#but that is just theorising from my side because we know nothing of what the people in Silver's future are like power-wise

[true-blue-sonic]

Silver's Powers not being unique to him kinda makes sense because Silver doesn't think of himself as special and is canonically considered a loser at this point.

I personally would say it's mostly the IDW comics that wildly oscillate between the amount of respect they give Silver. They give me the feeling that they simply just can't make up their mind on who or what they want Silver to be, which I would say is because the end goal of the plot is entirely driving the bus here, not the characters and their actions. So that means in the comics, Silver is either a bumbling idiot who needs to be hand-held by the more powerful smarter OCs while nearly getting wiped out by one random Egg Pawn in a flashback, or someone hella OP and serious whose powers while Super can clear an entire planet of a virus that changes its victims on a molecular level. And I think Silver has absolutely amazing moments in IDW! I love the issue where he and Sonic take the six Chaos Emeralds and make a mad dash for Zavok to get the seventh one, where Silver is a crucial component and shown off as his powerful self. And also during his fight with Zor he's no-nonsense, clear about what he stands for, and even shown as unforgiving to an extent. That is definitely why I find it so unfortunate that these moments are counteracted by Silver either being innocent uwu bapy boi, or just being written as incompetent because that's what the plot needs him to be to get to what it wants to achieve.

But that is just the comics. Forces painted Silver a lot more respectably in my opinion (e.g. shown as being capable of making a stand against Infinite, who's been callously murdering people in the streets beforehand with nothing they could do to fight back having the slightest effect), and TSR did too if you ignore the trash talk scene (e.g. Silver being the first to learn of Eggman and Dodon Pa's plans, and keeping an eye on things with help from his friends). Furthermore, the Sonic Channel stories and information about Silver give a much more respectable view of the character, that leans far more towards his positive sides: his straightforwardness, kindness, desire for justice, willingness for peace, reliability, the fact people feel endeared to him, etc etc. Simultaneously, they are not afraid to mention that Silver can take things too far, and can be put on the wrong track at times. Generally, those stories thus paint him as someone serious and incredibly strong (e.g. able to stop the Eclipse Canon beam with a shield of PK) while still being naive and having slight tunnel vision (e.g. not understanding why he was not taken seriously when he told the Soleannan officials about the bridge collapsing, which he knew because he came from the future). It's... better than what the comic is giving us, in my personal opinion; it's at least more enjoyable if you like Silver's personality from the actual games. So I do not at all agree with the idea he's "canonically a loser" currently. It just depends on what media you look into, and how that media treats the character in regards to what Silver's actual personality is like.

[darkcandy-starfait]

Theory: Ralsei is a Titan (or at least a Neo darkner)

Hey so. this theory and analysis has been long over due, I'm so sorry but I kept forgetting and getting sidetracked with school work.

Okay so many people have noticed how weird Ralsei is, he's honestly a whole can of worms on his own without considering every theory being made about him.

But I have had this particular theory in my for like almost a whole fucking year, so let me propose a weirder one: Ralsei is a titan.

What do I mean by that? Honestly, I kind of only half way know what that means, since this is more of crack theory but here are my points

We all know that Ralsei looks different between the first two chapters. But a few people have pointed out that Ralsei's transformation from chapter 1 to chapter 2 is rather strange, as the two look very different. Toby has said that Ralsei looking different was a recent choice made during development.

He first starts out as this black, fluffy figure in a ratty looking robe, with his hands mostly obscured, and a hat. but after he takes off the hat, he suddenly looks very different: white fur, and more boss monster like. in chapter 2 we see his robes are neater looking and his arms are visible with black sleeves.

I find this bizarre, because it's such a drastic change. Looking at his two forms side by side, it almost looks like two different characters. Like, taking off a hat should not change your form like that, even if it might be dark world logic.

Ralsei is also shown to disappear when he's downed in battles. Susie, Kris and Noelle all have sprites of them kneeling or collapsed on the ground when their hp reaches 0. But ralsei just... turns into a pile of his clothes, in both forms. Almost like he's made of nothing??

Ralsei also seems seems just show up in dark worlds without Kris or Susie bringing him there in his supposed object form. Other darkners like Rouxls and Lancer are physical objects (both of them are playing cards), and need to be carried in Kris' pocket to the Cyber World. Kris has to physically take all the objects from rooms and bring them back to the supply closet.

Since we still only have two chapters at the moment, what object Ralsei actually is in the light world is currently a mystery. Some say he could Kris' red horned headband (personal favourite of mine), or even the missing green crayon in the Dreemurr house.

I even theorised that he might be Kris' mysterious knife they always seem to have on them, which is why he's always in the dark world shortly after Kris and Susie arrive there. But we never see Kris' knife in their inventory anywhere, unless Kris is just. materialising the knife out of thin air???

This still doesn't change to fact that Ralsei, if he did have an light world object equivalent, would have to be carried around like every other darkner in order to travel to other dark worlds. But he doesn't. He just... shows up in Cyber World to help Susie and Kris without any explanation other than "I felt a dark presence."

Most interestingly, he later explains that darkners who don't belong in other dark worlds will turn to stone. All the Card Castle characters in the Cyber World turn to stone in chapter 2, but Ralsei doesn't. He does say that Castle Town's fountain is made of pure darkness, so that's why all darkners can live there.

Ralsei being Castle Town's ruler helps him in this case, and the fact that a piece of text in Toby's concepts for Ralsei's manual says that Ralsei's form is made from Castle Town's fountain. Makes sense that a being made from pure darkness would be able to live in every dark world. But here's another question I have.

WHY is Castle Town's fountain made of pure darkness? How did it get this way? Is it because the fountain has maybe been around longer, while others like Card Kingdom and Cyber World were created only recently? What makes a fountain pure darkness?

Well here we bring up some interesting lore from Queen in chapter 2. Queen says that she needs a lightner to help spread more darkness, by literally opening a dark fountain inside a dark world. In the Giga Queen fight, she calls it a Neo Fountain.

Berdly almost makes this a reality, only to be stopped by Ralsei, who suddenly drops the lore about the Roaring.

The Roaring is a prophecy of a sort of apocalyptic event, where opening more dark fountains and fountains within fountains could cause mass destruction. Giant beings known as Titans will form from all the fountains, and will cover the world in darkness, turning darkners to stone and leaving humans to fend for themselves.

Ralsei speaks of this like its either a prophecy that was passed down to him, or something he even witnessed first hand. Maybe that's why he has no subjects in Castle Town. But I want to go back to everything I've said here about Ralsei, the most important ones bolded.

• is able to change forms by the drop of a hat (haha)

• is supposedly made of pure darkness like Castle Town's fountain

• fades into nothing when he's downed in battles

• can travel between dark worlds without being brought physically in the light world

• doesn't turn to stone when in other dark worlds while many other darkners do

• knows about a catastrophic event where more fountains are made and giant beasts made from darkness ravage the land

That last part. When I remembered that Ralsei said that the titans are formed from dark fountains, and that Ralsei is a darkner of pure darkness... well that got me thinking: What if Ralsei is a young titan? His first form in chapter 1 could be closer to his true titan form, and he might be taking a new form in chapter 2 to appeal more to lightners.

(Side note Ralsei taking the form of a boss monster, the species that Kris' family is, is another can of worms I have to save when I talk about their connections.)

What if Ralsei is a product of a Neo fountain being created? What if he's the last remnant of a time when there were more fountains, when the sky was black with terror, and the land cracked with fear.

Like, NEO fountains are even talked about more in the Spamton Sweepstakes. When you play this puzzle on the website, and click the 3rd option on the bottom row, you are brought to a sprite of a chair.

We all know the chair, but the phrase in the window of this page definitely seems seems be hinting at the creation of Neo fountains.

What if that's Ralsei's deal. Even if he isn't a titan, what if he's some kind of Neo darkner? What if he's more darkner than darkners in general?

_

Honestly I'm fully prepared for this theory to be steam rolled over when the next two chapters drop, but it was fun and interesting to write nontheless! I'm interested to see if anyone else has their own theory about this or if you even had the same thoughts?

[crepes-suzette-373]

The Genpei War and Germa

"Sequel" to my previous Genpei War parallel analysis post.

This one kind of goes into red string pinboard conspiracy, and not as straightforward as the Venus one. Final warning, this is kind of fanciful.

This is also in relation to my previous theory post about Germa possibly being connected to the ancient kingdom.

In mainstream Japanese storytelling, for centuries the Taira/Heike is almost always depicted as evil. Anything from corruption, destroying the nation by their evil deeds, even connections to evil spirits and all that. Naturally it's propagated by the Minamoto/Genji side.

In One Piece, I don't think there's that many entities who gets this "evil evil evil forever" reputation attached to them besides Germa. And based on my previous post, if the Genji side is World Government... there is some similarity there.

Besides, though they were defeated, the Taira weren't destroyed. There were still survivors who remained as smaller clans.

Among the so called descendants of the Taira was Oda Nobunaga, who I saw as the primary samurai parallel to Germa. And this could even branch off to even further conspiracies.

Survivors from the Ancient Kingdom founded or is generally part of Germa royalty.

Germa just wants to continue the "legacy" of the Ancient Kingdom, even if they're not actually personally tied to that kingdom by ancestry.

I'm not going to go that far yet, though. For now I just think Germa is a separate entity, but they know something about the void century and/or the ancient kingdom. Still, there is a connection there.

Also, I want to mention the exoskeleton.

I don't know if this is something I've mentioned before, but one of the conspiracies I had is that maybe the exoskeleton modifications were made based on or using the sea prism stones.

It might even explain why Sanji could block Kizaru's laser beam, since it was produced through Devil Fruit and not machine, and perhaps the exoskeleton can counteract that.

I don't believe we have seen any other example of what specifically happens if the Vinsmoke siblings faces fruit abilities. If it's embedded in the skin, then it's not 100% pure sea stone, so Big Mum and her children being able to touch the Vinsmoke siblings doesn't really mean much. It's like the sea stone shackles in Wano that only takes away special abilities, but doesn't really injure the person.

Well, as it were, I also had theorised that maybe the "sea prism stones" are actually the "exoskeleton" of some kind of ancient animal. My main theory is tortoise and lobster (in Japanese, tortoise shell is included in the broad category of "exoskeleton" too) due to the linguistic analysis (see above link). Since as of now it could be anything, though, crabs are among the list of possibilities.

So, in Japanese mythology, there is a certain water creature called "kappa" that is most commonly depicted as a reptilian creature with a tortoise shell.

Some legends said that kappa was the reincarnation of the Taira/Heike soldiers who drowned in the sea, when they were defeated in the sea battle in Dan no Ura.

Judge had alluded to the souls of the Germa ancestors having no land to rest. They may have originally died on land, if the Germa empire had land before, but if that land is gone they're then technically "lost at sea" now.

There is also a certain breed of crab whose shells are wrinkled in such a way that it kind of looks like a human face. Heikegani, it's called in Japan, because legend says they're also the incarnation of the ghosts of the Heike soldiers who died at sea.

Aside from the exoskeleton parallel, there's also that "ghosts of people who died at sea".

Even suppose I'm wrong, and the exoskeleton has nothing to do with sea stones, Germa still chose to call it "exoskeleton" and not something more straightforward like "iron skin". It still felt like a term that is connected to a still-hidden lore, and in this case, makes me think of the Taira clan.

Speaking of the souls of the dead. If you've ever heard that in Japanese mythology butterflies represent the soul of the dead, it was said to specifically refer to the swallowtail butterfly.

The same butterfly is the clan crest of the Taira, worn as a clothing motif by Oda Nobunaga, and in One Piece, it's the design inspiration of Reiju's raid suit.

You can see the swallowtail's iconic "tails" at the bottom of Reiju's wings there, and you can see how the zero motifs on the upper part of the wings somewhat resembles the circular patterning on the Japanese crest and design versioon of the butterfly. A real swallowtail butterfly does not have "spots" like that.

So again, another possible parallel.

But what is all this convoluted parallels supposed to mean? By the Genpei parallel, the "shogunate" is World Government.

The (supposed) lineage of the Taira nearly succeeded in toppling the shogunate system altogether, and wouldn't you know, it was 300 more years before the shogunate finally came down and the Emperor becomes the supreme ruler of the land again.

All this very convoluted parallel is to say, once again, the Germa empire of 300 years prior knew something very important that is needed for the plot. In which case, they're coming back, and pretty much because of that I think there's no need to worry about Sanji "turning evil".

His issue with the Vinsmokes is not over yet, even if he acts like it's all fine. I feel like he's going to have to confront them truly and properly one more time, and it would go against the theme of the story if it has a bad outcome. Why did we even have all the drama in Whole Cake if it's going to just go poof into nothing?

No matter how it plays out, I just think it will be fine. There'll be drama, angst, sadness, tension, but it will be fine.

[i-mybrunettelady]

question that came up bc of the fic talk: where do your other char's perceptions of nyra differ drastically / what biases and preconceptions affect their view of her and her actions? what do you always keep in mind when writing her from a different pov, so that despite their different opinions, her 'nyra-ness' still shines through easily?

(i know this is a lot for all of your ocs so feel free to cherry pick, i just love the way you make different narrations work and unique character voices are one of your big strengths in writing imo <3 and nyra's just such an interesting character for different view points bc she has such a big commanding divisive personality!)

(also bonus: same questions for cass if you want?)

BRO THIS MADE ME SMILE SO FUCKING WIDE THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU LIKE SEROTONIN GO BRRRR

Like you made my evening ;;;;;

But to actually answer the question! As is to be expected, not everyone likes her. I take extra care to not go 'oh charismatic lady whomst is universally adored' because I find that approach to be limiting in a lot of ways. I like to read/write character driven stories, so it's actually good if not everyone likes each other. Please don't all like each other.

So here's a little choice that I will exclude Siona, Ren, Sanne and Liv from - Siona because she genuinely doesn't have a concrete opinion of Nyra beyond the fact she's a good commander and ally to the sylvari as Trahearne's girlfriend, Ren because we see it in fic and because she rejects preconceived notions as much as she can, Sanne and Liv because I need to refine those (aka write more about her from their pov.)

El - He obviously dislikes her. They're the two sides of the same coin in a lot of ways, they're too similar to get along, and they're equals in a lot of regards as well. But things really went to shit when she killed Trahearne, which he can't forgive her for, and he faulted her for his grief for a long, long time (he did try to kill her in Maguuma. He would've tried to kill her if she came to see him when he was trying to resurrect him.) And in true El fashion, if he hates you, nothing you do can ever really be good - or if you do one (1) thing right, he won't ever tell you. They're on marginally better terms now, not really at each other's throats, but not really friends either. They can work together at least and there's a lot of spark that can easily turn into a housefire between them still but they're getting better at it.

Mirka - She met Nyra back when she was an adventurer and the two had a brief fwb situation. She saw the instinct to chase her legend, to put it in norn terms, in Nyra from the get-go and envied her for it; it was what Mirka herself forced herself to like because all norn do it, until she had Kov and settled in her homestead. I really think she was kinda jealous of Nyra for that, but she didn't have it in her to actually dislike her for it. No, she fell for the charisma, but wasn't as easily swayed because she too is a strong presence, only less explosive and more stable. It was this understanding that makes her have a hella lot of respect for Nyra; she's successful at something Mirka herself tried to do and failed and she doesn't have an ego to be butthurt over it. She's gotta respect that.

But what I always keep in mind when writing about her from another beeb's pov - Nyra will always, always take center stage. You can't miss her; she will try, by virtue of being herself, to dominate the scene. Some kids match/fight her on it - Ceasefire comes to mind for it, as we're talking Nyra and El there; some go take it in stride - this Mirka and Nyra fic comes to mind (which is funny bc this is not a fic centered on her, she just opened her mouth and took up the first portion of the thing.) That's her ego working, for better or for worse.

And she absolutely is a divisive figure. She's the type of person you are most likely to have strong opinions on. Ruby and I recently theorised she has Leo somewhere in her chart.

But also. Nyra, Cass and El make up my 'big personality' triumvirate so here is....

Cassposting on main

I'll be more vague here than I was with Nyra as my extended verse is still a WIP. But I have written a few fics where he is perceived. Firstly, my joke that he's every rare gene in one man absolutely stays. He's someone you can't really miss in a crowd. But what surprised me was how a lot of the time, he doesn't strike you visually first; he's loud, and you first hear him then you see him, if that makes sense?

He spent a lot of his childhood and teen years hiding so now he takes up space, a lot of it, even if his self-esteem doesn't let him see it for what it is a lot of the time. There's a certain discord between how he perceives himself and how he's seen by other people. He has deep insecurities, sure, but I wouldn't say he's faking confidence to cover them up either? His cover is sarcasm, refusing to take things seriously and verbal aggression/conflict, not confidence, which is genuine.

(You could say he's his mother's son there in a way as well.)

As to preconceptions, it's a bit of a complicated issue given the reputation Wayfarers have, and he's a proud Wayfarer. He's also generally a bastard, so that gives people an idea of him that negates his gentler, kinder side. Because he is capable of great kindness and loves deeply, he loves taking care of people, he's very protective over them, very affectionate and considerate, and a lot of people don't get to see this bc he has a hard time trusting people and because he behaves like an absolute asshole 80% of the time.

I have spoken a bit about the Red Wayfarer persona before, but this is exactly what this is. A persona, part of him but not the entirety of him, something he constructed to as a defense mechanism, even if it can be harmful to himself.

He's genuinely funny and entertaining, though, so that one stays.

As to what I keep in mind when writing him from others' pov, one thing I always keep in mind is that 1) he will talk, and 2) that he will say random shit. I mean talk a lot. He likes the sound of his voice too much. And the randomness of what he says is just you not expecting him to say it in this particular moment.

It's things like this:

“Turns out he also hates Wayfarers on principle so he got cursed water from a Wayfarer’s gods-damned hair fall down from the sky right on his small fucking head. Woooosh. He’s angry about it, of course, but he can choke on a crab for all I care. I’m having fun.”

I swear that line took me out when I was writing it. Writing him is a lot of fun actually. He also tends to speak in hyperbole a lot, so that's part of the fun.

[radiodread]

“Tears of the Kingdom” spoilers below where I talk about how stupidly good the game is but also stuff I miss and maybe don’t like as much because I have to talk about it. I’m very close to finishing the main story, so I think I can write this now. (Oh, and this post is long. I tend to do that.)

First of all, yes- I love “Tears of the Kingdom”. In a lot of ways, the devs really listened to their fans and implemented things we missed in Breath of the Wild, a lot of quality of life updates. It’s a very familiar experience as much as it’s new and it completely blew my expectations out of the water. I adore the fuse mechanic and how you can now build the stupidest, most insane, creative, and bonkers stuff. Everything from a thing that launches you practically into space to a goddamn war machine that eats Lynels for breakfast. And not to mention the ability to ascend! Man did I abuse that ability. Lovingly, of course. Hey, give it to me and I’ll use it, maybe not the correct way, but I’ll use it. Also, Rewind is great for a slowpoke like myself to bring back a boat that I accidentally activated before I got on it and it zoomed across Lake Hylia in four seconds flat. Bless.

Alright. Onto the ‘negative’ stuff before I loop around back to the good. The first thing that comes to mind is how the sages’ powers work. You can’t have all of them active at the same time because you’ll have five dang ghosts running around you making life difficult. Want to pick up a bomb flower? Oops, Yunobo just rolled into it and blew your ass into next Thursday. Want to sneak up on this fairy or bug before you pick it up? Oh, Tulin was so excited to see it that he had to blow a goddamn wind gust right at it, making it fly or scurry away to save its short life. Accidentally activated Riju’s power? Gotta run after her now that she’s run off to who-knows-where and then cancel her thunder arrows. Remember how, in BotW, there were button presses for three outta four powers and then the last one activated when you ‘died’? Yeah. Bring that back, please. Where even are the powers Link got from Urbosa, Daruk, Revali, and Mipha?

(Someone theorised that the Champion powers from BotW disappeared from Link as their souls were finally laid to rest after Calamity Ganon was defeated, but I thought that every single one of the Champions told Link that they wanted him to have their powers now that they couldn’t use them anymore. What, just temporarily until Calamity Ganon was defeated? Nahhhh, I don’t buy it. The Sages’ powers just aren’t that good replacements, in my humble opinion. Way wonkier, harder to control, they all activate in a stupid way.)

Another thing is the rampant inconsistency and lack of explanation for things in a game that’s supposed to be a direct sequel to “Breath of the Wild”. Where did the Sheikah technology suddenly run off to? Where’s all of the Guardians, why is the Sheikah Slate suddenly called the Purah Pad, what about all those towers and shrines? Explaining it away with “well the Upheaval happened” feels like a weird excuse. Did the Zonai stuff just overrule Sheikah technology, is that why we have Shrines of Light instead of Sheikah ones? Remember how, at the end of “Breath of the Wild” in the ‘true’ ending, Zelda talks about how Vah Ruta apparently stopped working and they were gonna go see what that was all about? Where did Ruta even go after that, much less the other three beasts? There aren’t even parts lying around from them if they were destroyed by the falling debris after the Upheaval. Nothing. They all got raptured along with the rest of all of the Sheikah technology.

Also: Where’s Kass? His kids are in the game and none of them even mention their father, same with his wife Amali. Some family, huh. There’s vague mentions of him by Traysi and Penn but that’s about it. Not even by name, just “a bard”. They brought back the creep from outside of Gerudo town who was obsessed with boots but not Kass who helped Link with several side quests and you’d continuously run into during your travels? Okay.

They handled some things that bridged both games very well. Like the bit about how people can turn into friggin’ dragons by eating a certain kinda stone like a Goron? YIKES. Makes me wonder about Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh, if maybe the goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore did this and then became the dragons we’re now so familiar with. If you’ve seen that one part where Zelda turns into the Light Dragon... yeah. Whew. That scene made me cry and also stare blankly at a wall for five minutes afterwards.

(Oh and just to finish off the criticism rant: you still can’t pet the damn dogs. What the hell. Let me pet them! They’re such good dogs!)

Overall, though, of course I’ve really enjoyed "Tears of the Kingdom” as might be obvious by my reblogged content as of late. It’s funny, creative, fun, challenging, tugs at your heartstrings, makes you yelp in horror sometimes- all things that make a good game. But it’s not perfect, at least not to me. All I can hope for is DLC that might explain some of the inconsistencies I’ve had major gripes with and I can be happy with the rest of it. Yeah, even the wonky way the Sages’ powers work.

[wherelanguage-ends]

Sorry to bring up the B and P issue, but imo BoC should also come clean and clarify on the topic that is the 4 minutes series. We should not forget that the first accusation P made against B was regarding plagiarism of a supposed series she was writing. Then there is a phone call recording in which P accusses B repeatedly of sharing the plot of her series with B*C and with the writer Sammon and B repeats that he didnt do that while crying, asking her please to believe him, and then she asks him for money as compensation. Back then the company not only did not defend B, but only recently the ceo said that it had been all coincidence and that P had made a mistake and it was solved, yet no apology to B was ever made. I think there are more issues and ppl involved in this mess that we're led to believe.

So I’ll be honest anon, when I got your ask I wasn’t sure if I would answer it or not, partly because most of the time when it’s come to this situation I tend to either have emotional outbursts on my blog that go untagged(as in not in the main tag) or the occasional tags under a post as I try to process information(this is one of those times it’s always best to listen to what experts or survivors have to say before formulating your own opinion) Plus talking about this issue when Build himself posted a statement saying he’d like to move on seemed pointless, cause it would be more speculation and theorising.

But fuck it I say, since Pond clearly wants to share his side that nobody asked for?

Going to put the rest under read more.

When this whole thing started I wasn’t really active on Twitter or following any of the going ons on there so correct me if I’m wrong but initially I thought BOC truly had nothing to do with this situation. Sure it’s weird that a former/current writer was accusing their newly contracted writer of stealing her idea by way of an actor in the company and the company itself says nothing but hey Build’s the one who decided to address the situation all on his own. I am not blaming him we clearly know now why he did that at the fan event. Add to this already messy situation the fact that former writer and actor were in a relationship that apparently was abusive, I wouldn’t have blamed BOC for wanting to separate themselves from this entirely even if it started with plagiarism charges.

But they never did that did they? Now Pond’s adding an IG story saying he knew about things from the start? Like what? The abuse charges were fake? The pregnancy was fake? It’s true as he says you can’t know what’s the truth when you’re outsiders but based on what Pond did know how was the press conference a good idea? How is his posting that statement now even helpful to the situation?

Why the both sides argument back then and even now? Poi went on a complete rampage trying to ruin the reputation of a man because he wanted to break up with her and now we’re just supposed to accept it was a messy break up? I know many have commented and explained what toxic relationships can be like , keeping that in mind: What happened to Build’s charges of compelled to act and extortion? His saying that she forced him to stay in the relationship using his career as leverage? That just doesn’t seem like they were equally at fault?

Yeah there are more people involved in this issue and we’ll never know what and who but what the hell is the CEO thinking when he does what he does? I can’t tell if this is his version of ‘oh look at us, we’re such a transparent and honest company’ or what.

As for the thing with Dr. Sammon and everything else. She’s seems to be an industry veteran with multiple projects to her name. So she would know how to handle the situation best and if she doesn’t want an apology or further clarification then so be it. Same goes for any apologies owed to Build. If he deems a public apology necessary he’ll ask for it.

Honestly don’t know if this is what you were going for when you sent the ask but sorry this is what I have.

[kimmimaru]

Thoughts on Rebirth Tseng:

Putting it under a cut due to spoilers as usual, since I've essentially finished the main plot for the game. Ok, so if you've been reading my spoiler posts then you're aware I found Tseng to be acting weird, still don't know why that was but the only scene he acts even remotely naturally is when he's dying in the temple and talking to Aerith. Honestly can't wait to see his reaction to her death, I'm a sucker for angst. But anyway, I theorise that the reason he was acting weird is because of Aerith and his dislike/uncertainty of Rufus' plans involving her. Also like...Rufus protecting Tseng from Hojo lol. That side-eye look Rufus sends Hojo's way when he mentions 'helping' Tseng is hilarious. So I have always liked having Hojo tease the Turks with threats of experimenting on them in fanfic and now its proven to be an actual thing lol. But never expected Rufus to be the one to 'protect' them. Tseng's always been a character I've vaguely struggled with because his ability to set apart both sides of himself is so good. Like he acts the cold, hard villian but in actuality he's not. Obviously Reno and Rude know him well enough to kind of call him out on it, but I've never been very good at portraying that with any kind of decency in fanfic. One of the reasons I like writing him so much is to try and get inside his head, I don't understand him very well so I try and figure that out in fanfiction. Its almost like he's got two personalities, one is more what we see in Crisis Core and the other is everything afterwards. Honestly I kind of blame Veld, he was supposed to be the example to Tseng of what leadership looks like. Either that or Tseng decided to change because it was the only way he could keep doing his job and keep his humanity. Also we don't really see it in Rebirth but I've always liked that Tseng has a vicious side too. I think the biggest example is in The Kids Are Alright, when he lays into that doctor who conned people out of money. I would like to see more of this side of Tseng in the next installment tbh, I feel like this is an important aspect to his personality. Like his cool veneer isn't thick enough to withstand something he deems dispiciple, that scene left a lasting impression on me as its like a switch flips. Its one of the things that's actually terrifying about Tseng, he goes from cool and calm to violent in the blink of an eye. Rebirth doesn't show it so well I don't think, but I suppose nothing's really happened to make him do it. I just find it fascinating that considering what he does for a living, a doctor scamming people is what sets him off. He is a literal murderer but a man conning the poor makes him angry. You know, Aerith's death would make for a great exploration of this side of Tseng. The man is probably one of the most dangerous Turks, the others are much more honest with themselves and their feelings. You know where you stand with Reno, Rude and Elena. Tseng is like the person who pushes down all his feelings until one day they just explode. At least, that's my impression. No clue if this makes any sense, its more of a vague ramble tbh. But I am having thoughts and these thoughts need to be written down, helps me get things in order in my head for later fanfic purposes.

[thesquidkid]

Operating in the realm of realism

A Roswell, New Mexico meta on alien powers, part 1.

Have you ever wondered, as you were watching this amazing little alien show, what the science behind the alien powers was? Whether it was pure fiction, of if it followed rel-life physics? Well, I have, and this essay might be for you! Don't worry, if you know nothing about science and physics, I will do my best to be as clear as possible.

This is basically a follow up to my three part meta on the science in the show, where I kept saying that one day, I was going to dive into the aliens powers. Well, that day has come.

Just like for the previous meta, this is mostly going to be my thoughts, while I'm rather sleep deprived. So apologies in advance if it's messy.

Disclaimer, I am not a native English speaker nor have I ever lived in America. What may seem obvious to me, may not be as straightforward for everyone, and vice versa. If anything is not clear, feel free to reach out! I am also not an alien, and thus can only theorise about the powers definitely not something an actual alien would say.

This meta will be structured similarly to the previous one, as I will go through every episode and describe / explain the alien powers as their are shown in the show. There will be more detailed explanations every "new power", and obviously I will try not to repeat myself every time Max makes lights explode when he's angry.

This post is then about season 1 (which I binged in hopes to finish this before season 4 aired), and there might be a few slight spoilers (I tried but sometimes I forget what we aren't supposed to know yet).

1x01 Pilot

Max saves Liz using his powers. We see him press his hand over the wound, and channel the energy towards the wound, thus healing it. The science behind it? Using electricity to shift the molecules together, and close up the wound. (theory) 

He feels sick afterwards: he is using his energy to heal Liz. (More on this in next ep)

Why is Max sick after using his powers but not Michael? Is it only because of Jones? or is there something else, to do with the amount of energy needed to heal ppl being a lot greater than what is needed to move things telepathically. To be compared with working out, and doing more than what is our physical limit. However, we must also note that we have only seen Max heal people, and not Michael and Isobel. So perhaps, the fact that Max is so sick afterwards is simply due to the fact that healing requires much more energy that telekinesis. (Manifesting a Michael healing Alex scene in season 4, purely for science). 

Michael moves the keys with his brain. My theory here is that he can move the molecules in space, which on a greater level allows him to move objects. I’m guessing it’s the same for shutting off the cameras, pressing a switch to control it with his mind. 

Michael explodes the car windows. From a physical standpoint, I would theorise that he compressed the molecules together, putting the glass under so much pressure that it collapses on itself, exploding. 

Side note, but Grant Green talks about his alien wave detector going off the charts since the blackout. My guess here, is that he in fact does not have a machine that allows him to track down the actual aliens, but more like a machine to pick up electromagnetic waves. 

Electromagnetic waves are waves that are created as a result of vibrations between a magnetic and an electric field. There is electricity all around us (in electrons), and the atoms (which contain electrons) are attracted / repulsed by each other via magnetic forces acting on the electrons. In other words, when the magnetic forces are being changed (i.e. with Michael exerting his powers to blow up car windows, or Max healing Liz), it creates vibrations between the electric field of the atom and the magnetic field of the air. Therefore, such waves would be picked up by Grant Green’s machine. 

Pods. We know that the pods kept them safe during the crash, meaning that the membrane is strong enough to resist extreme conditions (shock of the crash, atmospheric pressure, fire from the crash? Cold in space?) I guess the closest comparison to the pods we could find in our daily life would be an egg, or the membrane sac inside the uterus of a pregnant person.

Obviously, a pregnant person does not become bulletproof overnight, but there is still quite a lot of padding between the outside world and the foetus.

The amniotic fluid for instance is a slightly yellow fluid that surrounds the foetus, absorbing pressure in a similar way to a water bed. 

We also notice that the people in the pods float. This is similar to a foetus in a stomach. Hence, the liquid inside the pod (unspecified) is somewhat close to the amniotic fluid. 

Sharing memories. Max puts his hand over the handprint on Liz’s chest, allowing him to share his memories of meeting Liz, and hanging out with her. My theory here is that by putting a handprint on her, it’s like a part of his DNA made its way to Liz, and since it’s alien DNA it would create a connection between the two of them. We already know that aliens can communicate telepathically, so I’m guessing that when an alien puts a handprint on a human it allows the human to share some of that telepathic communication, and feel what the other feels (as Max says). 

Now, I don’t think telepathic communication is truly with words in English, especially since I find it rather suspicious that on another planet far far away, english is a spoken language. So, if telepathy is more with feelings, emotions, memories, then it would mean that during a handprint, a human would be able to get close to the alien experience. And since Michael, Isobel and Max have more practice, they can block each other, and distinguish their feelings from the other’s. But that can’t be said about Liz and her connection to Max. 

1x02 So much for the afterglow 

Michael uses his powers to lock the door of the Crashdown, and to stab a knife into chocolate (please ignore the line “I’m a chocoholic”, I hate it). 

Max is clearly not fine, he’s angry. Consequences of his actions, namely healing Liz. Since the handprint is a connection between two beings, shouldn’t Liz also be impacted by the anger that is coming off of Max? Especially as we see in season 3, when Max gets hurt, the people who have a handprint feel it too. Unless it only works for physical pain and not emotional pain. 

We then see more memory sharing between Max and Liz, namely memories of Rosa. Like Liz says, she doesn’t just see the memories, she feels them. Thus telling us once more that the handprint serves as a portal into someone else’s mind. 

When confronting Wyatt Long, Max gets angry (again), and we hear the radio crackle. This just follows from the fact that Max controls electricity in the air, and loses control of his powers when angry (or horny). We see this again when Max tries to kill Wyatt and all the lights explode. As he tries to kill him, his hand glows red, meaning that he is doing the same thing we see him do in 1x06. My supposition here is that he is doing the opposite as healing: instead of forcing the molecules to move closer to each other, to repair damage fabric, he is moving them away from one other, causing a rip in someone’s body (small enough that we don’t see blood, but big enough to cause death). 

Another theory (albeit similar) would be that he is making someone’s heart stop, shutting down all internal organs. This would still be done by moving the molecules away from each other, breaking neurotic connections, stopping all communications between the brain and the organs, eventually leading to death. 

However, that second theory seems to me to be more on Michael’s powers (or at least, the powers that he has mastered the most, as aliens all seem to have the same powers, as seen later on in the show). We indeed see Michael making Max’s heart beat again in 2x05, so it wouldn’t be too far-fetched that he’s able to do the opposite. 

In the end, Max doesn’t kill Wyatt Long, as he is interrupted by Michael, who uses his telekinesis to push Max away (similar to what happened at the police station). 

– Not alien power, but Isobell knocking Wyatt out with a taser is really cool. 

And finally, Max admits that there is something going wrong with him, since he healed Liz, that he has all this dark energy in him. See the very famous apocryphal quote by Lavoisier: “Nothing is lost, Nothing is created, every is transformed”. (Note that apocryphal means that this quote is attributed to Lavoisier, even though he never said those words in that way). 

We then have that the energy from the wound (okay, this is all fictional, last I checked there wasn’t such a “dark energy in wounds” kind of thing in humans, but please bear with me in this totally realistic scenario) has to go somewhere. It cannot simply vanish into thin air, and so, Max absorbs it when the handprint heals Liz. 

Alien glass. This isn’t quite related to alien powers, but it does enter the category of “real of realism (with a sarcastic voice)”, so I will talk about it now. The glass has symbols on it. I’m pretty sure that it’s alien alphabet (otherwise why would it be random symbols?). We can also see that the glass is somewhat organic here, as it changes as Michael touches it. (It is indeed confirmed that the alien tech is organic, and has the same compound as alien dna, see my meta on the science in the show for more details). 

1x03 Tearin’ up my heart

Liz basically confirms what I said just earlier. She says that “Max’s ability to manipulate electromagnetic energy gives him the power to heal and also to harm”. So indeed, the healing is done by manipulating electromagnetic waves, which leads to moving molecules. 

Max then adds that he’s not sick, but angry, in rage. To sum up: bad vibes. 

The more Liz interrogates Max, the faster his heart beats (relatable), until the Holter monitor (machine to monitor heart rate) explodes. I can understand how annoying it must be to make electric devices every time you feel anything. 

 (I won’t describe every time Max makes lights explode because honestly it’s really all the same. The dude is angry. We get it.) 

Isobel uses her powers to infiltrate Liz’s mind. This is the first time we properly see a landscape, except, instead of talking to Liz, Isobel sees Rosa too. Perhaps an old memory. This also emphasises the fact that Isobel cannot decide on people's action against their wishes: Liz doesn’t want to leave, and so she won’t. 

Isobel is sick after using her powers, so the updated theory is once again that Michael is the only one not to get sick, because of Jones. Note also that the way Isobel feels after drinking acetone reminds me of (an extreme version of) a diabetic person drinking sugar during a hypo (this is a personal observation). So really, acetone doesn't heal aliens, only helps to make them feel better. 

The blackout. The release of all of Max’s bad into the universe. Again, this is due to the electromagnetic pulse that he releases as he lets it all out. 

An electromagnetic pulse (EMP) is a brief burst of electromagnetic energy. It can occur as three forms: electromagnetic field, electric field, or magnetic field. The electromagnetic interference can disrupt communications and damage electronic equipment. An EMP can be weaponized, and used in a war, to collapse an electrical network of a country for example. 

Within an EMP, there are different characteristics, which will influence what is affected. There characteristics can be defined by: 

The mode of energy transfer (via radiations, or electric / magnetic waves) 

The range of wavelength / frequency present in the pusle

The form of the wave: shape, duration, amplitude. 

We are not given so much detail about the pulse emitted by Max, so I don’t really have much to go off on. But. We know that a pulse of electric energy will always be accompanied by a pulse of magnetic energy, and vice versa. What matters the most in defining the field of the EMP is which one is dominant. Here, I would assume that both forces are fighting for dominance (sounds like some fanfiction here), and hence we obtain an electromagnetic field. This supposition is purely based on the fact that it is already established that aliens can manipulate electromagnetic energy. 

Now, to dive deeper into this EMP, we need to explore its type. There are three main categories of EMP, namely natural, man-made for a civil use, and man-main for a military use. I won’t explain all the differences between each type, and will only go into the natural cases, as this seems to be closer to what we see here. 

So, when we look at natural EMPs, we notice that most of them happen close to the sun (a result of the radiations emitted by the sun). I don’t think this could relate to the blackout in Roswell. The other possibility is what is called an electrostatic discharge.

An electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a sudden and momentary flow of electric current between two electrically charged objects (here I would assume it to be Max and the air?). The two objects don’t need to be in physical contact. 

Note that even though ESD usually produce electric sparks, those sparks are not required to be visible or heard by humans, hence, the fact that we don’t really see or hear any sparks doesn’t quite discredit my theory. 

One of the main causes of ESDs is static electricity (which is present when you rub a sweater against a plastic material for instance). Here, I would assume that the static electricity is coming out of Max, who has been under pressure from the “bad vibes”, who somehow produced an electric field around him. 

(I am aware that this is very vague and based on my hypotheticals, but considering this is about alien powers, I am doing my best to make it make sense). 

All in all, the blackout caused by Max relieving the dark energy is similar to a real-life natural scenario. 

1x04 Where have all the cowboys gone

When Maw tells Michael and Isobel that Liz found out that an alien killed Rosa, Michael gets angry and lets his powers loose. However, we notice that the only thing that moves is Max’s car. He doesn’t touch Isobel and Max, he purposely avoids hurting the people he cares about. Even when he ‘loses’ control, he makes sure that no one gets affected by his powers. We see more of that (and the reason why Michael is the one to seemingly hold more control over his powers) later on. 

We see that following the blackout, every transformer in town has a Lichtenberg figure. A Lichtenberg figure is a natural phenomena which exhibits fractal properties, and is known to occur on or within solids, liquids, and gases during electrical breakdown. 

Fractal is a term used in mathematics (I promise I will try not to go on a maths rant) to describe geometric shapes containing a very detailed pattern at an arbitrary small scale. This means that regardless of how much we “zoom in” on the figure, we can see a pattern. 

The burns on the transformers in town are fractal patterns, as we can distinguish a pattern at every scale we look at. This is usually the case for lightning strikes and other electrical breakdowns, which is basically what happened with Max letting go of the bad vibes. 

Then, at the Wild Pony, Isobel practices her powers. We see her influence Hank to order some fancy drink, and donate money to an immigration organisation. Since we know that Isobel can’t make anyone do anything they don’t wish to do (as seen with Liz), that must mean that Hank deep down wanted to do so (or at least, didn’t not want to do it). Note  that this is still quite a large invasion of privacy. So I would not recommend doing that. 

Similarly, we see Isobel getting inside Maria’s mind, to find out why she doesn’t like her. She accesses a memory, where we see Maria and Rosa are talking and Rosa mentions that Isobel acts differently when she’s with her and when she’s with others. 

We can then conclude that the mindscape allows somewhat full access to someone’s memories and emotions. As well as being a place where no one can lie, or at least no one except for the person in charge. 

We also have that Isobel passes out after being in Maria’s mind, which could either be a result of the necklace, or of Isobel having tired all her energy on Hank. Especially since we see her stagger, like if she was drunk. (I would assume a combo of both). 

Then, Max reboots the power in the hospital. My guess is that he is acting more or less like an eel (see my meta on science for a detailed description of eels and electricity). Basically, Max is concentrating the electricity from his body into his hands, which are in contact with the transformer, thus transferring electricity to power the hospital. 

Again, using his powers is exhausting, so he passes out. 

We see Isobel lying on her couch, and clearly feeling sick (following getting into Maria’s head). She is sweating, and her nose bleeds. This is a common trope in science fiction: a character who overuses their powers gets a nosebleed. Nothing new. 

1x05 Don’t speak

Mind control. Wyatt Long shoots at Grant Green and Liz. We clearly see that this is Wyatt acting on his own accord, since really, why would Wyatt care about Grant talking to Liz. (We later found out he’s being mind controlled by the fourth alien, but I’ll get to that later on). 

We know that victims of mind control need to have passed out in order to be mind controlled (as seen later on in the series). I’m guessing either Wyatt was simply asleep (since Isobel tells Max that Liz is near Long farm), or passed out drunk.  

1x06 Smells like teen spirit

The scene with the drifter. (Aka the scene that started it all if you think about it). Also the scene where Max kills someone for the first time. He pressed his hand on the drifter’s chest and he “suddenly knew he could”. It’s pretty much the opposite as healing someone, taking the energy from their body. 

Michael then buries the guy with his mind. 

We see the pod squad at Sanders auto, where Michael throws cans in the air, while Max shoots. This is also the first time we see Isobel “act” differently. (Since she is feeling like she’s losing the people she cares about the most). 

(I won’t really dive into the differences between who Isobel is, and who she is when she is mind controlled, cause that’s not really the point of the meta per say. More on mind control later). 

Rosa’s death. We first see Michael and Max feel that something is wrong with Isobel, a telepathic calling for help (as you do), and rush towards her. When Michael arrives, Isobel has her hand over Rosa’s mouth (where we have previously seen the alien handprint). Considering Isobel’s hand isn’t glowing, this means that Michael arrived too late; Rosa was already dead. 

This is the first indication we have that all aliens share the same powers, since until now, we only see them use a single power (but not, Isobel seemingly has a glowing hand too, and can kill in a similar way to Max).

Then Max tries to bring her back. His hand on her chest, and it is glowing red, but he can’t heal her (as he says, he’s not strong enough to bring her back). 

Michael then moves the bodies in the air, and the car towards the tree (which we already knew had happened). This also shows the precision at which Michael controls his powers, turning on the car, shifting the gear stick, pressing the accelerator. 

Then, Max puts his hand on the hood of the car, and sets fire to it. Again, similar to an eel. Concentrating electricity to his palm, which leads to the car being on fire. Physics. 

1x07 I saw the sign

We are introduced to Mimi DeLuca. (Okay, spoiler alert for seasons 2 and 3) She is seeing the past, the present, and the future all at once. And she also technically knows about aliens. (More on Mimi in 3x08 and maybe a bit before). 

1x08 Barely breathing

More mind control: Isobel getting Kyle to inject her with the serum. It’s not the same kind of mind control as with Isobel and Rosa’s death, since we see before that Kyle already thought about punishing Isobel for what happened. 

Max feels something is wrong with Isobel, that the connection is lost. He feels “cold”. We know that aliens have telepathic connections, and my theory about why Isobel and Max have a deeper connection than with Michael is mostly due to the fact that they were separated as kids, that Michael went through so much abandonment that he closes himself off from Max and Isobel, and thus doesn’t feel the cold of Isobel injected herself with the serum. 

We see that the serum indeed works as a blocker for the alien powers, when Isobel tries to get Kyle to take his shirt off, but fails. 

Side note, but I have a lot to say about Michael’s speech to Liz about stripping Isobel of her powers. Because where Isobel wants to be normal, human. Max and Isobel have lived a life where they belonged, where they had a family, where they were accepted by humans. Michael didn’t. (However that is not the purpose of this meta)

The serum is degrading Isobel’s cells, and Max tries to heal her, but it’s not working. Because Isobel is not sick, the serum attacks her cells from the inside, they’re degrading by themselves. This isn’t like a virus attacking. This is like an autodestruction. That cannot be stopped. 

Michael uses his telekinesis to move his trailer and open the door to his secret lair. And we finally get a first look at the alien science that Michael has been working on. We see pieces of alien tech scattered around, plans to rebuild a ship. 

We also get confirmation that Isobel cannot control people, just influence them. Meaning that it’s not entirely mind control. Just a mind nudge. 

If you want more about the alien science that Michael and Liz come up with, feel free to read my previous meta. I am not going to dive into it once again, I already lost too much of my sanity with sci-fi science. 

1x09 Songs about Texas

Another display of Michael’s precision when it comes to his powers: he unwrapped the cord from the tent to open it. And more of Max getting emotional and making sparks fly (and frying Arizona’s glowing hand.

1x10 I don’t want to miss a thing

Isobel gets a memory of her and Rosa being friends. This is technically not alien powers, but a result of the cure that Liz and Michael invented. But still, more alien related than science. Liz even says that it’s a result of her cure, of the cells that went dark because of the blackout in her brain regenerating, and reforming the memories. 

Then, Isobel uses her powers to move the anti stem cell research crowd. Showing that she indeed is back to her full alien self. 

Maria (who isn’t wearing her necklace), finds out about Alex and Michael. (Spoiler if you haven’t watched season 2:) I’m guessing one of the reasons she asked about Michael Guerin was not only because they just hooked up and she somehow puts him at the same level as Wyatt Long, but maybe because she felt it from Alex. Because she wasn’t wearing her necklace. 

The active shooter at the hospital, more mind control. A way for the fourth alien to stop Isobel from getting her memories back. (I’m assuming if you’re reading this you’ve finished at least the first season? Otherwise don’t read what’s next) Noah is really powerful, as we can see in this scene. He controls someone, makes them move around, shoot at people, destroy Liz’s lab, all while being conscient, walking around with Isobel, getting shot. (I wish I could multitask as well as him). 

1x11 Champagne supernova 

Isobel confirms that the fourth alien is a lot stronger than her when it comes to mind control. That she wasn’t even there when she was possessed. That he had full control over her body. 

Max and Michael are trapped in Michael’s bunker, with the yellow powder which inhibits their powers. My guess is that the powder acts as a reaction inhibitor. 

A reaction inhibitor, just like the name suggests, is a substance that decreases the rate of, or prevents, a chemical reaction. 

We then have more mind control by Noah on both Isobel and Maria (which I won’t go into detail on as that would be repeating). We do see that when Liz injects Noah with the serum, he still is in control of his powers: Isobel is frozen in place, he uses his telekinesis to keep Liz where she is, and he even gets a glowing hand as he tries to kill Liz. 

My theory is that the powder would then “fix” itself on the surrounding molecules in the air, which would counteract the effect of alien powers on electromagnetic connections between atoms. Hence, making Michael unable to use his powers, and Max unable to make things sparkle in the bunker. 

But that doesn’t last long (because Liz is a genius). 

1x12 Creep

Noah wakes in the pod. Which is technically not possible. My first theory is that it’s connected to the handprint he left on Liz. That there is still a tether connecting him to the real world, to the normal passage of time (since time freezes in the pods). 

My second theory is that,as Noah mentions that his deficient pod made it impossible for him to get out, we can conclude that he came out the pod they put him in because he knew how to. Because he was already an adult when they left their planet, and therefore would know the ins and outs of pods. 

In front of Caulfield, Michael explains the psychic connection between aliens, that he gets flashes of emotions from Max and Isobel, and that, namely at Caulfield, he hears the other aliens scream. 

He also struggles to open a door with his powers. It isn’t explained here why he cannot, so my personal theory is that the door is made of yellow powder. 

Isobel then brings Noah into her mindscape. The only place where she has total control (as Liz says). I absolutely hate the fact that he violated Isobel (and so many other people) in that way, so I won’t really go into detail into Noah’s mind control and abuse. 

We then see that Isobel can bring people into her mindscape, like here, with Max. And Noah tells them that killing makes them stronger, that this is how he healed. Which Max felt after he killed the drifter. The research is backed up by experiments made in Caulfield, as said by Flint. 

We then have that the most that Michael can do about the prison cell holding his mother is crack the glass. Once again, my main theory here is that the cells are made (or dosed) with yellow powder, to hold the aliens in. 

Finally, the scene between Michael and his mother (yes I cried rewatching it). When their hands are both on the glass, Nora’s glowing, this is what I suppose to be something like a handprint connection (but not lasting, if that makes sense?) What I mean by that is that during that short moment of connecting with her, he knows that she is his mother, and feels her love, and her telling him to get out of here. 

This once again shows that the aliens on the show are a telepathic species (at least when communicating with their own), that words are shared via feelings and emotions. That aliens of the same family (not necessarily by blood, as seen with Max, Isobel and Michael) can communicate without words needed. 

Noah mentions the aliens having a purpose, which is never mentioned again, and will now be my villain origin story (I’m holding hope for season 4, but that may be useless). 

1x13 Recovering the satellites 

Max heals Michael from the stab wound he got from Noah. Somehow that didn’t leave a handprint. The logical conclusion to make here would be that aliens can’t give handprints to other aliens. 

The pollen that Liz left with Noah in the freezer was not enough to stop him, further proving that Noah is more powerful than the Pod Squad. That, or the dosage was really much lower than what Noah gave Max and Michael in the bunker. 

But the fact that Noah is stronger is clearly seen when he dodges the bullet that Max shoots, or when he ties his intestines together. 

Even as Isobel is unconscious, she sends out a telepathic sos call to Michael, meaning that deep down, her subconscious is still there, calling out to her brother for help. 

Noah then talks about the Alightnight. Which, by the way, if we don’t know more about that in season 4, I will riot. 

He also mentions Max being the saviour. Makes sense, as he is the one that has mastered the healing power. But Noah also says that Max has only unlocked one power, further confirming that all aliens more or less share the same power. 

And then, Max is playing God, part 1. Taking the electricity of the lightning in his hands, and directing towards Noah. Basically like an upgraded eel, since he isn’t directly touching him. 

Before Noah dies, Isobel brings him into her mindscape, to finally tell him what she thinks of him. And then, Noah collapses on the ground, dead, struck by lightning. We see in the moments following Noah’s death, that Max is indeed stronger, or at least feels that way. 

Max playing God part 2. Note: I hate this so much, the clear lack of consent as Michael literally begs Max not to do it. The fact that this was none of Max’s business to even begin with. The fact that it’s basically never mentioned again. Ugh. They better address it in season 4 (which airs in just a few hours as I’m writing this). 

Once again, we get confirmation that aliens do not mark other aliens, as Michael doesn't have a handprint. 

We then have a consensual handprint scene (the first and possibly the only one of the show as of pre-season 4) between Max and Liz. I’ve already talked quite extensively about handprint connections and what they entail, so I won't elaborate more. 

And to end the season on a bang, Michael and Isobel discover Noah’s pod, with inside it, none other than Rosa. 

We then see Isobel train her powers, and start to develop telekinesis. A little insight on the fact that indeed, all aliens somewhat share the same powers. Pod Squad hasn’t unlocked it all yet.

To end the episode, and the season, we have Max playing God part 3. Resuscitating Rosa. And killing himself in the process. My logical explanation here (other than the fact that it’s illogical) is that it’s a swap of energy in a way. Since nothing is created, nothing is lost, everything is transformed. 

Conclusion (spoiler free for future seasons)

To sum up on all the alien powers in season 1, we see that each alien has a “predominant” power: 

Max with healing and controlling electricity (all technically related as both boil down to controlling the electricity part of electromagnetic connections between atoms);

Michael with telekinesis;

Isobel with her mindscape and influencing people’s actions; 

Noah, who seems to be able to use full extend of his powers;

Subject N-38, who can give stage 4 tumours to anyone and anything he touches. 

As we see with Noah, and as he confirms, the aliens who we have so far only seen master a single ability (excluding N-38 from that list, as we do not have enough information on him to conclude anything about the full extent of his powers), simply haven’t unlocked everything. 

We also see that Max and Isobel have both gotten sick after using too much of their powers, but we haven’t seen the same for Michael.

Alien powers can be inhibited by a yellow pollen that comes from a rare plant that seems to only grow in a part of the desert in Libya (I will go back to that plant in season 2, since then the show actually gives more details about it). 

[labarch]

The boy who came from Slistas: in which I theorise that Qifrey is a tree

So I have read Witch Hat Atelier, I have connected way too many dots, and I have concluded that Qifrey is a silver tree who was turned human and experimented upon to allow the Brimhats to perform blood magic. And he is a little freaked out about the whole situation.

Please come dive down that rabbit hole with me (detailed spoilers up to Chapter 40 under the cut):

There are indications early on that silver trees have ties to blood magic. Silver trees are described as very human-like, and possibly sentient: the magical ink taken from their sap is described as the tree’s “very blood”, a legend claims that a silver tree fell in love with a witch, and Beldarut claims that these trees, like humans, choose where they live and are capable of some form of self-determination. According to the shopkeeper Nornoa, it’s a mystery why these trees are so different from others, and integral to drawing magic. A side theory here could be that silver trees started out as humans, and that the act of drawing the sap of silver trees to get magic ink began as some manner of blood sacrifice. Which brings me to my next point:

Iguin the Brimhat is a blood magic user, and this plays a role in his overarching scheme. We know that he wants Coco to embrace forbidden magic to disrupt the statu quo established by witch society, but it seems to be only one facet of his plan. Early in the story, he is shown pouring his own blood into Coco’s inkwell, giving her the enhanced magic that leads her to alter a whole landscape. What’s a bit puzzling here is that the ink is described as “blue-tinged” by Nornoa when he examines it, and he says it is mixed with a lot of different components. So, presumably, blood alone isn’t enough to make magic happen, but it can be used as a magical enhancer. Or, at least, Iguin’s blood can: whether he achieved this by experimenting on himself, or whether any blood can work as enhancer when mixed with the right ingredients, hasn’t yet been explored. In any case, this resonates well with the mythos of the near-sentient silver tree and its magic-giving blood. Iguin has this troubling line while drawing out his blood “How long can you hide the fact that magic is just a lie?”, which points to the idea that there’s a secret about the origin of magic that witch society either forgot, or chose to cover up.

Which brings me to our favourite overzealous secret-bearer, Qifrey, and his possible links with Iguin’s plot. Iguin is our primary suspect for stealing Qifrey’s eye: he seems familiar with him from the beginning of the story (“I’ll teach you everything that Qifrey won’t”), and they are natural foils in the narrative, being rival teachers to Coco. There is also the theme of the eye, which Iguin uses both as his mask and as his namesake “Lidless Eye, Sight of the world”. Until the story gives us further elements, it is natural to assume that Iguin’s plan, the experimentations done on Qifrey, and the plot Qifrey feels duty-bound to stop, are all parts of the same whole. Qifrey’s urgency to stop this plan “before anyone finds out” mirrors Iguin’s earlier line “how long can you hide that magic is a lie”.

Qifrey was experimented on with “a new type of magic”. The forbidden magic we have seen so far had a lot to do with human transformation, and particularly with turning humans into animals or objects (the petrification of Coco’s mother, Sasaran’s accidental hybridization with his own cat, Eunie’s transformation into a scaled wolf, the gilded people of Romonon…). The natural opposite of that magic would be one that gives human shape to an animal, an object - or a silver tree, so that a new type of magic ink can be harvested from it. Having his eye plucked out would then work as a grim parallel to the way witches gain magic by cutting out branches from silver trees. It may even be because of that stolen eye that Iguin is able to perform blood magic. Also note that Slistas, the forest of shadows in which Qifrey was found, started out as a forest of silver trees until a necromancer used it as experimental ground to bring the dead back to life. You could imagine that a few silver trees would have survived the corruption of the forest, and could have been used for the Brimhats’ experiments.

There’s some more shared symbolism between Qifrey and silver trees, starting with their color schemes. The role of silver trees as givers of magic matches Qifrey’s role in the narrative as the one who introduces Coco to the magical world. There’s the comparison drawn by Beldarut between Qifrey seeking a home and a silver tree choosing a place to take root (Qifrey is clearly most comfortable when surrounded in nature and loves nothing more than frolicking in the countryside, if that counts as a proof).

I also found it interesting that in chapter 40, when Qifrey reveals that he has been a test subject for a new type of forbidden magic, the panels then alternate between Olruggio’s shocked reaction and shots of what looks like an unfurling silver tree.

From a wider story perspective, Qifrey’s backstory would be an interesting twist in Coco’s journeys and struggles, which center on the ethics of magic. If Qifrey owes his current human life to forbidden magic, is he de facto illegal according to the rules of witch society? Plus that sort of reveal would be a shocking enough revelation to explain Qifrey’s desperation and rashness, while still retaining the whimsical atmosphere of the manga (Coco! Your professor is actually a magic tree person! Please make sure he gets good soil and plenty of natural light).

Aaaaand that’s my deep-dive pet theory! Thank you so much for reading, and I’d love to see some of your speculations on the manga as well!

[hmslusitania]

ngl everyone standing around claudette like that was just, what?? like, does no one else in LA have an emergency? and what she did was good, not gonna deny that, but it's not something josh hasn't done before or abby or sue or maddie or anyone else, y'know? and then she was so mean to may for no damn reason?? and josh just stood by and said nothing and THEN he gaslit may about it. idk what they're going for, but so far i hate it

Anon 2 said:

no but the "i have to get home and feed my cat." "you have a cat?" "no." thing literally had me going biiiiiitchhhh what is your fucking issue? that was just so unnecessarily mean. and like, i know this storyline has just started but i hate it and i don't really get what they're going for with it. esp not with josh gaslighting may as well, which tbh seems ooc for him. the whole thing is just uncomfortable.

Anon 3 said:

Claudette reminds me of one of my coworkers too, I’m currently at my desk after having had to speak to her and it has only aggravated my anxiety further along side my period.

I am going to be super curious where they're going with Claudette. My friend @starry-eyed-guttersnipe theorised when we were watching the episode last night that we're going to learn that Josh did not lure Claudette away from her last job, she was on the brink of getting fired and abandoned ship at the first opportunity to come her way, and I think she's bang on the money.

To the two of you who used Tumblr's favourite buzzword gaslighting, I'd just like to remind everyone that for it to be gaslighting, there does have to be an element of intention about it, and the person needs to be lying about something on purpose, and from the very little we've seen, Josh has no idea he's wrong. He is wrong, and he's coming at it from a bad angle, but based on a few of the expressions he had during the Claudette scenes and his comment about them "coming up together" I think -- for now, since we know almost nothing about this storyline yet -- they were in the same training group the way Maddie and Linda were, and I get the impression they were friends. Whether they were genuinely friends, or whether Josh had the arguably reasonable internal defence mechanism of "befriend the mean girl so she's not mean to me" remains to be seen. I'm going to be very interested to see what Sue has to say about it all the next time we have her there at dispatch. My hope is Sue's gonna be the one to show up and be like "Oh yeah no we had to take her because Valley was about to fire her."

On a more general note, I think whatever this storyline with Claudette ends up being, it's going to be relatable to a lot of us. Because who among us has never had a coworker like Claudette? They're awful, even when you aren't the person they've picked to turn into their verbal punching bag the way Claudette seems to have picked May (and had previously picked Linda, apparently, but I feel like the timeline saw her leave pretty soon after Linda and Maddie's group was hired). People who are wandering around your work place being mean and catty to make themselves feel like the top dog are just gross, and we've all had the displeasure of knowing one. I'm looking forward to May besting her in a dispatch call and the veil of disillusionment getting torn off Josh's eyes.

I personally have liked dispatch storylines since season 2, I find logistics interesting, so as of right now, it's the most concrete storyline I'm looking forward to observing this half-season. On account of everything else still being sort of ephemeral and nebulous as yet, with the exception of Chimney's storyline which is just heartbreaking. I'm looking forward to May getting to grow into her own and kick ass and take names. It's what she deserves.

[missnight0wl]

You know, instead of Corey, they could've had Tulip be the one who investigates Merula with us. Not only it would've brought her back to main plot in a meaningful way, but also it would've been a great paralel when y3 Merula says that Tulip will betray us, but now she is the one investigeting the traitor that said she is a traitor. What do think?

I really like this idea a lot.

Seriously, Tulip’s brain is giant. She basically led our whole investigation into the Cursed Vaults in Y3 and Y4. She had some research we don’t even know about which led her from House-Elves to Hogsmeade. She knows what’s going on. Her knowledge would probably be also super helpful while investigating R in general. But even that aside, I love the point you made about her relationship with Merula. Like, Tulip would totally remember that Merula took something from Jacob’s room. We could finally learn more about their breakup, too! I theorised in the past that Merula had access to this room before Tulip as in Y5Ch15, she says:

Tulip would connect all these dots, and Merula would be fucked.

The problem with Corey is that there’s absolutely nothing unique about them that couldn’t be fulfilled BETTER by our other friends. Tulip is an excellent example of that, but I also always think of Jae. Like, even the game itself made it painfully obvious. Remember when we took Corey to Knockturn Alley? I still don’t get why we didn’t take Jae then instead. Especially that we went to talk to Fletcher – and Jae knows Dung! Moreover, Jae is a person who never bought that “We’re done with the Cursed Vaults, we’re done with R” nonsense (Y6Ch45):

Even if MC says here that “we’re done with R”, Jae is like: “I wouldn’t be so sure”.

Even in the most recent chapter, Jae says:

… and this is exactly what we need right now!

Another problem. MC believes that Verucca is a Metamorphmagus, right? Then why the hell Tonks doesn’t continue to help us with that? You happen to deal with a very rare magical skill, and one of your friends happens to have that skill too. And you’re not using it. WHY? Tonks played some role in that matter at the Ministry, but after that, we didn’t even ask her more questions.

She could tell us things, like… I don’t know, this and this is possible for a Metamorphmagus, but not that. For example, I still believe that Verucca is simply using a very advanced Human Transfiguration (so she’s technically not a Metamorphmagus), which could explain why she appeared to take Burke in her “normal form”. I mean, perhaps Human Transfiguration needs more time, and if she found out about Burke in the last moment, she didn’t have time to change how she looked. Tonks could tell us things like that. Or like…. Anything, really. It’s simply beyond me that she was pushed on the side when we’re dealing with something so unique to her.

Honestly, I’m just… so confused as to what’s the point of introducing Corey to the story. I know that people keep saying that they’re sus and whatnot, but I don’t even see THAT working. Corey didn’t try to turn us against Merula, which could draw attention away from them. Sure, they’re acting more suspicious about her recently, but it’s a good thing not to let Merula feel too comfortable. On top of that, Corey keeps agreeing that R is the worst – and why would R want that? Seriously, even if Corey would be a traitor or whatever… what exactly they’re trying to achieve?

The only somewhat reasonable explanation for Corey that comes to my mind is that Jam City is using them to slow the plot down. Because think about it. If we kept working closely with Tulip, Jae, and Tonks, and let’s add Talbott to it (as he was the only person smart enough to realise that real Rakepick might be at the meeting during the Polyjuice Potion plotline, for example)… we’d be done with a much bigger part of the mystery already. Our progress wouldn’t even compare to what’s happening now. It's really lazy writing, but I have absolutely no idea how else to explain Corey.

[theladyofbloodshed]

Nesta, Azriel and the Prison

We've not seen Azriel's shadow singing powers in action properly but I think his book will definitely have a visit to the prison. Nesta has a strange connection to the Prison too due to the harp.

Read more as it gets long

Some have theorised that the Prison was once the Dawn Court - but it's even older than that as some of the Prisoners predate Prythian's existence

"This place,” he said, “was made before High Lords existed. Before Prythian was Prythian ACOMAF - Chapter 17

I know that Rhysand says "the island may be even an eighth court" but when speaking of how long Amren was imprisoned, he says a few lines later "All he [Azriel] found was a vague mention that she went in before Prythian was split into the courts". So it doesn't make sense that it could be an eighth court when courts didn't exist when it was created but this is sjm and nothing make sense e.g. Cassian telling Feyre when the magic shifted from Death Gods to high fae, they brought the Cauldron and Mother along with them - but then the Cauldron supposedly made the Dread Trove and the harp trapped people in the stone so did the Cauldron go back in time? who knows

Anyway...

But the way back was now forever sealed, and they begged as they tried to pass their children through the solid wall, if only their children could be spared. ACOSF - Chapter 53

It sounds like the children got stuck by the wards - I believe Nesta had this vision because of her association with the Mother because she stands up time and time again for innocents/children or because only her and one other have been able to wield the harp... the one that trapped them

She had the creeping feeling she’d been brought here. Not by the Cauldron or the Mother or the Harp. By something vaster. Something that stretched into the stars carved all around them. ACOSF - Chapter 53

The Bone Carver tells Feyre and Cassian about a fae warrior who manages to trap Koschei to diminish his power - likely that human bloodline is the maternal line that runs through the Archeron sisters as all three are very powerful.

"For that long ago Fae warrior to trick Stryga into diminishing her power and becoming confined to the Middle. Koschei, too—confined and bound by his little lake on the continent. All before Prythian, before the land was carved up and any High Lord was crowned. Clever, that Fae warrior. Her bloodline is long gone now—though a trace still runs through some human line. No one remembers her name. But I do. She would have been my salvation, had I not made my choice long before she walked this earth. ACOWAR

Koschei is tied together with Nesta. The Bone Carver, a Death God, also knew who Nesta was despite being trapped in a cell as her power is death... like calls to like.

And he mentions that the stone trembled when she emerged. People are trapped in the stone. They were trapped by the one who last wielded the harp. Nesta is now able to wield it. The Prison might not recognise Nesta, but it recognises her power and what she can do. It remembers that the harp wielder trapped them.

Feyre asks Rhysand about the guards for the prison - these are likely to be the children whose parents tried to pass them through the wards to escape.

“They [the guards] dwell within the rock of the mountain,” he murmured, his hand finding mine and wrapping around it as he tugged me into the immortal gloom. “They only emerge at feeding time, or to deal with restless prisoners. They are nothing but shadows of thought and an ancient spell.” ACOMAF - Chapter 18

But behind that solid, black rock, I could still feel them. Could have sworn a faint scratching sound filled the passage. From the other side of that rock. ACOWAR - Chapter 22

If Nesta is able to free them from the wards using the harp, there is one person in the entire series that is able to talk to shadow whose powers we haven't yet seen properly...

Azriel just shook his head. “I’ll go. The Prison sentries know me—what I am." ACOMAF - Chapter 16

There is no way we are not getting an Azriel in the prison scene, like I will explode if we don't because he is likely the only one who'd be able to communicate to them

[ignitification]

I know it's nothing big, but isn't it quite coincidentally terrifying how 1A is shown in Kamino right in the front of this 'manifest' to All Might's absence especially in the view that this is where he pronounces the 'You are next' to Izuku for the first time, and that couple of chapters ago he had AfO saying the same thing?

Look at this: first up we have the bigger panel showing to us All Might's iconic pose and his catchphrase in Kamino to highlight how the Symbol of Peace has 'died' there. It further imposes the view that the notion and ‘real heroes’ have consequently died as a category of pro-heroes, after All Might retired. It implies the saying ‘If All Might is not here to be a hero anymore, who can be a true hero?’.

On the other side, we have some parallels when it comes to Izuku and All Might himself (in his last battle), which I didn’t exactly find relevant, but I still think that the location is far from casual, and since the All Might death flags have been flaring, it just seems a bad premonition once again.

There is this sort of ‘hope’ filled in one person, expressed in these panels - which makes me think of the antipodes that All Might and Izuku himself have become: Deku does not look one bit like a hero, and yet his goal is not to win (as for All Might), but to go back to his friends safe and sound, making it saving and protecting everyone Deku cares about (also notice how Izuku cannot smile at the moment, exactly like All Might cannot smile when he is doing his duty as a hero and smashing potatoes). This leads right into the next parallel, which is that of AfO and All Might saying the same thing, in two different context and with two different meanings, and with two different reaction garnered from the person whom this gesture is directed towards. In both cases however, there is an explosion: of Izuku’s feelings and the sense of responsibility he shoulders from that moment on, and Izuku and the heroes literally exploding.

And finally, we have the superior parallel, that of All Might and Izuku, and Shigaraki and AfO. These are from chapter 94 and 318 respectively, and yet they feel connected to each other. There are two objectives which are designed by Izuku (which brings me back to this post and to the fact that Izuku does consider himself a danger to everyone (but himself) both because he HAS OfA and because he HASN’T the COMPLETE OfA, which is both ridiculous and yet it makes me think: what does Izuku mean with ‘complete one for all’ exactly? That he has to unlock all the Quirks stored inside OfA or maybe is he referring to integrate his quirk with another complementary one (yes, you guessed it, is all for one)?), and both just confirm the fact that Izuku wants to shoulder everything by himself, exactly like All Might did, and find ShigarAfO to stop/defeat/free him. By now, we know that Shigaraki is not only AfO’s successor, but also his Plan B and the body he wants for himself, but does it end there? And if it doesn’t, exactly to what extent should be expect AfO’s shadow to be cast? (This again, circles back to the notion of hero, and what is a true hero, or rather in this a symbol of peace).

Now, I’m not quite sure what my point is, but the fact that this the place where these exchange happened and the resurface of the ‘You are next’ sentence just do not bode well, especially for Izuku (there is also the door thing in the Vestiges, which just makes me think of these same stuff and that Izuku is next, just to a series of things which are definitely only going to keep him on his toes and when someone theorised that behind the door there might be AfO, well folks, let’s just say that at this point I wouldn’t be surprised).

[astradrifting]

This is kind of inspired by this recent ask I sent to @esther-dot about Jon’s characterisation and Jonsa shippers’ apparent disregard for it, because it made me think of another part of Jon’s characterisation that is really integral to who he is. Mainly, that Jon really loves his brothers. Especially Robb. His rival and best friend and constant companion. Jon envies him, competes with him, buried a formative traumatic memory where he was deeply hurt by him... but ultimately loves him. Complex relationships with his brothers, both the Starks and his Night’s Watch brothers, are a running theme in Jon’s chapters.

Speaking of Jon’s brothers...

Aegon VI and Robb have a lot of potential parallels, actually. The “Young” moniker, red-haired counselors who are also their parents, trained to be the heir to a great kingdom from a young age, the barely younger half-brother Jon borne of their father’s dishonour of their mother… one that they might both have a good relationship with despite that?

The show tried to play with Jon ‘accepting’ his Targaryen lineage through the jonerice romance, very unconvincingly because it was simultaneously undermining it at every opportunity, in what was maybe a half-assed attempt at Pol!Jon (”They’ll all come to see you for what you are” isn’t anything but a threat in all contexts).

Jon will ultimately choose the Starks over everything else, that’s not really a question. But if Jon were to genuinely connect with another Targaryen, it’d likely be easier for him to find kinship with a half-brother than with an aunt - he has a basis for positive relationships with trueborn half-brothers, while the only aunt figure he’s ever known about is a) long dead and b) actually his mother. I think it’d both make more sense and be more compelling for GRRM to leverage Jon’s existing complex relationships with brotherhood by having him interact with and build a relationship with Aegon, than a rushed and out-of-character romance with Dany. 

Jon also is already primed to believe that Aegon is the real deal, that he was saved as a baby, because he’s already done the exact same thing himself - he swapped out a baby of royal blood who was in danger for a common-born boy, and then sent him halfway across the world for safety (side note: if Septa Lemore is Ashara, and if the baby was actually Ashara’s son as theorised here by @agentrouka-blog, that would just strengthen the parallel, because it would be his body double’s mother caring for him, as Gilly has to do for Mance’s son).

They’re definitely going to come into conflict first - politically, Jon will likely be in a position of power in the North by the time they meet, maybe as the KitN through Robb’s will or regent for Rickon, and probably will fight for Northern independence, while Aegon is fighting to be king of the Seven Kingdoms, not 6. Personally, it will be hard to get past the fact that Jon is the direct result of Rhaegar dishonouring Elia, plus that the Kingsguard who should have been protecting her were all stationed in Dorne, guarding Jon’s mother (in whatever capacity). But these interactions, a conflict and eventual friendship/brotherhood between them, would all be a lot more layered than jonerice can really offer. If a relationship between Jon and Dany was truly all that GRRM has been building up to, then there would have been no need for R+L=J - it adds nothing to that storyline, it doesn’t even make it a forbidden romance, because aunt-nephew is hardly the worst incest the Targaryens have engaged in.

It’s almost inevitable that Da*nerys is going to kill Aegon VI/Young Griff in the books, likely by burning him with dragonfire, in the Second Dance of the Dragons. The weird Dragonpit meeting in the show was very contrived, but it does make sense for Dany to meet the ruler on the Iron Throne at least once in a semi-peaceful context. In the show, she used her dragons only to intimidate Cersei, but she didn’t have a personal grievance with her. Aegon is in much more danger during such a meeting. After all she will think he is a pretender, and she doesn’t much care for the rules of safe conduct, as she showed to the envoys from Yunkai.

Dany shrugged, and said, "Dracarys."

The dragons answered. Rhaegal hissed and smoked, Viserion snapped, and Drogon spat swirling red-black flame. It touched the drape of Grazdan's tokar, and the silk caught in half a heartbeat. 

[...]

"You swore I should have safe conduct!" the Yunkish envoy wailed.

"Do all the Yunkai'i whine so over a singed tokar? I shall buy you a new one... if you deliver up your slaves within three days. Elsewise, Drogon shall give you a warmer kiss." She wrinkled her nose. "You've soiled yourself. Take your gold and go, and see that the Wise Masters hear my message."

(ASOS, Dany IV)

"Ah, there is the thorn in the bower, my queen," said Hizdahr zo Loraq. "Sad to say, Yunkai has no faith in your promises. They keep plucking the same string on the harp, about some envoy that your dragons set on fire."

"Only his tokar was burned," said Dany scornfully.

(ADWD, Dany VI)

So Dany will burn the Blackfyre pretender, and everyone will be happy and cheer to see the rightful queen, the last Targaryen, Slayer of Lies, Breaker of Chains, Insert-The-Million-Other-Titles-Here. Right?

Except how would she prove that he’s an imposter? She can’t exactly roll up with an Alt Shift X video pointing out that Illyrio has said some weird things about Aegon. Is Varys going to have an attack of remorse and explain his whole plot, complete with Blackfyre family tree? Or maybe she’ll explain that she went on a vision quest in Qarth and Aegon totally matches up with the vague symbolism that a bunch of drugged up warlocks told her before she set them on fire?

I don’t think it’s going to matter if Aegon is fake or not, and we might never find out either way. The mystery of his identity isn’t his main narrative, and all of his significance to the story and to multiple other characters is removed if he’s proved to not be Aegon VI. Him being proved fake would just make this plotline a weird, unnecessary digression on Dany’s journey to being the righteous and true queen, his death just another #girlboss moment for her. That’s definitely going to be her perception of it, but once she reaches Westeros we won’t have to rely on only her POV of her actions. History is written by the winners, and no one’s going to miss that it’s a lot more convenient for Dany if the boy with a stronger claim than her turns out to have been fake all along. Arianne and the Dornish are definitely not going to take it lying down, and neither is Jon. He’s not going to fall in love with the woman who murdered his brother, especially by burning him alive. ADWD has plenty to say about how much he hates death by fire.

“Men say that freezing to death is almost peaceful. Fire, though … do you see the candle, Gilly?”

She looked at the flame. “Yes.”

“Touch it. Put your hand over the flame.”

Her big brown eyes grew bigger still. She did not move.

“Do it.” Kill the boy. “Now.”

Trembling, the girl reached out her hand, held it well above the flickering candle flame.

“Down. Let it kiss you.”

Gilly lowered her hand. An inch. Another. When the flame licked her flesh, she snatched her hand back and began to sob.

“Fire is a cruel way to die. Dalla died to give this child life, but you have nourished him, cherished him. You saved your own boy from the ice. Now save hers from the fire.”

(ADWD, Jon II)

Funnily enough, the same fire as a kiss imagery from Dany burning the envoy’s tokar appeared there too, also used as a threat. 

If he is not a kinslayer, he is the next best thing. [...] What sort of man can stand by idly and watch his own brother being burned alive?

(ADWD, Jon IX)

So Aegon’s death is not going to be a triumphant victory for Dany, after which everyone proclaims her the true queen. It’s likely to just solidify opposition to her, from every corner of Westeros. If it happens during a summit or negotiation, it’d be even more of a tragic parallel to Robb and the Red Wedding; the young king murdered off of the battlefield, at an event where he was promised safe conduct. Featuring Dany in the role of Roose Bolton and Tywin Lannister. Tywin’s already died a very undignified death, and Roose Bolton looks to be on his way too.

I think the tragedy of Aegon’s death would also hit harder if we see it through Jon, as a main POV, or at least the aftermath of it. Jon was integral at the Dragonpit meeting after all, and probably would be at a peace summit or negotiation between the leaders of Westeros and the invading force.

In ASOS, there’s a curious lack of Jon’s reaction to Robb’s death. We see his initial reaction to Bran and Rickon’s supposed deaths when he gets back to Castle Black, but he doesn’t even know about Robb’s death until Stannis arrives to defeat the wildlings, and we’re not shown the moment he’s told about it. He barely even thinks about it, not even a mention until he meets with Stannis on top of the Wall:

“Your brother was the rightful Lord of Winterfell. If he had stayed home and done his duty, instead of crowning himself and riding off to conquer the riverlands, he might be alive today. Be that as it may. You are not Robb, no more than I am Robert.”

The harsh words had blown away whatever sympathy Jon might have had for Stannis. “I loved my brother,” he said.

(ASOS, Jon XI)

And that’s literally all we get that is specifically about Robb’s death - the rest of Jon’s chapters, his guilt and grief is about the loss of all his siblings, and the idea of stealing Winterfell from them. It doesn’t really make sense for him to not think about it at all, considering how close they were. This reminds me of how he has a non-reaction to Sansa’s marriage to Tyrion as well, as talked about in this post by @agentrouka-blog. Part of this could be Jon’s tendency towards denial and suppression of all his feelings, but it also points to GRRM explicitly obscuring his reaction - perhaps because he’s going to explore it in the wake of another brother dying a very similar death? One that this time he’ll be there to witness?

[franklyshipping]

Accessory of Theft ~ A Markiplier Ego Fanfic

WOOOO HERE WE HAVE A DELIGHTFUL ANON PROMPT WHICH I HAVE ADORED WRITING UP! LET’S DO THIS!

TAGGING: @yandere-ipli-ler @ericleederekson @ericlee-derekson and @darkipli-ler

There were two menacing figures on the warpath today. Dark and Yandere were on a joint mission, because they were both the victims of the most heinous thefts. A little while ago they had gone together to collect their laundry, only to discover that both of them were missing a key item: Dark’s necktie, and Yandere’s neckerchief. They both immediately suspected foul play, and so went on the most terrifying hunt. No ego was left untouched. Each one was found, pinned, and tickled out of their minds as they were interrogated for information; however, as of yet, the vengeful pair had discovered nothing.

They headed up the main staircase together, leaving a giggling, panting Wilford in their wake as they headed to one of the smaller living rooms. Their intention had been to have another talk, to try and theorise who on earth could have decided to do this to them both. However, when they reached the threshhold to the room and looked inside . . . they froze. The room was lit by some candles, and the fireplace, and nesting on the couch was none other than Eric Derekson. He was sleeping soundly, wrapped up by blankets . . . and grasped within his fingers were the necktie, and the neckerchief.

‘Oh my God . . .’

Yandere whispered, closing the door behind them before they and Dark went over the sleeping man quietly and carefully. Their crimson gazes were in full analysis mode, and the main thing they realised was that Eric was nuzzling their accessories, and holding them in a way that seemed . . . desperate. As they came to the couch and craned their heads down at him, they saw tear tracks on his face. Dark’s heart felt close to crumbling as he whispered.

‘He’s been crying . . .’

Yandere carefully sat on the edge of the couch, whilst Dark sat on the couch arm nearest Eric’s head. Yandere ran their fingers gently through Eric’s hair as they spoke softly, and sadly, hating the thought of Eric having been upset and all alone.

‘Poor little angel . . .’

As Yandere stroked Eric’s hair, the sensation began to wake him up. Eric let out a soft whine, rubbing his eyes behind his lopsided glasses as he looked up, and he gasped in surprise at seeing Dark and Yandere looking down at him. He blinked frantically and stuttered as he looked between them.

‘U-Uh, h-hi . . . s-sorry, am I in the way?’

‘No sweetheart nono, not at all. Eric . . . dearest, have you been crying?’

Yandere asked gently, adjusting his glasses so they were settled on his nose properly. At the question Eric froze and went quiet, realising there was no way he could hide the tear tracks on his face . . . nor could he hide the fresh tears welling up in his eyes now. He sniffled and nodded, and Yandere immediately pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back lovingly as they murmured.

‘It’s okay, we’re here sweetheart it’s okay.’

Now Eric was sat up, Dark sat on the other side of him and gently hugged him from behind, and his smooth baritone voice was soothing in Eric’s ear.

‘We’re not going anywhere. Take your time Eric, take your time.’

Eric sniffled into Yan’s shoulder for a few moments, which was good, since it was always the best way for him to offload his emotions when he was overwhelmed. Soon, when he managed to focus on Yan and Dark’s gentle rubs to his back and arms, he was able to look at them and speak.

‘I-It’s s-so stupid . . .’

‘Hey. Nothing that upsets you is ever stupid, Eric.’

Dark said, smiling at him kindly, which reassured Eric hugely. He took a few breaths, and Dark and Yan looked at him attentively as he spoke.

‘I-I was just getting my laundry out a-and I just . . . I-I just had a panic attack. I don’t know why, i-it just happened and I left my hanky in my r-room at the top o-of the manor a-and I didn’t know what to do so I just . . . I-I grabbed these b-because they smell of you two a-and you two always m-make me feel safe, I-I’m sorry for taking them without asking.’

Eric bowed his head, holding the tie and neckerchief with both hands, fiddling with them with his fingers and holding them to his chest as Dark and Yan registered his words. They looked at each other, and both of them felt the same thing. Honoured. Honoured that Eric felt they could keep him safe, and that he drew such comfort from mere accessories of them. They also vowed, in that one shared glance, to make sure that as long as they were around, Eric would never have to feel this upset ever again. Yandere cupped Eric’s face as they spoke lovingly.

‘Never apologise for finding something that gives you comfort. We’re honoured that something of ours can do that for you sweetheart.’

Eric beamed at Yan, so surprised and happy that they were so okay with it and accepting, and just so dang lovely. Then, Eric was reminded of the gentleman behind him as Dark interjected, his voice warm and affectionate.

‘Indeed. And in that spirit . . .’

Eric was confused for a moment when Dark slipped the accessories from Eric’s fingers, but then he beamed so brightly when Dark carefully tied the neckerchief around his neck for him. Yandere immediately grinned at Dark’s sweet idea, and put the necktie on him on top of the neckerchief, and let me tell you, never was there a cuter sight in the all the damn world! Eric ran his fingers over the accessories, and whispered with happy awe.

‘Th-Thank you . . .’

‘Oh you are more than welcome sweetheart. Besides, I think you look WAY better in them than we do. Doesn’t he look cute as a button Dark?’

Yandere cooed affectionately, making Eric blush furiously. Dark chuckled and immediately concurred in a teasy purr.

‘Oh certainly, the cutest button of them all by far.’

Eric squeaked and hid his face in his hands, beaming as all his anxiety was replaced by flustered giddiness. He shook his head and whined at them both sweetly.

‘Nooo d-don’t say that!’

Dark and Yandere both chuckled, and Yandere cooed at the flustered man as Dark brought his face even closer to Eric’s neck.

‘Aww but why not? It’s true!’

‘N-No it isn’t!’

Eric squeaked, and Dark smirked as he gave Eric’s neck a soft nuzzle, retorting to him with a playful growl.

‘Oh it most certainly is.’

The moment that Eric felt Dark’s stubble brush against his neck, he squealed and scrunched up, frantically wriggling between his two teasy companions as he spluttered with wide, adorable eyes.

‘N-Noho no t-tihihickles!’

Dark and Yandere’s eyebrows shot up, and their mouth spread into excited, giddy grins as they locked eyes; crimson on crimson, a fiery meeting of mischief. Dark started to chuckle. That deep, delicious sound that gave Eric so many chills. Yandere grinned. The grin that showed off all of their teeth, and made Eric feel like a dessert on a silver platter. Then Eric felt Dark’s breath fresh on his neck, before Yandere spoke . . . and their words made him smile all the more.

‘Oh I think tickles are precisely what you need!’

‘Nahahaha!’

Eric shrieked as he was suddenly sandwiched, made to lie back on Dark as Yandere flopped down on top of him. A bristly beard rubbed his neck as manicured nails scratched his sides, and Eric couldn’t deny that he was in instant heaven. His bubbly giggles filled the already warm room, somehow making the space even more comforting. Needless to say, Dark and Yandere were utterly enamoured with the sweet man.

‘Oh Eric you ticklish little thing, you are just too precious not to play with.’

Dark teased in his rumbly tone, his smirk curling against Eric’s skin and making him let out an adorable whine. Then Eric’s watery eyes found Yan’s as the latter let out a little giggle, curling their fingers under his shirt as they cooed.

‘Look at that handsome smile, is someone having fun?’

Eric’s face bloomed so pink as he wriggled beneath them. Of course, anyone’s instinct is to flee such tickling. However, Eric was one who enjoyed it to no end, and with the added factor of being in a snuggle sandwich, well, how could he deny that he was having the giddy time of his life? Especially since he had been so panicked before.

‘M-Mahahahaybehe!’

Yandere dramatically gasped, because honestly why wouldn’t they?

‘Only maybe? Goodness, it seems our tickling isn’t quite yet up to scratch.’

Yandere skittered deeper into the dips of Eric’s sides, and that along with the pun made the flustered man snort and hide his face in his hands.

‘So it seems. It’s clear that we must go much deeper to give our Eric the tickling he truly desires.’

Eric shivered at Dark’s tease, and yelped when the man nestled deeper into the crook of his neck, his teeth playfully scraping his sensitive skin in a way that made Eric babble with ticklish delight. His smile may have confirmed he was ticklish, but the fact that his hands never once strayed to push them away, truly told them he was happy.

‘Dohohohon’t tehehease! Ihihit’s mehehean!’

Eric whined, but Dark and Yan knew well enough that when someone whined that something was “mean”, it meant that they loved it so much they didn’t know how to express it. Dark and Yan shared a look, and warmed up their vocal chords for their “meanest” onslaught yet.

‘Poor little Eric. All trapped with no hope of escape.’

‘No-one to hear him to hear him squeal, no-one to see him beam.’

‘I think we may just have him forever . . . our kitchy kitchy cutie for all eternity.’

‘I must say I agree. Our sweet Eric, forever flustered, forever tickly.’

Dark then Yan then Dark then Yan, Eric’s eyes were wide with amazement. Were they telepathic? He had no idea. All he knew was that he felt like he was made of fizzy drinks on the inside, all restless and bubbly . . . and delightfully happy. Teeth were constant at his neck, darting about and nipping so deftly. Meanwhile, fingernails of the most devilish kind scratched and pinched and squeezed his sides, making him tremble and writhe in the most ticklish plight. There wasn’t much to it when you think about it . . . and that’s what made it so perfectly, evilly wonderful.

‘Nahaha Ihihi cahahan’t tahahake ihihihiiiit! Pleheheeease!’

Dark and Yan both aww’d at him simultaneously, before Yan’s eyes flashed with a smidge more malevolence as they gave the dear man’s thighs a scratch, raising a playful brow.

‘You can’t? Oh dear, well what if I go here inste-?’

‘EEE NOHOHO NONO YAHANNY!’

Eric shrieked, and Dark laughed warmly, hugging the young man tight as he kicked and twitched; the suited man smirked in admiration at his friend, watching their nails dance with glee as he said.

‘Ohhh you sound like you love it there, wouldn’t you like it a little longer?’

Eric shrieked more as he hiccupped through his laughter, loving every moment, every ticklish jolt and every hitch of his breath. Every second of being held by loving arms and teased by endearing voices, but he of course could only take so much. Tears beaded in his joy-scrunched eyes as he cried.

‘NOHO MOHOHORE NOMORENOMOHORE!’

Another shared look came between Yan and Dark, and just as they agreed on mischief, mercy was agreed on too. Yan’s nails stopped as Dark leant his head back, but they kept their Eric nestled, warm as he panted. His spectacles were askew once again, so Yandere straightened them, eyes fond as their voice came out soft.

‘Now then, how are we doing my dear?’

Eric was still beaming, and would be for quite some time. Anxiety forgotten, and happiness the only emotion in his mind. Dark laughed when Eric pulled Yan in close to his chest, wrapping his limbs around them as he giggled, joy lacing his voice.

‘A-Amazing, y-you’re both amazing a-and I love you so much!’

Dark smiled and kissed the back of his head as Yandere giggled, and snuggled into the new accessories Eric now had about his neck. Two pairs of crimson eyes looked at him with all their love, and with all their limbs around him, they murmured together as one.

‘And we love you too. We all do, and always will.’

Thus three fresh smiles bloomed as they all nestled anew, and in the light of the room a new slumber came through. Fire light and blankets and love and protection. Yes it was still daytime, but honestly who cares? Love can be constrained by no timetable, no sunrise . . . and certainly no sunset.

WOOOO HOPE YOU GUYS LIKED THIS FIC LEMME KNOW IF YA DID WOOOO LUV YOUS!!

[ackermanshoe]

"Mikasa?!"

"get your shit together"

"we are the only ones who can stop Eren"

Well smart ppl, this is the first time in the entirety of attack on titan Levi "snapped" towards Mikasa. The look on his eyes it's so full concern, did he know what was happening to her? Did he realise it was her headache or did he think it was Eren doing something?

Maybe he snapped bc he was absolutely tired of Erens shit and mikasa's hesitation towards him. Maybe he was so worried that he couldn't get his words to come out? "Get your shit together" is such a Levi think to say if he said "are you okay?" It would be so out of character.

I know I don't need to explain this as we are all aware that Levi's way with Mikasa is like none other, right? Eg when he snapped at historia for not being able to give a straight answer to the biggest decision of her life - more: he often snaps at hanji despite them being friends for years etc.

It also makes me wonder how Levi is so in touch with reality, he's right next to her, could it be that his presence helped Mikasa come back to hers and finally decide to end Eren?

"a theory isn't a fantasy, it's a coherent set of ideas intend to explain something.." and this is me theorising so stay with me. The Ackerman's who had their inhumane power activated are Levi Mikasa and Kenny. Kenny met his tragic end with Yuri, Levi met his tragic end with Erwin and now it is clearly Mikasa's turn. Ik it wasn't obvious but when Kenny Ackerman lost his liege he was completely alone then eventually he had died off. Isn't it funny how the only two Ackerman's to have had years side by side were Mikasa and Levi? It's just my belief that Erwin's death would have caused more harm on Levi if he hadn't had Mikasa by his side and Mikasa would have been more lost in her delusion or dreams without Levi's consent attempt to bring her back to reality. Eg female titan arc.

Even after killing Zeke Levi never found true happiness, was it really the purpose of his life? Definitely not. It almost feels like there's a loose end to tie, possibly with another Ackerman. This is where my theory ( or more questions ) about the shine in his eyes comes in which I will explain later.

I have always seen Mikasa as a doer, who is not indecisive and always goes for the kill. Levi knows that too. This one moment where got her headache and she hesitated to move forward it was a conflict that clearly irretated Levi.

But man if it were anyone else with all their love and care for Mikasa they would have snapped at her ages ago. The patience this man has for Mikasa is unmatched.

Furthermore

"got it"

"Mikasa"

He said this to himself, TO HIMSELF I repeat not to Mikasa or anyone. What does this tell me? It tells me he trusts Mikasa to make the right decision. He knows it's time and he knows that she won't hesitate this time. Remember the gleam in his eyes when Mikasa asked him to help her kill Eren?

It's a gleam of trust and recognition.

To me this is the purest form of support Levi has given not only to Mikasa but anyone at all. It kinda makes me feel soft if I'm being honest but I can't explain that with facts.

Might I mention how how Levi said mikasa's name more in this one chapter than he has said in the entire manga?

( if someone know why he never calls Mikasa by her name please let me know I'm so hung up on that and still wondering what could be the meaning behind it )

It can be said the same with Mikasa calling Levi "captain" several times in the last chapter and possibly this one.

It may be a personal view of mine but the I think there's a lot of significance in calling ones name. But in rivamika's relationship the lack there of name calling makes it much more interesting to theorise. I have always been someone who would hesitate to say my crush's name because I feel like it would be awkward and make the conversation much more intimate. Yeah it's just a theory but most people would avoid using their crushes name because it makes them nervous and the fact their crush exist near them much more realistic. ( Input scene from there first caridge scene where Levi called Mikasa by her name to tell her to protect Eren with all her skills and Mikasa had a drop sweat on her, she was caught off guard by his voice calling her name )

If I was to assume this is what happened with Levi not mentioning mikasa's name ( all that often ) then it kinda makes sense. And now that we have Levi finally calling out her name in the middle of a life or death battle it makes me wonder if he is finally breaking out of a invisible shell and confronting his feelings (?)

Note: "feelings" can be interpreted as romantic AND non romantic. I don't mean to say that I think he is in love with her that's realistically thinking.

Idk how to word this properly but it's like he is becoming more aware of mikasa's importance in his life and vice versa (?)

Ones name is the biggest connection they have with their individuality and the fact that Levi calls her name several times in this particular chapter makes me think it's somehow connected to Mikasa letting go off Eren and choosing herself + Levi and whoever is left to save. I believe Levi already knew this since the moment the gleam came into his eyes, like I mentioned many many many times Levi knows things about Mikasa before she does. For Levi it's like looking into a mirror that goes backwards in time.

If I'm going to talk more about the gleam in Levi's eyes I might as well put it all down on the table and you can view it however you want.

Remember this

"is it from hope or despair that this strength comes from?"

Well the gleam to me represents hope, not only for the survival of them two by killing Eren, but for Mikasa herself, finding herself MIGHT just be the gleam of hope Levi's strength came from. Individuality. This is more like forshadowing the future than the present.

It also reminds me of S1 when Levi's eyes gleamed when Eren expressed his hatred towards the titans. The look of obsession, to kill the titans and now mikasa's determination to kill Eren ( her obsession).

If I'm being a delulu then yes I do think he is in love with her and nothing less 🤩 and this look^^ above is so sexy can they just idk send me the wedding invitation already I'm 🕯️😔🕯️ tired of waiting.

Anyways I'm going to end this here I feel like I write so much and if anyone asked me what this was all about in real life I would prolly run away rather than speaking. Thank you guys for being here and supporting me and everyone else! I hope the last chapter is at least 100 pages long because we need it 😭🕯️😭.

Edit: I apologize for making this so long I was going to post it like tomorrow but I think it will makes sense if I do it now rather than later.

Also regarding the snapping bit I honestly think it's just because the way he speaks it comes out as harsh which is natural for his character we already know he cares so much about her, he was panicking guys.