#whatever the details they're going to be dead by the end of the episode

[remnantspod]

does anyone have favourite Remnants People yet??

[genericpuff]

holy crap okay so

I'm two episodes into Kaos

normally I keep my expectations pretty minimal because, let's be real, the Internet - and especially Tumblr - has a tendency to severely overhype new series to be way better than they actually are and it often leaves me sitting there like "that's it? that's what people were freaking out over for weeks?? that was just a bunch of cheap ships and tropes that i've seen 123785902380 times before" LMAO

BUT thankfully compared to other series like Hazbin Hotel and The Amazing Digital Circus, I haven't been worn out on excessive fandom exposure prior to watching Kaos, so I didn't really know what to expect going in besides what folks have told me so far - it's a modern-day Greek epic, and it stars Jeff Goldblum as Zeus (which is, unsurprisingly, peak casting).

That said, I'm very pleased to say that so far, the show is absolutely blowing me away. The set designs, characterizations, weaving of all the players into a central narrative led by a very coy narrator, all of it feels both refreshing and respectful to the source material at the same time.

so uh yeah that LO animated TV show... we have reason to believe now that it's gotten picked up by Amazon Prime, at least according to the showrunner's LinkedIn and posting history from February of this year that seems to imply LO may have been picked up by Amazon-

(but still, nothing's really been confirmed because they're being so tight-lipped about this you'd almost think it's because there isn't a show happening at all cough)

But even then, that means at best we still won't see anything of the LO TV show adaption for another 2-3 years, depending on how production goes.

Why am I talking about LO right now? Well it should be obvious - Kaos double-whammied LO by beating it to the punch at its own game.

I mean, just look at the creative choices alone in the design of the Underworld and its rulers, our beloved Hades and Persephone.

And yes, the entire Underworld is color-graded like this, something so simple and yet effective in communicating the nature of the Underworld and what it stands for - a place where the past lives on through the dead, paused in time, devoid of the vibrant color grading found in Olympus - or "Olympia" as its been named in this retelling - which is, by the way, a visual treat to take in every time it's featured.

(and yes, that is S-tier-companion Billie Piper on the left, but I will not tell you who she's playing, you actually really should go into this show as blind as possible for the thrill of figuring out these characters as they're introduced <3)

That's not even getting into the narrative structure of the plot itself or the phenomenal casting and acting, but again, I don't want to spoil too much as the show is quite new, and I want to actually finish watching the show myself before I get more into the details of its story and how it delivers it (I'm very much hoping I will still be singing this show's praises at the end of its 8 episodes, please for the love of god don't jump the shark, I don't think my heart can take that kind of pain again.)

All that's to say though, Kaos is, so far, exactly what us disappointed fans of LO deserve after all these years, and frankly, I feel like whatever is coming for the LO animated TV show is really gonna have to step up to the plate to both live up to the bar that Kaos has set as well as stand on its own without being affiliated as a cheap Amazon knockoff living in its shadow. Sounds a little familiar and a bit ironic, doesn't it?

[weirdly-specific-but-ok]

REWATCHING GO S1, LIVE PLAY-BY-PLAY OF DOOMSDAY WAHOO

HELLO MAGGOTS REWATCHING SEASON 1 BECAUSE THE FIRST TIME WAS A KIDNAPPING CHAOTIC MESS. EPISODE ONE HERE GOES. I DON'T REMEMBER A LOT OF DETAILS BUT YES.

Opening scene and Earth's got vibe-checked by God and I've been gaslit about the dinosaurs

GARDEN OF EDEEEEEN wow his first appearance and Aziraphale's already so prissy and flustered might fuck around and fall in love with him idk

I finally understand who these mf's are hi Hastur and Ligur you're not zombies after all

FOR FUCK'S SAKE SECOND SCENE CROWLEY'S BEEN IN AND SHE WALKED IN, SERVED HIPS HAIR AND CUNT, AND THEN MANAGED TO TALK HER AWAY INTO A PROBLEM

LIKE GENUINELY SHE COMES AND SASHAYS WITH HER HAIR AND SAYS TIMES ARE CHANGING AND HEAD OFFICE LOVES ME AND JUST INSTANTLY HASTUR AND LIGUR USE HER WORDS AGAINST HER

idk sister mary loquacious is kinda doing it for me rn with that satanic nun's habit and losergirl energy

third crowley scene and he's misplaced THE LITERALLY GODDAMNED ANTICHRIST because he made small talk with a bloke outside without checking for details

mmmmhm yes sister mary wink again your bitchless decisions are sexy y'know what i mean

Gabriel feels like his brain was eviscerated and replaced with one of those youtuber's paid course promos at the end of their how to change your life in 45 days: three simple mindset shifts video

so THIS IS WHY EVERYONE KEEPS SAYING PAVLOVIAN IN THIS FANDOM IT'S BECAUSE OF DUCKS of course it's because of ducks

mmmhm yes sure crepes French revolu--Crowley stop eye-fucking Aziraphale you're making everyone at the Ritz horny

Aziraphale don't moan into your food man you can't take these two anywhere

Crowley thanking the driver for slowing down is everything to me

And they're drunk hu-fucking-zzah good thing we'll have 11 year olds saving the world coz these fuckers sure ain't doing shit

OH MY GOD HE WAS TRYING TO SAY BOUILLABAISSE I JUST REALISED. I THOUGHT HE WAS JUST MAKING KISSY FACES AT AZIRAPHALE I'M NOT OK-

What Aziraphale was doing back was definitely kissy faces though that mfer wasn't even trying to say bouillabaisse when Crowley said what sounded suspiciously like baby

kissy kissy from lil miss prissy [i would have made such a great high school bully shame i had no inclinations that way]

SORRY WHAT THE BLOODY FUCK WAS THAT SOBERING UP EXCUSE ME THE FANFICS MADE IT SOUND LIKE IT WAS A CLICK AND THEY'RE SUDDENLY NORMAL WHY IS THE ALCOHOL REFILLING

oop nun down nun down

i want ya see a wile ya thwart amirite on a t-shirt

"actually i encourage humans to-" just say you're a lazy bitch azi we love you

love crowley fake-manipulating azi into helping like azi wants to be manipulated y'know so it's not technically his fault he was wiled over or whatever and they're both just such ENABLERS

not azi going SOFT at being godfathers with crowley

NOT BROTHER FRANCIS PLEASE NO FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS SACRED AZI WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS PLEASE

WARLOCKKKKK I LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

HNNNG MICHAEL SHEEN HAD TOO MUCH FUN WITH THIS

why is nanny ashtoreth so seductive with that of course dear is it just crowley's inherent disastergirl sex appeal

HALF PONYTAIL CROWLEY I AM A FUCKING SLUT FOR HALF PONYTAIL

GASLIGHTING HEAVEN AND HELL THAT'S MY BABYGIRLS

erIC THE DISPOSABLE DEMON I DIDN'T KNOW THEY COME IN S1 well not come i hope unless being eaten by a hellho--nope

ANGEL CROWLEY SAID ANGEL ANGEL ANGEL

CROWLEY TRYING TO BE SUBTLE ABOUT KILLING BEFORE GETTING ANNOYED

waiter crOWLEY OUTFIT I CANNOT BE NORMAL AFTER THE WEDDING DRESS DESIGNING ABOUT THIS COSTUME

FOOLS WRONG BOY YOU FOOLS IM DEAD

DOG IS UNIRONICALLY SO CUTE EVEN BEFORE IT GOES SMOL

gonna give my roxie a kissy brb she's my angel and all this dog talk makes me miss her (she's a few feet away under the bed)

i asked her for a kissy and she crawled out and gave me a kiss i love her

DOGGGGG ADAMMM

...roxie's crying to be taken downstairs it's nearly 2 am this is on me for waking her up i crowley'd myself fml

EYYYYY WELCOME TO THE END TIMES don't mind me I'll have to take roxie down yes I know maggots I'm crowley-coded I KNOW THAT I'M A BLOODY DISASTER BYEEEEEEEE

[deathsbestgirl]

txf mytharc: pilot

preface: what you can expect from this series of mine.

i’m likely going to talk about each mytharc episode in full (at least nearly). the point of this isn’t to focus on mulder and scully, but there will still be a lot about them. we mostly see the mytharc through their eyes, and their partnership & experiences are a major part of that (and i think at this point, it’s clear i never shut up about them!). so for those that don’t really care about the mytharc, you might still find things to enjoy. at the end of each post, i’ll do a little summary of episode connections. i’m doing this as i rewatch so i will not have watched the future episodes yet – so please forgive any mistakes in details! i’m also pairing this with reading myth x: one fan’s interpretation of the the x files mytharc, and i’ll include some pieces that helped me unravel certain things, or that i’m simply keeping in mind as i rewatch! but mostly, this is just me enjoying the show. it’s what i think about when i watch. if it’s not your cup of tea, i completely understand. i do welcome discussion, but i make no promises to engage. i’m just sharing my little thoughts on this show that i really, really love.

something i get caught up in every time i watch the pilot is what csm & the syndicate were thinking (specifically in regards to assigning scully to the x files with mulder — i will probably talk about this over & over).

in the pilot we don’t even know about the syndicate. we meet section chief blevins, and other men with no names. including csm, who doesn’t even speak. he stands there looking stressed and smoking, observing scully and listening intently to the whole exchange. at the beginning, it’s hard to imagine how deep this goes, how widespread the government conspiracy is and it’s what makes it so fun for me to go back. we have so much more information later on, and we can take it back when we rewatch. there are so many connections to be made and although a lot of it doesn’t line up perfectly, i think it’s way more in line than people say. for me, there are several reasons that fit in with the world of the x files. first, there are so many unreliable narrators, people dealing in lies and coverups, only letting mulder & scully and whomever see what they want them to see. they purposely feed certain beliefs, and stifle them at other times. csm’s goals are muddled: he wants mulder on his side, he’s trying to save the human race/shape it into his own creation. he pretends to be a chess master, but as he says in sixth extinction/amor fati: he is one man.

the pilot starts with a cold open, a young woman running through the woods in her pajamas. we see a male figure and a bright white light. next thing, the young woman is lying dead on the forest floor as a team documents the scene and tries to identify her. detective miles identifies here as karen swanson and walks away, as the other investigator shouts “it’s happening again, isn’t it?”

next we follow special agent dana scully into the hoover building and to blevins office. he peppers her with questions about her fbi experience, if she’s heard of fox mulder and the x files. she’s young and open and maybe a little too honest. every time i try to write about the pilot something i always end up writing: scully understood what these men wanted her to. i don’t think it’s what csm wanted, but it might be what the syndicate wanted. scully was expected to debunk the x files, and if she did, they would probably reward her with whatever promotion or job she wanted within the fbi (or better, recruit her to the syndicate?). but as will consistently happen, they underestimated her. i’m not sure any of these men could have predicted what her & mulder would come to mean to each other. i don't think they could grasp her honesty or goodness, her ethics & morals, her complex beliefs & sense of justice. they live in a world where everyone is selfish & cruel, where they do what is “necessary” or what they're ordered to, where people will always choose themselves above others, but that is not scully. and it isn’t mulder.

(aside that maybe isn’t necessarily relevant but the thought always pops into my mind: it’s very interesting to me that they have this meeting with her and just send her down to mulder’s office. there’s no meeting with mulder, scully and their superiors together. all of it strikes me as a punishment for mulder, and a test for scully. i really think there’s something of interest to them in scully’s background. scientist, medical doctor, navy captain’s daughter, semi practicing/lapsed catholic. in theory, she could have been a perfect fit for the syndicate. but i really think most of them lack an understanding of people, of humanity. they deal in the worst of humanity – and mulder & scully are the best of humanity.)

initially when i started this (my little notebook) i was going to focus on just csm. but lately, the mytharc has gripped me. i don’t typically rewatch those episodes, unless i’m watching the entire series or a season in full. or a specific arc (like the cancer arc of course). but i’ve been slowly watching the mytharc episodes and they all connect, intricately, weaving a complicated web of truths & untruths & half truths. it’s so detailed and convoluted and maybe confusing. and so i wanted to go piece by piece. as i’ve said before, i don’t think everything lines up perfectly, and it isn’t supposed to. this is a global conspiracy, we learn things as mulder & scully do. they are largely on the outside of it, trying to break in to expose the truth & hopefully dismantle it. they are continuously misled, misdirected, stonewalled. there are many different projects with experimental science developing different defenses/giruses/andmtidotes, with different goals. evidence destroyed or stolen, tampered with. they are manipulated and used and discarded and returned and nearly killed as the syndicate sees fit at the current time. but so many things connect back to the pilot. the writers may not have had a show bible, but they most certainly looked back to pick up different threads and carry them through.

after scully’s meeting, we follow her down into mulder’s basement office. scully knocks on the door, opens it when he responds and takes in the whole atmosphere. he jumps right into it, letting scully know he’s aware of what her assignment is, that he looked into her background, and starting in on the case. in mulder’s way, he starts testing scully too, and i think she passes every single one. even if she’s saying things he doesn’t really want to hear. at the least, she takes him seriously (enough) to give rebuttals and show she cares. i’m not sure mulder has ever distrusted a single soul, but at least scully earns it.

the few things we learn about the case, what makes it an x file: the marks on the girl’s back, the compound in the surrounding tissue, no clear cause of death. and the fact that there’s a string of these killings in bellefleur, oregon with similarities to other cases in shamrock, texas and sturgis, south dakota.

mulder poses two questions, the first:

maybe what you can explain to me is why it’s bureau policy to label these cases “unexplained phenomenon” and ignore them.

scully has no answer, but i do think this starts her mind rolling. right here she’s put on the path of radicalization, in her scully way. the second:

when convention and science offer us no answer, might we not finally turn to the fantastic as a plausibility?

and i think this moment sets up their roles. scully responds with “the girl obviously died of something. if it was natural causes, it’s plausible that there was something missed in the post-mortem. if she was murdered, it’s plausible there was a sloppy investigation. what i find fantastic is any notion that there are answers beyond the realm of science. the answers are there. you just have to know where to look.” mulder, the believer, turning to the fantastic. scully, the skeptic, turning to science. this is my favorite thing about them, it builds the way they communicate and is a huge part of building trust between them. it’s also a major part in how they get to know each other. it’s always been one of my favorite things about them. it’s built on listening, not just pushing their beliefs or agenda. they always incorporate what the other says – as in, scully tends to shape the science & investigation around his theories. it gives her a place to start and build from. and scully’s science refines mulder’s theories and gets them closer to the truth.

it very quickly becomes one of the ways they depend on each other, setting up expectations they don’t yet understand the implications of and will take them years to rewrite (still built on the trust blooming from this first scene).

as soon as they’re in oregon, even still on the plane, the weirdness starts. unexpected turbulence, radio interference, inhuman like corpse unburied, the metal implant in the nasal cavity. mulder isn’t surprised by the turbulence or radio static, he marks the spot with an x. scully is just confused and baffled by his behavior (i love it). during the autopsy, they’re a little combative. my favorite moment is when mulder tells her:

i’m not crazy, scully. i have the same doubts you do.

this is an important moment for scully. he cares what she thinks, and she does take him seriously. i think it’s easy to think that she doesn’t, she does dismiss his ideas initially. but she’s still following him, peppering him with questions. they talk it through every time, and that’s special. it only gets stronger.

when mulder lifts peggy o’dell’s shirt to find the marks on her back, scully is so angry (she’s afraid) and she storms out of the building – mulder immediately follows her. she doesn’t believe these are alien abductions, she doesn’t know yet what the marks are, what the experience is. she has questions and she wants answers, she wants the truth. scully doesn’t believe his theory of alien abductions, and he asks her “do you have a better explanation?” and this is the first time he directly asks what she thinks. to me, this is the scene that really determines their dynamic. what mulder takes from this conversation is scully really does want the truth, she cares. and that’s important. and scully asks: “what were they doing in the forest?” cut to mulder and scully in the forest, scully pocketing dirt, detective miles coming upon them. (he listened to her, and the next step in their investigation becomes trying to answer that question!)

in the car, she shows mulder the dirt. he asks if it’s a campfire (it does look a lot like ash). but scully tells him it was all over the ground. right after, the car loses power and they lose nine minutes. scully doesn’t witness the time change but mulder is ecstatic.

this all leads to the motel room scene. scully has marks on her back and she can’t see them and the marks on peggy o’dell scared her. you could see it in her face, even through her anger & annoyance with mulder. the fact that she goes running to mulder, clearly afraid and vulnerable…it showed something else to mulder. this moment lets him see beyond ‘scully’s a spy” and her disbelief/skepticism. mulder cares about people, and he cares about scully despite himself. so when she turns into his chest, he puts his arm on her shoulder. shocked at her vulnerability, the way she seeks comfort from him. mulder lets her stay in his room, gives her a blanket to curl up on his bed as he sits below her and tells her about samantha.

usually this scene is discussed because of the intimacy between mulder & scully, but we learn a lot about the mytharc here too. samantha “disappeared from her bed one night” and there was no evidence, no contact, and no one would talk about it. he went to oxford, got recruited by the bureau. (while they’re having this conversation, someone is lurking outside the motel room.) he finds the x files and he was allowed to indulge because of his success and connections. mulder tells scully:

i’m telling you this, scully, because you need to know, because of what you’ve seen. in my research, i’ve worked very closely with a man named dr. heitz werber and he’s taken me through deep regression hypnosis. i’ve been able to go into my own repressed memories to the night my sister disappeared. i can recall a bright light outside and a presence in the room. i was paralyzed, unable to respond to my sister’s calls for help…listen to me, scully, this thing exists…the government knows about it, and i gotta know what they’re protecting. nothing else matters to me, and this is as close as i’ve ever gotten to it.

he covers sam’s abduction, how he found the x files, why he’s allowed to work on them, and the first inkling (for the audience) of a government conspiracy.

this is when mulder gets the call about peggy o’dell. (scully’s jump at the phone ringing is striking. she was so focused on mulder and what he was telling her, everything else faded away.) they go to the scene and mulder is shocked to hear peggy was running – “on foot?” just really cracks me up. as he’s focused on talking to the man driving, scully is taking a look at peggy’s body and makes note of the time on her watch, which is stopped. but just then, mulder learns ray soames’ corpse is missing. when they get back to the motel, it’s on fire with scully’s laptop, pictures and evidence inside.

theresa nemman approaches them in the chaos, they take her to a diner to hear what she has to say. she talks about finding herself in the woods, not knowing how she got there. she tells them she has the marks on her back too. she’s afraid she’s going to die too. her nose starts to bleed, like peggy’s did earlier, and as scully jumps up to grab napkins for her, theresa’s father, dr. nemman shows up with detective miles to take her home. this is when they realize det. miles’ is billy’s father.

mulder & scully have a brief conversation, brimming with their frustrations of losing their files & evidence, being denied access to a girl who needs help and wanted to talk, realizing how much these men are concealing. scully’s putting together dr. nemman’s & det. miles’ involvement. “they know” vs “they know something” – leading to mulder’s ultimate question (at this moment lol) of what’s in the other graves. when they go to check, the graves have already been dug up. the only other bodies already taken. at the graves, mulder puts together that billy miles is responsible. scully starts to follow his thoughts. he talks about time being stopped, he pauses “you think i’m crazy” and scully…she’s silent for a moment before telling him about peggy o’dell’s watch. another huge moment to me. she doesn’t believe it’s alien abduction, but she starts to understand the way mulder’s mind works, the connections he makes and the subsequent leaps. she doesn't keep this information from him despite it feeding a theory she doesn't agree with.

they head over to see billy miles. mulder talks to the nurse and scully starts to examine billy, finding his feet dirty, covered in the same dirt she found in the forest. a boy, who has been in a coma for years, completely bedridden and seemingly unaware of what’s happening around him. and scully is ready to run with this. he was out in the woods!!! and another important moment, mulder grounds her. reminds her of what she needs to do, her reports, procedure. and i think this is the moment that cements their roles – but shows they can also switch as need arises. mulder didn't understand how much he needed the science & evidence until he had someone ready to find it. so they go back out to the woods to get another sample of the dirt. that’s when they hear theresa scream and they go running. det. miles hits scully over the head and goes running after mulder, holding him at gunpoint as theresa continues to scream. and i love this moment too, because mulder appeals to this man’s better nature, urging him not to let billy kill another person. mulder stops him from shooting his son too. we see the marks on billy’s back, as a white light starts to overtake the scene with leaves blowing like a cyclone around billy & theresa. when the light finally fades, billy is conscious again, theresa is safe and the marks are gone from billy’s back. instantaneously.

the ending scenes are billy under hypnotic regression with dr. werber. mulder in the room with them. scully, blevins, the other man from scully’s meeting, and csm observing. billy talks about the aliens, the tests, the implant. the tests didn’t work, and the aliens were destroying the evidence. killing the abductees…mulder and scully make eye contact through the glass. cut to scully reporting to blevins. she can’t substantiate anything, they have no evidence, how do you prosecute?? this is what blevins & company care about. but scully held onto one piece of evidence: the implant, made of a metal that could not be identified, the implant billy miles claimed was controlling him. she leaves it with blevins, and when she exits, she watches csm enter blevins’ office. she has no idea who this man is, but he has been present at crucial moments and she took notice. she doesn’t understand yet but she won’t forget him.

in the end, mulder calls scully late at night to tell her the case file on billy miles has disappeared. csm is walking into the pentagon storage facility, filing away the metal implant with others just like it.

the pilot really lays a lot of groundwork. the implants, the marks/scars. the abduction experience, time loss, electronic interference, hypnotic regression. deformed corpses. government connections. disappearing evidence, constant interference. samantha’s abduction.

episode connections (before i watch future episodes):

conduit: small detail, but the ash-like dirt reminds me of the sand & glass at lake okobogee.

duane barry: he has an implant in his nasal cavity, much like the one they find. later on, in the anasazi trilogy, we learn scully has a chip in her neck which later connects her to other female abductees and carries through to cassandra in patient x/the red and the black.

cancer arc: billy miles indicates the exact place scully gets cancer.

reduxes: blevins is exposed as the mole. for the first part of the first season, scully reports to him until the x files is reassigned to skinner’s jurisdiction. his involvement isn’t fully explored, but he doesn’t completely disappear.

deadalive: ray soames’ transformation – possibly a failed attempt of what happens to billy miles & others, and nearly happens to mulder. also similar to the bodies mulder finds in anasazi.

csm: he’s there for scully’s meeting with blevins, he is there at the end for billy miles’ hypnotic regression. he is the most prominent figure in the conspiracy, as far as what we see, with a direct hand in scully’s & mulder’s experiences.

samantha’s abduction: there are two different versions of her abduction. truthfully, i think they just changed the story to work better for them. BUT (as i’ve mentioned before) i think it fits well into the mytharc later on – within the framework of the show, i think it’s possible samantha was abducted twice. conduit, paper hearts, demons, and another episode.

myth x:

one thing i really do like about this book is that it breaks down all the players. each group of aliens are given a clear name (which appear in the show but was never completely clear to me until this time around). michelle bush purports that the aliens abducting the oregon teens are walk-ins, representing the divine. they’re supposedly good but don’t know how to go about their goals. in some ways, this rings true. it’s the walk-ins that “save” samantha from more suffering. it’s like the walk-ins cassandra spender believes are trying to help them. bush describes their goal as “reintegration of both halves of the whole (alien and human) using natural means; this results in a single sentience allowing a return to physical and spiritual harmony.” which on paper, doesn’t sound bad. but their methods are as harmful as any of the others (alien and human alike).

[hanayanaa]

V ISNT DEAD GUYS!!! : )

ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR DENIAL WITH PROOF AND EVIDENCE KIDS

1) well okay, first off, the classic rule that if a character dies off screen, they're probably not dead. classic time tested rule!

2) they made so much merch of her, not to mention she's literally the face of the franchise as one of the first characters liam made for the show. They aren't going to kill off such an iconic and integral character this early on. remember, we still have SEVERAL more seasons to go!

3) the lyrics of eternal dream, which are supposedly about V's inner thoughts and wishes, states that she is tired of this dream (life), which is more of a nightmare for her. I'm going to annotate the entirety of it on genius sometime this week hopefully /srs, but the last line is "I can't end this dream", a desperate cry, for she can't escape her living nightmare, where she is hurt and used and traumatized so much, but also, in our case, potential evidence of her coming back? nola klop, her va, also said that this version isn't the whole song, since she mentions being excited for the full version. and since it's about V, a full version, along with that line, implies she will return. mostly that latter point though, ill admit the single line might be a stretch LOLL but i figured eh might as well include it...

4) J's still off reading about stock prices or whatever in tessa's space ship lol. J's doing J things and she might've gotten bored and went exploring and ended up finding and saving V. we literally have no idea what she's doing besides getting a command to look after tessa's vehicle, which she can probably do from a relative distance. she's stated as a workaholic, but that means she'd also probably get bored quickly if she has nothing to actively do, if there isn't anything for her to be actively guarding, she might wander off while simply occasionally checking the ship. (I also want more J too she's so fucking funny)

5) she had her eyes closed during the final scene where we see her! If she had kept them closed, then she should be fine in regards to getting bootlooped at least. maybe she was scared, or was embarrassed in a way, not wanting herself or anyone else to see her in this raw, vulnerable state she hates and fears so much. and unless the sentinels tear out her heart/core, she'll probably be fine and can regenerate herself. (side note: alice has an id card like nori and yeva, doll's mother. she was one of the patient zero drones who were purposefully infected with solver in order to see it's effects and conduct research, so she'll probably be back as well, considering she's most likely a solver user. beau might be back, i can't say for sure, all depends if she decides to revive him or not. the disassembly drone corpses in cabin fever labs were probably because alice used a combination of sentinels and solver manipulation to take them down and remove their hearts, which we can see she keeps in an old oven, which is why they can't regenerate themselves anymore and are effectively dead. the hearts are the "worm" thing uzi mentioned would come out of V if alice cut her up.)

6) while the show itself has a lot of gags, it's also brimming with genuine love for detail and lore, like they're fucking around, but they're also not fucking around. V has a lot to tell us still, since she's been extremely mysterious and quiet about her own personal past, probably due to trauma and being terrified of being vulnerable, since she was so often hurt when she let her guard down. a lot of things about her aren't really directly mentioned, and are just IMPLIED, the most prominent examples being her genuine inner thoughts, since there are many zoom-ins to her face and expressions, but we are only left to guess on what she's really thinking. so they're not going to let her go just yet; in fact, i think the next episode will be one centered around her (probably more flashbacks? who knows, but i think since she's been important, but not centered on really until now, she'll recieve her own time in the spotlight.)

7) similar to the point above, her character arc is far from over, and if she were to die now, it'd be a crime against her character and the entire story. she was and still is a vital part of the team, but everyone else was so wrapped up in their own plans or infatuations that poor V ended up getting almost completely ignored. even though she loves everyone deep down, and protects them with her life, she never once got a thank you, or asked how she's doing, or anything. all she got was mostly light arguements and insults back-- the last thing uzi said to her was "you, ew! you're mean!", while the last thing V said to uzi was "uzi, I trust you." one could argue that because of her snarky attitude, she's kind of walking into these scuffles, but...really? no one ever stopped for one second to think about that person right next to them and think about who they are beyond that snark? not even N, who's been with her since the beginning, and openly admitted to having a crush on her? or tessa, her superior, who presumably rescued her from the dump, gave her clothes and hair and companionship? she squealed upon seeing N, but didn't give a single glance at V aside from an argument near the end of the episode, and a reflection of V looking solemnly back in her helmet. i genuinely think that because of these mistakes, she'll come back... eventually, at least, so hopefully they can learn from their mistakes and treat her better this time around, for they are getting a second chance, and everyone can slowly start healing together. V has a very broken heart, so for her to fully heal, i unfortunately don't think that will happen for a long time, but she can begin the process slowly, if her teammates start treating her more kindly, as a peer, someone whose thoughts and opinions and feelings matter too, rather than just someone to be snarky and argued with.

to summarize, she has an almost 99.9% chance of coming back because she's the face of the franchise, along with having a bunch of merchandise, it'd be kind like of shooting yourself in the foot to kill off the literal most iconic character, the literal icon. the final lyrics of eternal dream and the mention from her va that this current version isn't even the full length version, implies V will come back, especially since the song is from her point of view. lastly, her character arc is far from over, since while being a vital part of the team, her teammates have been ignoring her for the most part ever since episode 2, even though she's been there with them this entire time. bringing her back gives everyone a chance to make it up to her, and brings both parties to a point of healing. lastly, her character arc aside, she has much to tell us about the lore, since she is implied to know and be hiding a lot, but since she is so mysterious due to her painful past, it is hard for her to open up. the last two points are connected, as if she is more comfortable, she'll open up more, revealing more about the lore and story along with it.

Out of all the characters ive loved throughout the years, i genuinely do think she is the most tragic one. considering the only real decision she was ever allowed to make was sacrificing herself to the sentinels, possibly in an attempted suicide to finally end all of the pain welled up in her heart? yeah.

she's probably one of my favourite characters of all time, even though ive only recently watched it, she has already made a permanent mark on my heart. i really, truly do hope that she comes back, because she deserves it. she deserves to heal and be appreciated for who she is, and she deserves a space where she's comfortable enough to let down her walls and be her honest self again. i think if she comes back, we'll see a much more vulnerable and timid side of her we haven't seen before except for occasional rare moments. she'll still be snarky, but it'll take her a while to recover from the initial shock of all her emotional turmoil surrounding her sacrifice, as well as get used to all the new attention she's getting. after that, however, she'll recover and start healing and come back as a stronger, happier, and still very snarky V. ♡

[smokestarrules]

May I ask about the Star Vs downspiral? I remember seeing commercials about that show but that's the extent of what I know. But I'm curious now.

Well, honestly there was a Lot that contributed to its fall from grace, but here are some of the lowlights.

(It's been a very long time since I watched this show so I may be forgetting some details; this is how I remember it).

A) Four prominent characters are drawn into a horrible, horrible love square. Star herself, Marco, who is the other main character whose family she stays with while on Earth, her ex-boyfriend Tom, and another character who we meet later, Kelly. I'm sure some people always shipped Star and Marco, whatever, but a significant amount of the fandom including myself were beyond content with their relationship staying platonic---romance was not a factor that needed to be brought in to make us care about their dynamic. In fact, romance just about killed any enjoyment for them at all because it was so poorly written.

Marco and Star go back and forth between taking that romantic step and subsequently rejecting each other for various reasons. At some point Star gets back with her ex, Tom, who seems to have turned over a new leaf. Marco and Tom even have episodes where they hang out together too. Then Marco starts dating Kelly at the same time Star and Tom start to fall out again.

Now that I'm writing this I've realized I actually forgot another entire character who was wrapped up in this; Jackie Lynn, who Marco has a crush on in the early season(s?). She and Marco are together at some point until she leaves him because he's clearly not into her anymore. There are five characters who get stuck in this terrible plotline.

It's just... so needlessly dramatic and completely unnecessary. Star and Marco end up together, of course, but in doing so they completely screw over those two other characters, and by that time, their relationship just leaves a bad taste in fans' mouths.

B) Star VS as a show initially started out as pretty episodic and pivoted to a more narrative-driven storyline later on, which isn't at all necessarily bad, but a lot of what I personally liked about the show ended up being pushed to the wayside because of the bigger emphasis on the plot, and it was disappointing. Not everything needs to have a massive earth-shattering narrative to be good.

The early episodes were character-driven, full of incredibly interesting worldbuilding, and just fun to watch. All of those things were shoved away to make room for something more dramatic and serious.

C) The main bad guys are also pretty much an entire species which is never a good idea because it breeds so many uncomfortable writing decisions. They're "monsters" and they are The Bad Guys, who the Regular People need to stay away from. The narrative kinda tries to challenge this concept, but in the end it's really just not important whatsoever.

Honorable mention) When the show was still good, Marco had a couple episodes in which really interesting things were happening with his gender; he crossdressed as part of Plot and then seemed as as if he was confused about how it made him feel? But later on that plotline turned into more of a joke than it already was and went nowhere. Just weird.

D) How the show ended was one of the absolute worst I've ever seen. I truly cannot explain to you just how--bizarre it is; anticlimactic, rushed, unexpected in the worst way. To stop people from fighting, Star makes the incredibly quick decision to just. destroy magic.

So she does.

The aftermath shows that the two dimensions (Earth and Star's original home, Mewni) are now merged together in some sort of 'happy' fusion, magic is completely not a thing anymore, and entire species that have before been shown to canonically need magic to survive are dead because of it, though the show doesn't think to provide a better explanation for that at all.

And it ends.

[mllemaenad]

The Magnus Protocol: Taking Notes

Okay, well, it sounds very much as though "Freddy" is tattling on Sam. Might not be, of course: once you've assigned a personality to something you head straight down the path of attributing meaning and motive to all its actions. And in the case of Freddy, there might be no intelligence behind it, one intelligence with many voices behind it, or many intelligences with potentially competing motives behind it. Depending on which of those it is, you get a different picture of why it does what it does.

It alerts Alice that Sam has been poking around "The Magnus Protocol". It shouldn't have alerted Alice; it sounds as though Colin was the intended recipient, although it would make sense for it to go to Lena as well. It suggests that it did not want official action taken against him for looking – whatever that might mean – but that it did want someone to know what he was doing.

It's fairly easy to predict that Alice, upon receiving such an alert, will tell Sam to knock it off but not actually take any action against him. The recording Gwen hears at the end of the episode suggests (although does not confirm) that things can in fact go very, very wrong in this job – so this may constitute a protective gesture. On the other hand, if the greatest risk were to just be getting fired, well then that might be for the best.

It's a weird alert, though.

Alice I just received a security notification. Sam About me? Alice Someone was trying to access restricted files. And my money is on you. – The Magnus Protocol: Taking Notes

What do you mean, "someone" is trying to access restricted files? No user ID? Or username? Or even a device ID? What the hell sort of security alert is that? If you were a manager, and you received that, you'd have to go on a witch hunt. Depending on how you look at it, it's either a terrible alert tailored to produce a stressful working experience ... or a whisper that might be meaningful to Alice, and no one else.

The arrival of the third voice, "Augustus" is interesting because he is a complete unknown. To be clear, I'm aware that the prevailing theory is that this is Jonah Magnus. I'm not especially here to dispute that; not at the moment. The man's first name starts with a "J", which fits nicely with ".jmj error" and, well, the name Magnus is right there in the title, which suggests it's at least to some degree relevant. It's as good a theory as any, and while you can absolutely throw out other possible names there's not enough detail yet to prove anything.

But what is interesting is the implication if that is Jonah Magnus. If the voices originated in this world then they might be anybody, of course. No way to tell. But if they came from another world, it suggests that something more than just voices came through. Because, to my knowledge, that voice was never recorded.

It makes sense that you'd hear John's voice leaking between worlds – he's on virtually all the tapes. It makes reasonable sense that you'd hear Martin's: he was on quite a lot. You might also expect "Elias Bouchard", or Basira or Tim or even Gertrude – because if it's just voices then whether they're alive or dead or even confirmed still hanging about in another dimension shouldn't matter. But if it is Magnus, then something came through that wasn't recorded: the voice of an earlier body, or even his original one. Some internal sense of "this is how I sound" that differs from anything recorded on the tapes.

And if it isn't him? Well, all of the above still applies, with the added question of "Who is it, then?"

If it is him – and I will speak as such for now because there's not yet enough thread to follow if it isn't – then his story choice is interesting.

Alice Dear grandpa Augustus does always tell such lovely stories. – The Magnus Protocol: Taking Notes

Alice implies that Augustus's stories are somehow worse than Norris's and Chester's – she didn't remark on any of theirs in quite the same way, except to call Norris's first one "tame". I don't know what metric she's using: they all seem pretty ghoulish. But this story does address a different perspective.

It's a tale of resentment and entitlement. Of someone who was special, but not quite special enough for his own liking – and who fed his soul to something monstrous to increase his own standing. His father seems to have a seat in the House of Lords, and all the wealth and standing that would accompany that position. The letter writer, however, is a bastard: an acknowledged bastard, apparently, whose father has provided for him, but nevertheless a bastard set apart from the legitimate children of the household.

He's also very concerned that people aren't appreciating his talents.

Augustus/Violinist My violin tutor, one Oliver Bardwell by name, nursed a conviction that this honor was purely the fruit of his own skills as an instructor, rather than a product of my talent and endeavor. ... My course was set for Mannheim, a destination where I felt a youthful certainty that my brilliance would at last be acknowledged. – The Magnus Protocol: Taking Notes

This fits very well with Jonah Magnus, who very much played second fiddle, so to speak, in the story that had his name on it. On a meta level: he was the villain of the piece, the one who pretty well had to fall and fail in order for the narrative to reach its conclusion. But even in-universe it's highlighted that he's just ... not that special:

Archivist Right. When I said that I would ‘replace’ Jonah in there, that’s not– That place, the centre of The Eye, i-it’s… It wasn’t made for him. That’s why he’s like that, it’s too much, it’s overwhelmed him, his whole being, just destroyed. Martin Oh yeah? But let me guess, it was made for you? Archivist Yes. – The Magnus Archives: Parting

It's got to be galling: Magnus built an institute and served his god for literal centuries, and eventually remade the world under its power. But does the Eye want him? No, no it does not. It wants the grumpy archivist who does not want to be here at all, and who is in fact actively plotting to kill it. Jonah Magnus is the Eye's acknowledged, but displaced, bastard son.

It's also implied that a sense of ... hm ... aristocratic entitlement, let's say, played a part in the selection of his hosts:

Archivist Elias’ stomach tightened at the memory, the fierce judgement in his father’s eyes. Even laid out in a casket, it was as if he had looked at Elias with disdain. What should he say? That he had no idea why he wanted this job? That he was all alone in the world, no friends, no family, nothing but the deep certainty that he deserved better. That he was destined to be important. That it was in his blood. – The Magnus Archives: A Stern Look

And it is hard not to notice, at this point, that Augustus picked Gwen to hear this tale.

The violinist is "gifted" an instrument by a dubious merchant type reminiscent of Mikaele Salesa (the man was right – the peddler of magical artefacts is indeed a folktale staple), and it did make him a bit more special ... but never, ever quite special enough:

Augustus/Violinist And yet, while admiration rained down upon me, never was I elevated beyond the confines of my origins. The rarefied world of my noble patrons was closed to me. Modest riches adorned me, some small fame clung to my name, but never was I truly allowed to escape the position of my birth. – The Magnus Protocol: Taking Notes

It is also very much the story of a man who learned how to hurt other people for his own gain:

Augustus/Violinist It was not simple philanthropy that led to my taking on positions of tutelage in those bustling cities where I plied my trade, providing a musical education to the poor and the easily forgotten, asking nothing in return. Nothing except the occasional student who would not be missed. – The Magnus Protocol: Taking Notes

That's almost exactly how Magnus operated: employing people who would not be missed and then using them up to serve his own ends. Like Magnus, the violinist feeds people to his malevolent god.

And, not least, there are the sinister implications of the letter itself. The recipient is a "nephew", meaning he is almost certainly the child of one of the violinist's legitimate half-siblings: people he dismisses as "useless". He was not close with the nephew, so his inheritance may be something of a surprise.

Which leads to this:

Augustus/Violinist There has been a great deal of rain here this last fortnight, which has been strangely pleasing to my maudlin mood, and has brought with it some nostalgia for that dreary summer you took residence with me. I flatter myself to think that I might have imprinted upon you some part of myself in that time together, and perhaps in this way I seek to keep hold of my prized violin still. – The Magnus Protocol: Taking Notes

Right. So, yeah, the kid is definitely screwed. For all we know, the violinist lives still.

If Norris's stories are of loss and regret, and Chester's could be called a warning, Augustus's is both an enticement and a trap.

Go on. Play the cursed violin. Feed it blood. What could possibly go wrong?

But you have to wonder, then: why would Magnus tell a story that so neatly reflects what an awful person he was?

We also establish, outside the main story, that Gwen is definitely the kind of person to open weird attachments in her work email. When the OIAR gets hit with a ransomware attack, we'll all know who to blame.

It's hard to state anything definitive about what she heard. I mean – yes, it sounds bad, but, well, Gertrude Robinson once dismembered a man and threw him down a cursed pit. I'm not going to sit here and try to claim Gertrude was nice, but she was very much on the side of the world not ending. What any of this means all hinges on who the guy Lena was talking to was.

And, of course, this one is littered with world-building notes to put aside for later: "Starkwall", "The San Pedro Square Massacre", "The Protocol". Little you can do with any of them immediately.

But ... just for a thought exercise, say it is Jonah Magnus talking.

A protocol can be a lot of things. It may be rules to be followed in a formal occasion. It may be instructions in the event of an emergency. And there are also network protocols, which are about the transfer of information. I suspect in this case it has a double meaning, as Archives did. So it is something practical ... and also something else.

The word is then uttered for the first time in the episode where Magnus first speaks. It is immediately followed by a tale in which a man transfers an instrument – and I think more importantly the music that instrument produced – to someone new, and in doing so hopes to transfer some or all of himself.

The thing is. I'm not going to call Magnus's master plan "bloody stupid" but ... well, let's just say it had some obvious holes. I mean, really. He spent literal years specifically torturing this one guy, then used him very much against his will to end the world, and then just ... let him wander around, being annoyed about that. Obviously John had some moral qualms about the whole apocalypse situation, but even had he not – pretty well anybody would probably put "ruin Jonah's day" quite near the top of their to do list, under the circumstances.

It would hardly take a genius to foresee some retaliation. And self preservation is Magnus's whole deal. It's the reason he gives for destroying the world:

Archivist/Jonah Magnus I began to worry that if one of them successfully attempted their ritual, then I would be as much a victim as any, trapped in the nightmare landscape of a twisted world. At first, I attempted prevention, but the cause seemed hopeless. The only way to ensure I did not suffer the tribulations of what I believed to be an inevitable transformation was to bring it about myself. So what began as an experiment soon became a race. Beyond that, I was getting older, and mortality began to weigh more heavily on my mind. How much in this world is done because we fear death, the last and greatest terror? – The Magnus Archives: The Eye Opens

The apocalypse is just him getting everyone else before they could get him. And I have wondered, a bit, about Magnus's attitude in Last Words:

Archivist It’s over. Jonah/Elias Is it? [sigh] Yes. Yes, I suppose it must be. [TIRED EXHALATION] Where’s Martin? I rather thought he’d be the one to do the deed. … [METALLIC CLINK] Ah, I see. Going it alone, are we? Probably for the best. Empathy only holds you back in the end. Archivist You’ve failed. Jonah/Elias Have I? Archivist Immortality. It’s impossible. Even without me, nothing escapes entropy. Not forever. Not even fear. Jonah/Elias Yes… Pity. I suppose I always knew that, deep down. But it was wonderful while it lasted. I’ve seen more than I could have lived in a thousand lifetimes, and every moment was so – – The Magnus Archives: Last Words

That's all very odd, really. He thought Martin would kill him? In fact, he once bet quite heavily that Martin would not kill him. Of course, he hadn't ruined the whole world at that point, which is a thing that might well adjust a man's attitude to murder. So he thought Martin would come here, and kill him?

He was not especially surprised to see John standing over him with a knife. He seemed mostly bemused at the idea that he had failed, although he did agree that this thing, in which he bathed in the misery of others, was indeed over. There was some begging and screaming, of course, but he put up very little resistance – even though this was a straightforward physical assault. None of John's overwhelming psychic powers here, just a man who never showed much inclination toward violence taking his very first stab, so to speak, at knifing someone to death.

It seems peculiar, that a man who would do literally anything to stay alive – who betrayed his friends, who stole the lives of others, who doomed the whole world – would not have a plan in place to escape the very obvious enemy who was almost certainly going to come after him.

Unless, of course, he did have a plan. And we're listening to it.

[wasyago]

okay um

riptide spoilers for the recent episodes!!!

I dont usually write theories and stuff but i haven't really seen anyone talk about it (maybe i just missed it), and i need to get these thoughts written down because my mind is going a million miles per hour and its driving me crazy.

(Also i guess, disclaimer, im not a patron so the last ep i saw was 108, and i don't know any of the information shared in rolled.)

So. This team of strong pirates, Captain Widow, they're turning the Dread Queen into a lich, right? Like, that's the only logical solution i can think of. They're talking about the Dread Queen obtaining power over life and death, which is like the main lich thing - immortality and the ability to be both dead and alive at the same time. They're performing a long complicated ritual, which is also necessary to become a lich, and that ritual requires a lot of sacrifices and feeding energy and nutrients to the Dread Queen. (And, i apologize, all my knowledge about liches comes from Pointy Hat's videos, but i think they're pretty good to base a theory on).

From what i can recall and what i relistened to: no one knows anything about the Dread Queen, Shadowbeard has never talked about her, in the newspaper about the Lords she was just a silhouette, in the memory Jay got from the Black Sea all they said is that they needed to find her corpse in order to make someone a pirate lord (which clarifies nothing), Drey thought she and all the rest of the Pirate Lords were dead. From what we know about the Lords, Rose dissappeared in the hole in the sea accident. According to Lizzie's words, a couple years ago two more of the Pirate Lords went missing, which are the Dread Queen and our boy Hendrix (which we know is hiding in his pocket dimension). And then Shadowbeard was murdered by Ava in the Shadow Scull Masacre.

As we know from Zamia, the Dread Queen's crew didn't disappear but instead came to the black sea and took over an island. And because there's no contact with the outside world from the black sea, and because Navy freely allows pirates passage there, its fair that the world thought the Dread Queen was dead. And this lack of contact and no Navy activity is probably why the Dread Queen chose the Black Sea as a place for her lich ritual. No one will know about it and no one will interfere, no one will stop them from taking over an entire island and killing it's emperor and doing whatever dark magics they want.

Im not sure why they picked this island specifically. Whether its because of the Great Tree (tm) that is "the way of life and connects every corner of the island and gives it life" and probably has a lot of nutrients for the ritual in it. Or for any other reason, maybe it was just the first island they saw, maybe they just wanted a cool castle, maybe because it's the capital, i don't know but I'm sure there's a smart reason.

Gardeck The Scull Crusher aka the minotaur guy did say that their captain is blessed, and its the reason why death is temporary to them, which is one of the details that confuses me. Because first, who is he referring to, the Dread Queen or Captain Widow, both are technically captains. And second, if he is talking about Widow, then uhhh, how? If he's talking about the Dread Queen and if she is undergoing a lich ritual, (and becoming a lich would grant her the power to freely revive people), then how is she able to cast spells while in a cocoon and probably unconscious and probably not yet a lich?

Uhhh don't know how to end these things but that's all i got for now. Also HUGE respect to Grizzly for coming up with all this and connecting so many things and parallels. Because some of the information comes from as far back as episode 32, and its still relevant and accurate and comes up in the plot now, and oh my god.

[dramadramallama]

just finished jazz for two and honestly... not bad! the acting's really nice, even if the writing falls short at times. there were some really good moments, and the tension really worked. i was like, INVESTED.

i'm living for the longer episodes; they're only 30 minutes long, but i remember the 6-7 mins (not counting the opening+closing credits) we mostly got--and still get sometimes. i'm sensing a change and i'm all for it. now if only they could use those 30 minutes efficiently.......

the biggest flaw i think comes from the "fake-depth" of the characters. instead of intelligently suggesting/implying stuff to 1. save some time 2. let the audience interpret things on their own--they spend a lot of time on unnecessary scenes and off-screen narration (my biggest enemy in kdramas) to give the illusion of substance. it's not so much that's there too much telling, and not enough showing, it's more like there's too much showing for things that should have been told instead (and vice versa.)

all that time could have been spend on more casual scenes to show the character's personalities and their relationships. y'know, get some real depth. nothing crazy, just a few details here and there, to highlight important characteristics, and show why they act the way they do.

jun-ha was really interesting, and the dynamic he had with do-yoon's happy-go-lucky character was kinda nice. the actors did really well. but he was written like they didn't who he was at all, like they just needed an archetype to fill up an empty space. what was the deal with his sister exactly? she was so normal compared to him lmao. why was he so interested in se-heon at first? his borderline sexual harassment was way more incriminating that whatever he had going on with do-yoon, so why panic over a lil smooch? i think they both would have done it justice if their relationship had been explored more.

similarly, we mostly see tae-yi's prickly side, even when he's hanging with his (only?) friend, do-yoon. why not show why they get along so well? or why do-yoon likes him so much that he doesn't seem bothered by his moody temperament? do-yoon didn't even know he had a dead older brother lol, like... what kind of friends were they exactly? they also could have spent some more time showing exactly why and how se-heon falls for tae-yi. like even though i totally bought it (they were cute!), at least sell it to me a little? it was almost like there was no transition from the frenemies tension-filled moments and the first kiss. it's nice that they got to the top of the stairs but they missed a few steps and almost tripped lol.

but hey, they got there in the end!

Trope Tally:

new guy at school

heavy rain + umbrella sheltering and sharing

guys slamming other guys against walls

unavoidable bed sharing + bonus "i hate you" (*cuddles you when asleep*) + double combo "i sleep better around u"

slow mo falls (+bonus lying on top of each other)

past trauma (+bonus orphan)

controlling parent (+bonus RICH controlling parent)

cool uncle

everyone's kinda gay lol

the power of music AND LOVE

light hurt/comfort (and YOU get beat up, and YOU get a slight cut on your hand, and YOU get also beat up!)

noble idiocy (+bonus unnecessary break up)

jerk with a heart of gold (x2)

sunshine/tsundere pairing (... x2)

[gamesception]

Sception Reads Cass Cain #39

Batgirl (2000) #19 - October 2001 Writer: Kelley Puckett..........Pencils: Damion Scott Inks: Robert Campanella.....Colors: Jason Wright

Another memorable one shot story in what has become the definitive Cass Cain story mold. I don't think I'll have too much to say about this issue specifically. Those who were fans back in the day surely remember it, and if you're new to Cass's Batgirl run then as always for this early period it's a good book and I encourage you to go out and read the issue for yourself, especially since work has been busy this week, so I don't really have time to go through this issue in detail.

Still, by way of brief recap, this is the one where Cass is patrolling extra hard, determined that literally nobody in Gotham should die that night, when she's distracted by a news broadcast:

Wait, whatever state Gotham is in has the death penalty? Then why do all the super criminals never yadda yadda cinema sins ding sound.

The guy himself is super stoic about it. No sign of repentance or reflection or regret, but he's clearly accepted what's about to happen and determined to face it with some degree of dignity.

But then cast abducts him mid-execution

Only to be stopped by the mother of the woman he killed. I know I'm rushing through this summary, but just, the faces in these panels are so good. Cass's pleading and heartbreak, the woman's implacable stone-faced determination in the face of this demon-looking vigilante, the way the murderer, shocked out of his stoicism, can't bring himself to face this woman. Also just thematically, the metaphor here for Cass's own internal struggle with guilt, that no matter how much she's changed, no matter how much good she does as Batgirl, the man she killed, someone's son, maybe someone's father, is still dead, and she can never change that. It's extremely blunt and on the nose, but it works.

So anyway, back the murderer goes, only now that his stoic shell has broken he can no longer face his end with peaceful dignity. All Cass managed to achieve was to make his death more horrific.

And of course we find out that the reason Cass was so determined that nobody should die is that this was the anniversary of the murder she committed. Which of course is a very Bruce-like sort of sentimentality.

....

We've seen this sort of stand alone episodic one shot from Cass several times now. As much as I like the more serialized stuff playing with her various relationships to Bruce, Babs, the rest of the Bat family, or her dad, or her mom (as of yet unconfirmed by canon), these sorts of one shots really do seem to be the stories og Cass worked best in, the stories she was designed for even. While we've talked about this before, here a short bullet-point review of what defines a classic 'Cass Cain story' from her early Batgirl period

Stand alone story. One issue of the comic, one complete story. It might presume familiarity with Cass's character and background, but they're generally meant to be satisfying even if this is your first introduction to Cass.

Human focus. Cass's stories are concerned not with aliens and demigods and magic and science so fictional it might as well be magic and other larger-than-life comic book tropes, rather they're focused on relatable human characters, regular people trying to survive in a dispassionate world.

Somber tone. Cass's stories aren't upbeat action adventures where good triumphs over evil. The overall tone isn't fun, it's sorrow, grief, isolation, where light and hope are all the more precious for how rare and fragile they are.

'Street level' antagonists / no costumed criminals. This is arguably necessary to maintain the above focus and tone, but no super villains whose bombastic gimmicks and personalities would distract from the humanity of the everyday people around them. Even in the rare case when an enemy has super powers - "Meta" in issue 3, Kenny in issue 10, the cybernetic assassin in issue 18 - they're still dressed in more or less normal clothes and treated as regular people, not comic book super villains. And even then they're the minority of antagonists, usually Cass is fighting regular street thugs and mob guys, even though she's arguably the most explicitly superpowered member of the bat family, which in turn minimizes the length and importance of action scenes so the story can focus on human drama and personal themes.

Heavy thematic resonance. Cass as a character is about family - the family we're born to, or that we choose, and about the tension that results when a family member genuinely loves you and yet is still terrible for you or to you. And she's a character about doing the right thing even when it's hard, even when it doesn't seem to make anything better. And she's a character about guilt, about what it does to you, about how it can motivate you to do better while still hollowing you out inside, about how penance alone without the catharsis of absolution is a bottomless pit that will never be filled no matter how many acts of contrition you pour into it. These themes are the core of Cass's character, and her most iconic stories all relate back to one or more of these core theme in some way. "My dad's bad, isn't he" "Maybe he did [change], but my daughter is still dead"

Not every issue of Cass's book has fit into this description, but when she's not caught up in some crossover story or going through some significant shift to her status quo, these are the sorts of stories she's engaging with on a regular basis. Again, these are arguably the stories she works best in.

I've made no secret of the fact that, while I like modern Cass and I'm glad she exists, she doesn't really hit the same to me as Cass classic. And yeah, a big part of that is that her history and relationships just aren't the same. She doesn't have the same fraught relationship with her father, there are no parallels between David and Bruce, Bruce isn't particularly central to how she became a hero - he wasn't even Batman at the time. She didn't become a hero by stepping into a legacy role Babs had left behind, so there wasn't this close generational connection between her and Babs, or even any particular relationship between them at all until a good deal later.

She still felt guilty over killing someone, but it was something she was forced to do under threat, not something she willingly did only to suddenly regret it in the aftermath, so the guilt seems a lot more misplaced. Also everyone knew about it from pretty early on and forgives her for it, there isn't the same period of her actively hiding it sure that everyone would reject her if they found out like we talked about last time.

So yeah, so, so much of her history and relationships are completely different, but something I maybe haven't focused on enough is that her stories are different.

From the moment modern Cass is introduced she's tied up in global conspiracies, the league of assassins, people turning into monsters. She's on teams with super-powered allies fighting costumed super-criminals in serialized stories that take years to play out to any meaningful resolution. The concise, street-level stories focused on the individual humanity of the people involved and on connecting her stories to her history by thematic links... I haven't read all of modern Cassandra's appearances, but I've read enough of them to say that these kinds of stories either simply aren't present or are overwhelmingly in the minority.

Even in the 'Batgirls' title that sadly ended last year, with Cass, Steph, and Babs are working and living together, theoretically my all time dream book. But their interpersonal relationships are rarely the focus and their adventures are mostly fighting various larger than life costumed criminals. It was a fun book, sure, but even in itself that's a break from OG Cass's deliberately somber tone.

So I guess if there was one thing I'd like to see from modern Cass, apart from some sort of retcon restoring the OG David Cain with his difficult and layered relationship to Cass, it would be a return of the archetypical Cass story, because these are the stories that best highlight Cass's best qualities - her empathy, her compassion, her inner conflicts.

[fallloverfic]

TGCF donghua Season 2, Episode 8 thoughts

I couldn't even open the episode without screaming today for Reasons TM so yes I'm screaming some more. Very good ep. Spoilers for the show and the book below.

Hua Cheng being like, "Oh, you like it when I just rush in, gege >:3" -flirty-

Just kills me. Xie Lian so tickled pink by it, too. They're so in love.

Aww poor Guzi. He's so scared T-T I do appreciate that they made Guzi's father (and Guzi) wear brighter green roflmao So you know, "yeah that's him." (I mean they also keep focusing on him shots in case you missed "The only character in that bright a green" and "also he has a kid with him"). He's not bad looking. I assume Qi Rong is gonna modify how he looks somehow.

Another outfit change for Xie Lian. He's so cute! I love the idea that Hua Cheng just buys him clothes to wear and Xie Lian is like, "If it makes San Lang happy :D", and it's just this never-ending round of comfortable, pretty clothes that make him look nice. Not like his rough cultivator's garb (at least according to younger Xie Lian, it is very rough on his skin).

Hua Cheng's face when Xie Lian touches him aldkjaldaj Just like OMG GEGE TOUCHED ME HE TOUCHED ME (it's like that Spongebob Squarepants meme with brain Spongebobs running around screaming while his brain is on fire). Aww he's so happy Xie Lian touched him, admiring his hand. It's so cute.

This is "I'm never washing this hand again" behavior.

(Why did that one guy who bumped into the dead person clothes lick his hand when he didn't know what he touched aldkjalda I just alkdjalj why alkdjalj)

Guzi's father is actually comforting him a little (usually he walks with his bound hands ahead of him, but in one shot he's got his hands resting on Guzi's head in what seems to be a comforting gesture)! That's sweet. And then he's maybe covering Guzi's eyes from the dead body ceiling? (Or maybe grabbing onto something in fear, I don't know). Dude may not be a great father but he's doing a little I suppose.

Hua Cheng burning the bodies cause it makes Xie Lian uncomfortable :3 Love he. (Also Xie Lian worrying about Mu Qing :3 And being grateful to Hua Cheng :3).

Xie Lian just... placing all the Trauma to the side cause he can't deal with it right now, it's In The Past TM. As he does. It's just how he's lived for 800 years. You know. (exqueeze me while I cry some more over this man)

THERE HE IS!!! THE TERRIBLE MAN alkdjaldkaj My beloved Qi Rong adlkjalj You're so awful, I love you.

I love all the little details of Qi Rong's design. Just all the bangles, the way he kind of looks like a mobster showing off, and his slightly unkempt hair. And he has green claws! Here's the full official poster of him if you'd like, though I think it's more fun to see him in the show. I still love his shoes, and his single glove with the cut off thumb is nice. Also you can't tell from the poster, but his long hair is braided and goes past his waist.

There's also like... something strangely cute about his interactions with his minions. They're all so protective of him. (Well, until they run away in fear of Hua Cheng roflmao)

Hehe Pei Xiu returns. He's not going to be bothered.

Xie Lian like, "haha yeah exile is very idle" alkdjaldkaj WE'RE SHELVING THE TRAUMA YEP

roflmao you can't tell in the subtitles, but if you listen to the voices, you can tell they're censoring what Qi Rong is saying about the heavenly officials XD (like you can hear the censor buzz sound to cut off what he's saying in Chinese lol) That is hilarious. I love that so much.

I don't think they needed to spend so much time with reused animation from previous episodes. I think a briefer flashback of Xuan Ji would have been better. But well... whatever. I know part of my impatience is that it's been so many years and we only get so many episodes and it's gonna be who knows how many years before we get the next season lol Like it's not a bad thing in terms of narrative (if I think still overly drawn out), I'm just like "yes, yes, I get it, now go back to new stuff".

Guzi's father begs them to spare Guzi T-T He's not all terrible. Just a bit terrible.

I love that Hua Cheng catches the statue and gently places it on the ground. Even if he hates the statue and what it represents, he won't destroy an image of his gege, or treat it poorly.

I do appreciate Xie Lian's instinct to protect The Child TM, but like roflmao Xie Lian, his father is still human and like getting his body broken. You could also idk... save him...? Too...?

Just want to appreciate the animation here. Something about Qi Rong holding Hua Cheng's arm (and Hua Cheng holding his head). It's really nice.

The fight scene was really good! A bit slow, but I get it's the dramatic reveal of the "Xie Lian" clone with lipstick and green eyes! Is he a body snatcher? Is he a clone of Xie Lian?? Tune in next week to find out!!

The subs were mostly fine this episode. I'm still confused why they shorten "Immortal" to "Immor" but they did that on something else, so I guess they're at least consistent about the weirdness and the maybe edited machine translation.

Overall, very good ep. The chibis were cute! Angry Hua Cheng being magical and powerful was fun! My favorite terrible man is finally on the scene, can't wait to see how much more awful he is next episode! Hua Cheng's comeuppance with this will I guess be delayed until then lol I thought it'd be this week. But that's fine!

Other episode thoughts for season 2 (didn't start till episode 3):

S02E03

S02E04

S02E05

S02E06

S02E07

S02E08 (you are here)

S02E09

S02E10

S02E11

S02E12

[lamuradex]

Actually, following that update, I wanted to talk a bit about the losing story Skinwalker a little bit. I'm glad the other one won, but I think this was a neat idea.

The basic concept was this:

A V-Tuber is streaming for his audience when there's sounds over the stream, confusion, and a gunshot. It sounds like there was a struggle, only for the V-Tuber to come back, as his avatar starts moving, and continue the stream. However he switches off the mic and only communicates via the chat. From there, basic idea was going to be that the Chat are slowly realising, or immediately knowing, that something was wrong. The V-Tuber is acting strange, and the dawning realisation is that someone else is at the controls now, most likely whatever home invader they heard breaking in. The Chat try to keep the intruder talking, but no one knows where the V-Tuber lives to call the police, and they're trying not to say anything alarming in the chat to alert the intruder. The situation ends with the mic coming back on and sirens, the intruder running, with the V-Tuber avatar left on screen stuck in an unsettling grin.

The ending, and the little bit of a twist, would have been that of course the V-Tuber is found dead, and a funeral held online for him amongst some fellow V-Tubers (perhaps a silly idea but I think we can all see it happening). The narrator however would then realise that The Intruder had known certain details about operating a V-Tuber avatar, and that it could even be one of the ones attending his funeral.

Honestly, it just sounds a bit like a Black Mirror episode, doesn't it? It was a bit inspired by the episode of Elementary that focused on online gaming (S5 E14 - Rekt in Real Life), which features something a bit similar, a guy killed on stream by an intruder.

It was also going to include some thoughts on clown faces.

Wait, hear me out!

In the clowning world, what there is of it, clowns can only use their own make-up pattern. It is against every rule to use another clown's design. They make it official, painting their designs on eggs to keep track and keeping them as records. Faces can even be passed down, as long as no two clowns are using it at once.

And I feel that could connect to V-Tubers. The use of another's face. What it would mean to use another V-Tuber's avatar. The idea of being another person because you were using their avatar.

I dunno though... The main problem is I don't actually watch any V-Tubers, and I am not doing that kind of research just to write a short horror story.

So yeah, I'm glad that Lucid and Dreaming won that poll. Look forward to it on Oct 31st. Happy Halloween, everybody!

[swallowtailed]

palisade 18: THE BLOOD IS IN THE GRIP.

which, while i'm on the topic--incredible intro. 10/10. few lines have sent a chill down my spine quite like "they all speak on rhythm". also really enjoyed the bit about kesh and labels. extremely tidy.

but that's not the main point of this episode (although it is on theme). the point of this episode is: what if we blew up the entire season?

which is extremely compelling.

however, i've had four days of fieldwork to think about this, and here's what i've got:

if the ground game calls the faction game's bluff and goes after the stargrave now, i think they're absolutely going to succeed.

the blue channel only cares about themselves, so everyone they care about will be there. and the faction game has already locked in the stakes at the maximum level, thus opening the door to justify literally anything the ground game might do. in the context of a sortie, with the camera on the blue channel and the entire star system on the line, they will have all the narrative power in the fucking world.

so whatever the stargrave does, the blue channel will always be able to make a more interesting or impactful move on a storytelling level--and that matters in armor astir (and fatt). yeah, some of the crew might die (getting that good narrative resonance), but they're gonna take the stargrave with them.

called shot: the stargrave will be dead by october.

(i have way more thoughts about this. hmu if you wanna talk genre and this wild game vs game situation, it fascinates me so much.)

((i still think a lot about that time in partizan when broun, milli, and thisbe got offered their happy endings and, without discussing it in or out of character, turned the blue channel around to fight in the finale anyway.))

anyway. very cool episode.

stealing the moon: fantastic move. awful and perfect and i'm fascinated. chimera's lantern has been on my mind since episode 1 and i'm on the edge of my seat thinking we might actually find out what's going on up there. COOL WEIRD MOON.

(not strictly relevant to this episode, but it occurred to me during fieldwork: i still think figure could do a killer round of the tower with chimera's lantern as the deity and clem as the adversary.)

the long-range sensor attached to the alert clock: tried to guess what this might be and immediately came up with half a dozen options. i think it's likely to be the nobel but i hope it's signet's folks. (i also suspect this may trigger the holiday special and/or customary fatt midseason shakeup, if the stargrave doesn't blow it all up first.)

every detail we got about the paint shop spies was top-notch horrifying content. the whip in the mouth thing was skin-crawling.

very excited to see where this goes!!

[alphabetcrashcourse]

AOT Live Text Reaction

I've decided to post a live text reaction to AOT now that I'm watching it after it finished releasing. Up to episode six, here are my thoughts so far:

Everyone in this show apart from the main characters is really, really dumb. You are being actively hunted by immortal zombies you know NOTHING about. Sure you have your Big Wall-onii san to protect you, but you also have a growing population and dwindling resources. There is no excuse to sit on your hands for a hundred years. You don't even have to fight the monsters! Just go out there and study them! Invest in being FAST! In running AWAY!

Idk what on earth happened a hundred yeara ago, but my bet is that these idiots in charge somehow caused it and most definitely deserve whatever's coming to them.

Eren: He gives me weird vibes, like he's constantly angry or on edge. He seems more desperate than the average protagonist. Not even after his mom being nommed, (which was horrifying by the way, that kinda trauma CAN turn a kid into a sociopath- Eren turned out okay, all things considered.) But before that as well, he was running around trying ro make everyone see reason at age like ten, and HE was treated as the weird one.

Also he doesn't smile much, like I could count on one hand how many times he smiled in episode 5.

Mikasa: Honey. Get a new goal in life, he's not interested. Like I get that it's probably not strictly romantic interest on her part, he's the only family she has left so of COURSE she wants to protect him. That being said Eren does NOT feel the same. Hell, I'm getting the vibe that the only reason he listens to her is because she's stronger than him. Also she seem's to be the studio's favourite. All her scenes are more fluid and detailed.

I want her to grow to have more goals and interests.

Armin: He's ypur typical 3rd cowardly character. The show keeps insisting he's smart but the bar for these characters is low so my hopes aren't high. Like an example of him being smart was the curiosity to SEE OUTSIDE. And somehow that was a novel idea. But he does this weird sense of pride that comes from seemingly nowhere, it makes him interesting.

I want him to stop being a coward. But NOT in a self-sacrificial way.

ONTO THE REACTION!

Op still slaps.

I like the part where they all jump up together, and that Jaeger means hunter and is Eren's last name.

Oh so Eren is just dead. Congrats Armin on becoming the new main character! Ha. Good luck.

LESBIANS! This show has lesbians! Is this confirmed or is it just anime being anime?

See, this is the weird pride I was talking about.

Hate the wagon guy.

WHY IS THAT TITAN SO FAST?!?!

Oh Mikasa great! Kill this guy.

She seems so proud of herself for helping the citizens. Maybe fulfilling her dury will beco.e her new ambition and she'll get over Eren. Hopefully that arcs happens fast, before she finds out he's dead...

Mikasa backstory? Maybe SHE'S our new protagonist

Oh yeah what did happen to Eren's dad- OH DAMN HER PARENTS DEAD!

Look here, this is what I mean. This is not the face a normal 10yo kid would make, like this is an abnormal situation but an ordinary kid would NOT react like that.

Oriental? So is this a magical kidnapping or a racist kidnapping? Just trying to figure out what to be angry about.

Oh damn Mikasa's mum is UNHINGED!

Oh so baby Eren is psychopath CONFIRMED.

Awww, Mikasa has her mum's crazy~

The scarf!! From the ending!!

Okay yeah they're cute, I see the ship. But at the same time this pivotal moment in Mikasa's life was originally motivated by anger, desperation and finally pity on Eren's end.

Oh yeah Eren's still dead.

And that's the episode!

SO glad I didn't get too attached to Mikasa. You aren't gonna get me that easily show!

[saturn-sends-hugs]

🍊🍏🍐🍇 for the fruit emoji ask! Feel free to answer whatever is most interesting to you 😊

hihihi thanks for the ask! answers under the cut cause this could get long lol

🍊 Who’s a character you don’t write for that often, but keep meaning to write for more? (They’re so interesting! But maybe you have trouble pinning them down, or keep getting distracted by another blorbo…)

FIVES!!! For the fact that he's pretty much the most important person in Echo's life (or at least was) (sorry bskjdsfk), I really don't write for him often enough. He's usually either just in a memory or a dream where he's warped by Echo's perception. I have a WIP that will let me tap into his character a little more (and even explore how he would interact with the Bad Batch) and I'm very excited to get working on it!! I just.... need to have Slow Down finished first lol.

🍏 Is there something you overuse, whether it’s a certain phrase, trope, or piece of punctuation?

Em dashes. And maybe italics. And like single sentence "revelation" paragraphs or whatever for dramatic effect lol. (and outside of fic writing I use "lol" too much like gIRL but it's just my default "don't take this too seriously" thing and I almost used it again right there) (I blame my best friend) (literally never used it before her and now I can never go back aghhhhhh)

I definitely use the trope of like "oh fuck, they're hurt" a lot, but personally I will never get tired of that so it doesn't count as overusing. totally.

🍐 Is there anything in canon that you absolutely hate and love to fix in fics? A wrong choice made, a fuck-up in characterization, a misunderstanding never cleared up, a conversation never shown onscreen, etc…

Characters not giving two shits about a traumatizing event or something. Like, they'll have the characters witness the literal death of their established best friend and then WALK AWAY. And they NEVER MENTION IT AGAIN RAHHHHHKJDGJBSGD im totally over the citadel arc as we can all tell. and tech's death. and that scene where Rex mentions Fives and they just kEEP WALKING WTFFFF

Anyway yeah, that's basically the reason I got into writing fanfic. I didn't like the lack of detail or time spent focusing on different events and I wanted to give the characters some time to actually work through things.

🍇 Is there a particular scene/episode/book/etc that you want to just write a million fics about, over and over? Which one?

Crosshair putting his hand on Echo's shoulder after previously having gotten punched in the face for saying "I would've left him for dead" like GIRLLLLLLL be so fucking fr rn. And like I'll never write a fic based solely on that scene, but that moment and what it means has seeped into every single fic I write with the two of them because they just work together so well its insane.

And other than that, most times it's scenes that don't happen that I end up writing about. For example, Echo learning about Fives' death or the time between TCW and TBB where Echo bonds w/ the batch and we just??? don't get to see it???? yeah so I'll never stop writing abt all that I think

Anyway, sorry this was kinda long but thanks so much for the ask!!!

[mouseratz]

the post i made about parents recording their childrens mental health episodes was because i saw a video from an account wholeheartedly dedicated to reuploading videos of people at their worst or people 12 hours before their suicide or whatever . and it’s gross for the obvious reasons but the fact there’s such a wide number of parents who’re just openly recording their kid having a schizophrenic meltdown for the ‘awareness’ . i get that we need to have videos out there to show what mental illness really does look like but why does it have to be your vulnerable child . ooohohohh it makes me so mad

it so fucking does. I know some parents record things so they can go over details later when you've had medical emergencies (my mother recorded many of my brothers early seizures, for example, before he had a diagnosis) but to POST that openly? and to do nothing to help them? when you know they're suffering and especially in the case of suicide, in danger? even after they've died doesn't excuse it, you want people to remember your child's best moments, not their most difficult ones, especially to those who never got to meet them. (For the audience who doesn't follow this blog closely: my youngest brother is dead.) I could understand maybe sharing it with doctors or privately to another parent who believes their family is going through something similar (and in the second case, it would have to be someone you know and trust well), but not to any point that it would end up on fucking TikTok.

that all being said, children's privacy is broadly not respected At All in the internet age, so I guess it's just par for the course until something changes legally (not to restrict kids themselves, but specifically laws around family channels counting as labor/child actors, for example, or not being allowed to upload anyone without their consent including kids, that kind of stuff might help).