#alternate 1x02

[anothersarcasticdolphin]

Viserys: *Gestures to a pile of burned and melted Kingsguard armor* Explain.

Daemon: Ahh. That. So do you remember how I told you Caraxes and I would protect Rhaenyra?

Viserys: *Nods*

Daemon: Well Ser Crispy had his sword out in her presence. And Caraxes takes promises very seriously.

Viserys: *Facepalm* And do I want to know how my Lord Hand ended up with burns?

Daemon: Well he was standing close to Ser Crispy. You know how dragons are.

[angelic37]

PETE’S WORLD | WHAT... What am I going to tell Mia?

[juliets-roller-derby-awesomeness]

fix ideas (feel free to steal)

- santabarbara 1 where shawn stays over for "72 whole hours" which turns into a week to 2 weeks to he's just there now :)

- alternatively henry still gets shot and juliet locks him in the apartment/ gives him some kind of ultimatum to get him to stay for his own safety

^^^any of the above + whump. im too tired to figure out how exactly but there's something whumpy there i promise

- shules "im gonna kiss you on the mouth now" but it's not on her mouth

- better written ikea scene where juliet actually tells shawn she wants him to move in

- lassie debriefing a teddy bear (it's not a teddy bear. he's my stenographer. in case this comes up in court and i need alibi or something (it's a teddy bear)) about how shawn grabbed his ass

- shawn flirts relentlessly with juliet as she patches up his gunshot wound while waiting for ems to arrive

- shawn tries to braid juliet's hair

- some reason please for why jules cur her hair. was it undercover? did she and shawn get really drunk one night? she did it after the ikea furniture scene so was she just mad at shawn for being an ass?

- she calls him mr. spencer

- them going back to his hotel after despereaux in season 5

- shawn getting drunk as shit and telling gus he loves him, gus wildly misunderstands and tells shawn he loves him too, and shawn goes in for a kiss

- juliet goes on a blind date and it turns out to be a girl. ""worse"" yet it's her old partner from miami and their chemistry is still there

- lassie asks if dating shawn means he's dating gus as well and gus decides now is the perfect time to practice his patented three-way kiss (slight crack ik this isn't how polyamory works but it also sounds like gus so-)

- usually lassiter can get anything out of a suspect with just a little time in the interrogation room, but this time not only will the thief not admit to shoplifting, he also doesn't pick up on how desperately carlton wants his number. for uh- police .. work. yeah. i need to know his phone for. official interrogation business. shawn watches from the one-way mirror

- juliet tries very hard to wing man for lassie but unless he stops. talking. about the goddamn federal reserve he's on his own

- juliet has cats. i fear we keep forgetting this but it's referenced in 1x02

okay i really truly need to go to bed now but i have so many of these im so normal about this show

(shules things: "im going to kiss you on the mouth now"; "big fat kisses"; shawn calls her sweetheart; juliet's voice getting higher when he's being sweet/sexy)

[phantomoftheorpheum]

y'all, I wrote this ridiculously long analysis of the first 2 eps of PLL: OS (Summer School), but it was too long so this is what you get instead.

*Spoilers for 1x01, 1x02, and the "Weeks Ahead" trailer

I see a lot of people suspicious that Christian may be related to (or good friends) with Chip, and I do understand where those theories are coming from. I personally think it's more likely that Christian will be an early suspect of the season. I think the girls will discover that Christian made the "Bloody Rose" mask/costume, and believe he is involved, but that we will find out that it was a commissioned work and he doesn't know the identity of the person who bought it (they might even use this to have him describe a character who came to pick up the mask/outfit, but intentionally make us think of someone else- like describing an older white lady and the show points us at Chip's mom, or Kelly's mom, or Dr. Sullivan, etc. depending on who they don't want us to suspect). Obviously this is conjecture and I could be totally off base, but that's my read on Christian. This is also not to suggest that I think he's 100% above board (I have some other theories about him), but this is where I am with him at this moment.

Female rage has always been a major theme of this reboot, and it feels particularly relevant, considering "Rose" is our scary person in a mask, so personally I really do hope the main person responsible (even if there are multiple people involved) this season is a woman. I think it just fits the theme of the show really well. That being said, I could be talked around to alternatives.

I can't stop considering how the Our Mother of Holy Grace church comes into play here. So, here's where that takes my brain. This church is led by Pastor Malachi. Interesting choice of names- Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. It focuses on criticizing those who are not committed/faithful enough, and also criticizes those who question God's justice. We know that Rose Waters (the real Rose Waters) was incredibly religious, and that she wielded religion as a tool in her abuse of Angela and Archie. "Bloody Rose" wears a crown of thorns, an incredibly famous bit of religious imagery. The actual Rose Waters walked the path of "religious woman who failed her children (was abusive towards them & did not protect Angela from her "friends") and lost one to violence, then became violent with those she blamed for this." We have another character who could easily walk that same path- Mrs. Beasley is a religious woman who failed her children (Karen, dead. Kelly isolated & traumatized, neither protected from this sequence of events) and lost one to violence, then became violent with those she blamed for this (stabbed her husband). But there could be a lot more people than Tom Beasley on her "blame" list. Particularly if her feelings/grief around Karen have become tangled up in her religious devotion. That is to say that, so far, everyone who has died in this season (though the first few kills were Archie's) could easily be considered a "sinner" ("the guilty" from season 1, the teens in the cabin, Sandy "tempting" Greg), and "Bloody Rose" may see herself as meting out God's justice. But then... why the girls? Well, it sounds like they are getting "tests" this year, which, similar to last season, makes me think they are not kill targets (yet), that "Rose" is still deciding about them. Anyway, again, all conjecture/interpretation and I could be completely off base.

I think people are gonna hate to hear it, but- I think we might be getting a lot of Faran & Greg this season (I don't mean this romantically, though I don't think that's 100% out of the question, either). Greg's actor got his billing upgraded between seasons, which implies he'll have more screen time. I don't think the Henry/Faran relationship is long for this world (she's lying to him, he seems resentful that he chose to stay behind with her, she told Kelly she doesn't know what they have in common outside of dance, he ignored her when she asked him to let her handle things, they just aren't clicking), and I think Faran & Greg may end up (unwillingly) teamed up trying to figure out what's going on with Kelly & the church.

Random, but I think we might get a "secluded cabin in the woods" episode this season, since that's a big summer slasher trope and they reminded us right away that Imogen's dad has one of those.

I have 3 categories for characters (not including the main 5 girls), "actual suspects," "suspicious by default, but could go either way," and "keeping my eye on you." Here they are-

Actual Suspects - Mrs. Beasley, Mrs Beasley + Kelly, Mrs. Beasley + Pastor Malachi, Any combination of people from the church, Chip's Mom, Dr. Sullivan.

Suspicious By Default, But Could Go Either Way - Jen, Christian, Johnny, Coach Rhodes, Imogen's dad.

Keeping My Eye On You - Wes, Shawn, Ash, Henry

I think that's it for now. I'm sure I'm wrong about a lot of stuff, but it's the guessing that makes it fun imo.

[ladyluscinia]

I don't disagree that fandom ran further with the concept of fuckeries, but I would say that 1x04 is an important spiritual successor to the concept that felt like it was going to be significant. The first demonstration we got of how good Ed and Stede could be together was the lighthouse escape, which I would definitely count as a fuckery. It's a clever, creative victory that doesn't require violence, and it seemed to sate Ed's s1 stated appetite for drama/excitement/fun without triggering him.

Continuing from here... I mean I personally agree with you, but that's also mainly what I was talking about with fandom giving the idea more importance and interest than canon did.

I think a lot of people - myself included - drew that connection from 1x04's proto-fuckery to getting a name for it (and its potential role as a raid alternative) in 1x06 to Stede becoming a true student in 1x10. More detailed examples went for looping in 1x02 and/or 1x05 to show Stede leaning toward trickery over force.

The point isn't that the fandom (basically all of us, not a few outliers) was wrong to run with this - I think it was brilliant, actually, and a big part of why I even cared about writing meta about the pirate society of a romcom - but that the canon of S2 didn't pick the idea back up at all in a way that indicates it was never going anywhere. The pattern we spotted in S1 was apparently not the interesting comedic alternate to action/adventure swashbuckling, but something (significantly more boring tbh) that served to buoy our underdog Stede along without dying until he was far enough in his pirate journey to swing a sword successfully.

Is the lighthouse escape the first demonstration in a larger pattern of how Ed and Stede will work together in the future? Where their mutual tendencies toward creative solutions and dissatisfaction with abusive and violent pirate culture can find a new, more fun way of life?

Or is it a, yes, clever and creative escape they come up with together, but one that only has those specific traits because they are in an impossible situation where they can't fight their way out - narratively because the ship is stranded and crewed by useless pirates, and meta-narratively because they need Stede to contribute as an equal instead of just getting rescued (that was for last episode) and he can't do that in a fight yet?

We thought that the lighthouse plan was supposed to connect to 1x06 and 1x10, but I think it might have only been meant to serve as a fix to Ed's fog and full moon plan (i.e. making an impossible escape).

They just looked similar because all the various wins and conflicts of S1 were shaped around Stede's character journey, but the part of that journey where he can't jump into the fray and kill the mooks too as a real pirate ended with 1x10. Which is why they don't come up with a brilliant way to slip out of the Republic without a fight in 2x08. Stede doesn't need the genre crutch anymore. He is a swashbuckling hero now, and he and Ed can kill people side by side.

You know, once the trauma-based reasons they might not do so are healed by "something something... love maybe?"

[princeescaluswords]

How Many Times?

So, very recently, the fandom has come back around to Master Plan (2x12) once again, as it will until the end of time. Scott's decision to deceive Derek and his pack in order to save their lives while simultaneously deceiving Gerard in order to stop him from killing everyone (and becoming an alpha werewolf in the process) is one for which parts of the fandom will never forgive Scott. In consequence, they have described Scott alternatively as "manipulative," "self-absorbed," "full of himself," and most recently as "passive-aggressive." This novel approach has been explained as Scott disliking direct confrontation with others and so he works behind their backs for the greater good. (This tactic allows them to dislike Scott while acknowledging that he was the hero in the story).

The problem is that none of those descriptors are true. In fact, they're bullshit, and a very clear example of a fandom technique I've talked about before: Editing. This is where members of the fandom simply pretend certain scenes or parts of scenes didn't happen in order to justify their interpretation.

Because Scott did directly confront Derek and his pack on many different occasions during Season 2 in ways that were neither manipulative nor passive-aggressive. Don't believe me?

From Shape-Shifted (1x02):

Derek: Get in. Scott: Are you serious? You did that. That's your fault. Derek: I know that. Now get in the car and help me. Scott: No, I've got a better idea. I'm gonna call a lawyer. Because a lawyer might actually have a chance at getting him out before the moon goes up.

Also from Shape-Shifted:

Derek: Everyone wants power. Scott: If we help you, then you have to stop. You can't just go around turning people into werewolves. Derek: I can if they're willing. Scott: Did you tell Isaac about the Argents? About being hunted?

From Ice Pick (1x03):

Scott: Two's not enough for Derek. I know he needs at least three. So who's next? Erica: Why does there have to be a next when we've already got you? Scott: Who's next?

Also from Ice Pick:

Scott: Boyd. I just wanna talk. Hey, come on, Boyd, please. Did Derek tell you everything? And I don't just mean going out of control on the full moons. I mean everything.

From Abomination (1x04):

Scott: Derek? We need to work together on this. Maybe even tell the Argents. Derek: You trust them? Scott: Nobody trusts anyone! That's the problem. While we're here, arguing about who's on what side, there's something scarier, stronger and faster than any of us, and it's killing people and we still don't even know anything about it.

From Venomous (2x05):

Scott: Uh, I can talk to Derek, maybe convince him to give us a chance to prove that it's not her.

That's six separate occasions in four episodes that Scott went directly to Derek or a member of Derek's pack with concerns about their behavior, warnings about danger, or pleas to work together, and I'm sure I could find others if I put more time into it. And every single time, Derek or a member of his pack responded with a refusal to even listen to Scott or actual outright violence, once which ended up with Scott having to seek medial treatment after coughing up blood.

How many times does Scott have to reach out to Derek and his pack before his decision to act on his own principles is justified? This question is mostly rhetorical, because I know, you know, and God knows that there's no upper limit to that number for parts of the fandom. Scott is not entitled to make necessary decisions for the common good. After all, he's not white.

I can say with confidence that if Scott was a white male character, he could have. After all, they don't like Scott for 'going behind' Derek's and Stiles's backs (even though there is no evidence he went behind Stiles's back and that Stiles didn't know of Scott's Master Plan), but it only applies to him. Derek is entitled to hide the very existence of the alpha from Scott in Season 1. Derek is entitled to bite Jackson, the white male character who blackmailed Scott and sold Scott out to the hunters, and not tell Scott, who had to figure it out for himself. Stiles, himself, is entitled to conceal the fact that the message luring Allison to the high school in Night School (1x07) was sent from Scott's mother's e-mail account as well as directly lying (it's on the screen!) to Scott about his plan to get to the bottom of it. None of these things make them dislike Derek or Stiles the way Scott's Season 2 deception makes them dislike him.

I know the fandom standard is that all interpretations are valid, but I think I'm justified in arguing that if an interpretation is inconsistent or relies on pretending certain scenes didn't happen, it has to be recategorized not as interpretation but as a reaction. Calling Scott 'manipulative' or 'passive aggressive' is not valid.

The key, of course, is Entitlement. Derek and Stiles are entitled to behave like that because of what they've gone through and that they are putatively acting for Scott's own good. This makes them someone for which parts of the fandom can understand and empathize with. For some reason, Scott is not entitled to behave like that even after what he's gone through and that he's acting for other's good. This, in turns, makes Scott unlikeable, as he is 'full of himself' and 'self-absorbed.'

BUT THAT REASON ISN'T RACISM.

[raayllum]

I remember starting the show because my friend told me about Callum and Rayla and how cute they were together. But after binge watching all 5 seasons, I just feel like the writers don’t really give a damn about them, in many ways, compared to other couples. But, to be fair, I have lots of issue with the writing. But, to me, the primary idea was to make Callum and Claudia a couple (no, I don’t ship them together), because they actually have a background, development, even chemistry too. So, I don’t understand why the writers changed their minds on this (please, tell me if they ever addressed this issue). I just think that him moving on from a childhood love, like that, out of nowhere to Raylla was again a bit odd and out of nowhere. Because nothing indicated that in the first 2 seasons. Same goes to Rayla too. And, in S5 they have acted more as friends than anything else. It’s just weird. What’s your opinion about this? And again, I don’t ship Callum with Claudia, it’s just my opinion after watching all seasons.

Thank you for sharing your feelings, I definitely have been in fandoms where the Big Ship (canon or fanon, in show or in fandom) have just not been things I could click or with or understand, so you have my sympathies. The crew has gone on record saying that Callum and Rayla being a couple was not originally the plan (we don't know if there were any endgames being considered for either of them as alternatives, but I lean toward no) with Janaya and Ruthari presumably being the main couples. This changed in 2x04 with the lightning flash and moment the two share on the boat, "everyone in the room saw it" (legit quote from showrunner) and they began to write and develop it. It is unknown if they went back to add or shift anything in S1 (we know the crew works on seasons simultaneously) but it wouldn't surprise me given the vibes

I definitely can't promise to change your mind (I'm obviously a big Rayllum shipper and I have been since S1, so I'm clearly coming at it from a different perspective) but I do have some metas that do address what you've brought up, I'm gonna link them below and then do a quick summary in case you understandably don't wanna read all that!

Rayllum and Loneliness (Post S3): a meta about how it is likely (now confirmed in supplementary material) that Rayla grew up pretty friendless and a deeper dive into how Rayla is/was the first person Callum had who was unequivocally his peer and his friend (as Soren bullied and Callum's crush - as well as other things - made him and Claudia have a fair amount of distance.)

Callum and Claudia: You Already Did (Post S3): On what appeal the ship has, why it may not appeal to others, and why I don't think Callum and Claudia were actually that close pre-S1, the various factors why, and why they were doomed to fall apart since 1x02.

How/Why Callum's feelings for Claudia and Rayla Were Overlapping (Post-S3): Exactly what it says on the tin, mostly because he is obsessed with Rayla lowkey in S1 (trying to get her to laugh three times in 1x05, taking a flirty tone with her when they aren't arguing in 1x06, etc) and then outright devoted in S2, trusting her over Claudia in 2x03.

Rebuttals to Rayllum Reservations (Claudia, Pacing, Etc) Post-S3: Pacing, emotional intimacy, platonic development and romantic feelings, etc. Probably the simplest meta and the most on brand for what you're (presumably) looking for, but the other metas I think uh do contribute nicely to explaining why Rayllum is what it is and som of the reasons it appeals to people.

It's also honestly not surprising to me that in S5 they just feel like Friends (hopefully best friends) given that a decent chunk of the Rayllum fandom, myself included, are on the aromantic and/or asexual spectrums, and don't really care if they're Romantic as long as they're Life Partners. (Aspec Rayllum tag here) Callum and Ezran are two of the, if not the, most important people in Rayla's life, and Rayla and Ezran are two of the most important people in Callum's life. To me, romance / devotion / whatever you want to call it intermingling makes sense. One of the things I've loved most about S4-S5 is the fact that whatever they are, they have each other's backs, and they care for and protect each other, no romance required, which hits different since they do both also have romantic feelings for each other. It's just not a pre-requisite for them and a lack of it is never something they'd hold against one another. In other words:

Chemistry is also something that's hard to pin down sometimes - like all shipping preferences are subjective, but evaluations of chemistry tend to be in particular (for example, I don't really think Callum and Claudia have chemistry in that way, but that doesn't mean that they can't or they don't).

That said: platonic Rayllum tag here and foils Rayllum tag here, and I hope whatever parts of the show you do enjoy, well, give you joy.

[drsilverfish]

What’s with all the claws? The Winchesters

There are a lot of talons and claws and tentacles and spines in The Winchesters monster-parade so far (episodes 1-6)

Is that just because monsters are generally claws-and-teethy or is there a symbolic function to all these claws in the narrative?

In the pilot we see the long talons of what? An Akrida, the Akrida leader, a Wicked Witch of the West-esque entity?

In SPNWin 1x01 Pilot we meet a Loup-garou with its very long werewolfy talons:

Image credit: http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/Loup-Garou 

It was placed as a guard by the Men of Letters over the mysterious, trans-dimensional box which can entrap demons, and, apparently, the alien Akrida.

In SPNWin 1x02 Teach Your Children Well, La Tunda has tentacle-vine talons which seek to suck the life-force from her victims:

She is an abusive parent feeding on the life-force of rebellious children, and her lair is other-dimensional (like the Akrida’s, who come from another world).

Second image credit: http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/File:LaTundaVines.png 

In SPNWin 1x03 You’re Lost Little Girl, the Bori Baba emerges, talons first, from its portal-sack into a child’s bedroom:

It also seems to feed particularly on children and young people (judging from the number of stuffed toys in its lair) and its sack is a portal to another alternate realm/ dimension.

SPNWin 1x04 Masters of War has the God Mars-Neto as the monster, so no physically manifest talons there. But the theme of an alternate reality is present, as Mars Neto creates an illusionary return to Vietnam, within which he traps John and Carlos, forcing them to relive and re-experience the traumatic effects of the war.

In SPNWIn 1x05 Legend of a Mind we learn that the Akrida have stingers which they inject into some people’s brains in order to control them:

This appears symbolic of the hold childhood trauma has on the mind (a claw/ spine/ talon/ tentacle of poison, hooked into the self) given that we explore Mary’s childhood trauma at the hands of her hunter parents (with the help of Ada’s Djinn son as a healing mind-guide) after she is brain-injected with an Akrida stinger herself.

And in SPNWin 1x06 Art of Dying Darla is found dead in a barn, mutilated by claw marks, and Carlos finds a claw embedded in the ceiling. The team initially think a werewolf is responsible (this theme of misrecognition of monsters is a recurring one; Mary thought that the monster in 1x03 Teach the Children Well was a shapeshifter). Another taloned creature is responsible, a Soucouyant:

All of which makes me think of the expression, “to get your claws into someone”, meaning to gain a controlling hold over them.  

Psychologically speaking, The Winchesters is exploring the way trauma, in particular the trauma parents visit on their children, gets its claws into the psyche. The claws, talons and tentacles of the monsters symbolise the dark hold that such abuse has on the mind.  

In terms of the recurring themes of alternate dimensions and misrecognition, that may be symbolic of the larger frame of the narrative (which, as I’ve explored in earlier 1x06 meta) might suggest that the entirety of The Winchesters is actually taking place in Dean’s mind, in a liminal state between dying and rebirth, where he works through the main themes of his life; parent-imposed trauma being fundamental.   

[flyinghome-againstthewind]

drabbles masterlist

A list of my weekly drabbles for Wednesday 100: 

Jamie’s haircut (tbbfiy)

What’s in a name? 

Colder than...

Wee crab friend (an alternate faith lives au)

Scars

Christmas Future (The Lost Ones)

Germain’s birth

Stir crazy (tbbfiy)

Jamie’s birthday

Impressionable (tbbfiy)

A Logical Mind

Something to hold onto

A. Malcolm Curls 

Astronomy Lessons (Claire stays au)

Tender Secrecy (tbbfiy)

Secrets but not lies

Finding Their Footing (Beside the Seaside)

Something To Fight For

Out of Habit (tbbfiy)

Milestones (Claire stays au)

Curlywigs (tbbfiy)

Strangers in the night

Scars II (tbbfiy)

To See Her Grow (tbbfiy)

Fortunate

Aftermath

A Beautiful Home

His Father and Mine (Beside the Seaside)

Sheltered in Love

Above All Else (tbbfiy)

Waking Truth

Its own terrible grief

First Day

Wee Sassenach (tbbfiy)

90s Girl Dad Jamie

Auntie Claire

M’annsachd

To Lean On

Home

(2)40 Years (tbbfiy)

The First Halloween (The Lost Ones)

Shifting Focus

Dreamworld (Claire stays au)

In Dreams

As Fate Would Have It (Claire stays au)

Foundations

A Ma’s Love

Wherever I’m With You (Bonnie Fraser au)

Home, Loved and Safe (Bonnie Fraser au)

To Fifty Years (Beside the Seaside)

Port in a Storm (tbbfiy)

To see the look on Claire’s face

A Braw Equestrian

In Footsteps (Beside the Seaside)

Some Things Remain the Same (1x01 au)

Easily Mended (1x02 au)

Dangerous and New (1x03 au)

Full Circle (1x04 au)

Out West (1x05 au/wagon train au)

Assurance (1x06 au/Inheritance)

The things you remember (1x07 au)

Carry your burdens (1x08 au)

Heartbroken (1x09 au)

Changeling (1x10 au)

Promises & Daring Escapes (1x11 au)

[mesillusionssousecstasy]

Love, Death + Robots : Volume 1

The animation were incredible and so different from each other.

But the show should have been named "Kill, Death + Robots".

My favorite one was again the three robots exploring the apocalyptic earth and lucky thirteen wasn't that bad at all.

So here a review for each episode :

Three robots (1x01) : I love those three robots, the way they are discovering each human tradition was well done. I really liked the part about the cats being the god of them all. It's also the fragility of the human race.

Beyond the Aquila rift (1x02) : The animation was amazing. From the beginning you know that it will end badly. It's the idea of what's real. Terrible story, I really didn't expect that.

Ice age (1x03) : The only episode with true actors. I also liked the mini world in the freezer, being the repetition of the same story, the same cycle.

Sonnie's edge (1x04) : It's about monster fight in a pit controlled by human. The end is really unexpected.

When the yogurt took over (1x05) : the story was very stupid and ridiculous, but I liked the demolition of human satellite.

The secret war (1x06) : It was the best SGI animation from the entire volume, every detail was so well done. However, the characters should have spoken in Russian and at the end, the episode became too much like a video game.

Sucker of souls (1x07) : I was sure from the first moment of the episode that it will concern vampires, but I don't understand what they were looking in the first place, in this tomb? Also, why Gary has a girl's voice, that doesn't make sense. And I really liked the importance of cats in this episode too.

The witness (1x08) : Every animation is different, this one was very different from the other, like animation on drugs too. Why there isn't any one in this town? Why the man has the key of the flat? It seems that the two of them are stuck in a loop in which he killed her and the other she killed him.

Suits (1x09) : Poor cows. It was honestly a weak episode. What was the point of it?

Good hunting (1x10) : First of all why the characters do not speak in Mandarin? And why it couldn't be a love story between Jan and Ling instead of this horrible story, even if the end is good.

The dump (1x11) : Is about a monster who survive on garbage, I called it "le monstre des poubelles".

Shape-Shifters (1x12) : I really hate war, but I think they want to show us, who are the real animal during war?

Fish night (1x13) : From the beginning, there was a foreshadowing of what will become later in the episode. The animation with the ocean sea was amazing, the desert becomes a sea of glowing fishes. It also shows us that the young boy becomes a fish, suggesting his descent to death.

Helping hand (1x14) : The episode was disgusting, but I presume it's about surviving and not dying in the atmosphere.

Alternate histories (1x15) : If only an application like this could exist. It's called multiversity.

Lucky 13 (1x16) : The story in itself was a bit sad, but cute. The ship sacrifice itself.

Blindspot (1x17) : The only episode with a happy ending I presume, but it's a shame that we don't know why this microchip is so important.

Zima Blue (1x18) : The episode with a bittersweet ending, the last art of Zima, beneficing himself at the end.

Some quotes:

"- You've seen one post-apocalytic city, you've seen 'em all." (Robot 1 - 1x01)

"- No. Indeed, it was their own hubris that ended their reign, their belief that they were the pinnacle of creation that caused them to poison the water, kill the land and choke the sky. In the end, no nuclear winter was needed, just the long heedless autumn of their own self-regard. (Pyramid robot) - Are you okay? (Orange robot) - Yeah, sorry. Thought that would sound better than, "Nah, they just screwed themselves by being a bunch of morons." (Pyramid robot - 1x01)

"- And what makes you so special? - I'm not special. Unique." (1x04)

"- Now, hate that was something I had to learn. You don't come into this world with hate." (1x04)

"- Everyone sees what they want to see." (1x04)

"- Do try to at least act excited. (Doctor) - Mercenaries are like hookers, pretending to be excited costs extra." (Mr. Flynn - 1x07)

"- Well, at least I'll die young and beautiful." (1x09)

"- You know what I think? It's all in the attitude. The right attitude can sell anything." (Young boy - 1x13)

"- God damn company penny pinchers, am I right? (Bill) - Why pay two when one'll do?" (Astronaut - 1x13)

"- I had to make a wee sacrifice to the great nothing." (Astronaut - 1x14)

"- In spite of all his success, Zima was still dissatisfied and what he did next was, for many, too extreme a sacrifice to make for art." (Clare - 1x18)

"- But you're a man with machine parts, not a machine that thinks it's a man. (Clare) - Sometimes, it's difficult even for me to understand what I've become. And harder still to remember what I once was." (Zuma - 1x18)

[diminuel]

Here are some unstructured reactions and observations about episode 1x02 of The Winchesters. Under the cut!

I love what Barry’s saying about being trapped inside our parents, who are trapped in theirs. We only know three (and a half if you count Emma, Ben or Dean II) generations of Winchesters, but the issues are being passed down. But while Dean and Sam are the way they are, wrapped into this web of trauma and secrecy made partially by their parents, the interesting part for me is that Sam and Dean were the goal. The moments the lights went on, the angels knew it was going to end with Sam and Dean, right? So you could argue that even though Sam and Dean are a product of Mary and John (and Samuel and Deanna, and Henry and Millie), Mary and John are also a “product” of Dean and Sam. (The fact that many viewers are experiencing The Winchesters after SPN adds to that feeling of a slightly mixed up genealogy.) They had to be shaped and manipulated a certain way to “produce” the tools necessary for the Apocalypse. (I’m sick and this is not elegantly phrased but maybe you understand what narrative corners my brain is sniffing out.)

Zombies? Are they just calling those creatures zombies or are they actually “zombies” (whatever they might be in the SPN universe. We’ve had some zombie variations like Revenants, the ones that Death brought back, Croats...)

Samuel’s way of “contacting” Mary is as vague and unhelpful as John leaving a trail for his sons in S1. >w< Carlos’ assessment that Samuel’s just trying to get them off his trail might be true, but considering the ending sequence it might as well be connected to some bigger plot (possibly the Akrida).

The box is not working? I didn’t exactly expect them to bring the box on cases, but they did say it should work on all kinds of monsters. Maybe zombies aren’t the kind of monsters this box can focus on?

So, ingesting zombie blood is not going to turn John.

Latika’s wide pants being soaked through is giving me flashbacks to the early 2000s when I wore pants like that. Dreadful business walking around the rain.

John and Mary are flirting~~ I ship it.

So, who’s Betty? Not sure if Latika’s guess that she’s an ex is right. And I guess John knows how to fix cars? When Dean meets him he IS a mechanic.

Hehehe, Winchesters and their aliases. The whole “more punchy, less talky” thing sounded like Dean, however, Dean’s very good at being “undercover”.

Mary giving John the thumbs up was so cute. Fave scene in the episode I think!

70s motels, back when they were - technically - still relatively shiny and new!

The song moment was cute!

Okay, so we find out that Henry planted the jasmin vine at the garage, which implies that they were living there. So, why were they living in Normal, IL when Henry disappeared? Is that just a continuity issue or am I just not getting some very basic explanation?

I like that they expand on shapeshifter lore :D

*lol* Carlos, dissing copper weapons. Today copper is pretty expensive and sought after as far as I know, I guess it wasn’t back in the day?

Mary stubbornly wanting to stick to one monster without looking at alternatives sounds like a dangerous thing to do for a hunter. Also, John is going straight for the motel vandalism. X3

I’m still not sure I trust Ada. She just knows a whole lot of things that are kind of odd for her to know - like the secret parts of the clubhouse. Would Henry just have revealed it all to her? (she did say Henry was secretive and made mistakes, so who knows. But Henry wasn’t fully initiated so he probably wasn’t her only source.

? The telephone in the secret part of the clubhouse looks way too modern. The clubhouse would have been abandoned 15 years ago, in 58. Shouldn’t it have a rotary dial instead of a key pad?

Why does Latika wish Ada good luck? Did she know about Ada trying to tap into the knowledge of the demon?

On the document on the left (that reads essential document as the only terms I can decipher) is a sigil that looks a lot like the one Cas used to open the door to Purgatory.

I made some comments last week wondering if John could drive, but he’s driving so clearly yes X3

When Mary said she doesn’t like Cabaret, does she mean the Broadway musical, he movie or the entertainment form in general?

Nicht die Mama :3

John’s commentary when he struggles to fight X3

If John keeps getting stuff into his face/ mouth he’ll turn into some kind of creature before the first season is over >w<

Millie’s rule to say “I love you” after a fight is sweet ;w; And it’s sad that she has to live with her regret that she didn’t get to say it a last time on the day he disappeared ;w; I wonder if John can keep this tradition up, I doubt it thought. We do know that he didn’t say it to his kids and we knew Mary and John fought.

Mysterious robed figure with rings who is apparently accompanied by an army of weird monsters (similar to what attacked Samuel in the crypt?) It could be someone we know (Rowena, Meg, Ruby, ...) or someone new. Hard to say so early!

However, I find it interesting that she is pulling some “essence” out of the scene where they defeated the plant lady. My brain somehow jumped to “ah, maybe they orchestrated this, using some magic to make it happen and now cleaning up after themselves!”. So, using magic as a tool to make a narrative event happen? I’m probably reaching *lol*

Anyway, good episode! I think they’re managing an extended cast of main characters well :3

[angelic37]

PETE'S WORLD | Dårlig Ulv Stranden, Norway.

Jackie, Rose, and the Doctor have to return to London to continue their lives on the parallel Earth...

[purpleplaid17]

Jess Watches // Wed 29 May // Day 245 Synopses & Favourite Scenes & Poll

Dark Matter (with B) 1x05 Worldless

As they learn more about the Box, Jason and Amanda see alternate versions of their lives. Jason2 begins training a potential investor.

The writers must've realized my negative reaction to Jennifer Connelly dying again in another universe so they put in more Amanda Brugel and had Alice Braga speaking Portuguese while smiling as bright as the sunshine she is. Also, the seemingly throwaway line about the son being allergic to peanuts will probably be relevant soon. Also also, Jason2 is a shit father/husband/human.

Acapulco (with mum) 3x06 Take a Chance on Me

Héctor narrates the story of El Castillo Rosa.

Older Héctor is a fox. He's even more handsome and looked very dapper in a suit. He's such a good Uncle to 'Dylan from Indianapolis' and it was so nice to see from his perspective for a change. Also, lmao at Chad singing in Spanish. Earning himself another promotion!

Tracker (with L) 1x02 Missoula

Colter tracks down a missing young man who has been pulled into a deadly cult and doesn't want to be found.

I haven't watched a procedural in years. And while it's a low-energy watch, which is a good thing atm, everything just wrapped up way too quickly. Each story could be a double episode and let the plot build a bit slower to its conclusion.

[floripire]

a quick and dirty event guide featuring important episodes and plot points: season 1.

note: the events of the show happen as they do, albeit tweaked and a little darker and more mature; the salvatore boarding school looks like a regular boarding school but behind closed doors, vampires are feeding off other students despite technically not being allowed to do so; witches use their abilities outside of the classrooms and are practicing forbidden magic, etc.

flori hacks into triad industries but doesn't cover her tracks well enough; veronica greasley finds out and orders a hit but flori isn't home when that happens so triad makes an example out of her parents instead.

flori accidentally gets turned by derek machado - he buries her in a shallow grave and flees the scene.

flori digs herself out of the grave and goes to sue's birthday party where she accidentally drains sue dry.

flori flees and goes back home to find her parents dead and her house ransacked on veronica greasley's orders.

flori gets taken to the triad industries detention center by burr and his squad.

flori escapes the triad detention center by befriending (and feeding on and ultimately compelling) a security guard called caleb smallwood.

flori gets dropped off in grove hill by a good samaritan.

jeremy gilbert finds her in grove hill's trauma center, feasting on bloodbags.

flori becomes a year-rounder at the salvatore school.

in 1x01, flori is present at the party at the old mill.

in 1x02, flori is present at the football game between the timberwolves and the salvatore stallions; flori gets in trouble because a few timberwolves catch stuff on camera when they're not supposed to and flori scrubs the footage.

in 1x03, flori also has to do community service; when connor throws the milkshake on lizzie, mia gets hit as well and flori leaves with her.

in 1x06, flori's mom gets briefly resurrected by the necromancer. they spend time together. flori's mom crumbles into dust at the end of the episode.

in 1x07, flori's ex-something sue carson also gets resurrected but while her mom took everything in stride, sue freaks out and wants nothing to do with flori.

in 1x09, flori has a lot of exam stress and has nightmares: flashes of when derek turned her, flashes of her time spent in the triad industries detention center, flashes of sue's mangled body, flashes of her parents' bodies, unmoving. it is during this episode that dorian gently suggests seeing emma for weekly sessions.

in 1x10, flori appears in all three alternate realities: in the first, she's a member of the salvatore school without funds; in the second, she is a member of the mikaelson school and splits her time between new orleans and wherever the harmans are; in the third, she's escaped the triad industries detention facility and is now making her way to the resistance.

in 1x11, flori is one of the people who gets infected by the slugs. she also joins the vampires when they do a sit down and is of the opinion that kaleb and mg should have won over the witches, even if josie's song genuinely brought tears to her eyes.

in 1x12, flori is the one to tell josie about the ball of yarn. it is revealed that flori hails from maple hollows.

the girl who does not remember where she came from will never reach her destination: flori's backstory is partially revealed in this extra episode.

in 1x13, flori joins the impromptu roadtrip to mg's parents but she doesn't come back.

veronica remembers and recognizes flori; she knocks her out with vervain and flori wakes up in the basement of the greasley house. veronica questions her, telling her that she's not above getting her hands dirty and using extreme methods if necessary. at some point after the interrogation, flori blacks out.

in 1x14, wade starts a rescue mission when it becomes apparent that flori has been taken.

in 1x15, flori awakens at triad industries next to landon, once again coming face to face with veronica greasley who reveals that  she’s the one who ordered the hit on her parents after she caught flori hacking into the database; she actually wanted flori dead for her transgressions but when it turned out she wasn’t home, she ordered her firing squad to take out flori’s parents instead, to make an example out of them. to send a message. out of the goodness of her heart, she told them to make it look like an accident, too. veronica didn’t have to do that, but she did. because she’s no monster. and really, if flori hadn’t been snooping, none of this would have happened in the first place.

she tells clarke to prep flori for transport back to the triad industries detention facility and flori goes ballistic until veronica leaves and clarke unties landon, who in turn unties flori.

clarke escapes with landon and flori gets rescued by wade.

in 1x16, flori runs into kaleb during the siege of salvatore and helps him to get the kids onto the bus. bonnie comes back to teach in the fall after alaric gets booted out.

[ao3feed-johnnylawrence]

Shake This World Off My Shoulders

by SecretSecret After Miguel leaves for the evening, there’s a surprise visitor to the new Cobra Kai dojo. AU of Season 1 Episode 2, “Strike First” Words: 3628, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Fandoms: Cobra Kai (TV), Karate Kid (Movies) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: M/M Characters: Johnny Lawrence, Daniel LaRusso, Miguel Diaz (Cobra Kai) Relationships: Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Sexual Tension, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, First Time Blow Jobs, Masturbation, Infidelity, Fighting leads to fucking, more or less, because these two are gone for each other, 1x02 if Miguel went home early via https://ift.tt/IJwgqTP

[princeescaluswords]

Uninteresting

So, yesterday, I encountered a story (at that point it was untagged, and to give the author their due, they tagged it afterwards), and the thing that jumped off the page to me is that they have Scott purposefully luring the Argents to the police station in Fury (2x10). This was a new one on me, so I wondered if the author had just missed the part where Matt had taken Scott's (and the sheriff's and Stiles's) phone and that Allison had correctly identified that Scott wouldn't have done that. I pointed this out.

The author replied that they were tweaking canon because they thought it would be interesting to see Stiles and Scott have a 'discussion' about it.

What they also thought would be interesting would be repeating every big idea that the Anti-Scott parts of fandom have ever had. Scott told Derek his family deserved to be burned alive! (He didn't say that). Scott didn't ask Stiles about his injuries in Master Plan! Scott was obsessed with Allison! Scott neglected Stiles for Isaac!

Such a variation on Teen Wolf might actually be interesting to me as an alternative, too, if I hadn't read it 15,000 times before (not an exaggeration). One of fanfiction's purposes is to give us alternatives to canon, but the trouble is when it comes to Teen Wolf, it's always the same alternatives. I pointed out that as a Scott fan who reads Sterek, it bothers me that they always try to justify the relationship by making Scott the bad guy.

They replied that they tweak canon in a lot of ways, not just to make Scott a bad guy. And they're right. Beyond that ...

They tweaked canon to make Deaton an Evil Sinister Black Man! So unique! He is plotting against Derek with Scott because he thinks Derek should die and Scott should be alpha. Unspoken is why he didn't straight up murder Derek after Peter's resurrection or still supply him with ketamine for the plan to stop Jackson, but if Evil Deaton had been competent, there wouldn't be much of a story would there?

They tweaked canon to make Stiles -- you guessed it -- a Spark! Ground-breaking, like florals in spring! And Deaton was lying to Stiles about the strength of it because Stiles is going to become Derek's Emissary! Because of course he would!

They tweaked canon so Derek is super angry about Scott's remark about the Argents having a reason to attack his family in Magic Bullet (1x04), but doesn't even remember that Stiles directly accused him of murdering his sister out of jealousy of the full wolf form in Second Chance at First Line (1x02).

They tweaked canon so Derek can't trust Deaton because the veterinarian is plotting against him for some unknown reason, and it's definitely not because Derek kidnapped and almost killed him in Heart Monitor (1x06).

They tweaked canon so that Stiles obviously did care after Scott was poisoned with wolf's bane by Victoria, even though we didn't see any of that on the screen but assumed that it happened, just like we should have assumed Scott asked Stiles about what happened in the Argent basement.

They tweaked canon so that Stiles never wanted Derek dead and that he can't believe Scott would be so, so cruel to widdle-baby Derek, who didn't lie to Scott about the cure or break into his house and threaten to kill him or did nothing at all ever to earn Scott's distrust.

I could go on. In other words, to them it's interesting to rehash every single Sterek Trope that has been written in meta and stories so often that it's become accepted reality. They "tweak" canon in only certain pre-set ways and always to the same ends. Because I do believe in alternative stories, I would accept this if, for every Sterek story where Scott is a Bad Lying Friend and Unworthy of Stiles's regard, so he turns to Derek, there's a Sterek story with different "tweaks," such as where Isaac tries to kill Stiles to get Scott to join the pack or Scott rejects Stiles because he's too mean to Derek which makes Stiles see the error of his ways. But there isn't. And that, of course, is my point.

It's the Big Lie. Everyone complains about discourse and why people would waste time arguing over trivial matters such as these, but ten years have passed and now I encounter multiple people entering the fandom who literally believe that Scott was OBSESSED over Allison, that he didn't put her to the side to save Derek and/or his pack on multiple occasions and that she was his necessary anchor. Who believe that Stiles was neglected and treated badly, not by the guy who bounced his head off a steering wheel or tried to kill the girl he loved or sent one of his betas to kidnap him, but by his best friend who literally ripped a locker door of his hinges in an attempt to find him. Sterek has become synonymous with Scott is a Bad Friend, and I dare people to argue that it hasn't.

And thus, a non-white heroic protagonist has been transformed, probably forever, into an unworthy inadequate simpleton who treated his mega-genius best friend and a (phenomenally rich, good-looking, and well-loved) orphan werewolf so badly. It's happened. Right in front of the fandom's eyes. And lots of people are happy about it for some reason.

BUT IT'S NOT RACISM.