#plot holes and stuff

[time-variance-archive]

Lots of very good answers if you were confused by all the new TVA lore in Deadpool and Wolverine.

[kazz-brekker]

tolkien's tendency to leave women off of family trees is annoying to me not just because it's an overall trend in fantasy novels that i wish wasn't a thing (to quote arya stark, the woman is important too!) but also because i desperately need to know who celebrimbor's mom was and which elf lady made the bold yet fantastically bad decision to marry into the house of feanor.

[superbat-lmao]

Pt. 2 of this (back by popular demand).

When Jason wakes the following morning he feels gross. His face is tacky and he’s smushed in an uncomfortable position where he feels like he’s rolled to the edge of his bed.

When he blinks up at Bruce, the events of the day before come crashing back with alarming clarity. He goes rigid and Bruce immediately opens his eyes to check on him, pulling back slightly to give him space.

And that makes Jason’s chest hurt. Because everything that had made him uncomfortable Bruce had fixed. Because Jason had been telling Bruce what he didn’t like about him the whole time.

Jason had started to like Batman. He’d gotten dry reports about life in the alley from the guy but he’d also gotten questions about what more could be done to help out alley kids. He’d taken all of Jason’s brash criticism and actually tried to fix things. Jason had started to really like the guy.

And to now be faced with the fact that it was Bruce, the guy who read like, an actual newspaper in the morning and asked about his interests like he was having teeth pulled, it still couldn’t quite compute.

Bruce couldn’t seem to figure out if Jason was comfortable on the cot, so Jason solved his problem for him by tucking his face back into his shoulder. He knew they would have to talk about it. How Jason had been kidnapped and watched his- watched Bruce get shot and then cried about it. But that conversation was going to be exhausting, and his body wasn’t sending him into a panic being this close to Bruce, so he was going to enjoy it while it lasted.

Bruce seemed to get the message and started running his fingers through Jason’s hair again.

When Alfred came down with breakfast for the both of them, Jason knew his time was up. That they’d have to talk about it all. He wasn’t sure what they would do now that he knew, send him away? Or no, they’d need to make sure he never told anyone. Never let him leave?

Before Jason could spin out too badly, Bruce started explaining how he’d wanted to protect Jason by not telling him about his nightlife. How it was a dangerous secret to know since it could put people in danger.

Jason scoffed at that since he’d been abducted for his connections to Bruce Wayne, like that was any safer.

Bruce paled pretty quick at that but had that look on his face that said he was determined to get through this. Jason wondered which he actually preferred more, conversations or going to the dentist.

But Bruce continued to explain that he’d had concerns over Jason’s ability to trust adults and was entirely out of his depth on how to begin to repair that trust. That he thought Jason needed someone to talk to that would try and resolve his problems. And Batman could do what Bruce couldn’t. He had been scared Jason would run if he couldn’t convince him it would be safe, and that scared Bruce most of all.

And Jason had to acknowledge that Bruce wasn’t entirely wrong. He probably would have run if Batman hadn’t been checking up on him, at least in the beginning. Because Bruce didn’t make any sense. He wasn’t like any of the other adults Jason knew. His body wouldn’t calm down even if he knew he was safe, and he probably would have run from that feeling.

Most importantly, Bruce apologizes. For keeping secrets and also for getting shot in front of him in a “sorry you had to see that” sort of way.

And yeah, Jason could’ve done without watching the guy that’s almost his Dad get shot in front of him, but it wasn’t really anyone’s fault.

And Jason, like a dork, apologizes for crying on him and not being able to handle it.

That makes Bruce’s face do something complicated that Jason had a hard time reading.

Bruce tells him that it isn’t actually normal to not react to someone being shot in front of you. Especially for a child, crying is a very normal response and nothing to be ashamed of.

Jason comes to an odd realization that he isn’t the first kid to know Bruce’s identity. He remembers talk in the alley of Robin, the flashy distraction to Batman’s silent stalker approach.

He asks Bruce if Robin was Dick Grayson, his ward. The supposed “brother” he had yet to meet. He wasn’t sure what Bruce was waiting for there, but he supposed if the man wasn’t even sure if Jason actually wanted to stay that it would be fair that he was cautious about introducing him to everyone.

Bruce’s face shuts down almost entirely at the mention of Dick. He seems to catch himself pretty quick though and picks a spot over Jason’s shoulder as he starts to explain the last time he talked to Dick outside of mask business. How scared he had been his- his ward would be hurt. How he’d fired him from being Robin. How he’d gone off to Bludhaven to be Nightwing. That Bruce hadn’t seen him since he left.

Jason takes in as much of it as he can. He can’t quite process what it would mean to be a vigilante, to be Robin. He still feels dazed from yesterday and the environment of the cave is strange and foreign.

He asks what the plans for the day are and Bruce huffs. Says that he’s on strict orders from Alfred for bed rest. That there will be conversations, a debrief, about what had happened, but that can wait a few days. They will also have to talk about formalizing Jason’s living situation here and registering him for school. All sorts of things, if Jason would like to stay.

And Jason does.

Later, Alfred comes in to re-wrap Bruce’s bandages and move him upstairs. Jason hovers awkwardly, wanting to help but not knowing what to do. Alfred gently directs him in helping get Bruce back to the living room. He says they can move him to his bedroom later but it’ll be easier on his mobility if he stays on the first floor for a while.

Alfred also informs them he had taken the liberty to inform Dick, Barbara, and Clark of the incident, so there will be patrol while Bruce’s shoulder is healing. Bruce goes rigid at this information.

Alfred asks if Jason will accompany him to the kitchen and help carry out their lunch.

When they’re alone, Alfred apologizes for keeping their identities from Jason, and how happy he is the boy is safe. He’d been so concerned yesterday at the car but hadn’t had time to do more than bug the vehicle.

They talk for a bit about identities and Jason accepts that it was kept from him, but now that he knows, he’ll stay in the loop.

Alfred also asks if he wouldn’t mind helping keep an eye on Bruce and make sure he doesn’t try and sneak back down to the cave without medical clearance. If he’d be alright to watch a movie in the living room with him, or a board game maybe.

Jason recognizes the ploy for what it is and plays along, grateful he doesn’t have to go worry by himself in his room or in the library.

When they bring the food out to the living room, Alfred shows Jason their selection of movies and makes sure they’re settled in before going off to take care of dishes.

Jason and Bruce start out sitting on opposite ends of the couch, but by the end of the second movie, Jason is stretched out in a way where they’re almost touching, a pile of pillows separating them.

Jason falls asleep during the third movie.

Dick arrives at the manor halfway through the fourth.

Pt. 1 Pt. 2 Pt. 3 Pt. 4 Pt. 5 (sold separately)

[eminthegrave]

I realised that plot holes are only holes because you keep forgetting to repair them. If you actually sew them up with a bunch of made up shit occasionally, then they won't get so big. I somehow made my world building make sense by just adding reasons why its like that.

Why doesn't anyone know about the other plains of the dodecahedron? well obviously it's because everyone thinks you just fall off the edge and whatever you see after that is The After Life. You know, folklore and totally not a complete plot hole with an half arsed explanation slapped on top.

[sweetiepeabooks]

late night writing adventures, yayyy

[gothamite-rambler]

Lian: What is it?

Oliver: A cross—

Lian (shouting): What is it?!

Oliver: A cross—

Lian (shouting, bouncing on her toes): WHAT IS IT?!

Oliver (momentary pause): …You put her up to this, didn't you?

Roy chuckled, arms crossed, clearly enjoying his father's frustration. He handed Lian twenty dollars for successfully annoying Oliver.

Roy (lying): Not at all.

Oliver composed himself and continued showing off the weapon.

Oliver: It's a crossbow. A crossbow is a special kind of bow that shoots arrows, but instead of using your hands to pull the string back like with a regular bow, it has a trigger—like a toy gun. It's yours now.

Lian: Oooh, you got me a crossbow? Thanks, Grandpa!

Oliver: She's so precious.

Oliver handed the empty crossbow to his granddaughter. Lian took it, pretending to shoot imaginary arrows.

Dinah: What are you—Oh my goodness!

Dinah rushed over and snatched the weapon out of Lian's hands, making the little girl pout.

Dinah: Which one of you decided to give this to her?

Roy pointed to Oliver, who shrugged in response.

Oliver: I taught Roy how to become an archer — why wouldn't I teach our granddaughter as well?

Dinah: Don’t do that! Don’t use the fact I love that little girl as a defense for letting her use a crossbow!

Oliver: I’m only teaching my granddaughter to be efficient in the… sport of archery.

Dinah: You are not teaching her the sports version!

Oliver: You don't know if I am. You're just assuming I’m a bad guy. Right, Roy?

Roy cackled in response, unable to respond due to how hilarious he found the whole conversation.

Dinah: Lian, be honest — wouldn't you like to have a different toy to play with?

Lian: Grammie, please let me use it! I promise I'll be careful.

Dinah hesitated, but the pleading look in Lian’s eyes quickly broke her resolve. She handed the crossbow to Roy, closing her eyes.

Dinah: I’m watching you. If she gets hurt or hurts someone, it’ll be both of you I’ll be punishing!

Lian giggled as Dinah took a few steps back, preparing to supervise the training safely.

Lian: Daddy, she’s gonna give you a time-out if you mess up.

Roy (ruffling his daughter's hair): Shush.

Lian (pretending to shoot the crossbow): Watch me. Bang! Bang! Bang, bang, bang!

Oliver: It’s not a gun, sweetie.

[angelpuns]

some parts of chapter 13 are gonna be almost hilariously confusing but ya'll are just gonna have to deal with it. Mystery and whatever. Dw it will all make sense later and if it doesn't I'll explain in depth wtf is going on lmao. trust. also I wanna hear theories cause I like them and I totally chan ged a plot point based on a theory someone had last year. Liked it so much it became canon LMAO

[valerieofavonlea]

I am begging people to learn what plot holes actually are and stop calling everything that isn't explained in minute detail a plot hole

[lime-bloods]

so long as I've been talking gravity, it feels like I'm obviously missing something by not talking about the Green Sun, which formed the gravitational center of Homestuck's cosmos long before black holes became part of the equation. it's emblematic of Lord English, obviously, the villain who keeps our heroes gravitationally bound to their homes, but that felt too simplistic... I think I've hit on something more solid, though.

Cascade, part 6.

in the sense that the Green Sun - being composed of the rendered-down remains of both of Homestuck's universes - is a very literal representation of the comic's incestuous slurry of ideas, Dave and Rose emerging from the Sun's radioactive green sludge very much reads as their being reconstituted from ectoplasm. indeed: Hussie suggested years ago that to "die spectacularly in an explosion of green fire" is actually a requirement for reaching the god tiers without a dream self, and while this doesn't turn out to be exactly true, the central premise remains; the old self must be immolated completely to make way for the new self. in this exact same way, trolls find themselves gravitating toward the cocoons they were born from and are completely destroyed via explosion in the process of ascension - for Dave and Rose, the Green Sun is the figurative birth-cocoon they return to in order to be broken down into slime and built back up again.

(so it's interesting, at the very least, that the very same black hole that usurped the Green Sun's position as the center of reality is now the cocoon Vriska Serket finds herself trapped within - complete with lain-thick imagery of fire and death!)

p. 2728

compare as well the Matriorb and Tumor, obvious visual twins which also serve the same purpose as malignant growths which must kill their previous host so as to give rise to a new brood. for Rose, in particular, the gravity that keeps the suburban family unit together - the Green Sun's gravity - is also the gravity that pulls her toward the familial role Sburb has lined up for her, that of the mother. and the icons of the Green Sun hidden, womb-like, within the guts of Rose's planet tell us everything we need to know about the role the Green Sun is supposed to play in this motherhood destiny.

(from Hussie's commentary in Book 5, p. 271: "This is another one of those things that makes it feel like this quest is narratively what is demanded of her [...] it's supposed to feel that way to her, and has a strange sense of obligatory gravity surrounding it.")

Scratch's deception regarding the Green Sun then takes on a characteristically insidious subtext: he's tricking Rose into giving birth. and not just to the Green Sun, or to Lord English, but - in the characteristically incestuous, cyclical nature of things in Homestuck - to her own ascended self! and as such, in the inverse: when Rose flies out to the Furthest Ring believing that she's about to defy the role Sburb has laid out for her by aborting the Tumor, she's also unknowingly setting out to abort herself - a "suicide mission" in more ways than just one.

[imagionationstation]

Ya’ll all the adrenaline in my system when I went to bed gave me a stress dream about some rando who made a list about all the reasons that my AUs were terrible.

And at first I was sad bc “my AUs aren’t THAT bad…” and then I realized that they completely ignored the fact that the ZomDee AU has a massive plot hole that I still haven’t patched up and they were focused on all the small things!!

Like if you’re going to slander my name do it PROPERLY!

[weirdwildwonderland]

How TUA should've ended

Lila and Five relationship-Lila and Five don't spend 7 years in the subway. They do get lost, but it's more like two years this time (whoever thought of 7 years was crazy). Two years is enough for Five and Lila to almost kill each other many times, enough for them to cry to each other one night and swear to never talk about it again. Enough for many bouts of food poisoning and starvation and cold nights when the train didn't show up. Enough for Lila to keep waking up with a sick feeling in her stomach because she keeps having dreams where she wakes up in her house, with Grace and the twins and Diego just downstairs. Enough for Five to stay awake as he wipes silent tears away because he's thinking of his siblings. The only ones who have been there for him. They find the strawberry timeline near the end of the two years, and it only makes them miss everyone more. There's a lump in Five's throat as he mutters something about how "wish we could've taken the idiots here" and Lila starts to cry, because something about this timeline is so warm and safe, because she would give ANYTHING to have a Saturday morning with her family again, Diego making her coffee, waking up the twins, reading to Grace. She finds a delicate silver bracelet on the floor of the greenhouse, and remembers how her father gave Grace a bracelet just like this when she was born, and that's when she breaks, and Five begrudgingly helps her off of the floor and pats her on the back. They find the notebook a few days later, and both of them well up as they ride the subway back. It's only been a few hours for the rest of them, and as Diego hugs Lila again, this guilty feeling wells up in her chest, because she remembers how they were before, how distant they had become. But he's still here, somehow. So they go inside and she starts crying when she sees everyone. Diego asks about the bracelet and Lila and Five exchange a look. You tell him. No, you. Diego asks if something has been going on, and it all comes out. Lila crumbles even more. Isolation does funny things to the emotions.

They all finish watching the dance of the sugar plum fairy before the news about Ben flashes onto the screen. It's the most peaceful hour or so of this whole fucked up week

2. They get swallowed by the cleanse.

3. And then they all wake up in the void. All of them are dazed and drained. The man on the TV is talking about shattered timelines (or something related to the themes of time in the show). God watches on her bicycle as they slowly figure out that they lost their powers again. Diego starts crying because he realizes Ben isn't there and Lila comforts him. Luther looks more worried about Diego than about the fact that they're dead. Allison, Klaus, and Viktor seem glad that their powers are gone. Five just looks happy that they're all still together. Klaus goes up to God.

He says something along the lines of "Hey, I'm happy that I can still come up here and all, but you need to get us back down somehow, because there's no way I'm spending all of eternity with THEM. Plus, I have nieces and a nephew and I hope they're...not up here too."

She says something like "They're not."

He stares at her.

She says "I think you're insufferable. I don't know anyone who comes up here multiple times and then goes back down."

"Look, God, I've had it up to HERE with my life so far, and I can say the same about all of them over there. But I've gone through some things recently, and it made me realize that I would really like to keep living it, if you wouldn't mind. And," he points at everyone "they have their reasons. And they deserve to live the rest of their lives out, too."

She stares at him. "I've had it up to here with you too. You know, I watch you down there, sometimes. I think you're better off there. Not up here, annoying me. Plus," she looks over at everyone else (they're freaking out/arguing etc) "it's too early for all of you to be here."

She picks 8 marigolds from her basket and plucks the heads off. They fall to the ground and new sprouts start coming up from the earth. "Whatever was in you, it's gone now." She looks over at everyone, annoyed. "Oh yeah, I forgot you need help to get back." She rolls her eyes.

"You know, you kind of remind me of my niece." Klaus says

She snaps her fingers

Cut to black again.

Cut to outside Diego and Lila's house. It's hot out, and they all wake up on the asphalt in their winter clothes. Everyone starts complaining about how hot it is. Diego gets up and knocks at the door. No one knows what day it is. For all they know, their kids could be teenagers now, and that scares him.

Someone bumps into Lila on the street, and it's the Handler. Only, she's not. She's just a normal woman talking on her cellphone, and she looks at Lila apologetically before continuing her conversation. A woman looks at Viktor and asks him if he needs help off the ground. It's Grace, and she's walking with a baby stroller. Viktor nudges Diego and they're both speechless.

The door opens, and Lila's mom answers. Lila bursts into tears and hugs her. Grace and Claire come to the door and Grace says something about "you didn't pick me up from camp on time, Mommy! And Coco's been crying for FIFTEEN minutes, that's what Grandma said. I think she misses you. Oh, and Ben (boy twin) broke a bowl, but Grandpa said it's okay" and Claire rolls her eyes and asks what they're all doing dressed in coats and tells them that they're all so weird. Grace turns to Claire and accusingly says "You never told me that grownups cry too." Klaus and Allison both burst into tears too, Luther and Viktor look like they're about to cry, and Five just looks the most relieved he's ever been in his life.

Lila's mom sighs and says "Come in, everyone. I don't want to know what you've gotten yourselves into now, but you look hungry. It's too hot out to cook, so you're eating the leftovers." Diego is still crying, but he starts to laugh. And then Five starts laughing too. And then the rest of them. Lila's mom tells them that they really need to get inside now before someone starts looking at them weird.

Cut to shot of all of them walking into the house, taking off their shoes, flopping onto the couch, hugging their kids, etc. Continue to "I think we're alone now" montage of all the side characters walking on the street living life as normal people.

POGO: On the twelfth hour of the 8th day of August, 2024, nothing out of the ordinary happened. You might say it was just a normal day.

Cut to black

Credits roll

Post credits scene

There's a knock on the door. Ben walks in looking dazed, holding Jennifer's hand. "What's up, assholes? I'm back!" he says, before everyone groans and the screen cuts to black again.

END S4E6

[expectiations]

The Husbands of River Song is not and has never been about the Eleventh Doctor being a deadbeat, distant husband (gross mischaracterization by the way) and the Twelfth Doctor being the "better, more mature, affectionate" husband.

It was about River Song. It was about River and how the events in Manhattan took such a toll on her. It was about letting us see River dealing with grief the way The Snowmen showed us how the Doctor coped after losing believing he had used up all his time with River.

Looking at THORS now with The Ruby's Curse in mind, I get the instinct (for lack of a word that I cannot remember) that the Manhattan incident Blue Roach read from River's diary was not the Manhattan episode that we saw in series 7.

On that note, I'd also like to bring up the fact that the Doctor grounds River and River grounds the Doctor. As Tree talked about in one of her tags, River's empathy is more cognitive than emotional and after musing on it for a bit – considering that the Doctor can no longer go to Manhattan (which may have changed in later series but I wouldn't know at the moment because I have yet to overcome series 7b) and that River does spend time with her parents in Manhattan post-TATM, would the latest Manhattan incident in River's diary be the funeral for Amy? Amy's death? Perhaps even Anthony's? I mean, we already know Rory died five years earlier than Amy. So, knowing how deep River's love for her mother is, it's not too farfetched to say that River spent that time with them. River was by their bedsides as they drew their last breath.

Then Rory's gone, Amy's gone, Anthony's gone. Where does that leave River? Where is the Doctor? (sulking on a cloud on top of Victorian London? trying to figure out the mystery of his newest companion? all while constantly mentioning a certain Professor Song who actually turns out to be his dearly sort of departed absolutely beloved wife?)

Without her parents (and her husband) to ground her, she goes on this maddened, grieving space Robin Hood spree. She seeks fun to fill in the void and takes up marriage as a hobby/side quest. Does she look for the Doctor? Perhaps. Yes, actually. Considering she crashed her latest sort-of-husband's ship onto a planet where she purported the TARDIS to be.

But... she's stealing the TARDIS. She could have just called the Doctor, yeah? So, she doesn't want the Doctor to know then. Well... yeah, considering she has two sort-of-husbands in hand.

So, River would just have gone on from one space Robin Hood spree to the next had the TARDIS not sort-of-stranded herself on Mendorax Dellora to make sure her Water stopped being stubborn and reconcile(?) with her Thief?

Also taking note of how River has read stories about them and knows that Darillium is purported to be their last night together (I could also bring up the fact that this is why I find it easy to digest the "River meeting regenerations of the Doctor younger than the Tenth Doctor makes sense and doesn't break cannon nor ruin SITL/FOTD" but that would take a whole other post). Does this River believe her time with the Eleventh Doctor has ended? The same way series 7b Eleven believed his time with older versions of River has ended? Is this all part of some grand fuckup in communication all thanks to their tangled timelines?

Maybe. Maybe not.

But has River not just been running from her family's death? Has River been running from her supposed last night with the Doctor?

"But River doesn't run." Oh yes. Yes, she does. She knows when to stand her ground. She knows when to charge. And she knows when to run.

"That's out of character for her." No, it's not. She's not invincible. She's this well trained assassin, yes. But invincible? No.

Invincible from the tendency to be blinded by their emotions? Obviously not.

River lies. And River runs.

She is not afraid of her death. She is afraid of the day when her husband, her Doctor, looks into her eyes and looks right through her. And it shouldn't kill her but it does. It did.

So she ran and ran until her bigger-on-the-inside Mum gently reached out and put her back together with the only person left who could ground her. Who she didn't recognize at first but still fell in love with (and would have loved even if he hadn't been revealed to be her actual, long missing husband). Who finally found out their last night wasn't just any night – it was a twenty-four year long last night. Who finally gave her a breather from all the running she'd been doing.

And oh what a night that was (it was the talk of the universe).

[craniumcrunch]

so, will we ever get an explanation for these? (yellowjackets, 1x01)

[w1ld-wr1t3r]

I'm not even 15 minutes into rewatching Interstellar and I think there is a chance my imagination is running wild again . . .

I have at least half a loose fic plot already hELP.

[stealingpotatoes]

just watched mando s3 it’s great that we TOTALLY had a whole season about din coming to grips with being mand’alor & life without grogu and about dueteragonist bo-katan coming to realise she was only trying to lead mand’alor bc of her sister not bc she thought she was the best leader. and the whole season centred around the theme of accepting who you really are even if you’re certain you’re something else and was about how heroes and leaders can come from anywhere, they don’t have to come from a special bloodline (a sorta thesis against the skywalker saga) and about the uniting power of grief and oppression. isn’t it great we had that instead of a season with no plot 

isn’t it great that there were no mando cameos in tbobf and mando season 3 started with him on a bounty, cringefailing at using the darksaber and stabbing himself but he did the job and got paid in a nubian starfighter (he wanted a razor crest but he’s injured so he doesnt argue much) which he then used to find his covert on the canyon planet. then he revealed to the armorer and paz that he had the darksaber which after some time leads to paz duelling din for the saber (without telling the others bc they dont know din has it) and din wins but its revealed he took his helmet off. he’s made apostate IN FRONT OF EVERYONE (EVERYONE!!) with only one IMPOSSIBLE chance of redemption (nobody can go to mandalore anymore!!) and has to leave and now has nothing — no child, no clan. so he does the only thing he can think to and goes to a green planet we’ve never seen before. he lands safely but still injured from his fight with Paz and not fully healed from the original injury he passes out. and the episode ends with a kid running over and telling another kid to call master skywalker

and sure episode 2 was the fanservice episode but its disney! we have to expect a marketable plushie cameo episode — except of course that didn’t mean it wasn’t plot relevant! din wakes up and we realise he’s at luke’s jedi academy and this is great n stuff we finally get to see luke in his prime teaching a whole bunch of students! and we get to see grogu happy and having fun with his kind (which makes din happy but miss his own covert). luke notices din has a saber himself (despite it being well-hidden — luke can sense it) and din admits he can’t use it and that he doesnt think it even belongs to him while luke shows him saber forms (but pretends its for his own training and not din’s bc din refuses to learn). they have a discussion and din reveals he came here bc he got kicked out and has no way to redeem himself bc there are no mines left and even then the planet’s poisonous. luke spouts some jedi stuff asking din if he’s certain and says blind certainty is the enemies of hope and progress or whatever (setting up the larger theme of identity certainty in the season). luke also points out that if they imps r there then they have to have some way of getting around the environment they caused. inspired and knowing grogu is safe here, din is ready to go redeem himself on mandalore. he says he’ll come to see grogu again and luke makes it clear that while attachments can’t get in front of duty, din is always welcome here <3 

episode 3 of course had din go to the ruins of mandalore to redeem himself, inspired by luke’s words about certainty he goes to the ruins of sundari, where he knows there was once living waters (the other option is the one surviving and imperial-controlled city, but he’s not that dumb). also bc the imps only hang around the cities so that must be where it's survivable. there’s some imperials about the edge of the city (not many) and he does have to subtly fight them but he gets spotted. he wins but he’s panicking bc during the fight his breathing system got hit but then he notices a plant growing. and he realises he’s not dying — the air isn’t poisonous anymore or whatever! so he turns off his failing life support and goes to the city. he explores the city and finds many remnants of mandalorian culture there in the small parts that survived. ash-covered murals, mostly-burnt toys, something that could have once been a palace. he finds a memorial to a duchess satine kryze and thinks huh like bo katan? (because of course the show wouldn’t ignore bo’s motivations) anyway after some slow but meaningful exploring (its quietness eerie, unlike the quietness of the previous stealth section) he manages to make his way below the city. he finds the mines, reads the inscription and then goes in. except of course its no longer shallow and he falls and he falls and he realises well fuck he’s gonna die. his life support got hit earlier and he doesnt have his jetpack he’s going to sink. but then in the darkness, a great looming eye opens and before din knows it, SOMETHING is throwing him out that sinking water. it had to have been a freak current right? he was hallucinating. surely a MYTHOSAUR didn’t just save him… those are all dead, only to return with a new age of mandalore! he shakes his head, ignores it, and collects the water with something new to bring to his people

episode 4 reintroduced us to old fan favourite bo katan in her depression girl era bc din shows up to her empty palace ready to help her take back mandalore… only to find her in a depression pit and— oh my god is she drunk??! she drops that her ppl left her bc she didn’t have the darksaber and din’s looking at the depression pit like. right. bc of the darksaber. he briefly tries to convince her to fight him for it but she’s like no you’ll throw the fight it won’t be true comba— oh no! explosion nearby bc looks like din wasn’t as careful as he thought and the imperials followed him to bo’s place so both of them have to fucking skeet outta there and bo’s home’s destroyed so din’s like hey come on let’s go to my people we can take back mandalore with them or smthn. so they head back to the covert, din reveals he’s no longer apostate and that mandalore isnt cursed it’s breathable + you can successfully walk on the surface now. this is however interrupted by a beast showing up and trying to kill some ppl. it almost kills paz’s son but din kills the beast first in his starfighter. anyway back to the conversation (now within the cave) and din’s trying to convince his clan that they can take back mandalore (with bo as leader) but none of them want to follow her or risk what few numbers they have left. dejected, din and bo make to leave again, but paz follows them out and is like ?? din you literally have the darksaber why didn’t you use it to get at least SOME of them to follow you and din’s like i don’t want people to follow me bc of a legend, if they follow me it has to be bc they want to and paz and bo r internally like wow damn. anyway paz then says he’ll always fight w din if needed bc he saved his son but if he wants the people to follow him they should try get some of the other clans to help so it looks less dangerous. so bo and din leave on their quest. also throughout this episode, we’re introduced to some random civilian in the reintegration program. its implied they worked with gideon and that they’re preparing for something, but we don’t get much more than that. 

episode 5 is the bo episode, this is where we explore her character, have her arc, and ya know really cover her motivations (bc disney would NEVER make it so her motivation is invisible unless you’d seen two other tv shows). din and bo head to where her clan is. they just want to see the clan but they end up being dragged into a b-plot about helping the local pacifist duchess (& duke). din tries to say no but bo-katan says smthn abt diplomacy. this quest initially doesn’t seem plot relevant but throughout bo opens up about her own pacifist duchess sister and she comes to realise how much of this quest has been about trying to live up to satine and not bc she thinks herself the best mand’alor. the thing she said abt diplomacy earlier, she reveals, is just a quote from her sister. anyway they’re finally able to go to bo’s old clan and she, now reinvigorated in accepting and knowing who she is and what she wants (no longer depression girl) challenges axe for leadership of the clan. she wins and in a speech is like we’re gonna retake unpoisonous mandalore by uniting the clans!! most agree but theyre like HOW are we supposed to convince the other clans? and it descends into insane yelling UNTIL a low hum and a black-white light falls over the group. silence falls. everyone looks on. high above his head, din is holding the darksaber (proudly!!) and he’s like we’ll unite them with this. but axe has to constantly be chatting shit and getting up from the floor where he got his ass whipped he’s like really???? you wanna follow him???? he doesn’t even have any mandalorian blood in him!!! and bo makes a great speech about blood doesn’t make a good leader what makes a good leader is knowing when to use your power. and then she’s like he is my mand’alor amen and kneels before him. everyone else follows and din awkwardly stands there still not fully accepting his role 

episode 6 was the great prep episode. we start with din and bo helping and getting a new tribe on their side and heading back to Concordia we realise they’ve got this HUGEEEE war camp of mandalorians!! there are so many clans with them now (except one, which din is really missing)!!!!! this episode mostly focuses on mandalorian culture and them training/ planning and din and bo trying to keep the clans from biting each other’s heads off. but this is interrupted when a small group of imperials try to pre-attack them (like they did w bo’s palace) but the mandos all manage to fight back and take them down, which then leads to a whole speech from din and bo about how mandalorians are all fighting but theyre united now in their grief and with this they can fight the empire. the b-plot of the episode comes back to that random civilian from episode 4 and whoomp turns out their plan was to BREAK MOFF GIDEON OUT OF JAIL!! shitttt!!!! oh no!! he’s back now, that’s gonna make their very decent plan to take back mandalore harder but they dont knowww (irony!)

episodes 7 and 8 were the battle of mandalore, woo! it had to be two episodes because it’s a taking whole occupied planet and not a single base, a pretty damn difficult task that definitely can’t be done by two single clans in like 40 minutes! there’s all those mini tiny bases scattered throughout the planet on the ruins (like din encountered in episode 3) AND more importantly there’s the one domed city that the imperials kept alive as their main base — which means they have to be careful, bc they can’t do any sort of aerial assault or great deal of damage to the imperials without also destroying the one surviving place for them to live. so the plan is smaller strike teams to go the bases plopped around the planet as a distraction and to stop reinforcements to the city while the main force surround the city and take it. the first city team (with din and bo) has to open up all the ports and stuff to allow the HUGE armies to get in. unfortunately this is in the main imp base in the centre of the city so they have to get there. (they’d prefer 2 strike teams but they can only spare 1) MOST of the mini-bases r meanwhile being successfully captured. the strike team gets to the centre to de-activate the port shielding n stuff and GASP! IT’S GIDEON!! FROM JAIL!! and he’s surrounded by fucking MANDO STORMTROOPERS and IN BESKAR ARMOUR oh no!! ambush!! he knew they’d have to go here to allow a full-scale assault! the small strike team at sundari also gets captured bc there were some mandotroopers there (they increased security post episode 3). episode 7 ends on a cliffhanger bc all seems lost and the strike team’s surrounded 

episode 8 starts straight off the cliffhanger and oh no they’re all gonna die gasp WHEN BAM fighting noises elsewhere, everyone’s confused, when paz’s voice crackles over din’s comm like hey bro! BC DIN’S CLAN FINALLY SHOWED UP TO HELP AND THEY WERE ABLE TO MAKE THAT SECOND STRIKE TEAM and in the confusion din & bo’s team take out the mandotroopers, gideon gets away. din and paz and the armorer come face to face and paz calls him mand’alor or smthn bc he’s also accepted it and they’re like woo let’s go now we can fight fr!! din heads to help lead the battle ig but bo’s like nah i have to end gideon for what he did to our planet. and din’s like well he’s wearing beskar armour so you’ll need this and gives her his beskar spear WHICH IS SYMBOLIC BC he’s finally giving up his other weapon and is going to solely use the darksaber!! he’s accepted who he is and is going to lead their ppl!! so yeah instead of having din fight gideon, who he already beat once, bo fights him and its incredibly cathartic. at sundari that strike team who got captured is also not looking great but MYTHOSAUR EX MACHINA COMES AND FUCKS UP THE IMPERIALS THERE (its returned!!). so big battle and gideon’s down and the darksaber DOESN’T get destroyed yay! afterwards they all vibe and they go to the forge and the armorer relights it and they proclaim din mand’alor fr and he accepts it and throne. sure he's still a BIT uneasy (mand'alor the reluctant anyone?) but he's not saying NOO now loll. yayyy!! AND THEN final scene is din returns to the jedi academy like hii thanks for ur advice u were right being blindly certain abt stuff is meh and leaves no room for hope. uh could i show grogu mandalore i promise i’ll bring him right back and it ends on din showing grogu the planet finally bc thats cute and fanservice

anyway isn’t it great this is exactly what happened, it’s all canon and definitely not the stealingpotatoes sequels canon continuity rewrite! 

[okapiandpaste]

between boimler expressing confusion over spock being straight in the snw crossover episode and irreversibly altering the course of snw because of that and the writers saying fuck it! let's make garashir canon now that we got cancelled i definitely think lower decks is an lgbt all-timer. its gay aura had a fallout zone and to me that's beautiful.