baran121969

[kinardsboy]

This has been sitting on my mind a lot lately but it seems extra relevant now with the way Tommy and by extension Lou has been criticized for acting “too gay” in ep 5. And while yes, I will agree Tommy acted slightly different in ep 5, it has absolutely everything to do with Lou’s incredible acting choices to play Tommy differently when he is around people he deems as “safe” which is much better explained in this amazing post here <-

All these complains are doing is just yet again exposing buddies as homophobes who are, at the end of the day. Uncomfortable with real queerness being shown infront of them. Of course we already knew this with how they react to Buck and Tommy kissing and god forbid flirting especially if it has sexual implications like the daddy kink scene.

They can’t possibly fathom their precious uwu baby Buck would be sexual with another man so they spin and twist it however they can to make it out to be, “NO! You see! Tommy started the flirting! Tommy is just an insatiable horny gay man! He only wants sex! Like most of them do!”

Which is again spewing homophobic rhetoric, who wouldve guessed thats what they immediately turn to?

I now have something probably controversial to say but oh well, im going to say it anyway.

A good many of these shippers would be deeply uncomfortable with Buddie actually becoming canon, because they would be nothing like their fanfic. They don’t want to see two men in a relationship, they want to see Eddie in a relationship with the character they project themselves onto.

There are so many examples of this but perhaps the biggest being the way Buck is made out to be the “woman” in the relationship and especially how he is made to be the “mom”

Buck and Tommy’s relationship 1st does not have any children involved so there are no gendered roles to be assigned (even though if there was.. theyd just both be a dad), they are both beefy and the same height, which is what people usually use to decide “top” and “bottom” but again since there is little physical difference between them, they cannot do this, which only adds to their uncomfortableness.

Furthermore, I would go as far to say that Buddie shippers dont actually like Buck.

A while back a shipper posted this analysis of Buddie, that essentially reduces Buck to a dog. A pet. Only to be let out of the bedroom to cook and take care of Chris, otherwise he’s meant only for Eddie’s pleasure.

Which, disgusting. But the thing that stood out most to me was how Tommy was criticized for

letting Buck be himself. For accepting and loving him flaws and all. For not trying to change anything, or “train” the bad out of him

While Eddie was the “trainer” in that scenario, that had to train the bad out of Buck in order for him to be acceptable.

And thats the funny thing isnt it? Buddie shippers have to completely warp and destroy Buck’s character to make him fit their mold of perfect partner for Eddie. They make him out to be this helpless person who can’t even tell Tommy he doesnt want to be called Evan, that needs rescuing from Tommy, that is a “mother figure” to Chris, that his “dream role” would be live in chef and maid for the diaz family..

When none of that is Buck.

Buck is a smart, independent and strong man. He has worked tirelessly on himself to know who he is and what he wants, which right now? Is with Tommy.

Bringing it back to my main point, their complaints of Tommy being more gay and Bucktommy intimacy ultimately just boil down to homophobia plain and simple, seeing real queer representation and not representation that they can specifically twist and cater to themselves through fic, headcanons or gifs, makes them uncomfortable

(could this be why so many of them ignore shows with canon m/m ships for favor of shows with fanon ones that will never actually happen? So they can make these demands for representation then shit on it as soon as they get it because its not fanfic? Its not their fetish specifically catered to them? It actually represents real life queer men who they don’t actually like?)

[euphoricimagination]

Feels like home

A small something based on the new official illustration. A very loose Kenma x reader story

“So, have you heard about your third years?” Yachi asks you as you refill your team's water bottles outside of Nekoma’s gym, the four schools taking a break from practice.

With Nationals finishing last year came many things, not only a new winner and standards for the next Interhigh, but most importantly, the realization that a new school year was starting soon after so many tiring days. For Nekoma was not different, after losing to Karasuno and properly closing the Nationals chapter, you went back into your typical practices only to realize one thing: your third years weren't coming anymore.

Your boyfriend, Kenma, didn't seem to care much; not even for the last day of the third years in the club, when Kuroo announced that Yamamoto was going to be the new captain, he showed any different emotions, at most he only looked at his best friend annoyed when he tried to give him a hug. But you knew him better. Sure, while practicing he still was his lazy self, but the closer the days came to the final ceremony, the more you saw him getting anxious. A bit more clingier in public, much more when you were together in the safety of his home, barely even letting you go away from him so you can go to the bathroom.

On the night of their final ceremony he didn't even play games, holding you as if you were going to disappear as well. 

Soon after he started to become himself fully again, not only the extensive practices helped him, but unlike previous years, now he had you by his side to help him to get used to this new year.

And with a new year, comes more practice and more training camps.

“Yeah, Yaku-san went pro, Kai-san is studying to be an arborist and Kuro is studying some business thingy” you answer the now second year Yachi “You?”

“I mostly talk with Kiyoko-san, but I heard that…” you hear her explain what she knew about her old teammates, what they were doing now and how much they talked. It was weird considering that despite them not physically being here with you, your third years texted you just as much as ever.

After preparing everything you enter the gym again only to find Kenma alongside the previous first years from Karasuno. You went to sit beside him as he shows something to Kayegama on his phone

“....but i heard that Italy has the best teams overall, maybe you should aim for a team there” Kenma says to the younger boy as he takes your hand, leaning his head in your shoulder 

“I see, i see”

“You'll need to study English for that, Tobio-kun” you joke

“I've gotten better, Yn-san!”

“Have you, though? I heard from someone that you got a 32 in your last test”

“Hinata boke!” Kageyama goes to fight with Hinata as you chuckle alongside your boyfriend 

“Look at you too, looking up stats about volleyball to know which country is the best” you joke to Kenma

“I do like the sport, i just rather watch it” he scoffs, kissing your cheek quickly 

“Hello kiddos” you hear a familiar voice coming from the door, a spiky, messy, black hair and a smug smile on his lips “you two! Don't make out in front of the kids!”

“Please, shut up, they'll survive” you sigh as Kenma rolls his eyes

“Youngsters this days” Kuroo smirks as you two stand up to say hi to him, you going to hug him

“Aren't you supposed to be in university? What are you doing here?” Kenma asks 

“Yeah, I thought university students were supposed to be busy” Tsukishima joins Kenma “guess not everyone is busy, even in uni”

“You're hurting me, kids”

“Kuroo-san! How are you!” You heard Hinata starting to talk with Kuroo, distracting him with questions.

You feel a pair of arms in your waist as Kenma chuckles at Hinata, you put Kenma’s hair behind his ear as he smiles softly at you with tired eyes. You look at the boys in front of you, Hinata and Yamaguchi talking with Kuroo, Tsukishima and Kageyama talking with Kenma; the whole scene make you feel somehow cozy at how much their friendship has grown and how lucky you were to be part of it.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing Guide: Hero's Journey

using the 3-act structure

ACT I

ORDINARY WORLD

Your hero and their everyday life are established.

Sample Synopsis: Bilbo Baggins, a very well-to-do hobbit of Bag End, sits outside his front porch. He smokes a wooden pipe, as usual.

Your Synopsis:

CALL TO ADVENTURE

An event or problem forces your character out of their comfort zone.

Sample Synopsis: Gandalf arrives and tells him that he's looking for someone to share in an adventure that he's arranging.

Your Synopsis:

REFUSAL TO THE CALL

The hero shows reluctance to leave their everyday life behind.

Sample Synopsis: Bilbo turns down the overture but makes the mistake of inviting Gandalf for tea the next day — unwittingly putting himself on the path of the journey.

Your Synopsis:

MEETING THE MENTOR

Your protagonist meets a mentor who can help them face the challenges ahead.

Sample Synopsis: Gandalf comes to tea with a gang of dwarves. They sing an ancient song of the treasure in the Lonely Mountain, making Bilbo dream of adventure.

Your Synopsis:

— 33% through your story —

ACT II

CROSSING THE FIRST THRESHOLD

The hero fully commits to their journey into the Special World. There's no turning back.

Sample Synopsis: Bilbo packs his bags and leaves Hobbiton behind, crossing the threshold into the Special World.

Your Synopsis:

TEST, ALLIES, ENEMIES

As the protagonist enters the unfamiliar world, they encounter obstacles and enemies. New allies appear to help.

Sample Synopsis: Bilbo faces trolls, bloodthirsty spiders, unfriendly Wood Elves, and a Gollum — but he befriends elves from Rivendell and the bear-man, Beorn.

Your Synopsis:

APPROACH TO THE INMOST CAVE

The hero approaches the place where they'll encounter their biggest foe (but they don't enter it yet).

Sample Synopsis: The dwarves and Bilbo get closer to the Inmost Cave: the Lonely Mountain in which Torin's treasure lies.

Your Synopsis:

ORDEAL

Your character confronts their greatest fear and the biggest threat. This is where they become a true hero.

Sample Synopsis: Up goes Bilbo to face Smaug, the dragon who jealously guards the gold within the Lonely Mountain.

Your Synopsis:

REWARD (Seizing the Sword)

Your hero sees the light at the end of the tunnel, finding the tool (or belief) they need to finish their journey.

Sample Synopsis: Smaug dies and the dwarves gain control of the Lonely Mountain once more — plus all its treasure.

Your Synopsis:

— 75% through your story —

ACT III

THE ROAD BACK

The protagonist begins their journey home, although more dangers appear along the way.

Sample Synopsis: Bilbo gets caught up in the conflict between the dwarves and the Lake Men, who demand compensation for their aid in the fight against Smaug. Thorin refuses.

Your Synopsis:

RESURRECTION

Before getting their happy ending, your character faces a final test they must survive.

Sample Synopsis: The Battle of the Five Armies breaks out and Bilbo loses consciousness.

Your Synopsis:

RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR

The hero returns home changed for the better with an "elixir" — an insight or a literal prize.

Sample Synopsis: Bilbo returns home to Hobbiton with his share of the treasure and a lot of wisdom gained.

Your Synopsis:

Note:

Use this outline to define all 9 of your story's major plot points.

You can then use the 'Scene-by-Scene' guide below to plot out your entire story.

As you write, revise, and edit, return to this guide and update the structure to reflect your latest draft.

Scene-by-Scene Guide: Hero's Journey

Scene Number (1, 2...):

Act (I, II, III):

Step (Ordinary World, Call to Adventure...):

Location:

Date/Time:

Characters in Scene:

Synopsis (What action takes place in the scene?):

Changes (How are the characters or situation now different):

Source ⚜ More: Worksheets & Templates ⚜ Story Plot ⚜ The 3-Act Structure Plot ⚜ Character ⚜ Worldbuilding ⚜ Tips & Advice ⚜ A Guide: 3-Act Structure

[nqueso-emergency]

I think there is something that although has been previously discussed, most people ignore.

Forgive me if I cannot word this perfectly, but I’m running on very little sleep.

A lot of the times, for shows and characters to work, it’s all about intention and the truth behind it. Let me put a quick example:

-We see Bobby trying to better himself. Especially after getting help in Season 1. This is his intention. Throughout the series we’ve seen the truth behind it, hence why we’ve been able to latch onto him and to consider him one of the most beloved characters of the universe. We see his intentions, we see him trying, and even when he’s not fully successful, the truth behind it all does not change.

Now. Let’s just move to what we were presented with Bucktommy:

-Ever since they went canon, BuckTommy has been different compared to past Buck’s LI. They had their big moment at the hospital, sure, but they also had a pivotal moment at the café. Where Buck expresses his intentions towards Tommy. And you can see the truth behind those as well.

-The scene in the graveyard, to me, adds to this. Not directly from Buck’s words, but what the show is telling us. During the whole episode, but especially during this scene. They give us a beautiful, significant moment between Buck and Tommy. The way Buck looks at Tommy when he says the phrase on people making life worth living - that is a show of intention. And the intention behind it is to show us Tommy is really important to Buck. That the relationship is very important, because here they are, having a big moment in ways we have not seen that much outside of main couples (if at all).

So. Intentions and truth.

Let’s say BuckTommy breaks up next ep. What does that do (talking for the GA)? It shows the intention they had seen with Bucktommy all along was not truthful. That investing or liking the couple was a bit for nothing, because in the end it was done.

(small side note to say - with Taylor the intention and truth was there from the start of 5b. Right away it was glaringly obvious the relationship was doomed. So I personally don’t see the comparisons with this relationship).

Lastly - what would this mean moving forward? Because the GA has seen that the intentions were not truthful, and that what they were shown on screen didn’t matter. In my honest opinion (but feel more than free to disagree!), they would become distrusting. And, whenever Buck had another relationship, they would either take a long time to see it as something worth caring about, or they would fall into the mindset of: well they’re gonna break up soon anyway.

the network wants their audience to trust them, because if they become untrustworthy, they’re doomed.

All of this!!

[kimberleyjean]

Good Omens S1 Parallels - 1/?

Saturday Morning Funtime is a particularly interesting episode for me, because it suggests something about the structure of parallels Season One. Also, it's easier to start with a single episode than trying to cover the whole show at once. I'm going to show you six different scenes from Saturday Morning Funtime and how they link together.

Let's start with the pun pointed out by Danny Motta in his video (link here to relevant timestamp if you haven't seen it). Danny made the link between this scene near the start of E4, where Aziraphale gets exercise:

And this scene at the end, where Aziraphale was exorcised (according to Shadwell, at least):

Cool, seems like a funny pun. But there's no way to know it was intentional right? Well, I think I can argue it was. Let's look at another scene.

We have this scene where Hastur destroys 3 Erics on the plains of Megiddo. Since each demon has a corresponding animal, I'm going to go ahead and place bets on the Eric's being rabbits, and Hastur destroys 2/3 of them.

And then later we have this scene where Hastur again destroys 2/3 rabbits, but this time they're cartoon bunnies - the first one he beheads like a costume, the second he rips out it's throat.

Ok, but again, why am I linking these two scenes? No deep character insights, or thematic elements are being displayed here... Except that's a key reason I'm pointing them out - they're seemingly pretty pointless, so why bother to make them? Well, maybe the sum is bigger than the parts. One more example and then I'll show you how this comes together.

Here's a scene which I think is pretty good foreshadowing of something that will happen later in the episode - Hastur and Ligur talking about the dripping pipes down in Hell. Hastur has a little bucket he's collecting water in, which he uses in a toast:

And later, we have this particularly gruesome scene of Ligur becoming toast at the hands of a bucket full of (holy)water:

Ok, so six scenes, three sets of parallels... now's where the magic happens... I take E4 as a whole... loop it over on itself like a piece of trick rope from Goldstein's magic shop and....

Tada! Here's the episode laid out in 2 minute increments.

Some pretty interesting places to have parallels, no? That two minute block at the start is a lead in before the opening credits, so the Exercise and Exorcism scenes are coming directly before and directly after the open and close sequence (shown above in blue).

I'd be lying if I said it didn't remind me of the overall chiastic structure that some people have worked on, such as this one by @drconstellation, just on a smaller scale.

It's also interesting to note that each of these parallel pairs relates to someone getting discorporated - Eric, Ligur and then Aziraphale.

What's the point?

So, I promised that I would share a little on why this might be important. In my opinion? It appears like there is some detailed structure to Good Omens, at least in S1.

It should also be noted that these scenes were added only for the show in order to produce this effect - Aziraphale exercising with Gabriel, Hastur and Ligur talking about the pipes, the three cartoon rabbits in the theatre - they were all newly created for the show.

Why go to the bother of creating these little parallel moments at corresponding points along a mirrored structure? Especially when these don't necessarily have ramifications for characters or plot? Is it just good story telling or is it something more? These are all questions worth asking in my opinion. I think it relates to how this show treats words and language in a very Pratchetty fashion. The whole show is a dedication to Terry, after all.

Of course, if things were so simple, I think we would have figured it all out long ago. Parallels, puns, wordplay... they're all quite slippery things. There are things I would consider to be parallels which don't line up with this same structure. For example, the scene from earlier with Gabriel and Aziraphale exercising? The "lose the gut" gut-punch foreshadows this other gut punch scene in E4 too:

Despite examples to the contrary, the presence of parallels and wordplay that do line up along a mirrored structure makes me want to explore this further. If you're also interested in this and want to collaborate, please let me know.

This will be a continuing series, as and when time allows, because parallels seem to be absolutely everywhere. Future posts will look at parallels at different levels (within scenes, across episodes, and across seasons).

Let me know if you spot any others - I'd love to hear about them. They might be hidden in the visuals, wordplay, puns and more...

----------------------

With thanks to all the detectives for keeping me clue hunting @embracing-the-ineffable, @theastrophysicistnextdoor, @noneorother, @somehow-a-human, @komorezuki, @maufungi, @lookingatacupoftea, @havemyheartaziraphale, @251-dmr, @dunkthebiscuit, and @ghstptats <3

[iapetusneume]

So, a friend was venting about this in the Discord Server, and the result was an interesting discussion about disability in 40k. And I don't know how much it might have been originally purposeful, but I do know that later authors have definitely explored how characters interact with the world and with disability.

To ignore disability in 40k is to miss a huge aspect of the setting and it's characters.

In the grimdarkness of the future, you'll probably lose a body part.

There is a post somewhere on Tumblr that talks about how, if you need glasses/contacts/surgery to see properly, you have a disability. And there were a lot of people who were upset by this, saying that it was so common, how could it be a disability? But they're right - glasses or contacts are disability aids. A simple one to use, sure, but it's still an aid.

I bring this up because in our current day and age, needing glasses/contacts is not considered unusual. You don't see someone with glasses at the grocery store and be like "omg what is even going on."

And I feel like this attitude is to any sort of prosthetic/augment in 40k. There's definitely a discussion to be had about the quality of the prosthetic/augment, and how that can show class differences (which is very much a common theme in 40k), but their existence and seeing people with them is not unusual.

There are also many parts of the narrative that does deal with the issues that arise from this. Maintenance, malfunctioning, replacement, sometimes phantom pain. There are a few people whose bodies reject the prosthetic/augment, and so their disability becomes more severe.

It is also brought up that, in more idyllic sci-fi, this is less visible. There can be many reasons for that. I think it was part budgeting reasons that in The Empire Strikes Back Luke's hand looks so surprisingly like skin. I'm sure part of that inspiration came from the desire to not want to have to deal with an extra costume issue for the future.

I wonder how often in live-action sci-fi that this was done. Or throwing a glove on a hand like Luke does in Return of the Jedi to hide that his fake skin on his hand was damaged.

But Warhammer started out with written descriptions and drawn illustrations, which gave a huge amount of freedom to imagining how the world would look. They were only limited by a writer's ability to describe a scene, or an artist's ability to draw it. There wasn't the restrictions of what practical effects could do for live action, or budgeting, or Actual Physics. Prosthetics/augments could be wild and crazy and common.

Time has gone on. We now have animated episodes and so many video games, and characters having prosthetics/augments are a part of the setting. At this point, it would honestly feel weird to look at a group of people (and this includes space marines out of armor) and not see at least a few people who have something.

It's as common to us as wearing glasses, and it sure as hell ain't virtue signalling.

[tiredandoptimistic]

No but listen. Abed sees Britta as "Britta Bot" while everyone else describes him as cold and robotic. People assume that his problem is being distant and lacking empathy, but that's Britta! We see it every time that Abed has a breakdown, she stops treating him as an individual and instead defaults to what she thinks is the appropriate response. It's all therapy talk with no understanding of who Abed is as a person or what would actually help him, because as soon as he starts displaying symptoms he stops being her friend and becomes a person she must help by picking the correct responses out of her psych textbook.

I am not saying this out of hate for Britta! I love Britta! I just think it's really interesting that one of the things she struggles with most throughout the series is her inability to be empathetic, and no one sees it but Abed. Her focus on political correctness and activism seems emotional, but it's more often about her wanting to do The Right Thing (which she sees as a monolith) than her actually feeling invested in helping individual people.

What's especially interesting is that Abed characterizes her weakness as "no faith in herself or friends," which implies that one reason she's so focused on doing the correct thing is that she doesn't trust her genuine responses to help anybody. She's afraid of making things worse, so she goes with what she's been told she should do in high stakes situations (like her friend hallucinating stop motion dolls or lava floors). In season one especially she always baby-talks to Abed, because her brother works with autistic kids so that's how she thinks you talk to autistic people. She's trying so hard to be accommodating, but it's from a perspective of "I know The Correct Way To Talk To Autistic People" rather than "let me learn how to best connect with this person." It could be called robotic, following her memorized paths for interactions even when they're clearly hurting people she cares about.

Then there's Abed, who does have some troubles with empathy which often show up when he manipulates people around him in order to achieve his goals, (ex: "Introduction to Film," "Contemporary American Poultry," "Anthropology 101"), and is always seen as cold and distant, safely removed from thr situation. He leans into that intentionally, acting as though he's "not in this scene" or giving logical trope-based reasons to avoid facing his fears (like when Troy wants to move in with him and Abed calls it "jumping the shark"), but deep down he's incredibly emotional. He's the one who willingly risks his life in "Epidemiology," he and Troy give up their bedroom for Annie, he lets his friends matchmake for him because he knows it's important to them.

Even when he is being all supposedly logical, it's often because he doesn't want to acknowledge his own feelings and feels safer acting as though sitcom tropes are the only thing making him act that way. In the argument about living together, Troy was right that they could just not put a line of tape down their floor, Abed knows that real life is different from TV and doesn't always escalate to the most dramatic possible conflict, but he doesn't want to say that he's afraid of Troy getting sick of him so it's easier to use shark jumping as an excuse.

They're such interesting foils; Britta who flaunts how much she cares to conceal how insecure she is about not caring, and Abed who puts up his lack of investment as a shield to protect him from how deep his emotions run. I don't think it's accurate to describe either of them as robots, but that metaphor really does ping off both of their insecurities about not performing humanity correctly. They both just want to do the right thing and help people, even if they get it wrong sometimes.

[sapphoshands]

i loved this show so violently and i'm having a lot of feelings right now so: some unformed thoughts under the cut

okay, i adore the road being billy's creation, and BOY that gives agatha's line 'are you sure' to billy a whole lot of weight. she really did know from the beginning! smartest witch in the room - she even fooled rio!

i continue to love literally everything about agatha harkness, not least that three seconds after giving birth she's already using her beloved child to up her con game

kathryn hahn broke my heart SEVERAL times throughout these two eps. just oh my god.

i do think agatha will make an EXCEPTIONAL ghost, popping up in the most awkward of places at the worst of times

lots and lots of great bits. lots. i'm not going to enumerate them but there really were some spectacular moments.

okay one more: jen and agatha. god. the emotions both of those women went through.

do not love:

why didn't we get more setup of agatha and rio's backstory? why has rio been chasing agatha?

they literally had, what, sixty years together before nicky? that's it? like i get that it was a bad breakup but that bad?? and agatha hasn't seen rio since 1756? like!

honestly feel pretty duped that it did end up being ALL to set up billy. like i really did think they were doing something different there. i really did.

i loved a surprising amount about the nicky story (as someone who generally does not like stories about kids and motherhood) but it did feel a little cheap how quickly agatha gave up after just hearing his name

also i still think that ending did not thematically align with the rest of the show, which went so hard on the strength of the coven and the divine fucking feminine, you know? not the young white dude!

that beautiful scene with the dandelion seed, agatha's insistence it will be a longgggggg time before she dies, and then sudden pivot. like. i would like to read the marvel notes.

why did killing agatha balance anything to do with billy and tommy? especially if agatha has become a ghost?

how did rio feel about killing agatha? why didn't we get anything on that?

agatha says it wasn't billy who broke her out of the spell but we don't get anything on that?

also i just. i just don't love ghost agatha. i know i went all terry castle on it already but there really is something about the possibilities forestalled there. i have already seen a few interesting posts about how that could still play out with her getting reincarnated in the future but ugh, why? why as the end of her own show did we get her demotion to intangible sidekick?

i also got baited so hard. convinced myself she wasn't dead when billy heard her at the end of ep 8. convinced myself billy was trying to reincarnate her (until i made out all his latin). what the hell.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

What I can’t figure out with this jealousy piece is how this fits into the relationship breakup (because that is the only place that is going). We’ve now seen plenty of examples of him being on the outside with the group chat and standing off to the side at the grave (a visual difference between Buck and Eddie at Marie’s grave). But the thing I’m stuck on is T seems to want to be part of this family Buck has created. So how does it go from him wanting to be included to the breakup (this is not a spiral that it won’t happen but the frustration at missing that final clue to this puzzle)

Hey Nonnie

So my thinking on the jealousy aspect is that it leads to Tommy revealing a part of his past which actually shows him for who he really is and that is what leads to the breakup (after buck us a spiral and talks to bobby Maddie and Josh) what exactly that looks like idk exactly, but I could maybe see buck and tommy in a club for a date night - buck gets flirted with or something and tommy gets jealous and possessive and things get revealed from there. Or something happens on a call/ a call is really interesting and buck is telling him about it and he ends up revealing whatever it is that is going to be revealed - because Tommy was in a similar situation maybe or he gets annoyed at buck for doing something to help save one of the 118 - or one of them saving buck and tommy saying something ridiculous like they never had his back when he was there etc etc (which we know isn’t true!)and that green eyed monster leads to him revealing something about his past that leads to the break up.

I don’t know how it will play out exactly, I just know that there is a reason we keep being shown tommy as being on the outside of things - not included - and also jealous of those things - so while I don’t think those aspects alone are enough to lead to a break up, I can very much see the cumulative effect being that the reveal the thing we’re waiting to be revealed!

The distance between them is widening - that graveyard scene made that pretty clear - even down to tommy having to jog to catch up with Buck - so I think we’ll keep getting those visual reminders of that space between them right up to the point of impact on the reveal!

I have also joked that tommy is trying. To become buck - so he can replace him at the 118 and get the family he had but never appreciated when he was there. There is also Bucks own jealousy in play a bit here as well - Buck wanting Eddie’s attention back on him - because that’s the other thing 805 showed us - Tommy and Eddie through bucks eyes again - and how buck is behaving towards the two of them, how he himself is a bit jealous - it’s a really interesting parallel to 704 - worth watching side by side if you can!

We just have to remember that the show is laying these things like the jealousy and outside-ness down in the text to provide a catalyst - not because they are the actual thing that will lead to the break up!

[jadehaven]

A summary of the thoughts as I slowly realized that #Elrondriel would indeed become a thing in the show:

(for context, ROP was my first introduction to LOTR, so this was my perspective as a viewer with no concept of the lore)

Season 1:

Who is this guy? Is he her friend? More? Oh she touched his face, maybe it’s like, unrequited? Am confused.

Is this how elves flirt? What’s the history here? Oh well, she’s leaving anyway.

*Enter Halbrand* HOT DIGGITY DAWG now THATS what I call a love interest 😏😏😏

*Eating up all the enemies to lovers tropes and swooning over Halbrand*

*Elrond and Galadriel scenes* Me: Nah get this nice guy OUTTA HERE where is HOT HALBRAND? (future me is aghast that I would overlook the literal loml Elrond, Gal and I are the same ig)

Halbrand: *Is Sauron* Me: What!?? Nooo! No no no no no this can’t be happening oh noooo

*Elrond saves Galadriel*

Me: Wait

*Forehead touch, tears, deep breaths*

Me: Waaaiiittt

*Gasps* Omg. Of course, he loves her!! They’re going to fall in love! It’s perfect contrast to the enemies to lovers story— a *slow burn, best friends, it’s always been you* kind of love? Right? RIGHT!? That makes so much sense! I’m 1000% calling it for Season 2.

*Sometime between season 1 and season 2, discovers the heartbreaking truth* LOL what?? She’s his WHAT??! 😭😭😭

*Still holding out hope, clutching my suspicions like they’re my grandmas pearls*

Season 2:

Holy sheet he’s mad. Ofc he’s mad. But he’s her best friend :c?? Pls don’t make me sad like this, you’re supposed to love each other!

“You were my friend!!” Mhm yknow they tend to use this word a lot

That’s… that’s a lot of hand holding there…

omg she put her hand on his CHEST OMGSJHDHFBF

“It was entirely of your choosing, the lost king blah blah” Ok but this is literally him saying he knows her type?

Hollldd up, I see what’s happening. Tension. There’s negative tension. I’ll bet if they stick to the trope, there’ll be a *moment* between them at the end that breaks the tension. There has to be.

*Galadriel gets caught by the Barrow-Wights* Wait for it babe, Elronds going to rescue her oh— yep, there he is. Saving her again. Because he’s the love interest.

“Promise you will put defeating Sauron over saving my life” Pfft hahaha miss Galady, our boy has it bad, there’s no way he’ll stay true to that promise. (For real though this sentence just showed us what the most important thing in the world is to him, it’s her y’all)

*Galadriel gets captured and brought out to the battle field* Ooooh yup. Look at his FACE when he sees her, the slow mo and everything wow. That’s his whole life right there. He can’t sacrifice her, he can’t do it.

Dang he’s gonna do it???

“Let me bid her farewell” Omg please kiss her goodbye haha but no they wouldn—

0/////o!!???

O/////O!!!!!!!

I CALLED IT I FKING CALLED IT ARE YOU KIDDING ME I AM SCREAMING

THIS IS THE MOMENT THAT BROKE THE TENSION.

Everyone online: iT wASNt RoManTIC

😐

Sigh. Of course it “wasn’t romantic”. THATS THE WHOLE POINT. That’s how this whole “forced to kiss” trope works. They don’t have feelings for each other yet, that they’re aware of anyway. It’s supposed to be an awakening. This is only the beginning.

*Continues to get gaslit by everyone and their mother including the actors and writers themselves*

Ok ok fine. Maybe I’m delusional about the whole thing. But every scene so far has been classic romantic arc set up. If they have a scene next episode where Elrond saves Galadriel again and maybe like, puts the ring on her finger all proposal style, then I’ll know. That would seal it for me.

*Episode 8*

*Speechless*

LITERALLY SPEECHLESS.

That’s it yall. If you didn’t pick up on that, then I’ll see you next season for all the slow burn tropes. I can see them already. LFG. #Elrondriel for life.

[bam-bi-buck]

As much as I would love for 9-1-1 to continue on and on, at some point the show will end (😭)

I wonder if we’ll see each one of the 118’s career trajectory before it ends

We know at some point Bobby will retire and we know that Hen is on track to become Captain

What about the others?

I do think Chim, Buck, & Eddie could end up staying at the 118 under Hen’s captaincy if they chose for her to remain at the 118 as Captain as they could do a storyline where’s she’s offered a captaincy somewhere else

If she were to remain at 118 as Captain after Bobby I do believe the others would be happy under her captaincy just as they are Bobby’s

That is one way 9-1-1 could end with Bobby’s retirement and Hen taking over (if Peter stays on the entire duration of 9-1-1)

However that isn’t the only way they could end the story

Chim has acted as Captain before but he did have a difficult time figuring out his captaincy style and dealt with two major tragedies regarding his crew - Shannon’s Death & Freddie targeting the 118

This could have impacted his overall view of captaincy and make it so he’d rather just stay in his current position, I believe when Bobby was choosing an interim captain in S6(?) Chim even said absolutely not or something to that effect

He could also be Hen’s lieutenant (Just realized, unlike in Lonestar we don’t see anything about Lieutenants - so I looked up the rankings, apparently LAFD doesn’t have them and have Firefighter ranks 1, 2, & 3 instead? Interesting… so never mind on that idea lol)

Anyways, he’s shown no problems working under Hen, but he has shown discontent at the idea of Hen not being his partner (when Hen was starting her journey to become a Doctor) so while he may have no problems working for interim Captain Hen, it might be hard for him to lose her as a partner completely

Would that inspire him to become a captain himself? It would be a really good storyline for him to overcome any doubts he may have due to his previous experience as Captain

Or would be ultimately decide that he’d rather continue working with Hen even if they aren’t partners, that would also make a good storyline

I think one problem if they go that route is who becomes his partner? More on that later

For Buck, I do think he could continue as a firefighter and be happy but we have seen them start to sow the seeds for him also to pursue captaincy, such as him trying to be a good candidate when Bobby was looking for a interim captain as referenced above and at the end of season six we saw him take charge of an entire scene and save everyone

And even in this current season we’ve seen him use his smarts to solve a lot of problems

He would make an amazing captain- however he would then have to lose part of his 118 family - not entirely but partially if they’re no longer working together (if they are in fact continuing with Hen becoming a captain trajectory which I’m pretty sure they will)

So if Buck also goes down the captaincy route himself there’s several options

1) Hen becomes Captain of the 118 and he later becomes Captain of another house

2) Hen is offered Captaincy elsewhere and Chim becomes Captain of 118 and Buck becomes captain of another house

3) Both Hen and Chim become captains elsewhere and Buck becomes the 118 captain

That could be a good storyline for Buck, having to accept his family going down different career paths and choosing a career path that’s good for him and helps him grow as a person, not based on trying to keep everyone under the 118 roof and realizing they’ll always be a family even if they’re no longer working together

Eddie though, I don’t think he’s shown any interest in becoming a Captain

When Chim was searching for Maddie Eddie was partnered more with Hen, (and I believe we’ve seen Hen as interim Captain and Eddie helping Chim? might be misremembering that) and this season we’ve seen Eddie work with Hen and Chim

They have been emphasizing his skills as a medic this season as well

We could see Hen become Captain and Eddie become a paramedic and Chim’s partner

I think that would be hard for everyone involved, Chim not having Hen as a partner, and Eddie and Buck not working as partners anymore

If he doesn’t become a full time paramedic, he’d probably remain Buck’s partner as long as Buck remains a firefighter (if Buck does go the captaincy route)

Eddie has also stated the he enjoys the camaraderie of firefighting, not that the Captain can’t be apart of that, but they are held a bit apart from the rest, that’s just one of the effects of being a leader

He’s also shrugged off the idea of being even interim captain, like when he talked about it with Buck when Buck was frustrated to not being in the running

Unless they start sowing the seeds for him to be interested in captaincy as well, I just don’t see it happening based off his current trajectory/attitude

If he does become a captain then it’s a similar situation as Buck above

If Buck becomes captain and he doesn’t, I imagine he’d want to go with him or be a full time paramedic on his team unless #buddiecanon happens and and then they may have to be separated (as this is a show and not real life they may decide they can remain in the same house if one of them becomes Captain even if I’m not sure that would happen irl, idk)

But then if they are separated by the brass and Chim doesn’t become captain I’d imagine he’d stay with Hen & Chim and if both Hen and Chim become Captain then he’d stay with one of them if he couldn’t stay with Buck for any reason

There is another possibility of them all who become a captain remaining at the 118 and ending up as captains of different 118 shifts but I can’t really see any of them wanting to give up A shift or wanting to go have alternative shifts as the others as that would make spending time together as a family outside of the firehouse even harder and losing both firehouse time together and outside of firehouse time together would wreck all of them

I have no idea if the show will end with us knowing what future paths they follow career wise but I think it’s interesting to think about where they may take them if they do

[cringefailcabitha]

Cabby and Bot in Spring on the Breakfast!

I've been thinking about Spring on the Breakfast and the clumsy way it handles Cabby's memory disorder and how that handling makes it a little harder to deal with what is going on between Cabby and Bot. And I kind of want to share my interpretation of some of what was going on:

By the beginning of Spring on the Breakfast, Cabby has been back in the game for 3 challenges, her return coming 2 episodes after Bot discovers the circumstances surrounding their creation. At this point, most of the remaining contestants, Bot included, do not see Cabby in a positive light. In particular, Bot's opinions about Cabby are heavily informed by what Test Tube has told them about her, and the general attitude of the other contestants towards her. Cabby, on her part, only figures out the circumstances of Bot's creation somewhere during episodes 11 and 13, and the two spend little time together before Spring on the Breakfast. Though not for lack of trying, Bot continues to be the contestant Cabby knows the least about by far, and that's what they are both working with when they are paired up for the Springtastic challenge. Let’s skip ahead a bit:

And Cabby obliges. Now, on one hand, there is an attitude towards Cabby and the files in the show that goes almost completely unchallenged up to this point that initially makes this scene feel like it's just piling onto that. Bot has already shared false information with Cabby under the impression that she doesn't care about them as a person, so this scene feels like a continuation of that thought process; an insinuation that Cabby immediately moving to write down Bot's words is an uncaring, or at least misguided gesture.

On the other hand, we can consider why Bot responds the way they do to Cabby's question. Firstly, the fact that they are willing to answer this question at all is notable and indicative of their changing opinions about Cabby. Bot quickly becomes defensive when Cabby questions the dissonance between Test Tube's presence upsetting them enough to hide from her, and the positive relationship she thought they had. This moment makes it clearer how reluctant Bot is to confront how they feel about Test Tube. (Small note but I think that even though Cabby wasn't there for The Confrontation in episode 8 and never worked with "Bot" before episode 14, one could argue that Cabby of all people having zero clue about Bot's complicated feelings towards Test Tube is also testament to their aversion to admitting it). So of course in the moment they don't want Cabby to write it down because it's intensely personal for them and they are ashamed for even feeling that way about the people who created them in the first place. Additionally, Cabby has said multiple times in previous episodes that she will share any information she has if asked; In this instance it's not unreasonable that Bot ends up requesting this.

Cabby, when asked, then shares some intensely personal information of her own, that she, too, has never shared with anyone else. This sort of exchange is common when forming an emotional bond with someone and I think it's the point where Bot goes from just doubting the negative things Test Tube and others have said about Cabby to fully deciding those things weren't true, While also starting to feel a lot safer around her. And at this point they share more about themselves, without Cabby writing any of it down. Afterwards:

This. It's very reasonable to be put off by the way this scene is framed, knowing that Cabby needs the files to remember things. It gives the impression that Cabby no longer using the files since the people around her can just remind her of things would be a positive thing. Which is an unpleasant message that encourages her to give up her independent nature and leave a lot of her perception of events up to the whims of the people around her. In fact, Cabby's takeaway from her interactions with Bot leads to her deciding not to rely on her files in the subsequent episode, in service of not making others uncomfortable, and even with encouragement she seeks permission from Bot to use her files.

However, one can also view this scene as Bot trying to convey they feel safe and comfortable enough around Cabby to want her to write about them. Not as them saying, "I'll tell you again so you don't need to write it down", but as them saying, "I'll tell you again so you can write it down". It is frustratingly indirect, as Bot tends to be at times, so it isn't a very obvious way to take it, but Bot seemingly having prepared a new folder for Cabby to write about them in between their elimination and Blue Buried supports this idea. Further, in preparing that folder, Bot tries to engage with Cabby on her level and show that they want to understand her, instead of further convincing Cabby that she can only make friends if she stops relying on her files that she needs, that she enjoys writing, and that are an important part of her identity. Bot choosing to get closer to Cabby is also a symbol of them breaking away from the expectations Test Tube places on them in that doing so directly contradicts Test Tube's sentiment towards Cabby and desire to keep Bot away from her. Test Tube keeping Bot away from Cabby in previous episodes is meant to be seen as part of Test Tube trying to hide the truth from Bot, and Bot deciding to form a bond with Cabby irrespective of what Test Tube thinks about her can be seen as them accepting and welcoming the truth. All of these things are important for Bot to do as a character whose development is centered around them finding and being proud of their own identity.

And in a way, if you interpret this scene as Bot wanting Cabby to write about them, it is also representative of Bot becoming more secure in their identity. Cabby's goal is to keep accurate data, and though she can and does change that data when new information becomes available to her, the act itself of writing things down can make things feel more concrete. So Bot inviting Cabby to write about them next time almost becomes an invitation to have that information be "official" because they feel surer about who they are,

[meldelen]

What does Sauron feel for Galadriel?

I'm aware I might be not saying anything new or original, I've read and queued other good metas that basically stand for my point as well; nevertheless, I feel like sharing my two cents concerning this. Sadly - or not - it will be another long ass read.

To be honest, whatever is going between Galadriel and Sauron is one of the main show's assets. Love it or hate it, the show would not be the same without this spice. And the way it is presented leaves no one indifferent. I could talk about this from Galadriel's POV, but I think I'll be going for Sauron's first, if anything because I find it more fascinating, as we're talking of a character that isn't even human, and the main villain, of course. And I'm doing it mostly concerning the show, even if I know Tolkien's books since I was 12. Unfortunately I can't analyze every single scene they share because it would last forever, but I'll try to focus on the ones that have more resonated with me.

Even if Galadriel is undoubtedly one of the most famous elves in Middle Earth, it doesn't look like Sauron knew her before meeting her in the sea. It is pure chance - apparently so - they meet and are taken together to Númenor. In these first moments he's mostly indifferent - and even hostile - to her, per their dialogue, except the moment he dives in and saves her from drowning amidst the storm. From that moment, a confidence grews between them as she's reassured in her position - which he never disclaims - of thinking he's a fallen king from a Southlander throne. Disguised as the human castaway Halbrand, the most fascinating about Sauron, I think, it's that he never lies to her, but doesn't make an effort to take her out of her incorrect assumptions. While not being honest to her, he seems to drift away from her as he pretends to "start anew" - through his long learnt abilities as smith -; while, at the same time, he gets drawn towards her by their kindred spirits.

Which is the start of it all. Sauron recognizes in her someone alike, fierce and relentless, prideful, ambitious and reckless. I think the discussion in the forge, after she drops him in the middle of a plot to return to Middle Earth and crown him, is highly underrated. He only wants to be left alone, she apologizes for having used him, and then confesses - thinking she talks to a friend and not a deceiver - that she can't stop, that because she was compared with the evil she was fighting they mutinied against her and was sent away. She also drops Finrod's line of needing to touch the darkness if one want to reach the light.

Halbrand's reaction to this is priceless. His expression, both shocked and emotional once he realizes she might be just the only one in Arda that might understand him - they mutinied against him as well, he ended a castaway. And then he expresses his condolences for her suffering and particularly, the death of her brother. Now, I believe he was genuinely sincere here, that he really felt for her grief. But being set on the path of becoming something different, it's precisely Galadriel who puts him out of it. Who sends him again to his former path. The horror of it all.

He never gets to tell her who he really is, and only admits it when he's discovered, because there was no way back once this is uncovered. Charlotte Brändström has confirmed that Galadriel loved Halbrand - rather, I think, the idea of Halbrand - in first season, but after the mask falls she won't love Sauron - for obvious reasons. He then offers her the most valuable position he can give her, but what does he offer?

To make her a queen. A queen, mind, not his queen. Now, I know shipping is nice and fun, but for all the tenderness he put into the offering - the warm voice, the chin caressing, the flattering and the temptation; "You bind me to the light and I bind you to power" - I can't avoid seeing that he never offered himself as part of the bargain. Love is selfless and you must give yourself for it to be real. As Charlie Vickers have well put, he does not see her as an equal. It is not a marriage/lover alliance of a king and a queen ruling together with love as a seal between them. Sauron appeals to her ambition, not to her heart. Even in that moment, before the blast of Orodruin, where they got the most intimate and close - "Fighting at your side, I felt... if I could hold on that feeling, bind it to my very being.." "I felt it too" - he is talking about fighting, and power, and ruling. And she understood it lately, when telling Adar he promised her an army, not himself. Maybe she meant something else in that moment, but he meant an alliance. And alliance in which they're not equals. A queen, but not his queen.

He has no queen. There's only one Lord of the Rings, and he does not share power.

I understand it's very tempting and frankly easier to read this in a romantic code, but I can't forget it's Sauron we're talking about. He's not human, he does not feel and act as human always, he's been awake since the creation of the world and he hardly can see an elf as an equal. The way he tried to manipulate her by taking the shape of Finrod, the long lost brother, and twisting his words to sway her will - it was beyond cruelty. It was Machiavellian, sadistic - and it was only the first of many offenses.

Even before wrapping her in his thrall he throws at her face all the sentences and reasons she had told him before, when she thought he was Halbrand the southlander and not the Dark Lord. Twisting her own words and shooting them at her like arrows - no, you said my past didn't matter, you told me to be free of it. Putting before her eyes the fact that he's back thanks to her and her alone. And that she's now isolated, for no one will accept her once it is known she's the reason he's back. Presenting himself as the only one who would take her, flattering her leading and ruling talents in his benefit, wrapping it with the cover of a redeeming light. Bastard.

Thankfully, Galadriel acknowledges his abuse and manipulation and actively rejects him. What does Sauron do then? He leaves her to die. Tied in his thrall, drowning, back to the point where she was sinking when he saved her, when she still did not mean much to him, but enough to care. Now it's over. You've chosen to refuse me, so die. Go back to the starting point.

And in that moment, he meant her to die, for she had hurt his pride. He's not a scorned lover but a narcissist that has been confronted in his arrogance, and so she has to pay. There is not love in any of these actions. In a fit of rage, he had let her to die. If Elrond wasn't around when he pulls her out of the pound, she would've drowned.

That fit of rage passes, and as it happens, he has time to reconsider his position. Does he know she has survived? What matters is that he moves to Mordor and directly sells her to Adar. Telling his former lieutenant that she has aligned with Sauron - !!! - and both must be stopped. He sells her location and sets an army of Uruk against her and Eregion. Dressing this betrayal as heroism as he endures torture for the sake of the soutlander prisoners, who get free thanks to this bargain.

Are these actions belonging to one who loves? It is atrocity after atrocity. Per his actions you can't tell he's in love, rather the opposite. You could say he's actively punishing her and plans to keep making her pay for her refusal. But of course, he's not driven solely by scorn and revenge, it's not even his main goal. Enter Celebrimbor and the Eregion plot.

When it would seem Galadriel is out of his mind, then this scene with Mirdania happens. Taking advantage of her vulnerability and terror of having seen him in his true form - even if Mirdania herself isn't aware that it was him who she saw in the Unseen World - Annatar flatters her and caresses her hair, comparing her beauty with Galadriel's. Yes, I know it's very satisfying to watch how he praises Lady Galadriel's beauty in front of another woman, in a moment of intimacy, but yet again, I don't see how this can be love.

It is obsession, and of course, manipulation. Playing a double game: one, to recruit Mirdania, to gain her confidence and devotion - he's well aware of what Mirdania is starting to feel for him! - by flattering her - your were so brave, your hair looks like Galadriel's in this light - because we should remember that Galadriel is famous for her beauty, but particularly for her hair is said to remind powerfully of the light of the Trees of Valinor, a light that was encased in the Silmarils. A light she refused to Feänor when he asked her strands of her hair.

Second, it is not only she won't leave his mind, at this point, he's starting to obsess with her, he covets her. He covets her and at the same time wants to punish her for her rejection. Again, I hardly see love in any of these actions. And it is horrifying how he later dismisses Mirdania's life after promising her reward, because she meant nothing to him. Galadriel, on the other hand... cut to the final temptation.

The most shocking in that last fight is that he starts by effortlessly blocking her attacks, for he does not want to hurt her - as he tells her himself. She goes berserk on him, driven by fury and rage, and all he does is blocking her, until he's forced to slash her to remind her who has the upper hand there - she's no match for him, even if she's a skillful sword fighter. In that moment, he's still in control of himself, and even he allows himself to playfully spit her back again the words of Finrod, twisted by his own interpretation: touch the darkness. Many fans have seen a lewd expression and breathing in that point - I think he's mostly panting for the fighting effort, but if there's any lust as you want to read it, then yes, it's lust for getting her, control her, for humiliating and proving her wrong again by drawing a false equivalency between him and her. In his mindset, of course. Innerly, though, he is searching for a servant, a slave if you want. Not a lover, not a partner.

Special mention to those shocking words, when she accuses him of having deceived and manipulated her all the time, and he answers it was "not all of it", for yes, I will concede him that he was genuine. He never lied. He had an honest feeling of starting anew. He saw in her a kindred spirit, and that is not gonna change. He might be admitting he cares/feels something for her, even in his own toxic, twisted way. Truly, the range Sauron has in acknowledging his feelings and not suppressing them, also in admitting them and use them as weapons, has me baffled. Maybe one of the most fascinating traits of him as character.

Galadriel won't stop attacking and rejecting him, so he loses his patience, particularly after being brutally kicked in the chest and thrown over the rocks. Then he pulls again his most cruel card by letting her see Halbrand again - the one she got to love, and he's well aware of it. But the thrall won't work anymore, so he switches to herself and Celebrimbor, to keep mocking her with cruelty, to draw again this false equivalency between them.

And when nothing of this works, and she keeps attacking him even after he offers again to join him, he has again one of those fits of rage and goes ballistic on her, until he resorts to the most brutal, sadistic resource: in what I think it's the foulest allegory of rape I've ever seen, he nails her to the rock by stabbing her with Morgoth's crown. Which is not just a mean to hurt her physically, rather, he actively forces the bond she has rejected to establish with him twice by then. Only blood can bind, and the iron crown already contains his blood after Adar stabbed him with it. His blood and Galadriel's blood merge and then the connection happens. His enraptured expression at this moment is both mesmerizing and revolting, for he's doing that against her will, while dragging her across the stone surface and twisting the spike inside her wound to increase her pain, so excruciating a tear runs down her cheek. While he repeats her he would've made her a queen, and put all Middle-Earth at her feet. Then he pulls out of her and watches as she drops to the ground. Truly brutal and sadistic. The punishment goes on and on.

After this he gains the ability to communicate to her telepathically and to watch her movements. Probably, also to know her thoughts more clearly than before. And he must have thought to command her will also, for she manages to trick him into believing she was going to give him Nenya, and after that she lets herself fall back on the verge of the cliff. Does he, with an alarmed expression, reach for the coveted ring, or for her instead? Does he do it for both? The fact is that he lets her fall.

And even immediately we see he's watching her, for the unwanted connection also allows him to spy on her. Again, he's making sure the ring is safe, or is she his concern? I'm gonna say he was rather checking on her. Nenya is made of mithril and adamant, so very unlikely to have taken damage for a fall.

Why this contradiction? His brutality and cruelty on her hardly fits someone who loves, and he has actively tried to kill her twice by now - always in a fit of rage, not all the time, as Vickers has explained. He didn't want to hurt her - when calm - and yet he forcefully bonded himself to her and enjoyed doing so, not minding her physical and mental agony in the process.

I can't see the slightest glimpse of love in all this abomination. He might have found someone so alike to the point of making him feel alive again and set him back on the path of world domination, but he's an older, immortal, cruel superior being who's been too long under suffering, darkness and despair himself. This is not an absolution, though. I still think he could've chosen differently, but as much as the next narcissist, when challenged or refused he takes a brutal, unrighteous retaliation and doesn't mind to make her suffer for it. Yet it is obvious he feels something for her, so she gets a special treatment if we compare Galadriel with the other lives he so quickly dismisses - much to her disgrace, though.

And I think it's this obsession of him, of having found someone so alike to him who could've been at his service - not at his side! - which makes he won't suffer that this someone refuses him and actively seeks to fight him. For that, he'll make her pay again, and again, and again, while claiming she's special to him, while tempting her with promises of power and light that aren't real. If anything, she'll eventually get the same treatment Celebrimbor got, as soon as she fails or rebels against him. As Morgoth did to him.

The fact the ship is so successful is tied to the fact that Sauron, for all his ancient origins and immortality, is still very human in his emotions and doesn't mind to open and show them. And the fact that once, Galadriel loved Halbrand, or rather the idea of Halbrand. He knows that, and it flatters him. It pushes his pride further, it lifts his ego even higher. He enjoys interacting with her in this twisted way and so playing with Galadriel might become his new entertainment, until bending her to his will, which is to make her serve... not to love her at all. That's why he won't kill her either, as long as he keeps that rage under control.

I thank the show for opening this world to us, for surely it's one of its best potentials, and unlike many haters claim, it is rooted in Tolkien's lore itself, which doesn't contradict. It its truly a complex dynamic and I'm sure many fans, specially shippers, might disagree with me, but this analysis doesn't intend to cancel anyone, rather the opposite. Shipping is fun and nice, but for me it's also important to acknowledge this dynamic is deeply rooted in abuse and keep in mind that Galadriel deserves all our credit for resisting his brutality and calling out his cruelty and manipulation, which a fair form can't mask after all, and they're doing right in not to bend to other narratives that might end quite differently, or burden a higher cost on the abused character, just for the sake of a temporary satisfaction.

[transvoxy]

I think one of my favorite things about Rosie is how she’s literally a black widow. Like, her first scene in the show she is changing the sign of her shop from Frank & Rosie to just Frank, and idk if it’s canon or not but I like to think she does that a lot. She always has a new husband she's seduced to leach his power and inevitably cut them up and serve them to the people of cannibal town. (Maybe she's even aro, and just sees the guys who fawn all over her as weak and vulnerable?) Alastor, being the asexual he is sees her thoroughly taking advantage of her unwanted suitors and he's just like wow. What a woman.

When it comes to Alastor, she obviously has a soft spot for him in the show, but I like to think their relationship wasn't always like that. When they first met, Alastor saw Rosie as just another overlord to topple, while Rosie saw Alastor as another doe-eyed sucker to use. So, they settle into this little routine of having tea and making surprisingly pleasant conversation while both actively dodging every attempt the other makes to kill them, all while pretending like they are completely oblivious. Eventually they just become super fond of each other and the attempts at each other's loves become more and more flippant until they more or less stop all together.

[lilac-melody]

Rewatching The Crossroads of Destiny always makes me emotional for several reasons, but this is definitely my favorite scene of the episode- and one of my favorite scenes in the entire show.

Katara had been going off on Zuko and he stayed silent and annoyed, until she said something that he understood. And he reached out to her. Now understanding his pain, Katara reaches back.

The tenderness of revealing your vulnerabilities to someone who, at this point, should be your enemy, offering to use your special water to heal your so-called enemy’s scar, gently touching said “enemy’s” scar, as well as brushing his lips with your thumb...

[normalbrothers]

TOMMY: The war is done! Shut the door on it like I did.