#this doesn't need to be a ship post

[anamateurhumanbeing]

smaller thing but I love Caine and Zooble's continued dynamic.

[fictionadventurer]

How did Treasure Planet manage to come up with the greatest aesthetic in all human history? Victorian elegance plus space-age flair, with just enough dirt and grime and wear and tear to make it feel real? A combination of traditional and computer animation that perfectly embodies the movie's blend of old and futuristic? How does it get any better than that?

[riddlerosehearts]

isabeau's confession at the end of ISAT is constantly living rent-free in my head it's so fucking good. right now i'm obsessed with the way he responds to siffrin saying "i love you too" because just. imagine you're siffrin and for so long now you've believed that you were horrible disgusting manipulative unloved and unworthy of love and yet. your best friend is telling you he loves you. and you feel that you love him too (in what way? the same way that he loves you? you're not quite sure yet, but stars, you feel like your heart is going to burst out of your chest, he means so much to you) so you tell him so.

and he responds by telling you he already knew that because he has eyes.

you're siffrin and you are kind passionate protective and so loved and full of love for your friends, your family, and yet you hate yourself so, so deeply that you don't see any of that but isabeau does. according to him it's written all over your face, apparently--the face you're always trying so hard to hide with your hat, which as the universe would have it, you don't have anymore!! and he sees you and he loves you and he knows you love him back, even after you said and did such horrible, cruel things to him and the rest of your family that you know they didn't deserve, after you almost broke the world trying to keep them by your side, somehow isa understands you and still loves every single part of you. and you love him, you love him, you love him because how could you not?

especially since he also got so excited when you told him you loved him that he shouted "CRAB YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" in your face.

[cheschesterpossum]

My hand slipped👉👈

[sylvieserene]

Something weird I have noticed in the CRK fandom when it comes to ships ESPECIALLY Purelily

I recently saw a tweet on twitter talking about Elderlily and ShadowVanilla on how people should give new ships a shot instead of shooting down them down instantly which IS a valid point BUT the problem starts when they assert the fact that these two ships hold more "merit" and "intimacy" than "other ships" (which in comment section they directly agree it's aimed at Purelily)

This is a HUGE problem I see both in the Elderlily fanbase + ShadowVanilla fanbase. The sheer hate for Purelily.

Like have a look:

Pure Hatred and unwillingness to accept that opinions can co-exist.

Unwilling to see reason when tried to be shown. Only answering in hatred.

Further more...

From starting with generalising Purelily shippers to accusing all Purelily shippers to misinterpret/misrepresent/mischaracterisation PV and WL to accusations of the entire fanbase being bigoted, homophobic, misogynistic or accusing the entire fanbase of being bad including whataboutism posts stating "oh yeah? I wonder which shipper base sent actual death threats and doxxed someone?"

For the record, Im gonna say yes, a few people from specifically the purelily base have done these BUT generalising the entire shipping community as bad and labelling them as problematic is NOT okay.

THE ACTIONS OF ONE HORRIBLE PERSON DOESN'T DEFINE THE ENTIRE FANBASE!

Misrepresentation/Mischaracterisation/Misinterpretation of characters have happened in ALL of CRK shipping communities. That very much includes ShadowVanilla and Elderlily.

So accusing one fanbase of doing those and pretending that it doesn't exist in your space is kinda hypocritical I believe?

No fanbase is exempt from controversy. Every shipping space has had atleast ONE problematic individual (Eg: N*zi ShadowVanilla controversy from Twitter) but now if I start saying "*gasp* I wonder which base drew those horrific things?" Would it make any sense? No. Cuz one person doesn't define an entire fanbase.

So let's make one thing clear, none of the shipping communities are "pure" or "innocent" of anything. All of them have problems and individuals with issues depending on how far you're willing to dig.

So accusing a single shipping community of being horrible while saying others are not is not okay.

Not all ShadowVanilla and Elderlily shippers are good people, same as Purelily shippers.

Which brings me to the point, "It's 2025, grow tf up and stop shipping purelily" mentality which also brings me to my original point lol

These were sent to a purelily artist on Twitter (redbeanyearnin).

Their crime? Shipping purelily.

Look at the civility, ladies and gentlemen! /s

This is also a side of shippers who actually aren't purelily shippers 😊 how naive and innocent messages 😍❤️ /j

But this is the great evidence on how all of these shippers aren't angels. They are the same people accusing Purelily shippers and the ship itself as being horrible.

Im not gonna comment more on this.

But this just proves my point on how no shipping base is angelic. All of them have screwed up individuals.

Anw...

What does year/time have anything to say about what you ship? I see this comment thrown across very frequently in the fandom which does confuse me quite a lot but seriously um why? Is there some sort of subscription that's getting over in these recent years which denies me the right to enjoy something niche? Or I MUST ship what the popular ship is atm?

Just why....? Where does this mentality come from?

More importantly, why does one ship has to be "superior" or have to had more "merit" than the other?

Just why?

Why can't we simply accept our differences in preferences and move on?

Like...I personally don't ship mutual ShadowVanilla, I find the one sided part more compelling but that doesn't mean I will say it's "better" than the mutual one. I can appreciate the mutual one too. Same for Elderlily. I see it as platonic, a familial sort of relationship between a Mentor and Mentee or yes I'm gonna say it Father Daughter.

Personally, I find their age difference extremely uncomfortable which is why the moment I learnt this guy was older than her ancestor's ancestors, I shipped it as platonic. Same for ShadowVanilla cuz age is a factor for me personally but I won't blame others who look past it cuz firstly these are fictional characters and secondly, all of them are immortals so I can understand it although I find it uncomfortable myself.

But even with that, I would NEVER say that Purelily is "superior", has "more merit", better "intimate writing" than said ships irrespective of if they are popular/canon or not.

If you ask for respect towards your shipping preferences, the least you can do is GIVE that respect to others as well. If you don't, then how come you keep the expectation that your opinion will get respected when you can't peacefully co-exist with another part of the fandom who may hold different views than you?

In simpler words, I kinda find it highly disrespectful and hypocritical that some people out here can't keep themselves from attacking others for shipping things differently than them? Like...why?

Why can't we all ship whatever we want instead of shooting down each other's ships and calling one more superior/inferior than the other?

Like for me as an example, I don't like a lot of ships but I either don't share my opinion on it or tend to ignore it instead of going "omg MY ship better! HUH HOW DARE YOU SAY MY SHIP IS BAD"

At the end, Shipping is subjective and we're all here to have fun so instead of playing the blame game on who is worse, who has done more horrible things, why can't we simply focus on the positives?

All ships have merits and demerits. All of them have issues. Heck, even the characters aren't perfect and they also have a plethora of issues.

WL isnt a perfect person, she's morally grey and a highly complex character. PV isn't a baby or a simp who gets jealous everytime someone breaths in WL's direction. EF isn't obsessed with WL as people in the fanbase make him to be. Just like PV, he chose his job over following WL and even when he knew he had a choice to revive her, He didn't instead he kept guarding the tree. SM isn't a good person and has caused several wars, genocides, torture and murder.

NONE of them are as perfect as people make them to be. NONE of the fanbases if considered in majority truly get them.

So it really makes zero sense when ppl say "PV should stay the hell away from WL", "WL is getting between them!"

People really need to stop objectifying these characters just cuz they don't fit their shipping preferences/agendas.

All of these characters and their ships have certain merits and demerits to them so why must we say that one is better than the other?

Why can't we all enjoy what we simply like?

Why can't we just agree to disagree instead of shitting on other's tastes?

Why must ONE particular shipping fandom get the brunt of it?

So tldr, I just wanna say, While it is true, people shouldn't shoot down new things without even giving it a shot but that doesn't mean the new thing is "superior" than the old thing suddenly just cuz one likes it more. If you find it great, that's fine but Idt anyone has the right to say that one thing is more inferior than the other.

Please give the respect to others that you expect. If you get insanely defensive about your own ship but shit on other's shipping preferences then expect to get that back.

You can't be like "Nooooooo don't say bad about my ship! You're a hater" and then be like "damn your taste in shipping SUCKS. This ship is so trash. MY ship is SOOOOO much better :)"

Sorry for this rant. I just find the entire situation of the fandom highly frustrating.

[borgialamb]

[skumhuu]

Proshipper = you're against censorship and harassment over fiction & curate your experience on the internet to have a healthy distance from things that make you uncomfortable

Antishipper = you're okay and even encourage harassment towards "freaks" and "weirdos" society deems acceptable to hurt

[hauntingofhouses]

Very interesting to me that a certain subset of the BES fandom's favourite iterations of Mizu and Akemi are seemingly rooted in the facades they have projected towards the world, and are not accurate representations of their true selves.

And I see this is especially the case with Mizu, where fanon likes to paint her as this dominant, hyper-masculine, smirking Cool GuyTM who's going to give you her strap. And this idea of Mizu is often based on the image of her wearing her glasses, and optionally, with her cloak and big, wide-brimmed kasa.

And what's interesting about this, to me, is that fanon is seemingly falling for her deliberate disguise. Because the glasses (with the optional combination of cloak and hat) represent Mizu's suppression of her true self. She is playing a role.

Take this scene of Mizu in the brothel in Episode 4 for example. Here, not only is Mizu wearing her glasses to symbolise the mask she is wearing, but she is purposely acting like some suave and cocky gentleman, intimidating, calm, in control. Her voice is even deeper than usual, like what we hear in her first scene while facing off with Hachiman the Flesh-Trader in Episode 1.

This act that Mizu puts on is an embodiment of masculine showboating, which is highly effective against weak and insecure men like Hachi, but also against women like those who tried to seduce her at the Shindo House.

And that brings me to how Mizu's mask is actually a direct parallel to Akemi's mask in this very same scene.

Here, Akemi is also putting up an act, playing up her naivety and demure girlishness, using her high-pitched lilted voice, complimenting Mizu and trying to make small talk, all so she can seduce and lure Mizu in to drink the drugged cup of sake.

So what I find so interesting and funny about this scene, characters within it, and the subsequent fandom interpretations of both, is that everyone seems to literally be falling for the mask that Mizu and Akemi are putting up to conceal their identities, guard themselves from the world, and get what they want.

It's also a little frustrating because the fanon seems to twist what actually makes Mizu and Akemi's dynamic so interesting by flattening it completely. Because both here and throughout the story, Mizu and Akemi's entire relationship and treatment of each other is solely built off of masks, assumptions, and misconceptions.

Akemi believes Mizu is a selfish, cocky male samurai who destroyed her ex-fiance's career and life, and who abandoned her to let her get dragged away by her father's guards and forcibly married off to a man she didn't know. on the other hand, Mizu believes Akemi is bratty, naive princess who constantly needs saving and who can't make her own decisions.

These misconceptions are even evident in the framing of their first impressions of each other, both of which unfold in these slow-motion POV shots.

Mizu's first impression of Akemi is that of a beautiful, untouchable princess in a cage. Swirling string music in the background.

Akemi's first impression of Mizu is of a mysterious, stoic "demon" samurai who stole her fiance's scarf. Tense music and the sound of ocean waves in the background.

And then, going back to that scene of them together in Episode 4, both Mizu and Akemi continue to fool each other and hold these assumptions of each other, and they both feed into it, as both are purposely acting within the suppressive roles society binds them to in order to achieve their goals within the means they are allowed (Akemi playing the part of a subservient woman; Mizu playing the part of a dominant man).

But then, for once in both their lives, neither of their usual tactics work.

Akemi is trying to use flattery and seduction on Mizu, but Mizu sees right through it, knowing that Akemi is just trying to manipulate and harm her. Rather than give in to Akemi's tactics, Mizu plays with Akemi's emotions by alluding to Taigen's death, before pinning her down, and then when she starts crying, Mizu just rolls her eyes and tells her to shut up.

On the opposite end, when Mizu tries to use brute force and intimidation, Akemi also sees right through it, not falling for it, and instead says this:

"Under your mask, you're not the killer you pretend to be."

Nonetheless, despite the fact that they see a little bit through each other's masks, they both still hold their presumptions of each other until the very end of the season, with Akemi seeing Mizu as an obnoxious samurai swooping in to save the day, and Mizu seeing Akemi as a damsel in distress.

And what I find a bit irksome is that the fandom also resorts to flattening them to these tropes as well.

Because Mizu is not some cool, smooth-talking samurai with a big dick sword as Akemi (and the fandom) might believe. All of that is the facade she puts up and nothing more. In reality, Mizu is an angry, confused and lonely child, and a masterful artist, who is struggling against her own self-hatred. Master Eiji, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

And Akemi, on the other hand, is not some girly, sweet, vain and spoiled princess as Mizu might believe. Instead she has never cared for frivolous things like fashion, love or looks, instead favouring poetry and strategy games instead, and has always only cared about her own independence. Seki, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

But neither is she some authoritative dominatrix, though this is part of her new persona that she is trying to project to get what she wants. Because while Akemi is willful, outspoken, intelligent and authoritative, she can still be naive! She is still often unsure and needs to have her hand held through things, as she is still learning and growing into her full potential. Her new parental/guardian figure, Madame Kaji, knows this as well.

So with all that being said, now that we know that Mizu and Akemi are essentially wearing masks and putting up fronts throughout the show, what would a representation of Mizu's and Akemi's true selves actually look like? Easy. It's in their hair.

This shot on the left is the only time we see Mizu with her hair completely down. In this scene, she's being berated by Mama, and her guard is completely down, she has no weapon, and is no longer wearing any mask, as this is after she showed Mikio "all of herself" and tried to take off the mask of a subservient housewife. Thus, here, she is sad, vulnerable, and feeling small (emphasised further by the framing of the scene). This is a perfect encapsulation of what Mizu is on the inside, underneath all the layers of revenge-obsession and the walls she's put around herself.

In contrast, the only time we Akemi with her hair fully down, she is completely alone in the bath, and this scene takes place after being scorned by her father and left weeping at his feet. But despite all that, Akemi is headstrong, determined, taking the reigns of her life as she makes the choice to run away, but even that choice is reflective of her youthful naivety. She even gets scolded by Seki shortly after this in the next scene, because though she wants to be independent, she still hasn't completely learned to be. Not yet. Regardless, her decisiveness and moment of self-empowerment is emphasised by the framing of the scene, where her face takes up the majority of the shot, and she stares seriously into the middle distance.

To conclude, I wish popular fanon would stop mischaracterising these two, and flattening them into tropes and stereotypes (ie. masculine badass swordsman Mizu and feminine alluring queen but also girly swooning damsel Akemi), all of which just seems... reductive. It also irks me when Akemi is merely upheld as a love interest and romantic device for Mizu and nothing more, when she is literally Mizu's narrative foil (takes far more narrative precedence over romantic interest) and the deuteragonist of this show. She is her own person. That is literally the theme of her entire character and arc.

[cuddytism]

the turn from cameron and wilson being our house-related co-conspirators to it being cuddy and wilson is so fast you don't even realize it. you go from season 2 to season 3 and all of a sudden wilson and cuddy are around each other so much more, and the premiere of that season solidifies them as our new co-conspiring duo.

i think it's really easy to go through the entire show and feel like wilson and cuddy were close the entire time but... they weren't. prior to season 3 they had very little to do with each other. i wouldn't necessarily call it a relationship retcon; Meaning seems to imply that they had grown closer in the two months between the end of season 2 and beginning of season 3, and even before that with the date in Forever. but there is a very distinct jump in their closeness and likelihood to share a scene or scheme between seasons.

prior to season 3, it was pretty firmly cameron and wilson playing the roles of The Ones That Care About House--not that cuddy didn't care about house at that time, just that she did it solitarily--so i find it interesting that they all but completely ditched the cam/wilson duo for cuddy/wilson in this season.

the reason that i believe this happened is quite the boring one; cuddy needed more screentime, and it evens out the character dynamics. they're trying to solidify her as being a Main Character, now that she's getting her own storylines, as well as the fact that this season is the one where the role of 'love interest' for house undoubtedly shifts to cuddy, where it'll stay for the rest of the show. the closer cuddy gets to house, the closer she has to be to wilson. the less that cameron is interested in house, the less she feels the need to seek out wilson, and vice versa.

it's strange how unnoticable this change is when you aren't paying attention, though. because it doesn't come out of nowhere, it does build, it isn't like wilson and cuddy have never plotted before (hello! Detox!) or that cameron and wilson stopped having scenes together completely. it's just that things are changing. in a way that feels... sort of natural, so it doesn't really catch you off-guard. it's kinda jarring on paper, but in practice i think it works.

character dynamics are changing. character roles are changing. change is a big theme of the season, and though it's quite hammered in by the finale, it starts at the very beginning. with these two!!! there's a reason the first real scene of season 3 is of cuddy and wilson conspiring in her office. it's solidifing this change, without us even realizing it.

[sanasanakun]

People try too hard to make Curly an active participant in Jimmy's abuse. Isn't the whole point that he's passive in everything Jimmy does? Abuse occurs because he actively doesn't do anything? Not to call someone out or be mean, but I saw a post saying Anya's ID being in Curly's locker at the beginning shows that he intended to prevent Anya from filing an HR report and I disagree. I get where that interpretation is coming from, but I think it's a little uncharitable. I don't like being too kind to Curly because he's like...a morally mid dude at best lol But if we're going by the HR report interpretation, I would say it's more likely he requested Anya's ID in order to file an HR report on her behalf. After all, the only way to contact Pony (that we see) is in the cockpit, he's the Captain, and Pony Express sucks bad so I wouldn't put it past them to only allow the Captain to use the communication device thing. As we see before, Curly is the only one able to use tools around the ship that you would think other employees could use (ex. Swansea should be able to use the axe if he's the repair guy. Idk why they'd need an ax but that falls under manual labor which Swansea is designated for as the mechanic/fixer dude. But it has to go through Curly). I never got the vibe that Curly moved to actively protect Jimmy. He just lets things happen without say a word; Jimmy walks all over him, and by extension, the whole crew. I get why people would think that because he gives the whole "Hey Jimmy, we can get through this together, bud" spiel right before the crash. This part interests me a lot because there's so many ways to interpret Curly's intentions there. My interpretation is that Curly is on autopilot mode. The responses seem so stilted in comparison to Jimmy's. Like it's the kind of thing Curly's said before again and again and again when Jimmy's gotten in trouble. However, as others previously pointed out, I don't think Curly ever dealt with Jimmy doing something this irredeemable. He doesn't know how to respond, so he just goes for the default "You've gotten through tough situations before. Work through it one step at a time." Like the response is lame af lol I think he was in shock; he was scared (and just so I can say it one more time: he's super lame).

Anyway, this is way longer than I intended and I've said things a billion people have already stated. But uhhh tldr the whole point of Curly's character is he's passive; he never acts. He just watches. Making him an active participant in the abuse by taking actions to cover for Jimmy (like preventing Anya from filing an HR report) defeats the purpose of his character. He's a bystander.

[necrotic-nephilim]

jealousy really is the driving force of DamiTim as a ship. love that for them. love how Tim has the Robin mantle ripped away from him and he has to suffer the jealousy of watching Dick and Damian bond. how possessive over Dick Tim can be, to have him stolen by Dick.

even more so though, is the jealousy from Damian. how on earth do you cope when you finally get to be Robin, a role you've convinced is your birthright, and no one really likes you? every prefers the Robin who came before you? Dick regularly reminds you that he can always go and call Tim back when you act out? like the complex Damian has over Tim is unreal. Tim, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had everything handed to him his whole life. he never had to struggle or fight for his place like Damian did. Damian has spent his whole life fighting and proving himself, and yet he can't ever seem to truly claw the mantle of Robin away from Tim. even when Tim lets it go, becomes Red Robin, they seem to share it. Tim can slip back into the role of Robin whenever someone like Dick or Bruce need him to, because *he's* the Robin who they need. he's the Robin who was able to find Bruce. he's the Robin that Ra's wants an heir out of. he's the Robin who even Jason respects. in Damian's eyes, everything Damian has fought tooth and nail for, was handed to Tim.

so of course he's going to react to Tim with violence and aggression, especially after finding out Tim has contingency plans for him. no matter how much Damian proves himself, he's never going to be enough, especially not to Tim. and so his deep refusal to see Tim as family, to acknowledge Tim's legacy is all driven by such an angry jealousy. Tim understands aspects of Bruce's legacy that Damian doesn't, like the need to sweet talk and play nice with the elites of Gotham, even if they're corrupt. they exemplify different aspects of Robin, and the aspects that Tim exemplifies are the aspects that Damian knows he'll never fully understand and therefore holds such a deep contempt for. he wants to fight criminals, not play nice with politicians. Tim understands the side of Gotham that's utterly foreign to Damian. if anything, he represents that side of Gotham, to Damian. a pretty little rich boy who's nothing but a know-it-all and not a real son of Bruce. he can't be a Wayne. he can't be Damian's family.

and all of that angry jealousy leading to unhealthy obsession turned a weird, angry crush from Damian is just my bread and butter. that is how DamiTim should be. to me. Damian obsessed over hating Tim Drake so much he accidentally ends up sort of in love with him and that only makes Damian angrier. because he can't prove everyone right by *also* liking Tim. he can't let Ra's win like that, because frankly why wouldn't Ra's be delighted by Damian and Tim getting together. and it builds and builds with angry passive aggression towards Tim that culminates in angry hate-fucking-that's-not-just-driven-by-hate. love and hate are always viewed as opposites in shipping and i think they're the same intense passion just in different directions. and for the best ships, they're very intertwined. what is DamiTim is not the peak of that. "i put so much of myself into hating you i had no choice but to fall in love with you somewhere along the way" core. love that bleeds into hate and hate that bleeds into love. "you make me so angry i regularly passively try to kill you but not with any real effort because who would i obsess over if you were actually gone" core. murder attempts as a form of courting. contingency plans to take each other out as a love language. they're unwell.

[metropolisyuri]

Back on my yuri bullshit. I think the three of them are inseparable but also they tend to bicker a lot

[hvackisser]

I am nothing if I don't follow the whims of my heart wherever they may lead!!! Lazytown self insert!! 😳💖💖

She lives in Lazytown and I'm debating whether to make her Stephanie's cousin or just another citizen, but either way the particular reason she isn't as active as she could be is she's scared of EVERYTHING. Yes, I've thrust upon her my issues with anxiety (inspired partly by the recent wave I've been experiencing over the past few days 😅) she's scared of cars, birds, germs, certain types of bugs, and it leads to her feeling safer at home.

The lessons she learns with Sportacus and the others are to teach that even though the world can be scary, you can overcome it and get out there and experience all the good in it! 🥺💖

Taglist♡: @me-myself-and-my-fos @tiny-cloud-of-flowers @sunstar-of-the-north @dearly-beeloved @adoredbyalatus @changeling-selfship @crushes-georg @miutonium @cherry-bomb-ships @rosieaurora @rejaytionships @sunflawyer @in-true-blue-love @tropicalgothships @little-miss-selfships @cupiidzbow (as always pls let me know if you need to be added or removed!)

[crystallizsch]

“You can’t come after me just because I’m an ‘easier’ target!”

[white-hole-station]

[Headcanon]

The space program took a whole month off of development after Tektite's accident, so that Slate could have the time to perfect their leg. They'd already been working on articulated flaps for in-atmosphere steering for Feldspar's ship - conserves fuel to not use jets for that - and hey, an artificial ankle is just another type of flap to articulate, right?

Gossan wasn't so sure - especially with Slate's full-tilt approach to experimental engineering, at odds with Tektite's trepidation - but all of the founders agreed that the program could wait until their neighbour was back on their feet. And to Slate's credit, Gossan had never seen them show as much sheer methodical focus, before or since. This was somebody's limb here, after all: their ability to move of their own accord, their ability to get out and about in the community and do the things they love, their ability to still feel like their body is their own. Slate was hardly about to phone it in, or risk any wild experiments when it came to Tektite's comfort and requirements.

It took several iterations, and several difficult test walks around the town square gripping Slate's arm, but together the pair of them worked out a final model that's been serving Tektite well to this day.

(...Of course, the dedication and focus that so pleasantly surprised Gossan only made Slate's awkward avoidance of them after their own accident sting even more. Was it really that hard on their poor guilty conscience, to think about doing something similar for a friend, instead of darting their gaze away just short of Gossan's face?)

[leonardcohenofficial]

carter is an egotist to the extent that (especially in the early-middle years) he's self-absorbed and wrapped up in his own world and his own problems, which certainly applies to his teaching style (by the time we get to season five they're starting to really put him through it, which is not an excuse for him being a shitty teacher, but explains a lot of what's going on inside his head LOL). lucy says it best herself when she tells carter in the season five finale, "i think that you're the one who wants to succeed as a teacher, and in order for that to happen i would have to be the perfect reflection of you, and that's not who i am." lucy doesn't have the need for praise that carter does, and him being emotionally withholding to her a la the peter benton playbook doesn't work and ends up coming across as super cruel. take the two scenarios involving the rotation evaluations that come up, the first with peter and carter, the second with carter and lucy. when carter fills out his evaluation of peter, he initially gives him a terrible review because he thinks peter is going to fuck him over, only to find out that peter gave him a glowing review. cut to carter getting pissed off after going through lucy's voice notes (crazy ass!!!!) and telling her to fill out her own evaluation since he thinks she's going to give him a bad one—BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HE WOULD HAVE DONE—only for her to fill it out negatively because she thinks he hates her! and then she turns it in to mark who thankfully had enough sense to figure out something went terribly wrong and makes them both get it together! carter is someone who is genuinely invested in lucy and in being a good teacher, even mentioning how there's so much he wants to teach her, but i think part of the reason why he's so frustrated by her is that the mentorship style that, while it initially drove him insane and concluded in an insane breakup between him and benton, really ended up working for him, simply doesn't work for her because her needs are different. lucy also refuses to feed his ego—which certainly is not her job as his med student—but given the way he worshipped the ground peter walked on, i think is also part of their dynamic worth mentioning

meanwhile lucy—once she gets over some of her initial nerves and quits lying about where she's at with her skill set—is pretty open about her needs specifically for support and assurance that she's doing the right thing. some of her biggest insecurities that she mentions throughout the series is that she isn't doing enough, that she can't save the patients she sets out to, and that people aren't taking her seriously. this is notably distinct from being coddled, as we see one of the only major times lucy digs herself a hole is when she lies about knowing how to put in an IV and lets other people do it for her when she should have told the truth and just learned how to do it herself. lucy's self-assuredness is the other side of the coin of her fear that what she's doing is not enough. i think it's so telling that one of the first bonding moments between lucy and carter is her eighth episode when, despite their best efforts, the patient they were trying to track down a blood donor for might still suffer renal failure. carter, in one of the first moments of gentleness we see him give her, says, "when you do everything that you can—sometimes even more than you thought you could—you gotta walk away knowing you fought the good fight. you fought the good fight, lucy. tomorrow, you'll fight another one." this episode ("the good fight," which i think is actually one of the best of season five) doesn't solve their interpersonal issues but is a key moment in them attempting to not only communicate with each other more but to actually listen to what the other is saying