#A Reference To E2-E4

[entheo-music]

Alex Kassian x Mad Professor - A Reference To E2-E4 By Manuel Göttsching...

[prettyflyshyguy]

Hey hey hey it's me again I'm here to talk about my favourite fucked up guy

OK. I'm sick, maybe slightly delirious because of it, but in honor of EP7 dropping tomorrow (and hopefully his backstory with it) I need to get my theory crafting out into the wild now so we can all check in tomorrow and see what changes/what I double down on.

During my viewing of E2 I made the comment: "Was he augmented without his consent?" and I'm willing to put money down that I'm right.

Before I dive into my extensive E1-6 Gurathin thoughts, theories and observational commentary, a quick housekeeping: This is 95% based off my personal observations of the show (just the released episodes, no outside source media), with the remaining 5% me looking at a small amount of other peoples meta thoughts and commentary - I haven't read the books yet and I plan to once S1 is wrapped up!

If you have thoughts and opinions on my thoughts and opinions, please feel free to chuck a comment on this post but PLEASE do not spoil the books or reference book Gurathin on this post - I'm enjoying the show being 100% an unknown to me and how it's unfolding, so I'm trying to just experience it that way so every new piece of information is an exciting revelation for me!!! I promise I'll read the books haha. This entire post is 100% show only Gurathin content, no book allowed.

Let's dive in. This'll be a long post, so all the meat is under the cut. I fucking love this guy so, so, so much. And I have a lot I wanna say about him.

INTRODUCTION:

When we first see him he's deeply uncomfortable in the dealership room and really doesn't want the team to get a secunit. All the body language and the way he looks at mensah screams that he thinks its a bad idea. He's asked to join the group communion and doesn't at first, but the gang pull him in which immediately shows they're used to his self isolating behaviour but they accept its a quirk and will nudge him when necessary. In a number of other scenes he's with the group but maintaining a distance when they're huddled, little things imply he's involved and definitely socially a part of the group but he also is at times more separate (dancing scene E1 he's clearly involved and a part of it and enjoying himself) vs E4 when they're trying to contact deltfall (everyone is huddled and touching each other and he's distinctly pacing behind them).

E1 also has a fun moment where Ratthi is painting the base and Gura comments "does this wash off?" which knowing he never grew up on preservation alliance, I thought that was a nice touch. I'm in this picture and I don't like it sorta character. Not so much a rules stickler but maybe a worry-er, someone who's conscious or concerned about things that others aren't as fussed by.

The hopper secret meeting scene - he's clearly cared for, the team talk to him and say his feelings are valid but they're not necessarily hearing him, and he's frustrated by it. He operates slightly differently to them and this clearly isolates him from certain group discussions. From day 1 he's uncomfortable about having a secunit on board, at all, and the second something weird happens he's immediately on the full scale defensive - whereas everyone else is more immediately forgiving, less concerned. The way he references how much he cares about his friends to MB during the Eye Contact scene emphasises how important their lives and their safety are to him.

Now he's obviously got some trauma, possibly relating to the company or a mix of things.

After the initial sandworm attack someone (I think it was Mensah from memory) comment's that "(he) has good reason not to trust the company."

After Bharadwaj has physically recovered from the sandworm attack, he accidentally scares her when he approaches her and apologises, saying "it's an old habit, being quiet." It's a quick line that I think carries a lot more weight than it initially seems to have.

He mentions having joined preservation alliance 6 years ago but we don't know where he was at prior. He's clearly not all about how presaux operate but he still feels at home with them and they deeply respect and love him in their own way, despite differences in perspective. He's valued with them. Despite this I firmly believe he deeply feels a sense of disconnection - with the crew, especially in how they treat MB as more of a person at first (pre reveal) and with himself. Bear with me, I'll explain as I go.

He's insistent on the depersonalisation of their secunit - reminding the team that it's not a person, it's not a man or a human, it's an it in the sense that it's a tool, an object, and serves a function the same way any other piece of technology they use does. And it runs the risk of not working properly. Machines aren't supposed to think or feel, they're supposed to execute a task. It being controlled by the company leaves them with a lack of agency over this thing that's highly dangerous, that's supposed to protect them. He seems incredibly, personally, fearfull - directly telling Mensah at one point about how secunits "don't go through things!" and then commenting on what, in his mind, it is that they do. Kill things. Maim things. The language use here is broad - their job is to kill things. Their job is to maim things. Perhaps he's simply referring to things like aggressive fauna. Maybe he's referring to something else.

We know he doesn't know much about how secunits specifically work (he tells us this directly in E2), but we also as an audience don't know how much he knows about constructs, and AI in general (in this fictional setting). He didn't know secunit's have faces. The whole team object to the idea of a machine that seemingly could have some form of 'autonomy' being shackled by something like the governor module - they talk about this in the early eps, but it feels like they don't quite understand the entire picture at the same time - and neither does Gurathin. None of them quite realise what a construct is, how it operates, and the gravity of is existence and circumstance. When MB reveals its face, this starts to sink in with them. Gura's no exception here.

Let's move onto his RELATIONSHIPS.

MENSAH:

He obviously deeply cares about the crew (eye contact ep - I firmly believe when he threatened MB he didn't just mean Mensah when he said "I care about my friends" - he goes and holds Bharadwaj's hand when she wakes up- the one thing Medbay couldn't do was human connection)

It's strongly established that he really meant it with his whole chest when he said "I trust you" referring to the presaux team. But it's also clear in his behaviour that he cares about Mensah more.

Let's talk about the elephant in the room first - the pillow scene.

Not to defend him sneaking into her room - but I've seen a few takes on this scene that just paint him with a brush as being A Creep(tm) with no further consideration, and I don't think this is fair to his character. The act of him sneaking in, and then comforting himself with her pillow (MB is an unreliable narrator. I don't know if he was sniffing it, or just embracing it, and frankly the details don't matter - it cuts right as he starts to appear to cry) - the act of doing whatever it was, was creepy, and innapropriate boundary crossing. Absolutely. However - everyone of the humans in the presaux team have some kind of issue or problem with their behavior.

None of these people is without significant character fault.

So while his behaviour in this one scene was weird, I feel it speaks volumes about something unrequitted between him and Mensah, and his inability to express this to her. He deeply desires connection, but can't bring himself to bring it up.

He attempts to apologise to her after he insists she doesn't take the secunit with her on a trip, he feels intense guilt over that decision and his insistency impacting her safety in E2. He's conflicted about it because he genuinely is concerned it's a danger to the crew, but he deeply cares for and respects her and her almost getting seriously hurt absolutely terriffied him. Her subsequent blowing off of him - "I just need a shower.", rejecting his attempt at comfort, closeness and connection when she physically closes the door (and metaphorically closes a door) in his face - she likely has no idea how much of a mental sledgehammer it is to him.

She has every right to want and to ask for space - but it's this critical miscommunication (or lack of communication) between them that is clearly a long running and on-going thing.

In E5 it's also very clear he's cut up when Mensah tells him Pin-Lee is the 2nd in charge if anything goes wrong - he accepts it because he respects her but you can tell he's hurt by it.

They've been long time friends, I'm going to guess their friendship pre-dates him joining Pres Alliance based on how he brings it up in E2, and maybe there's an imbalance of how each other views their relationship, in their own heads. Again: emphasis on miscommunication, something unrequited because it's left unspoken, maybe there's that classic fear of "I don't wanna fuck this all up by being honest" - they have a good thing going and maybe he doesn't wanna ruin it. He briefly looks at the photo of her family with fondness (going off memory here, correct me if I'm wrong)

Just to clarify: I think at times his behavior is:

-definitively creepy in action (pillow)

-occasionally miss-read as creepy, especially when viewed through MB's unreliable narration and personal bias (he's just weird and different sometimes, much like many normal people are)

-he's not a Creep, but the pillow scene was inappropriate/a bit creepy

Ironic for MB to call him a Creep when it can access full security feeds and chose to brain blast him with his coworkers going at it - a great shift in framing because to MB it doesn't care/views the voyeurism differently because its a construct and security is its job (not to mention its personal distaste/lack of interest in copulation as it were)

but that's really the joke of it all, ain't it!

Slight tangent aside, let's move onto his other pivotal relationship in the show.

MURDERBOT (AND HOW GURATHIN'S NOT ENTIRELY HUMAN HIMSELF):

Not-fully-human Human and partially-human NonHuman. Name a more iconic duo. I'll wait.

So far, we don't know much about his augments and how he feels about them, or how anyone else feels about them. It all seems very matter of fact and straight forward. MB just describes the augments as 'fancy' in a sarcastic tone (I have more to say on MB's thoughts on augments however), so this could imply augmentation is a rarity or something reserved. He's immediately othered by MB's introductions of the crew as being the only augmented human.

It's all very pragmatic and function based. But it inevitably means he can do things no one else can, and the way he interacts with the world and tech is different to the other members of presaux. Having something robotic sticking out of your neck also immediately signposts yourself but that's an entire other can of worms (Shy what's with you and mechanical components in peoples necks huh?? HUH???)

In E1 he's abrasive towards MB after the face reveal and is frustrated, he's harsh and insistive - very rudely and firmly telling it that it can't leave the room yet for instance. However in E2 he has a different tone when he says "SecUnit can you please come and see me."

Yeah it's a real human thing to say, but it's a useless platitude to a robot that's only there to obey commands, right? This feels like the first subtle shift to me. It felt like a choice.

The Eye Contact scene - let's unpack it.

Gurathin "It's not a person its a tool" asks it politely to visit him, does a very uncomfortable (failed) dramatic chair spin, insists it sits on a chair, and then asks it a very personal question.

"I guess I don't know much about SecUnits.

What's it like, to be you?"

Rent free inside my head, chat.

Anyway - him asking for it to unmask itself - he knows what it looks like, he's got the video feed to look back at, but he wants to face it like a person would. Sitting also puts them both at eye level. It's a humanising thing. Suddenly, maybe, it's harder for Gura to separate it as a tool as much as he could before. Anthropomorphizing is something humans are already very good at. You put a real flesh and blood face on something? Oh No. Oh Boy.

The way he asks it "what's it like to be you?" felt really, really raw and genuine. It didn't feel like hate, or resentment, it felt like genuine curiosity and a desire for connection.

MB responds in kind - and it's such a beautifully short lived moment. But Gurathin is clearly conflicted in his position. He came in ready, and SWINGING, and now he has to reconcile with something he was thoroughly unprepared for.

He's testing the water when he insists on eye contact and is likely suspicious because MB doesn't seem to be acting how a secunit was likely pitched to him off-screen, and the way MB clearly is reluctant adds to this. With future episode context I think Gurathin clocked that there was something deeply wrong very early, but he was trying to genuinely suss out if it was a threat or not. He's not an idiot, he saw how it helped the crew, it's not done anything that's directly put the team in danger. But it's still wrong.

Later in the conversation he opens up about how differently Pres Alliance treat AI and constructs, compared to the corporation rim. He follows this up with "I don't know why I'm telling you this."

It's played off as a joke in relation to MB's inner monologue - but I genuinely think part of him was once again fishing for some kind of connection.

"Yeah I know. It's... weird to think about."

For Gurathin, he's not entirely human. His augments make him less human, they form a point of detachment.

Murderbot is not human, but it's behaviour seems slightly more human than what Gurathin expects of it.

Not to mention the myriad of small behavioural traits they share in common - but neither seem to have consciously recognised or clocked in each other yet.

My point being: the entire eye contact interrogation was as much Gurathin reaching for a connection as it was a warning and cautious appeal to reason and a hopeful connection point and it's all coming from a place of deep internal conflict. He's warmed up to it slightly now, part of him seeks something. If he was that concerned about it, he wouldn't have invited it into a room with him in private where he was vulnerable. He's of course unaware of how dangerous MB is, but if he really felt like he couldn't trust it to not kill him, he wouldn't have engaged with it all in that way I feel.

"If a secunit was malfunctioning in any way, it would be extremely dangerous for anyone involved--"

Gurathin looks intensely and deeply into it's face as he says "AND the secunit!"

This feels like a very direct personal appeal to a sense of self preservation. He's starting to pick up that this thing isn't just a normal robot. It doesn't just execute a task with no thought process. It does think and feel. And part of him is drawn to that fact.

All this is to say, I feel like this strongly signals to him being augmented against his will.

MB is a victim of circumstance in a lot of ways - it never asked to be created, it never asked to be sentient and it certainly never agreed to become an effective slave. I think Gurathin recognises this, initially, and is drawn to this fact because a part of him perhaps recognises it within himself (not consciouslly)

Now this all might be a huge projection - I'm writing a story and one of the characters, O'Byrne, is not-quite-human anymore after having something change her irreparably too and it's tech related.

But I really do feel like there's something to this. It'd make a lot of sense with Gurathin's deep comfortability with the company, his clear confliction around wanting to connect with MB but struggling to and being unsure of his feelings towards it.

I really loved episode 6 - so let's quickly talk about that before we wrap up.

MURDERBOT, UNMASKED:

I've avoided as many future episode clips as I can, but in one of the trailers I watched there's a line where Gurathin reveals to the crew that it calls itself Murderbot (self assigned name)

NOTABLY - he has not revealed this information to the crew in E6. Isn't that funny. Isn't that interesting.

He jacks into this thing, has a very intimate look inside it's head and memories, discloses a bunch of information to Bharadwaj but clearly doesn't disclose everything. During the E6 interrogation it's obvious Gurathin feels the most in control he's ever been - he's strutting around with full confidence, he's being purposefully antagonistic despite MB's attempts at showing it genuinely is on the teams side, and Gurathin believes its immobilised and that he has full power.

We all know that he had absolutely no power, at all, however.

MB at any point in time could have gotten out of that chair. It chose when to very carefully.

Given Gurathin believed he was in full control - why didn't he disclose more information about what he found in MB's head?

It would have certainly helped him argue his case. It certainly was a choice to not bring it up.

Again I think this comes down to his internal conflict. There are two wolves inside of you and one hates and distrusts the company and anything associated and one wants to believe the fucked up secunit might actually, genuinely, be something you can come to trust.

I think he's a deeply conflicted person seeking connection while feeling disconnected, and that he never had a choice in getting augments installed in him but he's dealing with it and has just accepted his lot in life - and being around people who love, respect and embrace him has helped with this, but he's still lacking something - and he's tip toeing around what that is in his attempts at reaching out to Mensah, and MB (and through these relationships he's perhaps seeking different things to help him feel more complete and less alone in a number of different ways.)

Anyway. I love him very dearly, Dastmalchian has done an absolutely killer performance in the role and I'm frothing at the mouth over what we're about to find out this coming ep drop.

Anyway - I hope this all makes sense. I've tried to proofread, but my brain is kind of fried from the seasonal flu right now (I'll be fine. Its just the middle of winter in australia and it's been really fucking cold where I live) - I hope I havent talked myself in circles. I'm really excited to come back to this when more information on his character has dropped in-episodes!

And if I'm wrong on my theory. Well. Guess I gotta just. Post something to Ao3 about it.

[wheel-of-fish]

The Phantom of the Opera on TV (and streaming)!

I've been sitting on this list for two years in hopes of making it complete, but I realized if I wait that long I'll never post it. Let me know what I've missed!

Please note that I haven't watched all of these in their entirety and can't attest to their quality/content.

Adaptations

1983 - The Phantom of the Opera (TV movie starring Maximilian Schell, Jane Seymour)

1990 - The Phantom of the Opera (TV miniseries starring Charles Dance, Teri Polo)

Parodies

1961 - The Woody Woodpecker Show, S4. E13, "Phantom of the Horse Opera"

1962 - Beany and Cecil, S1 E12, "Phantom of the Horse Opera"

1966 - That Girl, S1 E14, "Phantom of the Horse Opera"

1968 - The Pink Panther, S1 E17, "Cherche le Phantom"

1971 - Night Gallery, S2 E4, "Phantom of What Opera?"

1974 - The Phantom of Hollywood (TV movie)

1987 - Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater, "The Phantom of the Theater"

1989 - Julie & Carol: Together Again, "Phantom of the Opry" sketch (TV special starring Carol Burnett, Julie Andrews)

1989 - Babar, S1 E13, "The Phantom"

1989 - Count Duckula, S1 E21, "Fright at the Opera"

1991 - Night Court, S9 E1 & E2, "A Guy Named Phantom" (clip)

1993 - Doug, S3 E5, "Doug's Huge Zit"

1994 - Lamb Chop in the Haunted Studio (TV movie starring Shari Lewis)

1995 - Goosebumps, S1 E7, "Phantom of the Auditorium"

1995 - Wishbone, S1 E37, "Pantin' at the Opera" (part 1 | part 2)

1998 - Anatole, S1 E9, "The Phantom of the Cheese"

1999 - The Triplets, S5 E9, "The Phantom of the Opera"

2000 - Are You Afraid of the Dark?, S7 E10, "The Tale of the Last Dance"

2000 - SpongeBob SquarePants, S2 E22, "Something Smells" (clip)

2010 - Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, S1 E7, "In Fear of the Phantom"

2015 - All Hail King Julien, S2 E15, "The Phantom of Club Moist"

2019 - If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, S2 E6, "If You Give a Mouse a Pumpkin"

2019 - The Tom and Jerry Show, S3 E76, "PhanTom of the Oompah"

Character appearances

1981 - The Munsters' Revenge, TV movie (clip)

1984 - Diff'rent Strokes, S6 E16, "Hooray for Hollywood - Part 1"

1997 - "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" music video (HD version)

2009 - Saturday Night Live, "Save Broadway" sketch

2010 - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, S6 E7, "Who Got Dee Pregnant?" (clip)

2010 - Ghouls, multiple episodes (clip)

2020 - Saturday Night Live, "Airport Sushi" sketch

ALW musical references

2006 - Family Guy, S4 E23, "Deep Throats" (clip)

2012 - Glee, S3 E18, "Choke" (clip)

2015 - The Late Late Show, Sept. 10: "James Corden joins the cast of The Phantom of the Opera"

2015 - The Late Late Show, Sept. 23: "Crosswalk the Musical: The Phantom of the Opera"

2016 - The Goldbergs, S4 E8, "The Greatest Musical Ever Written" (clip)

2018 - Jeopardy!, Feb. 15 show (clip)

2018 - The Late Late Show, June 18: "Crosswalk the Musical: Andrew Lloyd Webber classics"

2019 - The Umbrella Academy, S1 E1, "We Only See Each Other at Weddings and Funerals" (audio)

2020 - Dash & Lily, S1 E4, "Cinderella"

2020 - The Crown, S4 E9, "Avalanche" (clip)

2022 - The Masked Singer, S8 E4, "Andrew Lloyd Webber Night"

Other

1991 - David Copperfield: Secret of the Phantom of the Opera (TV special)

[the-yappstronaut]

Stranger Things s5:e5: "Shock Jock" theory

I was curious what "shock jock" meant after hearing it in a movie and recognizing it as an episode title, so I searched it up and discovered that it is a radio term defined by the dictionary as "a disc jockey on a talk-radio show who expresses opinions in a deliberately offensive or provocative way." I was immediately intrigued as a radio station is one of the new big filming locations and, naturally, did some theorizing.

We already know that big Byler moments have happened on s1:e1, s2:e2, s3:e3, and s4:e4. We've already established that s5:e5 would also be a likely episode for another big moment.

My theory is that someone in the group will say something offensive/homophobic that Mike and Will overhear. This could spark some Byler angst that spirals and leads into a fight and confession in s5:e6 "Escape from Comozotz" directed by Shawn Levy.

(The definition also notes provacative, meaning that there could be some flirting either from Byler or another couple, but with more research the term seems to refer more directly towards offensive, so I stuck with that.)

[warblogs17282]

So, what relationship does Stella and Octavia have with each other exactly?

Short Answer: Evidence points to them having a really bad dynamic with each other.

Long Answer:

Let's just quickly address the fact that we've never seen Stella and Octavia actually interact with each other on screen yet. Yes, I'm aware of this, but I'm making this post thinking about what we actually know so far, and what I've gathered points to Stella not caring about Octavia. To be honest, I think the lack of elaboration on their relationship has been incredibly purposeful, with the purpose being to paint the image of what their relationship actually looks like in a sense.

Evidence 1: Stolas' Assassination Plot.

We know Stella wants Stolas killed, and at no point has Stella actually considered how Stolas' assassination would make Octavia feel, which is best evidenced by the time she screamed she wanted Stolas dead right in front of Octavia (the fact Octavia had headphones on is entirely irrelevant to the point I'm making),

and the conversation with Andrealphus in s2 e4, where both of them also did not give any fucks about how the assassination would make Octavia feel. (I'll get back to this point later on)

Evidence 2: Stella being abusive to Stolas in front of Octavia.

What this proves is that Stella is abusive towards Octavia. Many reputable sources say that what Stella is doing here is child abuse, which I'd like to mention, that it can negatively impact the child in a number of different ways, and I highly advise you check out the Barnardo's page about it if you want to learn more.

Evidence 3: "You leave with Via on weekends."

Notice how this never gets expanded on at all? It's just that, there's no specifics to it or anything, which in my eyes, potentially also points to the fact that Stella doesn't care for Octavia, because it could tell us that there's no attempt made from Stella to actually bond with Octavia, which would explain why that statement is never expanded upon. Plus, Stella literally sidetracks that statement from Stolas with "I like tormenting you. I want to keep reminding you of what you did."

Evidence 4: The beginning of s1 e2.

"Mmph. Via's calling us, Stella."

"You get up."

Notice how Stella is not concerned about the fact that Octavia is actively calling her out, and also when Octavia is clearly upset from the tone of her voice. Which shows us just how little Stella actually cared about Octavia, even when she was just a young child.

Evidence 5: The s2 e4 conversation.

"Because, my dear sister, you've already produced an heir; when he dies, his duties, his possessions, his legions, it'll all pass to.... Via."

"If you kill him, you would…."

"Laugh? Ha-"

Notice how Stella does not even pay Andrealphus any attention whatsoever when he brings up the fact that all of Stolas' stuff will go to Octavia. This alone shows just how much Stella is self-centered within her own desires, which in this specific case, was to have Stolas dead, as shown by the follow up line "Laugh? Ha-".

Which just further shows that Stella is only interested in what she wants, not taking how Octavia would feel about the assassination into consideration yet again, with that and the obvious display of her being self-centered in this scene, both of which showing further that Stella doesn't care about Octavia.

Evidence 6: "What? No! I'm not turning her against you--"

Let's be real here, Stella has already started screaming at Stolas over petty shit, so I highly doubt that Stella said this out of actual concern that he's turning Octavia against her, but instead, she said that to use it as a weaponized statement. Or you could also say that she's weaponizing that sentiment against Stolas.

Evidence 7: "I'm glad one egg fell out of me"

It's always irked me about the fact that Stella refers to Octavia as "an egg" here. Like instead of any other possible way she could possibly phrase that statement, she chooses the one that refers to Octavia as "an egg", instead of her actual name or even daughter for that matter. Which also could point to Stella not really caring about Octavia.

Evidence 8: The paintings.

The Loo Loo Land picture. Just compare Stolas' and Stella's faces in that painting, Stolas looks actually happy in it, most likely because of Octavia, while Stella on the other hand? Her smile looks quite forced to me, it's barely even there, which tells me that Stella doesn't even want to be at the family outing to Loo Loo Land, which further shows how little she actually cares for Octavia.

And if I recall correctly, that's the only picture we see both Stella and Octavia in, as shown by the other paintings where there's only Stolas and Octavia present, which combined with the forced smile in the Loo Loo Land painting, further shows us how little Stella cares for Octavia.

In conclusion: I have shown multiple clues and pieces of evidence that show that Stella most likely doesn't genuinely care for Octavia, with s2 e4 really showing how self-centered Stella is, and just how much she only cares for her own self-interests. While future episodes will most likely show us more about Stella's and Octavia's relationship, the evidence and clues within the show appear to point to the fact that Stella does not genuinely care for Octavia.

[werewolfsmile]

The Eliot Spencer Details Masterpost

I have been recording details about our beloved Eliot Spencer on my latest watch through. And now, it's finally time to reveal the details!! If I have gotten any details INCORRECT, I beg of you to correct me, at which time, this post will be updated and credit given. (Note: S1 was aired out of chronological order. I am going by chronological episode numbers - aka the correct order - and providing the episode titles as well to minimise confusion.) !! This post contains details from Leverage: Redemption! Read the episode references carefully if you are wanting to avoid certain spoilers !!

Shirtless Moments

S1 E7 The Two-Horse Job: The flashback scene when Aimee asks Eliot what his excuse was for not coming back to her, we see him being dragged/tortured, shirtless. "Tell us what you did with the monkey!"

S2 E2 The Tap-Out Job: Eliot is shirtless for the fight match.

S4 E9 The Cross My Heart Job: Ehh he's not completely shirtless here but whatever. At about 16 mins in, Eliot and Parker are getting changed together, Eliot strips to a singlet then throws his shirt at me the camera. (I didn't include other scenes of Eliot in a singlet here because in this scene he's actively undressing, whereas in others he's not.)

Necklaces

The earliest sighting of his guitar pick necklace is S1 E2 The Homecoming Job. It continues to pop up frequently in episodes, though noticeably less in S1. I thought about recording every occurrence of it here but ... lmao it's in legit waaayyyy too many episodes for me to bother.

S2 E10 The Runway Job: Honourable mention of the necklaces Eliot wears with his fashion week outfit. The longer one is kinda dogtag-esque, the shorter one is ... I think it's a fleur de lis? He also wears a range of chain necklaces later in this episode.

S4 E18 The Last Dam Job: Bird pendant (possibly kingfisher) visible at 34 mins 39 seconds. Full credits to @wolves-in-the-world for this one including the time stamp! You can check out their reblog of this post with more details here!

Dammit Hardison

S1 E13 The Second David Job: The FIRST INSTANCE of dammit Hardison in the entire show! Said upon discovering each other in the gallery, around 4 mins 15 seconds.

S2 E1 The Beantown Bailout Job: Said around 22 mins 30 seconds, immediately following, "What are the odds that Eliot's crotch will actually explode?" Iconic.

S2 E6 The Top Hat Job: When setting up for the magic show and discovering the rabbit missing, roughly 19 mins 45 seconds.

S3 E3 The Inside Job: Running from security, around 31 mins 30 seconds.

S3 E4 The Scheherazade Job: Trying to enter McRory's at the same time, around 1 min 30 seconds.

S3 E5 The Double Blind Job: This is an honourable mention because this time NATE is the one to say dammit Hardison! 9 mins 15 seconds.

S3 E6 The Studio Job: Upon discovering the master tape isn't in the case, roughly 32 mins.

S3 E7 The Gone Fishin' Job: Eliot and Hardison running in the woods for their lives, arguing as always. This one is a bonus 'dammit' because Hardison says it straight back to Eliot after Eliot yells it at him! Around 21 mins.

S3 E12 The King George Job: Discussing Hardison's forgery work, followed by Eliot regretting touching anything. Around 23 mins 55 seconds.

S3 E13 The Morning After Job: Pretending to be cops and accidentally ending up with a prisoner to take back to jail, around 16 mins 20 seconds.

S3 E14 The Ho Ho Ho Job: Honourable mention of Chaos mocking Eliot by saying dammit Hardison. Roughly 21 mins 15 seconds.

(phew, S3 was rough on Hardison! given what Eliot was going through with the whole Moreau thing.... ooh that's delicious angst)

S4 E5 The Hot Potato Job: Honourable mention for Sophie saying it this time! While playing the role that was meant for Eliot, around 24 mins.

S4 E6 The Carnival Job: Mixing chemicals for a distraction, roughly 25 mins 30 seconds.

S4 E17 The Radio Job: Hardison running away from being thrown off a high floor, around 5 mins.

S4 E18 The Last Dam Job: Sneaking around at the Bellington Dam, roughly 13 mins 35 seconds.

S5 E1 The (Very) Big Bird Job: 'Accidentally' putting a brew pub menu in front of Eliot, around 10 mins 20 seconds.

S5 E15 The Long Goodbye Job: Emotional scene that we do not speak about, around 12 mins 40 seconds.

RS1 E1 The Too Many Rembrandts Job: After knocking Harry out and asking Hardison to help carry Harry, and Hardison refuses. 11 mins 40 seconds.

RS1 E2 The Panamanian Monkey Job: Upon discovering that security is headed to the vault where Parker is, and the only way down there is through the vents. Around 34 mins 10 seconds.

RS2 E1 The Debutante Job: We get 3! In this whole episode! Probably to make up for Hardison being gone for most of Redemption. Anyway! First one when Eliot and Hardison are in Ralphie Roy's place and Hardison has no idea who Ralphie is, around 23 mins 15 seconds. Second is when they're breaking into the elevator and Hardison won't help fight or move the unconscious guards, roughly 37 mins 40 seconds. And third, after the job when Parker says that Hardison was the one who took out all the guards. Around 45 mins 10 seconds.

RS2 E3 The Tournament Job: Right at the start after Eliot says gaming isn't a sport and Parker texts Hardison, so Hardison starts blowing up Eliot's phone. Lmao. Around 4 mins 20 seconds.

RS2 E4 The Date Night Job: After realising Breanna stole his truck, Eliot says dammit, then aims it at a grinning Hardison, since Breanna is already running away. Around 46 mins 50 seconds.

Dammit Parker

S1 E4 The Snow Job: Parker jumps out of a second floor window, Eliot catches her. 15 mins. (Parker gets a dammit from Eliot before Hardison does!!)

S3 E8 The Boost Job: Parker driving erratically, Eliot thrown around in back seat. (Technically there's a pause between dammit and Parker but I'm still including it) 35 min 35 seconds.

S5 E12 The White Rabbit Job: Searching the mark's house, Parker wants to steal a shirt. Again, this isn't technically a proper dammit Parker, as Eliot instead says, "Put it back! Dammit." But I'm still including it because it was aimed at her. 21 mins 20 seconds.

RS1 E9 The Bucket Job: Parker is pretending to be a hacker heavily modelled off Hardison. Not a proper dammit Parker as, again, Eliot only mutters "dammit" under his breath, but still counts to me. Just after 18 mins.

RS1 E10 The Unwellness Job: At end of episode, after Parker admits that she didn't even learn Eliot's name till after the team broke up the first time. 44 mins 30 seconds.

RS1 E13 The Hurricane Job: After washing up on shore and entering the Beacon Inn, Parker and Eliot are bickering about Maria. He doesn't strictly say dammit Parker but there's absolutely no doubt who he's directing the dammits towards. 3 mins 30 seconds.

RS2 E6 The Fractured Job: When farewelling Billy and Parker says next time she'll finish telling him about the robot bodies. Again, it's just dammit not dammit Parker but it's close enough. 41 mins.

RS2 E8 The Turkish Prisoner Job: Another standalone dammit that is most definitely aimed at Parker! When breaking Romero out, Parker says she's a firefighter (with far too much glee), around 14 mins 30 seconds.

RS2 E10 The Work Study Job: A full dammit Parker this time! When Parker reveals that it's super easy to steal from a university and produces a whole bunch of stuff, roughly 22 mins 40 seconds.

Very Distinctive Moments

S1 E2 The Homecoming Job: Eliot ID's the weapon from the gunshots, around 8 mins. Later, he ID's a guy off his knife fighting style, around 18 mins 50 seconds.

S2 E6 The Top Hat Job: ID's a CIA guy from his stance, roughly 7 mins 45 seconds.

S3 E11 The Rashomon Job: ID's the smell of peppermint on Hardison's breath, around 21 mins.

S3 E12 The King George Job: ID's former British paratroopers by their haircuts, 30 mins 10 seconds.

S4 E1 The Long Way Down Job: ID's a former spetsnaz guy by his footprint, 13 mins 45 seconds.

S4 E5 The Hot Potato Job: Honourable mention of Eliot ID'ing ex-military personnel by their stances, he just doesn't say very distinctive. 18 mins 50 seconds.

S4 E11 The Experimental Job: Honourable mention of Eliot ID'ing a helicopter by the whumpa-whumpa (there's 7 of them did you know). Around 7 mins.

S5 E3 The First Contact Job: ID's military satellite transmission by the static, 7 mins 20 seconds.

S5 E9 The Rundown Job: ID's a Navy Seal who enlisted between '90-'95 by his watch, around 16 mins.

RS1 E2 The Panamanian Monkey Job: ID's a drone (Breanna's) from the sound. 11 mins 50 seconds.

RS1 E3 The Rollin' On The River Job: ID's Russian mob by the tattoos, 36 mins 30 seconds.

RS1 E7 The Double-Edged Sword Job: Honourable mention for Maria ID'ing the way Eliot disarmed her gun, 7 mins 50 seconds.

RS2 E4 The Date Night Job: Eliot ID's a guy as not having a distinctive anything - which is what is so distinctive. 20 mins 40 seconds.

RS2 E13 The Crowning Achievement Job: ID's MI6 off their search pattern, 6 mins 50 seconds.

Known Family

S1 E6 The Miracle Job: When discussing Bibletopia, Eliot says his nephew would like it. This is the ONLY mention of a nephew in the entire show, Redemption included; nor is there any direct mention of a sibling beyond this (which leads me to believe that this nephew is actually the son of a close friend/cousin/military buddy, rather than a direct family relation, but that's just my headcanon).

S2 E3 The Order 23 Job: When talking to the abused boy, Randy, Eliot says he has an uncle named Randy.

S5 E11 The Low Low Price Job: Eliot's dad owned a hardware store and he wanted Eliot to take over one day. But Eliot wanted to get out of that small town, so he joined the service. Fought with his dad the night before he left and hasn't been back since. He goes back at the end of this episode and knocks - but his dad never answers the door 😭

RS1 E9 The Bucket Job: While interrogating/torturing Eliot with Red Haze, Bligh says that Eliot's dad's friend from Vietnam has invited Eliot to join them for Christmas. At the end of the episode, Eliot goes to join them for dinner, only to get a message from 'J' that his dad was a no show. This 'J' is widely accepted as Eliot's unknown sibling but that is incorrect! 'J' is Eliot's dad's buddy from Vietnam!

RS2 E6 The Fractured Job: The ultimate Eliot family backstory episode!! (if you haven't seen it yet and don't want spoilers, skip this one!) Eliot was adopted by a black couple, Billy and an unnamed woman, after being abandoned/surrendered at a hospital as a baby. His father was a war hero who got none of the glory and sustained a wound, ruining his civilian career path, so Billy never wanted Eliot to follow in his footsteps. Eliot loved the stories of his dad in the military so joined up to be like him. His mother died while Eliot was on an op and he couldn't get leave to come back for the funeral, deepening the rift between him and Billy. Ultimately, they reconcile, (Eliot says his dad was always a hero to him, Billy say's he's proud of Eliot, they hug), and I cry every time 😭❤️ [Edit: Eliot being a baby at the time of being found at the hospital and consequently brought home by his adopted mother is unconfirmed and my presumption. We have no clear info on his age at adoption. Thanks to @nival-kenival for picking that up!]

Phrases: Ain't

S1 E4 The Snow Job: Said to Nate, right before Nate tells him to go skip some rope.

S1 E9 The Stork Job: Says it twice while conning Irina.

S1 E10 The Juror #6 Job: Upon being told to go help Parker instead of watching a sports game, Eliot takes his beer back.

S2 E2 The Tap-Out Job: Discussing the fights the mark runs, says they ain't the UFC.

S2 E3 The Order 23 Job: Said right before threatening to throw Randy's abusive father over the railing of a stairwell.

S2 E4 The Fairy Godparents Job: Upon spotting a hitman sent to kill McSweeten and Taggart.

S2 E8 The Ice Man Job: After hearing Hardison call himself the Ice Man, says he won't bail him out when things go wrong.

S2 E9 The Lost Heir Job: While trying to get Parker to the court room and end up cut off by the police.

S2 E11 The Bottle Job: When Hardison wants help to clean up Nate's apartment and Eliot refuses.

S2 E14 The Three Strikes Job: When Nate says to meet outside the ballpark but Eliot refuses because now he's sucked into the sport.

S3 E3 The Inside Job: Twice while arguing with Hardison about how to rescue Parker, once when Parker offers him a lift down the stairwell with her on her harness rig and he refuses. This is the most he says ain't in a single episode!

S3 E7 The Gone Fishin' Job: Once when the militia try to make him kneel, later when the militia kid catches him and Hardison near the train tracks.

S3 E11 The Rashomon Job: When Sophie changes her story to mock Eliot's accent and mannerisms.

S3 E15 The Big Bang Job: When confronting Moreau with Hardison.

S4 E1 The Long Way Down Job: Upon arriving at the base camp and complaining to Nate.

S4 E7 The Grave Danger Job: When looking for a buried Hardison and hearing the sprinklers.

S4 E10 The Queen's Gambit Job: At the end, swearing revenge on Sterling.

S4 E12 The Office Job: Arguing with Hardison about Eliot's sandwich while searching the warehouse.

S4 E13 The Girls' Night Out Job: When trying to convince Nate to socialise at the very start.

S4 E14 The Boys' Night Out Job: Exactly the same as the previous episode, so this one barely counts.

S4 E17 The Radio Job: In the patent office, when trying to figure out who lured Nate into this situation. The same scene is used later as a flashback.

S4 E18 The Last Dam Job: Warning Nate of the consequences of taking a life with your own hands.

S5 E2 The Blue Line Job: When ambushed by Marko when leaving the ice rink.

S5 E9 The Rundown Job: Once when going to wring information on the hit out of Riley, once when Hardison steps on the trigger plate of the claymore.

S5 E13 The Corkscrew Job: First time talking to Betty about how Leonard's a jerk.

RS1 E1 The Too Many Rembrandts Job: Twice when ambushed by RIZ thugs in the warehouse.

RS1 E2 The Panamanian Monkey Job: Once when discussing Ryan Corbett at the start, once when refusing to let Hardison have a turn with the diamond-tipped drill.

RS1 E3 The Rollin' On The River Job: When warning Breanna to be certain of her calculations for how to get him and Parker out of the casino's vault.

RS1 E8 The Mastermind Job: Once when discussing hiring people to overthrow a government, once when discussing how they're going to do like 6 things at once, including saving Harry.

RS1 E9 The Bucket Job: Said twice while talking with Blanche, after Blanche helped rescue Eliot from RIZ.

RS1 E14 The Great Train Job: While digging through the tainted soil with Harry.

RS2 E1 The Debutante Job: When trying to get to Volkov's plane with Parker and seeing that two guards are in the way.

RS2 E5 The Walk In The Woods Job: Talking to Paul after rescuing Harry, who was pretending to be Eliot.

Fun fact: for every ain't that Eliot says, Hardison says at least two more. And that's too many for me to bother recording!

Phrases: Y'all

Never. Not even once.

Hardison, on the other hand, says y'all all the damn time - every season, multiple times, sometimes even multiple times in the same episode.

Honourable mention for Chaos saying y'all as an incorrect mockery of Eliot's accent in S3 E14 The Ho Ho Ho Job.

... Okay, okay! So Eliot says it a few times in Redemption! But only in ONE episode!

RS1 E1 The Too Many Rembrandts Job: Said 4 times when playing a character and convincing people to clear out of the auction house.

That's it.

Aliases

These are all the names that Eliot's gone by or used on cons that I could find, not just full blown aliases.

S1 E1 The Nigerian Job: Detective Lieutenant Carden (the scene with this alias was cut from a lot of versions of this episode)

S1 E4 The Snow Job: Vince Fetkey, Hans Von Schwesterkrank

S1 E7 The Two-Horse Job: Brad Mackie

S1 E9 The Stork Job: Dale

S1 E12 The First David Job: Professor Sinclair

S1 E13 The Second David Job: Professor/Dr Adam Sinclair

S2 E2 The Tap-Out Job: Kid Jones (on the fight match poster)

S2 E4 The Fairy Godparents Job: Coach Brewer

S2 E5 The Three Days Of The Hunter Job: Earl

S2 E9 The Lost Heir Job: Officer Hilts

S2 E10 The Runway Job: Julian

S2 E14 The Three Strikes Job: Roy Chappell

S3 E1 The Jailhouse Job: Dr Abernathy

S3 E2 The Reunion Job: Lloyd Hickey

S3 E4 The Scheherazade Job: Guy Hamilton

S3 E5 The Double Blind Job: Phil

S3 E6 The Studio Job: Kenneth Crane

S3 E7 The Gone Fishin' Job: Agent Quint

S3 E8 The Boost Job: Skeeter

S3 E9 The Three-Card Monte Job: Detective Moffat

S3 E10 The Underground Job: Eric

S3 E11 The Rashomon Job: Dr Wes Abernathy

S3 E16 The San Lorenzo Job: Ray Laroque

S4 E2 The Ten Li'l Grifters Job: Charlie Siringo

S4 E4 The Van Gogh Job: Lieutenant (only granting him this one because CK played him in the flashback)

S4 E5 The Hot Potato Job: Tom Boonen

S4 E12 The Office Job: Mr Dennis

S4 E14 The Boys' Night Out Job: Luigi

S4 E15 The Lonely Hearts Job: Jackson Cooper

S4 E16 The Gold Job: Tobias Bowden

S4 E17 The Radio Job: Cowboy (*cough* John McClane *cough*)

S5 E2 The Blue Line Job: Jacques "Jack" Labert

S5 E3 The First Contact Job: Willie Riker

S5 E5 The Gimme A K Street Job: Steven Turner

S5 E6 The DB Cooper Job: DB Cooper/Young Steve Reynolds (again, technically not an alias but whatever it's here anyway)

S5 E7 The Real Fake Car Job: Barry McElroy

S5 E11 The Low Low Price Job: Archer

S5 E14 The Toy Job: Carl

Honourable mentions of Eliot being called: "Rambo" by Hardison in S1 E2 The Homecoming Job [thanks @independent-fics for this!]; "Emeril" by Parker in S1 E3 The Wedding Job [thanks @aardvaark for this one!]; "Sparky" by Parker in S1 E10 The Juror #6 Job and by Tara in S2 E15 The Maltese Falcon Job; and "Skippy" by Hardison in S3 E7 The Gone Fishin' Job.

RS1 E1 The Too Many Rembrandts Job: Will Gallagher

RS1 E6 The Card Game Job: Glenn the Savage

RS1 E7 The Double-Edged Sword: Emmett Milbarge

RS1 E8 The Mastermind Job: Frank Farmer

RS1 E10 The Unwellness Job: Hank

RS1 E12 The Golf Job: Reed Wilkins

RS1 E13 The Hurricane Job: Calvin

RS1 E15 The Muddy Waters Job: Armus Vagra

RS2 E7 The Big Rig Job: Kris

RS2 E8 The Turkish Prisoner Job: Nick O'Brien

RS2 E10 The Work Study Job: New Blood, Caterpillar

Honourable mention of Eliot being called "Skipper" by Hardison in RS1 E16 The Harry Wilson Job.

Known Associates

This is in direct reference to hitters/people from the criminal world that Eliot knew or was aware of prior to the Leverage Team. Quinn is not included in this list due to that distinction (sorry Quinn).

S1 E3 The Wedding Job: The Butcher of Kiev

S2 E7 The Two Live Crew Job: Mikel Dayan

S3 E11 The Rashomon Job: Gutman

S3 E15 The Big Bang Job: Chapman, Damien Moreau

S3 E16 The San Lorenzo Job: Damien Moreau

S4 E4 The Van Gogh Job: Frank, Randall

S4 E6 The Carnival Job: Roper

S5 E4 The French Connection: Rampone

S5 E9 The Rundown Job: Riley

Trivia

S2 E6 The Top Hat Job: Eliot claims he only sleeps 90 minutes a day, and that he cured his claustrophobia as a kid by locking himself in the woodshed behind his house for a couple nights.

S3 E6 The Studio Job: Eliot is nervous to perform in front of an audience, to the point that Parker startles him and she's surprised that she did. Interesting to note that he seems to have no issue playing sport in front of crowds.

S3 E7 The Gone Fishin' Job: Eliot says he hates beets.

S4 E5 The Hot Potato Job: Eliot chews gum. He does this throughout a LOT of episodes across the seasons but I've only noted down this one episode for it.... thanks, past me 🙄 [Edit: thanks @nival-kenival for more info! Another confirmed episode is S1 E2 The Homecoming Job, and S3 E13 The Morning After Job!]

S4 E9 The Cross My Heart Job: Eliot says he fought a guy with a Nerf sword in Damascus, 2002.

S5 E11 The Low Low Price Job: Eliot drives an F-150 to his dad's house in Oklahoma. This is a THIRD vehicle that apparently belongs to Eliot, in addition to the Chevrolet Silverado and Dodge Challenger we see in other episodes. The F-150 is not seen again.

S5 E12 The White Rabbit Job: Eliot has 'special sedatives' aka a little psychotropic he picked up outside of Bogota.

Eliot mostly walks at the back of the group, presumably to be the rear guard and make sure no one falls behind. See ... just about every damn episode for evidence.

RS1 E3 The Rollin' On The River Job: Parker says that Eliot has cut his way out of an ice cave, escaped a gorilla enclosure, and catered a wedding for the mob.

Eliot is seen wearing glasses throughout various episodes. A flashback in S1 E1 The Nigerian Job shows him wearing presumably his own glasses. All other instances of him wearing glasses (that I can think of) are when he takes someone's glasses for a con. It is unconfirmed if Eliot actually needs glasses to correct his eyesight or not, but is a fandom headcanon. In S3 E1 The Jailhouse Job there is an interaction where Nate ribs Eliot for taking so long in a fight, and Eliot says it's because of new glasses. An argument could be made that this means Eliot does require glasses. [Thanks @independent-fics for picking this up - for pretty much all the details pertaining to Eliot's glasses!]

And there you have it! All the details that I've spent the last 3 months collecting!! Now it's time for me to take a good, long break because my brain is fried! 😂

Once again, let me know if you find any errors so I can update the post. Data from Redemption S2 is where I've most likely missed things, since I don't have it on DVD and it's sooo much harder to scrub through streaming footage to find things. When will they release RS2 on DVD I need itttt.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope this post can be a helpful reference for you!

[waitlexist]

hi so I made a thing…

IT TOOK ME LIKE A WEEK AND A HALf(<- was sick)(I STILL KINDA AM LET ME OUT!!)

WARNING: yap below

SO IVE THOUGHT AND LEARNED SOME THINGS

A. Omfg it’s so easier to draw on a tablet with a pencil IM NEVER GOING BACK GO USING MY FINGER OR PAPER I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD—

B. I made some minor changes to Luna here, mostly because 1. I can never stick to one thing 2. she’s allowed to change 3. idk I felt like it +

C. THIS THIS REFERANCE IMAGE BUT I don’t play Genshin impact I just found this and I liked the pose

D. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY NOT SPONSORED BUT I USED A DRAWING COURSE FROM 21Draw FOR THIS. Specifically “Digital Drawing in Procreate for Beginners”! It said to tag if you posted it on Instagram but I don’t use Instagram so I’ll just tag it here… IDK I WANT TO GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE

E. I’ve learned a lot of things!!

E1. The canvas is WAY too big, there’s too much empty space and that’s a no no.

E2. I NEED TO TAKE AN ANATOMY COURSE NEXT CLEARLY BECAUSE WHY HER SHOULDERS LIKE THAT.

E3. GOD I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO SHADE HAIR.

E4. DUCK I JUST RWALIZED I FORGOT THE FRECKLES ON HER ARM IM KMS.

Ty for listening to me yap…

[galaxiesovertrees]

aventurine‘s eidolon names and possible references/symbolism they include :

( eidolon names include links to corresponding wikipedia pages. it isn’t the best source but it explains these concepts more in detail than I did ! )

e1 - prinsoner‘s dilemma - a thought experiment in which 2 parties, the titular prisoners, must both make the choice of either trusting the other and not betraying them for mutual benefit or choose not to trust the other and betray them for individual benefit

e2 - bounded rationality - a decision making process defined by trying to achieve something that is just good enough, rather than something wholly satisfactory

e3 - droprate maxing - I couldn’t find a definitive reference to anything here, it might just be a nod to aventurine‘s luck or something along those lines

e4 - unexpected hanging paradox - a paradox wherein a person is told that an event will occur in the future but isn’t told the time of said event. this could be a reference to the role aventurine plays in the penacony tbq and his views on the inevitability of his own death

e5 - ambiguity aversion - ambiguity aversion is the tendency to prefer the known over the unknown. notably, taking known risks over unknown ones. this is most likely a nod to how aventurine is known as a risk taker and could shed insight on how he chooses the risks he takes

e6 - stag hunt game - the stag hunt game is similar to the prisoner‘s dilemma idea. two hunters can either catch one hare individually or catch a stag if they work together. the hare hunt offers less risk and need for trust while the stag hunt offers more reward

[sunderingstars]

☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

✩ ‧₊˚ ⌞ EIDOLON NAMES AS NARRATIVES ⌝

analysis masterlist

— fandom: honkai star rail

— type: analysis, general

— word count: 1.1k

— overview: (as of 2.3) a look into the potential narrative meaning of eidolons and their various titles. meant to be a companion piece to my eidolon art analysis & sampo eidolon analysis (as well as any other characters i do down the line!)

☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

As of now, I have four main ideas as to what eidolons mean:

— Linear Development: Tracking from a character's past (or backstory) through the present and sometimes into the future.

— Birth and Rebirth: Following linear development until a "rebirth" moment at E6.

— Cycles of Day/Night: Progressing through different time frames as the character goes about their day.

— Least Vulnerable to Most Vulnerable: Showing the character at their least vulnerable (E1) before bringing them through eidolons where they get progressively "weaker," eventually ending up at their E6 where they are the most vulnerable.

Side Note: While there are characters whose eidolons seem to center around specific fighting styles or moves (i.e. Seele, Yanqing, etc.), there can still be a narrative interpreted from them — i.e. following the linear moves of their weapon as they fight.

☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

First, I’ll start with the most straightforward — linear development.

When looking through different eidolon sets, I noticed that many of them contained references that lined up with the character’s backstory and development, usually tracking from the “beginning” of their story to the “future,” where they are now, or where they might be going.

As of the time of writing this (2.1), Aventurine is the latest character, so let’s use him as an example:

Here is my interpretation of E1-E6:

— “Prisoner’s Dilemma” (E1) signals his time in slavery as he tried to figure out how to escape.

— “Bounded Rationality” (E2) describes him operating in these confines to achieve a goal.

— “Droprate Maxing” (E3) refers to his deal with the IPC and him trying to max out his success in joining them.

— “Unexpected Hanging Paradox” (E4) has to do with the new paradox he finds himself in which is how the IPC is yet another cage.

— “Ambiguity Aversion” (E5) leads us into Penacony and his inner self-reflection on why he seems so confident in gambling everything he has.

— “Stag Hunt Game” (E6) describes Aventurine going forward with his mission deeper into Penacony’s depths (with Stag Hunt Game referencing a conflict between safety and social cooperation). For me, this tracks fairly neatly through the stages of his life, eventually ending up at where we know him today.

Similarly, eidolon sets like Welt’s and Clara’s speak to a narrative development as well. Himeko’s is the most obvious, I think, as it literally starts with “Childhood” and ends with “Trailblaze!”:

This is one of the main features I’ve seen within eidolon sets, with some tracking more neatly than others.

Additionally, I’ve seen a few that continue this development but seem to hit a “rebirth” moment at E6, like with Lynx (which also ties into the idea of a day/night cycle):

Here, we can see different times of day progressing normally, except instead of ending at “night” it ends at “dawn."

Similarly, Blade’s E6 literally has the word “reborn” in it after progressing linearly from E1-E5:

My conclusion from this is that this is specific to certain characters like Blade where “rebirth” is technically a part of his linear progression, or Lynx who spends lots of time in the wilderness.

As for the day/night cycle, Lynx and Guinaifen are the best examples I’ve found.

Guinaifen especially seems to have her eidolons as a microcosm of her typical day, tracking from eating breakfast to brushing her teeth to performing various acts for entertainment:

However, I also believe this to be dependent on Lynx and Guinaifen’s specific character traits, like Lynx operating off of a wilderness survival timeframe and Guinaifen having a regimented life because of social media.

Lastly, it is possible that eidolons are also meant to show a character’s progression from least to most vulnerable (with E6 literally being the most vulnerable physically as there are no clothes on the character).

I find Pela and Herta to be the most interesting in this regard, as they both have E6s that very much remind me of “vulnerability” for different reasons.

For Pela, her E1 starts with “Victory Report,” an act that often shows strength and confidence, yet her E6 ends with “Feeble Pursuit,” something much more vulnerable. Additionally, her eidolons track from “adamant” to “suppressive” to “analysis” to “jeopardy,” which seems to hint at a slow loss of control before reaching “feeble pursuit:"

On the other side, Herta’s eidolons start with her in a position of authority and security — being able to kick someone while they’re down — but end in the idea that “No One Can Betray Me."

Her eidolons seem to go from a genuine position of safety to a delusional self-confidence, the kind that often leaves people extremely vulnerable; when you assume no one can betray you, that ego can blind you and make you more susceptible to the thing you don’t believe will happen.

We can also see this confidence build from objective strength to hyperbolic self-confidence through the transition from action “Keep the Ball Rolling” and “Hit Where It Hurts” to cussing big (which can often be seen as a cover-up for inadequacies):

Again, I find these highly dependent on the characters’ personalities, but it is an interesting trend regardless.

Overall, most eidolon sets seem to follow some sort of narrative, whether that be one interspersed with day/night cycles, vulnerability cycles, birth and rebirth, or just plain backstory-to-present references.

I’m sure there can be more interpretations sourced from these (especially the sets in other languages like Ratio’s and Kafka’s) but these are the personal conclusions I’ve reached!

☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

જ⁀➴ if you’ve read to the end, thank you for listening to my nerdy rambling! i’ll be posting an in-depth analysis of sampo’s eidolons soon, so if anyone is interested please keep a look out for that!

☆━━━━━ ⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☾ ◯ ☽₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆ ━━━━━━☆

© analysis by sunderingstars. do not copy, repost, translate, modify, or claim my work as your own.

[expanding-hyrule]

To go with our Story Spotlights community project, it's time to launch Expanding Hyrule's first community challenge: TBR BINGO!

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

Rules

All works must by Original Legends to count.

You don't need to finish catching up with a work for it to count (outside of specific prompts), just enough to say a few nice things about it.

A work can only be used for one square across all cards.

Multiple cards can be submitted.

There are three ways to get entries in the prize raffle: A Single Line/Standard Bingo is 1 entry, a Full Card is 5 entries, and posting about the works you're reading is an additional entry for any completed cards. Be sure to tag @expanding-hyrule if you post about your Bingo entries so we can find it!

Completed Bingo cards need to be submitted by Jan 14th, 2025 to the included Google Form.

Challenge List

Letters are rows, numbers are columns, reading left to right

A1 - Recommended by a friend

A2 - A genre I don't normally read

A3 - Caught up on a work

A4 - An incomplete project

A5 - I made an Original Legends work!

B1 - Updated this year

B2 - Less than 5000 hits or 500 notes

B3 - Picked because of the synopsis

B4 - A comic

B5 - Subscribed to an ongoing work

C1 - A familiar creator

C2 - An Original Legends work not in the archives

C3 - Show Us Your EH TBR

C4 - By a mutual or someone I'd like to be a mutual

C5 - Multiple POVs

D1 - A new favorite

D2 - A reread

D3 - A fic

D4 - A genre I love

D5 - Picked because of the title

E1 - A compete project

E2 - Last updated more than a year ago

E3 - A new creator

E4 - Less than 1000 hits or 100 notes

E5 - Left a review in EH's Story Spotlights

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

Prizes

Several of our very talented creators have volunteered their time and talent to offer the prize pool you see below. If there are any creators who would like to add a prize to our prize pool, please reach out to the blog!

The prize pool works via raffle. After the form closes, I will begin the process of contacting our winners via DM from either this blog or @amelias-hart. Winners will have 24 hours to get back to me or forfeit their prize. After which, I will help coordinate you with the prize you picked. Entry requires providing contact information, so you must be old enough to have an account to enter.

Keep in mind creators have final discretion on what they are and are not comfortable creating. Be respectful of their time.

Writing

500 word drabble (In fandom, genfic to NSFW) - @drsteggy

500-1000 word drabble (French or English) - @karama9

Art

Fullbody color character drawing - @doubtfulloser

Flats halfbody character drawing - @hummbirds

Flats halfbody character drawing (with optional animal companion) - @nayru-s-clay-tablet

3-4 server emojis - @alternate-triforce/ @doomed-era

Half-size portrait of one or two characters, with gradient flats (will need character references or details) - @aheavenscorner

Other

500 word drabble or pencil sketch - @loz-untold-myths

[pjssometimes]

Split all Rick and Morty episodes into 3 categories

Wanted to get my partner into R&M, so I streamlined the viewing experience down for them. Made it so they can just watch lore and understand what I talk about when I info dump. But added a worth watching section for if they like the show. Could skip episodes are ones that they wouldn’t like, or just not really worth their limited time (still worth watching tho if ur a big fan bc references) - List below the cut

Lore - could watch only this and get all major lore points (Includes episodes with characters my partner likes ie Unity mr nimbus)

S1 E5 Meseeks and Destroy (Morty cards for adventures, wubaluba dub dub)

S1 E6 Rick Potion #9 (creating an apocalypse in the prime universe)

S1 E10 Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind (citadel, evil Morty)

S1 E11 Ricksy Business (connects to S2 E1)

S2 E1 A Rickle in Time (finishes S1 E11 plot)

S2 E2 Mortynight Run (Jerryboree is a plot point later)

S2 E3 Auto Erotic Assimilation (Unity comes back)

S2 E10 The Wedding Squanchers (Tammy, Bird person,galactic federation, Connects to S3 E1)

S3 E1 The Rickshank Redemption (Finishes S2 E10, citadel, Galactic federation)

S3 E7 The Ricklantis Mixup (Citadel, Evil Morty)

S3 E8 Mortys Mindblowers (mindblowers concept comes up again)

S3 E9 The ABCs of Beth (clone Beth)

S3 E10 The Richurian Mortydate (clone Beth)

S4 E6 Never Ricking Morty (story lord comes back)

S4 E8 The Vat of Acid (vat comes back later)

S4 E10 Star Mort Rickturn of the Jerri (space Beth)

S5 E8 Rickternal Friendshine of the Spitless Mort (bird person)

S5 E9 Forgetting Strick Mortshall (Crow rick)

S5 E10 Rickmurai Jack (Crow rick, Evil Morty, citadel)

S6 E1 Solaricks (Rick prime, portal travel)

S6 E3 Bethic Twinstinct (clone Beth)

S6 E6 Juricksic Mort (portal travel and rift

S6 E7 Full Meta Jackrick (story lord)

S6 E9 A Rick in King Morturs Mort (robot Rick)

S6 E10 Ricktional Mortpoons Rickmas Mortcation (robot Rick, Rick prime)

S7 E3 Air Force Wong (Unity)

S7 E5 Unmortricken (Rick prime, evil Morty)

S7 E10 Fear No Mort (Diane)

S8 E2 Valkyrick (clone Beth)

S8 E3 The Rick, The Mort, and the Ugly (citadel)

2. Worth watching - I liked, stand-alone

S1 E2 Lawnmower Dog

S1 E9 Something Ricked This Way Comes

S2 E4 Total Rickall

S2 E6 The Ricks Must Be Crazy

S2 E7 Big Trouble in Little Sanchez

S2 E9 Look Who’s Purging Now

S3 E2 Rickmancing the Stone

S3 E3 Pickle Rick (gets mentioned a lot)

S3 E5 The Whitley Dirly Conspiracy

S3 E6 Rest and Ricklaxation

S4 E1 Edge of Tomorty: Rick Die Rickpeat

S4 E2 The Old Man and the Seat

S4 E3 One Crew Over the Crewcoos Morty

S4 E5 Rattlestar Ricklactica

S4 E7 Promotyus

S4 E9 Childrick of Mort

S5 E1 Mort Dinner Rick André (Mr Nimbus)

S5 E2 Mortyplicity

S5 E3 A Rickconvenient Mort

S5 E5 Amortycan Grickfitti

S6 E2 Rick: A Mort Well Lived

S6 E4 Night Family

S6 E8 Analyze Piss

S7 E2 The Jerrick Trap

S7 E4 That’s Amorte

S7 E6 Rickfending your mort

S7 E7 Wet Kaut Amortican Summer

S7 E9 Ragnarick

S8 E1 Summer of all Fears

3. Could skip - I don’t like, is just okay, has incest

S1 E1 Pilot

S1 E3 Anatomy Park

S1 E4 M. Night Sham Aliens

S1 E7 Raising Gazorpazorp

S1 E8 Rixty Minutes (interdemensional cable)

S2 E5 Get Scwifty

S2 E8 Interdemensional Cable 2: Tempting Fate

S3 E4 Vindacators 3: Return of Worldender

S4 E4 Claw Hoarder: Special Ricktims Morty

S5 E4 Rickdependence Spray

S5 E6 Rick and Mortys Thanksploitation Spectacular

S5 E7 Gotron Jerrysis Rickvangelion

S6 E5 Final Desmithation

S7 E1 How poopy got his poop back

S7 E8 rise of the numbaricans

[thatonelesbianfander]

Full Sanders Sides Recap and Timeline as of the start of 2024

I’m bored so here is a full timeline recap of the Sanders Sides episodes (as well as a few important off-camera events and the more episodic Sanders ASides) before the season 2 finale!

Recap under the cutoff

Season 1- 17 Episodes (October 19, 2016 - July 15, 2017)

S1 E1- My True Identity

October 19, 2016

Lore revealed: Creativity/Prince, Logic/Teach, and Morality/Dad are introduced

Episode summary: C!Thomas and the sides talk about different aspects of Thomas’s personality

S1 E2- WAY TOO ADULT

November 21, 2016

Stove is introduced and then never seen again :(

C!Thomas and Morality discuss ways of becoming an adult and independent

S1 E3- Taking on ANXIETY with Lilly Singh!!

December 19, 2016

Anxiety is introduced

C!Thomas and C!Lilly Singh talk about the different ways to cope and deal with anxiety

S1 E4- A New Year of Lying to Myself… In Song!!

January 2, 2017

First song of the series, Lies, is sung

C1Thomas and the sides talk about goals for the New Year

S1 E5- The Dark Side of Disney!

January 9, 2017

No important lore discoveries or reveals

C!Thomas, Creativity, and Anxiety talk about the different messages Disney movies provide

EVENT- Vine shuts down, C!Thomas moves to making content on YouTube

January 17, 2017

S1 E6- I’M IN A DISNEY SHOW!!

January 23, 2017

No important lore discoveries or reveals

C!Thomas accounts his experiences being on a Disney show with the sides

S1 E7- The MIND vs. The HEART!

January 30, 2017

No important lore discoveries or reveals

C!Thomas, Logic, and Morality come up with compromises for past arguments

S1 E8- Alone on VALENTINE’S DAY!

February 13, 2017

C!Valerie is introduced

C!Thomas and the sides discuss how to ask someone out on a date using C!Valerie as an example

S1 E9- Losing My Motivation

Feb 28, 2017

Logic’s name is revealed to be Logan

C!Thomas, Logic, and Morality investigate to find out why C!Thomas is procrastinating on working on a new video

S1 E10- Sanders Sides Q&A!

March 7, 2017

No important lore discoveries or reveals

C!Thomas and the sides answer questions from the viewers

S1 E11- Am I ORIGINAL?

March 22, 2017

Prince’s name is revealed to be Roman

C!Thomas and the sides discuss different ideas trying to get an original idea

S1 E12- My NEGATIVE Thinking

April 4, 2017

No important lore discoveries or reveals

Logan and Anxiety have a debate after C!Thomas flunked an audition earlier that day

EVENT- First birthday of C!Thomas since the start of the series

April 24, 2017

S1 E13- Growing Up

May 1, 2017

Morality’s name is revealed to be Patton and the mind palace is introduced

C!Thomas and the sides discuss the proper steps to adulthood

S1 E14- Making Some Changes!

May 23, 2017

The sides are revealed to be able to shape shift

The sides shape shift into C!Thomas’s friends, C!Joan, C!Talyn, C!Terrence, and C!Valerie

S1 E15- Becoming a CARTOON!

June 9, 2017

No important lore discoveries or reveals

C!Thomas breaks into C!Butch Hartman’s office in an attempt to become a cartoon, and him and the sides become cartoons for a day

S1 E16- ACCEPTING ANXIETY, Part 1/2: Excepting Anxiety!

June 10, 2017

Anxiety ducks out, and the concept of the sides having their own rooms is introduced

C!Thomas and the sides find out that Thomas doesn’t have any anxiety and come up with a plan to go to his room to find out why

S1 E17- ACCEPTING ANXIETY, Part 2/2: Can Anxiety Be Good?

June 10, 2017 (Posted IRL on July 15, 2017)

Anxiety’s room Anxiety’s name is revealed to be Virgil, and Anxiety gets a redemption arc

C!Thomas and the sides discuss the positives of anxiety

EVENT- C!Thomas and C!Thomas’s ex break up (C!Thomas’s ex’s name unknown, but is referred to as an “Old lover” in the Wes Anderson Sanders ASides)

July 15, 2017

Season 2- 15 Episodes (September 1, 2017 - Present)

S2 E1- Fitting In (Hogwarts Houses!)

September 1, 2017

The sides get costume updates

C!Thomas and the sides discuss the idea of fitting in using the idea of Hogwarts houses from Harry Potter

S2 E2- MOVING ON, Part 1/2: Exploring Nostalgia

October 2, 2017

Patton’s room is revealed

C!Thomas and the sides go to Patton’s room so Thomas can cope with a recent breakup

S2 E3- MOVING ON, Part 2/2: Dealing With a Breakup

October 2, 2017 (Posted IRL on October 25, 2017)

Patton gets his iconic cat hoodie from Logan

The plot of the first part continues as C!Thomas and the sides discuss the negative sides to nostalgia after Logan leaves

S2 E4- The Sanders Sides 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS!

December 24, 2017

No important lore discoveries or reveals

The sides sing their rendition of the Christmas carol, The 12 Days of Christmas, with several different antics

EVENT- C!Thomas misses a reading of C!Joan’s play

February 2, 2018

S2 E5- Can LYING Be Good??

February 3, 2018

Deceit is introduced and it’s revealed that the sides can only be seen by C!Thomas

C!Thomas and the sides discuss the many different forms of lies through stage theatre after C!Thomas misses a reading of C!Joan’s play

S2 E6- Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning?

April 12, 2018

No important lore discoveries or reveals

Logan and Roman have a debate about why C!Thomas does everything that he does

S2 E7- Crofters - The MUSICAL!

April 19, 2018

No important lore discoveries or reveals

C!Thomas, Logan, and Roman sing a song about jelly after getting a sponsorship from Crofter’s Organic and Logan gets his own jelly flavor

EVENT- Thomas is told about Lee and Mary Lee’s wedding

September 26, 2018 (date revealed by Logan in SvS)

S2 E8- Learning New Things About Ourselves

October 29, 2018

No important lore discoveries or reveals

C!Thomas and the sides discuss learning new things about themselves while using puppets

S2 E9- EMBARRASSING PHASES: The Nightmare Instead of Christmas!

December 24, 2018

No important lore discoveries or reveals

C!Thomas and the sides discuss the concept of phases using Halloween costumes

S2 E10- Selfishness v. Selflessness

March 31, 2019

No important lore discoveries or reveals

C!Thomas and the sides discuss selfishness and selflessness in a mock court room setting after Thomas gets a callback scheduled for the same day as a wedding for his two friends, Lee and Mary Lee

S2 E11- Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS

April 2, 2019 (Posted IRL on June 25, 2019)

The Duke is introduced and name is revealed to be Remus

C!Thomas and the sides discuss the topic of intrusive thoughts after Thomas couldn’t get to sleep due to a really bad nightmare

S2 E12- Are There Healthy Distractions?

April 10, 2019 (Posted IRL on November 22, 2019)

No important lore discoveries or reveals

C!Thomas and the sides discuss different kinds of distractions while watching Disney’s Frozen

S2 E13- Putting Others First - Selfishness v. Selflessness Redux

April 13, 2019 (Posted IRL on May 1 2020)

Deceit’s name is revealed to be Janus

C!Thomas, Roman, and Patton discuss the concept of putting other people before yourself

EVENT- POF endcard scene

April 30, 2019

S2 E14- Flirting with Social Anxiety

October 10, 2020

Nico Flores is introduced

C!Thomas, Roman, and Virgil work out a way to try and talk to a guy in the food court of a mall

EVENT- The Return of the Jam!- The sides all get their own jelly flavors

February 19, 2021

S2 E15- Working THROUGH Intrusive Thoughts

April 20, 2021 (Posted IRL on July 31, 2021) (using the date that can be seen on C!Thomas’s phone in episode)

The orange side is teased for the first time through Logan’s outburst

C!Thomas and Logan discuss different kinds of intrusive thoughts while C!Thomas stresses about cleaning up his apartment

EVENT- Have I Grown? - Five Years Later (Sanders Sides 5 year anniversary special)

Posted: November 14, 2021

EVENT- Can Plushies Improve Our Health? (Sanders ASides)

August 26, 2022

No important lore discoveries or reveals

C!Thomas and the sides discuss the many ways plushies can be helpful

EVENT- “Into the Unknown” - Over the Garden Wall Cover (Sanders ASides)

October 31, 2022

Janus sings for the first time in the series

EVENT- If Wes Anderson Directed the Sanders Sides… (Sanders ASides)

June 23, 2023

EVENT- The Sides Need a Nice Day (Sanders ASides)

July 16, 2023

EVENT- Virgil Reacts to Anxiety from Inside Out 2 (Sanders ASides)

November 19, 2023

No important lore discoveries or reveals

C!Thomas and the sides discuss the different ways anxiety can present in other people after Virgil reacts negatively to the Anxiety character that was revealed in the trailer for Inside Out 2

EVENT- What Makes the Perfect Gift? (Sanders ASides)

December 23, 2023

No important lore discoveries or reveals

C!Thomas and the sides discuss the many different types of gifts through a secret Santa type of activity when Thomas can’t think of a gift to give Nico

[bitplayer8147]

I HAVE A THEORY BREWING, NOT FULLY STEEPED BUT THE THEORY COFFEE BEANS HAVE BEEN GROUND

First off, all pulp musical episodes are based off of a story.

E1 was vased off of the 1835 Moon Hoax, E2 was based off of "The Brick Moon" from 1869, E3 was based off of the legend of the Ellen Austin, a ship who's crew vanished into thin air.

So I googled Lincoln Island, the setting of upcoming e4.

Lincoln Island was what the colonists named the mysterious island in Jules Verne's novel called "the mysterious island"

Here, there is a part where we discover that Captain Nemo was an indian prince named Dakkar. (By now, I had already made the connection between Dakaar(pulp) and Dakkar(MN))

The prince fled his kingdom after a failed rebellion against the british. And what do we see Kal call Sia during their fight? A traitor to the Blazing World, suggesting there was a confrontation or rebellion of some kind

(i swear there are so many literary references)

I have no idea what any of this means in relation to the Blazing World, i just think that Searcher in the Shadows will be based off of the Jules Verne novel

hopefully someone smarter can figure this out

[craftypeaceturtle]

Something stupid...

I recently rewatched tmnt 2012 and thought... wow, there's loads of fully rendered and designed shops in the background. Has anyone ever listed them all for reference?

I didn't even check the fandom wikia so maybe someone has. But hey ho. I've done it now.

So here's all the shops and comics shown in the TMNT 2012 series, for your reference fellow writers and other insane people.

.

Comic books seen throughout the series:

'From the Sewer' (S1 E1, 08:09)

'Martial Pain' (S1 E4, 09:00)

'Famous Creatures of […] Town' (S1 E7, 22:49) **couldn't make out one of the words, sorry!

'Corps Cadares: The Dead Will Save the Earth' (S1 E11, 04:08)

'The Timely Times' (S1 E20, 09:43)

'Diabolical Dead' (S1 E20, 09:43)

'Barbarian' (S1 E20, 09:43)

'Space Heroes' (S1 E23, 10:08) -- Leo collects.

'Tales from the Cosmos' (S2 E2, 00:46)

'Dude' (S2 E4, 10:04)

'Modern Ninja Magazine' (S2 E7, 00:50) --Raph collects.

'Shock Techno' (S2 E10, 00:19)

'Weekly Weird News' (S2 E14, 28:17)

'Green with Envy' (S2 E16, 10:17)

'Split' (S3 E5, 05:45)

'Wingnut' (S4 E19, 00:12)

'Arachnid Man' (S4 E19, 00:27)

'Superb Man' (verbal, not physically shown- S4 E19, 00:29)

'Fantastic Four Food Groups' (S4 E19, 00:31) --heavily associated with Raph.

'Dracula's Castle' (S5 E17, 07:19) -- heavily associated with Mikey.

'Vampire Hunter' (S5 E17, 07:18) --heavily associated with Mikey.

.

Shops seen throughout the series: Book Store (S1 E1, 10:28)

Second Time About (S1 E1, 13:21) -- April stayed with her Aunt above this shop.

Vlad's Repo Depot (S1 E1, 19:31)

Kingfisher Antique/Rare Buy.Sell Jewelry (S1 E1, 21:30)

Fortune Cookie (S1 E3, 14:32) --Purple Dragon base

Rock Bottom Boxing Club (S1 E4, 10:27)

Old Chinatown Tattoo Company (S1 E4, 10:27)

Downtown Athletic Club (S1 E4, 16:08)

Futua-noid Electronics (S1 E5, 17:38)

Pet Supplies (S1 E5, 17:38) -- right next to an alleyway, so I would guess that this the pet store the turtles were bought from.

Mad Wax Records (S1 E5, 17:46)

Everything Store (S1 E5, 17:47)

Dim Sum Then Sum (S1 E7, 12:24)

Laundromat (S1 E7, 13:03)

The Olympia Diner (S1 E8, 02:35)

Tidal Wave Fresh Fish (S1 E8 09:24)

Balzac Chateau du Beuf (S1 E9, 00:32)

Pocket full of Rosies (S1 E9, 00:43)

Wolf Hotel (S1 E9, 13:48) --first met Shredder.

Chinese Herbs and Health (S1 E10, 15:28)

Antonio's Pizza-Rama (S1 E13, 04:53)

Produce City (S1 E16)

(Closed down) Maramba … Shop (S1 E14, 00:35)

Chilly Chillkins Refrigeration company (S1 E14, 21:03)

Roosevelt High School (S1 E15, 09:05)

Comics (S1 E15, 09:05)

Worldwide Genome Project (WGP) (S1 E15, 15:13) --used as Kraang base.

Sweet Dreams Ice Cream (S1 E17 00:27)

Madam Alahazam Fortune Teller (S1 E17 00:27)

Wam-Bam-Pow Comics (S1 E17 00:25)

D.W Yatt Apothecary Est.1875 (S1 E16)

Magic Middleton's Tricks and Costumes (S1 E21, 13:09)

Ziga's Transmission Allignment Collision Tune-Up Autobody (S1 E24, 11:46) --used as Kraang base.

Argosy Theatre (S2 E1, 01:19)

Newstand (S2 E4, 10:04)

Midtown Ice Rink (S2 E6, 06:29)

Barber Shop (S2 E8, 00:11)

Lox Schmear & Java (S2 E19, 17:21)

Bernie's General (S3 E5, 04:44)

Comet Cleaners (S3 E11, 03:29)

Play Pier (S3 E11, 09:03)

Auman Chemicals (S3 E14, 14:53)

Channel 6 (S4 E10, 07:40)

AMAS: Allied Martial Arts Supply (S4 E15, 13:24) -- Used to hold Shredder/Foot Clan's weapons.

Cowabunga Skates (S4 E17, 05:20)

Run Jump Kick (S4 E17, 05:20)

Dell Abate Ristorante (S4 E18, 06:25) -- Don Vizioso's restaurant.

Felipe's (S4 E18, 16:27)

Hicnight Hotel (S4 E18, 17:16) --Don Vizioso's base.

Mini Mart (S5 E3, 16:19)

Friendly Jack's Loans (S5 E3, 17:43)

Wan Dingo's House of Curiosities and Oddities (S5 E5, 13:28)

Shanghai Sternn's Stir Fry (S5 E10, 12:04)

.

Notes:

The episode timestamps might not be totally accurate since I was watching this on a... ahem... legal website.

The timestamps are from when you could clearly and obviously see the shop signs. Like, Ziga's is visible from like episode one but couldn't be clearly read.

Some of the comics were just in shop windows and not really associated with a character so be careful. That is not a list of every comic the turtles have read. Like the Timely Times has only been in the background, not read by a particular turtle.

There were LOADS of shops where the shop name was in Chinese (or Japanese, I don't know) and so I couldn't list. Most of the shops by the Chinatown arch weren't in english. That's why even Murakami's shop isn't listed here. Because the actual shop name wasn't in english.

Thanks for reading through this. Hopefully this was useful for... anyone out there.

[warblogs17282]

The Helluva Boss view count table, post Season 2 finale!

It's been quite the ride keeping this updated for you all, although you all probably aren't going to see it again until season 3 starts, as I'm not sure if I want to post this table for every upcoming short. However, I will still be counting the view counts for each short in this table, even if I don't post about it.

Statistics and stuff:

IMDb Ratings overall: 8.1/10 with 13000+ people giving a rating on the site. All of these ratings are out of 10.

Pilot: 7.4

S1 E1: 7.7

S1 E2: 8.6

S1 E3: 7.5

S1 E4: 7.2

S1 E5: 8.2

S1 E6: 9.1

S1 E7: 8.8

S1 E8: 7.3

S2 E1: 8.5

S2 E2: 7.7

S2 E3: 7.8

S2 E4: 7.3

S2 E5: 6

S2 E6: 8.7

S2 E7: 8.7

S2 E8: 8.2

S2 E9: 8.7

S2 E10: 8.2

S2 E11: 9.1

S2 E12: 9

The day of the week each episode released and the time between each episode:

Just gonna link to this post by sadhornydemons, it shows both of these.

The average view count of Helluva Boss:

Season 1 only + pilot:

The average view count for season 1 + the pilot was 9,086,823 views.

Season 2 only (Shorts not included.):

The average view count for season 2 was 9,690,163 views.

Both seasons together + pilot (Shorts not included.):

The average view count for helluva boss combining both seasons and the pilot together into one calculation is 9,431,588 based on the data I have obtained.

(Quickly threw together an excel spreadsheet for this matter, if I've missed anything or fucked up a piece of data somewhere, please let me know. Also the =average function was used in the process of making this post, the shorts were not a part of the just season 2 average function.)

Rankings:

Top and bottom 3 episodes on IMDb as of 28/12/2024:

Top 3:

Truth Seekers - 9.1/10

Mastermind - 9.1/10 (Recent episode so subject to change.)

Sinsmas - 9/10 (Very recent episode so subject to change.)

Bottom 3:

Unhappy Campers 6/10

C.H.E.R.U.B - 7.2/10

Western Energy - 7.4/10

Episode view counts (Both seasons + pilot), highest to lowest:

1: S2 E1 - 13,126,955 views.

2: S1 E5 - 11,658,760 views.

3: S2 E7 - 10,855,337 views.

4: S2 E3 - 10,630,600 views.

5: S1 E3 - 10,450,616 views.

6: S1 E6 - 10,441,255 views.

7: S2 E12 - 10,380,617 views.

8: S2 E11 - 10,275,899 views.

9: S2 E9 - 9,772,762 views.

10: S2 E2 - 9,753,386 views.

11: S2 E6 - 9,429,540 views.

12: S2 E8 - 9,308,493 views.

13: S1 E2 - 9,230,983 views.

14: S1 E8 - 8,765,836 views.

15: S1 E7 - 8,684,320 views.

16: S2 E4 - 7,877,622 views.

17: Pilot - 7,845,385 views.

18: S2 E5 - 7,814,061 views.

19: S1 E4 - 7,455,897 views.

20: S1 E1 - 7,248,356 views.

21: S2 E10 - 7,056,678 views.

The top three performing episodes in season 1:

The Harvest Moon Festival with 11,658,760 views.

Spring Broken with 10,450,616 views.

Truth Seekers with 10,441,255 views.

The top three performing episodes in season 2:

The Circus with 13,126,955 views.

2. MAMMON’S MAGNIFICENT MUSICAL MID-SEASON SPECIAL (ft Fizzarolli) with 10,855,337 views.

3. Exes and Oohs with 10,630,600 views.

The top three performing episodes in both seasons:

In first place we have THE CIRCUS WITH 13,126,955 VIEWS! With the episode continuing to hold an iron grip on that top spot, will the first episode of season 3 be able to rival it? Place your bets now!

In second place, we have The Harvest Moon Festival featuring the debut of Striker! With it also holding a solid grip onto second place in the rankings.

In third place, we have MAMMON’S MAGNIFICENT MUSICAL MID-SEASON SPECIAL (ft Fizzarolli) coming in at 10,855,337 views! Featuring the debut of our idiot of a sin and a villain, Mammon! Also featuring bangers like Two Minutes Notice and more!

The bottom three performing episodes in both seasons:

Ghostfuckers with 7,056,678 views. Even this one caught me off guard, was expecting it to be a bit on the lower side due to the absence of other major fan-favorite characters like Stolas and Fizzarolli, but it being the worst performing episode still caught me by surprise tbh.

2. Murder Family with 7,248,356 views. Where everything started, the beginning of the show we know and love to this day.

3. C.H.E.R.U.B with 7,455,897 views. Yea I'm not really surprised that this one is here, most people think it's a rather weak episode or one of the worst of the show, so I can understand why it's the third worst performing in around it's first week.

Finally, the shorts:

MISSION: WEEABOO-BOO with 5,975,830 views.

Hell's Belles with 4,721,921 views.

MISSION: ANTARCTICA with 4,265,974 views.

4. MISSION: CHUPACABRAS with 4,038,466 views.

No average for the four shorts at the moment as I feel like there isn't enough of the shorts yet to make a fair average view count of them.

But hey, if you're reading this part, you're cool as fuck, and I hope you have a great day!

[trobedgirldads]

Hey, I'm working on my Cooliver fic. Do you have a list of episodes that are best to rewatch to get their personalities and dynamics?

okay first of all i’m honored that you thought to ask me. second of all, i’m sorry i took forever to reply but i realized i didn’t have a list so i put one together lol

the otto motto (s1 e18) is the first time the idea of oliver being gay is mentioned

the walk (s1 e 20) is sooo important for cooper. first time we see his real personality instead of just his cool kid facade. also iirc this is the first appearance of “move on to your next point”

boo-who? (s2 e5) is pretty good for early oliver. it’s got his sass, some insecurities, a touch of scheming and ofc his iconic scream. cooper’s not in it tho.

blondetourage (s2 e11) is so iconic for them. the sneakers, the phone scheme. “i’m already riding bitch on your vespa.”

all coupled up (s2 e17) is their first big fight, so if you’re writing a fight/argument this is a good one. also some good cooper & katie moments.

it’s hard to say goodbye (s2 e19) is another one without cooper, but if you’re writing sad oliver this is such a good reference; he’s really well written and acted in this episode. the cgi tears take me out tho 😭😭

here we go again (s3 e2) has them work through conflicts and like resolve a fight without intervention from katie/greg. i love them <3. absolutely banger episode for each of them individually, and them as a duo.

enemies: an otto story (s3 e4) has a good oliver scheme, and he gets cooper in on it. cooper talking about tagging along to boarding school with him makes me feel things.

trust me (s3 e5) is the absolutely iconic scooby-doo halloween costumes/making out practice episode that every cooliver writer has written about. i think it’s the first time cooper is seriously brought into the whole “oliver might be gay” bit, but i might be wrong about that (i know cooper’s mentioned the first time it’s ever brought up, but i think this is the first time he really seems like a piece of the puzzle)

body image (s3 e6) again, no cooper, but very good for insecure oliver

mo’ money, mo’ problems (s3 e13) is also so iconic in my brain. idk how genuinely important it is to either of their development, but it means a lot to me. i can’t remember who it was, but someone on here posted a really good analysis of cooper in this episode and how he’s lying to try to get oliver to not go to the party, which could be useful depending what you’re writing. also this is the first time cooper calls katie and greg mom and dad :(

insta-friends (s3 e16) is another big fight for them, and also some serious cooper daddy/mommy issues. this one isn’t super helpful for individual oliver, but it’s great for individual cooper and their dynamic when they’re mad at each other

field trippin’ (s3 e20) is a much sillier, fluffier episode than a lot of what i have on this list. silly lil scheme gone wrong. cooper’s really only in the first like half of this one tho

a mom’s parade (s3 e22) ok so hot take i don’t really like this episode that much… you can do you is very queer coded tho so it’s going on the list lol

girls’ night out (s4 e6) is just so awesome. oliver’s really sweet towards the end, and it’s bcuz of cooper. cooliver/triplor double date mention!!! tiny touch of cooper angst. greg implying that cooper holds a similar role in the family to trip. just all of it is so perfectly cooliver. this is one of their best episodes imo

hip to be square (s4 e9) is the i love you episode!!!!!!!!!!!! them fighting and then saying they love each other!!!!!!!!!!! so interesting for their dynamic!!!

a very english scandal (s4 e14) is the one where the whole school thinks oliver is gay. the one time cooper denies being oliver’s boyfriend. overall very gay episode.

all is fair in love and war reenactment (s4 e17) is a good one for them supporting each other, but not enabling each other’s shitty behavior. really good for their dynamic, and cooper’s got some good layers in this episode

senior prank (s4 e18) ohhhhh they’re such big brothers in this one i love it so much. if you wanna write them as parents this might be a decent reference. also, not cooliver related but franklin is just so iconic in this.

vacation! (s4 e19) i’ve said it before and ill say it again: this episode feels more like a cooliver fic than an actual episode. so good for both of them as individuals, their dynamic as a couple, and how cooper fits into the otto family as a whole.

prom (s4 e20) is another one that i think is good for oliver as an individual and their relationship as a pair. also big brother cooper crumbs!! (they’re very small but they’re there and they’re important to me 😌)

graduation (s5 e1) is ofc so good if you’re writing some angst. seeing how they deal with issues involving them that seem out of their control. also more cooper fitting into the family as a whole <3

psych (s5 e2) is really good for later-seasons oliver and his need for validation. also supportive bf cooper :)

coupling (s5 e3) is the episode i show ppl if i want to get them into the show bcuz it gives such a good overview of all of the characters and their relationships with each other. more cooliver fighting if you need references for that. the couple coding in this episode is so intense.

kids these days (s5 e5) is sooooo good for their dynamic bcuz it really shows how they support each other without enabling each other. i love cooper so much in this episode. “our family” <3

mother’s little helper (s5 e6) is pretty good. shows off that no matter how much they’ve grown, they’re still just dumb teenage boys.

encourage, discourage (s5 e8) is soooo good for cooper fitting into the family as a whole.

the heist (s5 e9) chef cooper origin!!!!! oliver being a supportive bf!!! i love them!!!

getting frank with the ottos (s5 e10) is a big turning point in their relationship. once again, supportive bf oliver!! they’re so cute.

the election (s5 e13) i feel like their dynamic is a little bit weird in this episode (oliver’s like weirdly chill abt once again being confronted w the idea of cooper moving, but ig it’s bcuz he has his own stuff going on) but it’s so good for sad cooper/daddy issues cooper. this is definitely a huge one for cooper angst references

okok so this is a really big list. obvs i don’t know what the plot of your fic is or when it’s set, so some of these might be much more helpful than others depending what you’re writing. these are just my suggestions of the ones that stand out as important for them as individuals and as a duo. hope this is helpful!!!! i’m excited to read your fic if/when you post it :)