#I mean obviously I'll be working and making more episodes lol...

[deoidesign]

OMG you have a tumblr !! I didn't know /o/

Your art is incredible and Time and Time Again is amazing and I'm regularly re-devouring all the episodes because I can't wait between each release :D I'm so happy this comic exists. Thank you <3

Welcome to my Twisted Mind...

[zoe-oneesama]

I have notice that you are giving the kwamis different and more uniques personalities. How you imagened their unique emotions and how they react with the holders?

For sure, there are very few instances where the Zodiac Kwami get to show their individualism except for Sass or when they briefly interact with their new holders, so I really grabbed on to any little bit I could see and held tight.

Mullo - In the story of the Chinese Zodiac, the Rat rides the Ox and jumps off at the last minute in order to arrive first, so I thought it'd make sense for Mullo to be mischievous - also because Marinette uses it first for some cheeky misdirection. I got lucky that Mullo turned out to be a bit of a prankster when "Mega Leech" came out.

Stompp - As one of the Leftover 4, Stompp didn't get a lot of expression when they were shown in "PenalTeam", but I kinda ended up working with how calm they were. The way they addressed Chloe not knowing the kwamis names gave her a Disapproving Mother vibe, so I went with them being a nurturer. I picture them wanting to watch over their holder, particularly children ones, and watch them grow into full grown Oxes.

Roarr - So this one was easy cuz they've been very consistent in the show, and since the kwamis default to loud and bratty when they're in Mob Mode (ie, when all the kwamis act in sync instead of in line with their personalities), Roarr was simply a too rambunctious child. An extrovert to the extreme. Their name is very appropriate.

Fluff - This one is pretty established in canon, so I guess I'll just extend my headcanon. Fluff is easily confused and babbles a lot, and I think it's because they're being constantly bombarded with information from so many timelines. Existence is a prison and Fluff just comes across as dumb because all their brain power is overheating from a massive influx of information, so they have nothing else to offer in the Present.

Longg - "Ikari Gozen" makes them out to be a Long Winded Old Man/Woman (depending on the dub lol), but aside from them being pretty polite later, they don't hold on to it. I am. Longg is old as shit and just wants these damn kids to hear out their long ass stories, but they just don't know how to edit because it's been forever since they've been out of the box (a nod to how Dragons are now "mythical"). They don't know how to talk to the youngins anymore.

Sass - Okay, c'mon, we all know Sass. Sass is the only one we know definitively. They're the leader and being level headed and calm is the thing that distinguishes him from the rest. He is mildly cursed like Fluff to recall every remade time line, remembering what happened the other times that needed a second chance, but it's less of a burden than it is for Fluff.

Kaalki - I opted to lean in to her being a Diva, obviously thanks to her attitude in "Startrain". You'd think that'd clash with Max, so the struggle was more about making them work together despite that, so I also gave her a fascination with innovation. She's not very technologically literate, but she's interested in what humans have been able to do, especially when it comes to exploration. But in the end, she's still pretty vain lol.

Ziggy - since they were very upset at how mean Chloe was in "Miracle Queen" as opposed to angry like Stompp and Roarr, I felt Ziggy was probably younger and a bit sensitive. I also leaned into some goat traits, having them eat paper and headbutt Nathaniel.

Xuppu - Xuppu can easily become very annoying, especially in "Destruction" where they're trying to be helpful, but uhhhh...they aren't. So I just stuck with how they were portrayed in their canon debut episode. Like Roarr, Xuppu is very much like A Child, so even in Mob Mode they feel in character - getting into stuff and making a mess.

Orikko - I made them very patient, which you gotta be when your powers are bullshit and you constantly have to give a tutorial on how they work. They could talk all day with their holder trying to find loopholes.

Barkk - So they have two standout moments where they're allowed individuality - in "Furious Fu" and "Risk". In the former, they are stubbornly staying behind to guard the house and the Miracle Box, and in the latter, they're super excited at getting a new holder and getting to "play". So both a guard dog and a puppy. I met in the middle where they DO really want to play, but also want everyone to be as excited as them which takes a little coaxing. Like an Extrovery adopting Introverts.

Daizzi - They're just very sweet. Almost just like Rose but soft spoken. They feel very much but like to focus on the things they like, no matter how simple they are.

[youdontneedhenry]

It's been a whirlwind day for fans of this show, and it's clearly been a better day for some more than others. I do want to acknowledge that I see and hear and understand the disappointment fans are experiencing.

I would like to speak to my own feelings, which are ones of excitement and cautious optimism because the parts of the show I enjoy the most are still intact for Season 5. I am really excited to see where this show goes. I'll put the rest below the fold so as to be respectful to the variety of emotions.

I enjoyed the episodes that didn't feature the Duke for a variety of reasons. He often talked down to Eliza, or tried to knock bring her down in a variety of ways, and so he seemed to be fundamentally incompatible for her. By the end of season 3, I started to wonder how they could course correct to make William/Eliza believable and work for me. I just couldn't see it because I didn't like how the core issue with Eliza's ambition. That's not something I could get behind.

My favorite parts of the show were always Eliza working with partners who respected her- partners like Nash and Moses. I really missed Moses in Season 4, and one thing I hope we see more of is the diversity of Victorian London that we got to see in earlier seasons.

Look, I am obviously a hardcore #ScarNash shipper. I have loved the character of Patrick Nash since his introduction in season 2. The romantic possibility was there in season 2, and then by episode 3 of season 3 (Hotel St Marc), the chemistry was rather distracting! I liked how he respected her talents and enjoyed having her take the lead.

By the end of Season 4, it was clear to me that Patrick Nash and Eliza Scarlet made the most sense. They were equals, and he recognized her talent from the beginning. Eliza's character seemed to have more growth through her interactions with Nash while her relationship with William had grown stale. The flashback episode really solidified that for me- they hadn't changed in personality in a decade, why would they ever? I forgot to mention the constant mirroring of WIlliam/Eliza romance with Patrick/Eliza's relationship. Talking about wanting to receive a present in a bow with a box to William and then having Nash give her exactly that in an area she wanted- a boost to her career. The way Nash always wanted her to work for him when William only reluctantly hired her. The way Nash acted in the entire Jewel of the North episode, including being there for Eliza when her office was trashed. And that's not even Season 4 where Eliza flat out says he's the only person who's ever had any faith in her!

I know what the writers have said about platonic relationships. And a Season 5 renewal with no Duke doesn't mean we automatically get ScarNash. But a girl can dream. They writers are SO lucky to have these actors with this amount of chemistry and a relationship that has developed over THREE seasons. There's been a satisfying arc with Patrick and Eliza. Rivals to friends to lovers would be satisfying. We've watched them grow individually and together. It would make sense.

My wishlist for season 5 certainly includes: a female friend for Eliza that isn't Ivy, for Moses to come back (I know this is not happening lol) and for ScarNash to be canon. I think it would be incredible, and I hope others can come around.

As a side note, it's been absolutely delightful to share this news with ScarNash fans and to find NEW people who have quietly shipped ScarNash. I sometimes felt like there were only a few of us, but truly there's so many people that love the idea of them. So while I think it's not at all guaranteed that it'll be canon, I certainly continue to hope this has opened the door to it. We'll wait and see! I'm looking forward to the new season with more excitement than I've had for any piece of media in awhile.

[ohmyspacesailor]

Little things I've noticed on my rewatch of 1x01

So, it's been a while since I've actually watched the show and I've started to miss Crowley and Aziraphale something fierce. So I've finally started at the beginning and here are some small things that stood out or that I didn't notice to that extend before. Nothing revolutionary, but maybe you'll enjoy / be devastated by it anyway.

Eden: Crawley saw Aziraphale before their talk on the wall since he mentions seeing him with a sword. They kept hanging around the garden for a while, but haven't talked that much since Az asks Crawley's name?

After receiving the Antichrist: Crowley is devastated. The way he days "Already?!" gets me every time. Is barely able to keep it together infront of Hastur and Ligur (terrific acting by David here). Immediately tries to call Aziraphale.

Park, going up the stairs: "It's not some little temptation I've asked you to cover for me while you're in Edinburgh for the festival". Their arrangement is so casually lived in by then. And the way Aziraphale lights up when he's invited to lunch. Also, Crowley's hair is stunning in the sun here.

After lunch: Az gets totally distracted by Crowley's company, forgets all about Armageddon or their disagreement over it. Wants to open a bottle for a "special occasion", tone indicating inside joke / hidden meaning. There's a theory about that being sexual, but while I support that headcanon I think it's more of a joke along the lines that it isn't actually a special occasion, because they drink together all the time.

Infront of the bookshop: "this is purely social" Sure Az, as if that makes it any better in heaven's judgement. Now you're just being silly! (see what I did there?)

Making the pact: How cute is Crowley here?!? I already knew that and think about it constantly, but seeing it again is something else still. I mean, seriously:

Babysitting Warlock: How somehow Nanny Ashtorath is able to sing so much better than I've ever heard David Tennant do (no offense) is a proper mystery to me.

Meeting on the bus: Why don't they talk on their job as nanny and gardener lol?They must have endless opportunities and still they hang out even more. Ok, probably more like a plot hole for coolness than being meant romantically on purpose here, but still.

Bus and dinosaur park: Crowley can't bring himself to tell Az the whole ugly truth about the antichrists power / the dog not to frighten him too much. This is really sweet and very telling about how he sees him as kind of naive and innocent. Also, he's protective snek. Another amazing thing here is how he doesn't even consider killing the Antichrist himself although he is been working against hell all along anyway. Ties nicely to the bandstand scene later.

In the shop: "Crowley: Would I lie to you? - Aziraphale: Obviously, you're a demon, that's what you do". While his is pretty hurtful towards Crowley and typically blindsided of Aziraphale, it's also so devastatingly accepting of him as well.

In the shop at the end ("he's named the dog"): Crowley is really, really afraid and that respectively makes Az nervous (the looming doom in his delivery of "welcome to the end times").

That was all for this round... In general it blew my mind how much of their story is already in episode one!

And I'll never get tired of mentioning how David and Micheal disappear completely into their characters. I try to admire their work in the moment, but I keep forgetting it's them. Only because I have seen so much of them by now can I spot them as the actors in tiny moments that last mere half-seconds. That's always a weird triumph. "ha! I've seen a glimpse of Micheal's smile there!" or "the way Crowley says 'helly hellhound' sounded very David" and that's basically it.

[glitchy-anime-fan]

Sinners aren’t the only ones who can be overlords (theory)

⚠️ HAZBIN HOTEL SPOILERS ⚠️

I’m not sure if anyone else noticed this (hopefully I’m not late to this idea) but I’m pretty sure overlord status isn’t solely given to sinner demons. I'll be focusing on Rosie and Carmilla but I'm also going to include other characters for comparison sake. I'm also going to reference the Wiki page for the characters as well as things that Faustisse has said in the past while they were still working on the series. Take these with a grain of salt, this is just a theory after all, if I'm proven wrong by the show then so be it lol.

I've seen some talk in the fandom regarding not only Carmilla and her daughters but also Rosie and the residents of Cannible Town. I think the biggest thing I've seen is people being confused as to how Carmilla could have daughters since sinner demons cannot reproduce. A lot of the confusion is regarding how Carmilla could have daughters if she's a sinner given the reproduction issue. I think one of the popular theories is that Odette and Clara happened to die as adults and reunited with Carmilla in hell which makes sense if we are looking at them as sinners. However, while I was looking at the wiki page for Rosie I noticed a pattern with the other characters; their species are typically specified as more than just "demon" if applicable. For example; Moxxie, Milly, and Blitzo are all specified as "imp demons" while Alstor, Vox, and Valentino are specified as "sinner demons" showing that they are different.

(Below is screenshots of the wiki pages from each character mentioned above so you can see what I mean)

Similarly, if we look at Stolas, Charlie, and Octavia, their wiki pages have them labelled as just demons, with no specification, however, we know all three of them are hellborns.

Now I bring this up because if we look at Carmilla and her daughter's Wiki pages, they are denoted as a demon with no further specification.

If we are to take this in the same context as Stolas and Charlie, it's a fair assumption to make that they are all hellborn demons. We don't exactly know how many different subspecies of hellborns there are aside from the ones that have been shown in Helluva Boss. To quote the HH wiki describing the hierarchy, hellborn demons include "Succubi and Incubi, among other unknown demon species of Hell". Who's to say that Carmilla and her daughters aren't part of this unknown subspecies of demons? This I think could help explain how Carmilla has two daughters as a demon.

Now in episode seven, we do see that Carmilla and her daughters were attacked by exorcists. As part of the extermination deal between Lucifer and Heaven, the exorcists are not allowed to kill hellborns. If this is the case, why would the exorcists attack Carmilla? Well, there could be a few reasons. The first reason could be that the exorcists mistook Carmilla and her daughters as sinners. Who knows how much the exorcists are taught about demons and the differences between hellborns and sinners. It could be that these angels mistook them as sinners whether it be because Carmilla looks similar to other sinners, or the exorcists were just caught up in th moment and attacked and demon who passed by. We could also guess that most angels just assume that all the demons in Pride are sinners since it seems that most hellborn demons originate from other rings.

On the other hand, perhaps the exorcist just didn't care. Who knows how long Adam had been planning to move up the exterminations. Who knows how the other exorcists see the exterminations from an individual standpoint. Lute obviously has her own opinions of demons and the exterminations so who knows what the other angels feel. These could have been exorcists who didn't care about the deal. Maybe they thought because they're angles they're better than demons and could perhaps get away with killing a hellborn (the hubris am I right?)? Maybe they thought they could come up with some kind of excuse to get themselves out of it. Who knows.

In a similar vein, I've seen once or twice people on Twitter talk about how the cannibals in Cannibal Town all look relatively similar despite it being shown that sinner demons have unique demon forms (obviously with some similarities if it's between families like Angel and his brother/father for example). I think I saw one tweet suggesting that the cannibals are another subspecies of hellborns (I unfortunately only saw it in passing and don't know the user off the top of my head) and I actually think this could have some merit to it.

Jumping back to the wiki pages, if you look at Rosie's page she also has the "demon" title without any sort of additional specification. Already this matches with what I mentioned at the very beginning regarding Charlie and Stolas. Faustisse also mentions that Rosie didn't die (it's included in Rosie's trivia section) alluding to the idea that she is, in fact, a hellborn demon.

Likewise, while I was looking at the wiki page for Cannibal Town, I noticed this little gem in the trivia section. I think it's safe to assume that the reason all of the cannibal demons look the same/similar is that they are just another subspecies of demons native to Pride. This, again, can explain how there are children in Cannibal Town despite sinners not being able to reproduce; none of them are actually sinners.

Now why do I bring this up? Well for two reasons; one it's just kind of cool to know that sinners aren't the only demons who can potentially gain overlord status. This means that, in theory, other hellborns could also gain higher status if they can make deals and collect souls. There is actually a good chunk of overlords that aren't specified as sinners, such as Velvette and Zestial alongside Carmilla and Rosie. As far as I can tell only Alastor, Vox, and Valentino are sinner demon overlords (we could also include Husk if we take into account that he used to be an overlord before the events of the show). This is just a cool little detail that I didn't catch at first that could end up being important or not important at all later in the show. And again, it can also show that those in the lower ranks of the hierarchy could potentially move up in status, not just the sinners.

The second reason I am bringing up this theory is that it adds another layer to Alastor's plan during the finale. So in the last episode, Alastor brings Charlie to Rosie to ask for assistance in fighting Adam. Now on the surface, we could read into this as Alastor knows Rosie will help because they're friends and he knows she'd be willing to support Charlie. This did likely play a part in why Alastor chose to go to Rosie.

However, if the cannibals are hellborns then perhaps he thought that the hotel would get some kind of win no matter what happened. I mentioned before that as part of the agreement for the exterminations to happen the exorcists can't kill hellborns. Perhaps Alastor took into account that with the cannibals around, the angels would have a harder time getting to the hotel as they would be trying to avoid killing demons that they aren't allowed to kill. This would allow the others more chances to sneak in and kill the exorcists while they're distracted.

On the other hand, he could have assumed that if the exorcists or Adam didn't care about the deal anymore then they would get in major trouble with the rest of Heaven for killing the cannibals. One way or another the Hotel is getting some kind of upper hand in the fight regardless; either they have a way to distract the angles or they put the angels in a position where they get in trouble later.

I tried looking back in the episode to see if any of the cannibals actually died and I couldn't see any. Perhaps it was just for the ease of animating or because it wasn't a huge focus in the battle so the effect the battle had on the cannibals just wasn't shown. Though, if I had to guess since Lucifer didn't show up until after Dazzle died and Charlie was in real trouble then none of the cannibals were injured or killed.

Overall I just think this is kind of a cool theory that I think adds some depth to the characters and/or their actions. Again, this is also just a fan theory so please don't take it as gospel. If anyone on the Hazbin team comes out and expands more on the cannibals and Carmilla that completely contradicts this then it is what it is! This was just something that I noticed today while I was working on a different Hazbin post and I had to write it somewhere lol.

sorry this got super long, I hope it makes sense. Sometimes I have trouble articulating my thoughts when I have ideas like this lol.

[pyjamaart]

A looming presence... (A piece of fan art for Episode 11 of the Christmas Comeback Crisis)

Read more for an essay on all the memes and references ;)

So here it is. Finally. Only one month too late: This piece of CCC fan art I've worked on since the episode came out.

Sorry for the delay, but I just started at my new job this week and it's been a little stressful, so I didn't have much time to work on this. But now it's finally here!!! I gotta say, the hardest part by far was the background, lol. I didn't mean for it to escalate that much. At the end I was honestly running out of memes to draw.

I bet we can all agree that episode 11 of the Christmas Comeback Crisis was so worth the wait, right???? My god. Peak entertainment. I still can't believe I'm getting all this awesome lore and music for free, feels kinda criminal.

I'm so invested in this story, it's unreal. I can't wait to see how it will end. I can already tell it's gonna be pretty emotional. (And not to alarm anyone, but I have a slight feeling that the Voice is not gonna make it out of this story arc alive. I mean, after everything he's done, it's safe to say that he kinda deserves it. Of course I really don't want him to die, cause that would mean…….. Woodman would also have to die??? Otherwise the Voice will just keep coming back again and again because Woodman is keeping his memory alive…….. Oh man wait a moment….. I don't even want to think about that. Forget I said anything about this.)

Anyway, let's talk about this piece of art for a moment.

In the foreground, we have our brave protagonists. I really really like how Nozomi turned out, so I decided to make her my new icon from now on. Don't get me wrong, I love my old icon, but it's kinda zoomed out and you can't really make out any details when it's really small. So Nozomi it is. Meta Knights sword was shockingly difficult to draw, especially because I had to figure out how to draw it when he's holding it at an angle like that. Otherwise, drawing him was actually one of the easiest things about this whole thing. His design is really just two circles with some arms and armor. Figuring out how the circle tool in Gimp works has never felt this good. (Kinda crazy I can just draw him like this now, considering how obsessed with him I was when I was about 12-13 years old. Back then you had to download official renders of your favorite characters onto your computer, then print them out and hang them on your walls all around your room. Yeah I've always been like this.) Drawing Santa was really fun too, just his right hand was a little difficult. But that's just because I still can't draw hands in general. Maybe I should practice drawing hands more. (Naaaaaah I'm just kidding, I'll never do that.) Now that I'm looking at him again, he's also longingly staring at President Haltmann in the background. Doomed yaoi fr.

Speaking of the background, let's talk about that next. There's obviously the title-giving "looming presence" the Voice. I had his hands completely in the background at first, but I thought it looked cooler when they were hanging threateningly around Santa's shoulders. (You may ask yourself, 'man these hands look kinda alright for my usual hand drawing standards', and that is because I traced over pictures of my own hands. I love "cheating" at art.) I also gave him his stupid little bow tie and the colored buttons on his suit sleeves. Not only is that kinda my trademark for drawing him at this point, it's also supposed to show, that under all the threats and the evil villain persona, he's just kind of a loser. A real (male equivalent of a) girlfailure. That's why I made sure that half of the things shown in the background are there to make fun of him a little. I love the Voice dearly, but that's just what felt right.

And now let's get to the actual main course of this essay. I probably spent half the time working on this on the freaking background. I'm just gonna start in the top left corner and then go down each column and explain what each of these mean or what they reference. (Since there are some quite obscure ones in there.)

Let's start with the two ponies in the very top left. They're actually ponysonas of Nozomi Tojo (left) and Takane Shijou (right). Nozomi is an earth pony and has a tarot card as her cutie mark, specifically the ace of cups. Takane on the other hand is a unicorn and has some musical notes as her cutie mark, which you can't really see. I don't know enough about the Idolmaster to think of something more meaningful for her, sorry. ;)

Under that are Susie Haltmann and her father, President Haltmann. They were (after Woodman) the first characters I wanted to draw into the background. Susie has this black bar covering her face, since she was never really there to begin with. The whole story line with her father wanting to bring her back was actually so freaking sad. And when the Voice killed him in episode 11 and that image of Susie flashed on screen as the last thing he saw before he died….. Oof……… That's also why I drew that cursor looming next to her "window" about to click on the closing button. Haltmann himself is also the only character in the background to actually leave his little window, wanting to reach his daughter. He's also glaring at the Voice for causing him all of this grief and anger in the first place with his false promises.

Then there's…. ahem, "Hot robots in your area". With drawings of a random unnamed robot and Mettaton from Undertale. Which the Voice has apparently bookmarked. This is just a head canon, but I like to think he has a thing for robots, lol. ;)

Oh and on the left next to that on the very first column is Simpleflips' logo. Shoutouts to Simpleflips indeed.

Onto the next column. At the very top is Haruka Amami (also from the Idolmaster), who played a pretty huge role in the CCC, especially in the latest episode. That moment at the very end where she saved Grand Dad from certain death was just fantastic. Absolutely goated scene. She's kinda pressing her face against the window she's trapped in. I hope you can even see that from far away, haha.

Under that is one of the more obscure references. It's from a King for Another Day video, specifically one titled "The Hobart Hootenanny - SiIvaGunner: King for Another Day". It's a slideshow made of beautiful Hobart pictures. One that struck me personally the most was a little family picture of Hobart and the rapper Eminem, who was also a contestant in the KfAD tournament, looking lovingly over their son sitting in a cradle. Eminem is seen saying "Our son is beutiful". A truly touching photograph indeed. In that same slideshow is also another scene of Hobart together with the Voice, but we'll talk about that one later.

The next one is a reference to the CCC side story "I wanna thank me" and shows a pie chart with the election results that were discussed in that episode. Under the pie chart itself is a little box containing all the different parties and showing their respective percentages. On the left is a poster for the "Poké Poké Literature Party", showing Monika's head with the words "Just vote Monika" at the top of the poster. The words (and Misha.) are scribbled on the bottom, lest we forget that she's not running this party alone. This side story was first featured in the Christmas Comeback Crisis Watchalong in 2020, which was actually the first time I watched the CCC in its entirety. It all went downhill from there. ;)

Then there's the Voice's… thing? Object? Weird apparatus where no one really knows what it does or what its purpose is? Every time we see the Voice sitting in his office, this thing is sitting on his desk right next to him. There's been loads of jokes about its purpose. They've all been made before. I'm not going to repeat them. Only the Voice himself truly knows what this thing does. Probably. Could just be a decorative piece of art.

Then we have something veeeery self indulgent on the next column. It's Aquaman from Megaman 8 (With a not so subtle skull right next to him). You should all know by now that I'm the founding father of the Aquawood ship. And I also have the head canon that Woodman and the Voice are very divorced. Interpret into this whatever you want.

Next to Aquaman is the internets' favorite panel from the web comic Tails Gets Trolled. I fucking love that comic. If you haven't read it in its entirety, I highly recommend doing it. (Though be warned that it contains some pretty heavy topics, many many slurs and a plethora of gore.) Okay, maybe I don't recommend reading it. (Just read it with all of that in mind.)

Under that is a personal favorite joke of mine. It's supposed to be Spotify, with a playlist open that I created some time ago. I called it "Die Pizza Playlist" (Remember that die in German is just "the") which I always listen to when I'm baking my own pizza. Highlights include "Pizza" by Antilopen Gang, "Pizza Heroes" by Lemon Demon (You can actually see the album art for Spirit Phone on the left of the playlist.), "Pizza Pizza Pizza" from the Ratatouille musical and so on and so on. The first song in the playlist is obviously "We like pizza" by the Pizza kids, which is even playing in the image. On the side are two more music artists, at the bottom is the image for the Veggie Tales soundtrack, which also featured a song called "Pizza Angel". And over that is Mitski. I just feel like the Voice would listen to her music. Do not question me on this.

The audience laughs at the funny 7.

On the Voice's left shoulder sits a single green bean. It's flashing you a cheeky grin and a peace sign. While I didn't intend for this to happen, I accidentally referenced my own Woodman birthday gallery art from two years ago, where the bean also sits atop the Voice's shoulder. I know that next to "Yankin'", the bean is one of the most hated memes on SiIva, but I think he's just a silly little guy! :D

Let's head on over to the next column. Seems like the Voice has an incoming call from one of his guards, but he's ignoring it as he has more important things to do, like hovering intimidatingly over Santa Claus.

Next to that window on the right are the Voice's messages. I almost wrote "messanges". That would have been embarrassing, thank god I caught that in time. This is also (yet again) a little self indulgent, since the Voice apparently has the last message he sent Woodman pinned to the very top of his messenger app. His big triangular head is blocking most of it, but since I'm the artist, I can tell you exactly what it says: "Please call me back", which was sent on February 1st 2023, the day "The Disappearance of Woodman" was released. Yeah, I'm still very upset, how could you tell? :( Under that is a message to his trusty pizza guy asking for a pizza with extra cheese.

Next we have two of my favorite memes on the SiIvagunner channel (My absolute favorite being "Funny budots", since I never wrote that down anywhere.), one being Frisk Undertale becoming uncanny and the other one being the goat. I don't really know how to describe the goat, but apparently it was crafted by the same artist who made the stoned fox that's also very popular online?? I may just be stupid, but I didn't know about that until I looked up a reference for the goat. Since it often appears alongside Undertale and Deltarune, many have made the assumption that this is what Asriel would look like in real life. That's why Flowey is there next to it with an equal sign. Whoever drew up that calculation wasn't really sure of their work, which is why they drew a question mark right next to it. Between Frisk and the goat is a little Soul, also from Undertale/Deltarune.

Onto the next column, where I'm dropping very subtle hints that a specific character in this image might like pizza. Or might even be a little obsessed with it. On the left is a list with the contact details of three well known pizza chains, on the very top is Sonic the Hedgehog who just recently became a brand ambassador for Totino's and on the bottom right of this section is a flyer for some kind of pizza sale.

The next window contains my favorite joke of any rip on the entire SiIvaGunner Youtube Channel. "Peepoona 5. Let us shart the pants." Just typing this out is making me die of laughter yet again. (The rip in question is "Our Beginning - Persona 5".) But as you all know, I am very into toilet humor. That's why Aquaman is one of my favorite robot masters. And why I'm such a big fan of Youtube Poop. And why I watch Minion fart gun religiously. But enough of that, you get what I'm trying to say. I love funny poop jokes. That's why this is here.

Oh man. This next one is why I wanted to write this very detailed essay in the first place. A reference so obscure, even I can't find its origin anymore. And believe me, I tried. Thankfully, I took a screenshot of the original comment thread this was based on. A user called "The New Guy" commented on a SiIvaGunner rip, something along the lines about how much they enjoyed this specific rip. At the time, the comment had 920 likes, so I'm guessing it must have been a pretty popular video. (The comment should also be about 4 years old now?) Anyway, under that comment, someone asks them what their profile picture was from. They simply answered "wagon", since that was exactly what their profile picture showed. Someone on the SiIvaGunner team must have found this exchange so funny that they commented "wagon" as well. And that's the origin of this joke. If anyone knows which rip this is from pleeeeaaaase tell me. I need to know.

I don't think I need to explain who the next guy is. Just the love of my life. I specifically drew Woodman in his getup from the Nuclear Winter Festival, since that was the last time he appeared on the channel. He's looking kinda concerned in the general direction of the viewer, for obvious reasons. And right under him is his trademarked >:] emoji.

And last but certainly not least, the final column! Now I finally get to talk about this other scene from the Hobart Hootenanny. It shows Hobart and the Voice having a romantic stroll at a beautiful beach, while the sun is slowly setting in the background, making the water shimmer with its breathtaking colors. Okay, the last thing didn't really happen, since it's a shitty MS Paint drawing, but I like to imagine it did. Maybe I should draw a remake of this image one day. Now I'd like to quote the video in question: "A man and Hobart were walking together on the beach. He looked back and saw that in his times of sadness and need, there was only one set of footprints. He asked Hobart why he would leave him in his time of most need. Hobart simply turned to the man and said, VVVVVRRRRR SRRRRR RRRRGGGHHHH--" (Thank you SiIva Wiki for the transcription.) Now I don't think I need to explain why I drew Hobart in a bikini top and fishnets. The question answers itself.

The next image is actually quite easy to explain. It's mm5charge and smol Maki. In another universe, Chargeman and Maki might have been integral to the SiIvaGunner lore. This specific image is just stolen from my piece of fan art called "Megaman 5 Brainrot (featuring Acidman)", which I posted in 2022. I still head canon that Megaman and Love Live take place in the same universe. Just because I think it's funny. And because I want to see funny robot masters interact with the girlies from Love Live. How do I explain this? It's like…. balancing out the world? The robot masters are almost all male (with a few exceptions) and the characters shown in Love Live are all female. How would Thanos say? "Perfectly balanced, as all things should be." Don't question my cool head canons, okay?

After that we have a poster featuring the Jazz Cats! I really really love the little animations that showed their backstory when KfAD2 first came out. I don't know if it's okay for me to say this, but I also really really enjoy the song "But Not You" written (in universe) by Doge and Naxx. The text is veeeeeeery questionable, but man, does it sound good regardless… And shoutouts to wolfman1405 for the heavenly vocals.

On the right of that is a missing poster for Wade L.D.. Nothing much to explain here I guess.

Left of that is the Voices shopping list, which lists flour, oil, yeast… Wait a minute…. All of these are ingredients for pizza dough! Guys, I'm beginning to think that this guy might like pizza.

On the very bottom of this column is Mario 7 Grand Dad himself, who has his hostile gaze directed at the Voice. I would be pissed off too if someone kept me locked in a glass tube for 7 years.

The last little window just shows the Vineshroom with the words "fecal funny" written under it.

And with that, it is done. The entire background thoroughly explained. (I may have gone a little overboard this time.)

It's been a while since I posted new art, huh? In the meantime, a lot has happened. As I said before, I started a new job, got a tattoo of Woodman on my leg (best idea I've ever had btw) and I also started watching MLP, which explains the Love Live / Idolmaster ponysonas, lol.

And that's all I wanted to say. I hope that the next piece of art isn't that far off. Jenny out. (I think this might have been the longest essay I've ever written here. I'm so sorry. By which I mean, I'm not sorry at all. I'm not forcing anyone to read this.)

[trashlie]

it's good to see you around again, I missed reading your long ILY posts, hope you're doing better too :) if you ever share your thoughts on the latest couple of episodes (including fp) here, I'd be super excited to read them! I'm really curious how you think the timeline is gonna go from here - especially relating to Shin-Ae and Nolan since it feels like they are the last pieces that need to fall into place so everything is ready for the post-timeskip story to go down. like you, I was so sure Nol and Shin-Ae were going to have some kind of reconciliation before he goes to jail but WELP rip 3 day extension. Poor guy though, Yui showing up in his hospital room must have been extremely triggering, it made sense that he did everything to get outta there ASAP. It's worrying me that this series of negative interactions (Kousuke, Alyssa, Yui) could've undone everything positive Shin-Ae Dieter Soushi Nana did, and now therapy during jail time could either have a positive or negative effect, so Nol is a Schroedinger's cat for now.... At least some things got cleared up and Shin-Ae is now starting to understand the root of the problem (= Yui) (and it actually really makes sense that she had to figure it out herself instead of Nol telling her - the boy obviously isn't ready to talk) so we made some progress.... But istg with this upcoming separation arc 2.0 it feels so much like we're gonna be back at ground zero after the first time skip. Fingers crossed they reconcile in whatever way before the big time skip though. we need a somewhat positive conclusion to this arc before season 1 ends, because if not then what was all this build up for, and why now? What about the realizations? the "convince me"? What about "if you won't let me have you"? If their reconciliation is only going to happen after multiple years of "conflict" between them that would be so cruel....

AND SHIN-AE STILL HASN'T GOTTEN HER BANDANA BACK and now he's stealing her lines too SDGDADSF;SDF

Waaaahhhhh thank you, friend!!! As you can probably tell, I'm still trying to get myself back here fully and figure out how to balance everything, which has always been a struggle ;~; I really may resort to telling my friends to ignore me and yell at me until I get certain posts written up so I'll stop procrastinating because there are SO MANY THINGS I WANT TO WRITE ABOUT EPISODES I WANT TO RECAP AND TALK ABOUT!!!! BUT THE ORGANIZING MYSELF!!!! IS THE PART THAT'S SO DIFFICULT!!!!!!!!

One of the great things about the ILY discord server is that we have this very constant, active conversation going on at all times so it's SO easy to be very present and active, but I also find that it means it's more difficult for me to regulate myself, or I'll have that feeling that I JUST talked about something and so when I try to write about it over here, it feels like a hollow echo and I know that's just because I was just having the conversation so that's just something I need to work on dealing with lol

But I want to answer this before we move so far away from when you asked this!!!!! As expected, there are FP spoilers ahead for eps 246 through 249!!!!!

I!!!! DO NOT KNOW!!!!!!! LMAO Like. GOD. I feel like quimchee has thrown us curveball after curveball and when we sit down and think about how long this period of December 21 and the post December 21 arc has been, how much the story has weaved around?! There are so many things that have occurred that I NEVER expected and, like you, it's just everything I thought has clearly gone out the window. Part of it, I think, is the result of quimchee having to change the arrangement of her story, and god I would love to pick her brain about the things that changed, since Nol's injury was supposed to happen at the formal itself, we never would have had this extended period of hospital time, and it seems like everything about Nol and Shinae coming to realization with their feelings would have played out in a wholly different way than what we ended up getting, so on some level I think this is partly that quimchee, too, is sort of throwing herself cureveballs in that there are things she knows needs to happen and she isn't sure where or how to fit the other elements in? But that's just my guess.

On the one hand, I do feel very "WHAT WAS THE EXTENSION FOR IF NOT FOR RECONCILIATION?!" but beyond Stalkyoo, we have gotten a LOT of good stuff out of this period of time. We see Kousuke facing his cognitive dissonance for, perhaps, the first time, and the revelation that Yui has been drugging him (and likely for a long time, given the way Hansuke describe the dosage Kousuke had and that it merely knocked him out), and more than that, making those connections between Nol and Yui and tea, and wanting to face him. I'm STILL proud of him for wanting to go back and see Nol again, even after he couldn't face him, even after Hansuke found him on the floor of a public bathroom hugging a toilet from the remorse and guilt and perhaps shame of the realization of the ways he has hurt people - has hurt Nol! - who didn't deserve it. We have seen that Rand and Yujing are, in fact, working on something behind the scenes, that Rand is facing Yui as a real adversary now, not just someone who has been resigned to endure her for so many years now, but to actually fight against her. The entirety of Nol's birthday celebration could not have happened the way it did had he not been in the hospital, since he would have had to turn himself in, and while maybe the original plan was that they celebrated his birthday with Minhyuk's coming home party, I'm.... not sure if that would have been the case?

But at at any rate, I do acknowledge that despite the fact that it feels like Nol might be back at square one, that he and Shinae are back where they started in 151, such significant events HAVE taken place that I think will still affect the narrative future of ILY. I still feel strongly that part of Nol's trajectory is coming to terms with the fact that he does, indeed, belong here. That he isn't someone who wasn't meant to be, that he doesn't belong here. He belongs, and he deserves love. He is someone, not nothing. I still think one of his greater arcs will involve coming to embrace this, and while the negative events - Kousuke, Alyssa, Yui - feel like they could be setting him back, he is now equipped with knowledge and feelings he wasn't before. It can't hurt him the same. In fact, I think part of why his confrontation with Alyssa went the way it did was because he had had this experience with Shinae, Dieter, and Soushi, it illuminated everything that was so wrong with his relationship with Alyssa, how neither of them really know each other. It's that sense of foiling that allows him to put his foot down and say enough is enough. Even before it was revealed that Alyssa had come with Yui, it was clear that Nol was over the visit. Don't get me wrong - I understand why he couldn't see that Alyssa clearly was not well, that she was uncomfortable, that she had come to him with no one else to go to, much as he'd gone to Kousuke in the past when he lost his mom, and I also understand why he did the same thing Kousuke did and turned her away. But the point I'm getting at is, it feels like there was a shift. That birthday celebration illuminated something for Nol.

So it's kind of like, while it feels like this might have undone the progress Nol made, it can't undone the revelations he's had, and in that same way, it cannot cast shadow on his enlightenment. He is not the same Nol he was a week ago. Too much has changed, he's become aware of too much, and as such, he is going to respond differently to what comes his way, and while he may continue to try what he had originally intended, I think the difference is that he's now been made aware of things that impact the choices he makes.

But largely I don't really know what I expect just yet. I think it's very pointed that the lawyer reminded Shinae that she has his phone number; I don't think that would be called out if it wasn't going to be important in some way, but in terms of how are we going from here to there? Unsure lol. I think there HAS to be a resolution of some kind, whether it's a reconciliation or not, because Shinae is on this momentum swing that isn't going to stop until she crashes into something or she comes into a force of nature that stops her. Nothing, no one, has been able to reach her or get through to her, and I know it's just because of how much she's hurting, but she's lashing out at people and hurting THEM like a street cat swiping at people trying to help her. She's so terrified of losing Nol, especially now that he came back, especially now that she gave him the option to leave and he didn't and it rekindled that hope she gave him an opening to leave when it would have been easier and he didn't which just made it worse, because so much more was at stake. She can't stop fighting she can't stop trying because she cannot bear what it means to lose him for real this time, not when she finally had him back, not when that realization has come to her even if she won't admit it. She needs him, so what's going to make her give up?

Something has to transpire, whether it's a reconciliation or Nol pushing her away and really shattering her heart or something awful like that, to bring her to a halt, because I can't imagine how we would move into our mini time skip to spring/graduation with Shinae like this, right? So I think there must be some kind of resolution. My foolish, hopeless self wants so badly to hope for reconciliation but esp after 249 I am SO torn. I have two thoughts.

a. they reconcile. She can reach him, and convince him, and even though he is so afraid, he is also someone who folds in front of her, he struggles to resist her. He told her to convince him and boy she can convince him and even though he tells himself he isn't sure if these feelings are real because what if it's just because she's NICE to him I think hearing her confess her feelings would tell him how he feels and give him the answer.

b. But the alternative feels like a parallel to Nessa and Rand, because Nessa, too, was hurt over and over by someone who kept getting her hopes up and getting hurt by him. Shinae gave Nol the opportunity to leave and he didn't, he stayed and doing so sparked her hope, made her feel things, they shared these tender, intimate moments together and forced that realization to come to mind, but for him to push her away again, for her safety, to make choices on her behalf even though she's told him she hates that and she doesn't want him to. Imagine her pulling a Nessa and calling him scum lfkjajkfkjfjkfaj ;A;!!!!! Imagine her so angry and hurt and resentful and saying awful things she doesn't mean and GOD I feel like it can go only one of these ways because what ELSE is going to stop her in her tracks?!

And I really want a reconciliation because parting like this sets them up for SO. MUCH. STRIFE. Because we know one way or another Shinae is going to end up taking Yui's offer and if Nol leaves on these terms, he would end up thinking she's following in Alyssa's footsteps doing so, not understanding WHY she's doing, not understanding that this is Shinae's only way of protecting herself, learning to speak Yui's language and play her game.

and idk I know I'm a hopeful optimist reading a webtoon that proves to me over and over that I cannot be a hopeful optimist but LMAO GOD I WANT SHINAE TO CONVINCE THAT DUMBO

I've said it before that convincing him doesn't mean they have to get into a relationship. Just. Reconcile. She's so afraid of LOSING HIM, thinking that once he slips away he's out of her grasp, her sight, for good, that she will lose the best thing that happened to her and I WANT THAT RECONCILATION. I want her to convince him, for both their sakes. So that he knows he has someone he can go back to. So that she knows he's not just throwing her away. So that she doesn't have to fear losing something so precious and important.

Am I foolish and hopeful for hoping for that outcome? Maybe, but it won't stop me LMAO because as delicious and angsty as Shinae and Nol following in Ressa's footsteps with Nol hurting her again and leaving her so hurt and angry is, I want to see them on that same page. I want to see Shinae convince him - convince him why he is so important to her, and that his feelings are real. That's the thing, right, like.... you can tell yourself that your feelings aren't real, but if the person you like confesses to you, your heart will inevitably betray you and respond to the confession. Nol fears for Shinae's safety but important puzzle pieces are falling into place. She has figured what he fears the most - and if she thinks hard enough she'll realize how she can use that to her "advantage", in that Rand has told her Yui will never let her go, that it doesn't matter if Nol leaves or not. It goes back to my oft repeated sentiment of them needing to be on the same page, to be a team, because his absence will not protect her. And between what Rand told her, plus her anecdotes about Kousuke's birthday and how Yui treated her even before the formal, and what Yujing told Nol about Kousuke being drugged by Yui, maybe, just MAYBE that conclusion that wasn't only him all along will finally hit him. I know he can't change over night, that he has so many deeply ingrained fears that won't be easily assuaged, but I have to hope that a confession from Shinae can convince him that the alternative is worse. Convince him to fight along side her ;A;

I go back and forth on this thought but I think this is strongly what I feel right now. That reconciliation could still be around the corner, even if it's just an admission and a promise to not push her away. Shinae is tired of people acting on her behalf, tired of not getting a say, and especially in something that involves her heart, her feelings?

Go fight girl and maybe bite him if that's what it takes ;A;

STEALING HER BANDANA. HER LINES. HERT HEART. THIS MAN DESERVES TO BE LOCKED AWAY

ALFJLFJLFKJLAFKJLKFJALKFJ

[cringelordofchaos]

"Perhaps you've not known before - To need someone, and not be needed anymore"

- liana flores: papercut

.

Listen, the whole song itself fits him. (I'm talking about TMF Drew of course.) But this single line speaks so many volumes at once about his character, at least that's what it feels like to me.

Long ramble below.

.

"to need someone" - drew needs people in his life and he can't let go. As many other characters in the show. He will go to greater lengths to keep his loved ones always close to him. He may overburden Zoey with money and gifts and riches, and may even try and lie a little about the music club (in episode 9) so Jake wouldn't leave him for them permanently.

He needs them. He needed Zoey. He needed Jake. Or, at the very least, he couldn't bear the thought of losing them, and he did everything in his power to not let them go.

Or at least he tried.

But, what's a bit interesting to me at least, is that, while the whole season he was afraid of them leaving him, he ended up leaving them first. (At least in some way. I moreso am referring to when he found out they betrayed his trust and lied to him).

And it's even more interesting to see that Drew doesn't seem like he wants to be near them again. (Which, let me remind you - does not mean he doesn't love them anymore. In fact he would never be so hurt and felt so betrayed if he "didn't care about them".)

For the Gacha "Teeth" MEP, you might be aware that RosyClozy contributed herself. (You can find it on her ExtraRosy channel.)

For the MEP, and for the song, she chose Drew and Zoey.

The whole song itself is about manipulation, a disguise, distrust (which might've meant that Drew was sceptical of Zoey before their break-up), but that's not what I'm talking about.

In the MEP we can see them on a phone call, Zoey trying to apologize and get back with him, with a red string attached to both of them, a black butterfly passing by both of them, while Drew looks unsure, or even dead, or done. I don't know how to explain it.

Butterflies usually symbolize Change or Rebirth, and black can symbolize Death. So take what you will from that. (To me, it seems like their relationship Changed in the sense that it will never be the same, and their relationship is Dead. But that's just my own personal interpretation.)

What I'm trying to focus on is Drew's expression. I don't think he's going to get back with Zoey, although it's clear he was upset over her lies, over the break-up, and he didn't want to lose her, and you could even say he was afraid of losing her a bit (I'll get into that in a quick bit), he seems done with her.

Now, about Jake. (We got much more canon content to work with here.)

Drew, the whole show, was very obviously afraid of losing him. Was very obviously jealous of the attention he gave to the music club, instead of him. How close he got to them, and how little time he started spending with him. How he started lying more and more, and how much afterwards Drew realized how Jake was always lying to him (him pretending not to be a "music freak".) How Jake never "trusted him" in the first place (not enough to tell him the truth, at least).

(none of this is meant to bash on Jake lol I love him)

But, even after all that yearning, all those attempts of bringing him close to him again, all those angsty drew fan-edits, all those aus where the music club and the jomies become friends, comes the infamous Drake-up we're all very well aware of by now.

There's a lot to take from it. But I'm going to focus on this one single line that articulates my point directly.

"I'm done with you."

Just that. Plain and simple. He's done with him, and has no plans of making amends, of apologizing to, or forgiving him. He's just done. With him, and with any hopes of things being the same as they were. He realized how little he knew about him, and he himself said "Glad to know we were never friends anyway." (Or something akin to that, at least. I'm writing from memory here.) He felt betrayed, and he didn't want to deal with him anymore.

He needed them, yet they hurt him so much he left them first.

Yet, does that really mean he doesn't need them anymore? That he still doesn't yearn for Zoey and Jake? That he just "simply let go", and is on a healing journey?

Hell nah.

He still, deep inside, has not gotten over them... There's simply no way.

But I'm getting ahead of myself - onto the next lyric of the fricking song.

"and not be needed anymore."

Ohhhh boy. Where do I begin.

Ok, to put it out there quickly - Drew's love language is gifting. Giving money, items with high materialistic value. He does this to show other people he loves them, and by extension...

For them not to leave him. (This is more prevalent in him and Zoey's case.)

You see... Drew may, and this is technically but a theory, but he may believe that he has nothing to give if it weren't for the money he had, for the money his dad gives him.

And with this, with his parents high income, he suddenly, as a person, a friend and a lover, has Value and a Purpose - something others could rely uniquely on him.

He canonically gives this to his loved ones, such as Henriam, Zoey, Jake. This is shown by him handing out Gacha switches to the jomies in freshman year - (which he has likely done similiar things again) - and him constantly buying whatever Zoey asks him to buy, and by extension doing whatever the hell she wants. ("Anything for you, babe." (I cringed writing that ngl-)). Because he may have rather be used than left? Or not? Idk

Now, how he became such an insecure mess to the point where he possibly started thinking his money is what makes people love him in the first place, I do not know. Many people speculate his parents are oftentimes absent in his life, and in order to compensate for their lack of attention given to him, they overburden him with gifts instead - which makes a lot of sense for a lot of aspects in his character. Mayhaps, that's why he feels such an overwhelming urge to not let go of his loved ones - or to do anything in order to not let go off them - because that's where he got the most attention and love and care from. When Jake and Zoey started suspiciously not being in his life as much, and when they started paying less attention to him, he was immediately sceptical of this, and quickly grew jealous of the music club. Like, very quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if he was always this wary of the amount of attention a loved one gave him or not. I suppose, to an extent, it's simply strategic for him to do.

You could also say, in case his parents work a lot for the money to the point of being absent, that he may have internalized a sentiment of The Money They Receive being more important than Him, their Own Son. Because, if he mattered more, would they not pay attention to him as much?

However, those are all theories and speculation, and quite reaching too. But they make sense, if you really think about it, and squint your eyes in the right spots.

But that wasn't the only thing he was needed for.

Jake. Him again.

Drew was Jake's first friend. Ever since Drew reached out to him in freshmen year to become his friend, possibly after noticing his loneliness, Jake was no less than ecstatic. After all his loneliness, and years of torture and harassment, he was finally chosen by someone to be their friend, to be there for him. He was capable of starting all over, and finally find a friend that could accept him.

...except, he was never fully accepted, or at the very least never fully accepted, for he never opened up about his passions. He always felt insecure, especially when Drew and the others would bully the music club right in front of him. He knew he didn't quite belong, and he had to pretend he was someone who he wasn't, in order to be liked, in order to not be lonely anymore.

This is important.

Now, Drew was entirely unaware of this. He didn't know anything about his passion behind closed curtains. All he knew was that "people back in middle school didn't like him very much".

And we can see that Drew cared. He stood up to a "friend" who made Jake visibly insecure in front of him during freshmen year (ep9 - flashback at the start of the episode), and he stood up to him, and turned down his offer to play soccer with him afterwards, because he cared about Jake.

(the Reason it wasn't the same for the music club, is because of multitude of reasons, A, drew feeling lied to, B; drew being jealous, and probably more reasons beyond that.)

Either way, I am going off the rails here, so to speak. What I was trying to say, that Drew was an important part of Jake's life, and by extension, Jake needed him. And couldn't bear the thought of losing him either.

...yet, for reasons we are aware of, it wasn't perfect, and it never could be.

The dromies were never necessarily the "perfect" "option" for him. They were publicly against the Music Club, the very place Jake felt he belonged to. Jake knew (in his mind), that if he were to be honest, he would possibly not be accepted, and would be all alone again, and he couldn't let this happen to him.

And with that, Jake needed him. But Jake needed him, because, at the time, he had no one else.

Drew was the best "option", because he was the only option, by some logic.

.

In a way, and in a sense, Drew was needed. And I would be surprised if he were to lack acknowledgement of that. For his money, he was wanted and was needed - and while that was, quite frankly, and quite obviously, not what he wanted or needed out of any of his social relationships - it was what made him unique, separate, and wanted. And like I said, it was not just the money.

It was definitely not what he wanted. When he realized Zoey (supposedly) dated him just for his money - he immediately broke up with her, and was clearly shown to be upset.

For all the reasons he was needed, he has the people he loved most around him.

But as time would pass, the very thing that made him more loved than most would start to fade.

In Zoey's case. Oh boy.

Drew's suspicion over her started since episode 5, where he voiced his concerns over her not asking him to buy anything for her.

Which made him worry.

For one, the money he had, it was how he had shown love, and what made him "needed". If Zoey didn't want any of it, it would almost feel as if Zoey didn't want any of Drew. And that she didn't need him anymore, for whatever reason.

Had she not loved him no more? Had she found someone better to fulfill her needs?

He could only hope not.

Yet... Here we are, very well aware that Zoey has a... "Sugar-daddy", who's a college student, and is another reliable source for her money. I don't have much to elaborate on, and even if I did, it's not relevant to the topic at hand. The important thing that ties her into Drew's character, is that, in some form of way or another, she didn't "need" him anymore. Or she didn't want him.

(which you could argue is false. She clearly didn't want the break-up to happen. "Just... Please don't tell Drew about what you saw." That line sounded genuinely sad coming from her. As if she was worried beyond not being able to gold dig off of him. (I got this theory from @sobeksewerrat otherwise my stupid head would still think Zoey would never care about drew, yet here I am. I do think she cared about him, *AT LEAST* at one point.) Or how she canonically called back to him to apologize (see the Teeth MEP for reference), in hopes of getting back together with him. It could go beyond the reasons of "oh she just wanted his money". She already is dating that sugar-daddy. A small part of me thinks she still genuinely cares about him in some way. At least a bit. Idk.))

Because, If she *did* need or want him, she wouldn't date someone else behind his back, right?

And so, when drew realized he knew he wasn't wanted, (which reminds me of his lime in the TMF comic where he tells Hailey to "know where she's not wanted", which I feel like ties into this whole mess and maybe even his home life), what else would he do but cut ties with her.

I don't think there's much to solve here. I don't think there's much hope, and better yet, I do not find there to be a good reason for them getting back together, and the black butterfly especially makes me think their relationship really is over. Though that's just me. I may turn out to be entirely false, and by the end of the show they are happy together in a healthy relationship. Who knows what Chloe is planning?

I am running out of time and may rush the following statements to be said. I sincerely apologize for this.

Jake, oh Jake.

He needed him, and he sorta depended on him, for a long time. In his own words, "you guys were there for me when I had no one else! But...", clearly stating that they were practically all he had, until the music club.

Drew didn't know about Jake's passion for music. Or about the amount of bullying he had to endure for his passions. Or his liking to the music club dating back all the way to freshmen year. Or his insecurities, or how he felt unsafe around the dromies, for he was afraid they would not accept him.

Drew knew absolutely none of that.

(And I am not blaming Jake for not telling him. Jake had his own trauma that caused him to be extremely secretive with his true self, otherwise he would put himself in a very vulnerable position by outing himself as another "freak". I am not saying that it was OK for him to lie to Drew, but it explains him. His behaviour. )

So, just imagine Drew's surprise, after Jake decided to join the music club, the very group they themselves targeted. He was, of course, confused.

Jake would say, he's "doing it all for daisy, and he'll leave eventually".

Well, now we know that's not how it turned out.

And we know Drew didn't take this well.

But drew didn't exactly know how much the club meant to Jake. Jake finally felt safe to be himself, free of worries JDUDJDD, ajjdjeoa, free of fear of judgement. He was finally allowed to be, unabashedly, himself.

..which is sad to think about, how Drew accidentally made Jake feel unsafe all these years.

Jake finally realized; he had a place where he felt truly safe.

And that place was not around the Dromies.

And suddenly, it was almost as if Jake didn't... Need the dromies. He didn't need Drew anymore.

Not that he didn't care about drew, of course - but now, if Drew were to cease to exist, Jake would still have the club. He would not be all alone, like he used to.

Suddenly, Zoey didn't need Drew anymore. And now, not even Jake "needed" him, because he was not their only source of joy.

He was not needed anymore, yet he still needed them.

As he slowly starts realizing Jakes JDUDJD relationship with the club positively growing, he starts getting paid less attention. He grows suspicious.

Because if he's not needed no longer, why would anyone care about him? And if nobody cares about him, who would he have left? Who could he love? Who could give him the attention he might have never truly received at home?

He would be alone.

Drew was, too, afraid of being alone and abandoned. Just like Jake. Just like many other characters in this show.

.

He knew what it was like, and what is still like, to need someone, yet not be needed anymore. For there were other people to fulfill the spot he used to fill in other people's lives, except they would do "better".

Anyway bisexual ass drew "essay" oveRrR (/j-)

(horrible exit)

[infriga]

What's interesting about House of Usher is that Flannigan usually has likeable protagonists, at least in my experience. Granted I haven't seen all of his works, but I've seen several (Bly Manor, Hill House, Midnight Mass, and I've heard summaries of others) and most of them are generally pretty sympathetic from my understanding, even the ones with more blood on their hands, so to speak.

In House of Usher however, almost none of the main characters are good or likeable people to much, if any, degree. Their spouses/partners are decent people, for the most part (dunno how the siblings landed such nice SOs despite being so nasty), and the granddaughter seems alright (I'm only on episode 5 btw so idk if anything happens regarding her or the other non-siblings, no spoilers pls), and Auguste seems like a decent person (maybe not the best family man, but he at has his heart in the right place especially compared to the Ushers), but all the siblings, and Roderick and Madeline themselves, are pretty horrible people.

But like, they're not one dimensional bad people, they're complex, they feel emotions, they care about people in their lives even if they don't tend to treat those people well, they have fears and insecurities and passions and hangups just like regular people do. So while usually I dislike when the protagonists of a show like this are unlikable, in this show it's actually quite fascinating because like I can't say I hate them either, they feel like they could be good people if they really wanted to be. Especially if they had better influences and were taught better lessons by their father and aunt. They feel human, not evil, but I'm also not rooting for them either. I don't know who to root for tbh, except maybe people like Julius, Tammy's husband, and the granddaughter, who are all side characters lol. Idk who the weird supernatural lady is (death? The devil? God? A witch? No idea) so I don't know her motivations or what kinda person she is, she seems to be collecting on some sort of debt but that's the best I've got on her. I do think it's interesting how she tried to spare Morrie from the acid by telling her to go like she did with the wait staff, but she didn't do anything to help Ali later when she was killed, so was it strategic or does this lady have some sort of code of morals? Does she care about whether people are innocent or not? Why spare the wait staff from death by acid shower but not the other party goers? Is sparing Morrie more about the potential role she'll play in Freddy's death? I guess I'll find out.

But I do think it's interesting that we start off the show knowing who's going to die already, since usually stakes in this genre come from wanting characters to survive (hence why I usually prefer likable protags in horror/suspense media), but it makes sense that since none of these people are very likable, the suspense needs to mostly come from something else on that front, such as wondering how they're going to die or which innocent people they might take with them in the process, as well as wanting to know what caused all this.

Roderick, ironically, is probably the most sympathetic member of the family aside from his granddaughter, which doesn't mean much but I mean, I wouldn't begrudge anyone going through what he witnessed in episode 5. Like gaddamn that's fucked up. He seems like someone who deep down has the potential and even the buried desire or instinct to be a good person, but was too much of a coward to put in the work it would take to be good and stay good in a harsh world when he wants so badly to be someone big and successful and important just like, well, his father. But ultimately he does obviously love his children so I do sympathize with him in that regard.

But the show is making the unlikable protagonists thing work for it, somehow. I don't like most of these people, but I am fascinated by them and what's going down and how they got here. It's like watching a car crash in slow motion.

[pumpkinrootbeer]

I am DYING to talk about Alastor. He’s absolutely my favorite, I love sassy little shits, especially when they’re otherwise the picture of manners.

I do think he made a deal with Lilith. They were gone for the same amount of time, he clearly isn’t at full power (wings clipped! Mouth sewn!!) and he at first didn’t seem to like Charlie at all. Sure, she’s powerful, but nobody knew that, especially not her. She annoyed him, but grew on him for sure and how he wants to protect her but can’t since he’s not able to summon his full power yet. Charlie may be able to get him out of his deal, or maybe he thinks she can use her relationship with her mom to convince her to let him go. Hence the favor!

My theory is Lilith asked him to watch over the hotel and possibly to kill Lucifer. She had to get into heaven somehow, and what better way than to betray the man she left Adam for? She sewed his mouth shut so that he couldn’t tell anyone and sent him to help build her daughter’s dream. Possibly also to sabotage it? Although we don’t see him doing this beyond the first episode. Husk clearly knows something, because when he comes back Al specifically turns to Husk in warning before turning to Charlie’s hug.

ANYWAY would love to hear your thoughts!!

I LOVE ALASTOR genuinely its really fun to see an ace character who isn't a robot, or emotionless, or comically innocent. super fun time for me specifically. also quick sidebar, how they went about showing his depth by him literally loosing it was so satisfying and works so well for his character. hazbin baby im so sorry i doubted your writing so onto the theories! i do 100% think lilith and alastor are connected, and i dont think it would be stretch to say she's the one who owns his soul. the reinforced detail of 7 years obviously is a big piece of evidence, along with his hate of lucifer, but her being in heaven reinforces it more for me honestly because of Zestial's line in episode 3 "Some hath spun wild tales of you falling to... holy arms?". imo its either lilith or a character we havent meant yet. (ive seen people throw eve's name around 🤔) now weather or not she wants him to protect charlie and/or the hotel is another matter. its gonna be pretty hard to predict what exactly the terms are and what she wants from him (if anything!) until we get more content. i dont think its really much of a stretch to come to that conclusion and im not not saying i believe it, but im not really sold on it. if it turns out canon i woudnt be surprised tho lol

him hanging around charlie could be her mom wants him to protect her, hence the annoyance he holds towards her at first, or it could be she has status! sure they dont know how strong she is but shes the princess of hell, and everyone respects that to some degree. her side is the winning side! (another side bar alastor actually truly believing in her makes me so so emotionally ill 😭 like he didnt doubt shed be able to rally people. and he lowkey encouraged her with his little shit talk pep talk. mi amor... babito....)

the stitches across his mouth, the way he dances around his 7 year absence, the way he completely switches up with husk when his deal is mentioned could all be unrelated but hazbin doesn't exactly do coincidences. the details are all very purposeful, ever since the pilot, so i do think he cant talk about it.

i also am inclined to believe that he didnt make the deal for his power and the deal is actively restricting it. for one, its more interesting imo. two, the line "once i figure out how to unclip my wings, then i'll be pulling all the strings" he clearly thinks he'll be stronger out of the deal, which sure, could be his arrogance. or the reason why hes so arrogant is because he used to be able to back up his talk 100%. i mean the kind of sheer confidence he has is absurd, he wasnt scared of adam, he wasnt scared of lucifer. he acts like someone who is just not used to being weaker than anyone. part of the reason hed be so desperate for freedom is because the deal is literally a threat on his life. he almost died for them!

tbh not sure if husk knows the specifics of the deal or not, because that scene in the finale could just be alastor being alastor. "haha bitch u thought" type beat. either way!! im pretty pumped for s2 and seeing alastors inevitable downward spiral. beat him up again. also maybe he makes some more friends pretty please

[shattered-sparks]

Hey, anon who asked if I could go off about the current Moon situation here. Sorry I'm late, the ADHD struck and I completely forgot I sent that ask lol.

Anywho! I saw a post about how Moon's behavior in the episode where BloodMoon dies (y'know, where he confronts Sun after the barrel goes off?) was "guilt tripping" and "unnecessarily pressuring" and I just. *Yells of frustration*

He was so obviously just trying to comfort his brother who was clearly shook up! He could see that his brother was distressed and had been declining for some time now and wanted to let him know that he was there if need be. If anything, a little pressuring was warranted considering that Sun was clearly not ok and, y'know, just fucking killed someone.

Oh! And that's another thing! Moon at the time of the episode doesn't fucking know that! He doesn't know that Sun's true reason for being shaken was because he just committed a murder. What in the fuck would he be "guilt tripping" Sun for?

The post also brought up a bunch of other points, but I genuinely don't know where they came from or what episodes they were getting the behavior examples from because I honestly don't see any of it, at least not to the extent the poster did.

It frustrates me because the moment they did point out was one of Moon's best brotherly moments in the show, and they're trying to use it against him.

These characters are not black and white, good versus evil, they're people, with nuance, who won't always react in the best manner, and who won't always be the best people. I'm not saying Moon is perfect or free of fault, boyo definitely has some issues and stuff he needs to work on, but this villainization shit is really getting on my nerves.

Why don't we focus on the actual antagonist (key word: antagonist, not villain (though he very much would fit that definition too, saying he was a villain would undermine the statement I made not 2 seconds ago)) of this story, eh? You know, the person who planted a fucking bomb in Lunar's head? To get an overpowered star so he could do only god knows what with it? Seems to make a lot more sense to go after him than one of the protagonists.

Oof, sorry that was so long TvT. I really wanted to get that off of my chest but I'm too scared to make a public post. Thank you for listening!

(P.S, none of the anger or frustration in this is directed at you. You are very much not who I'm upset with and I appreciate you giving me a place to talk about it. /g)

First off I actually enjoy that you took the time to make this so long and detailed. Cannot express that enough. More people need to take time out of their days to see the full points being written, not just the TLDR. secondly, completely agree with your statements here. I'm been holding my tongue on the whole Moon villization thing for a while but recent stuff just broke that dam. They often blame Moon for Sun's own wrong doings and try and say that Moon is at fault when he's not. The whole garbage chocolate situation perfectly showed what I mean when the fandom likes to make Moon out to be the worst character. (Yes I did see their response to my own post, I will not get into it but I still do not agree with how they see Moon but they can keep their opinion and I'll keep mine) Thirdly, I've seen people say the same thing as you and I am glad I could be that voice for you guys too scared or anxious to get your thoughts out there. This fandom needs to work on respecting opinions, you're allowed to share your thoughts, no matter if people agree or disagree. Don't let others push you around <3 1 thing I've recently had in mind about this whole thing is I don't think a lot of people truly understand when Moon means he doesn't understand how to comfort. He's not a very social person and to expect him and Sun to know what to do despite these very obvious traits is missing the entire point of it all. The Sun and Moon channel is, although not 100% correct, shows a lot about mental health and the effects it has on people. Basically all the character have depression, from Moon who openly hates himself to Sun constantly doubting himself. Another big one that comes to mind is ADHD and Autism represiation in the show (Although this is more so headcannon) with how Lunar and Moon struggle with social cues and their tones being flat while Sun and Monty have a lot of energy and is easily distracted. In the end I think the fandom just needs to take more time in seeing the full characters, not just 1 trait. Hell like you said, all the characters are in a grey area, even the main bad guy Eclipse. I could make a whole argument that he's in just as much pain as Sun and Moon is. Does that make his actions okay? Hell no, but these characters have a lot more depth then what most people see

[buckybarnesss]

agree with you when it comes to misogyny in the fandom (and in general lol) and shipping etc and I wanted to dump this here because it's been bugging me and I have nobody to talk to about it irl that hasn't heard me muttering about it before but why do people seem so anti-romance in general? I see 'Star Wars doesn't need romance or a love story' all the time and I can't help but feel like it falls into the misogyny category a little because romance is seen as something inherently feminine or 'for the girls' ig so people think it's an unnecessary addition to a plot but it can actually affect a character and how they act/think etc so much whether that's for good or bad, hope that makes sense?

obviously not every character needs a great romantic love and Din-doesn't-need-or-want-love enjoyers do your thing but even in the first season he clearly considers Omera and seems open to the idea at least, so people being against Bo just doesn't make sense to me? has she done bad things? well yeah but what character hasn't in Star Wars? and even if it's not Bo I still see it thrown around that Star Wars doesn't need a love story but why? what's wrong with romantic love? there are other shows that they're making/have made that yeah shoehorning in a romance would've made no sense (i.e. Kenobi, I mean I've not watched it but I can't imagine a love story working in that) but the Mandalorian hasn't set itself up to be a show like that?

I hope this has made sense but I basically wanted to air that out and it just came to me reading your answers to other questions that it's probably at least a little misogyny that plays a part in that anti-romance feeling going around or that makes sense in my head anyway

(also Jyn and Cassian soulmates truther here so if people wanna beef about them pls consider not doing that or I'll cry, they're basically built to be perfect for each other so???)

i wanted to publish this before tonight's episode (i just woke up for work 😂).

i agree. it's always when there is some prospect of romance for these kinds of female characters that the "we don't need romance" brigade comes out. like, there's nothing inherently wrong with romance nor is there anything wrong with not wanting romance. it's preference. but c'mon it's not star wars even has a lot of it on screen for major characters. at least healthy relationships or ones that don't end in untimely death.

i can name the actual romances on one hand probably and further discussion is going under a read more out of sake for length and because some minor spoilers for clone wars and rebels.

padme amidala and anakin skywalker ends in tragedy, the eradication of the jedi order and the fall of the republic. anakin turns into darth vader.

hera syndulla and kanan jarrus again ends in tragedy. he sacrifices himself to save hera, sabine and ezra.

bail and breha oranga perish in the destruction of alderaan.

obi-wan kenobi and satine kryze never officially get together as she's dutchess of mandalore and he's a jedi knight. she's murdered by maul to spite him.

vel sartha and cinta kaz external circumstances and cinta's devotion to The Cause of the Rebellion put them on shaky ground.

han solo and leia organa are depicted as a kind of volatile relationship and we never actually really see them be a couple on screen besides some crumbs. by the sequels they are separated.

cassian andor and jyn erso dead before they could really have a relationship.

galen and lyra erso ends in lyra being murdered in front of galen.

owen and beru lars seem to be a relatively normal married couple but than they get brutally murdered by the empire so.

so where's the over abundance of romantic relationships in star wars?

i'd like one couple in star wars that doesn't end in a tragic demise or a "casualties: everyone in the local vicinity" type of scenario.

besides a "strong female character" doesn't have be devoid of romance.

allison argent still says it best "can't i be strong and go to prom?"

[thesherrinfordfacility]

orwellian's a great word for it actually. "appropriate raiments will be provided" is the most disturbing thing in the whole series and i stand by that. this interpretation of heaven has definitely coloured my reading of the show especially how i see the fall so it's cool to see someone who agrees!

hard agree that pure coercion would be a total cop out. it's just that he does seem nervous so i do think he's aware of a certain degree of potential danger. i initially thought the metatron must have let slip an implication somewhere but i much prefer your idea that he suspected something. and well. i've been saying basically since season 2 came out that accepting the offer doesn't equal having completely fallen for it. will come back to that in my thoughts on the whole mess that was that domestic.

the blanket permission to come scream at you is greatly appreciated and i'll definitely make use of it; i love this kind of media dissection and speculation. 🦭

(p.s. i did indeed end up making the chekov's list since my ocd never can leave well enough alone lol. brace yourself: incoming!)

hihi again, 🦭 anon!!!✨

yes!!! in the context of 1984, especially, that line really is ominous; obviously there is a fine line between a corporate uniform and dictated dress, especially as the only scene where we see all of the angels look the same (iirc) is the waiting platoon in s1. otherwise, all of the angels do have individual dress/style (but similar enough to show belonging), even in the job scene, even if certain elements of their designs indicate shared rank or moral alignment... but the implication of subjugation made by clothes being specifically chosen for the prospective mind-wiped gabriel is... interesting.

and of course - aziraphale's outfit is very different to that of the other angels, in it being actual human clothing, and showing unashamed signs of wear and comfort. i remarked in a post that in job especially, his jobes (job robes) are very similar in aesthetic to that of michael and gabriel compared to say muriel's. could be that it's the appropriate dress of a principality rank, but im not... wholly convinced.

anyway, let's get on with your list!!! a herculean effort, truly!!! hope you don't mind, but a) ive copied and pasted it under the cut, because b) id love to use it as a checklist for myself (and of course if anyone else does!) re: things ive talked about, or indeed things that i have Thoughts on... or even things that i haven't thought to talk about and will probably look into doing so in the future!!!✨✨

episode 1:

starting with the big one there's the pre-fall sequence. the fall itself. talked a lot about these two things/the whole theme in general, found under the #the fall/the great war spec tag

maggie's spelling under the #we need to talk about maggie theory tag - babygirl is an angel, im convinced of it

"what's the point of it all" i mean, kinda talked about this in connection with stuff under the #god is dead theory tag, and in a couple of different asks; mainly that god doesn't give two hoots about any of it, and just wanted to give everyone and everything free will - and they have to work out the consequences for themselves (whilst she throws in a few chaotic sprinkles to keep things interesting)

shax's insider information about heaven ive definitely not discussed shax at all really, and i definitely have a few things id like to work out... main one being, for me, how she went from wondering where aziraphale was in ep3, to suddenly knowing how to exactly triangulate his position in ep4 finally talked about her in the #shax meta tag!!!

the demons being on half rations didn't really think to look at this!!! that could be interesting, especially with the short-staffed comment... someone did put to me that bc the apocalypse failed, everyone on earth continues dying and adding to the population of the Damned, so the work vs demon ration is steadily getting outweighed... but hm, could be something more than that!

"something terrible" because are we sure we're sure that that was about the stuff we've already seen you know, i wondered this too after ep6!!! it was a very interesting choice of words for me, bc whilst yes gabriel's fate was looking pretty shit, the line was almost a bit... well, over-announced? they kept repeating it? like, gabriel said he had to bring the box to aziraphale/the bookshop otherwise something terrible would happen... but why specifically the shop? is it just because aziraphale is the only angel/sanctuary on earth? is it because he was drawn to an angel that's also fallen for a demon? is it because aziraphale is simply kind? i don't trust that it's any of these explanations at all (or maybe all of them and another besides)... and tbh i think god has something to do with it. another speculation for the to-do list!!!

the book of life this one ive remarked on a fair bit under the #book of life theory tag, but it's fairly disjointed from other bits and pieces - tbh i probably need to do a long post at some point as to where all my theories etc join up... bc for the moment all of them are full of loopholes

michael and uriel's power politics oooooh i literally don't have a single scooby on this... id have to think on this a little more

the very highlighted matchbox quote this one ive had sat in the drafts for ages bc i can't quite parse it out - where does leviathan come into it? is it a reference to crowley-as-aziraphale spitting fire during the execution? why would it be on a matchbox of a bloody pub? is it a clue from god? is god linked to jim/gabriel somehow? gahd this one is still giving me a headache kinda? wrote about this - here, no tag for this specifically - and im still not fully satisfied that is the meaning of the matchbox but i think (hope) it might be somewhere near the mark?

1650 i speculated (or, well, dreamt up a hc) as to what this potential flashback could entail in a LWA response somewhere - in any case, give me the boys in cromwellian england and give it to me Now

the 25 lazarii miracle my batshit theory (and yet it makes complete sense to me, i stand by it) is in my #25 lazarii theory tag

episode 2:

heaven and hell working together as a single good cop bad cop system this is similarly stagnating in my drafts at the moment!!! but it's a bit of a mindbender for me bc it means i need to pick apart what everything thinks the job/satan bet was actually about... basically, i think it all comes back to understanding god's will - and all of them (yes, even crowley) have it wrong because imo god is completely amoral and is just the strongest advocate for free will... weirdly, i think the person that had the most right of it was gabriel.

"forces them under an awning together" god i hope this happens in s3... i mean there's no way it won't, right? and so many juicy possibilities (for my money itll be the bandstand, but equally would love, like, the stoop of the bookshop, and then have it mirrored again under like the porch of the south downs cottage) 🥺

gabriel's eyes glowing statements this tbh harks back to what i posted under the #25 lazarii theory tag - definitely something weird going on, and i have a gut feeling the boys accidentally made it even worse lmao

tricking heaven with a sleight of hand this is also going to require a bit more thought!!!

episode 3:

aziraphale's chekhov's diaries see im not sure how important i truly think theyre going to be, but if we go by the prominent influence of the crow road, it definitely has to be a s3 plot device, right? the only thing im scared of is that aziraphale's memory gets wiped, or he goes missing, and the books are key to getting back his memory/finding him... hmmm

crowley's consciousness extending into the bentley i think the crank is certainly important, even if just symbolic of his power - uses it to create nebulae, it survived the s1 explosion, etc. i do think bentley has its own kind of personality, but think it's borne out of proximity, use, and influence of her demon owner... obviously i could be entirely wrong, but i kinda hope it's more that he made her, and her allegiance as a sentient being is with him (and of course aziraphale by extension), mainly bc i want something to look after crowley... but then is it more poetic that the bentley is basically just him, and representative of him finding comfort in himself? idk tbh but she's a bad bitch and i love her

general resurrection themes ive talked a fair bit about the second coming aspect, but not about the resurrection and last judgement so much, so this is one for the list

gabriel's glowing eyes statements part 2 as above (and i realise that you might be talking about what he specifically says, not the general thing itself, 🦭 anon, but in a way what is being said is fairly self-explanatory imo, but why is the heftier question)

shax can sense gabriel in a way the archangels couldn't i personally don't think there's much by way of implication in the method in which she senses him (ie... smell? vs michael's weird sixth sense), but i do think there is something about the fact they can sense him at all... talked about in #25 lazarii spec and the #shax meta tag!!!

"it's always too late" oh god 💀 i had the most batshit theory about this that i don't even want to talk about BUT im with you that it's... an odd line. i love that it potentially references line in the book about crowley's watch being set to hell's time, which is set at "too late", but beyond that... not entirely sure why the line was said or said so... blatantly? feels like something obvious would explain it

rumours that aziraphale and crowley were an item that so far don't seem justified based on what hell knew. rumours that apparently had no major consequences for crowley despite one harmless photo warranting a legion to collect him [screams at 1941 truther sign] yeah this is how it read to me too, 🦭! something definitely happened after that dinner, and im not saying a move was made (and potentially witnessed by a couple of errant nazi zombies) but i think a move was made (and witnessed by a couple of errant nazi zombies) - #1941 spec tag

the literal chekhov's gun in the bookshop this one has flummoxed me, but i did read a speculation about continuing the 1941 flashback today, which was utter genius (and so much better than what i managed to dream up in the above tag), and suggested the derringer will make an appearance in a fight-ish scenario in that scene... which is frankly bloody inspired tbh, and im very much convinced by

the miracle blocker oooooh i don't have a dedicated tag for this but i definitely talked about it in a post under the #sanctuary/bentley theory tag!!! i think it was potentially a chekhov's gun that we didn't see get fired

sleight hand to trick hell probably one to look at in hand with the one above about tricking heaven

the zombies just running around london kinda as i said above tbh, not sure what'll happen to them afterwards but presumably a grisly end being eaten and pooped out by a spider

1941 full stop. we have not seen the last of that night. goddamn right we havent [skips around the 1941 truther sign]

episode 5:

the lack of demons available for the attack pretty much what i said above in ep1 about being short staffed bc the Damned population keeps increasing... maybe? still one to look at in more detail though!!!

"i know. do it anyway" "i know. looking at where the furniture isn't" not necessarily in reference to these quotes specifically, but in the general context - discussed this (and potential crowley memory loss) in the #the fall/the great war spec and #book of life theory tags

"if it happens twice it might seem like an institutional problem" oh. OH. THIRD EYE HAS OPENED. because we know two things, right? gabriel didnt fall/wasnt intended to, so the 'happens twice' isn't realised. and heaven does have an institutional problem, practically embodies the term. so if this is foreshadowing. does aziraphale fall. oh no. Oh No (ive sort of discussed this in #scapegoat theory tag but that was strictly pre-eden context...) this however has actually just made me realise that this is a chekhov's gun literally pointed at aziraphale's head... shitshitshitshitshjthka

mrs cheng's weird look across the street see this is on my list but waaaay down it. think she could be a demon. will work on it at some point edit: talked a little bit about this in the #shax meta tag, but possibly needs a dedicated post, idk

nina and maggie's semi immunity to miracles so the bit where aziraphale can't miracle them? that to me is potentially the same explanation as the miracle blocker post (like it all connects). maggie is more immune than normal to the ball miracle? see #we need to talk about maggie theory tag. as for nina... im still not sure on. idk if she's a demon (which for me is a Thought if we consider that hell are short-staffed; she could be one of Many) but it feels a little on the nose... one for the list edit: talked a little bit about nina in the #shax meta tag, but definitely needs a separate post at some point

shax saying the shop isn't an embassy anymore but the demons still unable to get in i didn't think of it from this angle, but i think my theory still stands - under the #sanctuary/bentley theory tag

nina and maggie's immunity to miracles part 2 oh oops - see above

episode 6:

maggie being able to invite the demons into the shop i think she's an angeeeeeeellllll (see #we need to talk about maggie tag)

the speed at which the portal opens and it's potential as a means of spying my latest galaxy brain moment (i hope) - #sanctuary/bentley theory tag

haloes and the potential consequences of blowing them up this one is in the #halo theory tag

crowley opening the files not quite sure what you mean by this one, 🦭!!! do you mean about his rank? definitely tried parsing this particular headscratcher in the #AWCW spec tag

heaven was trying to restart armageddon in a way that seems awfully unofficial oooooohhh.... haven't looked at it this way, but definitely will be!!! might link in with #god is dead theory stuff, but will need more exploring!!!

saraqael having their own agenda honestly saraqael is my newest bad bitch (gn) and if my #saraqael spec is even halfway true, im going to explode i love them

"i'm the only first order archangel in the universe" *camera cuts to crowley* kinda talk about this in the #AWCW spec tag but since neil cremated the lucifer theory (rip) ive kinda left this aspect alone... tbh i don't think he was as important as he's set out to have been

"i'm the only first order archangel in the universe" full stop. statement's plenty suspicious on its own too. this is....... potentially very intriguing

memory wiping as just a thing heaven does when someone disobeys i need to reconcile #book of life theory with this tbh - like, the focus on memory is so strong in s2 that i strongly believe it has connection to falling... at which point, where does gabriel demotion/mem wipe punishment fit in? and where does saraqael fit in, too?

muriel having the same kind of position gabriel was going to be demoted to vaguely looked at this in #book of life theory tag posts i think, especially in reference to how their potential punishments (in muriel's case) mirror each other

heaven and hell are technically at war now. its not like anyone with authority actually called it off danced around this in the #halo theory tag, in reference to aziraphale declaring this new war, and yet they've been at war for a long time? yes the reflection of it being a cold war but still... interesting to think about especially when framed like this

it's possible to remove your essence and store it elsewhere definitely need to explore the possibilities and implications of this at some point, but the suggestion i made in the #25 lazarii theory post somewhat starts to look at this

hell is understaffed as already mentioned above

the shax furfur alliance not quite sure what to think about this, and whether it necessarily means anything more than it's put across (ie just that they are the danger duo of hell in s3?) idk tbh i just need to look at them both as individual characters a bit more first #shax meta tag!!!

the many strange things that could indicate something going on in the last fifteen minutes god.... just anything in the #feral domestic/final fifteen meta tag tbh

"does anyone ever ask for death" idk whether or not to take this as meaning anything deeper than metatron just idly thinking "hmmm aziraphale could refuse my coffee, refuse a chat... at which point ill probably need to destroy him etc. hey, i wonder if anyone - instead of coffee - has ever actually asked for death? funny name for a coffee shop"... and possibly a double meaning meant by Nina saying 'everything else was taken'?

saraqael being the only one other than crowley who recognises the metatron and their reaction well theres my school of thought that saraqael is potentially closer to metatron that we maybe thought (#saraqael spec tag), but then again - and this exact sentence just reminded me - i think in this particular instance, both saraqael and crowley have just come fresh from watching the trial, so that's why they both remember metatron... which begs the question of what happened between the trial and the final fifteen to make them forget? hmmm

almond syrup imo, #omelas theory

the possible miracle chime ehhhh i know i wrote about this but im still like 50/50 on it... but it fits my theory (in the #feral domestic/final fifteen tag) so im rolling with it - i think there might be a chime and i think it might be a failed miracle to change the coffee

the metatron and crowley seeming to have some kind of history lmao anything in #metatron spec or indeed #the fall/the great war spec tags tbh

aziraphale's peculiar mannerisms im getting so lazy with these responses now 🦭 anon im so sorry, but again recently speculated in the #feral domestic/final fifteen meta tag

the way the conversation between aziraphale and the metatron is only reported and very strangely transitioned in and out of as above

the nothing to see here shooting of the kiss this one...

i know ng said it was a continuity error but. the time skip on the clocks ...and this one ive looked at in the #time-stop theory tag, and im the same - not trusting continuity error on this... not just yet

the something's up vibes of metatron. the general scheming and manipulativeness. the framing as the wizard of oz. the colour scheme and the dice on his tie. the sigh of relief in the elevator lol #metatron spec

the credits scene i haven't really gone into this in any detail and tbh idk if it needs it - i think it's pretty reflective of some stuff ive talked about in the #aziraphale meta and the #feral domestic/final fifteen meta tags

plus special mention: not technically in the episode but the distinctly ominous madonna/crucifixion promo photos aaaaaaaand this one is in the #mary/pieta spec tag

again 🦭 anon im really sorry it got a little lazy towards the end!!! but im very, very grateful that you put this all in a list, because ive definitely got some stuff in mind that id like to parse out!!! and as ever - more than happy to scream about things so pop on back if you feel the need to scream with me!!!✨

[rocketturtle4]

The Eclipse in progress thoughts

because I have to say something or I won't stop watching

Okay so I don't normally post half baked thoughts but The Eclipse so far has been a RIDE so have some dot points for me to come back to later (I just finished Ep 5 I started yesterday, I am trying to let the episodes breathe at least a little and not give in to the urge to go without stopping)

ALSO I KNOW LITERALLY NOTHING ABOUT THIS SHOW (except that it's good and I should watch it) (AND THAT'S THE WAY I LIKE IT)

(Also I finally realised MDL has a 'cast and crew' listing which means I can check waht the actors/characters names actually are lol - I did not previously know this)

Why doesn't anyone know Ayan's Uncle is dead? - who told them he transferred? did he transfer before dieing so this is partially true or was it all a cover up

Why does Akk call him a traitor? is it only because he transferred (and abandoned him) or did something else happen?

The fact that this is about the rights of queer people and their self-expression is being broadcasted in so many ways including:

Our three protestors queerness (obvs)

The probably queer uncle ?commiting suicide - given the higher rates of suicide in queer people (and especially queer youth) this is a poignant starting point

Diversity Cafe

Our class president Thua being gay (I'll come back to him) and Khan's concern about him getting 'corrupted' by Ayan

At least 2 of our key disciplinarians also liking boys

Akk comfort with his own non-straightness and the automatic assumption he is therefore responsible

I had assumed Akk was responsible for burning the posters, end of episode 5 seems to confirm this, does this mean he's responsible for the plant pot though? or the car (the car seems a stretch, though his face here:

has me all kinds of concerned

It's giving me: Burn it down if they can't conform because I need to conform to survive vibes

although he's also protective of Ayan already so I can feel how his internal conflict is going to get MESSY

Likewise this dude:

Is going to have more layers I can tell

we've already got family pressure with an obviously oppressive stepdad hmm

I actually think he may be behind the three protestors, and maybe stealing the diary? I don't think I saw him doing the martial arts...actually I didn't see Neo's character either hmmm but I'm sure they're not in cahoots

He is involved in the discussion of the diary in a way that makes me even more suspicious

either this is Khan trying to keep him safe or dude is about to get seriously corrupted, I'm leaning option 1 but who knows

Is more going to have happened with Not!Max the previous head prefect? (I'd never seen him before Be My Favorite and now he's showing up everywhere)

Wat ALSO has family pressure wow this show is leaning hard into duty to our parents as well. (Also opposite vibes from DBK with this character depsite the family pressure)

Khan seems to genuinely believe in the curse which is interesting, has Akk been convincing him or was it previously not Akk?

Is Akk trying to support within the rules because he can see their importance (al a Kongpob from SOTUS) or is he conforming because they helped him and so he thinks they help everyone (Al a Arthrit from SOTUS)?

THE LAYERS

Also I'm sorry but the way BOTH Neo and Khaotungs characters are SO OPPOSITE their characters in Tohnhon Chonlatee is giving me all the weird vibes. It feels too opposite to be uninentional even though it probably is.

This has helped my concentration, I might have to do it more often, I'll go do some actual work now.

[dichromaticdyke]

🗣 - CAI STEALS FANFICS??? WHAT??? I thought it was just some dumb little tool 🥲, I liked asking it questions and seeing what it responded with 😔 BUT WHAT! ALSO YES, GIMMIE THAT SWEET SWEET MULTI-CHAPTER FIC PLEASE! (Sorry about the mama thing, its definitely out of affection, but I'll stop if it makes you uncomfy. 💕)

Also, what does Dr. Rockso look like in the HM!Toki universe, because I've been racking my brain about him for a while but nothing is coming out.

oh yeah i mean, just like how generative AI for images is trained off stolen art, CAI is trained off both the original source material and off fanfiction. my fanfics have almost certainly already been automatically scrubbed for training purposes. i obviously can't control what people do/if they use AI at all, but AI character bots do make me uncomfortable for that reason. i won't tell you to stop if you're having fun, that's just my opinion as a stranger on the internet who is also a fic writer.

BUT YES i'm working on it heheh. i have the first two and a half chapters completed, i'll start publishing when i have more chapters written bc i wanna try to update it consistently so ppl don't lose interest.

ohhhhhh my god. fuck. so i think rockzo's actually exactly the same. there's always some cishet men who just want to be lesbians' best friends as like vindication. best examples i can think of is that one curb your enthusiasm episode where larry david is bragging about how the lesbian community loves him (i need a source on that slkdfhsdf) or literally like. my friend's ex-boyfriend with me lol. so i think he's still like exactly the same, still a horrible manipulative, toxic friend to toki who still, underneath it all, does care in some fucked up way (fuck i was gonna give an example of that but it's a spoiler LKSDFHLSKDFH you'll understand later). there's just now the added layer of him wanting a lesbian's approval specifically because he's fuckin weird about it lol.

[xplrvibes]

the thing for me is that rituals do work... just not like that and it involves so much more than dancing around graves. if you ask someone who studies the occult (and I mean actually studies it) or even other religions, they'll tell you a lot about ritualistic procedures in different belief systems/religions - macumba, voodoo, wiccan rituals, even satanism (and I don't mean the church of Satan), cults and secret societies, etc etc. but one thing about those rituals is that they're, well, occult. in a sense that they're secret. generally, only those who are involved tend to fully know the ins-and-outs of those rituals, and that includes the chants, the possible results, the materials needed, what you need to do before and/or after (eg.: fasting). you can know the gist, based on hearsay or even notes, but usually it's not all there. and by doing those skits that they call rituals, paranormal investigators tend to empty the meaning of actual "rituals" while simultaneously disrespecting the place/spirits. I'll never forget snc reenacting someone's murder or dancing/walking around someone's grave to "summon" them like???? no seriously what do they want to achieve with those stupid ass dares and rituals?? bc there's no way you think you'll a really be able to summon a witch by repeating bloody Mary three times on the mirror of your car or whatever that shit it. and obviously if you are calling forth what is said to be a negative/powerful spirit, regardless of rituals, you're also opening yourself and making yourself vulnerable to not only that spirit but others as well cause surely (and I'm looking at you Sam) you don't think you can 1. actually control what/who comes through and 2. be sure that what/who you called is what/who you wanted to call with them silly little games. but yk what they say - play stupid games...

but yes, if I were one of those spirits, I'd also follow them home out of spite for shits and giggles. like "yk what I wasn't even thinking about following you to your place but because you think you're a big shot important enough for me to leave my turf and the comfort of my home just to annoy and follow you around like a servant, then now I'll show you exactly what I can do"

That's kind of my thing - they call these "rituals," but they are really more spooky slumber party games, like Bloody Mary.

None of the stuff they are doing has any real bearing or basis in fact; they are literally just doing a quick google search and pulling crap off the first angelfire site that comes up. They're one bad day away from reading one of those early 2000's "send this email to 20 people by midnight or your eyeballs are gonna explode and slide down into your ass and hatch worms" chain emails.

I wish they would stop with that and go back to exploring natural spiritualist/psychic energy and abilities, or do more interesting things like the psychomenteum or what-have-you...but noooooo, instead we get Sam and his pencil games for 20 minutes every episode lol.

Anyway, it is what it is. I usually put those "rituals" on 2x speed and blow past them as quick as possible, cause I find them pointless, dumb, counterproductive and skirting the line (sometimes crossing the line) of disrespectful.