#I get that i'm speculating A LOT

[avaelangel]

I have something to say about Travis x Laura.

I don't think it deserves hate that much. Yeah, it's a man in his 50s and a girl in her 20s. But if you think more about the plot itself, it's quite visible that they work as a couple only at some capacity.

Firstly, some thinks to know: all of the fan wiki camp counselors say "young adult" as their age and not "teenager". I think it might be a more formal way of saying their approximate age, but still. We know, that Max & Laura, Jacob & Emma and Dylan are the ones going to school (or trying to) for sure. The rest might be younger or older.

Also, Laura was supposed to work at the nurses office. I assume that there was an actual nurse and as stand-in Kaitlyn was just her assistant. But what if not? It makes Laura way more expireneced at least at looking after the wounds. She might be one of those characters, who learn everything from the books, but she have to be stubborn and persistent enough to know how to treat a scratched out eye with the stuff she had at the police station. So, even she looks and behaves like a teenager when there is no danger, she springs into action like a warrior when she needs to. I don't think that's a point to miss here.

If you allow me to say, i'm not really sure Travis is the favorite Hackett son. He's the older one, childless, with less communication skills than Chris. He loves his family, for sure. He might be a little creepy, but i think it stems from being raised as a helper, not the talker. He bottled up his emotions for decades while trying to look out for each and every family member. The game's plot is literally his life as he knew it crumbling aroung him.

Kaylee and Caleb might have been the only ones Travis got emotionally close to. He's the weird, gruff uncle with a heart of gold, who would probably sneak them his snacks or teach them survival skills Chris thought they wouldn't need.

So, maybe at first Travis sees them in Max & Laura. He can't get close and personal with these two, because at first he doesn't know what to do with them, he can't risk it and a bit later he can't put them in a harm's way. He plans to rely on Laura, because he for sure searched for her job application. And he's a bit naive, because he's tired. But in the end, she does end it all. Most of the time.

But if you are going trough a civil-relationship type of route and save everyone, Laura gets Max back. Only two Hacketts, Chris and Kaylee are dead. Why would Travis interfere? Laura is for sure traumatized almost as much as him, the reality of murder will set in for her sooner or later. They will keep in touch, maybe meeting every so often in the diner outside her college town. He's the only heir to the Hacketts lands, even if his parents hate him now. He needs to look out for Caleb.

There is also Max's death. Death of a majority of characters. Let's say, Chris kills his parents and Bobby, and then stabbed Ryan shoots him. This might not be possible without Travis or Laura dying, but bear with me. If the story leaves these two alive and bloody, there isn't anything left. No real world left, they would have to bury the bodies and come with some story. Without twisting, they would probably go to jail or on the run. They are tied together, but i think a different dynamic comes to mind first, rather than a romantic (and troubled) relationship.

I dubbed this "Punisher & Amy" dynamic. A man with only blood on his hands to his name and a girl that seemingly lost everything too. She reminds him of everything he's lost and he's afraid she will turn into him. I don't really think Travis would prevent the last thing. Against his better judgement, now he would be the one trying to get along with her. Bring her snacks and allowing her to write to her parents when they are on the run. Take a plea deal, so she would get out? By god.

"Romantic stylez" in this case doesn't come with any normal function that a good relationship has. I don't want to imagine a scenario, where Max & Laura are broken up specifically for that reason. So, we kill him again. We kill the majority of the Hacketts and councelors with Laura's hands and not. Everything was pointless. Travis is in mourning and his camp is now full of bodies. He has only Laura to turn to and they would probably came up with some story about kids going stir crazy. Or drug addicts relapsing while hiking not that far away. Blame the dead, lick their wounds, disappear. If Laura had family, they will never see her again.

And Travis, of course, would not kill her or torture her. She's a symbol of an end to him, and he's a symbol of a horrible start to her. They probably going to be horrible together. Looking for supernatural trouble one way or another, to prevent the next curse for the next group of people.

Here we are. I do think there is love possible between these two characters. But it's either love of shared nightmares, blooming into a life-long friendship or love of shared pain & blood blooming into attachment that is inhumanely possible to break. And of course, in fan fiction and fan art everything in between may happen. This post is my fan-thing.

Thanks for bearing with me, cubs. You may PM me with your thoughts, if you want.

[zarla-s]

I found this fascinating post about Russian short names a long time ago and NOW I CAN FINALLY DO SOMETHING WITH IT basically Russian names can take different forms depending on how close you are to who you’re talking to. Heavy’s name is Mikhail (we don’t know his last name), and this is how Spy refers to him in the comics, while Heavy’s short name is Misha, which is used by his family. But the name forms can get even fluffier or more tender than that! I asked some Russian speakers on Twitter for options and they gave me a wide variety, so I just threw a bunch in here. |D Other options could be Mishutka, Mishula...

I’d imagine anything fluffier than Misha would be embarrassing for him, but Heavy appreciates the effort anyway. <3

(follow-up)

[patreon]

[egophiliac]

I hear you on brave but I think Mr. CEO man could be woz

Which I’m all here for tbh

anon you sent this over 9 hours before the reveal, h...HOW DID YOU KNOW

(I am also all here for it honestly) (I kind of hope they lean really hard into the overworked-CEO bit...how is he supposed to fight evil when there's all this paperwork that he has to get in by Friday, ugh)

[chirpsythismorning]

What they're saying is s5 is going to have Hawkins High School as one of the locations for the plot. What I'm hearing is jealous Mike opportunities...

[brookheimer]

looking at the 'midseason trailer' and seeing roman fighting his siblings, roman shitting on gerri, roman working for fascists, roman walking proudly through ATN like logan did just two days prior... it's not surprising, but it is fucking sad.

logan's death will not free roman. instead, it will reforge the chains he's worn all his life, casting them in iron -- that's what roman deserves for thinking, for the first time in his life, that maybe he wants the chains off. that's what roman deserves for killing his father by not loving him enough, by not loving him correctly or at the right times. logan's death will not free roman at all. if anything, it will imprison him.

(as always, this got very long, so keep reading under the cut!)

this was the worst case scenario for roman. not just logan dying, but the exact way everything played out. he betrayed his siblings, he fired gerri -- for nothing. he could have been on the plane with his father in his last moments -- he refused. his last interaction with his father was leaving logan a voice message that called him a cunt -- the first time roman has ever, ever, questioned or stood up to his father, and also the last. we don't know what killed logan. we probably never will. but god if it won't feel awfully coincidental to roman: the one time he fought back against his father or even showed the slightest hint of doing so, his father died. is it likely that logan heard roman's voice memo and keeled over because he called him a cunt? no. but is it just as possible as anything else? entirely. roman might have killed his dad. roman murdered logan when he could've been on the plane with him holding his hand, if he were a good son. he didn't even tell logan he loved him. not that he needed to, it fucking oozed from his every pore and the desperate nature of that love was one of the reasons logan could never quite stand him -- but that's not the point. roman's one attempt at agency, at setting boundaries, at standing up for himself killed his fucking father.

logan dying would never have been good for roman, at least in his current state, no matter how the actual death came to pass. people often talk about abusive relationships as if the end-all-be-all fixer to abuse is independence, and it's not. independence isn't always enough to heal, especially not when it's forced upon you rather than something you choose. this is especially true for roman, i think. what roman needed was not just to gain his own independence, but to realize that independence and love are not mutually exclusive, that gaining one does not mean losing the other. logan's always hammered in roman's weakness, his wrongness; roman was never someone who deserved to be loved on his own terms. roman's never considered himself to be someone with agency and authority in his relationships -- he's been told over and over again that he isn't a real person, that there's something deeply wrong and unfixable in him, and he believes it. he's never set boundaries with his father or even his siblings because i don't think he really realizes he has the power to do that. he's simply there until people decide they no longer have use for him or want him around, and he'll always come crawling back after a kick because he doesn't realize he's not on a leash -- that he doesn't need to be on a leash. independence has been unreachable all his life, he isn't normal or real enough to be a real normal independent capable person, but if he grovels and shows his use enough, then maybe he can be loved. but his dependence and loyalty is all he's good for. independence means no love, no family, no relationships. and roman desperately wants, needs, those relationships in a way that none of the other characters do (or at least can admit to) -- he wants his father in his life, no matter what; he wants his siblings in his life, no matter what. but independence, being his own person, separating himself from logan's side means he'd lose everything else, everyone else. he's not good for anything anyways. it's not like he has other options.

...until the start of season four. that's why this is all so tragic -- more than anyone else, it seemed like roman was on the road to healing. it seemed like he was finally realizing that independence and love might not be as mutually exclusive as he's been made to think: maybe he could be independent while still having a relationship with his siblings and even his father. maybe he could have his cake and eat it too. he's realized that he's capable, that he has his own worth, and that he can be successful without living under logan's thumb -- and, more importantly, could still text him on his birthday and try to rebuild a relationship, this time outside of business. outside of "that room" in waystar royco. an actual fucking family relationship. that's what escaping the cycle would look like for roman — not complete separation, not a metaphorical killing of his father, but the ability to live alongside him, to have a life outside of him, to love his father without living for him. so simply removing logan from the equation wouldn’t help roman, not when what he needs most is to realize that self-respect is not mutually exclusive with love, that being your own person isn’t a betrayal, that family and love aren’t dependent on how low you can kneel and won’t be whisked away the moment you stand up. and for the first time in his life, it seemed like he was on track to discovering this. maybe he and the siblings could have the hundred, logan could keep going with atn, and in a few years down the line they'd all get together to talk shop and joke around and coexist -- for the first time, he had started to think of himself as enough of a real, okay person to be allowed to coexist with his family, rather than naturally subordinating himself in every interaction.

roman could’ve been his own person, could’ve escaped the cycle, could’ve started a business with his siblings and tried to heal, but now he won’t. he can’t. roman can’t become his own person now, not when his first attempt to do so is exactly what killed logan. it’s his fault. he fucked up and now there’s no dad. he gained his independence, but at what cost? love. that’s the cost. it always has been and always will be. nothing could be more detrimental to roman roy than the exact series of events that occurred in this episode, because just as he started to see a world beyond his father, logan dies -- proving once and for all that the only world beyond logan is one without him in it at all. that’s been roman’s fear all along and why he’s stuck so close to his side: roman loves and loves and loves and is terrified, terrified, of death. of loss. but in a moment of 'weakness,' roman wobbled (he tried to stand up to logan rather than just taking the kicks as he's supposed to, as he always has), and his father paid the ultimate price. there’s no more dad. there’s no reviving him.

…unless, of course, there is. unless roman can undo his error by choosing his father again, and again, and again. becoming logan is the closest roman can get to resurrecting him, after all. and besides, doesn’t he owe it to dad after killing him? after calling him a cunt, choosing not to be with him on that plane he ended up dying on? after forgetting to even say “i love you dad” before the end? roman needs to fix things. needs to make it like dad's still here. needs to make it like he didn't kill his own father by refusing him for the first time in his life. so roman will be the firebreather logan wanted -- he'll do ATN, he'll push for mencken, he'll do whatever it fucking takes to try and make things right. if it's his fault logan's no longer here, then he needs to do everything he possibly can to fulfill his dying wishes, to do what logan would've done, were he alive.

"dad can't die, he's dad." he can't ever die. he's immortal, and his immortality was solidified by the circumstances of his death -- logan will not die. he’ll live on in roman, as roman.

roman will make sure of it.

[ludaroace]

ok hi i KNOW we don't know much about madagio - so i'm totally grasping at straws here but nothing they have done has been really that bad, it's just the way they are going about it is not the best (pretty sure fit would love to know the truth buddy he doesn't need to be kidnapped for it) .

they just seem to be very anti-federation for an unknown reason having to do with their island (implied something really bad) and they want/need fit's help and don't actually want anything bad to happen to him and that when fit knows, he'd agree ? maybe madagio isn't exactly a good guy, but he doesn't CURRENTLY seem to be some mega massive villain using fit for evil .

into mega theory mode - madagio is from an "inactive" island, and using everything we know it is very much implied that the 2024 reset was not the first time an island was reset and that the islanders are a sort of experiment . i'm thinking possibly on madagio's island, the fed was running a similar thing but the islanders advanced too far/too fast for what the federation wanted and it was wiped, potentially leaving madagio as the only survivor and now they're pissed ? this also ties into the attachments thing - madagio knows what can go wrong and if fit gets attached and loses someone due to the fed, then their only source of information is compromised . it's also why they're pretty confident that once fit knows what happened to their island, he will stick on board with helping because oopsy ! he's got a boyfriend and kids and friends now cannot be letting them get deleted <3

still have no idea why they want player data or what it's going to be used for and it's kind of a weird want ngl but i'm assuming we will learn more soon

[atopvisenyashill]

THE PACT OF ICE AND FIRE

so there's an aspect of this one i don't think has really been delved into that I think may be important when it comes to canon jonsa and I wanted to do my own lil analysis, along with maybe some tin hatting at the end here.

this is what the pact is (or what we know of it at any rate, Munkun is not exactly a good source of information):

Cregan Stark and Jacaerys Velaryon reached an accord, and signed and sealed the agreement that Grand Maester Munkun calls “the Pact of Ice and Fire” in his True Telling. Like many such pacts, it was to be sealed with a marriage. Lord Cregan’s son, Rickon, was a year old. Prince Jacaerys was as yet unmarried and childless, but it was assumed that he would sire children of his own once his mother sat the Iron Throne. Under the terms of the pact, the prince’s firstborn daughter would be sent north at the age of seven, to be fostered at Winterfell until such time as she was old enough to marry Lord Cregan’s heir.

There's two parts to this that I think are important here. Here is the first, which is the basics of the pact, and that most Jonsas are familiar with:

Jacaery's First Born Daughter Is Fostered At Winterfell -> She will marry Cregan's first born son and heir.

Obviously, this never happened for several reasons and the pact is forgotten but perhaps it will be fulfilled anyway by...

Jon, a secret Targaryen bastard, is "fostered" at Winterfell -> he will fulfill the pact by marrying a Stark Maiden aka Sansa.

Basically, it's a genderswapped version of what the pact entails. I think given George's fondness for how Tolkien was a hater of Macbeth because he thought the "no man of woman born" should have indicated a girl and not just a man born via c-section, I think the genderswap aspect fits George's style.

The second part however, has more to do with Jacaerys and Sara and I feel like it's glossed over a bit. See here:

They had spoken their vows in Winterfell’s own godswood before a heart tree, and only then had she given herself to him, wrapped in furs amidst the snows as the old gods looked on.

Jacaerys, a "secret" Targaryen bastard who gets his family name and allegiances through his mother, not his father -> Rumors of a secret marriage in front of a Weirwood with a Stark bastard, Sara

Listen. It doesn't matter whether Sara Snow is real, you believe whatever makes you happy! But what IS real and relevant is that this part was included in F&B for a reason, and is indicated to be the catalyst for the pact. Jace and Sara get secret married in front of a Weirwood, and this is what calms down Cregan so they can make their pact. And here is how (I believe) it applies to Jonsa:

Jon, a secret Targaryen bastard, but who gets his look and his allegiance not through his father but Lyanna's blood -> Jon, a Stark bastard, will marry an Heir in secret in front of a Weirwood tree.

THAT is, imo, the most important aspect of this scandalous story from Mushroom - that a secret bastard, a targaryen and a stark, secretly marry in front of a Weirwood tree just before a bloody war kicks off. People tend to make Sansa the Sara in this part, which is valid, but I think Sansa's role in this is not just to be the pretty Stark maiden, but to be the HEIR that is secretly marrying for love, like Jacaerys is, and that Jon's role will be about his status as a bastard, so that both parts kind of apply to both characters. And given that, if Jace and Sara had married, their daughter would have been a Starkgaryen with "secret" bastard heritage (from both her parents), marrying a Stark Heir, it does make sense (at least in my mind) that this may apply to Jon and Sansa's future plot. the That's something I touched on here in my "what will Jon's endgame" post.

Then there's the Vermax of it all...

Mushroom also claims that Vermax left a clutch of dragon’s eggs at Winterfell, which is equally absurd. Whilst it is true that determining the sex of a living dragon is a nigh on impossible task, no other source mentions Vermax producing so much as a single egg, so it must be assumed that he was male. Septon Barth’s speculation that the dragons change sex at need, being “as mutable as flame,” is too ludicrous to consider.)

This brought to mind the ole' Jonnel and Sansa (the first) thing - beyond the J&S similarities (Jacaerys & Sara, Jon & Sansa, Jonnel & Sansa), I think it's also important that Jonnel and Sansa never have any children, though they're married for several years. Jacaerys and Sara also never have children, yet there's the rumor Vermax laid eggs in the crypt, with some believing this may have meant Sara was pregnant (but perhaps miscarried) when Jacaerys left. I think however, the fact that both J&S couples kind of mysteriously do not have children of their own, and that their Houses descend from someone else to be important.

I've kind of briefly gone into the idea that Bran rules in a parliamentary style over (what's left of) Westeros, and while I'm not too committed one way or the other on whether he physically has children or whether they elect the ruler on the Iron Throne more often starting from Bran, the succession is significantly less of an issue because of the permanent Great Council/Parliament that will exist. Sansa (and Jon, for that matter), however, is the heiress to a long line of kings and lords and needs some sort of heir. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibililty that while in the Vale, she connects with some of Jocelyn Stark's descendants (the famous "Vale cousins" that Catelyn mentions as heirs for Robb) and makes one of them her heir, or even names the children of Arya her heir, and pulls a Queen Elizabeth, but then I thought of Vermax laying dragon eggs that are never found, and Jonnel and Sansa never having children, and George's love of threes and thought...perhaps Jon and Sansa will have an heir, but Sansa can't claim the child as hers.

In that same vein, it’s noteworthy to me as well that Serena and Edric (Sansa's younger sister and Jonnel's younger brother) have TWO sons but the line completely bypasses them. We have no idea how the Northerners felt about these marriages beyond the fact that they didn't like Lynara's sons because their rules were plagued by troubles. Is it possible that they chose to bypass Edric's sons because of the incest, and Sansa/Jon may be forced to reconcile with how the realm views him (as Ned's son) and what he actually is (Lyanna's son) when it comes to the line of succession? IE - Vermax is rumored to lay an egg in the crypts but no one ever finds out, Sansa is rumored to have have had a child with her “brother” but no one ever finds out the truth.

TO SUM UP: I think the Pact of Ice and Fire is a hint that Jon and Sansa will secretly marry in the godswood of Winterfell, and it's likely that when Sansa is named Queen in the North, her heir will be "fathered by a wolf" or a "wildling" and she and Jon won't be able to tell anyone that Jon is the father.

[queen-feisty-pants]

If Spy x Family doesn't end up having even one chapter dedicated to a school play where everything goes wrong, then what's the point?

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Junior Year Ep 11

Bad Kids Have a Normal Time in Fallinel Challenge (Impossible)

Welcome back to the longest episode of this season so far–a delight as a fan of this show but an absolute notetaking nightmare as your resident recapper. But a LOT of noteworthy things happened this episode so let’s get going! 

We’ll start off with Riz and Fig tagging along with Sklonda to investigate Loam Farm. Before they head out, Fig (with help from Riz) sends an email to Lola hitting up Ruben about the “podcast” from a burner account. Lola emails Fig back saying he’s booked for the rest of the year, but will have a lot of availability in the new year. 

Once they’re on their way, Riz asks his mom about the Spies Tongue Curse and she doesn’t know anything but points out that maybe it’s actually Spy’s Tongue Curse. Riz shoots Adaine a text so she can investigate. When they arrive, Riz casts Invisibility on Skonda (sensible) and Fig disguises herself as an orangutan (sure) and then they get investigating. Here’s a rundown of what they find:

The backyard of the farm is beautiful and Sklonda says the animals are being sold off since the Loams’ kids aren’t farmers. Fig wonders if this was some kind of gambit so someone could buy the farm for cheap.

With his spy tech, Riz pings powerful infernal presence and magic coming from behind the home. When they check it out they find the back porch demolished in a way that’s similar to the scene at the lake. Sklonda says this is where the bodies were found. 

On a Nat 20 Investigation, Riz sees that there’s this red glass dust crushed into the soil of the crime scene that is identical to the shade of the rage shatter stars. He feels that there’s some connection to some earlier case and maybe a photo he has but he can’t quite make the connection and he feels like if he could investigate the Loams’ bodies, he’ll be able to figure something out. 

Fig prestidigitations a shatter star missing a tiny bit and one of the shards in the ground floats up and connects to her illusion. As her mental state is a bit agitated and confused because of all her self-discovery stuff that she’s going through, the star darts around in a bit of a confused manner before quickly stabbing her. She and Riz wonder if this reaction means the stars are more nuanced than just being about rage. 

Riz asks his mom if there’s a way they can look at the bodies and she goes off to make a phone call. 

Molman texts, apologizes for freaking out, and tells Riz that he tested the soil and it has some weird extraplanar mineral elements. He’s only seen it in one other place in town which is 1223 Ashgrove Blvd–Ragh’s old place that was destroyed during Sophomore Year while they were at Leviathan. 

Sklonda reports what she learned from her cop contacts: The Loams died from force damage, their blood carbonized and turned to red crystal. Riz thinks maybe they just hulked out and burned out–the damage came from within. This is bolstered when Sklonda said they didn’t have any defensive wounds. 

It’s late but Fig and Riz have everyone meet up so they can discuss. Adaine insists they meet at Basrar’s cause she’s working (girl you need better shifts). The detective duo reports everything they learned and Kristen wants to compare her Cass shards to the sample of crushed red dust Fig brought from Loam Farm. As she does this, Adaine casts Identify. Brennan asks what all three girls are feeling. The answers: Post-emotion tired from work (Adaine), Naked Curiosity (Fig), Concern (Kristen). 

A lot of things happen at once. The red dust whips around the Cass shards and glows, making a “concerned ball” looking for some kind of opening to enter. The Identify spell freaks out and says that it’s a lot of power but seems very confused or overwhelmed about what’s happening. When Kristen asks if it’s two power sources or one, the spell waffles on an answer: 2 in 1? 1 in 2?

On a 28 Insight Kristen notes that the red shards acted in an assertive and aggressive way but didn’t attack the Cass shards or anyone else. However, when Adaine casts Identify, they do attack her. Kristen shoots off a Banishment and then hits a Nat 20 Perception, saving Adaine from damage and getting a glimpse at where these red shards are presumably from. 

Kristen sees endless red, thrumming blood and smells rot. She hears screams of horror. It’s the interior of some kind of vast, horrifying body beyond the astral plane. Presumably the dead god. She yells, “Cassandra!” and purple, misty light rushes in to extinguish some of the red, fiery light in the body. There is movement and Kristen hears a gasp before the vision fades. 

They speculate a bit Gorgug wonders if the reaction to the name is the dead god reacting to hearing their wife’s name. They wonder if this dead god went through a similar archfeyification to Cass (which is what happened when Cass became the Nightmare King) and became this scary entity. They then check out Ragh’s house and Riz on a 24 Investigation finds that the destruction, though cleared, is similar to what they saw at Loam farm. Adaine with Arcana sees traces of the shatter star dust in the soil here, just like Molman said. It seems to track with where the impact craters are. 

Kristen picks up some of the infected dust and thinks about things that make her angry (specifically how Buddy talks to her and Bobby Dawn maybe being the new cleric teacher) and on a dirty 20 insight, her Cass shards glow in almost sympathy but the red shards form a glass spear that hover near her eye. She releases the rage, thinking that they’re not worth it and the spear stabs her cheek for 5 points of damage. Gorgug grabs it before it can do any more damage and it turns back to sand. 

It’s late so everyone heads home except for Adaine who scooters over to Aelwyn’s place to pick her brain/check on her. Aelwyn answers, wearing a snuggie, and ushers Adaine in for the classic sister tradition of eating ice cream and watching reality TV together (in this case specifically a cooking show with a Gordon Ramsy-esque host). Aelwyn asks Adaine about her love life (Adaine refuses to elaborate) Adaine asks Aelwyn about her social life (nonexistent). They both get really emotional about Aelwyn adopting 10, old, unloved shelter cats to fill the hole in her heart and Adaine invites Aelwyn to do crimes with her and her crew instead of doing the lone wolf thing. 

With regard to actual business items Aelwyn says that, much like Ruben, KP told her that she's not going to need her until the new year. Adaine offhandedly mentions the Gilear curse and realizes that her sister is an extremely powerful and knowledgeable wizard who spent the last two years enmeshed in evil plots so she probably knows tons about curses and is very eager to help. Obviously she should ask Aelwyn about all their curse stuff! Put a pin in that because, later,  Aelwyn says she’ll handle that once they get to Fallinel. But there are two last bits of business from this conversation. Aelwyn said she got a job offer to work at the Compass Points Library to fill in for Ayda which Adaine heavily approves of. And Aelwyn also haltingly says that Adaine coming to visit her and watching TV was the best part of her day. Awwww!

Fig continues her mental warfare against Ruben that night and enters his dream disguised as KP. She makes the dream look like the crime scene and says that someone has to take the fall and it can’t be her. It has to be him. Adaine throws her a portent to help her get her Persuasion roll to a 23 which results in Adaine appearing in the vision ethereally, full elven oracle. Ruben puts his hands over his mouth and this red, blood looking liquid oozes from between his fingers. Spooky! 

The next morning they have the last day of school before winter break. Kristen wants to check into Ambrosia and Devil’s Nectar. Ambrosia, she remembers her parents talking about as special corn that Helio would grow and food of the gods. Devil’s Nectar she is able to learn more about from Gertie on a campaign stop (who, btw, is fully working for KP now–clearly Fabian needs to be stopped). She says that Devil’s Nectar can be used to make a special red honey (which I’ll just call Devil’s Honey for ease) that allows you to be more persuasive and lie to beings that usually can’t be lied to. However, it has a side effect of making you so persuasive that if you overuse it, you can start to believe your own lies (she doesn’t say how much would be overuse). Kristen asks if she’s made any recently and she said she did for some food trucks (which seems like a wild thing to do just food safety wise but I guess Solace is a wild place). Fig wonders if what she saw dripping from Ruben’s mouth was actually devil’s honey, not blood. Kristen makes out with Gertie who has apparently had a crush on her this whole time. Normal Kristen behavior. 

We tie up some loose ends before we head for Fallinel:

Riz gets a 3 sp stipend from Jace for all the work he’s done with all the clubs. It is apparently one of the few things keeping the school together. Riz is not only the backbone of the Bad Kids, he’s the backbone of the whole damn school. As a result, he is now interim staff. Wild. 

Kristen asks Mazey what she thinks about Bobby Dawn being the new cleric teacher. She’s already acting principal and she wants to vet him with every cleric student before she gives a yes. Kristen doesn’t like the idea but she knows pass/fail will be really bad for her party so she can’t in good conscience say no. She also asks for (and gets) a copy of the bylaws and the previous bylaws when Mazey says they were changed over the summer. Suspicious. 

Adaine is told she’ll have to do a research paper by her professor and she says she might want to do it on hard to break curses. Her teacher, Tiberia Runestaff, says she can get 10 points of extra credit if she does research over the break on harnessing the power of broken curses. (Note: First time this has come up so it feels like a slight mystery nudge from Brennan) To help, she points Adaine in the direction of some relevant books. 

Gorgug is starting to make some breakthroughs on connecting his Barb and Artificer stuff. During a conversation with Henry, he realizes that he has the same last name as Ruben and Henry confirms that Ruben is his nephew. Suspicious, Gorgug does an Insight check and on a 11 just gets nice vibes from Henry. He asks about whether he helped with making Grix and Henry says that he consulted but obviously he didn’t want him to go nuts and try to kill his nephew. Gorgug looks around for anything related to Grix and on a Nat 20 perception sees a glimpse of Grix’s motherboard in Genry’s desk drawer while he’s distracted. Gorgug notes it but doesn’t grab it because he doesn’t think he has the time. 

Finally, Fig has a little chat with Zara and says that she’s better at pledging herself to others than herself so she hasn’t figured out her pact yet. Zara says that will put her a bit behind but is very supportive and gives her a book on pre-Celestial pagan deities on her request. She also mentions that she plans to stay her holidays in the Celestial Heights with her divine patron/paramour. Talk about mixing business and pleasure. Get it girl!

Off to Fallinel! Everyone is coming including Zayne–they brought his gravestone along since he’s tethered to it. Telemaine is bringing his weird energy as usual and Hilariel seems strangely concerned about whether Fabian was throwing parties or not considering she seems OK with it in a wink wink nudge nudge kinda way when she left. Gilear sidebars with Fig because he’s freaked out about his string of good luck. He found a puppy that grants wishes. He used the wishes to stop 3 apocalypses. He keeps getting the key to the city. It’s madness! Fig tries to soothe him by telling him he deserves all of the good luck but it’s not helping. He misses the yogurt on his shirt. 

It happens to be winter in Fallinel which is notable because it’s been summer for the past 1000 years or so–guess the weather matches the unchanging nature of the island’s occupants. Hilariel says that the change of the seasons is Tracker’s doing though she’s not 100% clear on the mechanics. With the mention of Tracker, Riz tries to scan the moon to get the same read as he did when he got the lock on Bakur from Lydia but he’s not getting anything which he figures might be because of range. He says he’ll try again on Tracker or another moon cleric. 

They also ask about Tracker’s new girlfriend, Nara, and a couple of people know her. Telemaine knows of her but gives an answer so long-winded that he entirely loses the plot. Ragh met her when he was evangelizing with Tracker and thinks she’s nice and Aelwyn also knows her. She, being Aelwyn, offers to help deal with her in a way that sounds like killing her is not off the table but they decided that they should proooooobably try just talking first. 

Sandra-Lynn has a little aside with Fig where she pleads with her to take her curse a bit more seriously because it’s majorly stressing her out to see her only daughter in the world suffering under an unknown curse. She also apologizes for how short she was with Fig when her horns first started growing in and is understanding about Fig’s struggles with introspection and navigating such a big shift in identity. She suggests that Fig might want to talk to her friends about how she’s been struggling and get their take on it because she’s found that others are often kinder mirrors than one’s own self image but Fig thinks that nakedly asking such a vulnerable question sounds mortifying. 

Adaine hits up Aelwyn and Zayne (who is, hello, an ex-bad guy and a literal necromancer) about curse stuff and they have some good info!

Aelwyn is very familiar with Spy’s Tongue Curse. It’s a “handshake curse” where two people enter into an agreement (it has to be willing) and once it’s in effect, neither of them can name their co-conspirator (even just writing the name). 

Aelwyn had to modify that spell for Kalina in order to make it work on non-humanoids but she doesn’t know who she used it on. It might have been on herself. This was near the end of Freshman year. It was the vibe of Kalina wanting to work with people who wouldn’t work with her unless they were under the protection of Spy's Tongue. Best Aelwyn knows, it was involved with some of her Hotel Cavelier contacts (Note: This is where the BK’s fought a bunch of demons in SY Ep 3). Kalina was very annoyed about it. 

The last thing that Aelwyn impresses on them is that names are extremely magically powerful and Fallinel is extremely old with great records so, if they’re looking for names, this is a pretty good place. 

Riz is frustrated by the similarities between all these mechanisms to make people not be able to say a name of forget information (Spy’s Tongue, Oblivati Mori, Devil’s Honey) that seem connected but don’t quite line up yet. I am feeling similarly. 

The Bad Kids plus the Reformed Villain Squad head to the Wolfsong HQ and see it’s all the way decked out like (as Kristen gets on a Nat 20 Insight check) Narnia Burning Man. There are all the comfy yurts, high elves serving hot chocolate with flavored marshmallows, and a giant snowball fight. Clearly someone has invested a LOT of money in this. Fig and Fabian right away head to the snowball course but the others meet up with Tracker who’s with Nara. Tracker explains what happened with the snow: some of the trad clerics were saying that all her talk of change was heresy so she performed a miracle and made the seasons change as kind of a checkmate. “If our goddess is so against change then explain this.”

They rapid fire fish for some info–Tracker talks to Galicaea (which I’m gonna shorten to Gal from now on) about once a week, Gal has good relationships with pretty much all non-evil gods and is only isolated insomuch as her followers isolated her, Adaine checks to see if Nara can read/speak the word Kalina and she can. 

Kristen pulls Tracker aside to ask about the clear influx of cash and Tracker says that Nara’s parents are kind of bankrolling the whole operation. Which is kind of wild because they originally send Nara to keep an eye on her. Kristen is deeply suspicious and a bit put off by what seems to her like selling out. When she pushes Tracker on the topic, Tracker gets a little defensive and asks if it would be better if the cocoa had dirt in it or if it was just her in a basement alone with Craig. On a dirty 20 insight, Kristen sees that Tracker was deeply bothered by the line of questioning. Kristen is stinging from the comeback but doesn’t fly off the handle and she ends up having a productive little dialogue about what “success” means in this field which ends with a hug. Adaine clocks that Nara looks a bit hurt by their continued closeness. Riz notices that Nara is texting someone on a crystal (something she must have picked up from Tracker) and wants to check it out if he can because he thinks that even if she’s on the level she might be working with sketch people unknowingly. 

Nearby, the party notices this circle of ancient lichen covered standing stones that are kind of away from the more commercial, rowdy parts of the camp. Fig uses her Divine Sense to ping that it’s radiating some serious diving energy and correctly guesses that it has the effect of the Hallow spell. There’s a lot of Sylvan writing but also proto-Sylvan and it’s dedicated to Galicaea but also other pre-Gal deities (including Giant ones). The sense is that this circle was already here and holy before Gal and co showed up. 

The gang has a secret Sylvan gift exchange (that was organized by Siobhan in the last Adventuring Party)! Here’s what everyone gets:

Adaine gets Fabian a pipe that lets him call rats. 

Fabian gets Adaine an “earworm” which horrifically burrows into her brain but can be used to cast Detect Thoughts and DIssonant Whispers using its charges. 

Fig gets Kristen an “Immovable Pull up Bar” (reskinned Immovable Rod of course). 

Kristen gets Riz Riddler themed Bracers of defense which are of questionable fashion sense but soooo tactical (+2 to AC when not wearing armor). 

RIz gets Gorgug a Potion of Giant Strength in the form of a gnarly energy drink that ups his strength to 25 for an hour. (It is VERY not legal)

Gorgug gets Fig the Mask of Beasts which lets her cast Animal Friendship. It is shaped like an orangutan. 

Fabian summons some rats. Fig makes them sexy. They show hole. Regular Bad Kid antics. In the midst of the chaos, Fabian texts Mazey a selfie of everyone (warning her not to zoom into the rats) and says that he hopes she’s having a good break and maybe they can hang out when he’s back. He then puts his phone in airplane mode as quickly as he can. 

They’re heading to bed but Nara checks on them. Specifically, she wants to talk to Kristen and says she’s happy that she came and she hopes they can be friends. Kristen gets the vibe that she’s here trying to be the bigger person after maybe having some messy thoughts earlier. Not really nefarious but very measured and trying to say the right thing. Nara reveals that she tried to do a revival as well but her follow through wasn’t great and it fell apart. Kristen realizes that Nara is a lot like her except with enough money to have a lot more support. She also mentions that her parents are clerics (which we kinda knew) but they’re more like deacons or office workers than miracle workers like Kristen or Tracker. They weren’t huge fans of Tracker to start with but Nara said they came around and hey, they are funding everything with their deep elven pockets. When Kristen asks about the pre-Gal origins of the standing stones, Nara doesn’t seem to know anything about them and the Bad Kids figure they should stop pushing and check it out themselves. The ex-villain trio set up a perimeter and the Bad Kids check out the stones. 

First some quick theories:

Riz wonders if Nara’s parents (or someone else) is doing all this funding to try and make Tracker’s worthy cause seem less serious. 

Fabian wonders if there is some kind of plot to get this movement all big and then merge something else into it. 

Fig wonders if with all the mind trickery happening, there are maybe gods who think they’re gods but aren’t really. 

Because Fig has determined that this Hallow spell isn’t gonna hurt them as it’s not a wartime Hallow spell (lmao for those of you who know what’s coming next) they feel safe enough to both check out the stones and call over Nara and Tracker for more info. Nara says that this is where Tracker usually communes with Gal and Adaine confirms with Nara that a skilled druid or cleric could use this circle to planeshift. Adaine and Riz roll Arcana and Investigation respectively on the stones and they get an impressive 28 and a nat 20 for a 32! Brennan has to spill everything! 

Riz finds that the stones are very protected. There are all these runes and an old scorch mark. Sunk in the ground, he finds carved a wedding contract–the wedding of Cass and her mystery god partner. (Note: Brennan says that the name written is Cass even though I’d have assumed that the name would be whatever Cass’ name was previously since Cass is a name Kristen gave her but this could just be a continuity blip that we should Time Quangle handwave away. Just wanted to mention it). Riz sees the name of Sol as officiant, Ruvina and Gal as maids of honor, Cass as the bride, and then a name sunk under the earth where the other person getting married would logically be. 

Fig gets the rats who were showing hole earlier to dig deeper into the ground and persuades Tracker and Nara to not freak out (which is maaaaybe a mistake considering what’s about to happen). With all her studying, Adaine is the only one who’s able to properly read the name once the rats dig it up and in her scholarly haze, she just says it without thinking. 

Ankarna. 

A lot of things happen very quickly so we’re going to bullets. Buckle up:

The stone circle glows red. Riz can see through his spy glasses that it's filling with fiendish energy. It feels safe in the circle so everyone jumps inside. 

The BK's phones start blowing up and Ragh runs over to them, on the phone. Adaine urges him along with Aelwyn and Zayn who have shown up to get in the circle. They all try but Zayn, as a ghost, is abjured. 

Ragh is on the phone because something is wrong with the gem in his mom's chest. Adaine is instantly horrified by what she might have done  

The stone circle begins to shake and the moon glows incredibly bright.

Tracker is rightfully freaked but then she and Nara are thrown from the circle and land hard, causing them both to start bleeding profusely. Tracker starts shifting as the moon becomes full. 

Fig makes a Wis save and fails a Con save. The spectral, yellow armor appears around her and the moonlight that falls on them starts trying to rip it off, and not gently. It’s willing to kill her to abjure the curse. She takes 19 points of damage. 

Kristen’s Cass shards start glowing blindingly and Adaine sees that mirrors are appearing to deflect the moonlight and protect Fig. 

Riz gets the sense that multiple Divine Interventions are happening at once and he is first to act. His choice is to try and shove Fig into his briefcase of holding to try and protect her from the moonlight In doing so, he breaks one of the mirrors that was protecting Fig and Brennan gives anyone who wants a chance to Counterspell without the knowledge of why. Adaine, elven oracle and protective friend, takes that offer and, on a NAT 20, counterspells a god, saving Fig’s life and shattering the curse on Fig. That’s GOTTA be worth some extra credit, right? Riz, with the help action from Cass, successfully gets Fig into the briefcase and then dives in after her. Unfortunately, Baron shows up right away because Riz’s life was going just a liiiiitle too well I guess.

Fabian does an Insight check and doesn’t think he’ll be able to get Nara and Tracker back into the (supposedly safe) circle but he feels like maybe they were knocked out for their own protection. He casts Pyrotechnics to produce some smoke to help block the moonlight.

Gorgug jumps into the briefcase and casts Warding Bond on Fig. 

Adaine locks eyes with Aelwyn who says that she’s alright and can teleport them all back to Kei Lumennura easier if they’re all in the briefcase since there’s a carry limit. At that assurance, Adaine and Fabian jump in. 

Kristen looks into the chaos trying to find a trace of Cass but doesn’t find one. She does note that the mirrors which are protecting them are a symbol of Cass but specifically in her Nightmare King form which is troubling. 

Tracker yells for Kristen in concern from outside the circle. Brennan offers Kristen a chance at a free Divine Intervention roll but it fails. Kristen jumps into the briefcase but, as she does, she casts Death Ward on Aelwyn (if she goes down to 0 she’ll actually drop to 1 HP–like half orc Relentless Endurance).

There is a flash of moonlight, darkness, a roar of flame, pained gasping, and then the briefcase finally shuts.

Woof. Huge breath. Because we’re not even done!

The Bad Kids are tumbling through the pocket space of RIz’s briefcase, through photos and case files and random items and Baron is there, taunting Riz: “The Nightmare King, very angry, once more in the arms of his loving partner.” He vanishes and leaves them in their precarious predicament with the knowledge that Cass has been corrupted once more. 

The pieces of armor (Riz specifically notes that there are six) are still targeting Fig so she casts Mislead to create a doppelganger of herself with higher speed that falls faster. The armor is tricked and gloms onto the illusion which morphs into Gilear. Each bit of armor turns into something Gilear-related: a yogurt spoon, a Hawaiin shirt, sandals. Then the Gilear illusion hits the ground and shatters. They're about to hit the ground and shatter as well but then Kristen remembers her gift from Fig! She sets it in the air and, miracle of miracles, manages to make the Dex check! Between her and some fancy sheet whipping from Fabian, they’re able to set down with no damage. Where are they you might ask? Well, it’s a creepy, dilapidated version of Fig’s room in Mordred. And they don’t have time to parse what that means because the pride armor pieces turned Gilear items scatter and Brennan has everyone roll initiative! See you next time! 

[jaggedjot]

When wounded by the past, Lestat will force his way through the initial pain and then refuse to acknowledge the untreated injury, letting it turn septic and rotten, all the while insisting that there is nothing wrong. Armand meanwhile wants to examine every inch of an injury, yet upon determining that it will likely heal in time if never work quite the same, he decides to amputate the limb anyhow.

[fromtheseventhhell]

Sometimes I wonder if it even makes sense for Arya's first stop back in Westeros to be in the Riverlands. I feel the same way as Arya's response to the Kindly Man when he offers to get her on a ship leaving for Duskendale and Gulltown. She just got there from the Riverlands, what point is there to go straight back? Especially with the way it seems to become a meandering hell for every POV there lol. What developments in TWOW would motivate her to go there? I can really only think of wanting to reunite with Nymeria, or if the faceless men are touchy about cheating death and put a mark on either Lady Stoneheart or Jon that she either has to fulfill or prevent.

It's just when I see actual Arya fans speculate on her TWOW arc it's about running into Jeyne and finding out what's been going on in the North through her name, finding out about Jon's death or resurrection, something to do with the Hardhome wildlings, Bran watching Nymeria through the trees and maybe contacting her the same way he did with Jon, discovering what's going on with the Sealord and maybe getting in his favor, anything involving the keyholders and the Iron Bank, potentially discovering secrets about the red door or even the Sailor's Wife being Tysha, a climax involving the Uncloaking of Uthero... almost everything I can think of would point her back north, to claim herself as the true Arya Stark or getting revenge for Jon's death. Or wanting to reunite if she hears of his resurrection before leaving Braavos.

The only benefit I can think of for landing in the Riverlands first thing is going up through the Neck and meeting Howland Reed. He could give her Robb's will and laugh if she tells him she found out Jon's mother is Wylla through Ned Dayne lol. I want her to meet Lady Stoneheart as much as anyone, but I would prefer Lady Stoneheart stick around long enough to reunite with both Arya and Jon. I don't want the gift of mercy to be given to her before that happens.

See, the tricky part about speculating on Arya's TWOW arc is that she has so many plot connections that it's difficult to imagine that she'll be able to fulfill them all. Arya going to the Riverlands first and ending her story in Winterfell/The North is a way of hitting as many of those connections as possible. I don't think that Arya going to the Riverlands is confined to her antis because a lot of Arya stans make the same speculation, but I do think too many people discount the possibility of her going North. She has several plot connections there in her proxy marriage, Jon dying for her, her connection to Bran (seemingly highlighted in ADWD and hinted at in TWOW), her personal connection to Roose, the likelihood of her encountering Jeyne, her connection to the magical plot, etc. It's also, like you mentioned, unlikely that she intentionally sets out to travel to the Riverlands. George could continue her "never seemed to find the places she set out to reach" and she could get knocked off course, but even then there are other places she could end up. There's a good case for her traveling to both places, or even somewhere new, but there's just too much in the air to say definitively.

[lover-of-mine]

Re: the "Natalia and I, we broke up." + "all she wanted to talk about was death; it was kinda boring." That scene, and particularly reading the Tim M. interview where he talked about being "over all the death talk" and how those lines in the script might have been a little bit of him talking, actually have me concerned that they've abandoned what seems like was the lead up to an actual Buck Breakdown™ arc.

(Or possibly worse, they consider 6b to *be* the Buck Breakdown arc and work through of all his trauma, and now they consider it done.)

Oliver's interviews talking about Buck 'being a new man' 'just doing things that make him happy' 'finally getting off the hamster wheel" and overall being in a much better place suggest that he's in that like post-breakdown/healing journey already? Idk, I felt like there was a lot in the second half of 6B with Buck's storyline that got a little fumbled/sloppy with the fear of cancellation and them trying to put a final bow on things, but there was also a lot that suggested we were heading towards a really meaty, Breakdown™ story in S7. Now it's sounding kind of like, because of how it was handled last season, Tim has lost interest and is ready to just kind of mark that story as case closed and skip ahead to "happy, new man" Buck.

I see what you mean, but seriously, it would be a bad storytelling decision to have this major trauma in Buck's life be completely ignored/handled off screen again, say he's Buck 4.0 and call it a day would be annoying as hell. They handled that pretty badly with the fear of cancellation and with Natalia not coming back, they didn't even have a satisfying ending for that. I wrote this and this this weekend, and I don't know if this is a reaction to that or if I'm just a person you felt like you could send these thoughts to, but Buck thinking death is boring just to be heavily triggered by death is a possibility. Because we know Bobby is in mortal danger, and his biggest trigger in the coma was the fact that Bobby was dead, and Buck finally being able to face that is something that could work. And Buck working on himself without a major breakdown, maybe because he felt like he was getting there and decided not to let it get that bad could also be a conclusion there. I want a full breakdown for Buck, I want him on the floor crying, but depending on how they make the whole "he's a new man" thing, I could get behind it. They just have to acknowledge it happened, because you can't have Eddie's whole arc about burying his feelings and having that blow up in his face, effectively establishing that just "moving past it" doesn't work, to have Buck be all fine by just moving past it.

All the talk is actually making me think about my initial speculation about Buck/buddie and my whole Buck drowning thing, because the whole thing hinged on Buck being fine and getting triggered. Because I wrote a really long thing about Buck getting triggered over something happening to Bobby, Maddie, or Chris, that leading to him getting all sorts of unstable before deciding to work on himself, and while I did speculate on a full breakdown, Buck recognizing the trigger and asking for help before things get explosive are a way to handle him without the "exhausting death talk" because we are not dealing with Buck's death, we are dealing with someone else, and with a Buck that wants to be alive and could get conflicted about how to handle the situation. Because Buck and Eddie mirror each other and Eddie's breakdown buildup started when he was introduced, the well and the shooting are one of the stops yeah, but everything about Eddie led him to fear-o-phobia. Buck's breakdown has been building since Buck begins, and he's been slowly self destructing since then, but the lightning is Buck's well (volunteering into the situation, night and rain aspect of it, saving himself), so if they keep mirroring the 2, Buck needs another trigger, because what actually triggers Eddie isn't the possibility of his death, is the death of someone else, because he's the last one standing, forever the one left behind. But where Eddie is the widower, Buck is the savior, so the most effective way to trigger him would be failing to save someone he loves, and with the focus on Bobby in his coma world, and the way Bobby is about to die, the possibility is right there. But let's say they don't go with that, a Buck breakdown wouldn't be explosive, and Buck focusing on being a better man, acting like he's getting better just to have something happens to shake that belief by the end of the season (buddie car crash in the season finale you heard it here first on October 16 2023 lol), is a way to move past the death talk for a while just to have it all came crashing down later on, the same way Eddie seemed fine until he wasn't (I mean in s4, s5 Eddie is hanging by a thread the whole time). But this is mostly what I've been telling myself over how they're talking about Buck, because I need that man to break so he can actually move on with his life.

[fiepige]

Heya thank you so much for your ask!

I'm guessing you're referring to the deleted scene where Gwen and Miguel talk about how Hobie quit/took time off:

Since it's a deleted scene it should be taken with a grain of salt but since nothing they say here actually contradicts anything that happens in the movie (and I find it fitting for Hobie's character to abandon the spider-society while still looking out for Gwen) then I personally headcanon that something similar at least happened prior to his introduction in the movie.

When you say he was inactive I guess you mean in the spider-society (English isn't my first language so please let me know if I misunderstand/misinterpret anything you said! I'm not trying to put words in your mouth I'm just trying to show how I understand what you're writing but please correct me if I'm wrong <3).But yeah, it would make sense that he was still somewhat part of the spider-society since he's still wearing their watch when he makes his entrance:

(Also did you know that Hobie is the ONLY spider-person that wears his watch upside down??? I didn't before I was getting screenshots for this post lol, here is a screenshot that better shows it compared to Gwen:)

(ALso he's NOT wearing any watch in his introduction scene:)

(Just a fun fact I wanted to share)

About the portals:You make a good point here! We never see the portal Hobie appears from when he enters:

"If anything, he's running in from some place else. And we never see if the portal he comes from is HQ issued, or one of his."This is really interesting, cause at one point I thought he'd just use the HQ portal, but if that's the case then why:

1. don't we see him enter?

2. Is he running like he came from somewhere else? Like you said the watches are pretty precise and put people close to where they need to be.

This made me think that maybe he used one of his own watches (since I think he'd already made some at this point). BUT if that's the case then again:

We should still see him enter right?

If he appeared nearby we should see the effect his watches have on their nearby surroundings like we see when Gwen uses hers:

Maybe he just didn't want the HQ to figure out that he'd made his own watches yet, or maybe LYLA would be able to track him if he used the HQ watch so he used his own one instead and either:

Used it to end up far away from the others as he knew they'd all be able to see the effect his watches have on their surroundings and since Miguel apparently has everyone under constant surveillance he'd be able to figure out that Hobie was planning something behind the scenes. When he got there he then put on his HQ watch (which he hadn't been wearing since LYLA haven't been able to track him, according to the deleted scene at least) to cover up the fact that he made his own.

He used his own watch but it's not as precise and that would also explain why he had to run to get to the others. (Though it seems pretty precise when Gwen is using hers later)

Maybe he was already in Pav's dimension. This might explain why Pav asks if Miles knows about Hobie? But then again why does Pav greet him like he didn't know he was there (and also why didn't Hobie join Pav and the others sooner if that was the case)? In a way it would make sense for Hobie to hide in Pav's dimension if he's hiding from the spider-society and LYLA as hinted at in the deleted scene (which might not be canon though!), so maybe he hid there without Pav even knowing? And then he maybe saw/sensed what was going on with the gang fighting The Spot?

Cause yeah how did Hobie know they needed his help at Alchemax?

As you said, Gwen seems happy/surprised to see Hobie.The deleted scene tells us that Hobie gave her a way to contact him, so maybe she did and she's just happy to see him and maybe suprised he arrived so soon after she reached out? (Though idk when she would have done that, but since we don't know what means Hobie gave her to contact him we also don't know what to look for, for all we know it could've been a small device that just sends some kind of signal to him?)I don't think HQ contacted him either. BUT, we actually see Jess and Gwen talk briefly for like 2 seconds when they're trying to break the barrier at Alchemax:

So I guess another explanation could be that Jess could tell that Gwen was lying here and thus asked Hobie to go help her out as she knew he was looking out for Gwen?

But if Hobie was hiding from HQ then how did they contact him? But that's also only if you consider the deleted scene as canon. (though I don't think Jess contacting Hobie is the case but I'm just writing every theory I can come up with in case anyone wants to maybe look deeper into it).

For the moment I personally headcanon that Hobie either got a message from Gwen somehow or, like I theorised earlier, he was already nearby and his spider-sense alerted him to what was going on.

But I'd LOVE to hear what you or anyone else thinks <3

Once again thank you so much for your ask, I hope I answered it properly. Please let me know if there's something I missed or got wrong! And feel free to message me about Hobie (or atsv in general) I love asks like these as they make for a lot of fun speculation!

Also thank you so much if you read all of my ramblings!

@the-cat-and-the-birdie

[obeymeow]

nightbringer lesson 14 FUCKED ME UP in several ways but primarily I've spent the last 48 hours making myself sad over the solomon backstory we got. specifically I have, for no reason, latched onto that one chapter in the Kids event where baby solomon cried because he felt so guilty over being responsible for that spell. and that just feels a touch more depressing in context

[brookheimer]

the one thing i feel pretty certain about for this episode is that america will not decide the election. a decision will be made, a president will be elected, but america will not be the deciding factor.

succession can’t mimic 2016 or 2020 point blank, that would be boring and have nothing to say. it can’t try to outdo trump because it’ll go too whacky and fall flat like veep’s last season (sorry conheads, no way he’s winning). but what it CAN do is illustrate the immensely corrupt, often arbitrary, and hugely influential nature of news media and conglomerations on political processes. i think probably jimenez will be in the lead, then atn/waystar does something to, i don’t know, discount votes or cast suspicion on jimenez or call the election for mencken early, and the tide will shift, even though the votes are already in. the votes don’t actually matter. the actual result doesn’t actually matter. that’s the power logan (and as an extension, billionaires and CEOs in general) hold. shiv says it herself to logan in s4e2: “just cause you say it’s true doesn’t make it true. everyone just fucking agrees with you and believes you, so it becomes true and then you can turn around and say like, 'oh, you see? see? i was right.'” but it doesn’t matter that logan’s “a human fucking gaslight,” everything he says comes true anyways. not because he was right, but because that’s how it works. he says things and then they happen, regardless of what the truth is or what should actually come to pass. that’s been one of the key throughlines since the very first episode of the entire show when, in response to kendall calling logan out of touch because times are changing and logan isn't changing with them, logan hisses that everyone always says you’re wrong until you do it and prove you were right: “you make your own reality.” you can't miss the bus if you're the one driving it. the election, the votes, the political process? none of that matters. it was always going to come down to the roys and their ilk (allies or enemies, just the top 1%) — that was the whole point of “what it takes” (the mencken episode) last season, after all.

i’ve seen lots of theories about what america will choose and how the candidates will respond and all that and i just don’t think that’s the show’s focus; i think the whole point is to demonstrate the lack of agency, the illusion of democracy. because, i mean, we’ve already seen the fall of democracy via fascist election and fascist election-denial, both in real life and in the countless (usually mid) satires created afterwards. it would be disappointing to see succession use the election to reiterate that same point of 'ohhh alt-right ahhhhh!!!' i don’t think it’ll be about ‘fascism’ at all — at least, not ‘trump-y’ fascism. it’ll be about fascism in the broader sense, the kind that doesn't sport a KKK hood (even when it keeps one tucked away in the attic). it's the fascism that every single roy (very much including shiv and kendall) aid and abet -- the fascism that so many succession fans don't seem to regard as fascism, despite it quite literally being the definition of fascism. trump wasn’t the entrance of fascism into our political process. he wasn’t the lone sign of the failing of american democracy. democracy in america has long been illusory, trump just made it more blatantly evident with his particular brand of hate-speech-ridden masculinist in-your-face fascism.

so i think that’s what this episode will hopefully focus on — america will not decide. corporations, news media, and the roys will. thus, the president will most likely become president not because the country supports his policies the most, but because he’s likely to agree to help block a business deal for a major media empire, and the other candidate is unlikely to. and this will likely come to pass due to said major media empire's interference and influence: they create their own reality. they say it, and everyone agrees with them and believes them, so it becomes true.

[raylin-creates]

Me when I see a post about how First is useless to the lore: I. respect. your opinion. (internally raging) (fists shaking) (teeth gritted) (body trembling) (breathing ragged) (mind shook) (eyes wild) (mentally holding myself back from replying with the force of a blue whale being dropped to the ground at terminal velocity)