#why tf would I assume that something is wrong with the format??

[fluffykitteninabox]

Me: *sends email*

The teacher responding to the email: hi everything is fine we got your email

The teacher in person 2 days later: hi everything is not fine we didn't get your email send it again or we'll have to fail you!

Me: *sends email again* ok did you get it correctly now?

My grade: fuck you bitch!

Me: wtf why is it so hard for people to fucking say what they really mean?

[twdmusicboxmystery]

when she comes back how do you think they're going to introduce her? maybe a situation where the audience finds out before the characters or do you think it will be us finding out with the characters and we get some big reunion first thing? also a little side note, as much as i love her and daryl's relationship i really want it to be maggie to be at the focus of the reunion and then have a scene with them later where the focus is on daryl's emotions about her being alive

So, I’m about to a vague and somewhat mysterious answer about this, lol. I’ve been working on a theory that I’ll post in a few days that has to do with The Divine Comedy. I’m really excited about it, but I haven’t even hashed it out with my theorist pals, yet. So I won’t be posting it until at least the end of the week, maybe early next week. 

So let me try and answer all your questions, but keep in mind that this is really just theory and conjecture on my part. I could end up being totally wrong.

Do I think we, the audience, will see her before Daryl/Maggie/TF? Yes. I do. I think there’s a good chance she’ll show up either in the S10 bonus episodes, TWB S2, or Fear. That just makes the most sense to me.

How will they introduce her? Based on the theory I mentioned above, I think Daryl will “hear” something about Beth long before he sees her. And this is actually something TD has thought for a long time: that he will get some hint of her before they actually have their reunion.

In the past, I’ve assumed that maybe he’ll see her from a distance or something, but there will be terrain and walkers between them, so he won’t be able to get to her right away. So he’ll know she’s alive, but they still won’t reunite right away. Something along those lines.

My thinking on this has changed a bit, though. Now, I think he’ll hear her rather than see her. I’m not sure what format that will take. Maybe someone bringing news of her to him. I can’t help but think about all the mysterious voices we’ve heard via radio communication. I’m wondering if he’ll hear her on the radio, but not know where she is. And probably TF will be embroiled in some conflict or other (whatever the rest of S10 and S11 is about) and he can’t leave right away anyway. But once they get all that squared away, he and Carol will hop on his bike and--Voila! Spinoff. 

So yeah, that’s my working theory right now. Sorry to be vague about why, but when I post my Divine Comedy theory in a few days, you’ll understand. It’s really too much to explain here.

As to the Maggie thing, I actually think the opposite will probably be the case. I do think Beth will have a big, emotional reunion with Maggie, but my hunch is that, now that Maggie is back at Alexandria, she’ll probably stay there to watch the kids (including Hershel) when Daryl and Carol leave. We all talk about how Daryl wouldn’t just leave Judith and RJ, but he would trust Maggie and Rosita to look after them.

And then there’s the fact that they went out of their way to downplay the sisterly relationship in 4b, when Maggie looked for Glenn but seemed to totally ignore Beth. The fandom gave her a lot of hate over that, but I think it was purposeful on the writers’ part, to emphasize that Daryl and Beth’s relationship would be a heavier focus moving forward than Maggie and Beth’s. Just my opinion, though. 

Hope this answers your question. Xoxo! 💗

[spyoikawa]

Hihi! I'm alive! Battling this history competition, but I'll make it!

So let's jump back into these requests starting with, @wakatoshiswife

(sorry I lost the request so I'll copy/paste below the line break!)

(and I am once again on a different electronic, so sorry if this looks different, I will format it to look correct later)

Request: Hello! I saw that you’re doing matchups for valentines! I’d like to request for one too if that is okay :) I’d like to matched up with a guy please...I’m a 160cm girl, ISTJ/ESTJ (I’m an ambivert), my enneagram is type 8. My zodiac sign is cancer. I have black curly hair (type 3B hair) and my eye colour is brown. At first glance, people often think I’m mean bcs I have really think eyebrows and I have a resting b face. However once you get to know me, I’m pretty fun. My hobbies are gaming, baking and editing. The characters I kin are Sakurajima Mai, Light Yagami & Osamu Miya. I enjoy working out as well! Especially jogging on a cold morning/evening. I love watching formula 1 and I would watch football if it means getting to bond with my partner/friends. I play any sports but I like volleyball and badminton the most. I also enjoy cooking Asian cuisine as I am asian, I’m a mixed Persian-Indian. My favourite weather is Autumn as it matches my aesthetic and overall aura and vibe. My favourite colour is red as if I were to be a colour based off my personality, I’d be red. Although I look best in nudes, black, white and purple...I also have the best music taste ever. I’m the chill friend in the whole group. I am very very laidback, in fact I can be a little too laidback at times but it’s nothing bad, I know when too loosen up and when to get serious, hence this is why I’m often (almost every time) a leader. I’m quite the procrastinator and the last minute person but I always know what I’m doing so its all good. I’m confident in what I do and I stand strong for what I believe in. Words, will not hurt me unless it’s said by directed to an insecurity of mine. I hate losing. I’m that one competitive friend that hates losing but I never go too much yk. I’m pretty chill when it comes to competition, that meaning, I don’t show how competitive I am. I have a blank face as I’m competing with others. I always strive to win even if it means winning in a ridiculous way, however I won’t drag it too much as I hate when a small problem gets really really big bcs people keep making it big although it’s just a minor problem (I’m so sorry if you don’t understand T^T). I’m kind, polite and pretty mature but not too mature as I don’t want my adolescent to go to waste. Therefore I try my best to loosen and up and relax! If I were to go on an outing with my friends and they’re being noisy and loud in public, instead of telling them to quiet down, I’ll leave them there so I don’t get embarrassed 🗿. I hate creating a scene in public. I’m not a fan of popularity unless it’s for a good cause. Therefore, I’m a private person with around 15 people in my circle and I enjoy it this way :) I’m also very passionate in what I do. I’m very ambitious and my hogwarts house is syltherin. I know what I’m doing as for now and I love to plan ahead so it won’t be chaotic. I’m 100% a leader and my personality is very dominant. However when it comes to relationships, I’m 100% the submissive (or switch? I’m not sure) one bcs I am very shy to actually initiate anything. My preference in a partner is someone who’s dominant and he wouldn’t mind losing for me. If I were to be an animal, I’d be a wolf or a tiger but as for my partner, I’d like him to be a wolf or a lion but deep down he’s just a bear 🥰. I also prefer guys who aren’t loud, like quiet guys but not too quiet. Ones who talk when they need to, as I’m not rly fond of people who talk a lot a lot. It can be quite annoying and I’ll probably end up accidentally hurting them. I’m so sorry if this is too long bcs I think I went overboard. Thank you so much and have a nice day :D

Alright, thank you so much for this request, and thank you for being patient with me! I'm glad I got a nice long request to get back into the jist of things! And I never like to assume, but I feel like I've been bugging you, so I'm gonna assume you were requesting tulips-

anyhoo, without further ado (lol that rhymes)

Rion's Flower Shop! Today we have Tulips! I match you up with

Kuroo Tetsuro

relationship dynamic

- its actually quite nice! A perfect balance of similarities and opposites!

- and those said opposites are harmonious!

- you guys are both admirable leaders in your own way, and can often cooperate together, and despite different approaches, reach the same goal

- both of you are really confident in your talents and areas and you use that a lot to your advantages

- he's lowkey scared of your poker face but will never admit it

- despite this, the little perks and habits the two of you have are quite amusing

- he still struggles to see how tf you get work done when you procrastinate so much, but is honestly amazed by it

- and the competitiveness you share drive the 2 of you to keep moving forward

- it's always nice to have someone supportive of you (and you 2 are, don't get me wrong) but it's also nice to have some friendly banter and competition, whether it be over music, which teams are better, opinions, which food type is best, etc.

- it keeps you two on your toes

- and (as I mentioned earlier), although the two of you can keep going back and forth, you can also lean on each other, and trust one another for support.

- he can count on you to show up to some of his games and you can count on him to have your back you want to try something new or show him your hobbies

- you guys are also there emotionally, he will always be there watching your back, and cheering you up or proving people wrong after particularly harsh, uncalled for comments, because he knows how you really are and that those people are talking bs :)

- and you do the same for him, to cheer him up, let him know he's a good captain and friend. And although he doesn't show it as much when he's older, he still gets nervous in social situations and he can count on you to be a constant in new areas

What you guys do together/ What's it like with them

- this can either be the most fun relationship or the most comforting, laid back one ever!

- and honestly both are good choices

- neither of you really want to lose your childhood, cause you only get it once

- so it's not uncommon to try out new hobbies or experience new things together to make the most of this time you have

- there are a lot of firsts with him because of that

- he doesn't mind having fun out in public, like that's the point of going out to him, but he also agrees with not wanting to cause trouble, one) that shit's embarrassing 2) he knows it'll make you, himself, and others uncomfortable, so there's really no need to do something uncalled for

- however, despite all the fun of childhood, it's also good to have calm, quiet moments in certain relationships, such as this one

- he doesn't mind, and actually quite enjoys indoor dates, like studying together or watching your favorite movies/shows

- that gives him a chance to be and focus on you only, and maybe get to know you better

- no matter what you do, you two have a silent understanding of what you enjoy, don't enjoy, and what each others needs and wants are

- and he also understands how you might not like to initiate things, he can understand to a degree

- for a while it's a matter of who will make the first move, but once he gets comfortable, he won't mind initiating it for you :D

What they like about you

- he likes your overall personality tbh

- how you can be so laid back yet confident at the same time

- yet also sweet and nice to others

- it's a nice mixture where he doesn't need to force his personality out and express everything that comes his way, but he also doesn't need to shrink to avoid overwhelming you

- and although he likes to take the charge, he likes that you can be dominant at times too, sometimes he'd rather just leave things to you, because he knows he'll like what you like

- it also feels easy for him to talk to you

- he doesn't know why but he finds himself expressing his opinions and sharing things he'd usually keep guarded with you, because he trusts you enough to understand and not share with others

- overall, its the understanding for him :)

- and he's taking this to the grave, but he's also a firm believer that slytherins should stick together

alrighty, to be completely honest, idk how I did on this one, so please, if you did not like the style of writing or the character I matched you up with, please let me know! I will gladly rewrite it for you!

[nevertherose]

The more times I watch SvS...

...the more irked I get at the resolution. Like, muttering at the screen irked. (Actually as a writer, I think that's a sign of good content. I think the ending was meant to be uncomfortable. I think we’re supposed to question it, and rewatch, and question it some more.)

I personally don't like to review something I'm seeing for the first time (that goes for anything, really, not just Sanders Sides). Especially when it's something I already have expectations about. There's usually too much going on for me to notice the first time around, especially because my brain is also busy comparing what I expect to see to what's actually happening.

With that in mind, my initial reaction to SvS went a lot like this:

"Ugh, looks like all the YouTubers are jumping on the Hello Fresh train...Virgil??...oh now that quote from twitter makes sense 🙄...well that was an unusual intro.......WOoOh hey we are really shaking up the usual format here guys...that is not a real director wtf...tf is an egot?...wait who are Lee and Mary Lee?...is any of this real?...ah, ok, we are setting up a schedule conflict plot I get it now..."

"Logan!!...oh not Logan, hi Deceit, where is Logan...the plot thickens, he's against Nazis ha ha Deceit you snake where tf is Logan, come on dude..." (I realize now that during my first viewing, my concern over Logan's absence was making me not pay proper attention to what was happening)

"Ah, here's the courtroom from the thumbnail, Patton, aww...VIRGIL'S TIE WHEEZE...wow, have we ever seen Roman's bare arms before?...the lighting is so different that's gonna take some getting used to...which video is butterfingers from...can't parse lawyer-ese help...really, we're running with the underwear gag...WE KNOW LOGAN ISN’T HERE ROMAN WHY TF ARE NONE OF YOU ASKING WHY?!..."

"Finally, there’s my boi!...is that a VHS tape??...Deceit what are you trying to get Logan to admit here...Roman wft...poor Logan puts up with so much ridiculousness...wait isn't evidence tampering bad are we just ignoring that?? (It did not immediately occur to me that Thomas was lying to save face when he said that)...Patton, oh Patton honey no, just stop...aww, heartfelt moment...nooo, don’t leave Logan out of this, c’mon!...VIRGIL DID YOU SERIOUSLY JUST RAZZ DECEIT YOU ARE KILLING ME 😂...ooOoooh love this Deceit/Virgil tension..."hi Virgil" YES I TOTALLY CALLED THAT LINE BEFORE PATTON SAID IT...Patton ffs make your point..."

"Geez there's a lot of teleporting in this episode...(at this point I really was not sure what either Deceit or Patton was trying to prove so I started to get just the teeeensiest bit bored [Thomas forgive me])...wow, Deceit's actually not wrong, poor Roman's getting railroaded...SMIRK 😆...Does Roman think he's helping Patton because I don't think he is...

"I actually low key love how cocky Deceit is..."Logan that's a statement, right?" omg those two...THANK YOU HE'S NOT JUST A LIAR he's not even wrong here, damn this is some Ayn Rand level dark shit I did not expect this in a Sanders Sides...Patton you are out of your depth here buddy...insert comic relief after all the seriousness, ok..."

"More Deceit not being wrong...oh God Roman's face, breaking my heart here...ooooh, Deceit's gonna make Thomas crack aaaaaand there it is...poor Thomas...Deceit you do not have to sound so happy you little shit...Roman wait whaaat?"

"Wow, Roman coming through to help the good guys win...NOW where is Logan FFS...Deceit you've lost buddy, sorry to say...yay, Logan's finally back!...ooooh, logo reveal, oh Patton you're adorable...Deceit is still not wrong and everyone's uncomfortable...I have never seen Roman this humble and I don't know what to think...I MISSED YOU LOGAN..."for the love of Archimedes", I'm totally stealing that phrase..."his friends" ooh foreshadowing...obligatory episode moral...yay, empathy, I think that’s what Deceit was not catching onto...more Hello Fresh, well at least he makes it entertaining...oh God the hands thing MORE Hello Fresh geez poor Thomas 😆"

I knew character Thomas was going to pick the wedding almost from the moment the conflict was introduced...that's just the kind of character he's been established to be. I think that's why the ending didn't bother me at first; it didn't surprise me. The way they got there surprised me, but the destination was never really in doubt.

My writer's brain, the side that analyzes Goal-Motivation-Conflict for every character I happen across, knew there was no way Deceit was going to convince character Thomas to side with him. Him even agreeing to hear Deceit out was a big enough step. Him cracking under Deceit's questioning was actually a step further than I expected the episode to go, because I hadn't thought Patton would actually fail in this scenario and once he did, I didn't know how they were going to reach the place where I knew they needed to go. I did NOT expect Roman to be the one to get them there; especially not after that look on his face when Deceit said "you want that callback so bad and it will crush you if we miss it". I assumed Roman was defeated and out of the picture. And then the over-the-top ego of the group thwarts the bad guy with humility, lest we all forget what the other side of being a Prince looks like. It was beautiful. My writer's brain was happy.

But Deceit wasn't wrong, and that sticks with you. Even on the first viewing, it was obvious that he made some good points that the others either flat out ignored or just didn’t know how to process. Yeah, his not-wrongness reeked to me of Ayn Rand's philosophy and let's just say I have a complicated history with that brand of thinking, so I was as inclined as the other Sides were to let Deceit be the bad guy at first.

But unpacking all that will have to wait for another post...

[rainymeadows]

I rewatched Eternal Diva and this time I took notes as I went through

Dive under the cut if you dare to experience my mad in-the-moment ramblings (warning for spoilers for pretty much the entire prequel trilogy)

-          Don Paolo’s voice sounds like what Papyrus’s voice probably should

-          Winter Layton is precious in that giant coat

-          Janice is so pretty omg an angel

-          Layton geeking out over the Detrogan is goddamn adorable

-          I love how everything is greyed out in Janice’s flashback

-          Suuuuuuuuper subtle indication that maybe “Janice” seeing how young this little girl was is what prompted her to find a way to put an end to this whole thing

-          Whether it’s a moped or the Laytonmobile, Emmy drives like crazy XD

-          Bitch you ain’t on Top Gear

-          God her big sister relationship with Luke is adorable tho

-          Aaaaaaaaaaaah Layton smiling at their banter dad’s so happy for his son

-          They did such a good job reusing the game’s music for this movie

-          The opera house looks so cool but so precarious – my first thought upon seeing it was “when is this thing going to sink”

-          I MEAN IT’S ON A CLIFF

-          Janice’s voice is so pretty TToTT

-          I like that they kept the Japanese vocals for her singing

-          SONG OF THE SEA-SHADOWING

-          I hate that Layton and Luke were the ONLY people to honestly applaud the performance. Everyone else is a DICK

-          First time I saw this dude, I thought “that’s a puppet, no ordinary person moves like that even in animation”

-          Once again, Layton putting a polite and gentlemanly spin on “fucked if I know, my dude”

-          Lol I love that even the people who didn’t applaud and thus apparently knew what they were in for weren’t down for dying

-          Fuking cowards

-          Layton is always DTF (down to fight)

-          GROSKY OF THE YARD

-          FUCK YES

-          This dude’s manliness is infectious

-          “Gee, I wonder who’s behind this-“ *Descole’s theme starts playing* “-oh well never mind”

-          Honestly who else but Descole would be this fucking extra tho

-          Gotta admit I love the twist of the opera house being a ship, I was totally expecting it to just go plunging into the ocean at a moment’s notice

-          Aaaaah the CG in this movie is really well done

-          Layton’s angry face is kinda ridiculous but I love it

-          I love that it’s pointed out like “where tf did all these sharks come from”

-          I prefer Cartoon Saloon’s Song of the Sea, but this one’s pretty too

-          Lol as if a MAN-EATING SHARK could keep down GROSKY OF THE YARD

-          I’m surprised he can see over the top of his chest hair

-          God, the detrogan is such a cool instrument and I really wish something like it existed irl

-          Ah, it’s only like fifteen sharks, Grosky will be fine

-          I love the air of mystery surrounding Oswald Whistler

-          Layton’s hat is made of 100% pure uncut husband material

-          AAAAAAAAAAAAAH I LOVE HOW PUZZLES ARE USED IN THIS MOVIE IT’S SO GOOOOOOOD

-          I’m so glad they didn’t scrap it entirely coz I mean they’re so integral not only to the Layton games, but Layton himself

-          This music box tune kinda gives me Gravity Falls vibes tbh

-          I think the backing melody sounds pretty identical to the tune’s intro

-          I love that this movie actually lets us see inside Layton’s head and his thought process, it’s so much better than just having him put everything together seemingly offscreen

-          Tbh any puzzle where “the night sky” is the solution is bound to be a good puzzle

-          I just fucking love the implied MASSACRES in this movie

-          God Luke is so goddamn precious

-          Pffft pumpkin dude is so subtly duplicitous

-          Okay I have ot pause for a bit to rant about layton’s design because it’s SO GOOD. Warm colours make him seem welcoming and kinda comfy and the simple facial features, while a bit Ditto-esque, do combine nicely with his overall shape to scream “friend”. Professor Layton is friend shaped. And of course there’s the popped collar to show that he’s cool, the high collared shirt gives a scholarly vibe, his shoes which I stg are plimsolls show a practical side and of course the quintessential top hat shows that he’s a Gentleman first and foremost. Add the amazing voice to that and BOI I DIE

-          Although I can’t help imagining that gif with the teddy bear slapping eyebrows onto its face to look angry whenever he gets mad

-          Luke is not friend shaped. Luke is son shaped.

-          Precious bab shaped

-          Wpw a sea captain I would never have guessed other than the “sailor” accent and the fact that you’re wearing a sailor’s uniform

-          Ugh I love these quiet moments where things can sink in and characters can just talk to each other, I really wish more movieswould do this

-          I love that even if you don’t have a literal look at his thought processes, you can still see Layton THINKINg

-          Agh Amelia is SO CUTe this series is so good at designing beautiful women and cute girls while also making them look DISTINCT

-          I like that they hinted at her intelligence by having her solve the puzzles by herself

-          One advantage a film has over the games is that the visual novel format kinda limits the dialogue, coz it’s hard to convey one charafter talking over another

-          I really like the side characters. They’re simple, yes, but they don’t really need to be complex

-          I will admit that the limits of Layton’s simple facial features means it can be hard to tell who/what he’s looking at sometimes…

-          “that man” asked me to write an opera, huh

-          WHY DOES NOBODY ASK WHO

-          Fuck descole’s theme is SO GOOD

-          WHERE DOES HE GET THE FUNDING FOR ALL OF THIS THOUGH

-          And Grosky boards the ship just in time for it to blow up XD I love this dude

-          I can only imagine his gigantic pecs act as a flotation device

-          Layton preventing Luke from looking at the exploding ship THIS MAN IS SUCH A DAD HE’S SO GOOD

-          I love this scene with Emmy investigating because these parent’s appearances are just enough to make it ambiguous whether they’re Nina or Amelia’s parents

-          Seeing them all wrapped up in blankets is kinda cute tbh

-          LET. THEM. SLEEP.

-          I wonder what Layton uses to keep his hat on?

-          Lol Emmy pushing a fossil aside to look at the map

-          I can only assume, given that they set off from the White Cliffs of Dover, that this island is SOMEWHERE off the coast of mainland Europe in about the same region as Spain

-          Ugh I LOVE Emmy’s uppercrust accent, the fact that she sounds like such a refined lady is such a fun contrast to her literal arse-kicking

-          Also this is totally BBC news lol

-          I love the detail of the historian’s scrapbook being kinda hodgepodge with bits falling out

-          And I love the Ambrosia Seal being super detailed but the subtle incorporation of a sheet music design

-          Gotta admit I totally thought this little banquet was poisoned on my first watch

-          Lol I love that pumpkin guy just KEEPS POURING THE WINE

-          Ugh that beach looks SO PRETTY, I want to go there

-          Janice is totally crushing on Layton, pass it on

-          D’awwwwww luke trying to befriend ‘melina’ is SO CUTE this boy must be protected at all costs

-          Layton how did you hear what she was humming from all the way over there

-          Why do so many anime characters have inexplicable super senses

-          Those wolves’ eyeliner is on point lol

-          “I’m not built for running” lol mood

-          FUCKING HELL DESCOLE WHO IS FUNDING ALL YOUR SHIT

-          HOW MUCH DISPOSABLE INCOME DO YOU FUCKING HAVE

-          Admittedly on my first watch I wasn’t as familiar with descole’s theme, but I saw that castle and I just thought “it’s descole, only he can be that extra”

-          The twist of using the cages for personal protection rather than to trap the walls is simple, but so clever

-          I love that Mr Whistler was one of those accidentally trapped outside. Keeps suspicion off

-          And I love Layton saying “well that solved PART of our problem”

-          YOU SHUT UP LADY THE PROFESSOR IS AMAZING

-          And then he trips and falls lol that’s what you get for wearing old man shoes

-          “Even a good gentleman needs to get some exercise!” pfft

-          Oh hey, they found the starter house that Descole was using while he was building that castle. I wonder what texture pack he’s using?

-          And here Layton puts MacGuyver to shame in the most Ghibli way possible

-          I’d love to see someone try to build this thing XD someone call the Mythbusters

-          Bjut I adore how even LAYTON isn’t sure how this fucking thing works

-          Fucking NERD

-          Yeah, these filmmakers were TOTALLY influenced by Ghibli

-          This is so Castle In The Sky, it hurts

-          “Hang on tight! NOT TO THE PILOT!” – best line in the movie

-          You can’t escape it, Layton. You is a dad

-          DID YOU GUYS NOT SEE LAYTON LAPUTA-ING HIS WAY IN

-          It’s great how all those puzzles seem like they could be ripped straight out of the Layton games, complete with outside-the-box bizarre thinking required to solve em

-          I’m so proud of Luke for solving it!!!!! Such a good boy

-          RUDE

-          Yeah, just stand in the middle of the suspiciously empty room, I’m sure nothing will go wrong

-          That’s what you get for shoving Layton aside, bitches

-          Lol I guess luke could just step through the bars if his head was a bit smaller

-          DESCOLE HOLY FUCK YOU ARE THE KING OF EXTRA

-          “humble scientist” GOOD GRIEF WHAT A LOAD OF SHIT YOU DRAMA QUEEN

-          I love that Emmy can FLY A PLANE

-          Holy shit grosky there are better ways to signal for help

-          And LESS GROSS WAYS TO DRY YOURSELF OFF IN A PLANE

-          Yeah, see, you lost your knickers

-          Ugh, god. I adore this scene with Layton in Melina’s room. It’s so quiet, the soft evening lighting… aaaaaaaaaaah so peaceful, but you can still feel the tension in the air, especially after Melina comes in

-          Oh my god, Layton plays like an angel *swoon*

-          The lack of background music in this scene is what makes it so perfect, the tension is so REAL

-          Lol I love the historian just standing there like ‘welp there they go’

-          NOOOOOOOOO LUKE DON’T CRY

-          BIG SIS IS HERE

-          Oh fuck yes

-          EMMY I LOVE YOU

-          God she and grosky are so fantastic XD

-          WHERE DID YOU LEARN TO FIGHT LIKE THAT EMMY

-          Somehow emmy gives me Michelle of the Resistance vibes

-          God, I kinda love it when you can tell Layton’s already put it all together and is just biding his time

-          AAAAAAAAAAH I love the subtle resemblance between Layton and what you can see of Descole’s face

-          In hindsight, that… stole? Is that what it is? The fur thing isprobably to hide his face shape because it most likely ups his resemblance to Layton

-          But he’s totally wearing black converse like the extra hipster nerd he is

-          God, I can’t even imagine the nightmare of having your memories overridden and personality suppressed

-          Aaaaaaaaaaaand here’s the summation. I love this part in pretty much every Layton thing

-          “Assisting you was the scientist, Jean Descole!” Descole: lol hi

-          LAYTON YOU ARE SUCH A DAD I LOVE YOU

-          Him being gentle with kids is so sweet

-          Also damn this backstory is a lot. I can’t imagine the pain of losing a loved one, but I’m not surprised a father would do anything he could to keep his daughter alive

-          “When did you realise I was involved” “ur an extra bitch who lives for drama, who else could it be”

-          That brief bit of Luke without his hat just makes him look even more BABY BOI MUST PROTECC

-          Okay real talk when did Janice get hold of the key

-          I’m guessing it was in the commotion when Mr Whistler grabbed Luke

-          SUCH A GOOD TWIST I LOVE IT

-          My heeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaart goddammit

-          In hindsight, the hint of Janice wearing Melina’s pendant was really subtle and clever

-          GODDAMMIT DESCOLE CAN YOU STOP BEING EXTRA FOR LIKE TEN SECONDS

-          It’s kinda cool that he’s an archaeologist too though. It really does run in the family.

-          The way Descole and Whistler’s schemes intertwined was really cool

-          Yeah, it just wouldn’t be Descole if there wasn’t some over-the-top machinery

-          YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS MAGIC MUSIC THIS IS MY SHIT

-          When escaping from a crumbling castle, do be sure to grab your boy.

-          AAAAAAAAAGH THE SCENERY IN THIS MOVIE IS SO FUCKING GOOD

-          Good lord, there it is. Descole just can’t function unless he has some ridiculous Humongous Mecha at his command

-          This thing looks especially monstrous and I love it

-          I don’t think I’ve seen ANY faults in this movie’s animation, jesus Christ

-          Descole, did you learn nothing from the attempted excavation of Troy? It’s very possible that your efforts to unearth Ambrosia will be what destroys it!

-          Aaaaaaaagh this flying scene is intense as FUCK

-          Layton and Luke are SUCH A GOOD TEAM

-          WHAT IS THIS MUSIC I LOVE IT

-          Luke you are SUCH A GOOD BOY

-          Sorry but you’ll never be mob tho

-          Mob is perfection

-          JESUS CHRIST DESCOLE ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL A CHILD

-          I was about to ask where that explosion came from but then I realised it was probably a petrol-powered chainsaw

-          Layton who told you that you could look this goddamn epic

-          But I love that he’s taking on the sword-armed Descole with a PIPE

-          That footwork tho

-          Layton must be an amazing dancer

-          So cool that he’s patiently explaining why Descole was wrong

-          Sun, stars and sea. I feel like that’s a Dothraki term of endearment meant for oceanfairing

-          MORE MAGIC MUSIC I AM BLESSED

-          AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I LOVE THIS SO MUCH THIS IS THE FUCKING COOLEST

-          I’M SUCH A SLUT FOR MAGIC MUSIC GODDAMMIT AND THIS IS DOUBLE TEAMING ME WITH SINGING AND PIANO

-          I do enjoy that despite its emergence, Ambrosia is still partially submerged. Some movies would’ve had it rise from the sea completely

-          Lol at Descole losing his shit because SOMEONE ELSE found the answer

-          Yeah, bad idea attacking someone right on top of your humongous mecha’s control panel

-          “DESCOLE!” dude he’s fine you really think he’d die

-          I was going to ask why Emmy didn’t use her plane but she probably couldn’t get to it in time

-          Yeah, this is SO Ghibli. The gigantic industrialised machine self-destructing on the ruins of an ancient civilisation lost to nature

-          Noooooooooo don’t do this to me movie, nothing kills me like sad flashbacks

-          Ow my heart

-          This hurts

-          “I’m sorry, Father. I’ve only ever brought you grief and sadness, haven’t I” as someone who’s struggled with depression this is a whole-ass mood

-          NO THIS HURTS STOP IT

-          Also the lil detail of Whistler’s waistcoat being the same shade of purple as Melina/Janice’s dress

-          NOOO DON’T MAKE LUKE SAD

-          “I’m so glad all of you were my very last memory.” Damn that line hits hard

-          GIVE THE GIRL A HUG, LAYTON

-          I said a hug, not a hand on the shoulder, she needs a HUG

-          Seeing the destroyed detrogan really hammers it home, huh

-          It’s very kind of Grosky to let Whistler play one last time in memory of his daughter

-          When I got into the Layton series, I was no expecting to be hit so hard with the FEELS

-          “Do you know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?”

-          GNU Ambrosia, I guess

-          Ugh it’s so PRETTY tho

-          Fucking sparkles and shit

-          D’awwwww, I love the image of Luke patching up the wolves, he’s so sweet

-          Knowing the truth about Emmy and seeing her being so happy with Layton and Luke makes it really painful :’(

-          The world needs more of Layton with a big, happy smile

-          Awww, Author Lady and Pumpkin Dude kept in touch

-          GROSKY GOT HIS UNDIES BACK

-          Ugh seeing Layton and Luke peacefully listening to that music is SO CUTE and SOFT

[denimsnake]

For the fanfic author game: 2, 4, 16, 17, 31, and 33 😈

2) What fandom was your first fic for? What/who was it about?

if non-published fic counts, then it was a Transformers fic that I wrote to fill pages in the journal I had to write for sophomore English (10 pages a week…ick). I don’t remember the plot (assuming there was one), but I do remember Megatron murdered Starscream. the first fic I published on ao3 was probably a Captain America fic but…again…I don’t remember the plot and I orphaned my earlier ones a while back lmfao

4) What made you start writing fanfiction?

The TF fic was just to mindlessly fill space but I decided to start writing & publishing fics because I had stories to tell, dangit, even if they weren’t very good (and maybe still aren’t? jury’s still out).

16) What’s your favorite trope?

This is such a difficult question lmao hm…hurt/comfort is a big one bc I love to see characters being taken care of…….also I love mutual pining. bc it requires the characters in question to be super oblivious and kinda stupid and, like.. same. I love social media fics so much that I actually wrote one –  they’re fun both to read and to write! and a nice escape from the pressures of perfect grammar, which I talk more about in #33.

17) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve ever gotten on a fic?

don’t take this the wrong way but I don’t think I’ve ever gotten criticism?? Not that my writing hasn’t ever been deserving of criticism, but I tend to write about safer topics (no darkfic here!) so I don’t get people after me for writing insensitively about something, and people tend to be nice enough not to comment on poor/my-first-fanfic writing. The edgiest thing I’ve published is probably the Star Wars fic lol and hopefully I handled everything okay there; its audience is small enough that there’s a lower chance of someone commenting harshly, anyway.

31) Do you write just for fun, or would you ever consider pursuing writing (as a career, I’m assuming)?

I write for fun! I might publish non-fiction in the future bc of my academic trajectory, but probably not any fiction.

33) Fanfiction pet peeves?

OOC stuff is kinda a gimme. When I write, I try to imagine every piece of dialogue being spoken by the characters, and if it doesn’t feel right in their mouth then I’ll change the wording or eliminate it entirely. Sometimes it’s clear that an author hasn’t tried hearing the words in the character’s voice – not to say that this is the only or best method of ensuring in-character dialogue, but I think (hope) it’s worked well for me thus far – and that can be irritating because as a reader it feels strange even if I can’t always explain why. Behavior can be harder because you really have to delve into a character’s psyche as opposed to using a shortcut and you can’t always faithfully do that if there isn’t much canon material for that character, and even with plenty of material it requires a lot of analysis, though that gets easier as you gain more experience and eventually you’ll be mentally sorting characters into archetypes at a glance.

My BIGGEST pet peeve is poor grammar. It doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things but by god my eye twitches when I’m reading something and there’s a comma splice or something equally benign that nevertheless interrupts the flow. I know it makes me sound like an elitist asshole lmfao but please know I don’t correct people’s grammar unless they explicitly ask me to do so. This is a me-problem. Also I’ll legit proofread your fic for free in order to combat this.

Another stupid one is indentation? Don’t indent your fic, please.* I know this is how books are formatted, but it looks awful on ao3 and, again, pulls me out of the story for stupid reasons.

*format your fic however you want; it’s yours.

fanfic author ask game

[explodingthunder]

The Whitethorn Bloodline

pt. 1: Fae Queen Mora, sister to Mab, sister in heart to Valg-Fae Queen Maeve, founder of House Whitethorn, the most cunning

Word Count: How tf am I supposed to know because I’m on mobile guys and I’ll fix it all later

Summary: If Rhysand’s last name was Whitethorn

Author’s Note: I feel like I’ve stolen this style from tacmc who I shall not tag but this format- it’s pretty good actually. Also. This is as close to canon as I can get because I’m a total idiot who got all the books spoiled because I didn’t realize that ACOTAR blogs usually have ToG stuff too. So before I even began the first book I knew that Celaena was Aelin, Lorcan was an idiot, Rowaelin was canon and Manon and Abraxos were the best characters in the whole series (a thing I still support lol). But I didn’t know why. (Man this summary is long.) Actually, I just finished Heir of Fire so all this shit is literally just gathered from wikis and all these blogs. thank god Mora wasn’t even in the story all that much. So enjoy this shit as I go off to contemplate my horrible existence.

Author’s Note You Must Know To Understand the Story: Because this shit is AU and I may do what I want, in this AU the only three worlds in the universe are the Valg Kingdom, Erilea, and Prythian/Hybern/Mortal Lands/Whatever you want to call the ACOTAR world. (Which means Amren is Valg and that totally fits her.) Anyways the three gate-openings in this are super convenient and that would be because I think that the Valg would probably have shielded against other worlds to prevent invasion and that shit. IDK how but I think they would have.

Tags: @wishingtobemrswhitethorn @feysans4life​ @rhysandsrevenge​

When Queen Maeve leapt into Erilea by Wyrdgate, she knew that she was most definitely not the first to travel that way.

Or the last.

She knew she was very likely the first to ever use the Wyrdgate in Erilea.

And when she broke into the minds of her new sisters, Mora and Mab, she didn’t probe much farther than the surface. The surface of the ground, after all, is all you need to hit to plant the seeds of a garden.

She didn’t probe far enough to find the darkest secrets of her sisters. Maeve was smart enough to realize that if she knew too much, her sisters would turn on her, and if they did this too often, she may accidentally break their minds while changing their memories. And honestly, she really did want them to love her as a sister, and for her to return the favor.

Mab’s secrets were nothing special- a lie here, a lie there, pain she kept secret, kills she made and laid awake with guilt for, an affair with a lover she would one day marry.

But Mora-

Mora’s last descendants would take her most hidden secret to their graves.

When she was young, very young, and was not a Fae queen rather than a Fae child, she stumbled through a Wyrdgate into another world.

She found people there like her, but they were different as well. Their teeth were more human, their senses perhaps sharper, and to them, she was not a child. To them, twenty-seven was plenty enough to be considered older.

So she took advantage of it, and flew on her hawk’s wings to every one of the so-called “courts.”

The Night Court was beautiful, but not what she was looking for. The Spring Court was something she normally would have loved, but she didn’t seem to love the flowers as much. The Autumn Court was too rigid for her liking, and the Summer Court too sunny, and the Day Court too wild. The Dawn Court tended towards Mab’s tastes, not hers.

But the Winter Court… it was perfect.

Her magic of snow and ice fit here, and she could summon all the storms she wanted and no one would bat an eye.

Mora loved it.

She spent ages there- how long, she didn’t know. Grew. Laughed. Changed.

And loved.

She was known to be extremely powerful, yet Mora, for all her cunning, and smarts, and magic, fell in love with someone whose power not equaled her own, but whose power was nonexistent.

She loved a Winter Court Fae commoner, or at least as common as High Fae could be. When he asked her if she would prefer someone with magic, Mora would declare for all to hear that she had magic enough for the both of them.

She had children with him. And they were beautiful. They grew into fine Fae and were every inch as powerful as she was. They fit into the ice of the Winter Court like they were born for it, which, of course, they were.

But after so long in happiness, one tends to stop being content. Mora didn’t long for more power, or land to rule over, or more powerful heirs. She didn’t want more jewels or power from another Court or the ability to winnow. What Mora wanted most was to see home again. To see Erilea. To see her sister.

She spent ages researching Wyrdgates (although here they were simply disturbances) and finally pinpointed when one would open. So she leapt through. And, by some strange force, it was indeed Erilea she stepped into.

But while the gate she used to step into Prythian remained open for days, this one stayed open for only a minute.

Mab felt Mora’s presence, saw her scream of anguish.

And Mora ran to her sister, her sister, who she hadn’t seen in a hundred years, and sobbed into her shoulder, knowing she would understand nothing.

She didn’t tell Mab anything after that. Not why she had disappeared or how. Mab, the kind-hearted soul she was, assumed it was too painful to talk about, and that she had simply been let free from the horrors she had seen. She told all that Mora had gone on a pilgrimage and lived with nuns to learn how to become more powerful.

She was right in one respect. The memories were indeed too painful to recall.

Mora ruled Erilea with her sister, and pretended to be who she was before. She ruled for years, and didn’t bat an eye when her sister suddenly became her sisters. When she was told to choose a husband, she chose not the most powerful one but the one closest in likeness to the one she loved. A human. She faked the wedding vows, made sure the marriage was not true, so she would not be lying once again.

Her new husband (who wasn’t even really her husband) became used to being stared at longingly, became used to Mora’s endless research at night. (For all her smarts and political cunning, she was helpless without his guidance.) He learned to see the agony in Mora’s eyes when she had to become a Fae queen instead of simply Mora, the Fae hopelessly stuck in her research, hopelessly stuck in love.

Her husband began to age, and he helped Mora as long as he could, then, when at last they found a gate, he told her to go. Mora’s eyes were filled for once with delight as she kissed him for the first and only time.

Then she stepped through and was gone. Never again was she seen in Erilea.

The husband, older now, scattered clues that he and Mora had run off, and covered up her research on Wyrdgates with fake research on how to give away immortality. He disappeared into the woods one day, and lived a long life, but did not return and was seen by no one.

They say that Mora gave up her immortality for him.

They are wrong. Mora lives on to this day. Her lineage is no longer traced through her world, although it is traced into Erilea after two of her grandsons followed in her footsteps.

Mora did not die, nor did she live a lonely existence. In truth, she went home.

[sarcasticace]

High School Story, Choices Edition: A Thought Dump.

long post is long, under the cut

When I first saw the announcement that there would be a High School Story book in Choices I was beyond happy. High School Story is a story that is and would always be very dear to my heart. Yes, this post is going to get sentimental. Fucking deal with it. I love High School Story, most of all the characters. I loved the storyline, but I will admit that, after a certain point, things get... flat for lack of a better word. Not that it goes down in quality, but... you're just reminded how much of a ‘never ending school year’ it was. There was no sense of time, but despite this it never lost its core aka being a high school story... heh heh. However, now that I found out it was getting a Choices book, everything changed. There’d be a concept of time and yes, a definite ending. We’d have to say goodbye, but High School Story could finally have that overarching plot like TC&TF. 

Before I get on with the main point of this post, I just want to say that I LOVE the Choices edition of High School Story. It easily fits into my top 3 books. The book is amazing. The characters, most of them anyway, are original and exciting to get to know. The story is interesting, retains the core of HSS, and leaves you impatiently waiting for your keys to restore. There are issues here and there, but most are just small nitpicky things. Emma seems too much like a YA protagonist for my tastes. Caleb is practically a younger clone of Sean (he even has similar relationship drama, except worse), and a few canon mishaps. The only real problem I have, which isn’t really a problem just me being sad and confused, is that I don’t get why they made this a High School Story book and not just a normal high school book. 

It follows a new MC and a new core cast of characters and while, yes, the original gang are still there, they’ve been, for lack of a better word, reduced to minor roles. Sure, characters like Mia and Julian, and Ezra have subplots you can explore depending on what extracurricular activity your MC chooses (I’ve only done cheerleading so far), but... they’re not relevant to the plot. You could remove or replace with original characters, renamed the book ‘The High Schooler’, and it would not have changed the book. For players who never played the original High School Story it’s like ‘who cares, cool story with cool new characters’, but for original players... there’s this weird feeling I’m sure (kinda sure) we’re all sharing. Here we are, in our senior year of high school, ready to share new adventures in the Choices storytelling format with our old friends. Except, they don’t know us. They walk off, but it doesn’t really set in until I meet Autumn. She catches me alone just like in the beginning of the original High School Story. Of course, she’d remember us. She was our first friend after all or at the very least we’d kick off our friendship again, like an AU or something of the original story. Except, she doesn’t. Autumn takes our picture and runs off without even asking for our name. I turn around and meet Emma who we become friends with. Don’t get me wrong, I think Emma is a cool character, but at that point, I put my tablet down and sat back. I didn’t cry or get mad or anything. It’s just a game, after all. Not that big deal, but... it was a really sad moment. We later learn that the original MC, the one we played as in the original High School Story, graduated before the original gang (despite them all being in the same grade) with I’m assuming Katherine and all the A-listers. So, their MC is gone and our MC is hanging out with Michael and Caleb and Emma, but every so often I feel like turning around and seeing the original gang at a table, having fun, and wanting to tell them ‘its me guys!’, but I can’t. 

That’s why I don’t understand why they made a High School Story book and not a high school book. Sure, I get that new players might be a little confused with their MC suddenly knowing a whole group of people, but PB has done that before with Hero. You know, we go into Hero for the first time and suddenly Poppy has been our friend since high school and we’ve been crushing on Grayson since high school. If they wanted to avoid that, they could’ve made an AU. Retold the tale of High School Story in a different way. Sure, old players would know what would happen, but it had been so long, years maybe, and the writers could have a chance to write things differently in a way they might’ve been limited in within the original pixel-style app.

But in the end of the game, Choices’ High School Story is a great book. I’d play it again and again and I’d recommend it every time. I’m just... sad.

[diaryventsesh]

Anxiety

8/3/20

I have never had test anxiety before. I never failed so why would I? I was under the impression that everything would work out in the end and by work out, I mean I would get an average or above grade but not fail. Then, I did fail a lab that caused me to drop down a class and now I have extreme anxiety surrounding my abilities and currently, the national licensing exam. I just took it and honestly, before the test, I didn’t feel too nervous, I had set aside about 13 weeks of studying, had made a plan to review most things and had passing scores on my practice test at the end (I had pretty steadily improved my scores on tests albeit on different formatted ones so some are harder than others). However, on my passing practice test (this was the test form that was supposed to be most like the real one), I felt good. I went through questions feeling like I knew the answers were right. I did not feel that way on the real test. I felt like I was getting confused on basic questions. I had a few where I knew I had reviewed that before but I couldn’t remember what the exact definition/purpose/whatever was. I had so many that I couldn’t narrow down to the exact right answer and I took too long at the beginning such that I had to rush through the end. I didn’t feel any kind of panic attack like symptoms that I had felt once before (I get full body, face, extremity tingling and numbness with a sense of detachment). In fact, I was strangely calm even when I was running out of time at the end. I went through each quickly in the sense that I either knew it quickly enough to narrow down the answers or had no freaking clue. Fun fact about this test: 250 questions total for 5 hours. Only 200 are included for your grade. 50 questions are not included because the testing company is testing out questions to include on a future test so some are shit some are fine. You don’t know which ones they are because they’re all mixed together randomly. Technically there’s 50 extra questions you could get wrong but it pisses me off to think that I could be getting all the fake questions right but somehow missing the ones on the actual test. All I need is for enough questions to be on the wrong side of the real test and I’m fucked. The questions are graded slightly differently as well in that I think some questions are worth more than others like you should be getting basic ones which I assume cost more but if you don’t get the complex far off ones it won’t hurt as bad on your grade? And where I fucked up is that I feel that I had some basic ones that I messed up because I guess maybe I did have some test anxiety at the beginning. IDK I took SO long. People usually feel pretty bad on the test but end up passing. I really want to believe that that could be the case for me but I have this horrible sense of dread that won’t leave my head because I have failed before (albeit this was on a lab practical and not an actual sit-down test). I keep on thinking "please god or allah or whoever tf, please pass me please pass me.” Every time I have a little moment to myself, my mind thinks about how it would feel to open the test site and see the words “failed.” I would be so ashamed. I would feel so bad that I keep on wasting my parent’s money from having to retake the class to now this. I have so much given to me and yet with all this time and comfort, I can’t pull myself together for this shit? I would feel ashamed at having to tell all of these people that I’d have to retake it. I honestly think I’d lie to people. Only the people closest to me aka my parents and my boyfriend would know. If I could fail without anyone knowing, I would be okay with that. I would be fine with having to study again and study a different way to be better (probably would have to pay to get specific tutoring). However, I just care too much about what others think in regards to this. I’ve already failed before and now I’m showing people that I want to continue the tradition. For some reason my dumb fuck brain wants to continue this party of stupidity. It doesn’t want to adapt to shit or soak up any information. It must be the way I’m studying. I have to change it but idk how to ask for help or do more. Why tf can I not complete actions for the important stuff? My heart clenches or feels like its palpitating extra hard sometimes, pulsating through my ears and eyes. My coping method of choice as usual is avoidance/ignorance. I just clean up my room, go on a hike, watch TV, drink. I want to numb it and ignore it. I feel like if I tell people about this feeling, they’ll just say “oh you’ll be fine. Everyone feels that way.” My boyfriend essentially said “why are you worrying about it, the test is already in and you can’t do anything about it?” He then kind of backtracked when he saw my face saying something along the lines of “But I do understand that it can be difficult/hard.” I then proceeded to not talk about it. I wanted to be validated. I want everyone I tell that I have these feelings that “its okay, its a sucky feeling and I’ll love you no matter what the result of this event.” Most of the time, I can have less erratic emotions but this test matters too much. I have to go run because exercise is good for you or something. Although I found that after the test, it just gives me more time to think about fucking up on the test so. But alas, I still have to take care of my body. 

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Predictions for the Format of S8 (Can’t Wait!)

As I said in my 4x10 Re-Watch, I want to talk about the format of this episode a bit more. Because the more I thought about it, the more excited I became. Something HUGE occurred to me in light of Gimple’s words about 8x01-8x04 melting everyone’s brains.

Inmates really is a unique episode in terms of how they told the story. We’ve had several episodes that have relied on flashbacks for their format (6x01) or ones that flashed back to earlier times in general (4x16, 5x06, etc.). But Inmates is the only episode I can think of that specifically employs this backwards-time technique.

Because that’s really what it is. They had four different story threads to cover: Bethyl, Carol/Tyreese, Maggie/Sasha/Bob, and Glenn.

(The previous episode, 4x09, showed us that Richonne and Carl were alive and well and had found one another. So no one was too worried about them, and they aren’t in this episode.)

If you watch the episode carefully, the stories start with the latest one chronologically and move backward. This becomes most obvious at the point where Bethyl’s and Tyreese’s stories cross. Beth and Daryl find tracks, including some crushed grapes. Daryl says things went bad and whoever it was got out in a hurry. (Later, we see Ty and the girls make those tracks.)

It’s also important to note that we see two days pass in Bethyl’s story line. First, we see them running from walkers (during Beth’s diary voice-over). Then we see them sitting by the fire and it’s dark. Beth says the sun will be up soon. Then when they’re tracking Tyreese, it’s day again. They follow his tracks to the train tracks, where they see what they think is the remains of the people they were tracking (even though it’s not). Beth starts to cry, and the only other thing we see is them sitting by another fire in the darkness. So two nights have come and gone in their story line since the prison fell.

Then…

We move to Tyreese. We only see one night with him. He, the girls, and Judith are out in the dark. Lizzie murders some rabbits in a log, and Judith cries, so they decide to keep moving. The next day, we see the part where Tyreese runs (after Mica), squashing the grapes, which Daryl and Beth later find. (Bethyl also walks right past the log with the dead rabbits in it, btw.) So there’s only one day’s passage there, and Ty’s bit happens before Bethyl’s. Backward progression.

Then we move to Maggie/Sasha/Bob. We don’t see any darkness/night time with them at all. Beyond that fact, there’s nothing to specifically tell us that their story came before Ty’s chronologically (that I saw) but because of all the other stories showing backward progression, I’m assuming it did. We see a very short slice of time with them. First Sasha bandages Bob’s wound, then they set out to find Glenn. They see the bus, Maggie confirms Glenn isn’t on it. The end. That’s all we see of them in this episode.

Finally, there’s Glenn. They show us that his story happened the soonest after the prison went down in several ways. 

1) The tank, though the flames are out, is still smoking. If it had been days or even hours, there wouldn’t have been so much smoke. 

2) It’s obvious that Glenn was injured and knocked out when that same tank blew up the prison’s bridge. Glenn got sort of caught up in it. Wrong place, wrong time. (Poor Glenn.) But he wouldn’t have been out for very long. Unless he had a severe head injury (and since he gets up and walks away relatively unscathed, we can assume he doesn’t) something like that would only cause a few minutes of unconsciousness. Mostly he’d be dealing with shell shock, but again, not unconsciousness. So his story takes place only minutes after the end of 4x08.

Okay, why is this important?

Two things to point out.

1) Glenn’s life, more than any other character’s, was in question in this episode. We already knew Rick, Michonne, and Carl were safe. With the others, we didn’t actually see any of them die at the prison like Hershel and the Gov, so it was a safe bet that they were alive, but we couldn’t know for sure until they showed us. Glenn was the last one shown, and they even did a very tiny death-fakeout with Maggie’s thread. I’ll get to that. But my point is that they did this backward-time progression, revealing some surprising things along the way, and it culminated in revealing that Glenn was still alive.

2) The Importance of the Sequence. The last thing we see in this episode is the arrival of Abraham, Eugene and Rosita. 

So I had this moment where I thought: 

“Okay, the backwards time thing leads up to new characters arriving." 

Of course I was thinking of Beth. That sort of works but also sort of doesn’t. It doesn’t because these were brand new characters we hadn’t seen before, and that won’t be true of Beth. But Abraham was also a major proxy for Beth, so it still might work symbolically. But it doesn’t really matter. That thought led me to others. I started to realize that every one of these four threads had something super-important to TD in it.

First we have Bethyl. There are no death fake-outs or revealed-to-be-alive moments in their part of the episode, but we have Daryl being cynical and not believing anyone is alive. Beth screaming at him, "They’re alive, they’re alive, they’re alive!” Then, rather than having her hopes realized, they’re dashed. They come upon the remains by the train tracks and assume them to be that of those they were tracking. Anyone seeing where I’m going with this? Okay, I’ll come back to it. Let me get through the sequence.

In Ty’s part of the story, we have Judith, a character everyone from the GA to the characters in the show thought to be dead, revealed to be alive. Resurrection story. Judith’s alive. Yea! Not to mention the return of Carol after an estrangement from TF. So obviously that’s a TD thing. (Remember that RK “confirmed” that Judith was dead, which is why everything negative he’s said about Beth is so suspect.)

Then Maggie/Sasha/Bob. I said in my 4x08 Rewatch that Maggie’s convo with Beth where Beth says “What if you’re not [right back]?” was a foreshadow of Beth being left behind, right? But we can take it even a step farther here with Glenn. If you hadn’t figured it out yet, I think Glenn was a foreshadow of Beth in this episode. His being revealed alive at the end of the episode was a mini foreshadow of Beth. So in line with that, look at what happens here. Maggie goes into the prison to get Glenn. She puts him on the bus. When she gets there, Beth is gone (more of the Beth being gone when someone returns for her foreshadowing).

But as far as Glenn goes, Maggie put Glenn on that bus. She assumed he stayed there, even though he didn’t. So when she found the bus, just as we think will be the case with Beth, he’s gone. So we have a case of Maggie being separated from Glenn, then going back to look for him. When she gets back to the CAR she left him in, he’s gone, and she has no idea where.

Now, there are obviously some differences. When Glenn is gone, Maggie is happy because she believes it means he’s alive, and that won’t be the case with Beth. But then Glenn wasn’t shot in the head, so you can’t blame Maggie’s reasoning there.

But as I said in my re-watch, it’s also weird that they didn’t show the face of the walker she kills. Okay, couple of things: We never see this dude’s face, but from behind, he really does look like Glenn. Even his clothes are similar. So that’s in line with the Walker Look-Alike thing I mentioned in the 4x09 Re-Watch. If a character has a walker look-alike, it always means there alive. True here with Glenn as well.

I also think not seeing this guy’s face could possibly correlate in some way with them not showing Beth’s face again after she’s shot.

But most of all, there’s a micro death fake-out here. I remember when this episode aired, seeing memes of Maggie crying in the bus that said things like, “Why do you have to mess with my emotions, AMC? Why?” Because, for a minute, she cries and it really seems like the walker she just stabbed was probably Glenn. Then she smiles and the next scene reveals Glenn is alive. So yeah, micro death fake-out. Good times.

I also think this could be more foreshadowing of Glenn’s actual death. We have Maggie crying over Glenn here, just as she did through the glass with Beth in 4x03.

Finally, we have Glenn revealed as alive, which I think foreshadowed Beth being revealed alive. So, once again, we have an instance of Maggie being without Glenn, and crying over him, just before the big resurrection reveal. Probably a foreshadow of Glenn’s death before Beth is revealed.

Okay, so look more closely at what happens in this sequence. First we have Bethyl, where Beth is confident that the others “are alive.” Then her hopes are dashed when they discover the remains at the train tracks.

That sounds a whole damn lot to me like Daryl saying with confidence in 5x01, “She’s alive.” He had the faith and positivity that Beth showed him in 4b that he’d find her and everything would be okay. His hopes were dashed when she was shot and he lost everything. 

Beth sobbed by the train tracks.

Daryl sobbed by the barn. 

In Ty’s story, Judith is revealed to be alive. Even though her actual death fake-out happened in 4x08, I still think this may represent another, smaller death fake-out that came after Beth was shot and was resolved relatively quickly: Glenn’s. It was a much smaller story line than Beth’s. People believed him to be dead, and only a few episodes later, just like Judith, we find out he’s alive. (Yea!)

Then we have Glenn’s fake death, Maggie crying, just before the big reveal.

But here’s the biggest thing I wanted to tell you all. This is the thing that gave me epic chills when the realization hit me. Because we can take this a step farther.

Glenn wasn’t on that bus. But where WAS he? Back at the prison, right?

Think about that. He was back at same place Maggie first found him and put him on the bus. He was back where it all started. No one even thought to go back to the prison to look for Glenn.

So when Maggie goes back to the car where they left Beth, she won’t be there. Where will she be? She’ll be back at Grady, where they first found her, where it all started. And no one will even think to go back there looking for her.

And not only was Glenn just back at the prison–like on the grounds or something. He was INSIDE the prison. And he woke up. Alone. Without TF. They’d already all moved on.  So he had to fight his way out of that prison. And how did he do that? Using alcohol and fire, of course. He burned it down, as Beth will probably do in some way with Grady.

He acquired friends/a group along the way, ended up leading them more or less, and then reunited with Maggie in the dark tunnel. (Haven’t I been saying for two years that the Glaggie reunion in 4b foreshadowed Bethyl’s?)

A la @thegloriouscollectorlady’s 4 Arcs for 4 Community’s theory, it’s also important that Tara is with Glenn on this journey. This is a bit beyond the scope of this theory, but remember in 4x15, after Maggie and Glenn reunite, Maggie thanks Tara for helping bring Glenn back to her. Glenn says he couldn’t have done it without Tara’s help. Tara is now the character connected with Oceanside, and we think Beth will come through there. So she couldn’t have been reunited with TF except for the ocean, Oceanside, and what it represents. Just saying.

So! What does it all mean for S8?

I’m wondering if we’ll see this backward progression story telling again in S8. 4 threads, 4 arcs, 4 leaders of 4 communities, and 4 episodes in S8 that will melt our brains.

I’m honestly not expecting to see Beth in 8x01. If we do, Glory Be! But I think we’ll have shocking reveals in each of the first four episodes, but they’ll start close to the present (maybe something like showing us what actually happened to Heath?) and work backward. We’ll get answers to things that have remained mysterious, including stuff around Sasha and Tyreese, and the strange conversation, and then eventually what happened after Coda. They’ll culminate, much like this episode did, in showing us that a character who disappeared and people assumed was dead, really isn’t.

And TD will rejoice. Is it October yet?

The above-line was originally the end of my theory, but I wanted to add one more technical detail. I showed this theory to a few of my fellow theorists who asked about it, and @katkhaos had a really interesting insight. She said the backwards time thing reminded her of Quentin Tarantino. It’s the kind of thing we might see in one of his films. Such as Kill Bill.

Now, I’ve seen a Tarantino film or two, but I’m really not all that familiar with him. Certainly not an authority on his films. It seems like I’ve seen people draw parallels between Beth and the Kill Bill films before. Chances are, I dismissed them. I’m not big on going outside the world of the show looking for parallels.

But…

Kill Bill is a show that relies heavily on messing with time and showing things in the wrong order. It’s about a blond woman who wears nothing but yellow and is a badass. (Could describe Beth, yeah?) Plus, this woman was shot in the head and spent four years in a coma. 🤔

But if I’m not big on parallels outside the show, why am I telling you this?

Because Nicotero worked on this film. Now he writes for TTD and we have ample evidence that he shipped Bethyl. He was actually the one on TTD after 5x09 who revealed that they’d skipped 17 days. I’m not saying we should read too much into it. I just wanted to point it out and I’ll just leave this here, okay?

This has been planned for a long time, y’all. Now we just have to sit back and wait for it to unfold. Have a great weekend everyone!

[twdmusicboxmystery]

7x15: General Analysis

Good morning, All! How did everyone like last night's episode? I loved it! Totally kicking us toward the finale. There were SO many dialogue parallels, callbacks, and similar situations to Beth's arc. Let's dive right in, shall we?

***As always, SPOILERS abound for 7x15. Don’t read until you’ve watched!!!***

1. First let's talk about the opening sequence. Ooh, I loved this and the possibilities are getting me super excited. So first we see some green, gooey walkers stumbling along the beach. (Even the show/tptb/AMC called them "green walkers." Those were the two sweepstakes words for this week. That alone I would be side-eyeing hard.) But after re-watching, something jumped out at me.

A) There's a wrecked ship in the background. Now, I'm not gonna suggest that these walkers jumped off the boat, swam to shore, and then took a stroll down the beach, but they are covered in water-based plant life, and the implication of the way this is filmed is that maybe in some way they're coming from the boat. Remember THIS theory about how Beth will arrive by boat (greenroute) in Oceanside? So the green walkers would represent her getting off the boat and arriving at Oceanside. I feel like this was telling us that even now, Beth is on her way there.

B) These walkers pop up later in the episode and TF has to fight/kill them. That format is VERY reminiscent of episode 2x15. At the beginning of that episode, we saw a huge horde of walkers moving through the countryside. They even collectively pushed against a sturdy-looking wooden fence and took it down. Then, at the end of the episode, right after Rick and Carl took out Shane, the walker horde showed up at the Greene farm and TF had to attack/kill them. So we have callbacks to S2, Beth, Hershel, the Greene farm, etc. That episode, like this one, is leading into the season finale. While there were some deaths in the S2 finale (Jimmy, Patricia) they weren't huge, TF deaths. I will also point out, though, that in that episode, Andrea was presumed dead and left behind. Just saying. Yeah, totally loved the opening sequence here!

So there were really three different threads in this episode: Sasha/Eugene/Negan, Rick and co at Oceanside, and Maggie at Hilltop. I'll talk about each briefly and separately.

Let's start with Sasha.

1. The attempted rape alone gives us callbacks to Grady. Though Sasha didn't kill her rapist, it ended similarly in that the rape didn't actually occur, the rapist ended up dead (I'll even go so far as to say Gorman was bitten on the neck and Rapey Davey was stabbed in the neck) and the leader/devil (Negan/Dawn) was involved in the situation and cleanup.

2. David. Yeah, this is the third time we've seen this name used. First time it's been applied to an evil douche bag, but I hardly think that matters. First there was Karen and David at the prison, who Carol killed because they had the virus. Then in 6x03, there was David and Betsy, who were obvious proxies for Daryl and Beth. Now we have a Savior named David with massive parallels to Grady. Not sure exactly how to explain the connection, but no way that name is being used over and over again by accident. Rule of threes and all that.

3. Dialogue Parallels. I'll just run through these quickly and then probably do edits to illustrate throughout the week.

Negan to Sasha: "You okay?" Dawn to Beth: "He'll be okay."Beth's response: "Nothin's okay."

Negan to David (rapist): "Someone in charge who let's something like that fly…" Gorman (rapist) to Edwards: "I think there'll be someone in charge who ain't her…"

Negan to Sasha: "Oh hell, I get it now." (I don't really have to show you the parallel to that one right?) Later, when talking about her committing suicide, he says agin, "which would be a damn shame, but I get it."

Negan to Sasha: "…or you can sit there and do nothing…" Beth: "We might as well do something."

4. Situational Parallels: Negan gives Sasha a big knife and says, "You could try to use it to take me out," which reminded me of Beth trying to take Dawn out with the scissors. He then suggests that she could cut her wrists with it (which Beth did).

5. Dialogue Foreshadow: He said, "This could be the beginning," which I'm sure is a foreshadow of some kind. Maybe for the next phase of the story.

6. Kind of random, but at one point he said, "You're obviously not on the shiny side of the street given recent events." I wondered if that might be an "Easy Street" reference, even though it's not exact. If it is, it's a parallel to Daryl's imprisonment. Not sure what it would mean, but I can't help but think of that second song they played for Daryl.

You can see that many of these are opposites or anti-parallels.

Eugene and Sasha:

1. The lighting in Sasha's cell was really interesting. We saw one lit lantern (or lamp). Sasha was most often in the darkness, which smacked of Dark Tunnel Symbolism, and then there was that white pillow that stood out against the dark. So they were messing with light and dark, black and white, etc.

2. Eugene's lines:

"hostage situation with a pig sticker." He meant if she decided to use the knife Negan left her to take him hostage and try to escape. First off, there's a major hostage situation theme in this episode. The other time we see it, of course, is at Oceanside, and I'll get to that later. But it's very reminiscent of Grady. Even pig sticker stands out to me. It's a pig reference, which we've seen a lot before. The reason I think it's weird is that when a knife is called a pig sticker, it's generally a derogatory term, suggesting that the knife is small, unimpressive, and only suitable to stab a pig. The knife Negan leaves Sasha is ginormous! It's NOT something most people would refer to as a pig sticker, so that term is a bit of a misnomer in this case. Which means the word was carefully placed for some other reason.

"riding that RV into the sunset was the best 37 minutes of my life." The RV (time reference) and the sunset stuck out to me. I don't have to explain, I’m sure, why the sun = Beth, but the fact that it's a sunset also stands out to me. I'll tell you why in a second. There's that 37 again. We've seen that number a lot since S4. Sometimes it's just like this: the actual number 37. Other times it's been more like a range: from 3-7. Well, we're in S7 and the range from 3 to 7 = 4. All possibly important numbers.

"pants peeing terror and the rinse and repeat of that same event…" This is very similar to what Negan said during the original lineup: "peepee pants city." So, about the sunset mentioned above: When Negan arrived at the beginning of the season, we had the dawn of a new day. Repeating lines or similar lines to what was said at the beginning of the season is common because the end often mirrors the beginning. At the beginning, they talked about sun rise. Now they're mentioning sunsets. Also, some interviews have come out where Gimple has said this finale will very much be an ending to the current arc, so it's kind of interesting to see these words they're going with.

"I was full tilt delusional." - @thegloriouscollectorlady and I are hoping this was a nod to TD. Maybe, maybe not, but it would be cool if it was.

“Things can change and we can change with them.” Beth: “I wish I could just change.” Rick: “I know we can all change.”

The other thing I noticed about this situation is that Sasha doesn't stab David right away. I'm assuming it was because she was still deciding what to do. Stabbing him would signal her accepting Negan's offer and she held off as long as possible. But still. All the dialogue parallels are anti-parallels, and this feels like one too. Unlike Beth, we see this guy die, bleed out, turn into a walker, and then Sasha stabs him in the head.

Later Negan comes back and Sasha has killed David. More dialogue parallels:

Negan to Sasha: "Still…the way you saved yourself…" Daryl about Beth: "She's tough. She saved herself." And I gotta be a geek and say I hope that "still" is a Still reference. ;D

"A little bird told me that Rick and the others are up to no good." So another songbird reference. And who was the songbird again? (I also gotta say, it's not clear who Negan is referencing here, but I kind of doubt it's Eugene. I could be wrong, but it doesn't seem like he'd actually inform on TF in this way.)

"Tomorrow is gonna be a big day." First, it's a dialogue foreshadow. It's a lot like what he said, again, in the original lineup. (Today is career day.) And right after that Glenn and Abraham died. So this probably foreshadows a death tomorrow (which will be the finale). Second, it's another example of dialogue from the opening of the season being mirrored at the close.

When Eugene comes and Sasha asks him for a weapon to end her own life, she suggests he give her a razorblade to slit her wrists. Then she even changes to asking for glass. Not only is there a major suicide theme here, but Beth used mirror glass to cut her wrists in S2 (you know, the same season where episode 15 had the same opening as this episode). Just saying.

When Eugene returns with the suicide pills, he says he made them at the behest of someone else "but it came to pass they were feeding me the bum steer so I cut bait." So we have a deer reference and the bait could 1) refer to Oceanside or 2) refer to S4's Governor episode called Live Bait, which had lots of foreshadowing of Beth's arc. I may go into that more later in the week.

He also, when listing his reasons for helping Sasha, says that she is "fully self aware." That's super important for Sasha's arc. It's a callback to her convo with Bob in s4 about self-awareness. If they're saying she's full self aware now, where she wasn't before, then her arc is definitely coming to a close.

Finally, he says, "It sounds to me like you happen to already be gone," which of course is like, "she's just gone."

I will say that, despite everyone's hope that Eugene was lying to Negan and secretly trying to help TF, it's not looking that way. If he had some kind of plan, why would he not tell Sasha about it? There would be no reason for that. I think Eugene is fully Negan's man, now. Very sad. ☹

Oceanside:

1. At the beginning, I thought it was interesting that we had the RV, the phoenix van, and Daryl's motorcycle (all important symbols in Beth's arc in some way) all side by side in the shot. Just an observation.

2. Before Michonne climbs the tree, she asks, "When does the clock start" and Rick replies, "as soon as she gets in there." Just thought it might be something of a clock reference.

3. All the greens and background pics and flowers are still present at Oceanside. I won't go into them much. But Tara had some interesting dialogue with Natania and Cyndie:

"my people will take this place." Not necessarily a TD Thing but Rick said that exact thing about Alexandria when they first arrived, so kind of a callback to S5

"we're doing something (Beth: we might as well do something), we're not giving up (obviously)…but the world can belong to good people (Beth's talk about good people)…if we're just brave enough to try." Yeah, definitely smacked of Beth.

Then we have the hostage situation with Tara at Oceanside. As I already said, this is a parallel to S2 where the walker horde shows up, but it's also something of a parallel to what we think happened after Grady. So we had the hostage situation (luckily in this case Tara wasn't hurt) and a few minutes later, TF is nearly overwhelmed with a walker horde. That's exactly what we think happened after Coda.

Rick to Natania: "Put the gun down and let's talk about what we can change." Throwbacks to Rick's speech at the prison, "We can all change." And to Beth's line, "I wish I could just change."

Natania says something interesting here too, while trying to persuiade her people not to join Rick. "This is your life. Remember what it looks like. (Reminds me of Jessie's speech about what life looks like now. Remember she gave it after finding Betsy who committed suicide.) You need to see this. Open your eyes." Reminds me both of Beth waking up at Grady, and of Denise, just before she died saying, "If you don't wake…up…"

I actually loved this scene where they all fought the walkers side by side. It was awesome! Oh, and Rick yelled, "They're coming!" I've done edits about this before. It's always said as a walker horde descends on TF. I've always wondered if it would have anything to do with the walker horde we think they ran into after Coda. Remains to be seen.

At Oceanside, Carl tells Enid that not only does he think about who he's killed, but about the ones he didn't kill. That's super suspicious to me. Who does Carl mean? It might be a callback (again!) to S2 and the walker he didn't kill who ended up killing Dale. But I can't help but think of them not stabbing Beth in the head and then feeling guilty about it bc they think she turned.

As they leave, Rick asks Tara if she's okay (more of Beth's it's okay/it's not okay theme) to which she replies, "yeah." Again, Beth saying it's not okay was a foreshadow of things not turning out well in Coda. Tara saying yeah shows that she, at least, will survive this.

The most interesting thing to me plot wise here is that the Oceansiders didn't go with TF. I assumed they would, or even if they didn't, that they'd have some kind of understanding to come later or something. Nope. Nothing like that. TF made off with the guns, but for the time being, Oceanside is still on the sidelines of the war. I doubt anyone expects for it to remain that way. Cyndie tells Tara that she wants to come. That many of them do, but not all, and they can't come unless it's everyone. That sounds like a major setup for later.

I also noticed that Natania got hit in the head and was hurt pretty bad. I'm not saying being punched by Cyndie will actually kill her, but I’m wondering if this is a foreshadow of her death. AT that point, Oceanside will need a new leader. Someone who arrives by boat, perhaps?

Maggie/Gregory/Hilltop

1. Dialogue: 

Outside the walls, Gregory says, "Why are you still here, Maggie?" It's a variation on the "here's not here"/"I'm not here"/"I just wanted you to know I was here" dialogue.

Maggie says, "It's never too late to change." So again, the "I wish I could just change"/"I know we can all change" theme. (Are we seeing the repetitive themes in this episode?)

2. I'm not sure if this was what they were going for, but when it focused on Gregory's knife, and the he almost killed Maggie but didn't, I was reminded of the end of Slabtown. Beth had the scissors in hand and it looked like she was planning to attack either Dawn or Edwards, but then Carol was brought in and she didn't.

3. When Gregory returns to his office, we have an interesting combination of symbols: a mirror (Mirror Theory), the box that is reminiscent of Beth's music box, and booze. Not sure what it would mean, but it stuck out to me.

4. The other thing that REALLY stuck out to me in this scene was the map he looks at. It's a map of Virginia, and I’m assuming he's looking up the location of the Sanctuary which Simon gave him last episode (which means Gregory is still planning to betray Maggie. Grhhh!). But the camera focuses on the map when you can see the "Virginia" label very clearly. And it's not that it's out of place in the situation. D.C. is on the border of Virginia so it's not shocking Gregory would have a map of it. But I can't help but think of the fact that Noah specifically told Beth he lived in Virginia, and if she's looking for him and TF, Virginia is probably one of the places she will focus her efforts. Just saying.

Dwight/Rosita

I don't have tons to say about Dwight and Rosita. We just got a quick intro to that arc. It seems to be the beginning of Dwight's CB arc where he allies with TF. 

We do see some reversals here though that point, once again, to Dwight being the anti-Daryl. He's in a cell now of TF's, where Daryl was in Negan's cell. Rick is now making him kneel (mostly symbolically) to them, where Daryl was asked to kneel to Negan. Dwight will probably (once again) kneel without hesitation, where Daryl didn’t. Etc.

So yeah. I think that's all I have for today. Super excited for the finale. Anyone see anything I missed?