#s6 meta

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck & Eddie: Baking Muffins vs. Baking Cookies

Since it aired, I've posted several times that 6x13 "Mixed Feelings" was my favorite episode of season 6 and it was the finale for me. I'm not sure why 6x14 - 6x18 ended or played out the way they did but I still believe there was a reason for 6x13 to air when it did and why it was before all the BS that happened afterwards.

I've watched all six of Buck's and Eddie's, Buck's and Chris' and the Buckley Diaz Family's scenes numerous times and every time I do, I find something that was a callback to previous episodes. I've already done a post on the significance of Buck bringing cookies to Eddie's house in 3x11 compared to him baking them with Chris in 6x13 (linked here) but this post is different because it parallels the scene Buck had with Chris from 6x13 to another scene Chris had with one of Eddie's previous relationships.

The scene from 6x13 with Buck and Chris included some parallels and callbacks to the scene from 5x3 with Eddie, Chris and Ana.

Baking muffins vs. Baking cookies

First, in 5x3 after the blackout, Eddie went home to BREAKUP WITH ANA. He was there with her and Chris after she baked enough muffins to feed a classroom full of children. But in 6x13, Eddie WASN'T THERE and he left their son with his second dad while they baked cookies for Chris' class. Reminder, when Eddie met Ana, she was Chris' teacher but in season 3 SHE DIDN'T TELL EDDIE HOW TO HELP CHRIS SKATEBOARD BUT BUCK DID! They worked together to help Chris do something he obviously wanted to do even though Ana started telling Eddie about novels🙄. Also, in 6x13, Buck specifically said they needed to make enough cookies for Chris' whole class. Eddie just dipped like he did in 3x1 after he dropped Chris off with "his Buck" and was probably like, "It's cool because our son (his and Buck's) is with his other dad, so I don't need to be there."

The Kitchens

In 5x3, when Eddie and Ana went into the kitchen, it was a MESS! A big mess to say the least. She had stuff everywhere like she was a brand-new cook or some BS but everyone knows she wasn't since she baked two cakes in 4x13 for Carla's birthday, therefore the STATE OF THE KITCHEN SPOKE VOLUMES about her relationship with Eddie. However, in 6x13, Buck's kitchen was ORGANIZED AND CLEAN. Buck and Eddie's relationship functions like a well-oiled machine. It always has ever since they removed a live grenade from Charlie's leg in 2x1.

In 6x13, Buck specifically said, "So whenever I cook, I like to measure out all my ingredients". But in 5x3, it looked like Ana didn't measure anything. She just baked and left the mess for someone else to clean up.

Buck was working with Chris the same way he did every other time him and Chris were together. Here are some examples, in 3x2-3x3 after the Tsunami, in 3x12 when Eddie and Buck built Chris an adaptable skateboard, in 4x8 when Chris ran away to Buck's loft, in 5x13 when Chris called Buck during Eddie's breakdown and in 5x14 when Buck helped Chris with his homework. The look on Eddie's face in 5x3 before he told Ana "Maybe you should go home first" said it all. He didn't want her there and he never called her "his Ana" like he called Buck "his Buck".

Chris' comment and question

Finally, Chris said "Let's make brownies next" in 5x3 but Ana's reply was "I think we need to clean that kitchen first". She made the mess but she wanted Chris to help her clean it up. But in 6x13, Chris asked, "Can we have cookies for dinner?" and Buck replied, "Well, I thought maybe we'd have some steak and then cookies". He didn't suggest Chris clean up the mess because THERE WASN'T ONE! Reminder Buck's kitchen was already clean even though Ana left Eddie's messy.

The difference between Ana and Buck is BUCK'S ALWAYS BEEN SHOWN TO BE CHRIS' SECOND PARENT! She played the role as the "NICE" girlfriend who was a "God send" but she was NEVER going to be there long since Buck's the person who's been raising Chris with Eddie for years.

Bonus: In 5x2 Buck told Eddie to breakup with Ana and he did in 5x3🙃.

Will Buck and Eddie FINALLY become a CANON couple in season 7 or will the show keep throwing one dimensional women at them instead of just letting them be together? Only the showrunners, writers and producers know the answers to that question.

#buddie #eddie diaz #evan buckley #christopher diaz #the buckley diaz family #buckley diaz family #anti ana flores #anti eddieana #911 abc #911 on abc #911 meta #911 season 7 #911 season 7 speculation #911 season 6 speculation #911 season 6 #911 s6

[raayllum]

Anyway notes on the poster

There's a swirly, cosmic feel, with both dark magic purple, star magic purple, as well as actual darkness/blackness that evoke the stars and a general feeling of sadness and chaos. This is per the course for Aaravos' colour associations as well as Claudia's

Her hair seems to be 3/4ths white rather than just 1/2, making me think that after 6x01 there'll be a brief timeskip and she'll have whiter hair from doing some of Aaravos' bidding. Her outfit also seems to be different (most notably the white collar) which makes sense and also invokes Kim'Dael's chain a bit.

Claudia is the only character whose never had a significant wardrobe change (Viren had his in late stage S3) in order to showcase her stagnation and preserve the secret timeskip, so post-6x01 might be her last big chance for a wardrobe change (prosthetic leg and all). Here's hoping!

The fact it looks like she's in an ocean of sorts, hair like tendrils in the water, reflects her walking into the water in both Viren's dreams (5x03) and reality (5x09): "The wave - it will swallow you up!" ("I swallowed her" —Aaravos, 5x09)

Claudia crying (as in S6 she'll be undeniably grieving and isolated) makes sense. I'm more interested in the potential eye symbolism, as eyes are accordingly important for dark magic and was a motif heavily present with Viren. Claudia being unable to 'see clearly' through the eye that metaphorically holds her human (dark haired, non dark magic) side? Yeah.

Furthermore, we also see Aaravos in the murky waters below likewise with an eye motif, a particularly bright star in the sky being a stand in for his eye. Together, perhaps, he and Claudia have 'full sight', and it may indicate that constellation's importance to him / general starry vibes, as we know (child Aaravos?) Leola is closest to Claudia on the star chart map. Pre-S4 I'd thought that star had been the south star, but we know that it and Leola's Last Wish is one and same, so it must be something different

Claudia is on the 'human' side of the star chart (where the 5 human kingdoms are) and thereby with more (but not all of her potential symbols, like the bumblescorp on the other side) of her associative symbols: the unicorn (for obvious reasons, and also tied to Leola) as well as the book three (Claudia almost walked into a tree in 1x01 because she was reading, and Callum mentions the three was planted 300-ish years ago, which would line up with the Orphan Queen's origins).

Listen to me. Listen. Claudia is one half of the star chart. I am willing to bet $5 whole ass dollars that a Callum poster will follow up where he is the other half, because he and Claudia are Aaravos' primary puppets going forward. (Would also parallel their dual set up from the "Lost" and "Found" S5 posters.) I need it.

That said if it's not Callum, 1) Viren (as a leftover pawn who cannot escape) and 2) Rayla (as motivation for Callum, much the same way Claudia has been motivation for Viren, and building on their arc 2 parallels thus far) are my next best guesses.

Frothing at the mouth. Gnawing my own leg off. Thank you for everything

#tdp #the dragon prince #official art #tdp claudia #promo art #s6 spoilers #possibly #s6 #arc 2 #predictions #mini meta #analysis series #analysis #tdp spoilers

[l0veisntbrains]

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER || 6x22: Grave The sixth is the only example of closing a season with the image of another character. While the choice allowed the season to close with what would have been a surprising moment for many viewers, it also indicates the significance of this character in particular and the motif of the spiritual journey in general. - Rhonda Wilcox ; Why Buffy Matters, The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

#spuffy #spike #buffy #btvsedit #spuffyedit #spuffygifs #dailybuffysummers #spikeedit #buffy the vampire slayer #* #parallels #meta #s6 #6x22 #why buffy matters #rhonda wilcox

[barren-heart]

Did Harvey just reveal Guillermo’s season 6 ending?

Critics Choice Awards, Deadline. 2024.

S6 speculation below:

…I think the best thing I can take from playing Guillermo De la Cruz is it's never too late to find yourself. It's never too late to be reborn and to reinvent yourself. And there’s no ticking time bomb expiration date to anyone of us to what our dreams and hopes can come true…Well,we start where we left off, and sometimes dreams and aspirations don't turn out the way we want them to...but I think that that's the whole point of rebirth,right? It's like a renaissance. It's happening again. And you take a new direction, new ideas, a new approach. So I'm really excited for the audience to see a new layer to Guillermo.

These are the key words from Harvey’s interview:

1. it's never too late to find yourself

2. Reborn

3. Reinvent

4. Ticking time bomb

5. Expiration date

6. Rebirth

7. Renaissance

8. Happening again

9. New layer

There’s a lot of references to reinvention and rebirth as well as time and hopes and dreams.

We know that Guillermo’s dream of being a vampire ended in season 5 when he learned that he couldn’t go through with killing humans.

There’s a stress of new ideas and directions, which sounds like Guillermo’s ending will not be any of the things he has been already: familiar, bodyguard, slayer, vampire.There’s going to be a new direction for Guillermo that he possibly hasn’t considered.

There’s a huge focus on time and rebirth, Harvey points out this message several times in the interview. He repeats and emphasizes reinvention and renaissance. Almost like being born again.

And the show has accomplished something like what Harvey has mentioned. Something that is technically not a new idea at all. And that’s energy vampires.

Energy Vampires life expectancies are a ticking time bomb. They have an expiration date. They live only for 100 years. And on that 100th birthday, they expire.

Except, they don’t expire. They give birth to a baby version of themselves and are basically born again or undergo a rebirth.

A storyline that was hinted at by not yet fully explored is the creation of the energy vampire. We know how they die and how their life cycles begin again, but we don’t know how they are made.

And I believe this is the season we find out. And Colin will help Guillermo by helping him turn.

I revisited some parts of season 5 when I considered this. Namely:

1. Guillermo’s inability to kill

2. That he didn’t want to say goodbye to his mom

3. That he said he still wanted to be a vampire

Becoming an energy vampire solves all three.

Guillermo can still see his mom without the threat of her killing him. He also doesn’t have to feed on humans in the traditional way, namely he doesn’t need to kill. And this way he will live forever, even though he will die every 100 years.

I get how this may not be what we want or expect. I, probably like you, want to see Nandor sink his teeth into Guillermo more than anything. But I don’t think they want to give us that…at least not easily.

I do have a full theory on how we get to have Nandor turn Guillermo. But I will make that into its own separate post.

#what we do in the shadows #WWDITS #WWDITS s6 #WWDITS theory #wwdits meta #harvey guillen #guillermo de la cruz #colin robinson

[trashformha]

Since this episode will inevitably stir up bad todofam discourse and I'm a clown who hopes to convince ppl to look at Touya's situation more critically let's look into it, shall we?

First off: Endeavor married Rei for her quirk not out of love.He had children with her because he wanted a successor and not children. This in itself already established that Endeavor is not going to be a good dad.

I mean sure in the first few years he wasn't abusive and things seemed alright. Rei was ok with the situation, Fuyumi was happy and Touya seemed really excited to train with his father but then Touya's quirk started hurting him.

Of course the most reasonable approach here was stop training him. This was not the problem. The problem was that Endeavor neglected him.

There is a reason we are shown this specific scene. Endeavor has a day off and instead of spending it with his family he is heading out. He didn't need to train with him but he could have at least tried to convinced him to do smth else together.

The reason Touya liked training was because he could spend time with his father, so the moment Enji stopped training him he also stopped spending time with his son.

So even if Touya's quirk wasn't harming him think about it: Touya might have surpassed his father but could he really surpass All Might? What would happen if he didn't manage to surpass him? Would Endeavor just start avoiding him? Would he really deal with the situation in a healthy/good way? How would Touya feel about his inability to surpass All Might after his father spend his whole life intoxicating Touya into this role? At the end of the day Enji would have doomed this family one way or another.

Back to the topic at hand. Touya could not be trained. As a result Endeavor had Natsuo and Shoto. This is an even WORSE slap to the face towards Touya. Because Touya might be a child but he is not stupid. His father stops spending time with him and now he has 2 new siblings? Even though their father doesn't bother to spend his free time with the 2 children he already has? Touya KNOWS he's being repalced. And for a child that's still so young and developing this gotta leave psychological scars. What Enji did was cruel towards Touya and it's why he ends up lashing out at Shoto.

Another problem was that Endeavor's attempts at stopping Touya from hurting himself were half-assed. He did not want to face the problem.

Every instance of him talking to touya is him saying to stop because he's hurting himself and to find smth else. He never bothered to sit down and talk through this issue with Touya because then he'd have to admit to himself how awful his behavior has been so far. How he spend years avoiding Touya and didn't spend a single second of his time with Natsuo and Fuyumi either. Natsuo literally describes Endeavor as a stranger despite having lived with the man in a house his whole life.

Eventually everything escalated when Touya makes one last plea to his father to watch him at Sekoto Peak and the later never arrived.

Endeavor was probably never physically violent to Touya in the way he was to Rei and Shoto but that doesn't change the fact that his treatment of Touya was cruel and that he had never been a good father towards him in any way.Touya wasn't born unhinged and evil and his accident at Sekoto Peak is a direct result of Endeavor's actions.

#mha #bnha #dabi #touya #todoroki touya #endeavor #enji todoroki #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #mha s6 #bnha s6 #dabi meta #meta

[stagefoureddiediaz]

When Marisol is wearing the chain necklace that spells doom for their relationship you have no choice but to cackle very loudly

#All of Buck and eddies girlfriends have worn the chain necklace of doom #I wrote about it a lot in my s6 metas!! #911 spoilers #911 abc #marisol #she is not long for the 911 world #we can wave her goodbye! #sorry for the marisol jumpscare! #she doesn't have a surname

[thefirst3chapters]

The scenes at Truncheon where Luke and Rory tell Jess that they are proud of him give a lot of insight to the ways both of these characters have affected Jess’s development.

Luke’s mission when Liz sent Jess to him was to “fix” Jess and set him on an academic path. As well-meaning as that intention was, it didn't work out. When Jess doesn't meet Luke’s requirements and has to leave, their relationship is bitter and harsh for a year. They reconcile when Luke accepts that he can’t change Jess, and they both realize that they care about each other anyway. At Truncheon, Luke admits that he doesn’t really understand everything that Jess has accomplished there, but he verbalizes that he is sincerely proud. Even though Jess did something different from what seemed like the “right” path, Luke meant it when he told him that he's always here. Luke is probably the only person in Jess’s life who has supported him in that way.

By contrast, Rory connects with the tone of the open house right away ("It makes me feel like I instantly want to create something"). The artistic spirit and appreciation of literature that are front and center at Truncheon resonate with Rory similarly to how they resonate with Jess. Rory read Jess’s margin notes and recognized his handwriting on the diner sign and was reminded of Mark Twain. She saw his potential as a writer almost immediately, even if neither of them really understood what it meant yet. They have similar taste in books and music, so Rory is in tune with a lot of Jess’s literary influences, and she identifies his voice as a writer (“It doesn’t remind me of anything. It’s not a ripoff, it’s just you”). Rory is probably the only person in Jess’s life who could compliment him in that way.

It's also notable that Jess is happily surprised to see both of them. He doesn't expect the people he loves to show up for him, but he is in a place now where he can humbly accept that they care and can openly show them that he cares (giving Luke the check and telling Rory that she can say something happened if it makes her feel better).

#gilmore girls #gilmore girls meta #rory gilmore #jess mariano #luke danes #diner guys #literati #s6 literati: i couldn't have done it without you

[lesbianabril]

My S6 BTVS rewrite

I know this season has a lot of haters but I actually love season 6, I don't mind the depressing parts (meaning: most of the season) because I think it all makes sense for where the characters are at, and I think that after fighting a literal God having a season where the villain is Life really works storytelling-wise.

Having said that, though, I think that a lot of things could have been handled better and since all I have are correct opinions I'm gonna tell you what those are.

1. Willow's magic addiction

Basically I think they went too far when the magic became drugs in the most basic sense, when they start acting like she's "taking a hit" every time she uses it.

I think all of the important plot points could have been kept while making willow's addiction to magic about her need to be in control of everything (and everyone). Up to Tabula Rasa I wouldn't change anything, her use of magic is wrong because she starts using it to bend the world at her will, empowered by having successfully brought Buffy back to life.

After Tara leaves her she starts using even more magic while being reckless with it, she injures Dawn and she commits to stop using it because she realizes it wasn't healthy for her or for the people she loves.

I would eliminate Rack and his stupid crack house hide out, and everything that has to do with the physical withdrawal of going "cold turkey".

I think this also makes Willow responsible for her actions, while making magic = literal heroin absolves her of the blame, in the end. The fallout of having to deal with her dependence of it would also be way more compelling.

2. Spike's attempted r4pe

I would keep their toxic relationship and everything that led up to that god-awful bathroom scene, my only change is that I would make it so Spike is trying to turn her instead.

Hear me out. It would make a lot of narrative sense because all through the season he's trying to convince her she's a dark being just like him, he wants them to be equals because he doesn't think himself worthy of her so he's trying to lower her to his level. So, after Buffy rejects him again he's not thinking clearly and, in his desperation, tries the only thing he swore himself he wouldn't do since he loves Buffy because of her goodness.

After it happens, Buffy feels betrayed, Spike leaves and decides to try to get to her level, to truly change himself instead of trying to change her.

This is a minor thing too but in this rewrite after Spike leaves we don't know where he went and we don't see him again until the start of s7 when he already has his soul. I know this couldn't be done because of James Marsters' contract but in my dream s6 we don't know what happened to him so when we see him again everything about his sudden disappearence and current mental state is a mystery and we find out along with Buffy.

3. Xander dies instead of Tara

Ok maybe this one is based on my dislike of Xander and my love of Tara but I think this would work really well:

Willow and Tara haven't gotten together yet, Willow is working on her more controlling tendencies and they're just friends right now. When Warren shows up Buffy is in the garden with Dawn and Xander went up to Willow's room to talk to her, so both Buffy and Xander get shot, Dawn takes Buffy to the hospital and dark Willow is born after she's not able to revive Xander.

After that things are mostly the same, only this time we get a grieving Buffy trying to deal with the sudden loss of both of her best friends. She's devastated and a part of her says that yes, Warren deserves to die.

After everything happens and Willow is close to destroying the world, Tara is the one who shows up, she appeals to Willow's humanity and, through her love and compassion, saves the world.

#i think about this a lot #so here you go #tell me what you would have changed if u want i love buffy talk #buffy the vampire slayer #btvs #btvs meta #spuffy #tillow #buffy #buffy s6 #btvs s6 #spike #mine

[self-spaghettification]

callum is a trojan horse s6 theory

In the event that the Novablade doesn't work on Aaravos, because .... he's already been stabbed with it, then...

Aaravos intentionally made Callum terribly afraid of him so Callum would HAVE to go to the Starscraper to kill him—so scared that he’s even doing it when he knows—and Rayla told him—it was a bad idea to bring the pearl. he just made it easier for him. the irony is wonderful. so Aaravos gets the sword, the last ingredient to his revenge on the stars, who he swears will fall.

so he's not dying at the hand of the Novablade, it's his weapon

Added thoughts from mutuals were-- Startouch elves were probably barred from entering the Starscraper for some reason, that’s why he needed to use Callum as his vessel, his Trojan horse—throwback to Fall of Lux Aurea btw, "You allowed my vessel to walk ...directly to the source of all your power?" He's done this before—anyway

Today I Realize

the intro to the show directly supports this idea

just the novablade, on screen. while the stars are falling. in aaravos’s name

in his name. the novablade is literally in his name. but also. metaphorically. likely going to be used/ the stars will be falling in his name

in the intro of a show planned out by arc, an intro set to go the rest of the arc

those bastards knew what they were doing since s4 while everyone was bashing it and they were doing this. they were doing this. isofjdsokfjlskghjoiyet4rwehsufdiggjkhlytr im so ILLLLLL

love you show creators for also making it evident it's gonna be callum/supporting my theory further because

The only other place Aaravos's desire for the stars to fall is mentioned is in Patience.

And what's right below this part that closely parallels the arc 2 intro?

Ziard, Viren, and Callum. in S6, Claudia is also likely interacting with Aaravos. (S6 poster) so...why isn’t she here? Only Callum and Viren are here. Could it be because they’re fulfilling such similar roles?

After the end of s5, we know Viren is likely not the main player in Aaravos's game now, not an option (in one way or another) so

next up as Trojan horse / vessel…

Yeah

so excited for hearts of cinder 2: epic fail: so good at "hero" stuff he accidentally doomed the world

#tl;dr #Callum is acting as Aaravos's Trojan horse into the Starscraper so that he can use the Novablade to fell the other stars. #self spaghettification #tdp meta #hopefully this is semi coherent #the guilt and fear on callum's part's gonna be wild too #aaravos #tdp speculation #the dragon prince #tdp theory #callum #tdp s6 speculation #50 #mine

[agent-troi]

thinking about the rain king in the context of the ivf arc again… rain king takes place in august 1999, the tail end of the missing period between the unnatural (april) and biogenesis (september) so what if the ivf failed for the last time right before the episode? and they have to deal with everyone assuming they’re a couple, mulder identifying with holman’s unrequited love for sheila (side note: i just noticed sheila saying “holman, it’s me,” when she calls him sgsjdksjdkdkd), and having to share a room and a bed, and scully’s wistful “the only person you can ever imagine yourself with” speech… all of that coming right after they just lost their last hope of (completely platonically) having a baby together

#did i just take a fluffy romantic episode and make it sad and angsty #i’m having a moment #x files #txf s6 #the rain king #ivf arc #txf meta #fox mulder #dana scully #mulder x scully #msr

[randomfoggytiger]

All IVF Roads Lead Away from The Unnatural and to Millennium

After spending too much time batting back and forth various IVF theories (post here for the hall-of-fame-ers), I'd settled on early Season Six because of the factored-in procedure requirements.

And then a discussion with @welsharcher and @agent-troi made me reevaluate everything... and I realized, with dawning horror, that the facts concluded upon not only upended what I believed about Per Manum's time crunch but also pushed back Mulder and Scully's dating timeline from The Unnatural to Millennium.

What Canon Presents as Facts

Per Manum was a patch-on episode; and there are a few restrictions it imposes on the flashbacks with Mulder and Scully.

The IVF arc must take place after the episode Emily because that is when Scully learns her infertility was caused by medical experiments robbing her of her ova.

In Per Manum, Scully is awkward about asking Mulder for her request.

When the IVF fails, both are not stingy with their hugs-- never have been-- but Scully stops herself from fully kissing Mulder, instead placing it tentatively on his cheek.

The greater implications of points #2 and #3

Point 2: Scully's awkwardness in these flashbacks is absent from her behavior all through S7, especially after Millennium. From then on out, she flirts and pulls Mulder's tie (Rush), makes cracks about going home and making all things right with the world (The Goldberg Variation), shares a personal, traumatic story from her childhood and is unfazed that Mulder collects her and her things to go (Orison), takes it for granted that Mulder would want her to spend the night and advocate for him (Sein und Zeit), is openly jealous of his attention (Rush, First Person Shooter), keeps him guessing (Theef), denies CSM's pop psychology but not his claims about her love (En Ami), and pouts openly while calling Mulder (Chimera.) (See post here for flirty gifs (collected from @settle-down-frohike.)

Point 3: Scully's miss-kiss is how we know this precedes Amor Fati: then, she passionately and unhesitatingly gives Mulder's bandaged head a kiss after his dream recitation; but in Per Manum, though both are tender and grieving, there is still a hesitancy in her behavior. That hesitancy is born from Scully's insecurity in Mulder's life post The Beginning, after her hallway forehead blessing was replaced by his frustration at her refusal to believe. She and Mulder were in sync in S6, and she knew he loved her... but where was she in the order of importance? Still under the Truth? (It's a question she is still asking in S8's Essence.) Amor Fati was the turning point in their relationship: Mulder finally showed his partner that any better life, any better ending paled in comparison to the chaotic and brutal and beautiful one they shared together.

The Requirements for IVF (specifically the FET Timeline)

There would have had to have been a lot of downtime for Mulder and Scully to attempt IVF and continue a pregnancy.

Flying while pregnant, in the 90s and now, is not unsafe; but frequent flyers are heavily discouraged from taking as many trips because of possible health concerns (blood pressure, early risks, radiation, etc.) with mother and fetus-- particularly in the first and third trimester-- and even more so if the mother has a preexisting condition or previously challenging medical concern. Not only that, but the demands required for the IVF process would have put a further strain on travel.

Scully's ova were collected and stored (and recovered) frozen, meaning she would have had to use the FET method for her IVF cycles. Frozen Embryo Transfer takes up to 32 days from start to finish (starting the count from Day 3 of a woman's period up to the day she takes a pregnancy test); and Scully would likely have had to use the medicated FET method rather than the natural one, which is not a difference in timeline so much as convenience. Not only does the medicated FET method require additional supplementation, but the changes from estrogen and progesterone to embryo transfer-- in other words, forward progress-- hinge on how successfully the lining of the uterus thickens: if it's slow, the process drags on longer; if it's unsuccessful, the process starts from scratch. And despite all these measures, the "success rate of an untested frozen embryo transfer can go as low as 20-30%, decreasing with increasing maternal age." Hence, its failure.

The only times The X-Files had enough downtime to meet these stringent requirements were twice, and both in S6: the grounding under Kersh's disciplinary thumb and the unaccounted-for months between The Unnatural (April) and Biogenesis (September.)

The Clincher: A Purposefully Placed Family Planning Book

While the mind melding events of Biogenesis-Amor Fati are unfolding, Scully scours the office before jet-setting off to Africa. In the background is a clear glimpse of a blue family planning book amidst Mulder's various piles that he uses to feather the nest (grabbed from @dreamingofscully's post here~.)

Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz, the writing team, and the actors knew David Duchovny was leaving the show after the finale of S7; and they planned for the miracle baby early on in the season. (For any lingering doubts about William's paternity, see here for Frank's own words on the subject.) Because of that, the gang split up and left some clues: not just the family planning book mentioned above, but also David and Gillian's decision to act as if Mulder and Scully were dating off-screen post Millennium and the writers request to incorporate William's conception into All Things. Because of those decisions, fertile (heh) ground was sown for anyone willing to look back and fill in the gaps... which they did in Per Manum; and which I do now.

The family planning book serves as the definitive timeline marker for Scully and Mulder's IVF journey. If they had attempted IVF early S6, then the book would have shown up with Mulder's things when he "feathered the nest" post One Son. If he and Scully had attempted IVF after Millennium or any time S7, it would have made an appearance then. But it doesn't: it only appears on the end of season six after Mulder and Scully have grown closer, when an IVF success or failure makes him clarify that it won't "come between us." When there is more that is between them but not technically enough for them to do this journey as a couple (yet.)

It also bookends the conclusion of the IVF arc: by joining Mulder's stash, the book has become another totem of his life in the vein of Samantha's picture, the cloth hearts, and Karin Berquist's "I Want to Believe" poster (and even Queequeg's collar and Scully's keychain.) It'll be packed away out of sight once he gets the cleaning bug or Scully asks him to; but, until then, it haunts the basement with the ghost of its lost potential.

Why IVF, Why Now, Why The Unnatural?

As mentioned above, there is a pocket of downtime post The Unnatural's April and Biogenesis-Amor Fati's September (thank you to @dreamingofscully for pointing that out in this post), with only one legitimate case in-between.

(With that in mind, The Lone Gunmen's ask of Scully is doubly stupid since they asked her to fly out to Las Vegas in Mulder's name sometime during her IVF process and triply stupid because Scully-- who likely went against medical precautions-- was drugged.)

But why did Scully seek a second opinion after The Unnatural?

Because Mulder's baseball date and uplifted banter reawakened that dream in her: "What you may find as you're concentrating on hitting that little ball, the rest of the world just fades away. All your nagging concerns, the ticking of your biological clock, how you probably couldn't afford that nice new coat on a g-woman's salary, how you threw away a promising career in medicine to hunt aliens with a... crackpot, albeit brilliant, partner." Because Mulder signaled that he was noticing her, her new suede coat, her ticking biological clock... and that those were important to him.

So, Scully went in for another checkup, to seek hope for both of them.

The Timeline: A Culmination

The Unnatural-- Mulder, for the first time in their partnership, turns away from the heart of the mystery to gaze at the mystery of his heart; and Scully is giggly and hopeful (having pressed hints about "a normal life" over and over since early S6.) For the first time he mentions something between them that is personal beyond near kisses and love confessions: he brings up her habits, her coats, and her fertility, showing her that he sees her. And after that night, Scully gets another checkup with her doctor and kicks off Per Manum.

Per Manum, the elevator-- Scully runs into Mulder after her appointment, depressed and down with more negative results. Seeing how devastated this fresh reminder is (despite the episode's very clunky reiteration of her infertility-- which both she and Mulder already know about and know each other knows about), he admits to having her ova on ice. Scully is both hurt he'd kept this information from her for over two years and desperately hopeful-- again-- that there is another last chance.

Per Manum, the clinic-- Doctor Parenti tells Scully there is a "good chance" that she can get pregnant if they get started right away. She's barreling onward, not thinking two steps ahead of her (noted here in some deleted lines-- thanks to @dunhamhairograpy) except for the fact that she has to ask Mulder for his participation.

Per Manum, "The answer is yes"-- "I don't want this to come between us" is pivotal. Yes, it could refer to their recent peace over Mulder's noncommunication; but that seems to have been swept aside by both of them in their heady anticipation. So, it has to refer to their personal relationship, one which just blossomed beyond loving partners into partners focused more on each other than the Truth. Mulder can't let go completely until his Closure; but he'll explore living a variation of normal with Scully post The Unnatural's moral lesson and Amor Fati's revelation and Millennium's permanent shift.

Three of a Kind-- Scully hops on the rare plane to join "Mulder" in Las Vegas, being pulled into The Lone Gunmen shenanigans and ending up getting drugged, flirting up a storm, and planning her revenge. Luckily, it seems Scully isn't too worried about what happened, meaning she was either between rounds or hadn't begun her first (or only?) cycle yet.

Field Trip-- A more personal episode for Mulder and Scully: he is unusually hurt and angered by her normal level of skepticism, which hurts her in turn as he's devalued herself as well as her abilities for the work. The two of them dance around these feelings until they fall right into hallucinogenic mushrooms. (An interesting note: @iconicscullyoutfits noticed here that Scully does not drink at Mulder's wake, slotting in perfectly both with her denial of this reality and her on-going carefulness with the IVF tries.)

Per Manum, "It was my last chance"-- Regardless if it's their first and only or last of many tries, Scully is unflinchingly scooped up by Mulder, though diffidently shy about crossing too many lines herself in grief (shying away from her impulsive smooch to instead hesitatingly place a kiss on her partner's cheek.) "Never give up on a miracle", Mulder intones; and holds onto the family planning book for a while more.

Biogenesis-- Mulder may have the book in his office; but Scully has lost hope, asking him "Look, after all you've done, after all you've uncovered... I mean, you've won. What more could you possibly hope to do or to find?" Her question is more in-character with another fruitless endeavor behind them, a wish to see this journey, too, to its end; and this informs her arc in this three parter: rebuilding herself and her identity in Africa, at the military base, in her apartment, and outside his.

Amor Fati-- Mulder dreams "another life, another world" where Scully can live safer and freer from him while he gets a built-in idyllic life, wife, and children: "Don't give up on a miracle" echoing around in his head. (An interesting note: @cecilysass's post here about the meaning behind Mulder's Temptation is amazing.)

But that miracle is a false illusion; and Scully saves him from himself ("You were my constant, my touchstone") just as he saves her from her self-distrust ("And you are mine.") It's now that Scully brands Mulder's forehead as her own just as she had in Fight the Future: diffidence gone, courage and confirmation found.

From Brain Surgery to New Years Celebrations

Mulder would have been too weak for much while recovering from invasive brain surgery, as evidenced by his and Scully's (mostly) hands-off approach in the next episode Hungry.

However, Mulder joined Scully in California for Christmas-- on a case, of course-- and got himself from one mess to another. They avoided death, saved the world from the Apocalypse, and, most importantly, patched a family back together. There might never be a child to welcome them home from a dangerous case; but they have each other.

And Mulder seals that realization as the ball drops.

And that concludes the IVF arc~!

Thank you for reading~

Enjoy!

#txf #xf meta #IVF #meta #mine #Proving All IVF Roads Lead Away from The Unnatural and to Millennium #x-files #the x files #xfiles #thoughts #The Unnatural #Millennium #Field Trip #Three of a Kind #Biogenesis #Amor Fati #S6 #S7 #Mulder #Scully

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck & Eddie: “3 minutes and 17 seconds”

In the 6x13 “Mixed Feelings” sneak peek video, Eddie corrected Chief Miranda Williams about the amount of time Buck was dead after he was struck by lightning in 6x10 “In a Flash”.  She said, “So three minutes...huh” and Buck replied, “What’s that?” Then she answered, “That’s how long you were dead” but Eddie corrected her and responded, “Three minutes and seventeen seconds”.

Since Eddie’s response to her comment was very specific, I got curious and timed the entire length of The Shooting from start to finish which was exactly 3 MINUTES AND 17 SECONDS (the scene with Hen calling Bobby to tell him Eddie had been shot was removed because it happened simultaneously while the firetruck was enroute to the hospital, therefore the time allotted for it doesn’t count). Starting the video with the bullet hitting Eddie’s shoulder and ending it when Buck responded, “No” to Captain Mehta after he asked him if he was ok, the amount of time that elapsed was exactly 3 minutes and 17 seconds.  I added a timer to the video to illustrate it.  

Reminder, in 4x13 “Suspicion” and 4x14 “Survivors” Eddie was in and out of consciousness when he got shot and Buck went into a catatonic state of shock so neither one of them would have known the amount of time it took to get Eddie to the hospital.  The only person who was aware and alert the entire time was Captain Jeshan Mehta. Also Buck told Eddie “We’re just minutes away, we’re so close” when they were in the back of the firetruck but he didn’t say the exact number of minutes that remained until they made it to the hospital.

Eddie’s comment further parallels The Shooting with The Lightning Strike since the total amount of time that elapsed from both of them being injured to them making it to the hospital was 3 minutes and 17 seconds.

I mentioned in a previous post that Buck and Eddie were no longer being paralleled with the other ships on the show, i.e., Madney, Henren and Bathena because they’re now being paralleled with each other in every way possible including their injuries and it’s happening quickly.

Will they become a CANON couple before the end of season 6?  Only the showrunner(s), writers and producers know the answer to that question.

#buddie #eddie diaz #evan buckley #911 fox #911 on fox #911onfox #911 meta #911 s6 #911 speculation #911 season 6 #911 season 6 speculation #911 on abc #911 abc

[raayllum]

Was rewatching the scene under Avizandum's grave in 3x06 for another meta, but stumbled across something I was interesting, re: the broyals.

For Callum, as he says, "I hate him. He's the one who took my mother. Looking at him, seeing him, it makes me sad and angry and... confused." Meanwhile Ezran is clearly less affected, too busy playing and being happy in his reunion with Zym; and judging by his closeness with Zubeia and defense of Avizandum to Rex in S4, it doesn't seem as though Ezran harbours the same messy storm of emotions regarding the former Dragon King that Callum does, even as Callum still settles on, "But that was Zym's dad."

On the one hand, this makes sense; Ezran, as he says, lost his mother before he ever really got to know her. That doesn't make his grief any lesser, but it would mean holding onto anger for a different kind of transgression and one where the alternative - a life where his mother lived - would be infinitely harder for him to conceptualize than for Callum, who can and does remember.

And we see Callum struggle a little in the instances he's first presented with Runaan's bow in both his short story Inheritance and in 5x01, but ultimately he's able to handle it and give it to Rayla happily and has no real reservations about it. Yes, "It was the weapon that killed his father" but it is also "the weapon of someone Rayla had loved" and the latter is what clearly wins out, since upon seeing Runaan again... He has a decidedly different reaction than he did upon seeing Avizandum.

But given Ezran's anger in his short story...

That Moonshadow elf upon the castle ramparts, skulking toward his father’s chambers. The blood upon those exquisite elven blades. The red-tailed arrow armed with a mission declared by Zubeia herself— [...] Ezran felt a coldness twist its way around his heart. It took his lungs, too, and for a long moment he could not breathe, could not feel anything but an unfamiliar anger so potent it seized the whole of him, inside and out. Ezran stepped towards the arrow— —and stomped down on it as hard as he could. He wished he were bigger, stronger, he wished his boots were made of iron and not something soft. Still, it was enough. When he pulled his foot away, Ezran glared down at the arrow’s hawkish head, flattened and broken.

It makes me wonder if Runaan's presence / freedom will force Ezran to contend with all his big feelings much the way Avizandum's resting place forced Callum to. If Ezran's comparatively lack of negative reaction with Avizandum was the trade off for Callum having a more positive one with Runaan, and hence the brothers are going to be Switching, accordingly.

Either way, I think it's an interesting potential parallel for the brothers, and I'm excited to see where it's taken in S6/7.

#theme: grief #tdp #tdp broyals #the dragon prince #tdp ezran #tdp callum #the royal family of katolis #s3 #3x06 #s5 #s6 #s6 speculation #parallels #the cycle #a narrative of love #mini meta #analysis series #analysis #the other meta is about The Spell in 5x08 lmao

[deluweil]

I was doing the S1 rewatch because I've seen around people complaining about Hen and Buck’s supposedly getting closer in s6 instead of seeing buddie more.

But the thing is Buck and Hen have always been close.

Hen has been the older sister to Buck from the beginning. (Not to replace Maddie, of course, but Maddie wasn't there for Buck in S1, and later, when she came, she had and still has her own problems.)

Hen talked Buck through his first wild weeks when Bobby wanted and did fire him, they played games on the tv together.

They helped Bobby through his rehab and basically developed a siblings relationship where the two of them, along with Chimney, wore Bobby down until he lowered his defenses and let them in.

A cute big sister Hen moment is when Abby comes to the firehouse for the first time and Hen is giving her the third degree, while embarrassing the hell out of Buck and seizing her up on whether she is worthy of her younger brother.

It's not for nothing that Aisha and Oliver are close, they were in this together from the beginning.

Now in S6, Eddie is just getting out of a rough patch and finally looks to be feeling better, same thing with Maddie.

The two closest people in the world to Buck are finally feeling better, and he doesn't want to burden them with his issues.

(A lot like in 5x11 when Eddie sees Buck laughing with the team and walks away because he didn't want to bring Buck's mood down - also fair chance that he was jealous of Lucy, like Buck was of Lena in S3.)

Buck originally went to Hen about the sperm donor thing because she and Karen had been there, and he wanted to know more.

But also Hen is a sounding board to Buck and an excellent secret keeper.

If we're looking farther back Hen was the one to welcome Buck back to the firehouse after the lawsuit and was also the one to stand up for him with Bobby, pointing out respectfully that Bobby is just being an overprotective dad (being respectful while calling him an idiot the entire time 😉).

Buck's connection to Hen is different than the one he shares with Eddie, for obvious reasons.

Imo, the sperm donor issue, falls under the same category as the gfs did. They don't talk about these things. I'm getting more and more convinced that for Buck, Taylor, Lucy, helping another couple to start a family, it must feel like sort of betraying Eddie.

Because they do talk about everything else, the year of possibilities, making captain, Buck's parents, Eddie’s family, everything involving Christopher, and so many other things we don't see but learn that they have talked about them.

When Eddie reluctantly tries to ask Buck about the donation, Buck looks almost traumatized lol which is the exact opposite reaction he had when he talked to Hen.

When Chimney tried to ask, Buck had a "nope, I'm not doing this with you, shut up" look.

But Eddie is different. He falls under husband category, and I will not take any arguments to the contrary.

Now the Buck and Eddie's communication and relationship this season is a whole other post.

But in the spirit of S1 parallels, Hen and Athena are finding their friendship groove again, and Buck reclaims his sibling bond with Hen again.

That doesn't make her more important than Eddie. In fact, it'll probably make her vital to the buddie pairing because if Buck confessed his love for a certain gorgeous medic/firefighter, it would definitely be to Hen.

I will hazard a guess that when Buck gets hurt and ends up in the hospital, we will most likely get a Hen trying to comfort Eddie and be with him until he can see Buck.

#evan buckley #hen wilson #eddie diaz #chimney han #bobby nash #christopher diaz #buddie #911 s1 mini meta #911 s6 mini meta #911 s1 connection to s6 #911 spoliers #911 on fox #911 fox #maddie buckley #118 firefam #deluweil making connections #someone take my phone away!! #911 speculations

[missmagooglie]

The promo for next week is what made it clear that Buck is regressing regressing. All that bullshit he's suggesting to Chim? All those proposals that Bobby (correctly) said were just a list of potential calls?

That's Season 1 Buck talking. That's Early Abby Days, pre She Needs You To Step Inside With Her Buck who wants love and romance but doesn't know what it's supposed to look like. That's a version of Buck who isn't ready for something quite so grown up.

Our Buck, Season 6 Buck, knows better than that. He knows Chimney and he knows Maddie and if he stopped and thought about it for half a second he would realize that a big showy proposal isn't right for them. He'd realize that the right approach is something more personal, more intimate. It's Chimney sitting Maddie down and saying, 'we both know there are plenty of reasons we "should" get married, but let me take a minute to make sure you understand the reasons I want to marry you', and giving Maddie space to express all the reasons she's hesitant rather than putting her on the spot with something public that pressures her into saying yes without a conversation.

Buck's been different since the lightning strike, sure. It was a big event, it had a profound psychological effect. But I think the bigger issue here is that Buck has been growing and changing and maturing for the past 6 seasons and he hasn't had a chance yet to properly acknowledge that to himself and update his self-concept. I think the reason we're seeing Buck regress so hard is because he's consciously trying to act like "the same old Buck", but his understanding of "what it means to be Buck" hasn't kept up with the growth he's been doing.

At the gravesite, Buck says he feels like Natalia "really sees him" - which, let's be real, is an insane thing to say about a person you've just met on a good day. And he's saying it to Eddie, who the writers have made abundantly clear is the one person who most sees Buck and understands him and has seen his growth and his insecurities even when others don't.

But the thing I think Buck is getting from Natalia is actually the opposite of what Buck thinks he's getting from her. When Buck says "she sees me", he means "She only sees this me. She doesn't know the man who died, just the man who woke up again."

And while there is some value in that, mostly in allowing himself to be his "now" self without worrying about how it might or might not align with his past self, I think Buck also needs someone who can help him understand that those two versions of himself are closer to each other than he thinks. And the version of himself he's trying to be for the sake of everyone else (ie "the same old Buck") is not the version of him that his loved ones lost at the top of that ladder.

The lightning strike changed Buck - after all, how could it not? And Buck, being someone who is so used to being left behind, is naturally worried that changing who he is will cause the people he loves to leave. But that isn't something Buck needs to be afraid of, because he's been changing for a long time now and he has people who love every version of him, and will continue to love every version that comes next.

And I keep thinking about that choice to have Christopher fall asleep on the couch just like Buck did, the way it puts Christopher and Buck in the same category for Eddie - that category of "family" and "home". Because Christopher is changing too. He's growing up. The man he is going to slowly become is not the same person as the boy he is now, and it is understood that while some of that growth might be painful it is normal and natural and to be expected. And there is not a single direction in which Christopher could grow that would make Eddie love him even a little bit less.

When Buck realizes that Eddie loves him the same way? That there is no version of Buck that Eddie will not love with his whole heart? And when he doesn't just realize it, but actually believes it?

That's the endgame, baby.

#911onfox #evan buck buckely #eddie diaz #buddie #911 s6 #911 spoilers #911 meta

[sorrelpaws]

i thought it was funny that they got electrocuted by the title

#rick and morty #rick sanchez #morty smith #cold open was cool i guess i like the concept tbh #it would explain a lot of s6 if this entire thing was INTENDED to be like a meta deconstruction etc etc whatever #not much else to say tho idk looking forward to this ep i imagine it might be fun #that wedding joke threw me off tho like its. anytime writers pander to rckrts its like really obvious and almost comically out of character #ok whatever #edit messed with the color a bit