that could easily be because I love that episode so much. The space between Buck getting on the ladder and actually getting struck is quite short, but also gives you just enough warning that something is Very Wrong. It focuses on the banter between Buck and Chim, it gives shots of the sky and then the final indicator - Buck himself tells you that things are going south quickly.

Then there's the actual strike. It's so beautiful. It's over and done so quickly, which makes everything much more realistic. There's nothing that anyone could have done, no way for anyone to predict it or prevent it. It just comes all of a sudden, striking quickly then disappearing but leaving behind so much damage. I love that you see it from below, as if you're actually on the ground watching it happen. It's so shocking and you think "Oh my god - did that actually just happen!?" because it was over in the blink of an eye.

A really amazing cinematic moment is the mirroring. Two falls, both falling a similar distance. Buck and Eddie. Best friends. Two sides of the same coin. Two people that would absolutely fall apart without the other. Again, I am reminded of the ending of Suspicion, where Eddie gets shot and falls to the ground then Buck is shot at and saved by being thrown to the floor. Except this time the roles are reversed. Eddie is the one who is fine after the fall and Buck is the one whose life is in danger. Eddie is the one screaming his name and Buck is the one who cannot answer.

This might be my favourite bit of the entire scene: the hanging. Lightning cannot be seen for more than a second, but its aftereffects are so much longer. He's just hanging there. It was almost reminiscent of Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spiderman 2 (sorry if you haven't seen it, but it is a very old movie and a common pop culture reference), although the spinal curve was obviously less unnatural. It was so sickening and impactful, him not moving at all but his body still swaying slightly. It's a little bit gruesome, not because there's anything graphic shown, but because of the implications and where the mind goes.

Eddie's screaming there was freaking guttural. I have to give a massive amount of applause to Ryan Guzman because the acting there was phenomenal. You couldn't see his expression clearly because of the angles and lighting, but the emotion was still perfectly conveyed. I also have to mention Aisha Hinds, because even though most of the focus was on Eddie, her line and the tone in which she delivered it really set the scene and the panic that everyone was feeling. I also loved the different reactions - Eddie ran straight to Buck's side (or as close as he could get), which would tell anyone, even a first time viewer, that he is Buck's closest friend; Hen keeps the people moving, clears the scene and lets everyone work and removes all the potential obstacles she can; Chimney goes straight to work and lets Buck down, being the calm one because he knows that Eddie can't be and that he needs someone else to take on some responsibility; and finally Bobby, completely professional, calling ahead, doing his job first and organising everything possible but also showing how afraid he is and the care he has when he holds Buck as he reaches the ground, saying "Come here kid, I've got you". It's all beautifully written and acted, such an emotionally charged scene.

Another thing that I'm going crazy about is Eddie trying to physically pull Buck up with his bare hands. When he reaches the top of the ladder, he tries to pull Buck up by the rope himself, before telling Chimney to lower it. It's impossible, it's irrational and it's desperate. It wasn't something that anyone thinking logically would even bother to try. Eddie tends to be a clear headed character during emergencies, with Buck generally being the more reckless of the two. But this situation is so horrible panic-inducing that he forgets logic and acts completely on instinct - to get Buck close to him, to help him, to keep him safe. Their relationship is one of my favourite elements of the show, they have so much chemistry and I have been waiting for them to get together since the moment they laid eyes on each other (I'm being genuine here, I shipped it the second the jealousy hit).

And Oh. My. Goodness. Buck is actually dead. His heart literally stopped beating. I know he's not going to stay that way, but for now, as of the end of this episode, Buck is dead. He's in the back of the vehicle, surrounded by firefighters, with a stopped heart. It's madness. I cannot imagine how people watching it live must have felt, to have to wait an entire week before finding out what happened. Luckily for me, I will be watching the conclusion as soon as I post this, but it's such an evil, insane decision to make - and it's perfect.

The final, final thing I want to talk about is the very last image. The helmet. They decided to reveal that Buck's heart had stopped, drive away and then leave you with nothing but his fallen helmet, lying in the rain, with a flash of lightning illuminating the scene. Cinematically alone, it's an incredible shot. But speaking purely about its emotional impact on the viewer, it's such a powerful decision. It really drives the stake deeper into the heart. The person who directed and planned that shot is an evil genius and should be recognised as such.

This ended up being much longer than I intended, but I want to add on my final thoughts, even though I doubt anyone will read them.

I absolutely loved this. The episode before the ending had been good, but nothing special and I didn't exactly love the attempted redemption of the Han and Buckley parents (I despise them both for what they did to my beloved characters). But the ending sequence immediately shot it from a 7/10 episode to a 9/10. I enjoyed it so much, both as a fan of the show and as a fan of cinematography in general. I also mentioned before that Buck is my favourite character. Whenever Buck is in pain - whether physical, mental or emotional - it always has the greatest impact on me. So of course, the scenes where he is in pain are my favourites! That might be why I love Survivors so much, because it goes really in depth into his self worth issues and self sacrificial tendencies. So I will be needing many more episodes with scenes like this, please and thank you. Happening to literally any character.

[lyledebeast]

New Thoughts on Visual Representations of Violence in The Patriot

As I was reading through reviews to plan a lesson on evaluating sources for my students, I kept seeing descriptions of The Patriot's extreme violence (which is wild looking back from 2024!) and of Tavington's excessive cruelty. And it occurred to me that anyone who had not seen the film would probably expect those two things to be connected, and they would be resoundingly incorrect.

The most striking example of Tavington's violence is, of course, the burning of Pembroke Church. The scene is visually arresting, but for very different reasons than we might expect seeing Tavington's superior officer describe his tactics as "brutal" and learning the populace has named him "the butcher." In one a wide shot of the interior, fading sunlight is shining through the windows, illuminating the congregation, all of them in cool tones so that the one bit of color that catches the eye is the back of Tavington's red jacket as he addresses them from his horse. It looks like an 18th century painting. It looks like it could be a shot from Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lydon (1975). The same goes for the wide shot with the church going up in flames as the British dragoons and regulars look on. What is absent from this scene is actual visualization of violence. Once Wilkins lights the church and smoke begins pouring underneath the doors, the interior shots become very tight, focusing on the terrified faces of women and men. We never see them again. The scene inside the church ends before anyone can so much as cough, and John Williams' score rises in the external shots to drown out the screams of those trapped inside. The next visual reference we have to the Pembroke congregation is freshly dug graves with neat little white crosses.

Tavington's other kills are similarly crisp and clean. He kills both Thomas and Gabriel Martin with wounds through the torso, from a shot and saber respectively, and while they do not appear to be in the bloom of health when they die in their father's arms, nor are their deaths remotely messy. For reference, Wade is wounded through the torso in Stephen Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan from two years earlier, and his dying produces buckets of blood. In one scene featured only the extended cut, we are meant to believe Tavington and Bordon have tortured a man to death without either of them getting stained by so much as a drop of blood.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Martin is also evoking a classic of 70s cinema in a scene I will henceforth only describe as The South Carolina Tomahawk Massacre. When I went to Amazon Prime to pick up where I left off on my last viewing, I got to see this scene completely unprepared. And I was reminded that it is visually horrifying, audibly gut-wrenching, and goes on for longer than most kills in slasher movies. Most of the shots in this scene are close-ups of Gibson's blood-splattered face as he grunts with exertion and finally screams, redoubling his efforts. There is a score in this scene, but the thwack of the tomahawk going into the British soldier's back again and again cuts straight through it. There are also some PoV shots from Martin's sons' perspectives, but every time I see this scene I'm grateful that there's no Martin PoV shot. That would show a degree of bodily destruction I could never unsee.

Frankly, I'm at a loss as to why this is. Why is the villain's violence so sanitized it would be at home in one of Disney's darker offerings while the apparent hero takes a literal blood bath half an hour into the run time? Who is this audience that can stomach cannon balls tearing off men's heads and legs but not the charred corpse of a woman or child? Is there something rugged and manly about Martin getting soaked in blood like Carrie at the prom and something effete about Tavington's distaste for excess in his violence?

You tell me! There are more ways to take this than I could write about out or probably even imagine. Reblogs and replies are equally appreciated, as are DMs. I want to read someone else's thoughts for a change!

[doom-dreaming]

High Flakes Combat

“Blue Lead,” Linda’s whisper cuts across TEAMCOM, crisp and several degrees colder than the icy landscape. “Hostiles approaching your position.”

Fred, tucked behind the trunk of a towering pine tree, exhales a slow, measured breath. Waiting. Listening. Without his motion tracker, only the crunch of footsteps in the snow—and Linda—could tell him when their opponents were closing in.

There. Fifteen meters out. He motions to John, positioned behind an adjacent tree. On my signal.

…ten meters…

Cover me. Go high.

…five meters…

John nods. Fred tightens his grip on his weapon.

Now.

As one, they pivot, breaching cover. Fred drops to a knee, attacking swiftly, before their adversary has a chance to retaliate.

The snowball hits Ash directly in the center of his chestplate. Active camouflage flickers briefly, then recalibrates, as the young Spartan crashes dramatically to his knees before sprawling backward, motionless.

Fred doesn’t let the theatrics distract him. The other two had to be nearby and the round wasn’t over until— A snowball whizzes past his head, followed by a sharp curse—out loud, close. He catches a shimmer of white on white as Olivia leaps to find cover and “reload,” but John is faster.

The snowball hits her thigh before she can complete her maneuver and she slides to a dejected halt in a snowbank. “Dammit! Mark!” she calls out. “You’re on your own!”

Fred doesn’t hear a verbal response. He knows he won’t, Mark’s too good to give away his position— Thwap. Fred’s vision goes fuzzy and white as Mark’s snowball connects with his visor, splattering on impact. Fred groans and flashes a red status light across his team’s HUDs. He’d be out until the next round.

“He’s on the move!” Linda barks over the comms.

Fred folds himself cross-legged into the snow and wipes his visor clean just in time to see Kelly bounding over a nearby ridge, clutching a snowball in each fist.

“I’ve got him!” She goes streaking across the snow toward a barely-visible figure—also sprinting.

Mark wouldn’t be able to outrun Kelly—a fact Fred knew the S-III was well aware of—but he was certainly trying his best.

Kelly nails Mark with both snowballs, one in the shoulder, the other in the back. He stumbles just enough that Kelly’s momentum sends her into him at full force. The clack of their colliding armor echoes like a shot as both Spartans go tumbling to the ground, sending up a minor flurry in their wake.

“Aaaaaaaand match!” Roland’s voice rings out over the simulation deck, followed by a buzzer. “Blue Team takes the win!”

“Again,” Olivia grumbles, pushing to her feet and dusting snow off her armor.

“It’s three against four,” Ash reminds her, still lying on his back a few feet from Fred.

Olivia crunches her way over and offers him a hand. “Can we make Kelly sit out the next round?”

“If you’re not having fun, leave,” John quips.

“Or maybe you should switch Kelly to our team and see how it feels,” Livi bites back, helping Ash haul himself to his feet.

“Fighting over me?” Kelly rejoins the group with Mark close behind. “I’m flattered.”

Fred chuckles. It was good to see Olivia trading barbs with John. The Gammas had warmed up to him quickly—and he to them—and it wasn’t hard to understand why. Fred was sure the S-IIIs had given him some new streaks of gray hair, but at the same time, they made him feel younger. He hoped they were having the same effect on John.

“So…” drawls a familiar voice, raised just loud enough to carry, “this is the reason my fireteams can't train today? A snowball fight.”

Every Spartan in the simulated snowscape whips toward the entrance. Commander Palmer stands at the far edge of the scene, arms crossed. She looks odd and out of place, a lone figure in a techsuit against the stark white surroundings, but no less intense than usual.

“Thought we’d try something different from the typical drills, ma’am,” Fred coughs. He’s not sure why he feels guilty; they’d requested the time and blocked out the schedule and followed protocol…even if they hadn’t said precisely what they’d be doing…

Before anyone else has a chance to speak, a snowball goes sailing over Fred’s shoulder, on a collision course for Palmer. She’s too far away to hit, but the aim is dead-accurate and it lands with a wet plap several yards directly in front of her.

Even at this distance, Fred sees her eyes narrow. The vague guilt solidifying in his gut crystallizes into ice. He knows who threw that and he’s already, reflexively, preparing for the necessary damage control—and for Linda, no less. Kelly he was used to, but Linda?

Palmer shifts her weight and fixes the seven of them with a hard stare that lasts long past the point of being uncomfortable. “Don’t go anywhere,” she eventually orders, leveling a finger in their direction. “I’ll be back in ten minutes.” Without leaving any opportunity for rebuttal, she turns on her heel and swiftly disappears from the deck.

Immediately, Linda’s status light starts blinking rapid-fire green across Blue Team’s HUDs. Kelly follows suit.

“Really?” Fred grumps over TEAMCOM.

“Can you blame her if it worked?” Kelly retorts.

“Yes! You’re making an assumption and setting a bad example.” He switches to his helmet’s speakers. “Gammas, don’t throw things at your commanding officers.”

“Unless you’re sleeping with them,” Kelly adds, with enough tact to keep the comment on Blue Team’s private channel.

Another green light from Linda.

Fred willfully ignores both of them.

“...we’re not in trouble, are we?” Ash removes his helmet and shakes out his hair. “To be honest…I don’t know what just happened.”

Kelly seats herself on a tree stump, legs akimbo, smugness oozing from every seam of her armor. “Palmer’s getting suited up to come play with us.”

Ash seems unconvinced but Mark shrugs. “She’ll balance the numbers. We might even start winning.”

Only Blue Team can see—and appreciate—the red light John flashes in silent response.

**********

As threatened, Palmer returns exactly ten minutes later, fully armored aside from the helmet tucked into the crook of her arm. “Okay, here’s the official story.” She strides up to the group. “We’re running an unorthodox but fully sanctioned training exercise all day.”

“I’ve cleared the schedule and put out an open invitation,” Roland chimes in. “As requested.”

Palmer nods her approval. “Figured I’d let you have your fun on the condition that the rest of us could get in on it too.” She raises an eyebrow. “Sound fair?”

“Fair enough,” Fred answers, echoing the array of green lights on his HUD. “Alright. Ground rules—we’re running blind for this, Commander. No motion trackers.”

She looks pleased. “I like a challenge.”

“If you get hit, you’re out for the round,” he continues. “Once you’re out, you can’t help anyone still standing. Round ends when a whole team goes down.” Fred nods toward the ceiling. “Roland’s keeping score.”

“Huh,” Palmer hums. “So you knew about this, too, Roland?”

“I…was informed the exercise would require a scorekeeper instead of a handler,” the AI answers, somehow managing to achieve the verbal equivalent of tip-toeing. “And I volunteered a mere fraction of my copious attention to the task.”

Palmer just rolls her eyes.

Ash clears his throat and steps forward. “If you wouldn’t mind, ma’am, we’d greatly appreciate it if you joined our team.”

“They’ve been wiping the floor with us,” Olivia adds, somewhat ruefully.

Palmer looks back and forth between Blue Team and the Gammas with a hint of a smirk. “Well.” She slips her helmet on. “Allow me to level the playing field.”

**********

And indeed, the tide began to turn. Quickly. It wasn’t that the Gammas couldn’t hold their own, but Palmer was a different flavor of ruthless and even numbers did make a difference.

Kelly, as Blue Team’s sole survivor, was in the midst of a valiant stand, but she was up against Palmer and Olivia and they were going in for the kill. Up to this point, Kelly had been relying on her speed to evade them, but Fred doubted that would be able to carry her any further.

Palmer and Livi split around the back of the snowbank Kelly had hidden behind, falling into synchronized step with each other, timing their paces perfectly. Palmer’s boots fall heavier and louder, covering Olivia’s near-silent glide around the other side.

The strategy is obvious, at least from Fred’s position of passive observation—Palmer would draw Kelly’s attention, Olivia would come up on her flank and take her out. And it would work, too…on anyone less observant than Kelly. Fred has a feeling she’ll see right through it. But one of them was going to hit her either way, so it didn’t really matter as far as the outcome was concerned.

Surprisingly, a third option presents itself. Fred realizes after a few seconds that he’s been holding his breath, expecting Kelly to explode out of the snow and make a run for it, but…she doesn’t.

Palmer reaches the other side of the snowdrift and slows, confusion evident in her body language. She paces around the area, making sure not to stay still for too long, obviously reluctant to let her guard down completely. Fred can see the hazy mirage of Olivia’s SPI suit still moving in with careful deliberation.

There was no way Kelly could have moved. She hadn’t had enough time. More importantly, she would’ve been spotted if she’d tried to flee, so why couldn’t—

Palmer disappears. One second, she’s standing on the other side of the snowbank, visible from the waist up, and the next second she’s gone. Fred can’t see much of anything, but there are sounds of a scuffle and the blur of camouflaged armor as Livi sweeps in to assist with whatever the hell had just happened.

Barely a breath later, Roland announces the end of the match. “And Gammas-Plus-Palmer emerge victorious! …or should I say Olivia, specifically, seeing as she is the last Spartan standing. You know, you really oughta come up with a better name for your team—”

There’s a burst of indignant exclamations and flustered cursing from Palmer. She reappears only to rip her helmet off and kick some snow back in the direction from which she’d escaped.

Olivia removes her own helmet; Fred is surprised to see her laughing. “She got you good!” There’s a giddiness in her voice that Fred’s never heard before, but she seems to remember who she's talking to a moment later. “...ma’am.”

Kelly pops up beyond the ridge. She remains helmeted but Fred knows there’s a shit-eating grin on her face just from her posture alone.

“What happened?” He shouts the question out loud.

“She buried herself in the fucking snow and pulled my legs out from under me,” Palmer growls as she trudges over.

“And then I hit Kelly point-blank in the face!”

Olivia’s gleeful comment is backed by Kelly’s laughter over TEAMCOM. “Worth it.”

“Hey!” A different voice cuts into the conversation, once again pulling everyone’s attention toward the entrance. “Heard there was some kinda free-for-all goin’ on in here?” Gabriel Thorne stands flanked by the rest of Fireteam Majestic, all in full Mjolnir. “Got room for another team?”

Palmer waves them in. “Come on up, Majestic. We’ll get you briefed on the rules.” She sighs and fits her helmet back on. “Hope you’re ready to get your asses kicked.”

**********

An hour later, after Majestic had carved out a few victories of their own, Crimson shows up. Rules are recounted, home bases are realigned, play resumes. Within another two hours, there are four more Spartan fireteams on the field. Alliances are formed, both openly and secretly. Several hours are devoted to building snow forts. Play evolves. Forts are defended and captured, sabotaged and reinforced.

And then Lasky arrives.

“Captain on deck!” Roland bellows.

The silence that blankets the simulation deck is instantaneous and absolute. Nobody moves. If the snowballs already in flight could have frozen in midair, they probably would’ve. Instead, they land in a chorus of muffled thwumps.

Lasky stands there for a few seconds, small and unimposing by the distant doors, sporting his trademark expression of beleaguered amusement—presumably at being called out. “Don’t stop on my account,” he eventually says. “I just wanted to watch. …unless there’s a team looking for a liability,” he jokes with a self-deprecating chuckle.

Everyone on the field exchanges glances and shrugs. A sea of status lights blink across Fred’s HUD—most amber, some green. Finally, someone from Crimson waves Lasky over. “We’ll take you, Captain!”

He seems genuinely surprised by the invitation, but begins the trek across the snow. “Try not to kill me, alright?”

That draws laughs from most of the Spartans, but it’s John who actually banters back. “No promises, sir.”

[nobie]

I was rewatching Good Omens earlier today and I noticed something thats probably been analyzed before, but I'm a film studies minor thats losing their marbles over this I need to talk about it.

SO I've taken a ton of classes about filming and story telling. And one aspect of story telling I love so much is cinematography (you'll see the cinematographer credited as Director of photography) the purpose of this job to direct lighting, color, and framing during shoots. So whenever you see changes in a shot to any of those things, the cinematographer is the one directing that in order to create a certain feeling for the scene and audience.

why am i telling you all that? Because the director of photography on Good Omens (Gavin Finney) achieved something that has me climbing the walls. In the first season when Crowley and Aziraphale are having a "breakdown" in their relationship under the band stand in the park each time it cuts between them something changes in the framing. When we are looking at Crowley from Aziraphales POV, Crowley seems farther away in the shot. And when we are looking at Aziraphale from Crowley's POV Azi is closer. Then we see this framing again in season 2 during the confession scene. Azi looks much closer from Crowleys POV and Crowley is much farther to Azi.

The number one thing I've learned through out my film classes is when you are framing someone in your shot you have to show what's most important to your character, show don't tell. The purpose of that is a great story should be able to be told without sound, so showing emotion and feeling in the way you frame shots is important.

So what are the feelings in these frames? Crowley wants Aziraphale to be close, for Azi to just accept their love, to stop pushing him away, and be together. Each time they've had these confrontations Crowley is always the one wanting to be closer. While Crowley in Aziraphales eyes need to be farther away, stop getting closer, and only sees them as an Angel and Demon who are on opposite sides (lets be honest Azi you are fckn SMITTEN with Crowley). In the second season the feelings have changed but in the end it still hurts the same. They are important to each other but have different ideas of what their love/relationship should be. I think in order for the framing in each others eyes to be balanced they'll need to stop talking AT each other and start talking TO each other.

Anyway there are my two cents I could add more but it hurts to think about. (I'll think about it the more I watch honestly so more might be added.)

[ladyravenjadethe2nd]

My MHA crossover with HxH series

This is going to be my finest work. It's very ambitious and the first two parts are already on Ao3.

The series is called If Wishes were Kisses.

There are going to be ten parts to this series in total.

The overall plot is this.

Nanika grants a wish and as a result several characters from HunterxHunter are reborn with their memories into MHA. They are reborn to aged up MHA characters.

Part One which I have called Baby Making starts the story with Kaminari who has a one night stand with Hatsume at their graduation party. Hisoka is born from these characters. This is a humor focused story with a good bit of found family. It's as wholesome as you can get with Hisoka in character. You could call it crack with plot.

We are 22 chapters and 44,127 words in. Hisoka is 3 years old and I will aim to end the story when he is in his 20s. It's going to be a long and wild ride.

Part Two which I have called Family Making starts with Momo and Shouto fighting a villain who uses his quirk to kill people, but little do they know that under certain circumstances instead of taking a life this quirk can create one. As a result Momo and Shouto are the parents of Illumi. This is a drama focused story and it begins when Hisoka is nearly 3 years old.

We have a lot of healing here. A lot of family drama and a very slow burn romance happening between Shouto and Momo.

This does not focus on petty drama. This is me taking the Todoroki family drama in one hand and the Zoldyck family drama in the other and clapping my hands together so hard that Momo manifest her own family drama.

We are 12 chapters and 27,388 words in. Illumi is 3 months old.

Note: These two stories are being written at the same time. You do not need to read both of them to understand the other. I'm trying to have Hisoka and Illumi's relationship as cannon as possible which is complex. You can read my Hisoka/Illumi head cannon here. https://www.tumblr.com/ladyravenjadethe2nd/755780079329656832/hisokaillumi

Part 3 isn't out yet, but I already have the first chapter written. It will take place when Illumi is 7 years old. This will have a new character focus and I'm leaning into making it a parody with some angst elements.

Part 4 and Part 5 will be posted at the exact same time. They will both have new characters. First chapter for part 4 is already written.

Part 4 with be a light hearted RomCom. Very funny and sweet and nothing hurts although I'm going to trick you into being sad a few times just to find out I'm lying about it.

Part 5 will be a heart wrenching dramatic Romance with a good bit of Hurt/Comfort with focus on the Comfort.

Yes this is the same romantic relationship told in two very different ways. You could read it apart from each other, but why would you want to?

Part 6 will have only 2 chapters. I will post the first one anytime after part 5 and it will be the prologue. We will get the details of how this wish came to be. The last chapter will take place after part 8 and it will be the Epilogue. I will set it up in such a way to be primed for a sequel if I chose to write one.

Part 7 will finally go into an action adventure plot. Bits of foreshowing for this will have been everywhere.

Part 8 will be a shared story between two characters. It will be sweet, but I don't want to give anything away.

Part 9 will be One shots of side characters. This will actually be amazing. I have ridiculously cool ideas for these and everyone will be shocked and awed about it. Your welcome in advance.

Part 10 is just where I'm gonna shove all the sex! There are gonna be a lot of relationships going on, but in most cases a detailed sex scene is going to take away from the story I'm trying to tell. So that's where the porn will go and I may take requests.

Here is a link to the Series. If any of this sounds interesting to you pls check it out. I've never been prouder of my work and I am very actively working on this story. I wouldn't be hyping it up this much if I had any doubt that I would finish it. Nothing short of my death will stop this from being completed.

[traintomoon]

BIRTHDAY REDEMPTION

summary: where tangerine finds himself at your door, with an apology and some other unintended confessions.

In the dimly lit room, Tangerine and Lemon meticulously scrubbed away any traces of their misdeeds. In a rather odd nature, the music blasting from the radio made the scene unserious. Tangerine sighed, holding the bloody mop in his hands. The floor looked decent now after hours of scrubbing. But the heaviness of metal sat solid in air.

Lemon looked up with a different look in his gaze. "Oi, it was y/n's birthday a few days back. We completely missed it."

Tangerine, usually unflappable, froze for a moment, his expression revealing a rare vulnerability. The look of your face flashed in his eyes, making the knot in his stomach tighter. "What? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Lemon, scrubbing harder as if trying to cleanse more than just the crime scene, continued cautiously. "Didn't think it was a big deal to you, mate. But I've seen the way you look at her. You might wanna make it right."

A wave of guilt washed over Tangerine's face. Without another word, he abandoned the job and dashed out, driven by a sudden urgency to make amends. The cold exterior that usually surrounded him melted away as he raced to your place, his embarrassment outweighing any lingering reluctance.

You hadn't thought much about your coworkers missing your birthday. You had eaten a cupcake after long works of stalking people suspected of smuggling drugs. You had thought of Tangerine and Lemon while blowing out the single candle too, but you won't accept it. Not even in your deepest emotions.

Just as you were preparing to get some sleep, there were loud knocks on your door. You were annoyed at the clamour. You tied a robe around your waist, cursing at the uninvited guest.

"I'm not fucking deaf. Holy shit."

The door creaked open, revealing Tangerine standing there, disheveled. He looked like he had abandoned a war to get there.

"Tangerine? What's... what's going on?"

His gaze briefly met yours, and for a moment, you saw vulnerability in his eyes—something you hadn't witnessed before. He shifted uncomfortably.

"What the fuck am I doing? I must have lost my fucking brain." Tangerine muttered under his breath.

"Tan, what's going on?"

The man in front of you took a deep breath, gathering his composure back. "Oi, listen here, I'm sorry. Forgot your bloody birthday. My bad, love."

Confusion mingled with amusement as you processed his unexpected admission. Tangerine, the enigmatic figure with a guarded demeanor, was standing on your doorstep, practically unraveling. The same person who didn't blink when you got shot in the leg last year.

"Are you sick? You came all the way here to say this? I appreciate it, Tan. But it's just a stupid birthday."

The air suddenly was filled with tension you didn't expect to feel.

"Look. I care about my apology because we work the kind of job that doesn't guarantee the security of life." If the lights were dim, you wouldn't have witnessed a small blooming colour cover Tangerine's cheeks.

"You could've texted."

"Texted? Blimey, love, I'm more of a face-to-face bloke, ain't I?" Tangerine refused to meet your eyes. You felt like he was hiding something more. That was until you saw some blood on the side of his forehead.

"I really hope this isn't yours." You held his hand, pulling him inside, closer to you. He felt a rush of heat reach his head when you pressed your thumb on his skin, wiping away the red.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Tangerine's voice came out low. You met his eyes, something hidden flashing in them. This handsome man looked even better close up.

"You tell me. Why are you acting weird? You like me Or something?" You surprised yourself at the bravery of your questions.

Tangerine blinked, refusing to put distance between you two. He drew slightly closer. "Why? Do I need to ask your parents' permission, love?"

"No." Your eyes moved down to his lips. Your hand now rested on his chest. The thumping inside his chest vibrated against your fingertips.

"Shall I bloody kiss you then? Because this is frustrating me."

Before you could process it, Tangerine, typically a man of few words, let his actions speak. In a sudden, daring move, he cupped your face, his lips meeting yours in a feathery touch. You kissed him back, making him melt in your wordless answer.

[purplink8]

If light really cares about his father he should have tried to persuade Matsuda.

In the earlier scene where they're trying to decide how to handle Sayu's kidnapping Soichiro wants to go public to the broader NPA with it because he thinks its the correct and ethical thing to do (much like his choice to step up here) but in that case Light had no hesitation to butt in and tell him he's wrong and there's a better way to do it if they just think it through.

So why doesn't he do the same here? Matsuda -already- volunteered, so with all his persuasion and improv skills Light could easily be like "please dad I don't want you to shorten your life, our family has already been through so much, we can't do this to mom and Sayu. I'm sorry to say it but Matsuda is a better choice. He said he WANTS to do it, and he's so much younger so even if it costs half his life he can still live a very long time and doesn't have dependents, unlike you who has a family and already has fewer years"…blah blah blah.

He could have also tried to come up with a new plan altogether, Light is amazingly skilled at adapting to changing situations and coming up with new tactics on the fly. I'm sure if he pressed the case to his father, the other members of the Task Force would also agree and Soichiro would relent and agree not to take the eyes.

Even if it didn't ultimately work to convince him, it would still be worth a shot. If it were my family member you'd better believe I would relentlessly argue until I'm blue in the face to stop them, whether or not I thought it would work.

Btw it’s also a strategic miscalculation on Light's end to have his father be the eye-haver, since he KNOWS despite Soichiro's assurances otherwise deep down his Dad is unlikely to be able to kill another person. And Mello is just a kid in Soichiro's eyes, he's not even as old as Sayu. Was anyone actually shocked that he couldn't finish writing the name? Matsuda on the other hand would have done it without hesitation.

Hm, I can sort of see your point! However I'm very much in the 'Light cares for his father & his approval immensely' camp so allow me to write my reasoning for the same.

The two situations you outlined seem a little different to me when we consider the bigger picture.

In the earlier scene where they're trying to decide how to handle Sayu's kidnapping Soichiro wants to go public to the broader NPA with it because he thinks its the correct and ethical thing to do (much like his choice to step up here) but in that case Light had no hesitation to butt in and tell him he's wrong and there's a better way to do it if they just think it through.

Yes, that is very correct. But here's the thing: Soichiro was pressured into that decision by Ide. He looks really troubled and in pain since he's doing this only because of his obligation as the deputy director as reminded by Ide.

Aizawa & Matsuda were concerned for Sayu along with Soichiro (who I admit often puts work before his family, still that doesn't make him entirely unbiased when it comes to his loved ones) and that's part of the reason why Light was able to convince the task force, mainly his dad, by debunking the whole (assumed) premise of the kidnappers killing the director, instead blaming Kira for it in order to save Sayu.

This is beneficial to Soichiro since that means they don't have to alert the other personnel of the NPA (according to Light's logic) and Soichiro is saved from his terrible decision to throw his daughter under the bus with his sense of integrity/responsibility as the deputy director intact.

Notice that Light offers this way out by using logic. What I mean to say is: Light rarely appeals to his father's emotions when attempting to change the latter's mind (the only instance where he does so that I can recall is when Soichiro is literally shooting him in the face (which is traumatic as hell but I digress)).

Light, in that situation, did not go "Dad that's unfair to Sayu, you need to rethink this decision as her father". Like he knows it would be a weak argument to Soichiro 'duty comes before family' Yagami.

That is why he solves the dilemma by completely turning around the situation not in emotional terms but rationally- in the manner that he knows his dad will concede as the question isn't to choose between work or family anymore because Light has argued to not notify the other NPA departments otherwise Kira would know about the kidnapping and kill Sayu (and they wouldn't get a chance to investigate the kidnappers if Kira kills Sayu before they can negotiate with them). So their best bet is to keep quiet about it so that Kira doesn't know; meanwhile they can, as Ide says, try and catch the culprit while negotiating the exchange.

Light adds an obligatory "But in the end, it's your decision, Dad" to mollify his father and it works! We're not shown Soichiro trying to persuade the task force by repeating what Light said but they're all able to come to a mutual agreement with Ide (the one who was most insistent on notifying the other NPA heads) conceding the ground first.

So why doesn't he do the same here? Matsuda -already- volunteered, so with all his persuasion and improv skills Light could easily be like "please dad I don't want you to shorten your life, our family has already been through so much, we can't do this to mom and Sayu. I'm sorry to say it but Matsuda is a better choice. He said he WANTS to do it, and he's so much younger so even if it costs half his life he can still live a very long time and doesn't have dependents, unlike you who has a family and already has fewer years"…blah blah blah.

As I said before, Light doesn't try persuading in emotional terms when it comes to his Dad. Also the two situations are quite different, I'll highlight this by first explaining the wider context going on in the 2nd situation.

So Sayu has been rescued at the cost of the Note being handed over to Mello who still hasn't stopped blackmailing Soichiro (Mello contacts Soichiro again (the latter's phone is to be kept on in exchange for the former not killing him). And asks him about the new L's identity and threatens to kill Sayu if Soichiro doesn't answer. Matsuda saves the day this time.) which is an unpleasant reminder of his "failure as a police officer".

Soichiro is pained by guilt at the risk he poses both to his family (esp Sayu) & the task force. He fears Sachiko would divorce him. He's painfully aware of the fact that if he dies now, Sayu's life will no longer be in danger and he may no longer be a burden to the task force.

Meanwhile, Light has his own plans as Kira- which involve killing Mello with the help of Shinigami Eyes. To achieve this, he needs a member of the Task Force to attain ownership of the Note and subsequently make the deal for the Eyes. He intends Matsuda to take the fall. (Choosing/Having Soichiro volunteer instead doesn't even come across as an option in Light's head.)

And just as he predicted, Matsuda volunteers to do the job with no hesitation. The guy is disposable in Light's eyes so it does not matter in the least that he may have to kill Matsuda in 13 days. Like he does not spare a thought regarding it; that's how Light is with people he doesn't care about.

Ide agrees; everything is going according to Light's keikaku until...

Soichiro comes up with this bombshell. Light's face here says it all. He's beyond shocked. After all, he hadn't accounted for this possibility at all. He was so focused on Matsuda volunteering (which, to be fair, he did) that he hadn't thought of this from Soichiro's perspective.

How he feels after practically handing over the Note to the kidnappers to save his daughter's life. How he feels guilty & ashamed of himself for being a failure as a police officer. A danger to his family. A burden to the task force. He even contemplates killing himself as he feels that there would no longer be a threat to Sayu's life (since Mello can't blackmail him if he's dead now, can he?)

He's resolute in his decision. More importantly, he's not pressured into it by anyone else, he's the only one advocating for it- anyone who knows Soichiro well enough would be sure that he can't be shaken away from this decision. Soichiro has made up his mind.

Light, after hearing this, can of course make sense of his father's behavior. The reason why he hadn't thought of it before now was because Soichiro was not in the list of potential candidates for taking the eye deal, Light didn't take the circumstances of his dad into account because he was never meant to take the eye deal in the first place.

Light does think that it's meaningless to try stopping Soichiro but before he can think any further, Matsuda butts in, offering himself for this role instead. Soichiro is not deterred as the guilt (of letting the Note in the kidnappers' hands) is weighing in on him.

Despite Light's misgivings that he may not persuade his father (from sacrificing half of his lifespan for the Eyes), he does try to dissuade him by mentioning that Soichiro may have to kill criminals himself and asking if he can do it. This, I believe, is not so much of a question rather a discouraging tactic:

Light knows on an intimate level that Soichiro despises killing people, even if they're criminals. ("The real evil is the power to kill people." anyone? Also this scene: that comes later:

Although Mello is partly taunting Soichiro here, watching the latter's face in reaction to that comment is very telling: Mello has hit a little too close to home.)

But like I said before, it's near impossible to change Soichiro's mind now. He will say anything, even the things he's not so sure about (re: killing others), to convince the task force that he's the one accountable for the mess they're in and he will sacrifice himself in the line for his duty.

"I'll kill them... And then I'll die too, 13 days later."

Light is unfortunately well-aware of his father's self-sacrificial nature when it comes to his duty as a police officer & towards justice (Soichiro is his role model & Light has deeply internalized these teachings himself but I digress.). There's no stopping him as Soichiro is rigid in this mindset of his.

Soichiro thinks that him dying would be a favor both to his family and the task force so why not die while being of use/service through possessing the Shinigami Eyes? His will to live has diminished enormously; I feel that a pep talk by Light won't fix anything at this point.

Not only would Light not be able to persuade Soichiro otherwise that it's not Soichiro's fault the Note got handed over to Mello's gang (I'm adding the mangacap below again to emphasize this when Light tries to argue the same, he gets shut down by guilt-ridden Soichiro)

But also that Matsuda would be a better choice. Matsuda has made it clear enough, and it's apparent that the task force is not so happy with the way things are turning out but nobody dares to speak against their deputy director whom they respect.

Light also never finishes his thought: "If the need arises for my father to write a name in the notebook... Then I..." leaving it open to our interpretation as to whether he's kill his own father for enforcing the 13-day rule. I, personally, believe that he wouldn't murder his Dad (he cares for him too much for that)

Light, in the end, yields for his father's wishes. Still, you can see the emotional turmoil in his face before his eyes are hidden.

I would also like to address Ryuk's comment "Hyuk. So even using your Father...?"

I think Ryuk's wrong here, he's implying that Light would resort to even using his father as a pawn for his plan. This is so. Not. true.

Light fully intended it to be Matsuda (which is shitty of him, I know) NOT his father. He knows, from his experience, how stubborn his Dad can be about these things. Yet he did try to stop him (not in an obvious way or a way most people would) in his own subtle way, i.e., reminding him that he may need to kill people for their plan to work. It was his big shot in discouraging Soichiro from sacrificing himself as he KNOWS Soichiro isn't one for killing others.

And we all know, how it turned out, with Soichiro not budging in his decision until all the task force members had to contend with that fact.

Back to how Light feels about this situation folding out: his eyes are hidden as they usually are when he's experiencing emotional conflict:

Also look at how stressed Light seems to be before ordering Soichiro to take the eye deal. He's sweating, the pain written all over his face. He does not like this one bit Matsuda had already volunteered for Kira's sake why does Dad always make things so complicated

He could have also tried to come up with a new plan altogether, Light is amazingly skilled at adapting to changing situations and coming up with new tactics on the fly. I'm sure if he pressed the case to his father, the other members of the Task Force would also agree and Soichiro would relent and agree not to take the eyes.

Light is a genius but he has his limits too, I think. His plan requires someone in the task force to trade for the Eyes since it'd be difficult (& suspicious as hell) to have Misa (who has the Eyes) take a look at Mello's face (they only have his drawing by Linda). The task force has the means to meet Mello face-to-face as they've discovered their hideout. Yet, a face by itself is not enough for killing him through the Death Note, obviously. They need his name too, for which the Shinigami Eyes are essential.

Light says it himself in his mind: 'Unless someone makes the deal for the Eyes...This plan can't go forward.'

It's an overall difficult situation to be in. If Light was capable of coming up with a new plan, he would definitely have stopped his father. As it stands though, Light is at a loss of alternatives which is why he has to (with a heavy heart) agree to Soichiro's arrangement.

Even if it didn't ultimately work to convince him, it would still be worth a shot. If it were my family member you'd better believe I would relentlessly argue until I'm blue in the face to stop them, whether or not I thought it would work.

That is the natural response, yes. But when your father is Soichiro Yagami who is unwavering in his view of his moral duty, arguing relentlessly won't work. Besides, Light is not one to directly challenge his father when it comes to taking responsibility and/or when it comes to making up for guilt over past actions. He makes a subtle attempt despite knowing it might not work (re: him bringing up that Soichiro might have to kill, as a deterrent) and is shot down by his father.

Soichiro won't take no for an answer when his integrity as a police officer is at stake.

Btw it’s also a strategic miscalculation on Light's end to have his father be the eye-haver, since he KNOWS despite Soichiro's assurances otherwise deep down his Dad is unlikely to be able to kill another person. And Mello is just a kid in Soichiro's eyes, he's not even as old as Sayu. Was anyone actually shocked that he couldn't finish writing the name? Matsuda on the other hand would have done it without hesitation.

It is not a miscalculation on Light's part because he never intended Soichiro to be in the possession of the Shinigami Eyes in the first place. He (in his mind) meant it to be Matsuda doing his bidding from the very start. But due to unforeseen circumstances he had to relent and have Soichiro make the Eye trade. This is, as you say, disadvantageous to Light both at a strategic level AND on an emotional level.

Soichiro is reluctant to use the Death Note- Light knows it all too well ("The real evil is the power to kill people." again). Matsuda, on the other hand, is somewhat sympathetic to Kira's cause, he'd have no problems to use the Note as long as it's for the right reasons so yeah he'd have written down Mello's name with zero hesitation.

Plus, Matsuda is easily disposable from Light's perspective; killing him after 13 days would be a piece of cake to Light. While Soichiro is very dear to Light, so much so that he can't even finish thinking about killing him after 13 days.

These disadvantages and the fact that Light was shocked with his father's announcement to take up the Eye deal show that letting Soichiro have the Eyes was not considered at all.

And why would Light further persuade Matsuda? Matsuda had already tried & failed at convincing Soichiro. It takes two to tango: both Matsuda & Soichiro needed to be in agreement about who would have the Eyes. Matsuda wasn't the problem, Soichiro was from Light's POV.

Light is smart enough to see a lost cause when it appears before him, Soichiro wasn't gonna budge and they were in a stalement as killing Mello was near impossible without the Eyes. It wasn't ideal thus Light had to make do with the current situation- to ease his Dad's guilt and kill Mello with one stone with the price being half of Soichiro's lifespan (no I don't think Light would kill him after 13 days).

Light cares for his father very much, it was just an unfortunate stroke of luck to have it turn out like this. With Light indirectly & unintentionally putting his father at danger- that's the tragedy of using the Death Note, I guess.

[notafragilething]

I'm Figuring Out This Timeline: I think I might have it?

There are so many stills overlapping with what 118 family is wearing in the hospital and I need to put this into a timeline order that makes logical sense.

We're going to start with the assumption that the fire and Eddie being caught with by Kim by Marisol and Christopher happened roughly at the same time.

It's worth pointing out that Eddie is wearing a long-sleeve white or tan shirt as you can see in this picture (be warned, it's the cut kiss from that scene but you can see the shirt best).

In the hospital scene we know that Hen is wearing a army green shirt with a jean jacket, Chimney is wearing a marron shirt with a black zip up over it, Buck is wearing a short sleeve stripped shirt and Eddie is wearing a short sleeve navy shirt.

So we know for sure that Eddie changes before he goes to the hospital. Which leads my theory that the four get a phone call in the morning. It seemed like it was potentially the middle of the night of the night when the fire happened and they would want to get them stable before friends would be contacted.

So other photos we have is Hen in the kitchen here (time of day cannot be determined), Buck and Tommy on a date here (appears to be night), Buck and Eddie talking in Eddie's house here (appears to be day based on light coming in window), Hen outside with her phone during the day here and here, Chimney, Hen, Eddie in hospital without name tags here and here (appears to be day based on light from window behind them).

So I personally think they're all going to get the phone call during that morning. It's why in all the stills (when it's light out) we see them not wearing name tags. They haven't been checked in yet and are just arriving. We see them later in the episode, when they're calling people with nametags, here. The lack of nametag also makes me think Hen's still on the phone outside happened before the hospital is likely her getting the phone call.

That means the Buddie scene with Eddie's parents either happens right before or after the hospital. If it happened before, the shot of Buck coming in with the phone may be him telling Eddie about Bobby and they rush to the hospital. The scenes of them talking in the living room would have to happen before that because you cannot convince me these two wouldn't immediately rush to Bobby's side if they thought he was dying. They're not having a discussion.

The other possibility is it happens after they're the hospital. They may decide to do rounds and Eddie goes home to find his parents here. That would allow time for them to have a conversation about what is happening and is the one I'm leaning towards. Because it would provide time for them to talk about it. If this is the case, I think it's potentially Chimney or Maddie on the phone with Buck giving an update when we see him entering the room with his phone.

The only part I am super struggling to place is the date between Buck and Tommy. Because it's just...not making sense with what we see if the times of day are correct. Because that date is clearly at night.

And Buck seems really, really happy in it. Which is strange is Bobby is fighting for his life. So my gut tells me this is the opening of the episode and Buck gets the phone call about Bobby and rushes to the hospital. Which is likely what it is. However, it's night. And early enough that they're eating, which seems to early in the evening then when the fire occurred and doesn't line up with when Hen seems to be getting notified. And it wouldn't make sense for Buck to be wearing the same thing as the night before.

The other option is this happens after both the hospital and Buddie scene. That in the evening he and Tommy have dinner together. The only way this makes any sense to me is Bobby wakes up pretty quickly. It doesn't seem like we're at the point yet with Christopher leaving (that seems to be happening on a different day) so Buck might also not be worried or even know about that yet.

Which would be a pretty major twist if Bobby being hospitalized is short lived and not part of the main plot. But multiple people have said there are tons of twists so maybe?

What do you all think?