#todays episode in a nutshell

[loadsofcats]

[justarandomart]

darkxwolf17 noooo!!!

[ghostaddictgremlin]

Today's episode 7 in a nutshell

[hippeasantwitch]

Today’s episode in a nutshell

[waywardmillennial]

Puppet History Trailer Breakdown

The PH season seven trailer dropped on Watcher TV today and I'm going to try to break it down New Rockstars style - so settle in because this is a long one!

disclaimer: I am an oxymoron of a human who notices lots of details and misses other clues - so I might not have caught everything but I tried!

[s7 trailer easter eggs and spoiler-y thoughts under the cut]

The trailer opens with the Professor looking at the billboard for Phorgedytol, the tagline of which reads "(something) WITH YOUR BRAIN"

[note: this is different to the Phorgedytol billboard we see at the end of the trailer that reads "FRENCH THE VOID!"]

the first shot of Ryan in the trailer is from the episode with Aria Inthavong

behind them on the bookshelf you can see what I think is a brachiosaurus (from the late Jurassic era), a pair of alpacas, and the Genie lamp very prominently displayed!

then we cut to this interaction Ryan: How long has it been since we've been in class? to which the Professor gives a very non-committal "Uhhhh...."

[Interesting, no? Possible side-effect of the Professor taking Phorgedytol maybe?]

then we cut to guest Alex Song-Xia with a possibly foreboding comment

[this probably has no lore implications but I like that there's a framed copy of this photo that Ryan tweeted in 2021 on the set]

the trailer continues with the Professor talking to the guests

then the trailer cuts to what could be a major lore drop with Ryan saying, "You keep my wife's name out of your god damn mouth!" as he marches to the theater to slap the Professor

[notice how this is in black and white -that's the trailer edit not mine- so perhaps this is a flashback of some kind? Maybe to something that happened to make the Professor want to take Phorgedytol?]

Remember in s6 Ryan and the Professor were friends (see: the JC Penney photoshoot) so seeing a moment like this in the trailer is, for lack of a better phrase, a slap in the face

Based on what all the guests are wearing in the trailer it looks like The Slap will happen in Claudia's episode, based on the shot right before Ryan gets out of the chair (their reaction face is gorgeous btw)

we get a great out of context line from Sara Rubin

and the Professor talking about his anatomy with Brennan

Then the Lore Drop Hits

[yeah the rest of this was just a drop in the bucket in this trailer tbh]

The cuts happen fairly fast with overlapping VO - I posted most of the main shots earlier and there are some shots of the history skits that I skipped to focus on the Lore. These shots also have some alt descriptions in this post of things I noticed on the rewatch

VO Script Mysterious Puppet: No, you louse. You sops. You absolute men. Ryan: Well, this is collusion. They clearly- Professor: That's not collusion. Ryan: It's collusion! You guys fucking figured it out before this. Brennan: Just get on his wavelength, man. Professor: Get on my level! Ryan: You're just not ready for the truth!

[First reactions: The Professor is wearing a party hat for a lot of this trailer, and so is the new puppet. So they must have been at the same party. Also, the Professor is standing in front of a sign that reads "Six Nasty Seasons" even though this is the trailer for season seven. Is that from the season six wrap party? Could it also point to Phorgedytol symptoms that we're 'missing' a season?

The horse puppet looking through the door has a moustache, so is very likely not Dorothy Ruth or Stanley Melvin Murphy. Maybe DR's fiancé? This same moustachio'd horse is in the pasta scene

Hard to say which horse is walking towards The Brown Derby but fun to note that was a real chain of restaurants in LA starting in 1926]

Then the Professor meets with the new Shane character - shall we call them Patch for now?

and that's the trailer in a nutshell!

*Roll End Credits*

Other reactions:

Delighted that we get canon confirmation that the Professor goes by Connie McNasty, at least some of the time

Love that Joyce and Garrett are back this season!

The noir, old Hollywood vibes of this trailer are gorgeous and overall it looks really well-made!

I hope we get some explanation for the slap that's not Ryan and the Professor becoming enemies again

the Liza Minelli* of it all

Not too sure on many theories at this point, but I'm sure it's going to be a great (but maybe nail-biting) season!

[mareastrorum]

4 Sided Dive episode 27 in a nutshell:

Laura cannot talk unless she's pretending that she's acting, which works for about 10 seconds at a time.

Marisha has been in the studio for too many hours today and cannot brain.

Travis is conspiracy brained and throwing out goodies for the fans left and right.

Sam doesn't watch the show and is somehow the most on top of everything.

(Kyle is losing it.)

[liyaauhr]

SBG EPISODE 82 FASTPASS SPOILERS‼️‼️‼️

I fucking LOVED today’s episode idk why, probably because it was longer than usual and informative?

These reactions are SO CUTE but! One thing I noticed is Taylor got less screentime this chapter for some reason, she wasn’t included in some groups shots, this may or may not be unrelated but I have a feeling Red is building up something for her. But in contrast, Tyler got a LOT of screen-time this episode (it made me so fucking happy ahsjjaha) but also WHY?

Look at them, they’re trying. 💀

Also I still don’t get how Maverick is Mr Thomas when they’re both two different skintones, like I see 0 similarities between the two of them so I question whether this was a last minute made up decision by Red or pre-planned? Maybe she saw the Maverick x Thomas shippers and thought she had to put an end to that LMAO /j

I love this scene but what is Mariana doing? Ajksha and no Taylor in a group shot AGAIN. Aiden loves Lily sm, that is his adoptive sister at this point it’s so adorable.

Logan seems rlly unsurprised with the way his grandpa acts, I’m not sure if it’s because he knows whats going on with them or is just desensitised to their behaviour.

Literally their dynamic in a nutshell. WHO said they hate each other!?????

I LOVE THIS! I LOVE HOW MUCH CARTOONISH MOMENTS WE GOT TODAY!!!

WHY IS EVERY ADULT FIGURE OTHER THAN THE BANNERS CRAZY???? /hj

I think we all saw this coming but I can’t believe the facility dragged down a bunch of adults…AND A LITTLE KID and shoved them all in the same cell.

But seriously, I do NOT have a good feeling for the parents. We are not seeing them for a while when the kids finally escape.

[mxellaneousfandoms]

Today’s episode in a nutshell!

[joshthemaker913]

Basically today's TailsTube episode in a nutshell.

This was going to be a simple colorless sketch but I decided to add soft colors to it.

[peachyfnaf]

spedran tf outta this but. woe, todays episode in a nutshell be upon ye

[oscconfessions]

OKAY II16 THEORY.

i dont know if mephone ACTUALLY made the contestants or what. this is kinds halfbaked as it doesnt have an explanation on why nobody can remember pre-show

but, in this theory, mphone didnt make the contestants. cobs is a lying liarface and says this to turn the final two against him. knife isnt really gonna believe him, but suitcase- she already hates mephone, she's been growing more and more leaderlike since standing up to nickel way back when, BUT she's consistently been shown to have a lack of confidence in her reality. sees things that arent real, yadda yadda.

cobs SAYS he's been watching the show. presuming how we watch it is how he did, he's seen suitcase's hallucinations. At least, he's seen suitcase TALK about it. overall, heres the theory in a nutshell

cobs is trying to use her derealization/psychosis/unreality issues against her.

this is where things turn into a prediction: she's going to go back (possibly without knife), warn the others, and tell them about the s3 time inconsistency. she's probably going to be freaking out/breaking down in some way too, cause telling someone with unreality struggles that theyre not real is, yk, bad. but shes going to tell the others and baseball is likely going to rally behind her too, cause shes his friend. the others see baseball, previous leader of the group, agree with the time inconsistency AND stick with suitcase, and theyre gonna be like "maybe mephone IS a bad guy" and boom. mephone hated by contestants. I dont think suitcase or the others are gonna bring him to cobs, because cobs is ALSO bad, but my main idea is that theyre gonna distrust him until he does something to get the trust back/save the day.

note here: im not saying mephone or suitcase are bad people! i love both of them and think highly, im just theorizing out here

EVIDENCE:

i dont got any ASIDE FROM the fact that suitcase is shown before/on screen in every noticable case of glitching.

and from todays episode:

i ALSO noticed that, in the ii16 act 1 episode, theres a strong emphasis on suitcase's thoughts about things "not being real", or otherwise conveyed such a thing

anyway um. build on this if you like. im so obsessed woth my girl suitcase i hope she she gets like. closure in some way. i also hope she gets meds for those hallucinations <3 goodbye

wish i could be on anon for this, but im 🧭 so hello!!!

.

[achickenslifeiscool]

Todays Legend of Vox Machina episodes in a nutshell:

[cecilysass]

Scully the ice queen?

I often see people talking about the “ice queen” trope in XF fanfic from the 90s as an example of fanon becoming ubiquitous in fanfic. If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is it in a nutshell: basically, fanfic in the 1990s began to make reference to Scully as a perceived “ice queen,” both at work and in her personal life, meaning that she didn’t express her emotions, that she was repressed and cold. And then that became a thing, a standard trope that other fanfic writers drew on.

My theory is that the “ice queen” / Scully association didn’t actually come from specific works of fic or from specific individuals.  I also don’t think it necessarily originated in fic and then crossed over into fan perceptions of Scully. I think it’s easy for 21st century fans to get the causal arrows mixed up on this because we're missing some historical context. I believe many viewers in the 1990s—not just fanfic writers—actually interpreted Scully differently than viewers now because they interpreted female characters differently. I think people in the 1990s were simply much more likely to interpret women serious about their professional lives as “ice queens.” Especially if their professional lives involved science.

Consider the below female scientist (P.K. Newby) writing about her graduate school experience in the 1990s.

Of course this still happens today, and of course it didn’t always happen in the 1990s. But I think it’s important that this impacted actual women living their lives in the same time period, because it’s reasonable that this also affected TV audiences’ perception of a character. 

I give you this message from the Usenet discussion group alt.tv.x-files, the first season of the show, from before the fanfic Usenet group was even created. This user characterizes Scully as an “ice queen,” claiming to notice a change after Darkness Falls, and even associating it with her skepticism specifically.

(This is me showing you the whole message with the date, then showing you parts close up because it's so tiny. I'm very dedicated.)

So in this (very early online fandom) conversation, we have a fan who already read her as an “ice queen” on their own without the filter of fanfic to sway them.

Now please don’t get me wrong. Fanfic definitely took hold of the Scully / ice queen thing and ran with it. There are many examples in the Usenet group during the 1990s of people asking, “Hey, which episode was Scully called ‘ice queen’ again? and people saying, ‘Oh never, ha, that’s just a fanfic thing.’” It was a well-established trope by at least 1997. See below.

I just want people to consider that it didn’t have to be one writer, one fic, or one incident that led to the popularization of this piece of fanon. This would have been something people understood right away because it already was culturally out there in the interpretation of the character and in associations with professional women. And like the person asking the question in the above message infers, it probably did come organically from several people at once. 

That said, some 1990s fans actively questioned it, observing it didn’t seem to fit with their interpretation of the show.

Notice that in the below conversation, Scully as ice queen is mixed up in perceptions of GA as ice queen, too. 

(Side note: I mean, you can totally get where that person was coming from, right? Gillian Anderson was TOTALLY giving repressed, cold, virginal saint in 1997.)

As a prolific reader of fanfic, old and new, I think it’s also important to add this: it seems to me that fanfic writers more often made “Ice Queen” a hurtful nickname that Scully was called by other people (like Mulder being called “Spooky”), not an actual characterization of her personality. And actually, especially given her mostly-male workplace, this seems not unrealistic in the 1990s? Some fanfic writers may even have been writing from experience. (At least, I think I'm right in saying that tendency was true. I'd be curious to know if other readers of old fanfic think Scully herself is characterized as an "ice queen" more often than I'm saying.)

I’m an Old Person. I’m ashamed to admit that in the same time period, I had a high school friend who always studied really hard in school and prioritized grades over social life, and sometimes we jokingly called her an “ice queen.” There was no male equivalent term. So unfortunately, I know this was most definitely a thing outside of Scully and the XF fandom. Fortunately, it does seem to be something we see less of in the 2020s. (At least I think?)  I just want to point it out because it’s one of those things you could think was just a little fanon quirk concerning this character or this show when really I do think it’s about gender perceptions overall. 

Very interested to know, though, if others think I'm wrong.

(actual Ice queen)

[rlaehrwks]

ENGLISH DUB SCRIPT FOR: OMNISCIENT READER’S VIEWPOINT

Annotated Edition

FADE IN: 

A subway with a nondescript man in a shabby suit reading on a cellphone. This man is DANIEL KIM. 

[The screen opens with a view of a cell phone, a scrolling list of chapters. Each chapter has 1 view.]

DANIEL KIM (narrating): It was a novel that no one seemed to read.

[The view pans over the screen scrolling over all those numbers.]

DANIEL KIM: I wondered why no one read it. It was a masterpiece.

[The screen pans over a list of statistics, that shall be skipped over for convenience.]

[The screen then transitions to DANIEL KIM dejectedly looking down at his phone.]

DANIEL KIM: Then again, who would read a novel with over 3,000 chapters?

I’m the only reader and it took me ten years to make it to the last chapter.

[The screen transitions to black.]

DANIEL KIM: Back then, I had no idea. 

[The screen flashes back to a scene of a horde of monsters pouncing on DANIEL KIM in a white coat.]

DANIEL KIM: On the day I finished the novel…

[A montage of scenes from later parts of the first Scenario can be seen.]

SCRIPTWRITER’S NOTES: They’re the same as in the Korean dub. Remember to censor the blood!

DANIEL KIM (in a different tone to indicate he’s in the scene): No way. I know… How this story goes. 

DANIEL KIM (narrating, in a calm tone): …The story I alone had been reading for the past ten years turned into reality…

[JOHNATHAN YORK can be seen clashing against DANIEL KIM.]

JOHNATHAN YORK: Who the hell are you!? 

DANIEL KIM (narrating): And I… became the only person to know the end of this world.

[Transition panel to a scene of DANIEL KIM’S COMPANY, looking up at the night sky. As the camera pans up, the following text appears.]

DUB 4 KIDS PRESENTS: 

OMV

FADE IN.

DANIEL KIM is sitting on a different subway, staring at his phone. His fingers are shaking over his phone screen. 

DANIEL KIM: Ah, I can’t believe it’s the Final Chapter…

I’m too nervous to even open it.

[The screen transitions to DANIEL KIM looking excitedly at his phone.]

DANIEL KIM: The ending…

[The phone text appears on his screen.]

PHONE TEXT DISPLAY:

There are three ways to survive in the apocalypse.

Everything is fading and becoming unclear now.

But one thing is certain.

If you’re reading this, you will survive.

[Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse - Final Episode]

tls123

DANIEL KIM: Huh…?

[DANIEL KIM begins frantically swiping on his phone, only for the screen to barely move.]

[DANIEL KIM looks up from his phone and at the camera.]

DANIEL KIM: I’m Daniel. Nine times out of ten, people make weird assumptions about my name. 

RANDOM SALARYMAN: Oh, you’re Danny, huh? Are you an only child? 

DANIEL KIM: The name’s Daniel. 

RANDOM SALARYMAN: Uh…

DANIEL KIM: Though I am an only child.

RANDOM SALARYMAN: Whoops, sorry to make assumptions.

DANIEL KIM: However, their assumptions weren’t wrong. I’ve been lonely my entire life.

DANIEL KIM: This is who I am in a nutshell.

[A screen of informational text appears on screen.]

Scriptwriter’s Notes: It’s the same as in the Webtoon so there’s no need to rephrase it, just change some names.

DANIEL KIM: My hobby is reading novels on the subway on my way home from work.

But today’s subway ride was unlike any other. 

[A young woman with light brown hair and a light brown suit appears. Her name is SARAH YOUNG.]

SARAH YOUNG" Oh, my. At this rate you might get sucked into your phone. 

[The camera pans up at SARAH YOUNG’s beautiful expression. DANIEL KIM appears to be enamoured with her.]

DANIEL KIM: It was Sarah Young.

DANIEL KIM: W-What are you doing here!?

SARAH YOUNG: Are you heading home?

DANIEL KIM: Yes, you too?

SARAH YOUNG: Yes, I got lucky. My team manager is away on a business trip.

[SARAH YOUNG’s hair flies by DANIEL KIM’s face. He blushes madly.]

DANIEL KIM: Do you usually take the subway home? 

DANIEL KIM (internal monologue): I bet there’s a line of men willing to take her own… Grubby jerks. 

SARAH YOUNG: No, someone stole my bicycle. 

DANIEL KIM: You bike to work?

SARAH YOUNG: Yes. I’ve been working a lot of overtime recently, so I thought I could use the exercise. And I have some personal reasons too…

[SARAH YOUNG smiles at DANIEL KIM, who blushes.]

DANIEL KIM (internal monologue): She’s really pretty up close…

DANIEL KIM (internal monologue): However, she’s out of my league. We live in two different worlds. And just so you know, Sarah wasn’t the reason why today’s subway ride was different.

SARAH YOUNG: ¿Puede Prestarme Dinero?

DANIEL KIM: Pardon?

SARAH YOUNG: It’s Spanish. It means, “Please lend me some money.”

DANIEL KIM (inner monologue): Studying on the subway… She’s really extraordinary. Where would you even use that?

DANIEL KIM: You’re studying hard.

SARAH YOUNG: What about you, Daniel? What are you reading? 

[DANIEL KIM holds his phone away from SARAH YOUNG, who is peering over his shoulder to look at it.]

SARAH YOUNG: Is it a novel?

DANIEL KIM: Yeah… I guess you could say I’m studying, haha…

SARAH YOUNG: Wow, I love novels! My favorites are Haruki Murakami, Raymond Carver, and…

DANIEL KIM (inner monologue): Of course.

SARAH YOUNG

Who’s your favorite author, Daniel? 

DANIEL KIM

You probably wouldn’t know, even if I told you… 

DANIEL KIM (inner monologue): Yes, my hobby is reading novels on the subway. The reason why today is unlike any other is because Three Ways to Survive the Apocalypse, TWSA for short, which I’ve been reading for the past ten years…is ending today. 

DANIEL KIM (inner monologue): This novel is very special to me. I’ve been reading it since eighth grade.

I read it when I was bullied in school…

When I failed the entrance exams and ended up at a third-rate college…

And even now, as a contracted worker to a gaming company…

DANIEL KIM (inner monologue)" It’s bittersweet that the novel was coming to an end. Today is the day the epilogue of TWSA will be uploaded.

DANIEL KIM (inner monologue)

A serial of 3,149 chapters. A ten-year long epic journey that began in my teens and ended in my adulthood. 

I can’t believe the series went on for so long with an average view count of just one.

Scriptwriter’s Notes: The rest of the subway dialogue is omitted because it’s the same as the Korean dub, aside from name changes.

DANIEL KIM (inner monologue): If I were in a different genre…

[A brown grasshopper is onscreen.]

DANIEL KIM (inner monologue): If the genre of my life wasn’t nonfiction…

[A brown-haired boy with a bug tank is centered on by the camera. He is EUGENE LYON.]

DANIEL KIM (inner monologue): But fantasy… Could I have been the protagonist?

Scriptwriter’s Notes: The omitted section is essentially the same as the Korean dub, but with the names changed. 

DANIEL KIM: I have to live my own life…

SARAH YOUNG: Your own life… You’re so inspiring, Daniel!

DANIEL KIM: Sorry?

SARAH YOUNG: I should also live my own life!

Scriptwriter’s Notes: The following portion has been omitted because it’s the same as in the Korean dub.

[The subway stops.]

PANICKED MAN: What’s going on!?

PANICKED WOMAN: Is it a terrorist attack!?

PANICKED CITIZENS: Ahhh!!!

[A creature with white fur smiles. This is BENJAMIN.]

DANIEL KIM: Sarah, are you okay?

SARAH YOUNG: Y-yes. What do you think’s happening?

DANIEL KIM: Don’t worry, it’s probably nothing.

SUBWAY ANNOUNCEMENT: Ladies and gentlemen, if you would. P-please evacuate—! (abruptly cut off)

[A small ball of red sparks manifests in the middle of the subway.]

SYSTEM DISPLAY MESSAGE: The free service of the 8612th planetary system has ended.

The main scenario will begin now. 

DANIEL KIM (inner monologue): That was the moment that the genre of my life changed.

RANDOM CIVLIAN: “I-it’s a goblin!” 

DANIEL KIM (inner monologue): No way, this is just like what happened in the novel… That can’t be. Subways stop all the time. 

SARAH YOUNG: A goblin? 

[DANIEL KIM turns to look at SARAH YOUNG.]

DANIEL KIM (inner monologue): There’s no way that this can be happening in real life. 

RANDOM CIVLIANS: What is that?

[BENJAMIN manifests in front of the subway car.]

BENJAMIN: *speaks in garbled nonsense*

TEENAGED GIRLS: What’s it saying?

SARAH YOUNG: I think it’s speaking in Spanish. I’ll try talking to it.

DANIEL KIM: You really want to ask it to lend you money!?

BENJAMIN: Testing, testing. Can anyone hear me? Gosh, the language pack was malfunctioning for a bit. Can everyone hear me now?

RUDE BOY: Hey, what do you think you’re doing?

BENJAMIN: Pardon?

RUDE BOY: I’ve got an audition to get to, so can you hurry up? 

BENJAMIN: An audition, huh. That sucks. They said we’d get the most customers if we put the paywall up right now…

BENJAMIN: Okay, everyone, listen up! I’ve got something very important to tell you all! 

AFFRONTED CITIZENS:

Hurry up and restart the train!

You can’t do this to us! 

I’m gonna be late for my appointment!

DANIEL KIM (inner monologue): No way. I know how this story goes. I’ve gotta stop them. 

BENJAMIN: I… Told you… To be QUIET! 

[The body of the rude boy from earlier suddenly turns black, and it falls to the ground. The blood splatters are recolored to be dark purple. The civilians nearby look on, horrified. More of the same happens to everyone that spoke earlier.]

BENJAMIN: We are not filming a movie. This isn’t a dream, or a novel. And it certainly isn’t the reality you’re familiar with! Do you understand? 

All of you had quite the cushy life until now, didn’t you?

You were able to live without paying the costs!

You’ve all been enjoying privileged lives!

[A man in a black-and-white striped suit appears in front of BENJAMIN. His name is MITCHELL HART.]

MITCHELL HART: Is it money that you want? I’ll give you as much money as you want if you let me leave. 

BENJAMIN: Money is good. It can be used in exchange for goods and services. 

[BENJAMIN turns the money to ash.]

BENJAMIN: Too bad it only works within the confines of your spacetime. 

Try a stunt like that again, and you’ll end up in the Darkness Realm, got it?

MITCHELL HART: Ugh…

BENJAMIN: Ugh, at this rate, it’ll be faster to let you figure it out by yourselves. 

SYSTEM DISPLAY MESSAGE:

Channel #BY-7623 has opened. 

The Constellations are now entering the channel.

[A bright blue window pops up in front of everyone in the subway. Some notable people include a boy with white hair, NATHAN COOK, and a muscular man, HADRIAN LANG. Then, it pops up in front of DANIEL KIM.]

SYSTEM WINDOW:

THE MAIN SCENARIO HAS ARRIVED.

[purplespacekitty]

Three generations of Sisko men gathered close for a jambalaya dinner in Ben's ancient Bajoran lightship, as illustrated by celebrated science fiction writer, Benny Russell. Russell keeps a souvenir baseball on his desk, signed by the legendary Willie Hawkins. In the corner, Russell stashes the sketch that gave him the inspiration for this family's story: space station Deep Space Nine.

Deep Space Nine is my favorite Trek. It has nuanced, 3-dimensional characters who become part of the show's world over the course of 7 seasons. There are some off plot lines here and there but for the most part, the story seems to write itself. I've written at length on here about how much I love Captain Benjamin Sisko and I'd like to share a project of mine I did for a class (I have so far managed to fit Star Trek into three separate final projects for three separate classes, one of which I already posted about here).

Through the lens of Sisko's character, I wanted to examine Deep Space Nine's portrayal of Black masculinity, fatherhood and Afrofuturism with three episodes (although one's a two-parter): "Homefront" (Part I), "Paradise Lost" (Part II), "Explorers" (which I made a post about here) and "Far Beyond the Stars". Initially, the idea was to focus on Ben's fatherhood to Jake, how from the viewer's side of the screen, the two of them break down numerous racial stereotypes around Black men, an important thing to remember with DS9's debut not being far removed from the end of the Reagan Administration, from which sprung stereotypes of "absent Black fathers" and "welfare queens." As I continued with this project, I found I also wanted to analyze how Sisko's relationship with his own father informs his parenting of Jake and what it means to have three generations of Siskos in one room, on one planet. That was how I got "Explorers" and "Homefront" and "Paradise Lost" in there, as I wanted to showcase episodes that focus on these exact dynamics.

"Far Beyond the Stars" offers a window into Earth's history as a commentary on racism within creative circles and the systemic racism that shapes the world we live in today and the world of Deep Space Nine. It not only invites viewers into the life of Benny Russell, a Black science fiction writer from the 1950s, but also invites us to consider the link between the future he envisioned of the life that Sisko leads in the 24th century as a Black spaceship/space station captain, father, son, husband and cook who carries the weight of his ancestors' legacy on his shoulders and the reality Russell himself lives in day by day. "You are the dreamer and the dream" has a whole lot more gravity to it when you recognize it as less of an obvious observation of what we've known and been shown throughout the episode (Avery Brooks plays both Sisko and Russell) and more of a nod to the Black future that Sisko inhabits and that Russell dreams of. As a creation of Benny Russell, Sisko and his family are Afrofuturism in a nutshell, carrying on the cultures, stories and knowledge of their ancestors as they live their lives in a future those ancestors imagined and built. Furthermore, Benny Russell's Deep Space Nine is not only important because it features a Black space station captain but also because it encapsulates a fragment of Russell's drive to write his own stories for himself and his Black readers, to breathe life into his creations, to share his art in the ways that he wants to. To cherish his experiences and ideas and imagination and reality through the creative process of putting pen to paper, stamping ink to page, painting scenes to canvas.

The DS9 finale was originally going to see Benny Russell wistfully wandering the promenade alone and implicate him as the creator of not just the story of Deep Space Nine, but of the Star Trek franchise as a whole. Obviously, this concept did not make the cut, but Strange New Worlds' "Elysium Kingdom" follows another story written by Russell, solidifying him as a real person who lived in the 20th century within the Star Trek universe and who presumably continued to write stories that got published after the events of "Shadows and Symbols".

Comprised of screenshots from "Explorers", "Homefront", "Paradise Lost", "Far Beyond the Stars", "Shadows and Symbols" and "Civil Defense" - in which Dukat flicks Sisko's baseball off his desk - (and also a picture of a random coffee table taken by me because we see surprisingly very little of Benny's desk), the collage above is my humble attempt to honor Benny Russell and his creative vision.

[bwat5-blog]

Proper Response To some Point Made Ref My Grey War crime Doc

**Spoilers For Arcane**

A user very kindly took the time out of their day to read and give a detailed response to my analysis, on if the use of The Grey would constitute a war crime as so many claim in our real world today. They made several points in their response I wanted to respond to properly which is what I will be doing here.

**LET ME BE EXTREMELY CLEAR**

The user was respectful, honest, and even complimented the detail and time I put into my writing despite our differences in opinion. They were also clear on conveying that they are not anti-Caitlyn or anti-caitvi. They came to my public post and did exactly what I always hope people will do, shared their thoughts in an adult and respectful manner encouraging discussion and exchange of ideas. So while I will be responding with my rebuttal, there is no mocking or aggression here. Nor am I encouraging it toward them from anyone else. The only reason I am responding with a whole post is the stupid word count limit in comments does not agree with me.

1. Caitlyn is not a de facto member of the council. She used her family's clout within the enforcers to stage a coup

Okay, so in a nutshell, this comes from the section where I was trying to delve into if the strike team's actions would be considered warfare or domestic police action, because after classifying the grey as a "riot control agent" the next determination to make how it was used to determine if it fell under the protections of a domestic police action. I made that point that not only did Zaun fall under the jurisdiction of the Council and by extension the Enforcers as the Council's law enforcement entity, but that Caitlyn was acting as more or less part of the council and with their support.

Caitlyn being a member of the council: I can for sure admit I perhaps misread this detail. I realize of course that she never takes the seat screen. This was my reasoning for this belief-

"Caitlyn's Kiramman name and house is inherited matrilineally. Her mother sits on the council, as you saw in episode two, and that position is one that’s meant to go to Caitlyn"-- This comes from one of Amanda Overton's interview blurbs that have appeared on reddit over the years.

Sevika takes Cassandra's old seat. While we of course don't get to see how this is done on screen, the common understanding and mine seems to be that it was Caitlyn's to give away, which would also make sense with the narrative.

We have an abundance of information and detail discussing the Kiramman's lineage within the city itself and their status as somewhat of an institution. Again so much of the world building not stated outright so I could for sure see if I misread something, but I have felt this whole time that the leaders of House Kiramman were long-running members of the council.

To the poster's credit- When Caitlyn enters the meeting to announce her plan she does not claim her right to speak under the heading of assuming her place on the council. Now, there are reasons for this to my mind. She never wanted that seat to begin with and it is entirely possible she didn't do so because in that moment she was acting in her Enforcer mindset not anything to do with politics. But I can absolutely admit if the seat was hers she could have done so and probably had an easier time.

Caitlyn used her family's clout within the Enforcers to stage a coup:

A quick google search defines a coup as a "sudden, illegal, and often violent attempt to overthrow a government". So as far as I'm understanding, the poster is asserting their belief that Caitlyn gained the power and authority necessary to form the strike team and carry out their mission by overthrowing the Council through a coup with the enforcers.

I do not believe this to be true in any sense. Here is is my reasoning:

When Caitlyn returns from the strike team, Ambessa has gathered the surviving council members and prominent families and goes through her whole manipulative presentation to convince them to declare Martial Law. This would not be needed if Caitlyn had already seized control of the government.

While it is true that when Caitlyn enters the meeting to announce her plan, Salo questions her and she shuts him down, what does she actually say?:

"I am a decorated officer, leader of house Kiramman. Address me with respect, or keep your mouth shut".

She is in fact the leader of house Kiramman which we have already established makes her one of the most powerful and influential people in the city. And while I and I feel a few others were a-little confused about the decorated officer bit, she is an Enforcer, has just survived active combat during the memorial attack, survived everything with Jinx and provided valuable intel. At the very least she is a knowledgeable and capable Enforcer with the only recent first-hand knowledge of what they are dealing with

3. Suggesting that she staged a coup with The Enforcers would suggest that she had seized control of the entity itself. This is not supported by a mission involved a 5 person team.

Again the actual authorization of the strike team is one of those moments we have to work with what we are given to work out, because it's not completely shown on screen. But I believe it is clear. For for context:

Caitlyn comes to the idea in an effort to stop the invasion at Vi's urging.

Even after she shuts Salo down, she explains the memorial attack proved they are not ready for an invasion and offers her alternative. And when Salo asks why they expect to do better she unveils their new gear.

At this point in the story Caitlyn has already expressed her blaming herself for her mothers death because of her arrogance in going off book, thus her desire to go the official route this time.

To my understanding: based on these factors she presented what she believed to be the better option to the council and was given permission to carry out her objectives.

Additionally: The poster expressed their belief that Ambessa's conversation with Salo later confirms the assertion that Caitlyn carried out a coup. I disagree, Salo was Ambessa's original pawn, and her plan was the full-scale invasion. So when she is reprimanding him about letting himself be overpowered in his own chamber and he speaks on the Kiramman name bewitching people, it is not about literally losing power. He was arguing with Caitlyn because he and Ambessa's plan was threatened but Caitlyn convinced them and thus he and Ambessa's original plan was undone.

2. Softening her descent before redemption is a mistake

I completely agree. And I hope I have never suggested otherwise. I think where I am perhaps diverging from the poster and some who feel as they do is my perspective on what is the more impactful part of her descent in terms of impact.

I think many people are looking at The Grey and are (no pun intended) letting it cloud every aspect of this part of this story. The old sketches of injuries and people running, Heenot seeing monsters in the mist, especially when considered in concert with today's real word and the tragedies taking place, create a very strong knee-jerk reaction to the idea of a gas-based weapon no matter the actual details.

To me, the heart of this part of Caitlyn's descent is her actual motivation. And the poster spoke on this is as well. But I do not share the opinion that striving for measured and realistic rhetoric regarding their methods, softens the impact of what Caitlyn is going through internally as her character loses herself to her hate.

3. The statement by Amanda Overton regarding of use of The Grey as "Strategic to a pinpoint" does not equate to controlled use and street clearing. Gas travels far and you cannot control it. There is a long history of atrocity denial to support whatever cause those perpetrating it serve. And a single creator saying it was strategic feels akin to "Dumbledore was gay the whole time"

Okay. A central factor of my determination in classifying The Grey the way I did was that they use it in a controlled fashion to prevent/reduce violence as much as possible. Rather than say an offensive weapon to kill enemies on the battlefield allowing for a smooth march through. The poster is stating to my understanding that we lack the necessary evidence to support that, especially considering the nature of a gas based weapon. And in particular seems to be asserting that Vi was likely just trying to justify it. They are also questioning the validity of Amanda Overton's statement, suggesting that it was an afterthought in response to criticism not an initial story telling decision.

We lack enough evidence to support that it was used for clearing streets and in a controlled fashion, given the nature of gas and history of denial of war crimes.

Okay. So as we know the objectives Caitlyn announces are as follows:

Dismantle Shimmer

Apprehend Jinx

Eliminate agents still loyal to Silco

On a purely logical level only, how does The Grey offer an advantage?

Storming Chem-Baron bases means fighting. Anyone incapacitated to a degree by The Grey is someone they both don't have to kill, and who cannot kill them.

Jinx likes explosives and we even see her leaving a trap that wounds Loris in the hellfire cinematic. When you consider that alongside with her tendency to blow herself up when she loses a fight it seems fair to suggest that clearing innocents from the area is wise.

Given that, and the fact we never see any instance of The Grey being harmful from short term exposure, I believe it is reasonable to suggest they are in fact using it for the purposes I stated.

But I do understand the concern of gas being impossible to completely control. This is simply unavoidable fact. Although I will say we have some points that are worth remembering to this point.

When Smeech and his men arrive at the other Chem-Baron base, The Grey is leaking out, but it seems to be mostly settling in that area not flooding the whole Undercity or anything:

Where as inside where The Grey was actually deployed is a different matter entirely:

2. It also appears to dissipate quite quickly-

After Jinx attacks Piltover we don't see lingering clouds of gas. When Silco released a small amount on the chem-barons the room didn't fill and pool with gas. When the strike-team finds Heenot they are able to stand mask less after only a short time. During the final battle, while Caitlyn and her soldiers are trying to set off the bomb destroying Viktor's shell the entire battlefield is clouded with green. Caitlyn wakes after being knocked out a short time later and the entire area is crystal clear.

3. The Grey is released through specific use of the ventilation system designed by Caitlyn's mother in times and places of their choosing. We see Caitlyn operating levers and switches, valves opening releasing the gas, that sort of thing all in the hellfire cinematic. So while come would certainly slip through they have much more control then say grenades or bombs or something.

Amanda Overton and Vi's statements, gay dumbledore and the denial of atrocity:

So unfortunately this isn't really the sort of thing we can debate. I have shared both statements in question and ultimately there really isn't proof one way or the other. What I can say is this.

As far as Vi goes, you have to weigh the statement against the character. Vi is obviously conflicted about being an Enforcer and being on the team. And I agree with many that we should have bene shown a little more of that. But if The Grey were truly being used indiscriminately and harming civilians, Vi's cooperation would be completely inconsistent with her character and illogical. Also denying anything to Jinx would seem unnecessary, given that Vi calls Jinx out for her recent violence in that scene with no hesitation.

Amanda Overton's statement- "It was strategic to a pinpoint, still, is that forgivable?"

Her statement does not soften or excuse the use of The Grey. Merely clarifies the more extreme rhetoric that has emerged surrounding it. I feel that writing her off as as just one of the creators is a bit dismissive given the role she's played the craft of the entire story.

I suppose regarding her using this as an afterthought we really can't know. But I would say this. To suggest she made this change as an afterthought response to criticism is to suggest she believed fans would react well to The Grey if it were used indiscriminately. I can find no logic or rationale in the line of thinking for myself. But, as I said. You either believe or don't. I have no reason to doubt the word of one of the people who crafted the entire story.

4. Zaun Is An Occupied Zone Only Under Piltover's Jurisdiction Through Unjustly Enforced Violence

This was the posters response to my assertion that because The Council Of Piltover has jurisdiction over Zaun, including that of Law Enforcement, that also leant itself to the classification of The Grey as a Riot Control Agent in use during a domestic police action rather than warfare and by extension a war crime. So by calling into question the legitimacy and origin of that authority they call into question the actions of strike team and Caitlyn herself. The issue is that we are never given any information at all to suggest that Piltover ever seized control of Zaun or forced them down there, while we are given a multitude of information stating that in fact Zaun is a result of extreme neglect and negligence instead.

The two are listed almost everywhere as "the sister cities". With Piltover being built higher above Zaun, creating the issues of runoff and pollution and so on. To me, the logical suggestion is the native population built one, then the other, but the progress and innovations of Piltover started neglecting Zaun to the point that the divide grew beyond repair.

"Though technically under the governance of Piltover’s Council, Zaun has virtually been cast aside and isolated from whatever gains and advancements had been made in Piltover"- this comes from the arcane.fandom.wiki page for Zaun

The Council has to vote on independence for Zaun- I understand the poster is not questioning the existence of said authority but its legitimacy. However, at the very least the existence of said authority is not up for dispute, meaning that the actions of the strike team are indeed domestic law enforcement in nature.

While I in no way question that Zaun is oppressed by Piltover and has been mistreated beyond repair, I find it much more accurate to say that a very small government rules two cities and has completely turned their back on one of them. Rather than Zaun is an illegally occupied zone.

Conclusion:

At the end of the day everyone is entitled to their opinion. And really, I am just grateful that someone took the time to read mine, share their thoughts in a kind and respectful manner and move on. If you have been following me for any length of time you know this is the kind of stuff I actually really enjoy. Learning and seeing things from new angles and challenging myself to think critically about this story we all love so much. Again, please, I know some of you will probably read this and find the poster's views objectionable. Please do not seek them and be rude, they did what we all could use a lot more of. Thank you for reading. Have a good day!

**I hope this clear. I have had an absolute week from hell regarding sleep and I miss typos when I'm well rested!**