#and the framing of the junkyard shot

[lucascsinclairs]

Set Design in Stranger Things 4

Chapter Five: The Nina Project

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

The Stirrings in the Junkyard

Summary: A one-shot set during season 2. Eddie was hanging out in the junkyard when he caught sight of a side of Steve Harrington that no one had ever seen before, and it caused quite a stir in Eddie's secret romantic heart. Also, with a side of monsters.

Eddie was just minding his own business, really. Here he was, late at night, sitting in a junked out old car that he turned into a little fort. Wayne's trailer was occupied tonight. . .their trailer was occupied tonight. He was still getting used to calling it that since he moved in a few months or so ago. Well, officially anyway, he's lived there on and off the last few years since he was eight. It wasn't until his goddamn house burned down due to his own stupid decision-making skills and his father's that he had to move in with Wayne. Not that he was complaining. He loved Wayne. He just missed that house sometimes, the house his mom had picked out herself. He sighed and tried to get the image of his mother's records going up in smoke out of his head and focused on the book he was reading under a flashlight. That's when he heard it, the sound of hushed voices and something. . . something growling.

Shit, was the junkyard occupied by someone else tonight? Eddie sighed and rolled his eyes. He finally found a perfect place to escape to, and someone else was here. God, was it someone doing something sketchy. . .like maybe a drug deal. Eddie snorted. He was the one to talk, considering he had just started selling drugs to help pay the bills. Shit, did he have competition? No, these sounded like kid's voices, and someone was yelling for a guy named Steve. Eddie peered through the broken door frame from the back seat of the car. His eyes widened when he saw what was next to the very car that he was in. At first, he thought that it was a fucked up looking dog but there was no way that this creature belonged here on Earth. There was just no fucking way.

Eddie slapped a hand over his mouth to stop himself from yelling out. One sound and he was done for. The creature was black with long, gangly looking limbs. It walked on all four of them, so it was an easy mistake to make, thinking it was a dog. It had no face. No eyes. No nose. No mouth. How did it eat? Oh God, he didn't want to find out. That's when he saw him, out of the corner of his eye. Steve Harrington. He stood in front of the bus like a guardian or a knight, a nail studded baseball bat in his hand and wielding it like a sword. He could see kids' faces peeking out and calling for him. Steve was protecting them. He was a gallant handsome knight, protecting his young charges. He's more like a paladin, really, Eddie thought. Wait, handsome? He must have let out a wimper because suddenly, the creature was trying to get into the car.

"Shit!" Eddie cursed as he backed away from the window and pressed himself up against the other door.

Suddenly, the creature's non face opened up to a giant flowery shaped mouth with thousands of rows of teeth. He was going fucking die. . .or so he thought. A moment later, he saw more creatures approach Steve, and Eddie watched for a moment as Steve took a swing at one, hitting it with everything he had. Eddie couldn't stop watching the swing of his hips. The creature growled and moved away from the window. It joined the others in their fight against Steve. Eddie couldn't stop watching the way he moved. The man was breathtaking, a word he never used to describe a man before, but it was accurate. The word belonged to Steve, and now, suddenly, Eddie could see what so many of the girls were saying about him. He was utterly gorgeous. Yep, Eddie Munson had a crush on a boy. Goddamnit, those stupid jocks were right. He wasn't straight. He wasn't gay either though.

"Fuck," Eddie muttered.

Suddenly, the creatures ran off like they were called away, and for whatever reason, Eddie still couldn't stop watching Steve. Okay, he knew about his crush and the things that go bump in the night, Eddie could look away now. He was in awe of Steve Harrington, though, completely enamored, and he couldn't look away. He watched as Steve ran his hands through his hair, and Eddie's eyes followed his tongue darting out to wet his lips. Eddie licked his own. Steve’s side was turned to him so he could see his profile pretty well in the moonlight. Eddie's eyes followed past his hair and down the curvature of his back. He liked the way his back curved, and Eddie could image running his hands down it until they rested against the small of his back. . .maybe even cupping his well-rounded ass. Holy shit, you could probably bounce a nickel off that thing. That's when he realized he was being watched. Steve’s eyes were on his or were they? He couldn't see him, right? Steve started moving toward the car. Shit.

"Steve, come on, they're heading toward the lab!" A boy shrieked.

"I thought I saw - Nevermind! Wait for me, you little shitheads!" Steve yelled.

Eddie sunk low and laid down against the seat. He pressed a hand to his chest to calm his racing heart. He shut his eyes tight, hoping that it had all been a dream. He wasn't sure when he had drifted off to sleep, but when he had opened his eyes again, sunlight was peaking through the window. Shit! Eddie sat up and quickly climbed out of the car. Wayne was going to be worried. He hopped in his van and drove off. When he got back to the trailer, Wayne was waiting for him out on the couch out front. It was earlier than he thought it was. The sun hadn't quite woken all the way up yet. Eddie plopped down next to him on the couch.

"Your friend leave?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah. You fall asleep in the car again?" Wayne asked.

"Yep," Eddie said, his leg shaking.

"You know, you don't have to keep doing that. Going to the junkyard," Wayne said.

"It's fine. I loved it there," Eddie said.

"You look a little pale there. Is everything okay?" Wayne asked.

Eddie looked at him and debated on whether or not he should tell him. Knowing his uncle and his conspiracy theories, he knew he would believe him if he said anything. It was best to keep it quiet.

"You ever ran away from something because people were telling you that's who you are, and they acted like it was a bad thing, but really, you didn't want them to be right because of your own stupid fears?" Eddie asked.

"Tried to run away from being a Munson when I was younger," Wayne shrugged. "But then I realized it wasn't just my daddy who shared the name but my mama too. She chose to be a Munson even after everything he put us through and even after he died. I ain't ashamed of it no more because you're one too, and I'm happy to share it with you, too."

"The crazy thing is, is that I never thought that it was a bad thing, I just ran away from it, and I don't know why," Eddie said.

"Looking into a mirror and being aware you're looking at yourself can be an unsettling thing. It's hard to open up to people and even harder to open up to yourself," Wayne said. "You want to tell me what this is all about, son?"

"I like women, but I also like. . . ," Eddie said and suddenly pictured his own dad walking out of his life, giving him pause. ". . . I also like men."

He was leaning forward, sitting on the very edge of the couch and trying his hardest not to look at Wayne. Suddenly, he was pulled back, and Wayne was hugging him tightly to his chest.

"You're my boy, and ain't nothing going to change that," Wayne said. "I love you, kid."

"I love you, too," Eddie sniffled as Wayne kissed the top of his head, and Eddie pulled back.

"Besides, you really thought the friend that I invited over here last night was a woman?" Wayne asked.

"You're - "

"Gay. Always have been," Wayne said.

"You never said," Eddie said.

"You never asked. I never asked you either. I figured you would come to me when you were ready," Wayne said.

Eddie sighed, grinning, and leaned back. He sank lower into the couch and rested his head on Wayne's shoulder like he used to do. They watched the sun wake all the way up, shining down over the trailer park as though it was letting them know that everything was going to be okay. For a moment, Eddie believed in the sun, and then he remembered the creatures in the junkyard. The image of the teeth chowing down on Uncle Wayne popped into his head. He couldn't stop the shudder from coming. He wouldn't let anything happen to him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure there isn't anything else that you want to talk about?"

"I'm good, Uncle Wayne. I'm all good."

He had been hoping to talk to Steve that very day at school, but he wasn't there that day, nor was he there the following day. The next time he saw him was on Monday, and it looked like someone had done a number on his face. He managed to get him alone when Eddie himself was also going to the bathroom. He had spotted Steve going in first. He waited a moment before following him in there. Steve hadn't noticed him at all, struggling with the lid of a Tylenol bottle. Eddie made sure no one else was in the stalls before locking the bathroom. He swiped the bottle from Steve’s hand and hopped up on the bathroom counter.

"Those are not going to help you," Eddie said.

"And how do you know what's going to help me, Dr. Munson?" Steve scoffed.

"I've been called worse," Eddie said, cackling. "I don't know if you've heard about what I've been doing lately - "

"Selling weed," Steve said.

"Yes, that," Eddie said. "It's going to help you a lot more than these things will."

"I don't have a whole lot of money on me," Steve said, looking embarrassed.

Eddie tilted his head, studying him. He looked weak, pathetic, and sad like the bruises weren't the only things that were hurting him. He was curious about the bruises and it won out.

"What happened to your face, man?" Eddie asked.

"I don't really want to talk about it," Steve winced.

Eddie could tell that he meant that. He wanted so badly to tell Steve about what he had witnessed in the junkyard, but he could see it in his eyes that whatever he went through, he didn't want to talk about it. Maybe another day.

"Okay. Do you still want the weed then?" Eddie asked.

"I told you, I don't have a lot of money on me," Steve said.

"I don't want your money," Eddie said softly.

"What?" Steve asked.

Eddie couldn't believe what he was saying next. He couldn't believe how brave he was being considering that Steve could punch his lights out. Maybe he was just being stupid.

"A kiss," Eddie said.

"A kiss?" Steve asked. "From. . .?"

"You."

"Right. On the cheek or. . .?"

Eddie puckered his lips at him, and Steve swallowed. Oh, this was stupid. Steve was going to kill him. Suddenly, though, Steve was moving closer to Eddie and spreading his legs apart before stepping in between them. Steve grabbed Eddie's legs and slid him closer, very roughly. Eddie wrapped an arm around Steve’s shoulder as the sudden movement, grabbing the back of his jacket. Steve’s face was very close to his, his lips hovering over Eddie's lips.

"I'm not doing this for the weed," he whispered.

And then Steve was kissing him, like actually kissing him. It was like out of a goddamn romance novel, the kinds that Eddie always denies reading when people ask him, the kind that he was reading in the car in the junkyard. He gasped, his mouth opening when he realized he had left his book in the junkyard. Like he always does, he put his name on the inside cover. Steve slipped his tongue in his mouth, and suddenly, every thought fell out of his head. Eddie moved his other hand into his hair, his legs squeezing his hips as he moaned. Steve cupped the back of his head, his large hand cradling him so gently. Suddenly, Eddie became very aware that the hands holding him so delicately, so softly, were man hands. The lips that were on his were a guy's. Eddie broke the kiss with a gasp, feeling very overwhelmed.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked, cupping his cheek.

"Yeah, I just - ," Eddie trailed off.

"This is your first time kissing a guy?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, I'm going to guess that it's not the first time for you," Eddie said.

"Yeah," Steve said.

"I'm sorry, I only just figured out that I like guys, and I thought I was ready, especially when I saw you, but I don't think I'm quite there yet. Sorry, if - " Eddie babbled.

"Eddie," Steve said softly, his thumb stroking his cheekbone. "It's okay. Take your time. Breathe."

Eddie inhaled and slowly exhaled, leaning his face into Steve’s soft touch.

"Thank you," Eddie whispered.

"Take your time, man. When you're ready, come and find me," Steve said. "I'm in the big book."

"The bible?!" Eddie exclaimed.

Okay, yeah, that kiss turned his brain into oatmeal. Goddamnit.

"The phonebook," Steve laughed and grabbed the Tylenol bottle from Eddie. "You're right, I don't need this. I feel much better."

He kissed the tip of Eddie's nose, and he walked out of the room with a spring in his step. Eddie eyes were glued to his backside the entire time he walked away. He ended up leaning so far forward that he fell off the counter and onto the floor. Eddie flopped onto his back and stared up at the ceiling.

"Oh, I am in trouble," Eddie said.

It was a statement he repeated a couple of years later, when Chrissy Cunningham died in his trailer and he was hiding out in Reefer Rick's boathouse. He never expected him to show up, and he certainly never expected to see him after Eddie pushed himself away after Eddie distanced himself like a coward that he is. Eddie didn't deny himself after that kiss. He even went up to Indianapolis and discovered the term for himself. Eddie Munson was a full-blown bisexual. He wasn't afraid of that anymore. No, it was the fear of actually getting close to someone in an intimate manner of letting his guard down that kept him at bay. He had hoped that Steve somehow knew. As Eddie pushed him up against the wall of that boathouse, he could see it in Steve's eyes. Steve knew. He cupped Eddie's face and brushed his thumb against his cheekbone.

"It's okay, take your time, breathe. It's okay, Eddie," Steve said softly.

Eddie whimpered, leaned into his touch, and dropped the beer bottle. He buried his face into Steve’s neck. He broke down sobbing as Steve wrapped his arms around him in a tight hug.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just ran," Eddie sobbed.

After that, everything happened so fast. They barely had time to talk except for that little moment in the woods in the Upside Down, where they admitted that they had been jealous of each other's relationship with Dustin. God, he really did love that little dude, and yeah, every time Dustin brought up Steve’s name, he had been a little jealous, but he had also felt guilty about not going to Steve. That one stupid kiss felt so perfect but also final, and it was like he realized he was never going to have a first kiss ever again. They had barely interacted, but when Eddie saw Steve swinging that bat in the junkyard and protecting those kids, he had known in that moment that this guy was it for him. God, did that scare the shit out of him, so he ran away.

"Hey," a magical voice sang to him.

White lights floated above him, and he furrowed his brow in confusion. There's no way in hell. . .

"Am I in fucking Heaven? Who in their right mind would let me through the gate? Oh my God! What's that obnoxious beeping sound? Someone get your fucking food, man," Eddie groaned and then he blinked more clearly to find that Steve was sitting by his bedside. "Yeah, I am in Heaven. There's a fucking angel sitting beside me."

Steve grinned and blushed. Eddie heard giggling coming from somewhere. He looked around and groaned. He was in a goddamn hospital and surrounded by his uncle as well as the members of the party.

"Don't be embarrassed, son. That's not the worst thing you ever said," Wayne told him. "I could tell everyone about the time you got your appendix out, and you told the nurse - "

"Nothing! I told her nothing!" Eddie exclaimed.

"It's good to see you're awake, Eddie," Nancy said as she started to push everyone out of the room.

"Um, okay, I guess I'm not as interesting now that you guys can no longer watch me sleep," Eddie said.

"We're giving you some time, son," Wayne said.

"Time for what?" Eddie asked with wide eyes. "Time for what, Uncle Wayne?!"

He didn't answer, just followed everyone out of the room, leaving Eddie alone with Steve.

"This isn't the first time you woke up, you know," Steve said.

"It's not?" Eddie asked.

"No, you were still pretty out of it. You kept apologizing to me about waiting too long, then something how when you saw me swinging that bat in the junkyard protecting the kids, that you knew I was it for you," Steve blushed. "And you said it scared the shit out of you which, I totally get."

"You do?" Eddie said.

"Do you think that you're the first person who ever ran away from big scary feelings? You're not. I mean, why do you think that I didn't chase after you? I had just gotten dumped, I was still hurting pretty bad, and suddenly, the guy that I've been crushing on since freshman year wanted to kiss me. I pushed you away too because when I kissed you, I knew you were it for me too," Steve said. "It was easier to run than to risk getting hurt again. I think I'm ready to take that risk, if you are."

"Yeah," Eddie said, grinning when Steve took his hand and kissed it.

"So, I guess you never went back to that junkyard after that because when I went there, I found this," Steve grinned.

He pulled out a book from his pocket and wiggled it in front of Eddie. It was his romance novel. With his name writing on the inside cover.

"Oh, no," Eddie said.

"Oh, yes, Eddie Munson likes romance novels," Steve grinned. "Apparently, he has a type, too. You know that guy on the cover looks awfully familiar. I think I've seen a guy like him in the mirror a time or too. I've got better hair, though."

"Goddamnit, how do you make being a bitch look so sexy?" Eddie muttered.

"It's a God-given talent, baby," Steve winked. "Now, let's crack open this bad boy because you're in luck, I happen to love romance novels too, and I haven't read this one yet."

With one hand, he held the book, and the other he held Eddie's. Eddie, meanwhile, gazed lovingly at him as he listened to him read. Steve paused for a moment before pulling out a pair of glasses from his pocket and slipping it onto his face. Oh God. He has glasses. Yep, Eddie Munson was completely gone for this man. Time of Love - wait, there's no fucking clock in this room. Goddamnit. Time is a funny thing. One minute, you're just minding your own business, and the next thing you know, you have got the best thing that ever happened to you reading by your hospital bed. Time, what a mischievous bitch.

[paintingformike]

thinking about how the movie theater scene in season 3 is one of the few pivotal byler moments where there’s actually a large group of people around them (they’re almost always alone or the people with them aren’t included in the shot...the only other crowded scene i can recall is the rink o mania fight tbh) but they still managed to frame it with so much intimacy and tension, mike and will’s faces being close to each other, everything around them blurring and mike’s voice being so gentle and soft and caring as he asks will if he’s okay...

so there really is no excuse for why there’s such a lack of intimacy in nearly every mleven scene and why they choose to make them have moments with either the ugliest backgrounds, with way too much clutter or people around them that makes it painful to watch, or with the scene ending up being played as comedy 😭 (maybe not all of their scenes but its like 80% of their important scenes that its kind of hard to ignore especially throughout s4...like what the hell is this)

its such a stark contrast to the way byler scenes are shot...mind you they were in a literal junkyard in the scene below and jonathan and argyle were right in their vicinity but they still managed to frame it as if they were the only two people in the world and the cinematography is visually pleasing

like this is barely a competition at all...how are we still debating which relationship is meant to be endgame 🤦‍♀️

[iamsherlocked1479]

Hi, I love your blog firstly! ^^ Secondly…could I request a Sherlock x fem!reader where she’s a young and newly trained detective (maybe slight age gap if you’re comfortable!) who he secretly has a bit of a fancy for, but he’s absolutely awful to her because he doesn’t like the way she makes him feel. She gets shot during a case after following Sherlock when he told her not to, but doesn’t realise until after the fact when the suspect has been caught - her speech starts to slur, she goes all dizzy etc., but she doesn’t actually realise what’s happening to her until she sees the blood. Sherlock realises he’s made a grave mistake and miscalculated the entire case, and almost losing her makes him realise how much he cares. A million bonus points and a gold star for overprotective Mary and doctor-mode John <3

Kiss me

Description: Sherlock doesn't understand that he has a crush on you and has no way to deal with it and then something happens to you. my attempt at fluff, not always my strong suit.

Word count: 1.5K

Warnings: none

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“Are you sure this is the right place?” You say stepping out of the cab following closely behind your mentor.

“Absolutely I have never been wrong as of yet.” Sherlock bragged as he pulled his scarf around 

“The bloody guardsman?” John chuckled from behind

“I wasn’t wrong, I just haven’t solved it yet, it's still an open case.” Sherlocked muttered he wasn’t one for admitting his defeat, yet again he wasn’t one to hire an apprentice. But he didn’t ever imagine being so intrigued with a person as he was with you, when he looked at someone he could tell you things even they didn’t know about themselves. But you? You were different, the only thing he could piece together is which perfume he preferred, the answer to that was your more expensive kind, the kind you only wore on special occasions. He thanked the day he bursted into lestrade's office and you were there waiting to be assigned your first case, luckily for you, John had just gotten married and Sherlock was. Well he didn’t like to say it, but he was lonely. And you were quite the catch, he just couldn’t understand his fascination with you. And now here the three of you where, searching an abandoned junkyard for a man suspected of killing three people over a two thousand year old vase. It sounded boring at first, but when you had so kindly pointed out that this man had repeatedly been seen with Jim Moriarty, he knew he had to be a part of the capture.

“Will you two stop bickering, we’ve been trying to catch this guy for two months.” you whisper 

“She’s right, shut up john.” Sherlock said, opening the door into the warehouse. The heavy metal door creaked as you stepped through closing behind you with a large bang. You walked down between the old shelves when suddenly something rattled causing an old bottle to smash to the floor ahead. The noise rattled the three of you, Sherlock pushing you to the wall with his finger to your lips shushing you. You gulped as his tall frame pressed against you, his finger trailed softly on your lips leaving you both locked onto each other's eyes. Your mouth grew dry as you stared into his blue gems shining in the dim light creeping through the old windows.

“It was just a bird.” John said, snapping you out of your staring contest. 

“Right.” Sherlock stepped ahead brushing his coat off.

“Y/n wait.” John tugged on your arm pulling you aside “you know he struggles to focus with you around him. We’ve been after this guy for a while, in the politest way, don’t distract him.” His tone was soft but his eyes were serious. You weren't denying you didn’t feel an attraction to Sherlock but  he was at least eight years older than you, plus it would be seen as unprofessional within the contract you had. surely it was just a crush. These things fade. Right?

“I won’t do anything I don’t need to.” You held your arms up 

“Good.” He said catching up with Sherlock who crouched behind a pile of old barrels.

“Look, that's him.” He said as you knelt beside him. You watched as the poorly dressed suspect paced up and down as he spoke nervously through the phone.

“Mr Moriarty please, I just need some more time. I promise I can get the package too, they just- they hired some private detective.” He paused, muffled yelling could be heard echoing down the hall “why does it matter.” He sighed “I don’t know, tall curly hair.” He tutted “yeah Sherlock holmes and john watson i believe. And I don't know who the other one is, just some police chick.” You furrowed your brow at his remark.

“I'm not with the police, you muttered.” This caused the man to look in your direction. “Shit” you whispered 

“Loom i gotta go, I promise you’ll receive it soon.” He hung up and pulled a gun from his coat pocket. “Who’s there?!” He shouted cautiously, walking towards you.

“Follow my lead.” Sherlock said, passing you his gun and looking towards a corridor leading to behind where the man was standing, before he got up slowly bringing his hands to his head. “Sherlock Holmes and this is my associate. Dr John Watson” 

“I know who you are.” The man said as he aimed the gun, switching between the two of them. You crept slowly down the corridor listening to the conversation.

“That was jim Moriarty on the phone, correct?” Sherlock asked, moving closer.

“What does it matter to you, I’ll be a dead man in the morning.” The man shakily said

“What did he want?” Sherlock asked, moving closer.

“The package.” He said

“What's the package?” John asked. The man's arm jolted the gun between them 

“Stop!” He yelled “don’t come any closer!” 

“Okay, okay. What if we could help.” John said

“What? No, we need the package.” Sherlock said 

“What if we can help the gentleman?” John proposed 

“Enough! I’ll shoot.” The man said, clicking the gun and aiming it at sherlock. You jumped from your hiding spot aiming the weapon at the man.

“Put the gun down.” You demanded, he turned to you and aimed 

“No I can’t, he’ll kill me!” The man cried

“We van work this out!” John shouted

“Where is moriarty?” Sherlock interrogated

“Put the gun down man, I’ll shoot!” The man cried again 

“Calm down” you said pointing your gun at him

“Enough with the demands!” The man winced as he pulled the trigger, you did the same and a loud bang rippled through the steel walls surrounding you. The man dropped to the floor and you rushed over kicking his gun away “it's too late.” He whimpered 

“Why?” You asked as you knelt beside him

“The reich-recih” he stuttered “The reichenbach fall.” It was all he managed to say before his head slumped to the floor.

“Y/n!” John said rushing towards you

“It’s okay i-i’m” you paused feeling the heat run through your abdomen before looking down and watching as red poured from you, blood covering your hands. “J-john help.” You said as your breath began to leave you. 

“Oh shit, it's okay, hold on.” He said laying you down and pushing on your abdomen. “Sherlock help me!” He shouted, he stood frozen besides you watching and the red lake grew larger. “Sherlock!” 

“Wha-what can i do.” He said kneeling down

“Scarf!” John held out his hand and Sherlock gave him his scarf to which he pressed down on you.

“Sh-sherlock.” You reached out your hand which he took gently squeezing it as your grip loosened and your vision blurred.

Then it was bright, you could hear the sounds of sirens and then the rattling of your bed being pushed through doors and then, you were asleep. 

Sherlock sat beside your bed for hours, he was perplexed, all he could do was blame himself. He should have never let his own fascination with you put you in so much danger, he shouldn’t have let his theory of spending more time with you being the way to give him the answers he desired the most. This was his fault, and all he could do was wait. Wait for them to say you would be okay, way for them to say he could hold you wait-

“Sherlock.” He heard your soft voice wash over the fears in his mind. He stepped over and squeezed your hand 

“Y/n its okay, I’m here, you’re safe now.” 

“What happened? Did we get him?” You winced as you sat up

“The case isn’t important, the only thing that matters is that you’re okay, the bullet missed anything vital.”

“The bullet?” You reached down, feeling the swollen mass of bandages wrapped tightly around your stomach.

“I’m sorry y/n this is all my fault.” Sherlock paused, his eyes becoming glassy with what you could only guess were tears. “I thought that if I could spend more time with you, then maybe I would get my answer.” 

“What answer?” You asked

“The answer, when I look at someone I could tell you more than what they know about themselves. It's why I’m so good at what I do, but with you all I get is how beautiful you are. I can’t concentrate when you are around. You are my distraction and when I watched what he did to you I froze. For a moment i believed everything i aimed to protect in this world could be lost, and that's all because i almost lost you i don’t understand i- 

You pushed your lips against his, his eyes widened as your lips locked before he sank into the kiss wrapping his arms gently around your neck trying not to put too much pressure on your wound. He pulled away, resting his brow on yours as you caught your breath.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.” you smiled

“You should have done it sooner, i believe it provided me an answer.” he laughed

“I don’t think my superiors are going to be happy about this.” you sighed

“In my experience lestrade doesn’t like anything that happens without his knowledge.” Sherlock smiled

“And to my knowledge relationships weren’t your thing” John's voice appeared in the doorway, where his arms crossed and a slight look of disappointment. “Care to explain?”

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A/N: really great request sorry its not amazing i tried to write fluff instead of smut for a change, i hope thats okay and really hope i get some more requets soon. Chapter 10 will be posted soo so stay tuned :)

[sleepy-moron]

Honestly the "is byler queerbait?" discussion is really interesting because in the traditional sense of the word, it really isn't because aside from the Netflix accounts they really have not been promoting it or even mentioning these two at all outside of Will's feelings for Mike. People call it queerbait because we really don't have a better way to describe what the heck they've been doing with Mike for years and that just generally seems like the best way to get people to understand what we're picking up on.

There are quite a few directional and editing choices that just seem really weird if Will's feelings aren't meant to be reciprocated on some level, especially in volume one. Scenes with Will and Mike play what seems to be a new version of "on the bus" (the song that plays for the Lucas and Max conversation in the bus from season 2) twice, and the same music is used for scenes between two other presumably endgame couples this season. The Mike and El scene where they argue about Mike not saying I love you uses music very similar to a track called "eulogy" which has historically been used for scenes where people are mourning the dead in earlier seasons. For a show where the creators have repeatedly talked about how deliberate they are with music these are odd choices if we're supposed to believe Mike and El get back together happily at the end of the season. Their breakup last season had music that was meant to be funny playing immediately after it, and this fight is being musically associated with death and the morning of a dead loved one.

The junkyard conversation makes no sense from an editing or shot composition perspective..... lemme explain why that is. It's pretty blatant that Will's whole speech is actually about his sexuality and feelings for Mike, but it's framed as relationship advice. Now I'm a media studies major.....and I've taken some classes on film. Why in the world is the "because what if they don't like the truth" line spoken while we have a close-up of Mike nodding??!

So let's say I was being told to edit this scene and I was told the basic context of what was implied. If I wanted to convey that this was Will talking about himself then I would have him be the main focus during this line because of cinematic convention. Mike getting a close-up/ nodding his head would make way more sense on the part of the monologue about being afraid to open up like that to the people you care about because El wants to hear him say I love you. Assuming the idea is that Mike is afraid of being that emotionally vulnerable you would have his closeup be while this line is being spoken instead, because the closeup with a voiceover running over it implies the voiceover is relevant to the character in focus. The way they currently edited the scene implies that Mike is worried El won't like the truth, which doesn't make sense because she was literally begging for him to say I love you during their fight. The only way this makes sense is if Mike truthfully doesn't love El like that.

There are moments like these in other seasons too, things that just contradict what would typically support the "intended" reading of a scene. It's not queerbait in the traditional sense but it is really fucking strange and pretty telling based on how good things like the editing and set design of this show consistently are.

[byersfanclub]

some of my biggest reasons for believing in byler endgame 

1. the song playing during mike’s monologue is named after what will calls mike, not el, no one else says this about mike. the entire episode is about piggybacking. there’s a reason it’s called “you’re the heart” and not smth like “love, mike” 

2. none of the conversations mike has will with during s4 after el is taken make any sense if milkvan is meant to be endgame. mike throws away her letter (ppl try to say the only reason is because the agents needed to find it, which I call bullshit, they have to understand the significance of mike throwing away what could be el’s last letter to him - that’s also hinting at a breakup) he talks about how it’s a fight you can’t come back from, he makes up with will and says he was worrying way to much about el and that Hawkins isn't the same without will, not el, it’s not the same without WILL. on top of the car in the junkyard mike still won't tell will what the thing he won't say is and while will dialogue is hinted at his sexuality and how people may react for himself, it’s also meant for mike as well and mike NODS along to this. he’s agreeing. this makes no sense if all he was going to say was “I love you” no, he’s scared about something else (that something being el not wanting anything to do with him even if he doesn’t love her romantically) and his entire speech in the van about how finding el was dumb luck which is a huge contrast to him DECIDING to become friends with will. 

3. will being in frame the entirety of mike’s monologue. they even pan to jonathan (im convinced it's because jonathan also knows mike is lying, he’s basically been a voyuer to every byler moment since s4 began and his camera is absent this season, interesting) 

4. the ending of s4 in general. mike and el do not speak at all after the time skip. they barely talked apparently during the two days of driving to Hawkins and it appears they only spoke when no one else was present as well. el gives him a side eye, she’s not happy with him. mike doesnt try to talk to her. he doesn’t even walk beside her. he’s at will’s side though, their last bits of dialogue are with each other and their last shot is right next to each other IN BETWEEN seemingly endgame couples. 

[thatrickmcginnis]

PUSSY GALORE, Toronto 1988 & 1989

If most people who lived through the '80s made a movie of their life, they'd probably soundtrack it with, I don't know, U2 or A-ha or Tears for Fears. My '80s biopic would be scored to Pussy Galore - probably my favorite band of the decade, and one whose three albums and four EPs bring me back to the first years of life on my own, post-college, making a precarious living as a writer and photographer. They were another major enthusiasm of Tim Powis at Nerve, and he made the rest of us fans (my then-girlfriend had a maddeningly not-so-secret crush on PG front man Jon Spencer), though they didn't actually show up in town until the magazine was effectively defunct. I was without a steady gig then, but I begged a portrait session with the band during their two-night stand in April of 1988 at the Silver Dollar Room on Spadina. My big memory of the weekend was that Philadelphia rapper Schoolly D was playing the room in the basement under the club, and that Jon and the rest of the band were more enthusiastic about catching his show than doing their own gig.

Jon Spencer formed Pussy Galore at college in Washington, D.C. with Julie Cafritz, added guitarist Neil Hagerty then moved to NYC, adding Cristina Martinez on guitar and ex-Sonic Youth drummer Bob Bert on drums and junkyard percussion. Cristina had left and Kurt Wolf had replaced Neil Hagerty by the time I did my first shoot with them, while they were touring to promote their first LP (and - to me - undisputed masterpiece, Right Now!). They were cultivating a bit of a bratty reputation, so most of my two rolls of 120 film from the session are the band goofing around, pulling faces, and making it as hard as possible for me to get the sullen, iconic group portrait I hoped to take. I did, in the end, get two decent frames right next to each other, but decided against shooting the gigs in favour of just enjoying their cacophonous (but deceptively tight) show.

My friend Chris Buck also shot the band that weekend and ended up with some really nice portraits; my shots were harder to work with - beyond my meagre darkroom skills at the time - and would remain unseen and unpublished for at least twenty years until I posted one on my old blog a few years ago. I would, however get a second chance to shoot the band live a year later, when they were on tour again after releasing their Dial 'M' for Motherfucker record.

When Pussy Galore returned to Toronto in August of 1989, they'd had another lineup change, with Julie Cafritz leaving the band and Neil Hagerty returning. They played the Apocalypse Club on College Street and I ended up putting the band up in my Parkdale loft - the first of several times I'd give Jon Spencer and his bands a place to stay on tour. For some reason I was in an on-camera flash mood, and shot the show using a big new Metz potato masher flash fitted with a big bounce reflector. I also asked the band if we could do a quick portrait session in the dressing room, just as they stepped offstage, and I set up a light stand and umbrella, finishing off the last half of four rolls of Ilford film with the group.

Pussy Galore would be reduced to a trio with Spencer, Hagerty and Bert when they released their final posthumous album, Historia de la Musica Rock, in 1990. Jon and Cristina Martinez would found Boss Hog around the time the band was falling apart, and he would form the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion with Judah Bauer and Russell Simins just after Pussy Galore broke up. Jon continues to record and tour, and I'd end up with him in front of my camera again, but that's a story for another day.

[amandae2006]

Fangs, Claws, and Kisses

chap 2 body heat

sometimes I write short chapters and sometimes I write long it all depends on the creativity I feel. and this chapter is a short build-up to the next longer chapter. so it's much shorter than the last.

Chapter Text

Derek rushed home. the smell of stiles still lingering on him. Thankfully even though he was part of his family's pack he lived alone. His sister's would be all over him by now if he went to his family home. Derek fumbled with his keys unlocking his door. tossing his shirt to the ground, and kicking his boots off at the door. His body still sweating, as he thought about the stranger's lips. his mind began to falter as he entered his shower, steaming water pouring over his head. He knew even a cold shower could fix the raging bone between his legs. Slowly grasping, he slid his wet hand up and down. pumping steady, as he thought about stiles brown eyes, and rough yet soft hair his pace increased.moans slipping through his gritted teeth. After another long stroke, his wolf let out a growl as he released into his shower. He tossed his head back water shaking from his black glistening hair. His wide chest and chiseled body finally started to cool off.

"What the fuck was that!" Derek's mind was racing as he dried off, wrapping a towel around his waist. he shuffled his feet to the kitchen downing a shot of whiskey before heading to bed. That night he was restless. tossing and turning. kicking his covers off. every time he closed his eyes he remembered hearing Stiles's voice ring in his ears. As he started to finally settle down and dream the sound of his alarm startled him awake. Derek decided to wear his tight black jeans, grey undershirt, and his best leather jacket. he slipped into his boots at the door, grabbed the keys to his sleek black Camaro, and headed back to work, hoping to see if Stiles would come back. after a ten-minute speed session, Derek spun rubber, slinging asphalt and dirt while pulling into the junkyard. and there standing beside his blue jeep was Stiles.

the biggest grin came over both their faces. Derek's heart was racing once again, He pushed the Camaro door open

"get in"

stiles walked over leaned into the door frame

"Are you gonna work on my jeep at all?"

"only if you come with me"

Stiles hesitated

"I will work on it for free"

He didn't even spare a second to consider before jumping into the passenger seat of the Camaro. Derek's family owns the junkyard so he could come and go as he pleased. Right now he was pleased with himself for getting Stiles to come along. Dust flew past the car, gravel digging under the tires

"where are we going?" stiles asked while trying to avoid Derek's gaze." "I don't know about you but I am starving and we have things to discuss. Are you an omega?"

Stiles was twiddling his thumbs before answering "I am but I'm recessive. I don't emit pheromones"

" Well I certainly smelled you last night"

Stiles's anxiety was through the roof. Derek could smell his. He reached over and grabbed Stiles's hand.

"I've never smelled anyone like you. I'm sorry about " Stiles interrupted Derek

"Are you an Alpha? That's the only way you could possibly sense me right?" Derek pulled the car off the road into an empty parking lot. While putting the car in park he turned to face Stiles.

"Technically in human terms yes, I am an Alpha, Status wise you could consider me a Beta for now"

"Human wise?'

"My family and I are members and leaders of the werewolf pack in this area"

"I've heard stories about your family and your kind I just haven't met a werewolf that is so open"

"There are more of us out there than you know" Derek took a deep breath, shifting to smell Stiles's sweet aroma more. He smelled like the woods when the sun shone on the perfect field. Peaceful, calming yet with hints of anxiety and sweat. "Let's talk more about us, yesterday I know I may have been pushing you but your response was overwhelming" Stiles looked down fiddling with his clothes and hands. Derek reached out grabbing his hands again. His touch managed a gasp to escape Stiles's lips. The heat in both their bodies began to arise again.

'I know this will sound crazy but I think we are a fated pair" Stiles's head turned toward Derek's. Both facing each other feeling the pull of their bodies wanting to adjoin. Derek's inner wolf wanting to cry out and bite Stiles.

"Are you sure?" "I can't think of another answer for my body getting this fever and you're reacting every time I touch, It's definitely more than me just being an Alpha."

Stiles gathered his courage reaching out towards Derek's face. Derek wanted to respond but Stiles asked him to stay still he wanted to see if Derek's theory was right. As his skin grazed against his softened grainy beard his body felt hotter. Derek nuzzled into Stiles"s palm. His wild green eyes shone through his sunglasses. Stiles stroked Derek's cheek and his pants began to tighten. Something he never experienced before began to happen to his body. His backside became wetter. The true sign he was an omega. Being Reccessive He's never had a normal heat, it was always just a slight fever for a few days, this was the first time he felt such a sensation. Derek's vision began to blur, His body felt the fever with Stiles's every touch. Derek couldn't hold back anymore he leaned over planting his lips on Stiles's lips. small slips of air gasping from each other as their heads turned, lips grazing against one another. tongues getting intertwined. Derek grabbed a handful of Stiles's hair on the back of his head and pulled him away long enough for both men to catch their breath. Stiles knew the answer to Daerek's theory was answered and he didn't care. He wanted more of this man, the wolf. his fated mate. Derek let go of Stiles long enough to slide his seat back, Stiles leaned toward Derek now and Derek slipped his hands down Stiles's shirt, grabbing his waist, lifting the slender man onto his lap/

Stiles straddled Dereke's lap. fingers running through their hair as their lips collided again. the warm touch of Derek's fingers Stiles's chest sent shockwaves through his body. More, he needed more. craving Derek's every touch. Derek's thumbs rubbed across Stiles's little buds

"Ahhh" The sound of Stiles's moan rang through Derek's body. Napping at his neck while caressing every inch of Stiles's upper body his inner wolf craving more. Stiles shifted trying to help the tightening in both their pants gasping as Derek's fingers traced their way inside the back. Stiles may not have a thick booty but to Derek, it fit perfectly in his big hands. Another squeeze caused Stiles's back to arch, Derek's finger slowly getting closer to his rim. Stiles's hips were shaking, grinding back and forth over Derek's ever-growing member. Derek could fit the urge no longer. the wetness makes inserting easy. derek pressed one finger inside, wiggling his way against Stiles's inner body. Stiles was losing his mind, Derek, rubbing away at his insides, he whispered into Stiles's ear

"I'm gonna add another" with a shift motion, he pushed the second finger in as Stiles yelled "Wait!"

he tried to stop himself but Derek's touch rendered his useless, Derek felt the wetness now on the front of Stiles's pants too

'Did you just cum from my fingers" Stiles laid his body onto Derek's chest while his hips were still grinding from Derek's fingers. Derek couldn't take anymore Stiles was shifting, grinding, teasing the big wolf. another burst of moans from Stiles and Derek let out a small howl as his ever-growing member let loose, Both men blushing as Stiles slide back into his seat. Both me panting, in disbelief and slight embarrassment at cumming in their pants.

"I guess breakfast is canceled," Stiles remarked

Derek bit his inner lips before starting the car back up.

"Let's go clean up at my house" he insisted

stiles muttered under his breath "I've never did that before" Derek's wolf hearing caught his words as he responded

"Neither have I"

[luckyluan]

You're Fired.

JANUARY 7, 2024

“Have a seat, Lance.” Agnes said.  

Lance Benoit dropped into one of the musty armchairs. He watched as Agnes, Head of Human Resources, gave her dirty wire spectacles her full attention. Lance’s heart picked up speed the moment Agnes phoned down to the front office to request his presence as he knew being in her dank, joyless office was not where anyone wanted to be. 

“It’s come to our attention that you have too many customer complaints.” 

Her glasses perched on her plump nose; Agnes interlaced her thick fingers as she narrowed her eyes at Lance.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ve only been here six months.” 

His heart fluttered in his chest as he spoke. The nerves running down through his fingers set his hands shaking.  

“What do i do?” He asked. 

“Nothing.” Agnes said. “We can’t have an employee with this many customer complaints—and some of them, Lance, are astonishing. I hardly believe them.” 

Lance moved an unkempt loc out of his face as he counted to ten. He was no stranger to this talk. He knew the direction in which it was going. He was moments away from being fired. He bit his lip. 

“So, why do you believe them?” He aimed at the center of her forehead. 

“Well, they’re here in black and white—so to speak—what else am I to do?” Agnes shot back. 

“You could take the word of your employee whom you hired personally.” Lance said incredulously. “Cause I had zero complaints until she got here.” 

Lance jutted his chin at a fat, unhappy looking woman with a greasy complexion and stringy hair. She huffed loudly as she drew breath and Lance despised her. She had no support from the people downstairs.

“That ‘she’ is your manager.” Agnes corrected. 

“That ‘she’ is a pain in our ass and yours too.” Lance replied. 

“Lance, this is our problem with you. You’re so angry.” his manager replied from the corner. 

“No one was speaking to you, Double Scoop.” Lance shot at her. 

His temper was flaring. His heartbeat came quick and hard against his ribs as he clenched his fist with a hardly disguisable distaste. There was something else there—a heat he did not recognize. His temper was usually accompanied by tears and the shaking but there were no tears. Only a feeling of weightlessness blossoming from deep within him. A breeze emanated from somewhere behind him as he stood; and the stale room was filled with flying papers and astonished expressions. Lance looked from Agnes to his manager.

“Lance,” Agnes said worriedly. “We’re going to have to terminate you.” 

Lance said nothing. He only clenched his fists to control his hammering heart and shaking hands. The blossoming feeling of weightlessness piqued and lifted him off the ground. His brown skin began to glow as Agnes and his manager recoiled. Lance’s head was throbbing so harshly, he could not control his thoughts. He pressed his hands to his ears to quiet the noise, but the screeching against his eardrums was overwhelming.

“Stop.” He moaned. 

Lance bit down on his bottom lip as the glowing heat on his skin turned outward and consumed the room in a blinding flash. The sounds of destruction rained down around him: The crunch of crumbling brick, the breaking of glass, the boom of unregulated electric charges which plunged the three-story building into darkness. The screams which cut off a little too soon. All sounds he would not soon forget.  

When he opened his eyes, he was lying in a vast rectangular junkyard. Fragments of chairs and stock wall art smoldered in the distance but something caught his attention. There, jutting from a pile of white, smoking ash was Agne's wire spectacles. The thin wire glowed a menacing red as the glass snapped and sparked in their frame.

His skin was glowing against the surrounding plumes of black smoke billowing high into the sky. Around him, lay a perfect radius of unscorched earth. His chair and a piece of carpet lay untouched under a dome of orange energy. The same energy that covered his skin. His manager’s greasy handkerchief floated, daintily, down from the blackened sky and landed on the top of Lance’s energy dome. 

“What happened?” Lance asked. “Did I do this?” 

“Yes, you did.” The Count of Chaos said. 

The tall sorcerer crunched pieces of debris and bone under his shiny, black boots as he approached. His floor length, scarlet coat threw red sparks as it swept the grimy ground behind him. His cream-colored face was naked aside from a thin line of black hair across his upper lip. His sinister eyes sparkled with scarlet energy under thick, unruly brows and his fine hair lay coiled into tame and gleaming waves. The man’s hands brimmed with energy as he swept away Lance’s dome of protection with a single flourish. 

“Good morning, young sorcerer. I am Adar Endymion. The Devlan of Angel’s Bone Castle. The Count of Chaos. You may call me Devlan as we have much to discuss.” 

In a flash of scarlet energy, Devlan and Lance disappeared leaving the ruins of his former workplace for someone else to find. 

[fanthatracks]

I once read that the early rounds of a photo contest are largely based on snap judgements. If an image doesn't make a strong immediate impression, it's game over for that particular entry. Of course I'm not a judge and this isn't a photo contest, but Star Wars has always been jam packed with iconic compositions so I thought it would be fun to pick out my favorite frame from each episode of the latest season of The Mandalorian. The Apostate The sight of Bo-Katan Kryze lounging on her throne has sparked its fair share of jokes and memes, but I actually liked this frame quite a lot. As a former photographer, I've always appreciated when a single image could convey a story. This shot definitely checked that box, as it perfectly summed up Bo-Katan's character arc up to this point. The Mines of Mandalore I had every intention of choosing a frame that portrayed the episode title. With usage of The Volume starting to look more and more obvious over the years, the vastness of the underground Mandalorian mines was both impressive and a welcomed change in visual scale. However, the action junkie part of my brain vetoed the decision and I wound up with this frame instead. I'm always a sucker for lightsabers, or anything close to it. Plus, I really liked this fight scene! The Convert I'm always partial towards all things original trilogy, and couldn't resist this epic shot of a decommissioned Star Destroyer. One of my favorite aspects of The Force Awakens was seeing familiar looking ships (including but not limited to Star Destroyers) in an unusual context, i.e. as wreckage in the deserts of Jakku. Here we had that again, this time in a New Republic junkyard on Coruscant. Very cool. The Foundling While not being a part of the current story arc, the Order 66 flashback was one of my favorite sequences of the season and of course I had to go with a shot of Kelleran Beq totally kicking butt. Having watched a ton of Asian action films in my day, I tend to be partial towards stationary wide angle fight choreography. Plus, dual lightsabers! The Pirate There were many scenes I liked from this action packed episode, but unfortunately all the movement resulted in heavy motion blur in most of the frames I wanted to showcase. I hardly had to settle though, as this shot of our heroes hurtling through hyperspace was particularly striking to me. Guns for Hire Perhaps it isn't a total coincidence that my least favorite episode of the season also didn't do much for me as far as visuals. On paper, Bo-Katan igniting the Darksaber would have been the ideal choice but the backdrop just looked way too much like my neighborhood park. The super battle droid chase scene came across as slightly goofy to me, but it did end in a fairly interesting overhead shot. The Spies The penultimate episode of the season had plenty of great scenes to choose from, yet this dark and gritty shot of an Imperial Viper droid hovering above Elia Kane was an easy choice. I really liked the huge amount of intrigue captured by this one frame, whether within the episode or if viewed without any context. The fact that it looked like a scene straight out of Star Wars 1313 didn't hurt either! The Return The season finale was a visual feast of spectacular action sequences, and I legitimately had a difficult time narrowing them down to one single pick. I very nearly went with the midair shot of a hovering Koska Reeves firing her blaster and knee darts, but the TIE interceptor/bomber attack edged it out. At a glance it may look like a fairly standard Star Wars space battle, but I liked the unusual sight of Imperial ships attacking one of their own. Of course, the light cruiser was being piloted by Axe Woves at this point but still made for low key unique visuals that we're not likely to see too often. [amazon box="B0BRYGM9R1"]

[enjoyanimation-blog]

New updated showreel!

Duration: 3:47min. Please visit the following link for a showreel breakdown list. In this list you can find a description of my role on the productions that are represented in this showreel.

Animation productions I’ve worked on, but which are not included in my showreel; In 2021 I worked as an archival artist and animator on the animated feature Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood, directed and written by Richard Linklater. An innovative hybrid of live-action, and a combination of hand drawn and computer-animated feature film. Together with a small talented international team of artists we’ve worked on animation style frames, backgrounds and additional animations for the archival shots in the film at the Submarine Animation Studio, Amsterdam. You can view the Netflix trailer at the following link.

In 2007 I worked as an animation assistant on Hisko Hulsing’s independent animation Junkyard. Hisko Hulsing . View Junkyard the film.

[jackexmachina]

@ocdsamwinchester 500 Followers Celebration Day 1: Sastiel I find the sound of your voice... grating.

image description: scenes from five episodes of supernatural, “My Bloody Valentine,” “99 Problems,” “Meet the New Boss,” “The Vessel,” and “Hell’s Angel”

5x14

The view pans from a shot of the door to the panic room not blocked, a pillar crosses the view and Dean is leaning against it, and Castiel is standing in the place that appeared empty leaning slightly against the wall. They both face away from the door, and Dean takes a swig from a bottle of liquor. Unseen, Sam is begging loudly from the panic room until he starts to yell, he says, "Help, Help! Dean, Cas, if you're out there, please. Help!"

Castiel looks at Dean and says, "Dean, Sam just needs to get it out of his system." Dean turns to walk away, saying, "I just need to get some air." Unseen, Sam continues, "Please, please!" while occasionally yelling wordlessly.

5x17

In Paul's bar, Sam leaves a voicemail for Castiel saying, "Cas, hey, uh, it's me. So, we are in Blue Earth, Minnesota, and we could use a little help. I, uh. Hope you get this."

Back in the motel room, Sam is turned away from the door, and Castiel appears behind him. Sam jumps slightly as Castiel says, his words slightly slurred, "I got your message." Sam quickly sighs, Castiel looks through the fridge as he finishes, "It was long, your message. And I find the sound of your voice grating."

7x01

Sam stands in the middle of Bobby's junkyard, praying to Castiel. He says, "Look, we still have 'til dawn to stop this. Let us help. Please." He looks up and around as he says this, and the view of the camera shifts from above him to slightly below, his head cutting across the horizon.

Sitting in Bobby's kitchen, Sam and Dean both move to take a drink. They both look up as Castiel says, "Sam." Castiel is covered in blood and his vessel looks like it could fall apart. Sam sits up, saying, "Cas." Castiel sways and says, "I heard your call." He falls slightly, gripping the door frame, then says, "I need help."

11x14

Lucifer, in Castiel's vessel, has Sam pushed against a pillar in the bunker library. Sam looks afraid, then Lucifer pushes his hand into Sam's chest to crush his soul. Lucifer mocks him with an innocent, owl-eyed expression. Sam looks more and more pained until he begins to scream.

Lucifer begins to grimace with effort; then his hand leaves Sam's chest and Sam falls to the ground. Lucifer grinds his teeth looking to and away from his hand, wincing. He squints and says, "Hello, Castiel."

11x18

Sam is yelling an exorcism as Dean throws holy water at Castiel's vessel, which is being additionally possessed by both Lucifer and Crowley. Then we see in Castiel's mind that he is watching TV in an approximation of the bunker's kitchen as Lucifer beats up Crowley. Castiel looks up, hearing Sam's chanting. Crowley also looks up from where Lucifer is choking him against a wall. Lucifer pauses and looks behind him to Castiel, who is looking up and around, listening.

Back in the church, Castiel's vessel seizes as it is hit with holy water and Sam finishes the exorcism. Red smoke bursts from his mouth, and Sam and Dean watch Crowley re-possess his vessel. Sam asks, "Crowley?" Crowley is gasping as he responds, "Useless."

[gra-sonas]

Have you caught your breath yet?

Talk about one hell of a cliffhanger! Roswell, New Mexico Season 3 Episode 13 left viewers with a plethora of questions and SHIRI APPLEBY! That's right, the OG Liz was on-screen, and the reveal gave me goosebumps!

Here is part two of my conversations with EP Christopher Hollier and Michael Vlamis, which takes a closer look at the finale and peek at what's ahead.

There was a tremendous amount of information dumped on the audience throughout those two hours, with Roswell, New Mexico Season 3 Episode 12 being the softer of the two, with a greater focus on the quieter moments between characters.

Hour two was heavier on the action but still gave us some beautiful scenes as well.

When asked about the importance of including those moments into a science-fiction show, Hollier remarked, "It's very important. We always break from a place of character, right? And we were also looking too, like what are all of our final battle moments?

"Because if Jones is so big and bad, then someone might not come out of it. What are the things that you want to say that are left unsaid so that you understand what you're fighting for? Explosions have to matter. We always joke. But that being said, we also wanted to challenge ourselves with a big father-son fight.

"And so we actually shot that even though it's only three minutes' worth of time, it took us two nights to shoot that. And it took us several weeks to actually map it out, storyboard it, discuss it. And so we wanted to do both. We felt like the episode's not complete unless people were crying and gasping."

And I think he accomplished his goal, alright.

There were also some cool pairings in the hour (and throughout the season), like Max and Alex, that fans will undoubtedly love. Much as they loved seeing Rosa and Michael hang out earlier in the season.

As Hollier told it, "I love that as well. And part of that was born out of the pandemic and getting actors in and really looking at the great people we had and being like, "How can we give them something new and how can we keep this fresh?"

"And one of the ways to do that is to do these pairings. Like for example, Amber Midthunder had never stood in the junkyard for a scene before. So, we're like, "You know what? We're going to put her there, and we're going to give her some work to do with Michael."

"So that was one of our favorites. We loved watching Kyle and Isobel interact with each other. You mentioned Alex and Max. It came up in the room. I'm like, "Those two guys have never had a scene together. We got to give them one."

"That was one of my favorites as well."

Both hours were framed around one singular focus, which was to finally break the bond between Jones and Max so they could eliminate Jones for good. And in the end, the good guys got their wish.

Though, is this the last we'll see of Jones? By far the best villain the show has seen to date, and played to perfection by Nathan Dean, Hollier spoke about whether there was ever a plan to keep the dictator past this season.

"Here's the thing. He is so fun, and Nathan crushed it playing it. I know it's tiring doing that. And also, we as writers, and I think the audience, even though he's delicious, will want something new. He was great for what he was.

"Again, we might not have seen the last of him. We do tell a lot of flashbacks, and we do jump to the home planet. So, for those people that are big Jones fans, you might get to see a little bit more of him, but he's not the main villain of next season."

That climax with Jones was also a bit of a labor of love for the cast who got to all film together, with Hollier remarking, "We spent so much time last year being away from each other.

"It brought such joy, I think, to our actors and selves to be able to do scenes like that. So hopefully, that translates to our audience wanting to see them together as well."

While Jones didn't make it through the finale, many of our couples ended the season in a great place which was a considerable departure from the end of Roswell, New Mexico Season 2.

When asked about that departure, Hollier replied, "We had two goals when we said this, that we, given what was going on in the world, we didn't want to end in doom and gloom. We wanted to end with people happy.

"We wanted hope ultimately to win out. And so that was important for us as a message to put through, as our world is very complicated. So that was the goal. The other thing that we wanted to do is we wanted to give the audience and ourselves other places to write to.

"Just because you fall in love and get that that person to stand with you doesn't mean that things are easy, doesn't mean that you're built to go the distance. And so, it gives us a whole new section to open up complications for each of those couples, and we would get to root for them in different ways now."

For Liz and Max, their journey was always at the forefront for the writers.

"It was really looking at our poster couple first and saying like, "Where have we left and what have they wrestled with for two years? And if they really are going to go the distance, how do we get them to ask those tough questions and grow towards each other? They need to grow up and then to each other."

"So, that's where we started. And then we also started with a little romantic comedy fun of like, let's delay that kiss until episode 13."

Fan-favorite couple Malex got to walk away together on their own terms, and it was a moment many years in the making. Speaking about their reunion this season, Vlamis was excited to go on this journey with such an available scene partner in the other half of Malex, Tyler Blackburn.

I think it's so cool. I would've loved to have more scenes with him in the first six episodes. I mean, we didn't even get together, we didn't even have a scene till episode 3. But I think that probably just kind of created a little bit more hype. But I mean, I've loved it so much.We've gone through every emotion.

"We've gone through every scenario that a breakup or relationship, in general, could go through. We've gotten to play just so many moments in my life are put into Roswell. So many real-life moments are put in on-screen when I'm with Tyler, and I know he's doing the same, and Tyler is available as any actor can be.

"So we're literally just on this rollercoaster of, oh, we love each other, but we hate each other right now. Or we fully love each other right now, or we're just friends right now, but we protect each other, and we're safe around each other.

"Every side of the spectrum, I mean we even had a freaking three-way, you know what I'm saying? Like they give us everything, it's insane."

For Vlamis, he watched this season right along with us each week, thanks to a trusty antenna. And he spoke humbly about watching the prior season while in the middle of shooting Season 4.

"Oh, you know what, I love it. I know some actors are a little hesitant to watch themselves. I'm not going to lie; I'm the complete opposite. I think I find so much joy in watching myself and seeing what works, what doesn't work.

"Oh, on that day, I related this scene to this memory of whatever, and oh my God, it's working so well. Or, oh, I did this, and it's not, you know. Like you get to learn so much. I can watch something objectively and totally. I can watch something as a viewer.

"But it's fun because I like watching myself too because on the day I do the take, I do every scene so different that sometimes I think they get a little annoyed that everything's so different, but I love it because when I watch the episode, it's so cool to see what they picked.

"And I would say a lot of the time they picked something that I did that maybe wasn't in the script. But the writers, they set the platform for me to get to that point. I always hit the words, but sometimes they let me go have a little bit of fun, and whether they let me or not, I just do it. And sometimes it makes the episode.

"It's just really exciting to know that when I sit down to watch something, I'm as surprised as the viewers because I did the take ten different ways, and I have no idea what it's going to be. So that's such a thrill. And when you're watching, for me, it just creates hype. Every Monday, I've watched it live with my antenna.

"I went to Best Buy, and I bought a $35 antenna, and that's how I'm watching the show every week. So, it's really special for me to have Roswell to look forward to, to watch every week while filming, because I'm such a fan of the show."

Well, the fans, along with Vlamis, were surely blown away by that final frame, which sets up a plethora of questions and possibilities as we head into the hiatus.

As for THAT moment and what's ahead, Hollier teased, "I'm excited for people to react. I think they're going to have a great reaction to that moment and not really be thinking about it or seeing it coming.

"And then I would remind the audience that the very first image and the first window into any story often isn't where that story goes. So, I'm excited for people to speculate for a few months of what they think is happening and let them come back and see how we turn that whole thing on its head."

Well, if that isn't a doozy of a tease!

I didn't ask Vlamis for any season 4 teases as we were running well over time, but I did ask him what he was most excited for the fans to see in the finale, and this exchange is too pure to not post in its entirety.

What are you excited for the audience to see in this finale coming up?

Vlamis: Oh man, honestly, I'm so excited to see the scene where my stomach gets stapled. I'm so stoked on that scene. I'm like, did they leave it in? Like, is it in there? Like, is it awesome? You saw it.

I'm not going to lie. I closed my eyes a little bit when I watched it.

Vlamis: I remember one take, there's no way they did it, but you know, that's a big wound. She needed to staple me a couple times, probably, to close that.

I think they only show one, but yeah.

Vlamis: Okay. Okay. So, on the day when she stapled me, I yelled. She did it, and then I yelled, "Again!" like super loud. I was just hoping to God like because it would be so funny if they put that in there, but I'm sure it just, you know, there's time constraints.

All right. We don't need an extra "again," we don't need another staple in the stomach, but I actually am also really excited for the face-off scene in the bunker with Jones and Michael. When Michael all of a sudden starts basically overpowering Jones. I think that is such an amazing moment.

Yeah!

Vlamis: They sent me the scenes last night to watch before these, but you know, we shot till midnight, and then I jumped on a plane to come to a wedding. I got like two hours of sleep. So, I haven't even seen it.

I'm so excited to see it. But remembering just the beating Michael Guerin takes in these episodes is unbelievable. And I mean, I just cannot wait. The guy's a machine. He should have been dead like 80 times.

The thing that I know is going to be probably the most tweeted about, the most talked about, is taking that bandana off and holding Alex's hand and right in front of his dad's statue. And I hope they left that scene exactly how I think they're going to leave it, which I'm sure they did.

Lance Anderson, the director, knows what he is doing. And that's just a huge moment. That's been building for three seasons.

Yeah. It really has. It turns out beautifully.

Vlamis: It's kind of our first date. Oh, great! Great. Yeah, in the same spot where I saw Forrest get off the bus and kiss him.

The whole season comes full circle.

Vlamis: It really does. It truly does.

[maybe-im-dark]

Not like you

Murdoc sniffed as he shuffled down the dirt road that led to his weather-beaten home.  Ever since his nose was broken first by his brother Hannibal and then by Tony Chopper, he has had trouble breathing through it.  Especially when he was physically active. Like when he had to run, as he had been doing just now.  He had been caught stealing.  As so often.  But what else could he do when his father would rather spend the money on beer than food?  He bit his lip sullenly.  You'd think he was better at stealing by now, given how often he did it.  But no.  As soon as he crept towards the exit, he ran into a bald guy in a shirt.  A shop detective, no question.  Murdoc had run as fast as his short legs would carry him, the sound of his well-worn boots and the man's threats ringing in his ears.

The boy pressed himself against the wall of the house as quietly as possible and carefully peered through the kitchen window.  The lights were off and only the flickering of the TV in the living room indicated someone was there. If he was lucky, he wouldn't be discovered.  With practiced movements, he took the pocket knife out of his jacket pocket and began to pry open the window latch.  It was embarrassing having to break into your own home.  But Sebastian Jacob Niccals would have voluntarily shot himself in the foot rather than entrusting his son with a spare key.

Slowly, Murdoc pushed the casements open, careful not to make a telltale squeak.  Then he heaved himself through the open frame and slid to the floor.

 "A little late to come home, don't you think?"

 Murdoc froze.  His father sounded relatively sober and that scared him.  If his father had drunk himself half unconscious, he was not dangerous.  Then he just lay on the sofa or in a corner surrounded by a pool of vomit.  But when he was sober...

 "Answer me boy!"

 Boy.  That's what his father used to call him.  There were few occasions when he called him by his full name.  As if he'd choke on the word Murdoc if he put it in his mouth.

 "I uh..." he feverishly searched for an excuse.  "I played and forgot the time."

 "Until half past ten in the evening?"

 Of course he hadn't played.  With whom?  Murdoc had no friends.  Sitting on a mountain of broken cars in the junkyard and staring at the sky until the stars came out, fighting back tears, of course he couldn't tell that.

 "Come here!" his father's voice growled indignantly.

 Murdoc trotted resignedly into the living room.  Sebastian sat on a tattered armchair, dressed only in an undershirt and boxers.  In his left hand he held a half-empty bottle of beer, his right hand clutched the remote control.  His long black hair hung in stringy strands in his face, so that only his long pointed nose showed.  Sebastian had fathered his brother Hannibal and him at a very young age and could have been a relatively attractive man, but years of alcohol addiction had deprived him of years prematurely.

 Murdoc stood directly in front of him, nervously shuffling his feet.  What would come now?

 "Yes, father?" he asked uncertainly.

 Father.  never dad  Sebastian had drummed it into him from day one not to call him silly pet names.  Not to mention that he wasn't the kind of person you called 'Dad' or 'Daddy'.  Obedience was the supreme commandment in the house of Niccals, and objections were punished with punches or beatings with the belt.  Although his father often just hit him whenever he felt like it.

 Murdoc squeaked in surprise as his father's gnarled hands gripped his face.  The long pointed fingernails dug painfully into his skin.  The stench of alcohol wafted at the boy and he struggled not to choke.

 "Do you have any idea how similar you are to me?"

 A long tongue darted out and licked crooked, pointed teeth.  Murdoc possessed the same inhumanly long tongue that fit only curled up in his mouth.  His father had once told him that the Niccals were descended from goblins who had mated with humans.  And so all descendants carried goblin blood and were plagued with greenish skin, long tongues and a penchant for alcoholism.  Whether that was true or just one of Sebastian's drunken tales, Murdoc couldn't say with the best will in the world.  It would not surprise him, however.  He'd always felt less than human.

 "Oh yes, you are truly my son." His father laughed hoarsely.  "You're going to end up just like me.  Get ready for a life of booze and bastard children.  That's the Niccals way, after all.  Just look at you, Murdoc.  You are all me!”

 "No no!  That's not true!” Abruptly, Murdoc tore himself free of the grip.

 Oh how he wished his father had hit him!  Or kicked.  Yes, he would even have put up with the belt beatings just to avoid having to hear this.  With a choked sob, he ran up the stairs to his room and slammed the door behind him.  Hot tears of shame ran down his cheeks and left burning tracks.  His legs felt like lead as he staggered toward the mirror and brushed the dust off the glass.  He wasn't his father!  But the look at his counterpart said the opposite.  Olive skin with a green undertone that would only deepen with age.  Raven-black, greasy hair that hung over his forehead.  A dark brown, almost black pair of eyes staring at him from deep sockets.

 He slammed his fist into the cool surface in anger.  It rattled and Mirror Murdoc shattered into a thousand pieces.  A sharp pain shot through his hand and warm blood ran between his clenched fingers.

 The door opened and Hannibal stuck his head into the room.  His black hair hung casually over his face.  He had dyed the tips blood red.  Hopefully in the school toilet. Their father would freak out if the sink was smeared with dye.  A year ago his half-shaved hair had been piled up in a mohawk.  Hannibal loved to change up his look.  Probably because he couldn't stand looking like Sebastian either.  Murdoc's half-brother was four years older and two heads taller.  His body was long and lanky, but there was a small pouch under the DIO shirt.  Another inheritance from their father that Murdoc would probably develop later.

 "Oh man, are you bloody kidding me?" groaned Hannibal upon noticing Murdoc's bleeding hand and the shards.

 

 "Father's gonna kill you!" he cursed after fetching a brush and dustpan.

 "He would never dare.  Then who else is going to sing in the pubs for a measly £2.50 and play the lost little boy to get him a few birds?'

 Hannibal grinned.  Murdoc was particularly good at cynicism, as it was the only weapon he possessed for lack of muscle power.  He recalled with pleasure how he had countered Tony Chopper's insult, which, although it earned him a broken nose, also gave him infinite satisfaction.

 "You know, Doc, one day we'll be out of here and then we'll do our own thing," his brother said.  "Then we'll never have to see the old geezer again!"

 "You're taking me with you, yeah?" Murdoc said.

 His brother gave a dirty laugh.  “But only until we're out of town, Face-ache.  Then I'll kick you out or even better, I'll sell you as a slave!  You're already used to slave labor!"

 Now the two half brothers had to laugh.  Of course Hannibal made fun of him, played pranks on him and Murdoc had received punches in the face quite often.  But he didn't have the heart to hate him.  The mutual hatred for their father had brought them together.  No matter how much they argued, they both always agreed on one thing: Sebastian was a bastard and could go and get stuffed!

[twdmusicboxmystery]

11b Trailer - Analysis

Okay, sorry I’m just a smidge late posting today. My internet was out for an hour or two after I first woke up. Thankfully, it’s back.

I’ve been saying I would do an analysis of the trailer, and here it is! First, I’ll just go through what happens, frame by frame, and then I’ll do some light analysis.

We start, of course, seeing several shots of our heroes: Daryl, Maggie, Aaron, Carol, and Judith. We hear Ezekiel say, “Darkness is heavy. Some of us carry more than others because we’re strong enough to hold the weight.

A couple of things to ponder during these first shots. We don’t know where any of them are in these shots. Aaron’s in a room that’s emitting deep red light. We batted around some ideas for that. Maybe something on fire? Maybe some sort of emergency, generator lighting? We’re not sure.

Both Daryl and Judith look to be in the same place, and it looks suspiciously like the creepster house Connie and Virgil got trapped in. 

But it may not be. Perhaps just some very dark, creepy part of the Commonwealth.

Then we see Daryl with a fire burning in the foreground. Not sure if this is still with the Reapers or at Alexandria. Then we see a wide shot of Daryl, Gabriel, and Aaron heading into what can only be described as a car graveyard. Or junkyard. There are ruined cars, vans that look reminiscent of the phoenix van, and school buses. More on this in a minute.

We then hear him speaking, presumably to Leah and the Reapers. He says, “You’re doing this all wrong. You survived everything, for what? To keep fighting and killing each other?” By the time he gets to the end of this, we see a shot of him holding a knife to Carver’s neck while facing off with Leah and the other Reapers. We also see him and Leah looking at one another, though that seems to be a different scene.

@galadrieljones​ and her eagle eyes caught what we believe to be a fire truck behind Daryl when he has a knife to Carver’s neck. One of the Reapers is in the way, but you can see a red bumper at the bottom, right of the screen, and the ladder ascending up the side of the building. 

That’s a SUPER potent symbol (one we saw in S5, specifically Coda, one that disappeared along with Beth, and that we’ve seen several times since, including near Enid in 6x07, when Glenn was shown to have survived his death fake out, and in Sam’s room in 6x08, along with tons of other important symbols.) So, needless to say, we were excited to see this firetruck.

(It’s important to note that interspersed with these shots I’m talking about, we see others quick shots of various characters walking around with guns and such. I’m not going to mention every single one of those, as they don’t tell us much of anything overall and we can’t really tell what’s going on in those specific shots, other than the obvious.)

Then we see Maggie and Hershel together, followed by a new character standing near Negan. We actually see this woman twice in the trailer, both times with Negan. We don’t know who she is, but obviously she’ll be at least marginally important.

We hear Negan say, “When it comes to me, it’s just a matter of time before you make the same call.” It definitely seems like he’s talking to Maggie, and he might be, but we can’t tell that for sure. This line smacks to me somewhat of something that might have been spliced together for the trailer. We’ll just have to wait and see.

We see Maggie with a bleeding nose, and then we see her raise her gun while Daryl yells, “Maggie! No!” Some interesting things about this. First, her shirt. It’s DEEPLY red. We did notice it during 11a, but she was wearing a coat, which mostly hid it. Now, they’ve had her shed her coat, and it’s obvious they want us to notice the shirt. When she raises her gun, you can see someone hanging upside down behind her, which means this is still at the Reaper compound. Not sure what Daryl is telling her not to do, but it’s interesting.

Then we cut to seeing Judith and Gracie in the flooding basement again. They look up the stairs toward the door. We then see this person:

New character. Not sure who they are. And Eugene sitting beside a fire, looking ominous.

We then see a door being locked. Like, REALLY locked. Bolted with heavy metal contraptions. Creepy, horror movie music follows and we see Gabriel walking down a dark hallway, followed by Maggie running down a dark hallway inside some building. She’s looking over her shoulder. I don’t think the two hallways Maggie and Gabriel are in are the same. There’s just a motif here of being locked in or trapped.

It snaps back to Judith raising her sword to fight a walker in the flooding basement. Then we hear Daryl say, “Everyone, get ready!” He, Jerry, and Maggie at least are atop the wall, pointing weapons at the oncoming Commonwealth soldier. So obviously, this is the CW coming to Alexandria, but no one there knows who they are, so they are taking precautions.

We then see several shots of the group at the Commonwealth. We see Carol baking cookies (always an ominous sign of things to come). Interestingly, she’s wearing an “Elodie’s” apron. 

Elodie was Michonne’s daughter in the comics, who was searching for her. They obviously are changing that arc for the show, but the bakery where Yumiko’s brother works is still called Elodie’s. Clearly, Carol is working there.

We see Eugene sitting at an outdoor table, smiling. The weird thing we noticed here is that the clock behind him is all skiwompus. It’s not even a matter of figuring out the time. The hands themselves are skewed to one side, as though they aren’t attached in the center, as most clock hands would be. What does it mean? Not sure. That something’s wrong with time here?

We see Daryl walking around the CW. He looks over to his left at someone. We’re pretty sure he’s looking at the kids (Judith and RJ) but it kind of got everyone’s heartrate up. Like, who’s he looking at? Is it Beth?

Honestly, probably not, but we do think the writers might be purposely teasing us with this scene. Even if this particular shot isn’t anything, it may be indicative of other things about to happen. *fingers crossed*

We also see this interesting shot of Daryl coming out the door of this brick building on the left while Rosita exits on the right. @wdway​ also noticed there are three doors on the right, but only two on the left. We’re not sure what that means, but, especially the way it’s shown, with this wide shot so we notice the way the building is set up, feels like it’s intentional in a symbolic way. We’ll be paying close attention to this when it airs.

If this is them going through houses and places to stay at the Commonwealth, I can’t help but be reminded of TF doing this when they first got to Alexandria.

We see other shots of people walking around the CW, and hear a man (Hornsby, I think) introducing Pamela Milton as the Governor of the Commonwealth. While he speaks, we see Eugene and Princess peek out a door. 

This shot gave me massive Grady vibes. It’s a long hallway with many doors, which are predominantly yellow. And it looks REALLY similar to Beth looking down Grady’s hallway with the dude with the yellow mop down at the end. (The dude who’s build looks suspiciously like Norman; and then remember that Daryl used a yellow mop at the Sanctuary.)

We also see Magna working as a waitress, pouring drinks, etc. Then we see a shot of Pamela Milton. She begins to talk saying, “Thanks to my father’s sacrifices, brick by brick and block by block, we’re putting the world back together, the way it was.”

During her speech, we see what looks like the CW soldiers arriving at Alexandria. I don’t know if it’s when they first arrive (when Daryl yells “Everyone get ready” earlier in the trailer) or a different time, but they seem to be arriving with wagonloads of stuff. We also see Carol look over her shoulder. She’s near a river (can’t help but side-eye that, ever since Find Me) and there seems to be people fishing in the background.

We then see this guy (new guy) 

and Lydia out in the woods, probably fighting walkers. We see Negan smash something. No idea who or what. Then we a bunch of walkers that seem to be behind a line of rope. A bunch of Commonwealth soldier shoot them down. 

Not sure what this scene is about, but it’s interesting. I’m wondering if they’re all walkers, or if some of them are alive. I feel like this might be showing that the Commonwealth isn’t as heroic as they pretend to be (which we already know).

We see a shot of Connie and Kelly together, out in the woods, also with CW soldiers behind them. Then shots of Ezekiel, and Maggie, Hershel, Daryl, and Elijah standing together, in front of what might be Hilltop’s wooden fence. 

And then, a white tent, along with a few other green ones, set up outside a wooden fence. I could be wrong, but again, this looks like Hilltop to me.

We see Carol at the Commonwealth, looking around, and then Hornsby sitting in near darkness in his office. One thing we noticed here is that he has a green, ceramic apple on his desk.

In quick succession, we see CW soldiers approaching what looks like Hilltop, then Gabriel and Aaron standing with them. 

Then we get this: Elijah, Lydia, and another guy looking at something that appears to be really shocking. The water tower (at Hilltop) is behind them.

So, here’s what I’m kind of putting together. I think there’s a team of people, which includes Lydia and Elijah, at Hilltop, either trying to rebuild or salvage things there. I’ll get to more of this nearer the end of the trailer, but in that car junkyard with the busses and everything, we see Daryl fighting CW soldiers, and Gabriel and Aaron are there as well. Here, we see Gabriel and Aaron being escorted to HT by the CW soldiers. And then there’s that shot a few back with Daryl, Maggie, and Elijah perhaps standing at HT. So, I’m thinking the CW soldiers run into them at that junkyard, a fight ensues, and the CW bring their group to Hilltop. That’s what it’s looking like to me, anyway.

We then see Negan and this woman again, random walkers and people fighting them. And then Mercer, covered in blood. I assume he’s been killing walkers.

We once again see Kelly and Connie, and Eugene sitting at the outside table, followed by Magna serving Yumiko wine, and then Eugene and Princess in a jail cell. We see a tear fall from Princess’s eye, Maggie hugging Hershel to her side, and pointing a gun at Commonwealth soldiers, who are all surrounding her and point guns at her. (Not cool to point guns at kids, guys. Didn’t you know?) During all this, we hear Magna say, “This place is like a city from before. Where people who can’t fit in get cast out. You remember.”

A note on Maggie and Hershel here: she’s wearing a different shirt. Not the deep red, but blue. And her hair ALMOST looks shorter to me. I can’t tell if she’s just brushed it differently or if it’s actually shorter. Could this be a flashback? Okay, most likely not since it looks like she’s at Hilltop and is surrounded by CW soldiers, but it’s a weird shot. Just thought I’d mention it.

It turns out, she’s actually speaking to Rosita, and we see Rosita say, “Yeah, I do.”

Then we get into some super-actiony scenes, including a bunch of TF fighting walkers in what looks to be one of those houses in the Commonwealth where we saw Zeke and co clearing walkers before. White walls, kind of run down places. We see one of them charge Rosita, and you can see other people standing behind her. 

There are a bunch of shots of Daryl fighting in one of those houses, and you can see CW soldiers standing guard behind him, which suggests they’re being made to do this while under guard. 

We see Carol shooting walkers in the head as well, but it’s hard to tell if she’s in one of those houses or somewhere else.

We then see Maggie in the red shirt again, whaling on someone. I’m pretty sure this is back at the Reaper compound again. We see Negan fighting someone (and every time I say “someone,” it’s because I can’t tell who it is, which means it could also just be walkers.) And then we see Diane (the archer) also killing someone or something. It looks like she might be in the white houses killing walkers with Daryl and Rosita.

Then we see some creepy walkers, Eugene peeking around a corner, and a very interesting billboard in which Stephonie is on a missing poster, with red strings tied to pushpins all over the place. 

This looks like a conspiracy theory board, or the kind of things people use to solve decades old mysteries, trying to connect people and events. We don’t know what this is, but clearly we’re finally going to find out that Stephone isn’t the real Stephanie Eugene talked to on the radio.

During all this, we hear Eugene saying, “I’m gonna make certain that everyone knows exactly who, and what you are.” He’s very passionate when he says this, but we can’t tell who he’s talking to. Then there are some shots of Mercer fighting walkers in his orange armor. I’m assuming this results in the blood-covered shot earlier in the trailer.

Then we see a shot of Aaron leaping through a window where there’s water pouring in. I’m assuming this is him breaking into the basement to save Judith and Gracie. Since Judith is in the trailer, and we already saw her in the trailer they showed after 11x08, we know she survives. We’re still worried about Gracie, though. Fingers crossed that Aaron makes it on time. 

We then see several people running with weapons, led by Maggie, 

and then Daryl fighting Commonwealth soldiers beside the ruined school bus in the junk yard. We see Rosita fighting walkers near a staircase. 

I at first thought this was the same white house in the CW, but @wdway pointed out it’s probably one of the houses at Alexandria. So, it’s probably an extension of what we last saw: walkers getting into the house during the storm, which is how Judith and Gracie got trapped in the basement.

We see a shot here, and then a few seconds later, of Maggie in a crowd, and it’s dark. I’m pretty sure she’s in a horde of walkers, but it’s hard to say for sure.

Then we get a really interesting few shots that I’ll analyze for you here in a minute. And I’m gonna warn you, these pictures are blurry. It’s so fast that it’s impossible to get a clean shot where it isn’t blurry. Daryl is fighting some dude in a classroom. You can see here that it’s a live man with a machete, not a walker.

Here he is again. The brown in the left foreground is the back of Daryl’s head.

Here, the guy kicks Daryl, but Daryl pushes back, and they both fly apart, backward from one another. Daryl lands on the desk behind him. More on that in a second.

Then we see someone under water. The picture I have is really dark and blurry, but @wdway got a better one. It’s Aaron, and he seems to have fallen into the water, fighting a walker. So again, we’re assuming this is the same scene where he’s trying to save Judith and Gracie in the basement.

Finally, we see Maggie walking along, covered in blood, 

Aaron raising a gun with a school bus behind him (assuming that’s part of the junkyard fight scene) 

and then a sinister looking walker coming at us. 

During these final shots, we hear someone (I can’t tell who) saying, “Get reading. We are gonna remake the world.” We see that walker get shot and then the “The Walking Dead” logo. End of trailer.

Okay, so a few thoughts. First, let’s talk about the symbolism of the car graveyard. Yes, it’s a junk yard of cars. Could it be trying to remind us of Jadis and the Scavengers? Yes, possibly. If so, all that’s doing is reminding us of the CRM (where Jadis went) which could be about either Rick or Beth.

But here’s the thing. Both Gabriel and Aaron have been HUGE Beth proxies on their own. And in the bonus episode where they were out on a run together (episode with Robert Patrick in it) they had a ridiculous amount of Bethyl symbolism around them (playing golf, playing poker, a 2 and an 8, etc). So, these two characters can each represent Beth by themselves, but together, they represent Bethyl as a pairing. So, I’m already feeling like the fact that we see them and Daryl heading into the junk yard together is going to be a foreshadow of some future arc that will be Beth and Daryl’s. And if the junk yard represents the CRM, it sort of makes me think of Beth and Daryl going into the CRM together.

Now, these are just my first, preliminary impressions. My conclusions may change once I actually see this scene and episode, but it’s what I have for now.

In the classroom scene where Daryl is fighting: my first feeling was that this gave me Grady vibes. No, it doesn’t look particularly like Grady or anything, but I think it was because of the desk. For some reason, it reminded me of Beth finding Joan and fighting Gorman next to Dawn’s desk. Now Daryl is fighting someone next to a desk and actually lands on it. 

Gorman pushed Beth back up onto the desk when he was trying to have his way with her. I even thought the colorful blocks in the foreground could link to the colorful lollipops she hits Gorman over the head with.

My fellow theorists had other ideas. @wdway said it reminded her more of other, actual classrooms we’ve seen. There was one in S3, when Maggie and Daryl went searching for baby formula for Judith and found it at a daycare center. Remember, we also saw a possum in that place. She also reminded me of the classrooms we saw around Tara at Oceanside in 6x07, Swear, when she first ended up there. We analyzed those in great detail back then. There were suspicious things written on the blackboards and colorful decorations there as well. (Because the pictures are so blurry for this scene with Daryl, we can’t make out much of what’s written on the blackboard, but rest assured we’ll take a look when the episode actually airs. ;D)

@galadrieljones said it reminded her of Sam’s room from 6x08. There, he had a figurine with a knife (Daryl is fighting a guy with a machete) and he had colorful toys as well.

So, take your pick. All three of those places were replete with Beth symbolism. It’s even possible they all are representations of the same thing. So, we might all be right or partially right, but we’ll obviously be able to draw more concrete conclusions once we’ve seen the episode.

The last thing I want to talk about is the trailer’s lack of coda. Ever since season 4, every season’s trailer has had a coda. A little snippet after the “The Walker Dead” logo. This one doesn’t. And granted, this isn’t the official trailer for the entire season, just for 11b. That might nullify what I’m going not say here, but I’m gonna say it anyway. It’s suspicious to me that there isn’t a coda. I feel like there should be, and they make the deliberate decision not to have one here. Think of it this way: every other trailer has had one, and obviously Beth didn’t show up in any of those seasons or partial seasons. So, I’m hoping maybe this is a hint. They’re not doing a trailer coda because THE coda (Beth) is going to show up in 11b.

Of course we’ll just have to wait and see, but that’s what I’m hoping.

How did everyone else like the trailer? Anything I missed?

[spam-1997]

He starts trying to do something with his hands. Frustrated with it like a lighter that won’t catch. But finally he laughs as one of his old addison holograms, glitching and green, dully lit and with a clearly dated 90s interface, blipped into view. A few pokes and out pops his massive strand of still steadily raising numbers, all together making up one seemingly hopeless debt plainly labeled ‘ Amount Owed ’.

Banging his fist to a button, he bounces in place as he watches the number freeze and suddenly begin rapidly shrinking down. The lower it got the more desperate his urgent expression became until.... it reached 0.

Immediately he threw his hands up and began to cheer. Then it seemed to glitch and display in full the remaining money, multiple thousands of dollars in profit, and he frame skips to kicking his legs on his back on the floor.

But he quickly sits up, and with a clap of his hands his broken green holograms begin to turn white, a sound like someone just paid the power bill and the lights were coming back on. Piece by piece, they begin to show his old ads again, his old award losing smile popping up all around the junkyard, BIG SHOT AUTOS-- BIG SHOT AUTO BODY & PAINT-- and everything else. They’re as glitched and broken as he is, but still-- visible pictures! Dated pictures, but its an improvement...  He busts out his shop door.

“ * SPAMTON [ Spaz ] SPAMTON IS BACK IN THE [ Market ] BABY !!!! ONE[1] MORE [ Swing, batter--batter-- swing ! ] AT IT LET’S GO-- ”   Wasn’t he supposed to be retired?