#but it's fun to speculate and make theories

[jimraisedmeup]

TICK // 3.1 - mary jane's last dance

Rating: mature (1 homophobic slur, angst, language, sexual content)

Word Count: 1900

☾

She grew up in an Indiana town Had a good lookin' mama who never was around But she grew up tall and she grew up right With them Indiana boys on an Indiana night

☾

December 1983 - junior year

Don't be a stranger, okay?

Sure. See ya, Munson.

You lied to his face. You had every intention of being a stranger. 

All you wanted was the tattoo. You forked over the cash and bailed. Like a ghost. It was kind of your specialty… your version of "arm's distance" was a regular person's dozen football fields.

Three months had passed and snow was threatening to fall upon Hawkins, Indiana. No one in town seemed to be looking forward to the hopes and dreams of 1984, though. An air of tension and secrecy cast a shadow over the entire cursed town.

You could feel it. You could see it in the faces of your peers. But you couldn't quite place what was going on underneath the layers. Yeah, that Will Byers kid disappeared and came back. Barbara Holland was still missing. Gossip flowed among the high school students, and you received most of your information from Robin.

You, being the eldest Buckley spawn, were not stupid. But you also weren't about to speculate conspiracy theories with just anyone and become the town lunatic. So you continued to observe.

Plus, out of everything morbid that happened in Hawkins, a few halfway pleasant things rose above it.

After a request by Nancy Wheeler to study together for French, you quickly realized that Nance was someone you genuinely liked to be around. She was kind, honest, and straight to the point.

One thing led to another, and you were no longer just an acquaintance of Wheeler, her boyfriend Harrington, and the rest of the popular kids. You were a regular participant among their group of friends.

It was disgustingly easy to remain shallow and discreet while surrounded by people who couldn't hold a conversation to save their lives. The nagging feeling that some of them were hiding deep dark secrets kept you curious, too.

Jonathan Byers, who you had classes with for quite some time, approved of Nancy Wheeler as well. So that only solidified the merging friendship between the popular kids and the kids sitting right on the edge of being outcasts.

Speaking of outcasts, you completely ignored Eddie Munson and his troop of misfits. 

Sure, you were appreciative of the tattoo. Sure, he crossed your mind every time you looked at it. Which, 99% of the time, happened when she was undressing.

Don't be a stranger, oka-

"What the fuck!" you hissed quietly to yourself, angrily smashing at the overcooked peas on your lunch tray.

Nancy's head popped up from her magazine. "Everything okay, Y/N?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Just thinking about Grossman's midterm for History."

Just as Nancy was about to respond with an empathetic expression, a pair of hands landed heavily on your shoulders, making you jump slightly. 

"How about we forget all about finals, midterms… whatever." 

Steve Harrington, followed by Tommy H., appeared before you two girls. Tommy H. smirked in your direction, sending a not-so-subtle wink.

"There's a party happening this weekend at the Walker farm. You know, the old barn? This time of year the whole place is abandoned," Steve continued. "I think it'll be fun."

Casting a fleeting look to Nance, you thought she looked apprehensive. 

"Won't it be cold?" 

Steve placed an arm casually around Nancy's dainty shoulder. "Don't worry, Negative Nancy. I'll keep you warm."

☾

Well, I don't know but I've been told You never slow down, you never grow old I'm tired of screwing up, tired of goin' down Tired of myself, tired of this town

☾

Beer in your mitten-clad hand, you linked elbows with Nancy as her eyes scanned the crowd.

However they managed to pull off a party in an abandoned barn was a mystery. But you were genuinely happy - you finally got to show off your new knitted hat and scarf. Not to mention an alcoholic beverage to take the edge off. And you had Nance, who, for once, wasn't worried about Steve.

The distance between Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler was visible only to those who were the most attentive. You recalled them being up each other's asses for a long time. Then after autumn passed, there seemed to be a wall between them, slowly being built brick by brick.

"Thank you for coming with me, Y/N. I don't know if I would have come here without you."

You smiled at the curly-haired girl. "Hey, you're kinda stuck with me now. We're the only ones with IQs above average."

You felt guilty for a second as Nancy's eyes fell in a flicker of grief. You knew your friend was thinking of Barb. 

Squeezing her elbow, you led Nancy over to a couple of vacant folding chairs.

There were a lot more people than you originally thought would attend. Electric lamps were plugged into the corners, a table set up with a keg and bottles of random shit. Music was playing from a stereo that you couldn't quite see.

Though the barn was empty of any farm equipment, it was a well-built structure, and held a decent amount of warmth from the December winds blowing outside. Typical Indiana redneck party.

"Well, if it isn't Buckley."

From behind, a pair of hands grabbed your hat and jerked it down over your eyes. 

"Seriously?" 

Pushing the knitted hat back up to your forehead, you found yourself looking into those deep brown orbs you had been avoiding for months.

"Surprised to see you in my neck of the woods," Eddie exclaimed in his usual dramatic fashion, looking between you and Nancy, then down to your feet. "Is that cow shit on your boot?"

Yanking up your boot in a panic, you inspected the heel and found nothing but a bit of hay. Eddie was fucking with you.

You glared at him and dropped your boot to the floor with a dull thud. Vaguely aware of Nancy's attention to the conversation, you played it off like you didn't know him. 

"Can I help you, freak?"

The smirk fell from Eddie's lips, replaced with cold disappointment. What the hell were you doing? Not only did you ignore the boy for months, but then once he got the balls to talk to you first, your first instinct was to be like this?

What really twisted the knife was the fact that Eddie said nothing. He just shook his head and walked away, one of his friends following him with a hushed voice.

Before Nancy could comment, you turned to her. "I bet I can chug my beer faster than you."

"What?"

"Come on, Nance. Robin said she'd come pick us up if we need her to."

A pause, then a small smile. 

"Let's do it."

☾

Oh, my, my, oh, hell yes Honey, put on that party dress Buy me a drink, sing me a song Take me as I come 'cause I can't stay long

☾

Two beers.

Before your second beer was done, you somehow ended up in a game of truth or dare with a bunch of drunk douchebags. You could spot Nancy with Steve, over by the keg, laughing over something he was saying.

"Well? Truth or dare, Buckley?"

"I think she's gonna chicken out. Does she even talk?"

Tommy H. fixed his eyes on you from a few feet away. Holding a fresh can of beer, you cracked it open and feigned some kind of backbone for these reckless social activities.

"Truth."

A couple of guys groaned at your answer, probably hoping that you would opt for a dare instead. 

Tommy sucked his teeth, thinking of a clever question. A pit of dread was forming in your stomach, suddenly wishing you had succumbed to some stupid dare instead. Why would you want any of these people to know anything about you?

"When… who was the last person you banged?"

At least ten different pairs of eyes were looking at you, all of them basically strangers. Tommy smirked at his so-called "originality".

It pissed you off. You felt defensive, on edge. But your frigid exterior gave away nothing. You could hear whispers from some girls nearby, despite the rock music echoing around them.

"Told you she was a prude."

Without thinking, delusion and anger taking over, you took a long sip of your beer and looked Tommy dead in the eye. You mirrored his smirk.

"You really want to know?"

Tommy shrugged. "Why the fuck else are we playing this game, Buckley?" He turned towards a girl sitting next to him. "I think I was right. I think she's a dyke just like her sister."

You stood up and chugged the rest of your beer. You immediately whipped the can at Tommy's face, then stormed off before you could see his reaction.

"What the fuck!" was all you heard as you made your way towards the small door at the side of the barn.

Panting a little, you squatted against the outside wall of the old barn, leaning your head back against it. The darkness of the cornfields before you filled you with mild peace.

Then, an unwelcome voice sounded from your left, in the shadows.

"Sunshine, I'm gonna be honest with you. That wasn't exactly the reunion I was hoping f-"

"Can't I get two fucking seconds of silence?" you snapped.

Shivering, you didn't bother looking at Eddie. You heard a heavy sigh from him, and thankfully no more attempted conversation.

You did your best to forget about the insults to your baby sister, to your family, forgetting all of those people inside that just wanted the latest juicy gossip. Hawkins was such a fucked up place.

You held your secrets close to your chest like a crux.

You led a compartmentalized life. Your parents knew a minimal part of you. Your friends knew a bigger part of you. Robin knew most of you.

And Eddie had his own part now, too. Even if it was a splinter.

Two beers. 

Two. Fucking. Beers.

That's all it took for you to gather up the guts that were just ripped out of you. You gathered up your scorned innards, scooped up the blood and flesh as best as you could, and crawled over to where Eddie was sitting on an upside down trough.

☾

There's pigeons down on Market Square She's standin' in her underwear Lookin' down from a hotel room The nightfall will be comin' soon

☾

The last thing Eddie ever expected was for you to be kneeling between his legs.

Before he had a chance to wonder what you were doing, what you might be thinking, or whatever the hell happened in that barn, you placed a gloved hand over his cold mouth.

"For the love of all that is holy, please don't talk."

His muffled ramblings continued. "Okay, but-"

"Eddie, I need another favor. Nod if you understand."

Not really knowing what else to do, he nodded. In the almost pitch black surroundings, he could barely make out your sparkling eyes locked on his.

"I need you to keep another secret."

Knees on the frozen ground, not another soul in sight, you lifted yourself just slightly enough to press your lips to his.

☾

Last dance with Mary Jane One more time to kill the pain I feel summer creepin' in and I'm tired of this town again

☾

(song lyrics credit: "Mary Jane's Last Dance" by Tom Petty)

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[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

I didn't expect the mood photo to take me back to 1960s art cinema. I'm thinking of L'Année dernière à Marienbad because the room becomes a character in itself and not just inhabited space. And I can't help but think of Persona and Bergman in general. The austere environment, but filled with introspection: Reflection of vulnerable minds and unexposed wounds....This existential theme in which the self becomes exposed and dissected seems in line with a more abstract representation. Visually, I also had Monica Vitti in mind in L'Avventura.

All these examples from the early second half of the century were seen as part of time image cinema which can offer pure optical or acoustical images (I'm not diving deeper into Deleuze, I've never been a fan).

The point is, the image draws attention to its emptiness. It's quite eerie, especially since the subject has his back turned. The man without a face....

[lord-squiggletits]

It's hilarious to me that someone actually asked/JRO actually confirmed via word of god that Tarn tortured Pharma while he was at Delphi bc like. Fucking yeah??? How else do you think Pharma went from "for most of his life, he was a good doctor" to stark raving mad? What else did people think Tarn, fanatical Decepticon who leads a group of professional murderers, would do to Pharma, Autobot stationed on DJD territory, to make him comply with the deal?

I get that sometimes people just want confirmation from the author for them to go "no yeah your theories are right" but on the other hand I don't understand asking for word of god confirmation on things that are obviously canon if you just think about it for a little bit

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Milk theory? 👁️👁️

ANYTHING FOR YOU TWO!!!!

ok this is gonna be short and mildly insane. i would like everyone to understand that this is pretty much Entirely unfounded & i'm just reading too much into a teeny little thing. however i've convinced myself that this theory is viable against all better judgement

take these mad ramblings with a Monumental grain of salt. im not to be taken seriously ever

so it all boils down to This

Little

Motherfucker.

the milk carton behind Barnaby's house.

it was added with the last large update, and it Immediately made me lose my mind. it's such a... strange thing to add to the map, which already has Teeny Secrets - along with other choice objects that make me narrow my eyes. but this isn't about them.

The very first thing I thought of when I saw the milk carton was the phrase "no use crying over spilled milk". which, of course, essentially means that there's no point in crying over things you can't change / things already done. There are a couple ways i'm interpreting it with this context

Something is going to happen that Barnaby feels personally responsible for. or is responsible for - either indirectly, or maybe he'll do something terrible. i think it's entirely possible that he might do that possible something for Wally. and again, take this with salt, but Clown has implied through trivia and fun hypotheticals that Barnaby would go to lengths for Wally. and yes, i know. taking evidence from "what would the neighbors do in Among Us" is absurd. IN MY DEFENSE! while the trivia isn't really to be taken seriously, there's always a thought process behind character roles and dynamics and behavior, and that is something that can be (carefully) looked into and applied. like in Among Us, apparently Barnaby would, and i quote, "Barnaby does all the Dirty work if Wally is an Impostor- Anything to help his little Buddy out...". anything to help his little buddy out, huh? like, it's been stated that Barnaby knows things about Wally that no one else does. and it's been mildly implied that he's fairly protective of Wally. and we all know that Wally is getting into some deep shit, and whether he means to or not he's likely gonna fuck everything up for everyone. it's not that big of a leap to speculate that Barnaby might do something drastic/horrible/regret-worthy in Wally's name / for his sake.

2. something terrible is going to happen to Barnaby / directly related to Barnaby, and he's going to be absolutely powerless to do anything about it. though i think that's kind of a given... yeah this section is pretty self explanatory

3. Barnaby is going to go missing. because what used to be on milk cartons? Missing Posters! yes yes i know this one is even more of a reach, since milk cartons didnt have missing posters on them till the 80s, but yk. it's a Thought.

my second thought was "oh ok so when the carton spills, it's curtains for Barnaby." this part of the theory is just me being paranoid that Barnaby is going to wind up kicking the bucket - though i suppose if that were the case, there would be a bucket, not milk. well, if a bucket ever appears, i'm going to start prematurely mourning. Still!

the point is - at some point, that milk is probably gonna spill. it may be just a detail as things get better Worse, or it could be indicative of something terrible happening to / because of Barnaby. the milk spills, Panic Time.

Milk Theory.

[leftduck9986]

Foreshadowing, out of order?

In storytelling, is there a single word that means "the opposite of foreshadowing"?

WARNING: in trying to wrap my head around this, there will be wittering!!!

Wikipedia tells me that a flashback is a method of foreshadowing.

The Bullet Catch in the NZF minisode, being a flashback as well as told before the "present day" [speculated] event it sets up a clue for, well, that's what I've understood foreshadowing to mean until now, because isn't foreshadowing always presented before the event it foreshadows comes to pass?

The flashback/memory minisode, A Companion To Owls, is told after the "present day" event it foreshadows. Does that still count as foreshadowing, or is it instead considered "the big reveal" because it is told after?

And is this all that is meant by various things in Good Omens 2 being "out of order"?

The Hiding Miracle and the Memory That Both Foreshadows and Reveals It?

Indeed, it was a tiny miracle - as titled in the soundtrack - that worked as planned and "barely moved the dials" (but still a miracle in which "Noone will have noticed A Thing" however tiny it was, and that "Nobody notices he's here (...) Nobody can spot him, (...) especially if they're looking for him").

I believe it was the first of three events that happened that night, which, became the main focus of this "quiet, gentle, romantic" season, but paling in comparison to the other two events. Moving on!

Returning to how A Companion to Owls isn't told until after The Hiding Miracle and clues us in as to what was actually going on: this tiny miracle was made to appear far more powerful than it actually was, with the use of showmanship:

The ceremonious setup of being positioned on the circle in the middle of the room hidden under the carpet, between Aziraphale and Crowley; he could have been standing, but instead, "Jim... Sit in this chair." And it's a beautiful chair, like a throne, but Jim being taller wouldn't have worked for the image of the 'W' (similar to the 'W' shape made with Shadwell standing between Aziraphale and Crowley at the airbase, in the book Good Omens.)

ta-da!-look-at-this-very-complicated-and-powerful-miracle-that-we-are-doing

Why perform at all then, for an audience of none?

Ah, they're not alone, oooOoOoOOOoOoOooo, spooky. Go and see for yourself: check out the bottom left area of the screen when Crowley returns to the bookshop and says, "I'm BACK" (this is to do with the "framing opportunities" secret mentioned in the Gavin Finney BTS article https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/gavin-finney-bsc-good-omens-2/) Aziraphale calmly replies, "Yes, I can see that" and later gasps, reacting to something happening off-screen at 40m41s.

So this performance, not yet knowing who their audience might be, could be as a precaution, just in case.

Gabriel instinctively crosses his hands and is confused when Aziraphale and Crowley uncross them - or likely because Aziraphale was even standing there at all - because he remembers, or rather, in his mind's eye, sees the shape left behind by a missing piece of furniture.

The ceremonious setup of being positioned in the centre, between Sitis and Job, this time in the background to have Bildad appear a little shorter in height for the stylized 'W', then crossing his hands. The pot containing Sitis and Job's children being the circle, hidden by the circle of carpet (robes) made as Sitis and Job embrace.

ta-da!-look-at-this-very-complicated-and-powerful-miracle-that-we-are-doing

Had we seen Jim's and Crowley's conversation about memory before The Hiding Miracle instead of much later in episode 5, then it would have been foreshadowing, yes?

*temper rising* A "reveal," or "out-of-order foreshadowing"? (VBUAXNAUSX*keyboard smash*NYVIFGNOMAI) grrrrrr!

...

After the Job story is told, (save for the final scene) and Aziraphale calls for Crowley, my head-cannon used to be that Aziraphale wanted to talk about hair -

Aziraphale: Crowley, I gave you lovely long locks in my retelling of this story, how about you? Crowley: Nah, "shoulder-length bouncy 'bob'" is what I put - a "Lob" I think is what they're calling it these days.

But now I think that, to book-end Crowley's beginning with, "Your boss said that to Job, do you remember?" (imo they are so good at blending in, they can act human better than any human can act human! So, while feigning the memory span&loss&retention of a human, of course they can remember most everything. Angel stock: constitution of an Ox, memory of an Elephant.) Aziraphale may have wanted to remark on Jim's crossed hands from the night before and how similar it was to Crowley's doing so; that it was evidence of Gabriel still somehow being able to connect with images from his memory. "Crowley? You also did that thing... does Gabriel remember?"

If each minisode contains something that foreshadows or reveals what magic tricks occurred during this season's present day events, I feel that the only thing left is from "The Resurrectionists" minisode, where Crowley Goes Large (woah, woah, woah, another case for The Song Is The Clue?!?) ... or makes himself, something or someone else tiny.

"Size and shape are simply options" after all, so I do wonder about Hell's Usher, where the only time we've seen him is when he is small enough to fit in a bathtub and yet he is HUGE in the opening title sequence of season one. Behind him, Noah's Ark stranded between two damaged buildings (or one damaged building and maybe the Pleasure Cruiser Morbillo?)

Something else that may be revealing of stories yet to be told of the past, while also foreshadowing a near-future event:

Based on what Crowley said, this is not the first time Crowley and Aziraphale have performed a half-miracle together! Whatever biiiig miracle they're about to do (speculated event #2) could still be completely balanced and undetected, but then a plume of miraculous activity emerging from the circle gateway (privately speculated event #3) is what poor Aziraphale will appear to take the blame for.

Things being out of order may have started with the question, are season two's present day events being told out of order? There are other things appearing out of order as well, for example a change in the order of colours in the Rainbow (for "present day" episode two only I think, beginning Violet then Red, etc.) Or, in this case, narrative devices being so intertwined, one flashback-event can contain images and phrases that both foreshadow something yet to happen as well as to reveal what happened in a part of the story already told.

As always, please no asking or tagging Mr Gaiman as this blog post contains theory and speculation, thank you.

[weirdlizard26]

Image ID:

Five close-up screenshots from TMNT: Mutant Mayhem teaser trailer showing the handles of Leonardo's katana.

The first screenshot shows the letters "RUL" engraved into the handle on the right.

The second screenshot shows the letters "CONSEQUE" engraved into the handle on the left.

The third and fourth screenshots show what appears to be the word "RULES" on the handle on the right.

The fifth screenshot shows both handles with the words "CONSEQUENCES" and "RULES" mostly fully visible on the handles, except for a few letters in the middle obscured by the blades.

End ID.

consequences and rules you say...

[chirpsythismorning]

Realistically do you still think Milvn will breakup in the first couple of episodes? I feel like the fabdom is focusing on fanon so much at this point that they are missing canon and actual narrative on the show. It seems very unlikely to me for Mvln's breakup taking place in first couple of episodes. But the fandom are still stuk in their previous thoughts and cannot seem to think differently at all and never even consider the possibility of mlvn breakup happening way later on in the next season. Most of the Byler's analyses about El's character has turned out to be wrong. El doesnt seem to be done with the relationship. She still loves Mike (or thinks she does) and she drew strength from his monologue. A mildvn breakup right into S5 does not make any sense canon narrative wise. We can argue that the show was different that the script, while i agree with it to an extent i reaaaly think people are trying way too hard to discredit the writers intention and the script here. El was not angry at Mike. She was sad about Max and Hawkins' situation. 🤷‍♀️

What i am saying is that i feel like most Bylers are misinterpetating what is happening with the narrative here and it leads to unrealistic and baseless expectations for the characters and S5 regarding how Mlvn vs Byler will take place. And i am greatly sorry but i dont think Mike lied in his monologue, like at all. And the situation reads like "Mike loved el romantically but they wont be together bc of incompitability". El is not even still over Mike. And people expect her to be like "i breakup with you bye" right into S5. Mike still has underlining feelings for El. Like... all i am saying is people shouldnt base their expectations on headcanons and fanon misinterpretations.

Lastly, while i really would like a more detailed gay coming of age and sexuality storyline for Mike, realistically going by canon i dont think its happening. Sorry. They will mostly focus on Will's sexuality and coming of age it seems like and Mike will mostly have a "realization" arc where he realizes El and him are not fit for each other and then he decides to be with Will.

Based on the show’s trend of doing break-ups (or at least implied break-ups) early in the season, yes I do think it’s likely that the audience will at least have the impression that Mike and El are broken up early in s5.

That’s based on a technique they have done repeatedly, whereas the assumption that they will break-up midseason is based on what exactly? The Duffers saying that s5 is jumping right back into the action?

I mean, if anything shouldn’t that be an indication that the arcs heavily built up in s4, that were left deliberately unresolved, are going to be dealt with in a timely manner, as opposed to being put on pause and then squished into mid s5, when we’re arguably going to have even more stuff the characters are dealing with? Like, them literally fighting for their lives?

When it comes to Mike’s monologue giving El strength according to the script, this is actually really easy to explain and so I will! 

For starters, they did not disclose El's feelings about the monologue in the Piggyback script, bc they released it knowing it would go public, at least two years before s5 is set to actually come out. They would not just throw in a huge spoiler like that, seeing as it was intentionally left unaddressed in s4, with the intention to be addressed in early s5. That’s the whole thing about s4 kind of leaving things so shaky and uncertain, with s5 jumping us right back into that, bc there was just so much set up for all of those dominos to inevitably fall.

To understand Mike’s monologue and its impact on El better, it might help to recall the memory of El’s birth and how her mother’s love is what gave her the strength to defeat Henry the first time in 79’.

I mean look at the lighting of that scene, it’s probably the brightest fucking lighting we’ve ever seen in the entire series (you know what light means... pure, genuine, true love…). And it’s because strength from love is much more powerful than strength from anger. That’s something she is literally throwing back in Henry’s face that day of the massacre, going against what he told her to do and instead using the memory of her mother’s love to beat him. 

During Mike’s monologue, we see El using anger to give her strength to finally break free and stop Vecna, all orchestrated by events that Henry has had a role in impacting, meaning he was actively going up against her this second time, all while knowing that in order to actually beat her, she needed to be vulnerable and unable to use love as strength, with her only option being anger. And so what we see is anger about Mike still woefully misunderstanding what she had tried to explain to him earlier in the season, along with watching her best friend be murdered in front of her. And look at the lighting of that scene, she's literally seeing red. The atmosphere is eerily uncertain at best.

This monologue was SOOO necessary for the narrative in order to keep the public away from considering Byler. Because they already don’t want to consider it as it is, and that monologue gives them an excuse not to. You saw how they reacted to the piggyback script? Like it was this huge sigh of relief for them? Meaning that they were having doubts…

The thing is, I have considered the possibility of a mid-season Milkvan break-up. I’ve talked about how waiting until mid-season, something that would be unprecedented bc they’ve never done it before, would be odd considering we will be dealing with vastly different concerns and conflicts by that point. 

For them to hold off settling a break-up, that was built up all of s4 (arguably since s3), until mid-s5, would fall flat. If anything jumping right into the action means all the major stuff built-up, but left unaddressed in s4, is what we’re jumping back into.

They need to address those things so that they can move on to the aftermath of all of that and then beyond that. 5 episodes of ignoring that, and then 4 episodes of it happening and processing all of it AND dealing with endgame right as the finale is coming to a close, would be hard to juggle and make satisfying.

The reason they like this approach so much, is because it allows the audience to root for the other option in the love triangle. And with Will getting home-wrecker allegations as it is, a milkvan break-up is extremely necessary this time around as well, especially with byler being endgame and them really wanting us to root for them finally. 

How can we do that if the Duffer’s break their own trend of early break-ups and in turn make it difficult for us to root for byler, all while leading on milkvan’s unnecessarily even longer (with no intention of going that route), making it even more unlikely for viewers to accept Byler endgame?

They’ve been building up to this inevitable break-up since s3, with s4 ending in a way that made it sort of obvious El is not happy with Mike and with Mike clearly struggling with something.

Are we just going ignore the implications of the inevitable painting reveal or the fact that Mike called El ‘his’ superhero (the most insulting thing he could do honestly, least of all during a love confession) at the end of s4, and have that confrontation be stretched out? For what? El hasn’t even responded to it or told us her side at all? She told Mike she missed him and that’s it… That’s all we’ve got. Like, let her speak and actually say how she feels about their fight in her room and the events at Surfer Boy and everything leading up to this inevitable moment for them.

While Mike and El didn’t outright break up in s4, there was heavy implications of it, and that was for a reason. They wanted us to watch those Will and Mike scenes throughout the season and see something more. Even though it didn’t end with a kiss between them, nor them officially getting together, they still did it because they wanted us to interpret those scenes as romantic comfortably. That's also why they kept Mike and El seperate at the end of s4, because they wanted us to look at Mike and Will in a way that made us go 🫣🫣🫣 at the very least.

Now, if s5 is leading to Byler endgame, just imagine how much more important it is to make it really clear that Mike and El aren’t happening?

Another even more important reason to have break-ups early in a season in general, is to allow the overall season to have a vibe that is cohesive as it’s own entity. Major stuff happens at the beginning and major stuff happens at the end, with the middle making up the overall vibe and feeling they want us to subscribe to the whole time, with certain pairings being constant that time more than the end/beginning. It makes more sense for us to root for byler most of the season, the whole middle, and for the first time at the end now as well, while letting go of El and Mike early on, even if it’s ambiguous like it was in the previous season. Personally I think the prospects of a dump your ass parallel are high… (can we do something interesting and fun like speculate how the break up would go down? Will it be angsty? Will it be lighthearted? Like I want to see all of those hot takes bc that's actually something that is more fun to think about than the 'when').

I know some people are here because they love romances or love queer romances and just enjoy shipping in general, but I’m genuinely here bc Byler makes sense based on all that stuff you would probably consider to be reaching. That stuff is the best part to me. So, if you don’t like others doing that, then consider muting those that you deem as people ‘misinterpreting the narrative’, again, according to you. 

At the end of the day you can believe whatever you want to believe. 

This idea that it’s okay to tell other people they are wrong and have baseless claims, all while ignoring the actual evidence they are presenting… Like I mean this just comes off like Milkvan’s telling Bylers they’re delusional for considering Mike and Will as being a possibility at all. If you have to constantly use, it’s not that deep as your core argument after being presented with evidence, while only yourself giving maybe one or two reasons at most for why your interpretation makes the most sense, then you’re probably not actually open to considering things based on evidence. You want to believe what you want to believe and you're projecting onto others for not following along with it.

Especially when it comes to the whole Mike having a coming of age story or whatever, where some fans have tried to make the argument that there is nothing to support that, when that actually couldn’t be further from the truth. Bylers have provided heaps of evidence. If all of that is not enough for you, that’s something that you have to contend with at this time. Just like us believing what we believe based on evidence we’ve gathered is our concern and something we have to deal with, not you. No need to apologize! Just try to worry about your own interpretation of things and feeling confident in that, but without having to tear down others' because they don’t subscribe to yours interpretation of things.

Because I feel like it would honestly be a lot more humiliating to insist other peoples theories are wrong and they’re only going to embarrass themselves in the end, only for that person saying that to end up being wrong… Everyone is making theories and everyone is bound to be wrong about some or even most. That's okay. That's natural. That's sort of an unwritten part in the agreement we all agree to by participating in this theorizing in fandom experience.

When it comes to Mike again and his arc, I always say this, but it really comes down to this more than anything.

Finn is 2nd top billed among the kids. He used to be THE top billed among the kids for s1-3, but then he got bumped down behind Millie in s4. There is a major possibility, that Noah is going to be ranked up, with him going from being paired up with Sadie, under Gaten and Caleb, to be bumped up under Finn with them sharing a title card. Though it’s unlikely they would rank Finn down under Noah, who was not even in the opening credits of s1, while he was the first name that season and the following two, meaning Finn's character Mike needs to live up to that top billed spot right behind Millie. He needs to have an arc on his own that is equally as substantial as Will and El's arcs, and separate from them just like theirs will have aspects that are separate from Mike as well.

Because Mike was the protagonist of the first season, he HAS to be important again in a similar vein in the end for the show to work as an overall five part story. When people go back to rewatch after s5, they are going to be met with Mike front and center. That will only be satisfying if we get genuine insight into his character in the final season, beyond the surface level.

Quite honestly, ALL of the kids deserve something deeper than what you are implying for Mike, and so applying that to him, the og protagonist, is just so absurd to me. If anyone is going to come out with a surprising arc we’re not expecting, it’s Mike. The audience is already not expecting Will to actually get the boy, that's the aspect that they aren't prepared for for Will, and so what about Mike's unexpected reveal?

Literally most of the audience doesn’t even think there is the slightest possibility Mike could be queer. You don’t think that warrants some addressing and unpacking…? You know… because he never really unpacked…?

I feel like people hear me say Mike is going to be important in s5 and go oh so you don’t think Will is the main character?? And it’s like?? Honestly my answer is yes and no. I think Will is literally the spine, the heart, or whatever you want to call it. In Finn's own words, he is the reason that everything happens and he is the most important character arguably, because of how important he is in terms of all of these events taking place throughout the series.

However, Mike is at the forefront from the very beginning and we arguably see everything from his eyes in s1 and 2 more than anyone else. But that goes away in s3-4. And that felt extremely intentional based on what is about to go down (byler endgame). You can tell that by doing this, they are trying to lead up to a reveal that brings him back to his original place in the story for the audience to see him as his most authentic self again, and with answers for why we lost that insight in between.

I could count up at least 20 Easter eggs hinting at Mike being in danger/targeted, which goes all the way back to the first episode of the series. 

This isn't even considering, that another trend they’re likely to bring back in s5, bc if they don’t they’d be breaking a series long trend, is Mike being late. He starts every season late. And so, what is Mike going to be late for this time? Could it have something to do with all of the unknowns about him that are yet to be addressed?

I think that sometimes we say that something isn’t going to happen because we don’t want it to. A lot of this stuff I’m saying happening isn’t based on feelings, it’s based on actual evidence.

If you don’t want certain things to happen because of x, y, z, you can just say that is the case instead of making arguments that there is nothing supporting it, when that’s not actually true?

Like nothing? Nothing at all? Baseless? Like, be serious rn.

ST5 is very likely going to give off s1-2 vibes. While Mike is going to be less in the background compared to s3-4, Will AND El are still going to have equal, if not more attention than him, bc I do believe that their bond is what is going to also be a part of saving Hawkins.

The ending is going to be surprising bc those primary color-coded bitches are the answer to it all. If me saying that upsets anyone because it goes against their interpretation of things, I'm sorry too I guess!

[fiepige]

Heya thank you so much for your ask!

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

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

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

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

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

(Just a fun fact I wanted to share)

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

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

1. don't we see him enter?

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

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

We should still see him enter right?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

@the-cat-and-the-birdie

[moongothic]

Worst crocodile theory is that crocodile has like a dead sister who is the reason he had all the weird ties he does. Luffy? Oh thats not his son that’s his nephew. Ivankov? Oh crocodile isn’t trans his *sister* was trans (yknow before she died) and he’s either protecting her secret or the secret that he has a dead sister (and thus a vulnerability). Weird pseudo trust in robin? Oh she reminds him of his dead sister the only person he ever trusted. Missing arm? Lost it trying to save/being saved by his dead sister. Doesn’t use haki? Sister did. Hates the government? Fucked over his sister (killed her to spite Dragon maybe?) The bananawani? Actually belong to his dead sister. Baby crocodile looks androgynous? — twist is that he and his sister were identical twins! (Would be absolutely hilarious if they did this and managed to parallel and invert the trans zoro HC. Flashback of crocodile’s egg sister talking about how much if SUCKS theyre going to grow up to be men because men are worse than women at X. And its the little cis boy this time around explaining why thats stupid)

The big twist is crocodile is actually kind of boring but he had a sister who was super interesting but shes also super dead.

DON'T REMIND ME OF THE DEAD SISTER-CROWD

[dead-in-the-bread]

Minute TMAGP theory that I'm like, 60% sure isnt true, but would be fun if it was.

Sam might be red canary. Is my only evidence that he knew about the Magnus Institute initially and Red Canary hasnt been heard since the post? Yes. With how shaken Sam was, I wouldnt be too surprised if he turned out to be Red Canary, and was shocked tbat the thing called out his ex post thread.

Honestly chances are we're never gonna see red canary again. Or if we do it'll be as a side character that got wrapped up in everything. But its fun to theorize, no?

[daylightaftertherain]

also just to say I'm probably not going to speculate about much until s3 comes out (could change though, I have a terrible track record when it comes to this), mostly bc I don't have time or energy and bc I saw last time how much speculating can interfere with enjoying the experience of watching a new season and also the number of dumb takes you see from people w zero media literacy but let's not bring that up again

[owoanduwuchan]

ML Paris Special: A Hint for Adrien Towards the Truth?

Thanks to s5 finally giving the specials an ounce of canon relevance in the show, I think it's reasonable to think something important could happen in them.

Many of us agree that the post-wish timeline would probably stop Adrien from learning the truth until Lila steps in (which probably won't happen until she has Adrien's amoks and can make things the worst) or one of Adrien's loved ones fess up (something that's never happened before).

So, how can we possibly set up Adrien getting help in this doomed universe?

Perhaps the answer lies not in this post-wish universe. Like, perhaps the universe of Toxinelle and Chat Griffe?

Perhaps their universe is also a post-wish universe where Gabriel made a different wish. One where he's a hero and Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Chat Noir (whose identity was unknown to everyone present at wish-time) are the villains he can publicly triumph over.

He could wish the peacock was never broken so that Emilie was alive but Adrien can still be puppeted. The Cat and Bug team would need to cataclysm the peacock miraculous pre-Feast and/or Fu-meeting-with-Gabriel, but canon Fu is a coward and it took months for Feast to arrive in Paris. Toxigriffe's got this.

Or you can make them not need the peacock in the end (to postpone SentiAdrien reveal) and just have them be the incompetent parents canon already proved they were. As long as the Agrestes are bad enough for our Ladynoir alters to want our Adrien to get out, the setup is there.

It doesn't have to be a full reveal either. A passing comment on how Emilie must have been blackmailed into giving Adrien the rings, or a "Who is Felix? Aunt Amelie adopted???", or even a question on what they renovated the basement into. Give Adrien a nugget that Ladybug hopes AdriChat won't follow but that eventually he will. One that when he does, finally starts letting Adrien go through what the others are depriving him of: development from reality and the truth.

[quibbs126]

Okay, I just wanted to do this for posterity’s sake, but basically this post is: Things About Dark Cacao Cookie That (At Least to Me) Point to Him Having Odd Origins (But I’m Probably Overthinking It)

No I will not shorten that name

So I really only have three points (at least that I can currently remember) that apply here, but let’s just mention them regardless

So first up: his abnormal strength

As shown below, his story specifically states that his sword takes 3 average Cookies to even budge, yet we see in game that he’s able to wield it with seemingly little struggle. There is no explanation ever given for this. I mean I suppose you could say that it’s the Soul Jam that gives him the strength, but given that none of the other Ancient descriptions mention their Soul Jam bestowing upon them enchanted physical attributes, it’s little more than conjecture, and it seems more likely to assume that this is just natural for him. But then the question remains: how and why?

Next up: the slit eye thing

In these two sprites, we see Dark Cacao have these slit eyes that he never has in any other sprite. The Wiki names them his “rage sprites”, and while yes, the Wiki is unofficial, the only times we really see these sprites in game seem to be when he’s incredibly angry, or in other words, enraged

Again, no explanation is given for these. I have seen some people say that it’s because cacao and chocolate have small amounts of caffeine in them, and the coffee Cookies are noted to have dilated pupils due to their amounts of caffeine, and thus this is a reference to him having small amounts of caffeine. And yeah, I can accept that as an answer. But also at the same time, these eyes don’t exactly operate like the other coffee eyes, given that they only show up at certain emotionally driven points for Dark Cacao, as opposed to them where it’s just natural and doesn’t seem to ever go away. Also again, this is just a fan theory, and in canon there is no official explanation for this

Now let’s get into my third point: his younger self’s clothes

I know that sounds a weird one but hear me out

Now there’s two parts of this that I want to take note of

First, let’s compare this to the other young Ancients’ outfits

I’d say that by comparison, Dark Cacao’s outfit looks much nicer than theirs

Now yes, you can have explanations for why theirs aren’t the nicest looking. From what I’ve gathered, Pure Vanilla was a pilgrim, and if the art book is to be believed, was once a shepherd, and let’s just say that kind of lifestyle probably isn’t leading you to be wearing particularly nice clothes. As for Hollyberry, while she know she came from a noble house, you can just say this is her adventuring attire, made for battle and roughing it out in the wild rather than looking nice

But that in itself isn’t the weird thing. The weird thing is that Dark Cacao’s clothes look a lot nicer than theirs, which is odd considering the Dark Cacao Kingdom doesn’t seem to be known for having clothes that look particularly high quality. I’m not saying their clothes aren’t of nice quality, it’s just that clothes like this look a bit too nice for just a presumably normal villager, no?

I mean, both the cape and top have those trims you usually put on clothes to make them look nicer (at least I think that’s what it’s called, sorry I’m not good with how clothes work), as well as his nice looking brooch that has a small gem in it. Not to mention the sword he’s carrying, which looks like it has engravings and has what looks more like a dark gem at the pommel. Compare that to the swords we see the Watchers at the Citadel use, and it looks much higher quality. Again, odd for a normal person of a kingdom that isn’t known for its wealth or high quality of clothes or swords (again not to say they can’t have it, it’s just odd in this scenario. Those people who do have high quality stuff are cookies of high ranking in the kingdom, not normal cookies. I don’t think I’m wording this well)

There’s also the fact that it’s purple, which back in the day, was hard to come by and rather expensive. Yes in the current day kingdom, we see people wearing purple, but first off nowadays purple isn’t as hard to obtain, and second those cookies are all those who are at the Citadel, the place of highest ranking in the kingdom. They’re probably allowed higher quality clothing. But also keep note that these are Cookies, not humans, and how clothing colors work could easily be different, so take this point with a grain of salt, it’s probably not all that strong. And I know he’s associated with purple, so it makes sense for him to wear it, but it doesn’t look a particularly dull shade of purple (I mean it does somewhat, but it’s nice enough that it doesn’t just look like grey fabric with a purple tint), and that’s why I call it out

Secondly, there’s the fact that aesthetically, it doesn’t really match the Dark Cacao Kingdom

Now sure, fashion isn’t constant, and it’s not ludicrous to imagine that outfits 1000+ years ago would look radically different, but let’s compare this to the only other cookie we see of the soon to be kingdom from this time period

Just compare the two and they look nothing alike, which is odd considering they’re supposed to both be from the same place. (also it again affirms my point about his clothes looking pretty high quality; Reluctant Cookie here looks like they’re wearing torn and ragged clothing unlike Dark Cacao)

Like Dark Cacao has said himself that he is native to this land, and his features compared to other members do support this idea, so why doesn’t he dress like them?

I mean sure, at this point the land was a bunch of different tribes, and you can assume they probably each have their own style and don’t all look the same, but still, the radical difference

Now okay, those last two points are more speculation on my part, while the other two are objective facts, but you see what I mean? Him being a normal Cookie from the (future) Dark Cacao Kingdom just doesn’t seem to add up

I mean yeah, I know he’s an Ancient, he’s not a “normal Cookie”, but like, everyone else only became “different” later in life, they seem to have started out relatively normal. Dark Cacao stands out as the odd one of the bunch (I mean other than Golden Cheese, but that’s probably because we don’t know anything about her yet)

Originally, back when I was first getting into Cookie Run, I speculated his oddities could be because he’s related to the dragons or was raised by them, hence his unusual traits and clothes. However, Might of the Ancients seems to disprove this, as there, he seems to not be familiar with the dragons at all, not even knowing they were the ones causing the odd storms and snow, simply trying to find the sources of these “anomalies”. And when he does know, nothing tells us that he has any familiarity with them. So I think it’s safe to say he’s not connected to the North and South Dragons

Alright, I so I should mention here that I don’t actually have an answer for all these oddities. I just made this to point them out and say they were weird, at least to me. Hopefully at some point these things get answered. Or again, I’m just overthinking it all

[science-lings]

There are a lot a problems with this theory because totk is a jumbled mess, but a think the time Zelda traveled to might be before skyward sword. A few things might point to that, first is the forgotten temple, which is definitely a reference to the temple of hylia from skyward sword. The Zonai were keeping their secret stones in it, which implies that they built it, and if that’s the case then they came before sksw. Another thing is the clothing style. The ancient people of Hyrule wear obviously old style clothing and weaponry, but by skyward sword and every other games down the line, the clothing are more covered and « modern » and the weapons more refined

That's interesting and totally valid, I mostly don't personally believe it bc of the existence of the Rito and the Zora and the Gerudo which all didn't pop up until much later. Though it would be cool if Rauru and Sonia somehow were 'Hylia's' (or sksw Zelda's) ancestors, because Hylia and her bloodline are both associated with Time and Light and the mysterious 'Sealing Power' that keeps evil away, which both Rauru and Sonia do with the light magic in the shrines and what Rauru does with Ganondorf at the end. It's an interesting theory to be sure.

Maybe there was no goddess Hylia until the Zonai and the 'Humans' united. Maybe Hyrule came before Hylia.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

hold on i need to get a thought and emotions out. so with Welcome Home, there seems to be a before and an after. obviously, we're in the after. the website is the after. and if it turns out that the story we see, the one where shit hits the fan and the show is practically erased, then... that already happened. whatever horrors we see, we'll know that there is no saving them. there is no happy ending - it happened, and it's tragic. the show is doomed to end and be scrubbed away. if any of the characters are revealed to be dead/gone by the website, then when/if we see them at an earlier point, we'll Know

and there's a special kind of dread and horror in that for us, the audience.

[dancingdorito]

i had a dream about polin but it half made sense so i'm posting this

so colin goes to cyprus or wherever he goes off season like before the new season starts. pen refuses to write to him and after a few un answered letters he just starts writing letters to her about the trip and not sending them. he writes them bc he doesn't feel like he can talk about it with anyone else other than pen. by the time the new season is starting he makes his way back to mayfair, he has this huge wad of letters that he wrote for pen, like theyre enveloped and wax sealed and everything. and he doesn't show them to anyone. behind his back, someone in his family like violet or anthony knows about this wad of letters all addressed and wrapped with a pretty little bow, and they don't mention it to him, they just keep it in mind.

the season drolls on and he's giving her lessons to get suitors, falling in love with her, etc. and something happens, 1) colin not understanding how to know when you're in love, and whoever knows about the letters walks over to his desk and drops it on his lap and is like "there's your proof." OR 2) pen is not convinced that he loves her or something and he gives it to her as proof. (or both of these)

listen its just my own speculation because i had a dream and now i can't stop thinking about it but i thought i'd send my thoughts out to the world.

have a good day loves 💛🪶🪞