#time loop twins

[skelebab]

Saw this post:

And got inspired

[romancemedia]

Anime Series - Main and Alternate Posters

[little-pondhead]

Unknown to the time-traveling Dan, Danny and Dani Phantom, Bruce Wayne is actually their great-great grandson.

They just don’t know which Phantom line he belongs to, because none of them have actually gone back in time yet to an era that would match up with the Wayne family tree.

[bitterseaproduction]

Angsty Bilbo dying Bagginshield art giving me another story idea~ 😂😭💕

But no, seriously? A play on the popular time travel fix-it, but one where Bilbo dies protecting Thorin during the Battle of Five Armies? And Thorin is inconsolable, I can’t even. And he might pull himself together long enough to stabilize Erebor, but there is No Way he can be a good ruler in his grief, so he has to pass it on. (I was going to say to Dain just to twist that knife a little harder, but actually there are reasons hinted below on why Fíli & Kíli must have lived.) And Thorin just… he wanders, probably. A shell of himself the rest of his days.

And yet, when he inevitably passes away, he awakens on the road to the Shire. And he’s younger. And he’s so confused, quickly suspecting he must be dead and this is nothing like what he was taught to expect. But then his instant impulse to check Bag End has him walking in on that same meeting from so many years ago, his Company intact, the wizard smiling at him, introducing him to… to…

Bilbo. His Bilbo. The sight of him makes Thorin want to weep and hold him and never let go again, but he is instantly terrified to do anything, because is this a dream? Will he wake? What happens if he says something new, will ‘this’ be ruined somehow? He doesn’t want that, doesn’t want to change anything, save for the end. The very end.

But, even as he strives to mimic himself, he knows something is wrong. He’s off-script from the start purely due to his shock, but he tries to recover, get back on track, and within words, he’s managed it. The discussion is righting itself, and no one there could possibly know the difference, right?

And yet, Bilbo stares at him. From the instant Thorin walked in, Bilbo was staring, looking lost. As he had before, that first time, but it wasn’t the same. Bilbo had been confused then as well, but it had been a light, anxious uncertainty then. This time? He was frowning, his expression tense.

His eyes haunted.

Because Bilbo has also lived that night before. Just once as far as that night was concerned, but it was familiar to him. So familiar. That first night had haunted him for decades, to the very end of his long, long life, when he thought he might know rest, and perhaps — if he was truly as lucky as some once claimed — he might get to see his friends again. See Thorin again.

Instead he had slept, drifted away, and awoken to a battle about to start.

And he had questioned it, had stumbled that first time, but he adjusted. He tried to save Thorin. To save them all.

And he failed. Again.

Then, when he finally slept for the first time afterwards, he awoke to the battle starting again.

And again.

And he tried, over and over, day after the same horrid day to find a way to get through. And sometimes Thorin lived. Sometimes the princes did. Sometimes, new people died. The wrong people.

Once, in his darkest moments, he thought that perhaps someone was trying to teach him humility, teach him to accept fate as it was and not try to fight it, not change anything. And so he went through the motions as well as he could remember them after all those years, following them to the letter, save for when he sobbed all the harder when it was done.

He sobbed again, the relief bone-deep, when he awoke again the next day, the battle still awaiting him.

He lost count of his attempts, and no one could rightly vouch for his state of mind when he finally resorted to the one thing he had refused to try: Not since that fourth (or fifth?) time, when he managed to be there for the fight and threw himself in Azog’s way, but Thorin pulled him out of the way, and screamed at him with such outrage and fear and despair in the few beats he bought by pushing Azog over, that Bilbo never attempted it again.

Until that final day. And that time, Bilbo didn’t give Thorin a chance to stop him.

And it broke a heart Bilbo thought long since shattered to hear Thorin scream, to feel him pick him up and hold him close and hear his voice like that. But the words faded soon enough, and he couldn’t feel anything, nothing except for regret and acceptance, because this was different. He felt it. This time, he would not awaken again, and that was fine. He had saved his king, kept all of his dwarves safe that last time. If that was to be the last, then that was all he could ask for. It was alright. He could sleep.

Then he woke up.

Not outside Erebor, but inside a hole. His hole. Bag End.

He walked outside, stood in the sun, and watched a wizard walk up the road to his door.

He did not understand.

[i-hear-a-sound]

lol ok. ok

[erikiara80]

Theory: the car crash in the winter of 1976 (Part I)

You can read Part II here

I've been working a lot on this theory, and I keep finding things lol. In this post I focus on '76. In Part II I'll talk about the cars.

I think there are many hints that there might've been a car crash in the past (for example, the wheelbarrows) and that that's the event that separated El from her family, Joyce, Hopper and her brothers.

Basically, the theory is that she wasn't abducted at birth. The lab helped her parents to have her and Will (I think Jon is Lonnie's kid) because of Agent Orange. And maybe Brenner was waiting for El to be old enough to test her abilities, or maybe it's something else. Anyway, I think she lived five years with her family, then there was a car crash and powers/a time loop saved her. Or she was brought to the hospital and it was there that powers made her "crawl backwards", like Steve says to Nancy in S4 (here)

And "be swapped in the hospital (to tell you the truth)" like Karen says in S3. I have also a theory about Karen, but that's for another post. It's interesting that she says at the hospital, and not at birth, and in S4 Brenner calls the lab hospital.

I think that from that moment in 1976 it was like El was never part of the family and she became "Terry's kid" and a lab kid. "One's kid." The flashback of Sara's death could be an altered memory of what happened to Will and El after the accident. Or maybe there's even a bigger twist about Sara, but I won't talk about it here. This post is long already, lol.

@chirpsythismorning noticed something interesting. When El saves Max, the camera rotates counterclockwise. And her arm reminds me of the hand of a clock. Same counterclockwise rotation when Brenner dies.

Why in winter and why in 1976

There are many references to ice, feeling cold, frozen. The snow, connected to Hopper and El.

El saying that she comes from a bad place, and the boys saying that it's Sweden, a cold sub-zero place. Imo, the frozen lake, the reason she ended up in the other bad place, the lab.

The song California dreamin' playing the day before Will's birthday

And the last line in S4: 'It's snowing' while Max is in the hospital and Lucas and Erica, brother and sister, are with her.

There are also many hints that something bad happened in 1976.

S1: The reporter says that the authorities suspect that Will was victim of foul play and that seven years before ('76) another person drowned in the quarry (*) S2: Lucas tells Max that a very decomposed body was found there. The truth hidden in a fake story

Castle Byers flashback. Will doesn't get too scared anymore. Joyce jokes about her witch and he says that he's not five anymore ('76). Joyce's witch could be a reference to the Witch of the West. In S1 Hopper calls the lab Emerald City. Also, in Castle Byers there are a rainbow, a stuffed lion and a microscope -> connection to the lab.

Possible hint at Lonnie's involvement in the "accident" (I'll talk about the trunk in Part II) When Jon was nine/ten he made him kill a rabbit, an animal associated with El and Alice/Henry. Jon was born in 1967, so the rabbit (El?) died in '76. I also think it's not a coincidence that it's Jon, a boy worried about his brother, who sees Barb disappear in a pool. Jon says he cried for a week. He mourned that little rabbit...

Also. When he tells Nancy about the rabbit, he says that he's a fan of Thumper. And in the Nancy and Steve dialogue about crawling backwards, Steve says that what he needed was a thump on his head, to finally start crawl forward

First day of kindergarten ('76) Will was swinging by himself. Swing sets are associated with both Willel and the Creels, and one of the swings is always broken or missing. If I'm right, this is brilliant: this beautiful Byler moment could also be a hint that Will shouldn't have been alone that day. His sister should've been swinging with him.

The lifeguard at the pool: 'No one in the water until 30 minutes after the last strike. You wanna get electrocuted, go climb a tree'. A very specific line and another possible hint that someone ended up in the water (a lake) and that powers (the strike) saved them. Behind him a poster with the date '76 and the word Happy Birthday.

In 4x01, El says that they're all time travellers and that it feels like it's been ten years since she saw Mike. 1986-10 = 1976.

There's also the poster of the Salizburger Festpiele of 1976- Der Talisman. We see it as Murray and Joyce are talking about Russia and Murray is preparing his ice bath (and he was the one who thought El was a russian spy, so this is about her). Once again, connection between cold and 1976. Plus, The Talisman. Lucas read Stephen King's novel, The Talisman, a story about parallel worlds and Twinners.

EDIT 2/3/24: Ross posted a photo of A Wrinkle in Time. The book was published in 1962, but this is the cover of the 1976 paperback edition (here)

(*) In the quarry scene there's also a cool parallel with Fringe, one of my favorite shows. Mike wears the same shirt Peter wears in episode 3x15, Subject 13 (my post about Number 13 and Polivia-Byler parallel)

In that episode, Peter almost drowns in the same frozen lake where Walter opened a portal to the other universe.

And it is revealed that Olivia can travel to the other universe when she's scared. The trigger? Her violent stepfather (looking at you, Lonnie) Why would he hurt the kids? Jealousy, money, or both. A possible parallel with Billy's father, who was jealous of his wife and in Billy's memory asks her: Did you see him again?

[sicklyseraphnsuch]

Ice King to Simon feels like what Fionna is to Finn. There's a base template that was shared between the two but ultimately, they are separate entities that grew and developed in ways unique to themselves.

and this is where the writing gets Rocky, because I genuinely find it hard to read Ice King and Simon as the same person but the characters always treat the two as one and the same

After the big reveal, Ice King is treated like Simon but remixed, except... the way Ice King develops - and look, we spent hours with this character, he wasnt just a joke

In his words, "I am worthy of respect"

The way Ice King's character develops was for Ice King's benefit, not Simon's. Ice King making friends, Ice King no longer kidnapping - neither of those character developments made him more Simon-like. He becomes more and more individualized, forming a personality that felt Very Distinct from the bookish, modest Simon Petrikov.

As much as Simon is the victim in all this, I cant really blame Ice King for being born either. He was just a guy - a mean, lonely guy that with some kindness developed better behavior for the people that befriended him.

Like people are dumping hard on Simon, which sucks. But it's also like Ice King was Somebody's friend. Ice King was Somebody's hero. And it doesn't feel fair to all the hardwork he did for himself to wave him off as a false image.

The problem is he was somebody - not just a Simon reboot. He was somebody period.

So it makes sense that some people in universe (in the audience bc lets be real, Ice King had HOURS of screentime and Simon had maybe one) would mourn him. It just sucks that they keep directing that grief at Simon, and dumping on him as a result.

In my opinion, if it's disrespectful to Simon to be confused for Ice King, then it works the same vice versa.

[laufenghuang]

宿虎双子パロ | sukuita twins

Illustrations I made for “Days of Brutalism and Hairpin Turns” by the absolutely amazing @fingerlickinyuuji (@ginghamchicken on Twitter / booksandcoffee on ao3). You’ll never read another JJK time-loop fic like this.

[chirpsythismorning]

[will80sbyers]

I have so many different theories for s5 and they all contradict each other obviously as they should lol

[skelebab]

Omg I forgot to post this here

My b y'all here ya go :)

[romancemedia]

New Anime Coming in 2024

[tortoisebore]

writing sirius pov is my favorite he’s so silly and goofy and funny and insane and so obsessed w his mans it’s almost concerning 🥰💗🤩✨🫶💞💫💕

[boy-above]

every time there's a new dainsleif quest i never look forward to it bc he always throws scary lore at you. can we just have a nice brunch or something without you being scary at me. do you have hobbies other than being sad and harshing my vibes dainsleif

[slendyverseargcollections]

Hasn’t anybody talked about this yet?

I’ve forgot there was a truck driver in Season 2 of Stranger Things. And he looks a lot like Hopper’s new look in season 5.

[erikiara80]

A beautiful Byler-Polivia parallel, Will's truesight and other parallels with Fringe

I said I could make 50 posts after my rewatch of S4. I'm gonna start with the parallels with one of my favorite shows. Let's go! @lilitblaukatz

Olivia Dunham is Subject 13, and she has the ability to see and travel to the parallel world. In ST there are many mentions of number 13, and imo that's a hint that there are different timelines (not actual parallel worlds) and we've been seen them since the very first episode. In fact, Will mentions the number 13 in the first scene of the show.

Will-Olivia parallels

It was a seven. I read many theories about this moment and Mike's strange reaction. That maybe Will is in a Vecna vision, and that's why the lights flicker and "Mike" doesn't know what he is talking about.

Well, I think Vecna is spying Will; those eyes on the skis behing Mike! I think this detail proves that Will's abduction wasn't a coincidence.

But if this Mike is actually Vecna, shouldn't he know about the game and the Demogorgon? He can read minds, wouldn't he at least try to smile?

Then I remembered why this scene seemed familiar. It reminds me of a scene of Fringe, ep 3x15, when Olivia, who can't control her powers yet, travels to the parallel world and for a moment sees the other Dr Bishop, who is quite surprised by what she says.

(in 3x15 Olivia also meets Peter for the first time)

So, I don't know, maybe Will does have a Vecna vision later, at home. But when he talks to Mike, I think he's seeing a Mike from another timeline/or he ended up in another timeline (because the gate just opened?) I don't know. Maybe a timeline where Karen interrupted the campaign earlier, or Will rolled the dice and won. That would explain Mike's confusion, and the flickering lights.

And now I'm thinking about other parallels

The zeppelin and the Rainbowship

The first time Olivia sees the parallel world, she draws this

What if Will didn't just imagine the Rainbowship, but drew what he SAW, like he drew the vines?

Nina kinda looks like a little spaceship, so, maybe... I don't believe what Owens said. I think they were already using the silos before El lost her powers.

(EDIT: Spoilers of The First Shadow- Now we know that in 1943, the ship of Brenner's father wound up in Dimension X, during the Philadelphia Experiment, which was connected to the Rainbow Project. So, maybe Will's Rainbowship is a reference to that and a hint at different timelines)

But back to Olivia and Will. Here she's drawing while the adults are talking about her, and Will is drawing while Joyce and Hopper are talking with Owens, who gives major Walter Bishop vibes, and even has a son named Peter.

Byler and Polivia, the parallel of their first meeting

The Rainbowship is mentioned in the shed scene, the same scene in which Mike reminds Will of the first time they met.

In 3x15 Olivia draws the zeppeling, and in the same episode Peter finds her sketchbook and sees her drawing of the field of white tulips. Her drawings, that are connected to her powers and visions, help him to find her. And this is a beautiful parallel with Will and Mike, because Peter's life changes when she meets Olivia. They talk about her abusive father (in the shed scene Jon mentions Lonnie) and it's after they talk in that field that Peter decides to accept his new family and his new life.

Asking Will to be his friend is the best thing Mike has ever done, and their lives changed too, when they met.

I don't think there are parallel worlds in ST, just different timelines, because for some reason they're stuck in a loop. They mention time loops a few times, and Max even mentions it when they are in Henry's house.

In S2 Nancy tells Murray that his timeline is wrong, and in his letter Hopper says that you can't turn back the clock... But then Henry does it in the flashback. There's also this Back to the future line: The appropriate question is 'When the hell are they?'

And if there's really a time loop, I think Will and Henry can see other timelines or maybe the timelines are merging? There are so many hints.

From Will's Marty Mcfly outfit in S1, to Henry seeing the Mind Flayer when he was a kid. The crystal ball in the Will the Wise drawing, used by clairvoyants, the Forever Clock that Dustin gives to Will, Will's name engraved on the grandfather clock and him saying, in his Will the Wise outfit, that he's seen into the future. If they're stuck in a time loop, then the future is actually the past, since the story has repeated itself many times. Steve and Robin even mention the whole going back to future/present thing.

In 4x01 El says that they're all time travellers, so yeah, if Olivia can see and travel to a parallel world, maybe in ST people can see (or travel to) different timelines of the timeloop.

Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen

In the Nina scenes I noticed that Thirteen is often in the frame with El or Twelve (who I think represents Will). At first I didn't understand why. She never speaks or interacts with El. And I didn't know why they cast a girl that looks like young Millie. The actress said that the crew kept telling her that she looked like Millie, and before S4 many fans speculated that she would play El. Everything means something in this show, and the casting is always on point, so I thought maybe they want us to notice something? Then I remembered that Olivia was Subject 13.

So that kid could be a subtle hint that we're seeing different timelines in Nina. From the beginning, when El wakes up and see the rooms of Four and Nine. 4+9=13

Twelve and Thirteen

Twelve and Thirteen in the Rainbow Room. It's interesting that in both these scenes they focus on 12, "Will", and 13, who looks like little El, after they show the twins. Willel, twins, and different timelines...

Brenner and Thirteen's room

Thirteen and Eleven (and Twelve)

I really think that Thirteen is a reference to Olivia, and since Olivia can see parallel worlds, maybe this is a hint at the ability to see/travel to other timelines. I already thought that El was seeing different timelines, and that she was actually there, with her mind, but this is a nice detail.

*Another interesting 13 mention. The 13th birthday of a kid named Georgie. George, like George Smith in the play? We know that Will's birthday is important, and since this scene is about his parents, I think this mention is connected to both Will and Henry/Edward

Hm, a bit lost, because of other timelines/a time loop?

Anyway, I love Fringe and I love that ST has so many parallels with such a beautiful story.