#leapee

[noseances]

the real reason al and sam cant touch each other is that they would be at each others throats in a gay way

[todaysleap]

Today is June 11, and today's leap is:

Running for Honor (S4, E12) June 11, 1964

[ziggysgender]

personally i think the quantum leap finale is subjective because of the entire premise of the show

[graverobber3457]

Got to the quantum leap episode where Sam leaps into a woman for the first time and bro. The gender in Sam Beckett………

[quantumleapt]

@khaloymes dreams: 💭 for a starter from my wishlist + 🥰 for a fluff starter

TO MEME THE IMPOSSIBLE MEME. always accepting.

"You don't have to stay with me, Johnnie," Sam begins, offering a fond smile over the cup of tea, which he takes from the younger with a murmured thanks.

He's not exactly sure what he's here to do yet, but he knows even this early in the leap that there are some problems, problems that Johnnie knows all too well. Being in pain constantly is a strange sensation for Sam; he doesn't think he'll ever be used to the dull ache thrumming just under his skin. He's quiet for a moment, noticing how arms, knees, ankles, fingertips, among others, pulsate and blossom in random intervals and at varying intensities. There's a knot in the back of his shoulders and one in his hip, lumps of burning coal that won't be tamped down into embers.

"...But, uh, thank you, y'know... for being here." His smile turns softer, hazel eyes crinkling at the corner as he carefully moves over on the couch, making room for Johnnie beside him, one half of the blanket ready to spread over the other's lap and legs.

"...What do you do on your bad days? I wanna know for next time you're hurting."

[muirneach]

quantum leap is not necessarily about ghosts but like it totally is

[shayneysides]

I love that in Quantum Leap, "fixing" things doesn't always mean the leapee/people around them gets everything they wanted. Like I just watched Miss Deep South, and I love that Connie doesn't end up achieving her dream in Hollywood and instead starts a small community theater back home. It helps each story feel so much more real and is just a nice reminder that you can have a very happy life without achieving the things you may have thought you needed to be happy

[jumpin--bean]

It will always be intensely funny to me that the modern Quantum Leap project doesn't have a team therapist, but the original, which had like four employees and enough funding for a paperclip, DID

Like, it's very concretely because the original had a Waiting Room, and she needed to deal with the Leapees there. I get that. But goddamn could the modern QL team do with a Verbena Beeks

[senzasord]

Okay I've slept on it and I have THOUGHTS and THEORIES

Okay, but listen. We already had the link to the original series throughout season one with Magic, Beth, and Janis. But the fact that they created such a strong link in the finale with the handlink, and confirming the events of Mirror Image is setting up to intertwine things a lot more.

I saw someone theorise that the reason the swap code didn't work was because it pulled Sam home rather than Ben, which on a watsonian level is a really good theory and I would be thrilled if that were the case because there would be so much to explore with ALL the leapers. But considering the behind the scenes hesitation from Scott Bakula, I have a different theory.

The problem with Sam's original code was that it had a failsafe built in - Sam only swapped places with the leapee, not created a quantum superimposition. This meant that he kept a tether to the present, but there were no jumps home in between leaps - every time he leaped the new leapee replaced the old leapee, instead of him swapping back with them. At the end of Mirror Image though, through whatever forces were at play (God, or time, or whatever, as Sam and Al would say), the failsafe is removed, but Sam no longer needs it because he has control over his own leaps and doesn't need a leapee to swap with anymore.

Stay with me.

The problem with Ben's code is that there is no failsafe like this to begin with, they're just trusting the code to slingshot him back home rather than creating a tether to the present. And I can see the benefits of Ben and Ian's change - you no longer have a leapee that you have to keep safe, the leaper has the benefit of accessing the muscle memory of the host etc. I wonder even if their starting point was the state of things after Mirror Image rather than Sam's original code, just so they could figure out what the hell happened.

So, original Quantum Leap couldn't bring Sam home because even though there was a failsafe, the accelerator kept skipping over a return trip to move Sam onto the next leap. And new Quantum Leap couldn't bring Ben home because he had no tether to the present. But Hannah's code solves both these problems! It forces a switch home, rather than letting the accelerator push the leaper onto the next leap, and its premise relies on having someone to swap with - a tether.

It solves both Sam's and Ben's problems - but Sam's and Ben's problems are not occurring together. Sam had no driving code, and Ben had no tether - but each had one. I think the reason why Hannah's swap code didn't work and instead flung Addison towards Ben was because the current version of the program still doesn't have the concept of a tether built into it. There was still no one Ben could actually 'swap' with. So rather than pulling Ben home, it just pulled Addison towards Ben - like towards like (something something quantum entanglement something something - I actually do think that was a cute engagement speech, and people just don't like it because they don't like the romance plot).

As I've been writing this, another theory did occur to me, which would honestly probably be simpler to write, and therefore more likely - which is the swap code DID work. On Addison. So now Addison is leaping like Sam was, with a leapee in her body (they'd have to build a new waiting room lol), and Ben is still stranded.

Or maybe no one swapped, and it was God, or Time, or whatever.

Oh boy.

[leescribbs]

tfw your leapee’s thirst for blood suddenly hits you like a truck…

anyway wouldnt it have been SO COOL AND FUN if sam psychosynergized with the vampire from blood moon?

[opqrstuv04]

Sam always backtracks when he accidentally makes reference to himself as Sam Beckett during a leap EXCEPT in a girlsam leap s5e13. Where he’s making pancakes a la Beckett. And he DOUBLES DOWN ON IT!

Something something Sam being so comfortable as the leapee that he feels enough like himself 2 slip up -> the one time he doesn’t take it back he’s a woman -> he does it TWICE IN ONE EPISODE!! What does it all mean!

[laraleecupcake]

Catching up on new Quantum Leap (1x5, yes I know) and while I wasn't so hot on Ben and Marissa being the Leapee and Hologram as a married but not knowing it couple...

When Ben figures it out and they're like flirty and bashful about it like they're at the beginning of a relationship (because essentially they are, with Ben's swiss cheese brain)

IT'S SO HECKIN CUTE

[mndvx]

time is like. not a real thing, we know that. so like wouldn't it be fun for ben to leap in the present day, like thee present day same time as the others are. I think that would be a fun thing. a fun little messy situation that could provide some fun situations. and lots of drama. and also like, maybe a scene of ben/leapee being able to touch addi and crew (like just a hug okay). imagine the drama. imagine the sad, the so close yet so far away from home, ok back to watching the episode

[ziggysgender]

Me searching sam beckett autism in AO3 and Tumblr pulls a frightening zero amount of content talk to me here

its genuinely upsetting Yes............. ik one of my mutuals is working on a sam autism fic im not too sure when thats dropping. BUT. in the meantime,, lets discuss

long post beware 👇👇👇

extracted from the DSM-5 autistic criteria.

> Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts, as manifested by the following, currently or by history

1. Deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, ranging, for example, from abnormal social approach and failure of normal back-and-forth conversation; to reduced sharing of interests, emotions, or affect; to failure to initiate or respond to social interactions. 

2. Deficits in nonverbal communicative behaviors used for social interaction, ranging, for example, from poorly integrated verbal and nonverbal communication; to abnormalities in eye contact and body language or deficits in understanding and use of gestures; to a total lack of facial expressions and nonverbal communication.

3. Deficits in developing, maintaining, and understand relationships, ranging, for example, from difficulties adjusting behavior to suit various social contexts; to difficulties in sharing imaginative play or in making friends; to absence of interest in peers.

sam does indeed struggle with social cues and communication. he does blend in, but not entirely well. his constant attempting to adapt to different people and personalities, both in his leaping, and also in his canon backstory, is noticeably lacking. that being said, he is VERY empathetic. people are very drawn to him. more often than not either in a "what the fuck is wrong with you" way. or a "hey lets have sex" (he does not want to have sex) way. he is also frequently fixated on learning languages outside of english. not that he plans to communicate in these languages, he simply wants a base connection to other people and this is how he does it. learning is his love language.

> Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities, as manifested by at least two of the following, currently or by history.

1. Stereotyped or repetitive motor movements, use of objects, or speech (e.g., simple motor stereotypes, lining up toys or flipping objects, echolalia, idiosyncratic phrases).

2. Insistence on sameness, inflexible adherence to routines, or ritualized patterns of verbal or nonverbal behavior (e.g., extreme distress at small changes, difficulties with transitions, rigid thinking patterns, greeting rituals, need to take same route or eat same food every day).

3. Highly restricted, fixated interests that are abnormal in intensity or focus (e.g., strong attachment to or preoccupation with unusual objects, excessively circumscribed or perseverative interests).

4. Hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment (e.g. apparent indifference to pain/temperature, adverse response to specific sounds or textures, excessive smelling or touching of objects, visual fascination with lights or movement).

i mean. any episode can show you easily sam stims OFTEN. usually due to negative input, he will make certain gestures with his hands or entire body. you've got al frequently reminding sam to calm down. sam's reaction to being overwhelmed is usually either to become angry and lash out (emotionally or physically) or to shut down completely. he has had entire meltdowns such as going quiet and running away to cry. this didnt make al bat an eye, then knew exactly how to correct it. if you wanna talk about fixated interests, man has 7phd's...

ALSO. JIMMY.

jimmy is the one leapee sam has encountered the MOST. he leaped into him twice (not encludinb shock theater), met his older brother three times. he connected the MOST deeply to him. he even made an appearance in the last episode. and every time he has encountered jimmy, he instantly became ecstatic; running to wordlessly hug anyone he knew he could trust with his disabilities.

in the actual episode "jimmy" sam has a meltdown over how he is treated. he cries to al about how different he's acting in this body. to which al responds he is actually acting exactly the same as normal. sam doesnt understand completely, but the conversation progresses to al's sister.

sam is also embodying jimmy in "shock theater", yknow, when his mind is slipping away and his most important past leaps take over. yeah that one.

jump to "runaway". sam has a longwinded conversation with his leap's mother about how he feels like a "non-person". how he doesnt feel real or connected to anyone.

now jumping to the NOVELS. theres several examples here but specifically Prelude. where we get this insane page of text:

um. anyways. sam beckett is autistic ;P

[yuplusjin]

Top five QL Leapees?

Wow, I can't choose bc there're so many favorites! I'll try to narrow them down though (in random order).

-young Al (Bingo) (obviously 😆)

-Jimmy

-Lee Harvey Oswald (mind merging with Sam gives me chills everytime I watch the episode)

-Gloria

-Dr.Ruth (liked mind merging with Dr.Ruth, even Al getting counsel from her 😂)

[klingercollection]

that episode of queap where the host leapees daughter is watching magnum pi has such interesting implications for the queap/magnum crossover they had planned