#this is from s3 'Sanctuary' btw

[xxplastic-cubexx]

i need you guys to forgive the fact theres only three pixels available in this screenshot but is this not a wild outfit to throw on for dinner. with guests.

[prettycottonmouthlamia]

So some Ulpianus thoughts as I go through his kit and do some of the math out

-Base statistics wise, he's extremely similar to Hoederer, having slightly more HP in exchange for very slightly less ATK -This of course doesn't matter once he gets stacks of his talent going. At 10 stacks, he'll have the highest HP and ATK of any Crusher in the game (even outpacing Wind Chimes with her Vigor buff) -Regaining 100 HP when hit, and 160 HP when under 50% HP, is actually probably not enough on its own to really keep Ulpianus alive through sustained damage. It is very good against damage over time effects though, with the possible exception of Zaaro's curse which is very funny

-S1 looks pretty okay. It's notable for being a Pull in an entire class who does not have one, and it's a pretty beefy attack scale on an ATK stat that can almost be 2000. I'm not sure this ends up being a viable portion of kit in most situations, especially since his other two skills seem generally better. -S2 looks...interesting. I'm not actually sure this skill is "good", at least in part because of its massive 70 SP cost. This can be reduced significantly (to about 47 SP) through Unchained's PUM-Y module, but 47 seconds is still a long time for what is supposed to be a lane holder. While the skill is up though, it is quite powerful, especially since it increases the healing from his talent to 200/320 per hit, but 3 Block is also really risky on a Crusher. Hoederer's S2 also suffers from this issue. -S3 is just good. A frankly disgustingly high ATK buff on top of a scaling attack buff means that anything he hits in his initial blast is probably capital F Fucked and he'll take advantage of the six second stun to get two more additional hits in, adding in that the range on this skill is long, let's him be proactive in lane holding, and potentially even allows him to hold two lanes at once is bonkers. 17s charge time with PUM-Y btw.

We probably should talk about the hunter buffs btw, because Ulpianus arguably benefits the most out of any Hunter with them.

-Gladiia: On her own, Gladiia provides a 237.02 HP/s Regen buff to Ulpianus thanks to his titanic HP stat, which increases to 279.02 HP/s with his talent stack maxed out. That's just generically hefty as an regen in general, especially since its healing effectiveness cannot be reduced in any way. The 30%...psuedo-Sanctuary (does Sanctuary actually stack with Gladiia's module?) is also rather incredible for him, being a huge HP buff inherently and making his HP gain talent even stronger. -Andreana: 22 ASPD matters the absolute most to Ulpianus thanks to his titanically long attack interval, reducing it from 2.5 seconds to ~2.05 seconds. In addition, Andreana benefits the most from the 600 Max HP Ulpianus can give her thanks to her low base HP. -Skadi: +24% ATK and +20% Max HP on the Abyssal Hunter with the highest ATK and HP of any class in the game. Easy. Honestly maybe we should have seen the Crusher class coming. Worth noting though that the ATK buff is extremely diluted once his skills are up, however. -Specter: 5% extra damage is honestly fairly good for him. On one hand, his ATK stat gets so high it probably isn't super distinguishable from ATK buffs in terms of effect, but during skill, this buff won't get diluted either. -Specter the Unchained: Maybe the biggest partner for Ulpianus outside of Gladiia, because he really wants the extra SP per second she gives, especially for S2.

In total, what does Ulpianus look like with all the Abyssal Hunter buffs?

HP: 10,158 (11,358 with his Talent) ATK: 2,100.56 (2,400.56 with his Talent) HP Regen: 355.53 HP/s (397.53 HP/s with his Talent)

This is just at base too. While the ATK and HP buffs do end up diluted from his own skill buffs, just looking at his stats while his S2 is up:

HP: 14,221.2 (15,421.2 with his Talent) ATK: 4,810.96 (5,110.95 with his Talent) HP Regen: 497.742 HP/s (539.742 HP/s with his Talent)

So...is Ulpianus good? If you're using him in Abyssal Hunters, definitely, and honestly he's disgustingly good looking there. But outside of that remains to be seen. I think his S3 in general is just so strong that there's a very good chance he remains a good, usable operator outside of his niche, just like all the Abyssal Hunters.

[sav1ored]

//. On the road of rewatching TWD . S3 --- for ' studying ' not watching for fun, but to analyze it. So here's our little ' WHAT IF'S- ' Which is a lot of what if's in this season that could have happened. Because we know the governor wants Michonne for killing his already dead daughter. shrug a dub dub, right ? Rick didn't tell the group. He told them that the Governor wanted them all dead ( which lbr we heard the governor himself admit to that ) -- hershel comes to rick and tells him how some ppl in the group agree to stay in fight, while carol and hershel agree they should leave that prison and set back out on the road--- see, that's the what if right there. What If they didn't stay and fight for the prison ? Herhsel would be alive, first off. But also that does mean the governor would be alive as well--- and possibly hunting for rick and the gang after they manager to escape. ( also merel would be alive as well ) but moving on --- ! which could also lead to negan and the governor to eventually cross paths with one another. Cause the governor is alive. BUT----- of course, Woodbury is in Georgia, while The Sanctuary is in Virginia -- google says it's about 8 ( maybe 10 ) hours from each other. ( damn - and in car mind you :) ) -- but also other governor REALLY wants michonne to keep her as prisoner to torture her. He had it all set out and decorated just for her. so he's a little obsessed. also-- he'd definitely want rick and them all dead. each. and. everyone. of. them. BUT ALSO RICK AND THEM being WANTED OMFG !!! but like I said, would he really go around looking for them ? Fuck yeah I think he would-- I think his hate for ALL of them would grow over time. Think of them as being ' the ones who got away ' --- LMAO but also juicy shit. But I'm tellin you the what if's, the obsession in now not only wanting michonne. Cause also he does go hunting for andrea like a FUCKING PSYCHO !!!! BTW !! SO YEAH--- bring out the WANTED POSTERS OF well the people he saw --- but also probably still tell his people whoever is with them is now our enemy. NIIIICEEE! And Negan over here ? Well shit could be interesting how things between negan + rick/ governor would turn out to be.

[latin-dr-robotnik]

So, a never-seen-before prototype of my favorite game of all time. That’s... fucking awesome! I’m gonna vent some of my thoughts here btw:

The story behind the game and the prototype as absolutely nuts. Originally intended as something kinda 3D Blast, the original S3 was scrapped in June 1993, rebooted as a direct 2D sequel to Sonic 2, and quote-on-quote finished by November 1993. That kind of crunch dev cycle is fucking insane.

First of all, yeah, MASSIVE LEVEL DESIGN DIFFERENCES! It’s just mindblowing.

Beta intro with Sonic surfing to Angel Island, I remember when modders restored the data from the ROM, but now seeing it in a prototype is kinda surreal!

Knuckles acting like a cop, that’s one way of presenting yourself I guess, at least he’s not punching the hell outta Sonic lol

Prototype level select screen is the same as S3 original level select, that just goes to tell you how much the original S3 was incomplete without S&K oof

Holy shit that Tails carrying Sonic beta animation was... unexpected

Oh my... the drop dash was originally intended for S3! Well, rip Mania I guess. I wonder why it was scrapped, seems to work actually fine. Keep in mind the build in the video is dated less than 3 weeks before the final S3 build.

You know what? I dig that Angel Island Act 2 beta music, sounds great!

It’s funny to see the Hydrocity Act 1 to Act 2 transition not working, also of course the original bug of the act 2 boss music playing during act 1′s miniboss had to be there.

On the same note, it seems like the popularly known “MJ tracks” weren’t implemented yet, instead, most tracks are either from what we would later know as the full S3K package or, most jarring of all, Sonic & Knuckles Collection. This means the “legal battle” argument isn’t as strong as it once was, which was something I had in mind since we saw Hydrocity fully recreated in Mania (an old theory expressed that “Stage 2″ was one of the “MJ crew” compositions, I believe from Cirocco Jones) and there shouldn’t be any major obstacles for SEGA should they decide to re-release S3 (like a Taxman Remaster), just slap the “original intended��� S&K Collection + S3K soundtrack and we are golden. Of course, as a big S3 Genesis fanboy, I can’t and I won’t accept PC Carnival Zone as the originally intended one, or PC IceCap over Hard Times. You’ll see me dead before I take SK Collection’s Launch Base over the sick final beat... aaannnndd mayyyybe that’s another reason why SEGA doesn’t want to talk about re-releasing S3, thanks to people like me, oh dear.

I’m laughing right now because the buggy, delayed-echo version of Flying Battery is here too and I unironically like it more that way.

On the other hand, that Mushroom Hill Valley beta theme is just straight up naughty. Love me that sicky, disgusting, dirty bassline. Act 2 sounds funny.

Is it me or does the percussion and bassline in Lava Reef sounds heavier? I fucking adore that punchy sound.

Beta Sky Sanctuary isn’t really making me love the level, just like original SS lmao.

Oh my, that beta Special Stage looks trippy as hell.

S&K Collection credits theme. Yeah call me nostalgic but to me the one true credits theme is Stranger in Moscow, not even the S&K one lol.

HUGE day for Sonic’s history. Even though I’m not too happy with some of the revelations, it’s still an insane experience for a Sonic fan. Now, c’mon SEGA, make a S3 Remastered version with the “originally intended” soundtrack, so we can mod in the S3 Genesis soundtrack, heh.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Orange Color/Banners in D.C.

Okay, this Ask has been in my inbox a LONG time. I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get to it. I’m going to go relatively simply on the explanation here. Trust me, some of my fellow theorists could give you a LOT more detail on these colors (*coughs @wdway*) but I just want to give you an idea of why the answer is yes, we definitely think these colors were picked purposely and mean something.

First let me say, Nonny, that your observations her are stellar. I love especially what you said about Anne/Jadis and the fine arts banner. Because a few episodes later, we saw her doing a great deal of art in painting pictures for people. Just another way to show that these things are put in purposely and always fulfilled.

As you say, Michonne looks at political posters. Later we saw her drafting a charter, and then of course leading when Rick left. So it works all the way around.

About Daryl and the sun/fire thing? I also noticed that next to it are some things about native American culture. That really caught my attention because the only other place we’ve heard native American culture specifically mentioned on the show was with Creepy Wolf Dude and Morgan in 5x16. That makes me think the wolves might show up again this season somehow. I’ll get into some brainstorming about how that may happen below.

*Disclaimer: this is one of those posts where I brainstorm possible outcomes and predictions. Keep in mind that I may simply end up being wrong about them, so take everything with a grain of salt.*

I won’t go too much into blue and green colors/banners. We’ve seen those colors around Beth a lot and I think we’ve kinda beaten them to death. Green generally symbolizes life, progress, and even resurrection. We believe blue generally represents imprisonment, though by itself it can mean other things as well. For more color-centered theories, click HERE.

Let’s focus on the orange/bronze/copper banner. The short of it is that we totally think the orange (I’ll just call it orange for short, though depending on lighting and filters in any given scene it can look a bit different) is related to Beth. I’ll show you how/why we think so through many different scenes we can associate this specific color with. 

Let me say that most of these examples were furnished @wdway, who did most of the detective work. She theorized that maybe the color represented something the person associated with the color had lost. I think that’s a very viable theory.

For me, though, I think the orange represents leadership. Perhaps it even shows who will be leading when Beth returns. Let me illustrate.

Let’s start with the banner. It says “happy accidents” and has an eye on it. That eye immediately reminded us of one specific character  and even Happy Accidents kinda sounds like a way of explaining how/why Beth survived.

So why, aside from the banner, do we associate this color with her?

The copper color can be seen on Beth’s knife here in this shot and obviously knife = Beth.

Then check out the pants on this walker that TD instantly knew represented Beth (which was confirmed in the S5 DVD commentary, btw). The pants are kind of a copper-ish color.

Both these things are obvious symbols of Beth, and it works with my leadership theory, because we’ve always known, because of the sheriff hat/”new sheriff in town” line, that Beth would return as a leader.

Another major orange/bronze/copper symbol we’ve seen all the way since S3 is the orange backpack. Michonne, Rick and Carl first picked it up back in 3x12, Clear, which was where they also found Morgan. I don’t think the Morgan angle is a coincidence, but I’ll come back to that.

We’ve seen this pack back through a lot of different story lines and with different characters. 

Another big story line that included this color and the back pack was Denise’s. We see her with the bag in this shot and the main reason I think they included it is because she’s such a huge Beth proxy. 

Also remember that we had the orange soda around Denise. But the interesting things is that, while we did see her get a can out of the small blue cooler right before she died, we never actually saw her drink it. It was talked about around her a lot, and associated with her, but we didn’t actually see her with it very much. The only people we actually saw drink it was Rick and Daryl.

So I’m thinking the main reason it was associated with Denise is no because Denise would be a leader (because she really wasn’t) but rather because she was such a heavy Beth proxy, and Beth will be the leader. See what I mean?

Michonne’s shirt here. 

You may wonder why we see the color here and on Michonne. Neither she nor the situation seem to have any ties to Beth, but I think they do. Remember that she did have some important scenes with Beth and Judith in 4a.

I think it’s important that they just ran into the Saviors here, which will lead to Negan. There was a lot of Beth symbolism present when TF first met up with the Saviors. It was in 6x09, 6x12, 6x13. You name it. And I think that’s because the Saviors = Negan and Beth’s arc is tied up with Negan.

So there’s that. But I also can’t help but notice that Michonne is wearing this orange color here, but no one else is. Glenn isn’t. Heath isn’t. Tara isn’t. Not even Rick is. So I’m thinking this was to show that Michonne would be leading Alexandria when Beth shows up. (See how that works out so nicely?)

In S6, we also saw the copper color on the horse Morgan rides. Two reasons this is important. 1) This is the WHITE horse (horse theory) that Morgan finds next to the sign that says “You’re still alive.” So we’ve always associated this horse with Beth. Then there’s the Morgan angle. Even though Morgan seems to have his own deal on FTWD, his symbolism is still very entangled with Beth.

So on the Morgan angle, I still think he’s tied up in Beth’s return somehow. There are just too many open ended things that point to it. No idea how it will all work out, but there’s the stuff on Fear, this orange stuff, the horse stuff, the fact that he was spotted at the cabin Emily filmed at in S5. All this stuff has to come together at some point, and Morgan’s all tied up in it somehow.

In 6x16, we also see the orange/copper color on the library. 

The whole library/librarian thing was always very weird to me. It was just so random and they didn’t do much with it. Just felt very unnecessary to me. And what does that usually mean in this show? *symbolism*

So we have no idea at this point what’s up with the librarian group or how things will play out, but I do think it foreshadowed something. I’m not even sure exactly what, but I’m thinking that the librarian group was kind of a link or bridge between two groups. In 6x16, TF was about to come face to face with Negan and the Saviors. Meanwhile, the Saviors were busy teaching another group a lesson. So maybe that foreshadows something to come. Like maybe TF will be dealing with the Whisperers, but there will be another, adjacent group also having dealings with the Whisperers (the Wolves maybe?) and Beth will arrive with them.

Even the Xs here were orange and X = Beth. (X Theory)

Again, just spit-balling here because we have no idea how things will play out. But with all the orange around this group, to me it kind of suggests a group Beth may arrive with. I think it’s one of those things that will make WAY more sense when it actually happens.

We also saw this orange/copper color on Daryl’s shirt at the Sanctuary. 

Again, I think this could be a leadership thing, showing that eventually he’ll lead, and probably during a time when the Saviors are still involved in the story line. And low and behold, at the beginning of S9, he actually led the Sanctuary.

And for anyone who watches Fear, we saw this color a bit in this past season, S4, in which we also saw a CRAP TON of Beth symbolism and proxyness, especially with John and June.

So what does it all mean? I think the orange around Michonne points to her being the leader when Beth arrives. I think the others heavily associated around it (Rick and Daryl drinking the soda, the orange on Daryl’s shirt at Sanctuary) showed that they will be leaders. Rick already was, of course, Michonne is also obvious now in S9. I know Daryl only led Sanctuary briefly at the beginning of S9, but I’ll give you a very vague spoiler to say that spoilers report that Daryl will lead again somewhat in 9b. If the orange points to who, specifically, will be in leadership positions when Beth arrives, that means everything is in place for her arrival in 9b. *fingers crossed*

As an aside, I even thought about Carol when putting this together. Why haven’t we seen orange prominently around her? Well, we SORT OF did, because she was at the library with Morgan. So that might point to her leading at the Kingdom when Beth arrives. But at the same time, she’s also not the SOLE leader of the Kingdom. Between the two of them, he’s still more the leader than she is. Perhaps at some point in the show, he’ll die and she’ll take over as sole leader, but even if that’s the case, I don’t think it will happen until after Beth’s return. So I think it works either way.

So yeah. I think that’s what I have on the orange banner. And if we’re right about it being tied to Beth, well, we saw this banner in the first episode of the season, which points to what will happen the rest of the season. That does suggest that we’ll see her in S9. Here’s hoping I’m right about that! ;D Thoughts?

[chocolatequeennk]

Doctor Who survey/meme

I was tagged by both @countessselena and @pellaaearien. I think this has made the rounds pretty thoroughly by now, so I won’t be tagging anyone. But if you want to do it, go for it!!

Classic or New: I love it all. Well. Up through S7 of New Who.

Fav Doctor: I honestly can’t pick. I have a four-way tie: One, Eight, Ten, and Eleven. I usually say One when asked this question, because literally no one comes back with, “Really? But what about...?” when you choose the First Doctor. And I honestly get tired of the Whovian thing where we try to convince each other that our ideas of what was good and what was bad in the series are the Right Ideas.

Worst Doctor: I’m not going to label one as the worst, but I will say that as much as I loved John Hurt as the War Doctor, and think it’s sweet that he was so happy to be able to claim to be a Doctor, the utter hubris of Moffat in deciding he needed to create an extra Doctor instead of using Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor galls me. 

Fav Companion: Rose. Then Donna. 

Worst Companion: River Song. I don’t like how she both manipulates and is manipulated by the Doctor. It is possible to have a healthy relationship that is out of sync temporally, and I would have loved to have seen that. But telling someone you just met that hey, you’re going to marry me one day... that’s manipulative. And telling someone you just met that you’re in love with them is too. It takes away some of their choice, and that’s not right. 

Plus, I absolutely hate how she’s constantly going on about rule one being that the Doctor lies. No. I know this is a Moffat thing, but it comes up most often in their relationship, and I despise it. Someone asked me once if Eleven will lie to Rose in the Timelessness ‘verse like he did to River... (if you don’t know, there’s a Rule in that series that you Do Not lie to your bond mate.) and I was like, “Well, in addition to the rule, that’s a bloody unhealthy way to have a relationship, so no.”

Top 5 Episodes: Oh boy. Okay, here we go.

“Rose” – This is such a great beginning for the new series. I love Rose, I love Nine, I love the hints we see that Rose’s life wasn’t great and the way she just runs into the TARDIS.

“Bad Wolf”/”Parting of the Ways” – This shouldn’t surprise anyone, given that #Bad Wolf!Rose is important to me. But before we get there, the story is just so good. There’s the fulfilment of the arc from “Long Game,” where we finally find out who’s been pulling the strings of human history. There’s the Doctor thinking Rose is dead, and oh my gosh that just guts me. And the Doctor telling the Daleks he’s going to come rescue Rose and they can’t stop him. And telling Rose he’s coming to get her. gaaaaaah. 

But then. Then, there’s the moment. I love Rose’s determination to find a way back to the Doctor. Her confidence that it’s what she’s meant to do. The way she bluntly tells Mickey that no, she’s never coming back. (And btw, the last time we talked to Mickey, he was dating someone else, so why does he feel like he can be so dejected by this?) 

Rose getting all the help she can to open the TARDIS. Rose looking into the heart of the TARDIS even though she’s sees the kind of thing that can do. The desire of Rose’s heart, to keep the Doctor safe. The Doctor feeling like he isn’t worth her sacrifice, and choosing to take her place. THE KISS!!! <3<3<3

And then I love the implications. Because if the Vortex killed the Doctor after only 30 seconds, and Rose had it for so much longer, there must have been something major going on to keep her from dying. I love the idea that they could have forever because Rose was willing to risk her life to save the Doctor’s.

“The Impossible Planet/The Satan Pit” – My favourite thing about the Doctor and Rose is that they are partners. She’s not just the pretty blonde who travels with him, and she doesn’t idolise him. They work together, as a team, and that is never more obvious than in this story. They make the choice to stay on the sanctuary base together. They’re separated for a large chunk of the story, but they’re working towards a common goal and with a constant awareness that the other is dong their part and counting on them. 

And it culminates in the Doctor’s fabulous speech about believing in Rose. Neither the Doctor nor Rose could have defeated the Beast alone. And for the both of them, doing their part required a leap of faith that the other would meet them halfway. That’s what the Doctor’s speech is all about. Rose is his partner, and he knows that unless she’s dead, she’ll be doing what she can on that rocket to make sure the Beast doesn’t escape. That gives him the confidence and strength necessary to destroy the urns.

“Army of Ghosts/Doomsday” –  I know, I know. But it’s such a good story! And man, if I didn’t have Doomsday to fix, what fanfic would I write?

“Vincent and the Doctor” – It makes me cry. That’s it. The end... I just weep. 

Any DVDs: The specials, S6, and Day of the Doctor on bluray, plus S2, part of S3, S4, and part of S7 in iTunes, and S5 and S7 on Amazon. 

Fav Moment:  Oh yikes. That’s almost harder than the favourite episodes. Um. Let’s just say any shippy interaction between Rose and the Doctor. I ramble about them so much on my blog, and I can’t think of any specifics right now.

Scariest Moment: Midnight, when they were going to throw the Doctor out.

Saddest Moment: The end of Doomsday. Their goodbye... I just can’t. It doesn’t make me cry anymore because I’ve watched it so many times, but when I think about it, I tear up. 

And when the Doctor has to take Donna’s memories. That... I can’t watch that. It’s too awful. 

Missing Episode you want: The Stone Rose. :D And Resurrection Casket. :D :D And the one where they talk about their relationship and actually let us see them kiss on screen. :D :D :D 

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Daryl = Fire, Beth = Water

Morning Everybody! So with only a couple of days to go before the S8 Premiere (I'm totally staying cool over here.)

So the amazing @wdway has done it again. She came up with such an amazing insight this last week. In many ways, it's super-obvious and I don't know why no one has realized it before. But she's just a genius that way.

So we were talking about some of the S8 promo pics. They're the ones that have many of the characters in side profile and there are embers blowing around them.

I'm sure many people have tried to relate these to Beth both because we saw fire around her and Daryl in Still and because of Norman's famous analogy about her being Daryl's flame that burnt out.

I thought the same. Then @wdway said something really profound. She said, "I think Beth's symbol is actually more water than fire."

That makes so much sense! We've always equated Beth with fire because of Still. I think it was a fairly good assumption given…everything. But it was also kind of wrong.

Think of it this way. While both Beth and Daryl were working through emotional issues at the moonshine shack, and it WAS her idea to burn it down (another reason we equated her with the fire), the burning down of the shack was more about Daryl than it was about Beth. HE was the one who grew up in a place like that, not her. And they started the fire right after they talked about him staying who he is, not who he was. Getting away from his horrible past.

Since then, we've seen Daryl equated with fire a lot. And I think each time, it represents the same thing it represented in Still: him burning down his problems and leaving them behind so he can move forward. 

Examples of Why Daryl = Fire:

He blew up the saviors in 6x09 

He set the lake afire in Alexandria to get rid of the walker horde. Both of those were physical obstacles rather than emotional, but still. Daryl burnt them down.

We can even trace this to his childhood. As he told Carl in season 3 (just before finding Carol who was presumed dead, I might add) his mother died in a house fire in which she kinda burned herself down. She was consumed in it when Daryl was a small child.

Even the matches Sherry left him to escape the Sanctuary make more sense in light of this. Obviously tptb didn't want him to burn down the Sanctuary at that point in the story. They have other plans for it. But they still symbolically showed him using fire to move forward and work through his problems. (The imprisonment of the Sanctuary, in that case.)

Then there's the ashes. Ashes are what's left after the fire has burnt. Ashes are one of the most pure substances on earth because they've just been purified with fire. They're also the substance the phoenix rises from. Remember Daryl's, "we ain't ashes." That was before he lost Beth. Before he endured his trial-by-fire, as it were.

Now, understand I’m not saying that Beth won't use fire to…you know…escape places. I totally think she will. But thus far, we've seen Daryl equated with fire far more than her.

Let's talk examples of why Beth = water.

We saw water bottles around her in Still.

All the water/boat/Oceanside symbols we've equated with her. I don’t want to list them all. There’s been like a billion. Each time I've seen or pointed one out, I've simply thought it was a foreshadow of Oceanside. And I'm sure they all are. But it's deeper than that. Her SYMBOL is actually water, which is why Oceanside happens to be so fitting.

And it also works REALLY well with Beth and Daryl because they complement each other so well. Beth's water can douse his fire and make him more civil. (Like when he wanted to cover Len’s body with a tarp, for example.) Daryl's fire (him teaching her to survive and his determination to keep people alive, like Judith in S3) stokes her determination to survive.

It's all about balance. Beth is the water that balances Daryl. Without her, he could be consumed (*Consumed*) by his flames. We see him going off the rails without her. Such as when he decided to get revenge for Denise in 6b, which just led to more trouble and heartache. Glenn, Michonne and Rosita couldn't talk him out of that. Beth would have been able to, which is tragic in itself.

Norman has said that Daryl will go rogue in S8. We don't know what that means exactly, but it doesn't sound good. I think Daryl will be in the darkest place we've ever seen in him in S8, close to being consumed by his flames. Which will also mean that Carol's line to him in Consumed about how "everything now just consumes you," was a foreshadow for Daryl's future arc, after losing Beth.

So once @wdway and I started talking about this, we both totally geeked out and couldn't stop coming up with examples. I mean, once you realize this, the evidence just starts coming out of your ears. Check it out:

Christian symbolism has its roots in water. There's baptism, which is symbolic of death and resurrection by water. Several of Christ's miracles included water, such as turning water into wine (*coughs moonshine*), walking on the ocean, and calming the stormy sea.

With that last one, I can't help but think of this from S4:

In this scene, Hershel holds up a mug that says, "Java saves," which is also a (funny) Jesus reference.

@wdway also pointed out that after this, Hershel goes out into the woods to gather berries to make tea for those sick with the virus. Granted, he makes tea, not wine, but still. Berries and grapes are used to make wine. And Beth gathered grapes in Inmates. I've always wondered about the grapes because we really don't see them again. They're not a recurring symbol like strawberries for Beth, or pomegranates for Carol. We just saw them the one time. But grapes were used to make wine, so you can see how that might tie in. A couple episodes after gathering grapes, she and Daryl were drinking moonshine.

(And btw, the scene where Hershel gathers the buries includes a female walker with her leg caught in a bear trap. Just saying.)

We also talked about how this relates to the title of Still. Most people think Still is so named because of the moonshine still, and they're right. But it's more than that. There are three possible uses of the word "still." 

It can be a noun, as in, the moonshine still. 

It can mean, "continuing." As in, "we're still here." And even though neither Beth or Daryl say that in Still, it's a very heavy theme afterwards. Carol says it to Daryl. Beth says it to Carol (a variation) at Grady. Carol says a variation of it to Mary at Terminus. And Michonne has said it to Rick several times in S7. 

The final definition of still is the opposite of motion. In other words, calm, or peace. I know this doesn't sound like it has anything to with water, but we were talking about Christ calming the sea. ("Peace, be still.") And I sincerely believe part of the reason for that title is that Beth brought Daryl peace. In a lifetime of fire, she calmed his flames.

And, now that I'm thinking about it… This is kinda twisted, but Creepy Wolf Dude said, "be still," to his victims before killing them. It always jumped out at me because of the title of 4x12. Leave it to TWD to give a Christian reference to a murderous villain, but they're still using biblical references. So the wolves are using Christian dialogue that has to do with water. And Beth's symbol = water. See why I think Beth and the wolves are still a thing?

In the show, we see fire extinguishers around Beth in Still especially. Apparently we also see a lot of hydrants around Daryl. (Not something I've ever paid attention to, but if others have seen them, it's definitely a thing.) To see the water around Daryl suggests Beth is always with him.

Then there's the fire truck. I've always known the fire truck was a purposeful symbol. I mean, that's a very conscious choice for the writers. I always figured it was because it's red, and I've related the water in it to Oceanside before. But what do you know? It's more than that. Fire trucks are specifically called to put out fires, aren't they?

It's also interesting that the fire truck ties Maggie, Rosita, and especially EUGENE, who's now at the Sanctuary, to Beth's story. (Remember, it disappeared along with Beth after Coda.)

Let's see, what else? Oh, we talked about the miracles of the bread and fishes, which happened by the sea. Christ blessed the fish and fed the multitude with very little. Tara ate fish by the Ocean.

Some other examples of Bethyl = Fire and Water.

I especially love this in light of Daryl starting the lake on fire at Alexandria. It was fire and water working together to defeat walkers and save TF and their home.

@wdway even points to the trailer for S8. We see a lot of fire and explosions around Daryl in the trailer. And what does he do before starting those fires? Drinks water. Kinda like he needs a little bit of Beth/water protection before he blows shit up.

And this is interesting because of discussion I had after the trailer came out. I can't remember who it was with (probably someone in my FB group) but it was suggested that maybe he's not drinking water. It kind of looks like a flask, so they wondered if he was drinking moonshine.

Even back then, I didn't think that was likely. We saw both Beth and Daryl refuse alcohol from other people when they were apart. I think it's kind of a theme that they only drink together. 

So symbolically, I doubt he'd be drinking moonshine here. Plus, Daryl is really responsible about his drinking, as we saw in Still. ("Someone's gotta stand watch.") So I doubt he'd get drunk before getting on a motorcycle and having aim at stuff with a gun to start fires.

But it's just kind of interesting because obviously things are seeing Beth symbols in the trailer.

Another thing that's super interesting in light of this is Arsonist's Lullaby. I love that song. It's so haunting! And it's interesting because when it's played in 6b, we don't see much of Daryl. It focuses on Morgan, Michonne, and Rick. But we do also see Tara and Heath, which is also interesting.

Anyway, the song says things like, "All you have is your fire." And "Don't you ever tame your demons, but always keep them on a leash." It also talks about the flames of childhood. It personifies Daryl more than just about anyone. Beth helps him keep his demons on a leash. Without her, they kinda run wild.

I could probably go on for hours, but I won't. The last thing I want to mention is Them. Pivotal Beth episode, when the music box woke up, yeah?

Notice how that whole episode was all about TF not having water. We even saw a dry river bed, and Abraham drinking booze rather than water. No water = no Beth. Then, when the storm came (also felling trees, btw), the music box woke up.

@wdway asked me about Aaron. He also brought TF water. The thing is, he's a big proxy for Beth in 5b. He talks about there being "good people," he deals with Daryl's surliness, where others won't. He spends a lot of time one on one with Daryl in the woods. He's the friend Daryl needed after losing Beth. And he brings TF water.

Okay, I'm gonna stop now. I know this is very sprawling. I actually do have more to say, but I’m going to give one other thing we talked about its own post. This is long enough as it is.

As I said, me and @wdway kind went wild with it. We couldn’t help ourselves. Not sorry, tho. ;D

[twdmusicboxmystery]

2017 Re-Watch: 7x10 - New Best Friends

Good morning and welcome to the 7x10 Re-Watch. Re-watching New Best Friends, I actually noticed quite a few things I hadn't noticed before. Most of that is because we know more after the season than we did at the beginning.

In the opening sequence, we have a lot of interesting symbols. We have Diane, the archer. I discussed the symbolism around her HERE. I was struck this time by how much emphasis they put on the line about her sister. She says her sister used to have a dress like the one walker wears. Then it's reiterated again at the end of the scene. It doesn't affect the plot at all, so it's kind of random. Which tells me it's symbolic. Also, the walker is very Beth-ish and there are a lot of symbols in this exchange that are very TD-ish so I think that is purposeful.

Jared has a line about things working like "clockwork," so a time reference. Probably the biggest thing I noticed in this sequence is that, to get the supplies for the saviors, Jerry opens a blue, hatchback car. Not only did that remind me of Beth in the trunk, but if you look inside, the containers the supplies are in are black and have enormous Xs on them. (X Theory)

We see watermelons, which is different than the melons in Bury Me Here a few episodes later. (I think those ones are honeydew melons.) Still, both episodes have melons and the ones in Bury Me Here definitely have some Beth symbolism to them.

Gavin also says, "8, 9, 10." Obviously, the 8 strikes me as S8. We have seen a few 9s--not many--around Beth and quite a few 10s. I feel like this new arc that they're starting in S8 will stretch to S10.

We also see two different people--both Morgan and Father Gabriel--wearing white shirts in this episode. They go through some changes here so that's pretty in-line with the White Shirt Theory.

Daryl also gets a new crossbow in this episode. It's the third one he's used throughout the series and that feels significant. We've all felt that he would get his crossbow back eventually from Dwight, and maybe he will, but it could also be that he'll just have this one now and that may be significant to, especially as its weapon. Beth = TF's weapon, we think and Beth = rule of 3s. Now Daryl has acquired his third bow. Just saying.

Then there's the sequence where Daryl and Richard plan to ambush the saviors on the road. I talked extensively HERE about the sheriff-type painting on the side of the truck. And how I think that's indicative of the new sheriff that's coming to fight saviors. Looking at the overall sequence, I was even more struck by what we see here.

First of all, as they're walking toward the truck, there's a sign with an arrow that says cemetery. (Think Beth and Daryl in the cemetery in Alone, as if saying the cemetery theme is that way.) 

Then we also see a red car off to one side of the truck (Red Car Parallels) and on the other side of the trailer is a mail truck (Communication Theme). All of which are symbols we've seen a lot. (The stagecoach in the western mural could also indicate the Communication theme, as that's how mail was transported in the Old West.)

During Richard and Daryl's argument Richard says of Carol. "She's tough. Maybe she'll live." Now I get that he's talking about Carol, but the only character that's ever been described as tough, especially by Daryl is Beth. So this is all symbolic. Also we have the whole thing where Daryl's yelling at Richard, "Say her damn name!" That's very symbolic of the fact that nobody has said Beth's name since episode 5x10.

There's a strong foreshadow of Richard's death here. He says, "I'd die for the kingdom."  Daryl replies, "Then why don't you?" And again, it's only important because life and death foreshadows are definitely a thing so if Beth said, "I made it. I am strong. I'm getting out," that will happen.

Meanwhile, Rick tries to convince Jadis and the Scavengers to join them against Negan. So we have the whole sequence where Rick fights Winslow. The camera focuses on a rooster and the cat Rick takes for Michonne. The rooster is a biblical symbol and we see the sun coming up behind it. Cats represent resurrection, btw.

At one point, Jadis says, "We own your lives. You want to buy them back?" It struck me as being a very Grady or Negan-like thing to say. It's about what you owe in a points system. Another parallel to Grady and Negan. 

Rick says, "It's okay." One of the "it's okay/it's not okay" theme. The thing is, when Rick says it's okay, it really is. He survives and gets Jadis to agree to the deal. Notice when Beth said it's not okay, it really wasn't. This is a dialogue foreshadowing they use a lot.

Jadis had some other dialogue I found suspicious too. She talked about how the Scavengers have been there from the very beginning. All together. Then she said, "Time's passed, things are changing again." She doesn't explain what she means by that. How are things changing for her now? Between that and who Winslow actually (another thing she refused to answer) there's a lot of mystery surrounding this whole sequence.

I'm thinking this will come up again in S9. Rick also asks what she planned to do with Gabriel. She didn't answer, but I'm sure it has something to do with her collecting people. (She asked Negan for 12 people at the end of 7x16.) Obviously we'll have to learn what that's about eventually.

When Rick climbs up the trash pile after defeating Winslow, you can see a map under his hand, which is kind of interesting. Meanwhile, he sustains a Christlike injury when his hand gets impaled by one of Winslow's spikes. 

And his watch says 3:00. That would technically indicate S3 and we've never been able to figure out exactly what that means, but I'm wondering now if it's just another rule of 3s thing. If it indicates that 3 seasons later, the Christ figure will appear, and the map represents, you know, everything to do with Beth (greenroute, route to DC, the map Cindy looks at in 7x06) it all feels very symbolic to me. And of course 3 seasons from when she disappeared would be S8.

We also have more of the "Say yes" theme in this episode. Two episodes later, that will be the title, so it's obviously an important theme. I honestly think, based on what we've seen, that it represents one of the characters agreeing to something, but they don't follow through or don't get exactly what they bargained for.

With Eugene and Rosita, she said he agreed to make her a bullet and he agreed that he'd said yes, but upon second thought, he decided maybe it wasn't worth it. With Rick and Janice, she agreed to help them fight but ends up reneging on it, as Eugene did. When Rick says yes to the deal, he doesn't get what he bargained for because Jadis ends up switching sides. I think you could also argue that with Michonne and Rick. They more or less say they're both in it for the long haul (symbolic marriage) but when Rick almost dies, they realize that if one of them dies soon, the other will have to keep going, and that's not entirely what they signed up for.

We have Daryl and Carol's mother/son theme. I won't go into that too much bc I've already analyzed it to death. Check it out HERE. Carol's piggyback book is super-important. Still not entirely sure what symbolism they're going for though.

Certain shippers will say that because we saw the piggyback and then Daryl at the door, it means romance. But remember the person he actually gave the piggyback to was Beth. They're the only two we've ever seen do a piggyback like that. I mean, for heaven’s sake, C@rol is reading a damn romance novel with a piggyback happening on the cover! It doesn’t get much clearer than that for callbacks. Even if they're saying that this means romance between Daryl and Carol, that's as good as admitting there was romance between Daryl and Beth.

I actually think it's more likely that one of two things is going on here:

1) It shows Beth is coming back soon and this is Daryl and Carol saying goodbye so that they can both have separate love interests.

2) Or, the piggyback may be to symbolize Carol's relationship with Ezekiel. He came to the door right before she picked up the piggyback book. Kind of funny that tptb put the piggyback book in between Daryl and Ezekiel's visits, making it less-than-clear. I think they're being sneaky.

(More Details on the romance novel HERE.)

I talked about the symbolism of Father Gabriel and how he's a proxy for Beth HERE.

Later on, Daryl lies to Carol about Abraham and Glenn's deaths. And let's face it, no long-term relationship was ever built on lies.

It even occurred to me that Daryl eats the stew with a spoon. Now, I'm sure Carol did too. Everyone eats stew with a spoon. But in the scene, we ONLY see Daryl eating with the spoon. Symbolically, that's kind of interesting, especially if the spoon represents Beth.

After he and Carol hug and say goodbye, he walks under a lattice that looks like a whole bunch of Xs. Just saying.

Then there's Daryl and Shiva near the end of the episode. (Awww.) Two major things to point out in the scene:

1) Daryl says to Morgan, "What you're holding onto is already gone." That's sad. It shows that Daryl's in a very dark place. I think a lot of people have the misconception that now that he's out of the Sanctuary and that he and Maggie kind of made up, he's in a really good, positive place now. And he does leave the Kingdom to go fight, and gears up for war with Rick. It SEEMS like he's being very forward thinking. Where the war is concerned, maybe he is, but he could practically be saying this about Beth. "What you're holding onto is already gone." He sees the things he did to try to honor her, such as reaching out to Dwight and Sherry, as foolish. What he was holding onto was already gone, and he sees it as naïve that he tried to find good people. He said as much in 6x10 when he told Rick that maybe Rick had been right all along and they shouldn't look for people. So, despite what it looks like on the surface, this shows Daryl is in a very dark place as S7 closes.

2) Daryl also tells Morgan, "You don't know should about me." That was Noah's line rather than Beth's, but he said it at Grady. Yet another parallel between Beth and Daryl's imprisonment arcs.

I think that's all I have for this episode. Any other thoughts?

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Beth’s Blindness (Possibility)

I’ve wanted to do a master post on this symbolism for a long time, now.

Let me start by saying that, while I do talk about her blindness, I’m not even entirely sure what this points to. At least, it may not be literal blindness. I think there are three distinct possibilities here.

1. Her actually, physically, being blind.

2. Partial blindness. Like night blindness or not having full sight, but not being completely blind either.

3. It’s symbolic of something else. Her being blind to some circumstance or not “seeing” something important. In that case, it may even tie into memory issues, but there’s just no way to tell yet.

So this is just going to list all the evidence we have for this symbolism. I’m sure once we see the fulfillment of it, it will be a giant lightbulb moment for us all. Feel free to send me more instances if you see any I’ve missed, and I’ll add them as I find more throughout my re-watch.

Most instances have to do with walkers with missing or messed up eyes. That will be what most of these instances are.

4x06/07: Live Bait/Dead Weight

The Governor episodes. He’s missing an eye. And yes, I know that’s part of his character arc that reaches back to Michonne stabbing it out in S3, as well as the comic books, but they might possibly be paralleling Beth to him in some way. After all, 4x06 has one of the most compelling Grady foreshadows, imho.

4x09: Claimed

After Rick’s fight with the Gov, his eye is all kinds of messed up. Lots of other parallels between him and Beth in this episode. (X)

4x13: Still

When Beth leaves Daryl in camp the first time, I notice she hears him come up behind her, rather than seeing him.

Walker outside the golf club with missing eye.

At moonshine shack: Beth: “My dad always said bad moonshine could make you blind.” Daryl: Ain’t nothing worth seeing out there anymore anyway.“

On porch of moonshine shack: Daryl: "You’re not a happy drunk at all.” Beth: “I’m happy, I’m just not blind.”

4x16: A

This picture by Carl in the flashback. I always thought it foreshadowed Carl’s missing eye. It’s also been pointed out as a pirate symbol (perhaps Oceanside). But Beth is also in this flashback and Rick stops what he’s doing and stars at her more than once in the flashback. So…yeah.

5x01: No Sanctuary

The Andrea walker is definitely missing an eye.

Gareth threatens Bob’s eye. It’s an odd thing because neither Beth nor anyone else in this scene ever loses an eye. But Bob is a major proxy for Beth.

Also Morgan wears a mask with built in eye shades:

5x02: Strangers

The lady in FG’s photo and at the food bank wore glasses, which drew the eye especially in the food bank.

5x04: Slabtown

When Beth and Noah attempt to escape, she shoots walkers in complete darkness. She’s the only character on the show to ever do that.

5x08: Coda

Morgan wears sunglasses when we first see him. He takes them off when he leans over the blond walkerin the school yard.

5x15: Try

Daryl wears sunglasses briefly before leaving them with the bike. This ist he same scene where we see the red flannel on his knee.

Later he uses binoculars to see Red Poncho Guy. (Binoculars are used to see farther or more than what the naked eye can, which could suggest vision problems.)

6x02: JSS

Tara and Eugene meet Denise and Tara talks about having headaches from her HEAD INJURY.

6x05: Now

Jessie stabs Betsy in the eye. And Betsy, as a woman whose name starts with B and who to cuts her wrists, is a major Beth proxy. 

6x13: The Same Boat

Paula uses binoculars.

6x14: Twice as Far.

Lots of glasses at the apothecary. (And actually we could even say that Denise was a HUGE proxy for Beth, maybe the biggest we’ve had thus far, and she wore glasses.)

Denise (major proxy for Beth) is shot in the eye.

7x06: Swear:

Tara finds Heath’s glasses in the road.

Sunglasses on the shop window. (After passing a wrecked bus and hiding in a boat, btw.)

Sunglasses in the shop + a snorkeling mask.

Wears glasses back to Alexandria.

7x08: Hearts Still Beating

Boots uses binoculars.

Also binoculars in Dwight’s room next to Daryl.

7x11: Hostiles and Calamities

Sherry’s Letter to Dwight talks about him not being able to remember. (I know that’s more memory than sight, but they may be related.)

7x16: The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

Daryl threatening Dwight’s eye, much like Gareth and Bob.

Daryl shields his eyes from the sun.

That’s all I have so far, though I know there’s more. I’ll add as I go.

I also think it’s important to note that on an episode of TTD this last season, Kirkman was asked about eyes. After all, it was his original writing that helped the Gov lose his eye, along with Carl’s and Glenn’s popping out when he died. So they asked why Kirkman seemed to be obsessed with eye injuries. He didn’t have a specific reason other than saying that eyes are the windows to the soul and he just finds it a really interesting injury to give people.

Now, I know Beth is NOT Kirkman’s character and we’re usually reluctant to relate anything he says to her. I’m actually of that school of thought too. But the point is that it’s a big theme in the story in general, for many characters, so some kind of eye injury or using this symbolism for Beth would just make all kinds of sense in the context of the show and characters at large. That’s all.

Would love to hear everyone’s thoughts! ;D