#And also how he reacts throughout episode 7

[saltpepperbeard]

Hey, felt like being angsty lol.

I was rereading your post about Stede not opening up and how people give him the opportunity to do so but he rejects it. And yes , Ed does do that in episode 6 but when else? Who looks after Stede in the way he looks after others.

This might be unpopular, but I don't think the crew feels the same found family way towards him that they do to each other. Yes, some of his behaviour rubbed off on them, but he doesn't seem like a priority to them. They like the environment he provides but not him, and that makes me sad.

Dammit I just want Stede to get mad and have it taken seriously. Like the last time was when he snapped at ed about Jack , and then Ed left (completely understand why).

...

now anon, why would you Do This. was just minding my business and sipping my silly little gay person iced coffee and was Brutally Attacked PFFF.

But okay, now that my heart has been torn out and is just Chilling On The Floor, I can share your sentiments. Because for REAL; something I want so so bad is for someone to look Stede in the eye and earnestly tell him that he's doing a good job, that he matters, that he's ABLE.

I think they were getting there. I think the seeds of such had been planted. The crew were beginning to adopt his practices and act with the kindness he instilled--one of my favorite examples being Jim using the Wooden Boy story to calm Fang down. And there were some instances where his skills were acknowledged, like Ed telling Lucius and Pete that Stede had things under control, Hellcat Maggie recognizing his "people positive management style" and reacting positively to it, and even Izzy throwing the little 👌 when Stede was assertive.

But like...EARNEST recognition? The same energy he puts out to everyone else??? HE NEEDS THAT.

Like...And THIS might be an unpopular opinion lol, but Ed complimenting him after the British beach fight. Again, we're GETTING somewhere. It's headed in the right direction. But it came from Stede fishing for it, and didn't have the same energy as the exchange between Ed and Zheng. He needs that same acknowledgement, that same EXCITEMENT, that same earnest "WOW you did so well and all your effort was so fucking amazing!!!"

Because he tries so hard! And does so much!

He literally put aside his own grief to make sure the crew made it safely back to the Revenge. He took a breath and acknowledged that the crew did what they had to do for their own safety, when they had killed the very reason Stede was running around the Caribbean. He continued to provide and look out for them even when his own feelings were gnawing away at him, and continued to lift them up whenever he could.

And yet they still found it so easy to walk away from him like pLEASE,,,

Granted, I think him caring for and prioritizing Ed after the events of episode 2 probably created quite the disconnect with the crew. And I think him riding his attention high in episode 7 and subsequently acting out didn't help their perception either.

But like, that's also just it: he CARES, and wants OTHERS to see him as well. He tears out his heart, and really just wants someone to finally catch it and cradle it. He just wants it all to mean something; HE wants to mean something.

SO YES, ANON; #LET STEDE BE EARNESTLY ACKNOWLEDGED 2KFOREVER

[casscainmainly]

An Analysis of Duke Thomas in Wayne Family Adventures

I've been seeing a lot of posts and comments recently concerning Duke Thomas in WFA. I know WFA discourse has been done to death, but these comments were about how they'd only read WFA, felt Duke lacked a personality, his powers weren't distinctive, etc. Out of the main WFA characters, I think Duke has the least-read comics and the least understood canon history. This post is going to dissect WFA!Duke, compare it with canon!Duke, and address whether WFA is a fair representation of Duke or not.

This is not a WFA hate post. A lot of comics readers love WFA and vice versa, and I'm not going to dictate what people should like or dislike. Check out this post I made yesterday about the origins of WFA, which really aren't ill-intentioned. However, judging by the comments/posts I've seen, a lot of people don't know the difference between WFA!Duke and canon!Duke. This post exists to clarify those discrepancies and hopefully encourage more people to read Duke's comics.

The Positives

Let's cover the pros of WFA!Duke first! The sheer fact that he's one of the main characters and present throughout is amazing, allowing more people to learn and get interested in Duke. Since he doesn't have his own ongoing, WFA is about the only place to get consistent Duke content.

Plus look at how cute he is:

His presence also means we get fun interactions with other characters that Duke doesn't get to interact with in canon, such as Steph and Dick. As a diehard Duke-is-Dick's-successor believer, I appreciate any page-time they get together, even if it's not substantial.

Also, WFA season 3 confirmed that Duke can turn invisible without his suit, which is just fun!

Framing

Duke is introduced in the very first episode, and in some ways is the framing device for the entire webtoon. He is "Gotham's Newest Vigilante," learning about the family and the manor.

Many episodes of WFA have Duke asking a question that the others respond to. You can see this in Episode 2 ("The Last Cookie," he asks about their tradition), Episode 7 ("Vigilante Bingo"), Episode 30 ("Driving Lessons"), Episode 39 ("Secret Identity"), all the way to one of the latest minisodes (Mini Episode 3 - Super Friends).

This framing is not completely incorrect, since Duke is the newest addition to the family. The problem with this framing, though, is that Duke's personality and problems are never the focus - in these episodes we learn a lot about the other Batfam, and nothing about Duke.

Take "Vigilante Bingo". We learn so much canon stuff about Dick, Jay, Tim, and Cass, including who's died/come back (Cass and Tim chime in here, which is not very well known in fanon). However, because Duke is the one asking the question, he doesn't get to participate in the answers. This framing makes WFA-only readers learn shockingly little about Duke's prior activities, and they only cover his backstory in episode 76.

Personality

Because of his perpetual outsider status, WFA!Duke's most prominent traits are confusion, timidity, and insecurity.

(I found all these by literally clicking on any thumbnail with Duke in it. He exhibits confusion/timidity/insecurity all the time).

The first two traits - confusion and timidity - is completely antithetical to Duke in canon. Just compare these panels from We Are Robin #6 to a panel from WFA:

Canon!Duke gets shot and thinks to himself: "how baller is that?!". WFA!Duke hears about a booby-trapped lawn and makes that face. This reaction is basically the opposite of the way WAR!Duke would react. I have legitimately no clue how anyone could read We Are Robin or The Cursed Wheel and come away with Duke being timid.

More examples of how canon!Duke acts when confronted with dangerous situations, just for fun:

From We Are Robin #2, we have Duke mouthing off to people he's just met; from Robin War, we have the iconic jumping-out-of-cop-car scene; from Robin War again, we have Duke standing up for one more battle against Damian with absolutely no hesitation.

Duke in canon is headstrong, stubborn to a fault, outspoken, and brave. These qualities just don't come through in WFA.

Insecurity

The third component of WFA!Duke's personality, insecurity, is the only one with some canon basis. Check out this panel from Batman & The Signal #1:

Here, he's struggling with his place in the family, something WFA!Duke also deals with in Episode 75 + 76 ("Worthy"). But I think WFA misconstrued where this insecurity comes from.

Duke's problem is not that he's a meta, it's that he's a meta with "powers no one understands yet". A "walking detective case," so to speak. His insecurity stems from his lack of understanding around his powers, because at this point he doesn't know about Gnomon. WFA somehow turns this into a problem with the powers itself:

This is simply not supported in canon. Duke has no problems using his powers; even in Batman & The Signal, the peak of his canon insecurities, he literally says "go, go ghost vision" (god I love him). Moreover, his powers come from his mom. Saying that Duke feels he needs to prove he's worthy "in spite of" his powers is a complete misreading of Duke's canon feelings. Which leads to my next point:

Family

"Worthy" positions Duke's powers in opposition to Bruce's approval, and though the episode ends with Duke accepting himself, it's clear throughout WFA that his biggest parental figure/source of approval is Bruce.

WFA!Duke talks and thinks about Bruce more than he does his mom and dad, which is genuinely mind-boggling. Canon!Duke talks about his parents basically every single page. It's one of the most consistent aspects of his character!

From We Are Robin #2, Batman & The Signal #1, The Cursed Wheel Part 1, and Batman: Urban Legends #19. Duke's parents are only mentioned in "Worthy" as part of his traumatic backstory, but Duke's parents aren't backstory - they're alive. By neglecting the importance of Duke's parents, WFA is ignoring a fundamental aspect of Duke's character and making him seem like just another orphan.

This panel from Episode 118 is hilarious in the context of canon!Duke waffling on about his parents 24/7. But the erasure of Duke's parents is symptomatic of another problem with WFA.

Supporting Cast

Duke's first multi-parter is Episodes 8/9/10, "Crush". In this episode, Duke asks a girl out, and then she breaks up with him.

First of all, compared to other two-parters (all of Cass', Dick's "Big Brother", Steph's "Belonging", hell even Tim's "Better and Brighter"), this two-parter is incredibly detached from Duke's character. All you learn is that he gets crushes and doesn't like break-ups, which isn't character-specific at all.

Secondly, using an OC as Duke's girlfriend is so bizarre given Duke has 1 canon love interest. Here, I googled it:

Imagine the story we could've gotten with Izzy instead; with them having canon history, this two-parter would've been a lot more impactful, and introduce We Are Robin characters to a WFA audience. I'd also like to point out the difference in how these relationships begin:

Another example of WFA introducing timidity into a scenario where canonically, Duke played it extremely cool (from We Are Robin #9).

WFA uses none of Duke's supporting cast. To be fair, Duke's supporting cast isn't well known, but isn't WFA a perfect low-stakes place to spotlight unknown characters? Harper gets appearances, and she's been neglected by canon for ages. Tim gets to have Bernard, Jason gets literally all of his Outlaws, and there's even a KonCass cameo!

There's a reason why the top comment on every single one of the Crushed eps doesn't even mention Duke.

Shouldn't Duke-centric episodes have comments about Duke? The story is so vague and widely applicable that there's nothing about Duke to comment on, so the spotlight is shifted onto the other Batfam members. If the story had included Duke's supporting cast, think about how much more we could've learned about Duke himself.

Side note: why on Earth is Luke Fox Duke's go-to mentor? They have next to no canon interactions, and while having a Black mentor is something Duke probably needs, he already has one. Batman and The Outsiders sets up the Duke and Black Lightning relationship really nicely. Not to mention in "Worthy," Duke's problem is about having powers, which makes Luke Fox's inclusion (as a non-meta) baffling. Black Lightning would've been perfect!

Conclusion + Wishlist

This is the top comment on Episode 76. I think I've demonstrated how untrue this is, because WFA!Duke doesn't even touch the worst of canon!Duke. WFA!Duke has next to no defining characteristics, which contributes to him being the 'boring' or 'sane' one. To any WFA-only readers, please don't think this is representative of Duke as a whole; reading even just the first issue of We Are Robin shows how interesting and full of personality he really is.

It's disappointing because WFA is a lot of people's only exposure to the Batfam, and portraying Duke like this has only caused them to misinterpret his character. However, there has been improvement - they're beginning to mention his backstory a lot more, which means they've read some of his comics. I still believe they can turn it around!

Here's some improvements they could make, along with some things I want expanded upon:

Stop using Duke as the outsider/newbie character. It's been over 100 eps, he doesn't need that anymore!

Mention his supporting cast, or at the very least mention his parents more

Expand on his canon relationships with Damian, Cass, and Jason, they deserve to be close!

Use his detective abilities/affinity for puzzles

Mention his dislike of heights

Involve him in more shenanigans

I don't have FastPass but please bring Duke back into the fold of S3!!

[bird-inacage]

Only Friends: How Mew criticises Ray VS How Sand criticises Ray

Something I've really noticed since Episode 4 is the increasing distinction between how Mew and Sand school Ray. The scenes in Episode 6 and Episode 7 provide a perfect point of comparison. Both Mew and Sand use the phrase 'love yourself' towards Ray but the tone and delivery is completely different.

Unsurprisingly, what Ray desperately needs in his life is a mother figure. Someone who can be firm and stern when necessary but still caring at the same time. Sand's approach feels better suited to Ray in this respect.

Sand starts by acknowledging that Ray's hurting but it doesn't excuse his behaviour and it isn't going to stop Sand from calling it out. He makes sure to explain why it's problematic, why it's hurtful, why it's dangerous. Sand's words are driven by concern. He's even worried about the guilt Ray would have to shoulder if he did hurt anyone else.

Whereas in the scene with Mew, he makes immediate assumptions (I still maintain that Ray was not high here, he looked pretty darn sober throughout the bathroom scene to me), but that's where Mew's mind goes. His question "why don't you love yourself at all?" implies that Ray doesn't have any self-respect to take care of himself, and so what he's saying sounds driven by disappointment. Mew's tone also carries an air of exasperation, 'I've told you again and again'. @thatgirl4815 does a great job of commenting on Mew's attitude towards Ray in Episode 6 (here).

After Sand has said what he needs to say, he still doesn't want Ray to feel too bad. Sand's little pat on Ray's knee is an attempt to soften the blow, paired with a slightly helpless feeling of, 'I just want what's best for you'.

Now let's observe how Ray reacts when schooled.

Ray may not always implement the stern talking to he's getting, but you can tell that when with Sand, Ray is listening. He doesn't try to deflect, retort or dodge. He usually looks guilty. Guilt suggests remorse. Which means you realise what you've done is wrong. Whereas Ray's initial reaction to Mew is slight shock. This is the biggest indication to me that Ray wasn't getting high here. When he finally responds to Mew, it's brushed off with a laugh - 'yeah, yeah, I'm fine, it's nothing, no matter' - it doesn't seem like any of what Mew's said has really sunk in, just that Ray doesn't want him to dwell on this point any further.

How Mew delivers his pep talk feels authoritative, 'I told you to quit using drugs' (and you didn't listen). Your mistake is not taking my advice. On the other hand, Sand never once says anything along the lines of, 'I told you so, I warned you, I tried to stop you'. It's not about Ray following his orders, it's Sand providing Ray with the context to hopefully avoid making reckless decisions for himself in future.

Mew seems to have accepted Ray's inability to change, and his criticisms are merely a matter of routine at this point. Whereas Sand seems genuinely driven to encourage Ray to do better for both the sake of himself and others around him.

[agent-troi]

scully and mulder's dynamic visibly changes after the onset of the season of secret sex

i've been thinking about how dd and ga deliberately played season 7 like mulder and scully were sleeping together, and i think there's solid evidence of that in the differences in how scully reacts to mulder appearing to show interest in another woman before and after the season of secret sex begins (i'm using millennium as the before/after divider bc i think that's what dd and ga decided, but this is based on my vague memory of a reddit comment about it which is how i first learned that the season of secret sex was a thing)

so overall there's an undercurrent of insecurity, borne of scully's uncertainty regarding precisely how mulder feels about her and what her place is in the hierarchy of things that are important to him in his life, that exists in the pre-millennium incidents and is glaringly absent post-millennium:

before millennium:

(i'm not gonna include phoebe/fire here bc i don't think scully's awareness of her feelings had yet risen to the point where she'd be truly jealous, i'd characterize her in that ep as largely protective of mulder and unwilling to let him deal with phoebe's games alone. it also helps that he's clearly not happy phoebe is back in his life again, unlike his much more positive reaction to diana)

war of the coprophages- the second scully finds out about bambi, she immediately hops in her car and drives up to miller's grove to join mulder, bc letting him investigate cockroaches alone was fine but god forbid he spend quality time investigating an x-file with an attractive female scientist who isn't herself- that's their thing!!

syzygy- to be fair the planetary alignment situation was exacerbating her- and mulder's- behavior here, but her jealousy of and hostility to detective white were still real, even if she would've been able to rein in her emotions better under normal circumstances.

diana fowley arc- i think this speaks for itself, lol

alpha- this is an interesting period in their relationship: after most of the diana shit is over, but before the tension between them is fully resolved (a process which to me begins with milagro/the unnatural and ends with amor fati, but that would be its own post lol).

other than introducing himself to karin as "fox" (maybe as a way to appeal to her preference for canids lol) and thus implicitly giving her permission to call him by his first name (which she proceeds to do throughout the episode), mulder doesn't seem to show much in the way of attraction to her.

even when he touches her hand to move the mouse, he's more interested in what's on the screen than in paying attention to her:

karin, however, is visibly affected by the contact, a fact which scully immediately notices:

later in the car, they have this convo, the last line of which is so heavily laden with diana subtext it's not even funny:

scully's reaction to karin is similar to her reaction to phoebe in that she's motivated mainly by wanting to protect mulder from his own naive, trusting nature, and from someone she believes is seeking to take advantage of it, rather than being motivated primarily by jealousy and defensiveness. she doesn't really believe that karin is a genuine threat to her relationship with mulder, but with diana still fresh in her memory she can't afford to not be vigilant. hence why she confronts karin alone later:

here scully demonstrates that she somewhat empathizes with karin (mulder is also someone who challenges her, makes her feel fulfilled and happy and alive). karin's response indicates that she has correctly deduced the basis of scully's dislike/distrust of her, and also acknowledges scully is the dominant one as it relates to the territory (mulder) that they are sparring over.

scully looks away at karin's "feminine wiles" comment, revealing the nagging insecurity about her place in mulder's life that diana's arrival exacerbated and that will continue to plague her until amor fati.

after millennium:

rush- when mulder looks back at chastity in the hallway, scully's reaction is to possessively grab mulder's sleeve and pull him away into the interrogation room:

and his response is to laugh and say "what?" like he doesn't know he belongs to her and only her.

keep in mind this happens just before they interrogate tony reed, and right after they finish interrogating him this shit happens:

i already made a post last week about how insanely flirty they are in this episode, but this scene!!

she's pouting and giving him big doe eyes and playing with his tie!! at work!! in public!! she feels comfortable staking her territory in such an obvious way (also playful rather than hostile) bc she's not longer insecure about her place in his life!! i can never be normal about this i'm sorry ssdfgksdgsjdkfhkjsdf

first person shooter- when mulder checks out jade blue afterglow as she's leaving, he leans so far over in such an obvious, exaggerated way, almost as if he's deliberately trying to get a rise out of scully, but all she does is raise her eyebrows at him and lean over to block his view (while smirking):

and then he says he's "feeling the great need to blast the crap out of something", an almost direct quote of scully's line from their convo in the autopsy room right before they went down to the station:

and her response is to SMILE at him!!

pre-millennium scully would absolutely not have reacted this way in this situation. just like in rush, the insecurity that previously haunted scully whenever mulder seemed to be close to or interested in another woman is utterly absent here. they're joking and teasing and enjoying each other's company like they've always done, but there's a different dimension to it now. pre-millennium mulder would never have made a show of checking out another woman like that right in front of scully (unless a planetary alignment is affecting his behavior ofc lol), and pre-millennium scully would never have found it amusing.

(side note: people were debating on twitter a while back about whether this scene was ooc for mulder, and tbh i'm not sure what my own opinion is bc to me the whole episode has an air of... unreality? idk but it gives me similar vibes to post-modern prometheus, like maybe it's real or maybe it's just someone telling a story or it's somewhere in between, and it's also got that same unserious feel idk how else to describe it)

anyway, back to my main point, which is: dd and ga are damn good actors in the way they were able to subtly telegraph this shift in mulder and scully's dynamic. one might be able to argue that the insane flirting throughout season 7 isn't by itself evidence of the season of secret sex bc on some level they've always been like that, but to me these specific interactions provide important clues that the nature of their relationship has changed.

[cartoon-cass]

Murder Drone episode 7 & 8 trailer analysis

This is the first bit of Murder Drone news we've had in a while so I'm biting at the chance to do some analysis. I'll do new dialog first as there isn't much of it.

"hahaha thanks for giving me the planet. Fricking idiot."

This is said by CYN or Absolute Solver, which ever one you want to call them. At first I thought this was a thing that happen in present time but that seems like a pretty big plot twist to put in the trailer so more then likely it's either what happen when Copper-9 core collapsed or what happened to Earth.

"All I know is I need you. [We'll] figure things out, together?"

I put the "We'll" in square brackets as I'm not a 100% sure that's what he says, theirs a loud crash right before it and there are no subtitles so can't be sure. N is not having a good time, poor baby. I'm guessing Uzi found out about the whole kill all infected worker drones and N is comforting her that he won't kill her.

On to the images now.

This shot is pretty dark and we get no context about it but it appears to be some sort of man made cave system, with wooden support beams and a wooden crate with what appears to be an old timey gas lamp. The hole in the wall is made out of fleshy growths with human skulls and rib cages, the fleshy growths are reminiscent to other fleshy stuff the Absolute Solver has made and the human remains are likely from the scientist or other types of workers unlucky enough to be in the blast radius when the hole was created. My money is on one of those Null black holes like the one Uzi made in Episode 6.

Uzi and N hug UwU. All jokes aside they appear to be in some sort of church, surprisingly clean for what I have to assume is god knows how far underground. The hug seems pretty desperate so they seem to have been separated from each other, as shown in the next shot, also Tessa or Doll are nowhere to be found.

This is the best shot I could get of this scene. N is being dragged on the floor into the hole by eldritch hands, this seems to be the same spot as the first image. N is grabbing something and for the life of me I have no idea what it could be but N seems to think it's important, It's not a core, maybe a human heart but that is a big maybe, but it's my best guess.

Here we see 2 sentinels chained up and a giant church, the sentinels are probably guarding it. At first I thought it was raining in this scene but on closer inspection it's actually stalagmites and stalactites, which means their definitely underground. there's a human skull on the bottom right and in red, possibly blood, is written null, there other words on the column right behind it too but it's to hard to read it.

In this frame you can better see that there's a banner on the church that says, "Lab space for rent" there seems to be red tape on it with other text but that's way to small to even guess at what it's saying. There's also a miner helmet and a bloody pickaxe, given the blood I'm guessing this was for a human and not a drone.

The sentinels seem to be reacting to some sort of light but the source of the light is not seen but it's from above, which is why I first confused it for lightning but given their underground that seems unlikely.

The only thing we see of Tessa and it's slamming Nori's locker closed, there was nothing in the locker if you were wondering. I love the little drawings, hopefully we get to see more of Nori she seems to be an interesting character .

Something weird I noticed is that thing in the bottom left corner it's not there for one frame and the next it's there and I have no idea what it could be. It's probably nothing and maybe just a result of editing for the trailer but I thought I mention it.

Look at them their so cute. I think they heard something and turn around to see what it is, likely after the hug but no idea. the light there facing is red and it persists throughout the next few shots too, maybe it's Doll, the eldritch thing from earlier or both, eldritch Doll.

Uzi is holding a crucifix of all things??? Also Uzi does not seem ok, she seems to move weird.

This frame shows that Uzi has some sort of image on her screen, or her screen is off with no eye lights and it's reflections, it's really hard to tell, but I think it's the first as the frames before this where her head is down has the same thing which wouldn't be if it's reflections.

At first I thought there was a disassembly drone in the background but it appears to be a light fixture, though it doesn't seem to do a lot of help as it's dark as hell down there. Also Rip N's hand. I think there might be a N and Uzi fight but I doubt either of them wants that.

It's interesting their leaning heavily on the Christian theming, it's always been there, the disassembly have wings and halos, head band lights, and where even referred to as sky demons, but they've never been so upfront. If I'm reading them right N is meant to be an angel or a fallen angel and Uzi a demon but what that means for the episode I'm not sure.

[pyxilatezero]

Need I say more?

I think the people, objectively, have spoken.

if I were to add in my opinion you’d see that I contributed a few fanfics to the mix

Main reason for my dislike of White Knight: I hate Jaune and Weiss is my favorite character, so I think she deserves better. I know some people won’t say this is a valid reason but Jaune originally and currently isn’t written very well. You basically have to give him his own episode to flush out his plot line, (like in the first season and every season afterwards where he’s important) and he’s not a main character so he takes up screen time. (They do the same with Oscar and the rest of JNPR Instead of doing a JNPR episode, they do each of them individually with sprinkles of plot in between) Honestly, a relationship between him and Weiss would be a bad idea. Case in point:

Volume 1 White-knight Moments:

Jaune unsuccessfully flirting with Weiss (+1)

Volume 2 White-knight Moments:

Jaune unsuccessfully flirting with Weiss (+1)

Volume 3 White-knight moments:

… PYRRHA! (-1)

Volume 4 White-knight moments:

… (No interaction; no points awarded or deducted)

Volume 5 White-knight moments:

Jaune does a common courtesy and saves Weiss’s life (does not count; he would react the same for anybody- ‘nO hE wOULdn’T’ shut up Victoria if any of your friends were dying you’d save their life) [+0.5]

Volume 6 White-knight moments:

…

Volume 7 White-knight moments:

…

Volume 8 White-knight moments:

…

Volume 9 White-knight moments:

Weiss admires Jaune over the fact that he’s mature, and supports him like a good friend after Ruby runs away. He reverts to his old form, and we never hear from them again. (+2)

Total score: 3.5/9 (trying to be generous, I really am)

Main reason for liking Whiterose: Enemies to friends to lovers is an adorable trope, and they get a lot of screen time together in the first few seasons. Also, Monty himself shipped them. While I won’t say Whiterose is objectively better than White Knight, I am going to say that when I include my own opinion, it is better. Weiss and Ruby’s relationship feels more like a slow burn than Yang and Blake’s. We get scenes that could be interpreted that way in almost every season since Volume one. Let me go through them, and to show how unfair this is, I’m not allowed to add more than 1.5 points:

Volume 1 Whiterose Moments

Ruby and Weiss are off to a rocky start, but slowly warm up to each other as time goes on, and they get closer. They have a mildly, could-be considered romantic moment where Weiss makes Ruby coffee so she can stay up to study. (+1)

Volume 2 Whiterose Moments

In the food fight, Ruby dramatically catches Weiss when she falls and pretends to cry over her. (Not really much, but it’s something). Ruby and Weiss consistently pair up to get things done throughout the season, especially when looking into information about Cinder. (+1)

Volume 3 Whiterose Moments:

Supporting each other when Winter gets there (that is Volume 3, right?), excellent teamwork in the first stage of the Amity Arena battle, and Weiss’s concern for Ruby when she disappears. (+1)

Volume 4 Whiterose Moments:

Thinks about each other, but otherwise, nothing. (No points awarded or deducted)

Volume 5 Whiterose Moments:

Weiss remember’s Ruby’s coffee taste. While this could be something any friend does, they spend time together, reflecting over beacon, and Weiss helps Ruby’s sister Yang through an implication that she’s doing it for team RWBY, but especially their eccentric fluffball of a leader. (+1.5)

Volume 6 Whiterose Moments:

Ruby saves Weiss on the train, Weiss saves Ruby in the battle against the mech, and they spend time together in the village with the grim. I should give two points here but I’m loyal to my word. (+1.5)

Volume 7 Whiterose Moments:

Ruby and Weiss sitting together during training, and Weiss supporting Ruby when the team splits up. (+0.5)

Volume 8 Whiterose Moments:

Supporting each other all throughout the volume by working together, and acting as teammates and partners. (+0.5)

Volume 9 Whiterose Moments:

Ruby supports Weiss after her being upset about the fall of Atlas. (Jaune’s interaction with Weiss, -1 point- would have been two, though)

6/9

In any scenario, Whiterose wins. Im sure other people could come up with reasons to disprove me, or say I’m biased (I am, this is in no way objective), but these are the things I saw with my own eight eyes because I own three pairs of glasses, and heard with my (admittedly failing) teenage ears.

I’m sure I’ll get flak for this from both sides of the shipping community, because admittedly, the RWBY fandom can be toxic (but it’s almost any fandom at that point) saying I either graded White Knight too harshly or I gave too many or too few points to Whiterose, and I also did all of this off the top of my head, so I apologize for my many mistakes. I have two last statements:

Rosegarden: 0/9

Oscar is 14 and Ruby is 17. If I, the same age as Oscar as of 2023, would not date Ruby at that time, it’s probably wrong. When it comes to relationships for younger people, it’s best to avoid age gaps larger than 2 years. It’s also best to avoid relationships altogether until you can at least go for a learner’s permit. I rest my case.

edit 3: alright, some people have corrected me on the age part, apparently he’s fifteen. I don’t hate Rosegarden, but something about Ozpin and Oscar being the same person makes me really uncomfortable (again, as someone who is younger). Thats the only reason I didn’t give it any rating- it just feels too close to, well… I don’t really have to say it. Especially when the whole point of things is that Oscar and Ozpin are becoming the same person.

Bumblebee: 8/9

It’s canon, bro. It does feel slightly forced at times, but they’re a strong couple who supports each other and helps each other through trauma. You go girls, lesbians all the way (insert lesbian pride flag here)

edit: got someone sending in a message about neither ever going to be canon. You’re right, but thank you so much for crushing a high schooler’s hopes and dreams. Have a nice day

edit 2: I prefer icerose over whiterose but I’ll get what I can take (canon ruby x ice Queendom Weiss). This is just an overall argument.

[ranchthoughts]

The Mundanity of Meanness

@waitmyturtles' posts over the last few episodes of Only Friends (1, 2) have got me thinking.

There's so much casual cruelty among the friend group of Boston, Cheum, Mew, and Ray - all the little pointed comments or assumptions that always jump to the worst faith/most uncharitable conclusion. Mew's birthday at the bar was ripe with them - Cheum happily saying everyone has a lover, even "a heartless slut like Boston," while Ray is sitting right there; Mew assuming Ray was in the bathroom to get high, then lecturing him and saying he won't live past 30, etc. - but we've seen it throughout the show. Remarking to the professor that Boston won't do anything, as expected... not worrying about how Ray got home or why he isn't answering his calls because he is probably drunk... and so on. In their interactions with each other they've come to tolerate, to expect, meanness and toxicity.

The newcomers to the friend group aren't exempt either - look at what Sand puts up with from Ray, or what Nick puts up with from Boston. I thought it was interesting that the most sincere and heartfelt apology in episode 7 was from Sand to Nick - Sand really seemed to grasp how his comments and actions hurt Nick, even if he doesn't agree with his life choices. It puts into perspective the behaviour of the core four's friend group, where the apologies last episode were mostly insincere or forced in some way. Sand and Nick seem to have lived a life with less of this mundane meanness around, compared to the friend group - they aren't used to treating each other poorly.

The moment that really caught my attention this episode was Boston at the pool fight scene saying "It was unintentional" when pushed to apologize to Mew for sleeping with Top. Mew is pissed ("Unintentional, my ass"), but I think in a lot of ways it was! Boston wanted to sleep with Top. He did. End of story. Obviously, Boston also has his superiority complex about Mew and they have their ideological war around sex going on, and sleeping with Mew's boyfriend does contribute to Boston "winning" in those areas, but Boston also just doesn't think of consequences, he doesn't think about other people. That's what this friend group is all about: YOLO and living in the moment, being self-absorbed.

However, even if the results of their actions were "unintentional," that doesn't absolve Boston or any of the other characters from the hurt they cause. Impact vs. intention. Boston might not have intended to get Mew SO upset at his sleeping with Top (Boston has a different mindset than Mew around sex and exclusivity), Mew might not have intended to drum up Top's fire trauma when he burned the sketch, Ray might not intend to wound Sand with every comment about his lifestyle, but they need to realize/learn that other people are coming at things with their own baggage and through their own lenses and that they need take accountability for their actions and words, even if they themselves don't see harm in them. What might not be a big deal to them might be a big deal to someone else.

The final point I've been musing on is at the simple, everyday, mundanity of all this. Often as fans we've been looking for connections, for forethought and calculation in the actions of the characters, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, I think its important to acknowledge that real harm can come too from unintentional or unthinking actions or comments. It doesn't always have to be a carefully thought out evil plan or a targeted attack. Sometimes people just do what's best for them and don't think about how others would conceive of or react to their actions... especially young people and especially self-absorbed wealthy young people.

[charly1902]

Analysis of Charles and Edwin's friendship/love: a thread #DeadBoyDetectives

1/ Right from the start, it's clear that they've known each other for a long time. They know each other, they know how to react and how the other will react, and beyond that, they're really complementary, which we can see from the very first scenes of the series, particularly in their different approaches (mental for Edwin and physical for Charles) to solving a case.

2/ Later, in this same first episode, we also discover their complementary way of being. Edwin is fussy, organised, cold and thinks a lot before doing anything, and can even be described as "uptight". On the other hand, Edwin is much more spontaneous, unthinking, funny and cheerful (at least at the time, that's what we see of him).

3/We also immediately see the attachment they feel for each other. From the very first minutes, they both express their desire to stay together, hiding from death so as not to be separated. What's more, Charles' instinct to protect Edwin is immense throughout the series. Whether it's the Cat King's attitude towards him or the boxing training he undergoes to learn how to defend himself.

4/ Still in this first episode, we have the arrival of an element that will upset this balance, Crystal. Charles, unlike Edwin, likes her quite quickly, but we begin to see that the relationship between the two becomes a little strained by a difference of opinion about whether Crystal is welcome or not. After 30 years of just the two of them, it's understandable that Edwin seems to be jealous of Crystal, who has Charles' undivided attention. But then again, you might think it's just friendly jealousy, or maybe just a lack of familiarity with a third person on their team.

5/ It's in episode 2 that we realise (in a way, at the same time as Edwin) that this isn't just friendly jealousy but something deeper than that. The arrival of the Cat King shows Edwin something he didn't want to see, his romantic love for Charles. This creates a real rift in their relationship. Edwin becomes hateful to Crystal and Charles can't understand why Edwin is so strange and refuses to talk to him about what's bothering him. For his part, Edwin is kind of hurt by how nice it is for him to have someone new their age (and alive too).

6/In episode 3, this is further emphasised by Crystal and Charles talking in front of Edwin and Niko about how much they like each other and how much further they could go together without any problems. For Edwin, this reinforces the rift between him and Charles by his desire to have a relationship with Crystal, but also by Edwin's inexperienced/"uptight" side, as he realises that he's not on the same wavelength as Charles, who thought he was. (Still in friendship, I mean, they never seem to have talked about it).

7/ In this episode, the crack in their relationship almost reaches its climax. We discover Charles' violent past with his father. Charles is going through hell with this violent father who slaughters his family over and over again. At this point, Edwin discovers another side of Charles that he didn't know before, and at the same time realises that Charles would rather talk to Crystal than him about it. But for all that, Edwin still loves Charles, and it's this paradoxical feeling that will trouble him enormously over the next few episodes. He sees both his best friend of 30 years, whom he knows by heart, and he discovers a complete stranger in this episode.

7bis/ It's worth noting Charles's great distrust of Monty from the start, which could be akin to a feeling of rejection of his best friend with a friend he doesn't know and doesn't really like at first.

8/ This paradoxical aspect of knowing Charles and at the same time not knowing him is once again supported in the fourth episode. First of all, Edwin plucks up the courage to talk to Charles, explaining that if he needs to talk, he's there for him. Charles politely refuses. Edwin feels a fracture again, understanding that Charles doesn't feel the need to discuss it with him. However, he is still very disturbed by his new feelings for Charles, looking at him intently for several seconds.

9/ As a viewer, in this episode we learn even more about the circumstances of Charles' death and his behaviour. But for Edwin, it's all the same: he discovers a violent Charles who even sends someone into the belly of a fish to protect him and Edwin. However, Charles doesn't seem to realise how extreme his actions are, once again coming into conflict with Edwin.

10/ At the end of this episode, we witness a heartbreaking scene in which Charles finally expresses himself. He explodes with sadness as he explains that he didn't feel ready to die, that he hates the fact that he's dead and that he's keeping a smile on his face because Edwin isn't the positive type and prefers to react cheerfully to everything to balance things out and keep his spirits up. Edwin falls flat on his face, hurt by Charles's words. But Charles continues, this time on another subject, the fact that he's good for nothing, pointing out that he can't reassure Edwin about what's happening to him. This shows us that the situation doesn't suit Charles at all either. Up until now, we've seen him detached from it all, occasionally trying to find out what's bothering Edwin but not seeming to be hurt that he's not responding. In truth, he's just as hurt by Edwin's silence as Edwin is by his own. At the end of this scene, he even rejects Edwin's reassuring hand, showing once again the chasm that has been created between them. At the end of the episode, Edwin again reminds Charles who can talk to him, Charles nods and heads off to Crystal's room. I find this scene quite striking. The 2 characters are pitted against each other and end up in opposite rooms. This can be seen as a reminder of the characters' estrangement from the beginning.

11/ At this point, the two find themselves in a new situation with new people in their team and a misunderstanding between the two of them that disturbs them enormously and which really reaches its climax in this episode (in my opinion).

12/ However, in the following episode, we notice a desire on the part of the 2 friends to get closer again, finding themselves once more in a case they know and can handle as usual. On the one hand we have Charles telling him that he kissed Crystal, which is a bit disturbing for Edwin but we can see that he's still trying to get interested, but he still manages to come back to the fact that Charles doesn't like being dead. Charles realises at this point that Edwin was really hurt by his words and that he was still thinking about it. So he reassures him, explaining that he was very angry and that if he's going to be dead, he's delighted it's going to be with him, his best friend. Edwin feels better after these words and things seem to be slowly returning to normal.

13/ Things continue to be positive for both boys as, at the end of the episode, Charles finally confides in Edwin about his desire to be a good person, not to be like his father and his distress at the anger he's been feeling all the time lately. Once again, Edwin reassures him that he's not a bad person. The scene ends with a hug, which seems to please Edwin but also upsets him a little.

14/ We finally understand at the end of the episode that Edwin has finally accepted his feelings for Charles and so he explains to Monty how he feels. This episode is a sign of renewal in their relationship. After a long, dark period when the two couldn't understand or get along with each other, here the two protagonists finally talk to each other and accept their feelings. They also accept themselves. It's a really lovely episode where you get the feeling that things are finally going to work out.

15/ In episode 6, there isn't much to say about the relationship between the two, with the stories focusing instead on Monty and Crystal and David. However, we still get a nice show of love and protection from Charles for Edwin when they're both caught by Teeth Face and, faced with the possibility of their demise, Charles puts his hand on Edwin's as encouragement. This is a particularly beautiful scene too, as we can see that Charles is frightened by the idea of disappearing, but at this point he prefers to be reassuring with Edwin rather than lamenting. We can assume that, for Charles, Edwin will always come first whatever the circumstances, which makes us wonder about the nature of the love Charles feels for Edwin.

16/ So at the end of episode 6, we had Edwin being dragged back to Hell by a creature, leaving Charles totally helpless and distraught. Within minutes of this happening, we see a Charles determined to find a way to get Edwin back to him. Once again, he thinks no further than that, by which time he is already sure to be going to Hell to look for Edwin. Finding no other solution, he even agrees to the Night Nurse's deal, obliging them to return to her once he's managed to find Edwin. At this point, he prefers to leave his "life" on Earth and go to the Beyond if it means having Edwin by his side.

17/ At the same time, we discover the true circumstances of Charles's death and his meeting with Edwin. And so we understand why they are so close. In both cases, they were the first people to meet in their new "lives". Charles is dying and has learnt a lot about death from Edwin, and Edwin has just escaped from hell and discovers a Charles who is about to go through the same stage as him: dying by someone else's hand without ever having asked for anything. However, what really stands out for me is Charles' trust in Edwin from the outset. He asks no questions and seems at ease with him even though he doesn't know him. Edwin is the same: he's not frightened, he's happy to spend the last moments of Charles's life by his side, and he naturally confides in him that he's a ghost. Right from the start, he seems connected by something, without knowing what would happen next, they both trusted each other in a situation where they should no longer trust others because of their past. This trust has evolved into a totally natural, fusional relationship that makes them, in my opinion, true soul mates.

18/ And it's clear from the start that they love each other beyond measure. Even though they don't seem to realise the extent of their relationship and how lucky they are to know each other in death, they would do anything for each other without hesitation.

19/ Charles's arrival in Hell shows us how determined he is to find Edwin. As he passes through the different rooms, he doesn't understand what Edwin has been through. It's only when he reaches him that he realises what his best mate went through during those 70 years in Hell. When he finds him, he immediately tries to reassure her, using a series of gentle gestures towards Edwin. You can see in his eyes how relieved he is to have found him. But Edwin is both delighted to see him and panicked. First, he's afraid for Charles, he doesn't want him to get hurt or trapped in his own Hell, especially if he's coming to save him. Secondly, Edwin felt very vulnerable. He'd never told Charles about what he'd been through in Hell, and he has to show Charles a part of himself that he wouldn't have wanted him to see. Charles is obviously very worried about Edwin when he finds out what he's been through, but here he's acting as a guide to help him escape. He relies on him completely, not having the strength to do it on his own.

20/ Towards the end of Hell, Edwin finally manages to express his love for Charles, even though Charles doesn't really seem to listen or understand him at first, replying that he loves him too but without conviction. Even though he is completely honest in his words, he doesn't respond at all to Edwin's love for him. It's when he finally understands that he makes a speech that I find incredible for Edwin. In my opinion, this speech doesn't close any doors and Charles doesn't even seem to think about what he's saying, pouring out his words as if they were completely natural. He tells him that he loves him very much, admittedly not in the same way that Edwin loves him, but enough to go to Hell for him, which he wouldn't have done for anyone else. And above all, he tells him at the end that they have all eternity to work out their relationship. For me, with these words, Charles doesn't close the door at all to a possible relationship with Edwin, even explaining to him that they'll have time to understand the nature of their relationship. It also shows us that even Charles is aware that they have a strong bond and that he may already be wondering about the nature of their relationship with Edwin. For the moment, he doesn't feel the same love as Edwin, but he loves him like he loves no-one else and he leaves the door open to their relationship. Frankly, I can see why Edwin is happy with this answer, which I think is the best answer he could have given her in return. I find it really perfect and full of love. To conclude this episode, we even get Charles reassuring Edwin one last time that his revelation hasn't upset him and he even responds with an honesty and a smile that can raise a lot of questions.

21/ In the final episode, we find them both much more at peace with a relationship that never seems to have been so positive. However, this is short-lived as Esther puts her plan into action and goes to find the 2 ghosts to take them home. During all the moments when Edwin is suffering and being tortured by Esther, we see Charles being totally helpless and he is extremely worried about Edwin. It's not as strong as it should have been, but you can see it in the few scenes. Charles is subjected to a kind of psychological torture that prevents him from intervening to save his soulmate, and he can only listen to Edwin's cries of pain. When it's all over and after SPOILER's death, we see him once again being the rock, pulling Edwin and Crystal out of the house so that they don't get swept away by Death.

22/ Towards the end of the episode, we have a final discussion between Edwin and the Cat King. Edwin seems much more at peace with himself than he has ever been. He's done some real soul-searching about his resemblance to the Cat King, realising that he's finally accepting himself and his feelings. You can tell from his speech that he knows he is no longer alone and never will be again.

23/ At the end of the episode, after their near dismissal, we know that he's once again worried about Edwin's fate, reminding us that he's there because of a mistake. Eventually it all works out and they're very reassured for each other by the end of the episode. I think that at this point, their relationship is healthy, they no longer have any secrets from each other and it can only get better. At this point, they're in tune and they seem to want to move forward together in their "new death", away from their fugitive lives and happy to be together.

24/ I'll just conclude this thread by expressing my love for these 2 characters, because for me, their relationship is so beautiful but at the same time, so complex. That's honestly my favourite thing about TV shows, the relationships between the characters, and sometimes I struggle to be truly satisfied with the way the characters are treated. But in this show, in my opinion, it's flawless. Every character reacts as they should and that's why I'd really like to see this series renewed for a 2nd season at least.

[devotioncrater]

not ted melancholy about leaving, sitting in the press room alone. not trent happening to find him there, "of all the press rooms." (it's funny because there's only one, but they're sad when they're laughing.) not them getting an actual one-on-one fucking conversation this season

Also, while ted's future's up in the air. I'm begging ted to also ask about trent's future. because trent's also on the precipice of leaving, with a big who knows the fuck what waiting for him (other than, like ted, his child). they've both found community at richmond, and they're both at a point where they might feel like they have to leave it all behind. just someone (ted) ask trent what he's doing after this book. and please let there be a good answer to that

all of this!! let them confide in and comfort each other. because they're both at this crossroads of What Is Next, sort of like that robert frost poem ted referenced in ep 7.

"Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."

and i 100% agree, they need to have a one-on-one conversation again onscreen. an actual heart-to-heart, because we haven't been privy to that since episode 2.

of course we see them onscreen having these types of private conversations such as here:

and yet we the viewer are never invited in on them.

which is bonkers to me because these two are constantly implied & shown to have grown close to each other throughout the season.

ted letting trent sit-in on the parent-teacher conference.

"hello, ted" "hello, trent" with nothing for roy or beard

ted and trent participating together at girl talk with rebecca.

trent introducing himself to ted's mom

ted actively engaging & being endeared with trent's enthusiastic dork side

ted instinctively filling trent's mug with liquor first, trent instinctively holding his mug to ted. familiar-like, routine-like

we can see trent's crush on ted from space. he's practically singing about it. but on the quieter side, there are all these little heart eye moments ted has for trent, too. they add up. all of ted's gay praises on men & men's physiques (robert redford, oscar wilde, hair, facial hair, clothes, etc) can be read as a subconscious link to trent. it's subtle. it's all blink-and-you-miss-it.

which makes me wonder — since Ted Lasso is in ted's character viewpoint for his scenes — is the reason we haven't seen any of the one-on-one conversations he has with trent (which DO happen offscreen) a reflection on ted? what i mean by that is, are we not fully seeing trent, and the nature of ted's relationship with trent, because ted himself isn't ready to share? to come out? or to even allow himself to recognize what he could potentially be feeling? out of sight (offscreen), out of mind?

we see this storytelling technique be used with colin. how we don't see him come out to the team because that is not what he wanted as a character. his main concern wasn't "i'm gay" it was "how will the team react?". and so to honor his wishes, the team's reaction is what was shown onscreen. the show gave colin's character agency and it gave him privacy, too.

so maybe, hopefully, we will get another one-on-one scene with ted and trent. and this time ted will be ready to share, and this time we get to see their dynamic at full scope instead of these glimpses throughout the season

[jinxed-sinner]

Y'know what, continuing with my potentially controversial takes, how about I finally talk about my take on Alastor and Husk's dynamic? Because I think People are exclusively looking at how Alastor reacted to Husk reminding him he's on a leash without looking at the context. And yes, you can call me delusional, in denial, whatever. But there's more context than just "Husk reminded Alastor he was on a leash and Alastor threatened him over it" that I don't see people acknowledge???

So first of all let's talk about the full context of Hazbin Hotel in regards to Alastor and Husk's relationship, not just that scene in the hallway with Husk and Alastor.

Alastor won Husk's soul in a bet, which Husk made to keep his power. Whether or not Husk still has this power is yet to be seen.

Husk doesn't hate Alastor, not as much as he acts like he does. He warns Alastor that Mimzy is using him (something I don't think he'd do unless he cared about him), still bothers to hug him when the crew finds out Alastor's fine(?) at the end of episode 8, even overall it feels like Husk has an annoyed family dynamic with Alastor and Niffty.

Alastor seems to give both Niffty and Husk a lot of freedom if they aren't doing anything for him (hell, he even gives them a fair amount of freedom if they are doing something for him). Husk isn't confined to the hotel, and he was literally at a casino gambling before Alastor summoned him to the hotel. Granted, this could've been because Husk didn't know Alastor was back, but I think if the comparisons between Alastor's treatment of Husk and Val's treatment of Angel were more accurate, Alastor wouldn't give Husk and Niffty the amount of freedom they have. Angel's freedoms come from a loophole in his contract, while Alastor doesn't seem to care what Husk and Niffty do in their spare time. Husk and Niffty feel like they're treated more like contract employees most of the time. Additionally Angel's restricted freedom is part of his abuse and something he's still not entirely away from, because Val could probably still figure out a way to get him back to V Tower 24/7 (and I'm willing to bet he will in season 2, since the Vees are going to be the main antagonists of season 2).

It's made abundantly clear throughout the first 8 episodes and the pilot that Alastor says shit to get under people's skin. Anything he says that irritates someone could go either way; he could mean it genuinely or he could be saying it to get under the skin of whoever he's talking to. I'm going to say whether Alastor meant it when he said he viewed Husk as a pet; I am going to say that it's absolutely possible that Alastor's incapable of viewing Husk as anything else, but I think it's unfair to judge Alastor's treatment of Husk on that.

Husk, in my opinion, very obviously wasn't expecting Alastor to react how he did when he reminded Alastor he's on a leash, which indicates to me that it's either incredibly rare for Alastor to lash out like that or he's never done it before, at least not specifically at Husk. Obviously, Husk knows what Alastor's capable of, because he's seen him fight Mimzy's battles for her and he's probably heard about Alastor's past. But how he responds to Alastor lashing out at him makes it feel like Alastor's never lashed out at Husk specifically. Additionally he might not have even been referring to Alastor's deal, he could've been referring to literally anything. Additionally, Alastor was already stressed as hell, he probably lashed out on impulse. Husk was also probably saying things on impulse, and crossed a boundary in doing so. I'm not saying any of that excuses Alastor's behavior, but I am saying it explains things a hell of a lot more than "Alastor actively abuses Husk on a regular basis" (in my opinion)

I don't think Husk's situation is as bad as Angel's, because if you look at it outside of that scene in the hallway in Dad Beat Dad (and even within that), it's not. Val took away a significant part of Angel's freedom, while Alastor allows Husk as much freedom as he wants. The differences in the severity of their situations something people have been pointing out since Masquerade, and by extension Loser, Baby, came out, and I still think it's worth pointing out, just not in the context of Loser, Baby because the context of Loser, Baby is Husk trying to help Angel not feel as alone (because it's basically Husk saying "You got issues? So do I, join the Losers Club!") and using similar situations (someone else owning their souls) to get his point across. I'm not saying Husk isn't traumatized by his situation; he probably is, especially after Dad Beat Dad. But Angel and Husk are in vastly different situations and have vastly different dynamics with Val and Alastor respectively.

To clarify, it might come out in later seasons and episodes that Alastor does treat Husk worse than what we've seen. But so far, what we've seen is that Husk gets a significant amount of freedom considering he doesn't own his soul, and under enough stress Alastor gets impulsive (whether or not he regrets this impulsivity is yet to be seen, but considering how he likes to be seen, I wouldn't be surprised if he does for purely selfish reasons). Husk cares enough about Alastor to warn him about a toxic and potentially dangerous friendship, and is shown to be happy when he turns Mimzy away (although this could also be just because he hates Mimzy). Even after being happy that Alastor might be dead, Husk hugs him anyway.

Unless something comes out that contradicts all this, I seriously doubt Alastor is regularly threatening Husk with tearing his soul apart like people think. Husk's reaction makes it feel like his soul being threatened is new. Like as of right now I think the worst that's going on is Alastor pushing boundaries (something he does with everyone, not just Husk, and to a fairly mild extent compared to other characters) and having Husk and Niffty work for him.

Again, I'm not saying nothing will come out in the future saying he's not abusive, but right now, when you look at all the context, he's not. Husk impulsively pushed a boundary and Alastor impulsively lashed out in retaliation.

[darlingdivasworld]

SPOILERS FOR EPISODES 20, 21 AND 22 OF SEASON 9

Remember when I said that Episode 14 was the worst of the season? I still mean it is but there were parts of these Internationals episodes that made me compare to that atrocious episode or Season 7. There are definitely good aspects of it (Anthony and Adele, fan favourites returning, Freya's song, the outfits) but overall could've been better.

1) Internationals...at home

I could already sense that Internationals would be underwhelming since we were staying at home but seeing it in real time was just worse. I don't know how it could've been salvaged but I don't like how they handle it. Everything and everyone is at TNS so Internationals feels very local. There's no tension or suspense in the competition because we don't see other countries dancing whatsoever.

Twists or revelations aren't given time to be dramatic or shocking because everything is cramped together. For example, Ebby is made the alternate because she recorded the Internationals duet (accidently) but she only reacts in her talking head. No one on A-Troupe reacts to this either and Ebby is subsequently ignored for the rest of the episode. I also feel like everyone's storylines weren't wrapped up properly.

2) Grace

I remember starting Season 9 and thinking Grace's motivations for trying to take down TNS were ridiculous but as time went on, I just accepted it and credited Grace for her unfaltering determination. And with her plans succeeding more than failing allowed me to respect her as a ridiculous yet amusing antagonist. Even at Internationals, she's still plotting and scheming. Sorry, I meant was because the TNS writers decided to give her a redemption arc. WHY? Even after screwing with Ariana at Internationals, she looks so satisfied with herself...until suddenly she's not.

Apparently, Grace is secretly jealous of Ariana because she's all alone and Ariana has friends and a girlfriend. Redeeming Grace this late is just cheap. I know she's still a child but she's just so much more dynamic and entertaining when she's being evil. Even when she double crosses Maria, I'm just sitting there thinking, "I wonder what song Maria had chosen for A-Troupe."

I guess she realised that after spending time with Maria, she would be her future self if she continued scheming, but Grace's guilt wasn't highlighted enough throughout the whole season. Outside Internationals, the only moment I can think of is when Daisy glares at her during her audition. No build up=no pay off, and I wasn't for it.

3) The ending

Okay, this IS the worst part of Internationals. Eldon and Michelle walk up to Nick and claim they want to buy the studio. Together. Yes, that's right, they FORCED Theldon to break up so Micheldon could return to the open arms of no one.

It's so insulting on so many levels it's infuriating. Last time we saw Michelle and Eldon together, Michelle claims that, "Their time has passed." Until it hasn't for convenience. These 2 haven't shown romantic interest in each other for a decade until the TNS writers decide Micheldon should be endgame. Not to mention the egregious claim of having "Emily's blessing". Last time I checked Michelle, Emily is your wife and Emily wouldn't be in an open relationship. There's no reason for Michelle to be romantically attracted to a bum like Eldon. Last time I checked, he broke up with you after losing a dance battle and ghosting you. And you can't even make the argument that he's matured because a month ago, he was bullying children because his girlfriend broke up with him. No one wanted this and I'm honestly baffled by how tone deaf the TNS writers are.

Like, who's side should I be on? As much as I love Nick, he is practically a wallet due to his absurd neglect of the studio and practically forced Kenzie to be studio head whilst being a teenager. Rival that with immature man child and his god-like girlfriend. No thanks.

In summary, they could've done better and I'm really disappointed overall. The season started off with a lot of promise but the second half depleted in quality and that cliffhanger ending makes me strictly against a Season 10. Now why would I (or anyone) want to see Michelle and Eldon in love, running the studio?

[lilenui]

Some thoughts on Yamagi in the epilogue of Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.

Yamagi didn't get much in terms of the epilogue: a single still shot flashing on screen unceremoniously and being mentioned in a conversation. We get no insight into his feelings, but we can gather a few hints from said image.

I was unable to 100% confirm that Yamagi's new look was designed by the series' original character designer Itou Yu. From her comments I only got that she loved it and thought it's impressive how much of Yamagi's feelings were conveyed in a single still image. Which inspired me to try and look a bit deeper into it. It's possible that the instructions came directly from director Nagai, who, according to the series' composer, was pretty hands-on with Shino and Yamagi's relationship (including inviting an animator whose speciality is hands animation for the hand hold in ep 7, or personally overlooking all of their scenes). If there was supposed to be a deeper meaning to the epilogue Yamagi then Nagai would be the one behind it, because shinoyama is /his/ thing.

I know my shinoyama by heart, throughout the entire series Yamagi's left eye is ONLY ever visible in his scenes with Shino, or in scenes pertaining to Shino in some fashion (ex. Yamagi reacting to Shino brawling with Eugene in OP #1*). It was a conscious decision to show Yamagi from his left side, where *only* his left eye is visible, as he's looking at the blue skye above him. Just as he did right after the escape from the tunnel. He was also thinking of Shino in that scene, as suggested by the closeup on the bandages in his hand. I think that the suggestion is here as well by focusing on the eye which only Shino ever got to see clearly. The angle of his head, looking up and slightly back (direct symbolism of looking in the past), all of it just speaks to me that Yamagi's love for Shino is still present, he’s still thinking about him in this very moment. In my own personal delusion I like to think Yamagi showing his entire face to the world is also how he's trying to communicate with Shino: "Wherever you are, if you're watching over me like you promised (the ryusei letter), even for a briefest moment, you can see all of me clearly."

Next are Yamagi's pink overalls. I do not believe this is a standard issue uniform available to anyone else. I think this uniform was custom made for Yamagi exclusively. For a while I even held a belief he dyed the material himself. The color is an obvious yet subtle callback to Shino's signature magenta color scheme. There's more to it though, because according supplemental materials Shino doesn't just put that color on anything, but the objects he considers closest to him, his own. Why did Yamagi then decide to put the color on *himself* and not, say, his tools? To me personally Yamagi draping himself in the color Shino used to mark his closest belongings can only speak of his devotion, almost as if he wanted to communicate that he wants to belong to Shino, that he belongs with him. And why wouldn't he still want to be with Shino? Yamagi loved Shino more than life itself, if his words to Eugene in episode 46 are to be taken at their value. That kind of love wouldn't just go away just because the other person weren't there anymore (hell, IBO ended seven years ago and /I'm/ not over Shino.)

These are my general thoughts. The presence of Shino in Yamagi's heart is mant to be seen and felt, and his confident posture signifies that he carries that love with pride. The ryuseigo insignia speaks for itself, if there's any doubt left. It couldn't have been anyone else but Yamagi to suggest it to Yukinojo.

I wish sunrise would release an ova or a cd drama removing any and all plausible deniability left from Shino's intentions regarding Yamagi in episode 45. It's been years, and if we have to continue living in a world without Shino, it would be more bearable if we at least had that.

*This trend continued into the special OP for the abridged version of the series, which aired on TV in '22, wherein Shino dramatically pulls Yamagi close as the latter started to float away just as the boys were about to eat lunch together atop the Ryuseigo II:

[minsungchronology]

My Personal Opinions on Minsung's Dynamic (2018)

Disclaimer: I am not trying to pass off my opinions as facts. This is my personal interpretation of what is laid out right in front of us. I could be completely off base because I don’t know these guys personally, so take this with a grain of salt and feel free to disagree!

Lee Know is very interesting to me.

That’s literally the first thought I had when compiling all of these moments together.

Members and fans equally describe him as the “Tsundere” of the group (even though he’s a multifaceted person with a very caring side towards his closest ones). We see throughout the years he has a dry/deadpan sense of humor, is sarcastic at times, has a more introverted personality, etc. etc.

When I was a newer fan, I quickly assumed that out of him and Han, he was the one that was more inclined to “keep it together” on camera, thus making it super difficult to read him.

That is definitely not the case for me when making this video…cause holy sh*t??? There are times where the guy is shockingly transparent. (the fansigns and the early vlives, especially)

While putting together clips for this year, I found a clip of him (in a later year) where the other members describe him as someone who’s honest with his emotions, which…kind of tracks if you’ve watched him over the years. It's refreshing to see that in an idol.

I’m of the opinion that he developed a little crush on Han early-ish this year. 

I probably would have chalked down LK’s behavior towards Han as platonic fondness like he has for I.N (he really dotes on the youngest like a baby brother during this year. I felt like these two were also pretty close since you see them together frequently, but their friendship isn’t talked about too much. Jeongho is actually so underrated 😭.), if it wasn’t for Changbin’s subtle yet unsubtle remarks towards those two. Changbin is someone who knows them personally, lives with them, and is with them almost 24/7. He knows them better than any of us ever will. So it’s quite telling to me when that is coming from someone who ACTUALLY KNOWS THEM, which really puts things into perspective. 

He literally acts like someone who teases their friend for having a crush.

You have moments where Changbin points and laughs at Lee Know for staring at Han ~that way~ during the dance segment in the KBS World Idol show, then there’s him giving LK the 😏 look when he gets smiley from Han who was doing…almost nothing…during a Vlive they have before a fansign, AND THEN the 3.NO.RA.CHA car Vlive where he’s like “Lee Know why are you so happy? Why are you so happy?” after LK and Han do something that catches Chan off guard (I’m pretty sure they did the one plus one is cute thing that they end up doing during the two kids room episode). Which goes onto another point…THAT episode:

I find it interesting how LK was the one who requested Han to do the aegyo class with him because…like,,,, what?? 🧍‍♀️

For some reason I thought Han was the one who suggested it.

Then comes the part where LK mentions feelings and Han looks into the camera like he’s in the office and LK just nervously giggles and says “I don’t know” after realizing the implications of what he just said. This is also interesting to me b/c normally someone would react like “Oh no!! Don’t misunderstand!” to diffuse any awkwardness. 

And the fansigns, they are so flipping cute in those. 😭 There’s so much content out there so I was stressing out about how much to include and/or exclude. From these alone, you can tell LK adores the hell out of Han. It’s so painfully obvious to watch. It really puts the “LK can’t live without Han” saying by Seungmin into perspective. 

Han, on the other hand, like I said in a previous post, is harder to read. I honestly don’t think he liked LK “like that” at this point, unless he’s incredibly good at hiding it and didn’t want to acknowledge those types of feelings at all for obvious reasons. If you compare him in 2018 to 2023, it's worlds apart. (lmfao the concerts this year are something else; I seriously can’t wait to get to 2023 b/c whatever happened in Australia Sydney day 1 is VERY INTERESTING, like the fancams from that concert are incredibly eye opening for reasons I don’t want to explain right now 😬😬).  LK has remained fairly consistent imo. I think you’ll start to see some reciprocation from Han in later years.

But they are consistently close this year. They bicker and play-fight like close friends do, they comfortably joke around with each other, and they’re always finding some way to interact with the other. The two of them always seem to be on board with eo's ~weird~ antics too. (Much like you see in subsequent years and this year; they haven’t changed at all in that aspect). They’re the definition of soulmates. 

Seeing their evolution as idols from the beginning is very interesting too when you get to go back and watch almost every single content out there. Like plenty has changed within a 5-6 year span, but a lot of things have also remained the same.

Lee know was noticeably more camera shy back then. Han seemed more outgoing and out there compared to him (the guy is a ball of energy) while LK was quieter and more in the background. You can also see snippets of his characteristic sense of humor and “4d” personality, although, again, he was more camera shy so he didn’t show it as much. 

2019 is still a work in progress, but I think Han's behavior much later that year and in 2020 is an interesting change from what we see in 2018.

[midnightcreator12]

The Splinters and how good of a Dad they are

Why? Because I want to

Also, side note, this is the Splinters from the TMNT stuff I have seen (which is mostly the movies and TV shows). And I won’t be looking at how good of a sensei they are, I’m more interested in how good of a Dad they are.

SO ANYWAY!

First is the 1990 movie with the Jim Henson puppets!

And might as well include the whole trilogy in this because despite the quality dip it’s all the same timeline.

He doesn’t get much screen time in these movies, he spends most of the first one being kidnapped, but when he is interacting with the turtles, it’s actually really sweet.

He makes a point to try and teach them but he always speaks so softly and kindly. They react like he’s lecturing them but he always approaches the turtles in a very open manner.

A highlight of this is when he talks to Raph about his anger management. He mentions how he’s tried to help Raph channel his anger over the years, in a way that sounds like he's saying ‘you’re better than you were before’.

He’s very upfront when they ask him for advice, using the ‘old man stories’ to add onto his point rather than just telling a story and letting the turtles figure it out.

Again, his role in the movies is limited so most of this is assumption but I feel confident in the option that he is a firm but kind father. 7/10

Next, the 1987 Splinter!

This guy should get a prize for how much he just rolls with the punches of life. And one of those, ‘sure, this is fine’ moments is when he suddenly has four mutant turtles to care for. 

He’s a lot more active in the turtles missions than most Splinters, often joining them or coming to their rescue. When the turtles go after the Shredder the first time he quickly jumped to join them. (got kidnapped almost immediately but he tried!)

And something that he does a lot is encourage. Almost every episode he is complimenting his boys, praising their accomplishments and comforting them when they stumble, often teaching them through stories he grew up with in his childhood with his clan.

There is also an early episode where Shredder makes a de-mutating ray and he does not hesitate to destroy it when Shredder tries to use it on the turtles. He clearly prioritizes the turtles, even over his own humanity.

One of the best Dad’s in my option (ironic because the turtles never call him dad and he never calls them his sons) little prone to kidnapping but a good dad. 8/10

Next we have the 2003 Splinter

This Splinter treds the fine line of dad and sensei. When we first meet him he is clearly acting in the role of sensei and more often than not that is how he acts throughout the show. When his sons have problems he often uses cryptic stories and lets them try and figure it out on their own. 

But when this Splinter goes Dad mode, it’s awesome. Best examples are when he forbade the boys from fighting the Shredder the second they told him about the guy, the Ninja Tribunal arc, where he went halfway across the globe and was ready to fight a group of powerful mystic ninja masters because they kidnapped his kids and at the beginning of Back to the Sewers, when he takes a LASER to the chest for his kids without hesitation.

So while he does often portray the role of a strict master, when he sees his kids threatened all bets are off and he will not think twice about jumping into the line of fire. He often calls the turtles ‘son’ but they rarely call him dad, but despite that there is a clear close connection between the five of them.

I am biased because 03 is my fav series but I rate 2003 Splinter as a great dad, maybe just work on the emotional openness in less life threatening situations. 8/10

Next is 2007 Splinter!

(side rant about how the 2007 movie suffers from trying to do way too much in one go and many characters suffer as a result including Splinter)

Okay, let’s get this out of the way real quick, this movie does not make Splinter look good. 

His first mistake was sending Leo away to train. Alone. Without any kind of support system. Something that is consistent in every version of the turtles is that they are very codependent. While it isn’t ideal, a large part of that is by virtue of what they are and how they had to live. And Splinter sent the oldest of the group away.

Second, it’s clear Leo’s absents has fractured the family but we don’t ever see Splinter trying to fix it. There isn’t even insinuations that he’s tried to fix it. He just let his family kinda fall apart.

His one saving grace is his speech to Raph near the end of the movie but that still doesn’t change how hands off he’s been the entire time.

So, if this Splinter IS a good dad, he sadly fell out of the habit as his kids got older. 4/10, TALK TO YOUR KIDS OLD MAN!

Okay, now we have 2012 Splinter!

So, 2012 Splinter has a very strong start in the show. He is very caring towards his turtles, even a bit overprotective. I’m pretty sure the 2012 turtles are the only ones who have NEVER been topside before the show starts(when they were tots doesn’t count since they don’t remember it). He had them on full Lair lockdown when the Shredder comes after them and often fusses over them when they come home after missions gone wrong.

But he sadly suffers from the inconsistent writing common in this version. Despite being the youngest Splinter in the lineup, he hardly ever goes on missions with the turtles and often orders them to go into dangerous situations, more and more often as the show goes on, losing that overprotectiveness until you forget he ever was a helicopter parent.

He clearly loves the turtles but despite the liberal use of calling them his sons, I always felt like there was a disconnect between him and the boys. A proverbial wall that maintains a clear distance between him and them.

This does not mean he doesn’t care, there are a number of times he’s run to rescue the turtles and often actively seeks them out when they’re having issues but out of all the Splinters, he falls pretty hard into the trap of sensei first, father second.

So, yeah, I liked the foundation but I think his overall dad score is a 5/10.

And finally, we have Rise Splinter!

AKA, the reason I made this post.

Because this guy is fundamentally different from every other Splinter. He ran from the tradition of his clan and sought out his own path in being a movie star. Which makes it all the more meaningful that he got these four little babies and just decided, ‘ok, I’m their dad now’

He is definitely the least strict out of all the Splinters, helped by the fact he probably only taught the kids any ninjutsu because they begged him too. We know via flashbacks and the turtles constantly referring to him as Dad that he was pretty active as the boys parent when they were younger.

But by the time the show starts it’s clear he pretty much lets the boys run wild and do what they want within reason. We see throughout the show that he still struggles with his vice of pride and often deflects with humor which can come off as dismissing, but he still loves his kids.

The second he finds out what kinda stuff his boys get up to (fighting Draxum and the looming threat of The Shredder) he drops the over confident actor shtick and starts actually teaching the boys how to be ninjas.

So, not a perfect dad by a long shot, but he’s clearly trying and has the most personal growth out of all the Splinters 8/10

AND THAT’S WHAT I GOT!

Feel free to addon, I’d love to get some more options on this. And have an awesome day!

[llynwen]

Oh don't worry about the ask getting eaten, tumblr has killed 2 of my blogs in the last damn month this website is held together through sheer collective willpower. Soooooo about hoodie-stealing gf Rust: something about his clothes seemed weird to me when they went to Carcosa, and during a rewatch I realized that crisp white shirt is rather too big for him. He threw out all his 'professional' attire years ago when he quit being a cop but something about this work--not the job of police officer, I mean the work of seeking justice for the innocent--demands a certain ceremonial importance in what he wears. And rather than go buy a shirt he seems to have raided Marty's closet like he did in 95. Thoughts???

Hi! First of all I am so so very sorry for how long it’s taken me to answer this and also for the. Let's call them technical difficulties. I actually have soooo many thoughts about the costumes on this show. 

Let's start with the shirts. Every time we see rusty wear a dress shirt in 2012 it is slightly too big. Now, I totally agree with your take about him having thrown away all of his work clothes before the move. I don’t think he cares about appearances all that much anymore (I mean. As much as I adore the hair, it is not very professional). I like to think he only dresses up when they go to question people to fit into the part of a PI, to be more believable. 

As far as I know he wears two different shirts in episode 7

and one in 8

In both of these they are kinda loose on him, the waist is tucked in but it’s all bunched up in the back, even the collars seem a bit too wide. 

I also love this fit

At first glance I was convinced these were the same suits, but they are not, though they are eerily similar. The jacket looks too big for rusty, too, and maybe a bit tight on marty. I really want to believe that rust is wearing marty’s hand me downs the entire time.

All this thinking about the clothes had me looking at other outfits we see throughout the show, and what I noticed were the flannels. Prior to 2012, we almost exclusively see rust in formal wear. He wears work clothes seemingly 24/7. He will occasionally take his shirt off and run around in the famous wifebeater, but even that is just a stripped down version of his work clothes. He mows the lawn dressed like that. Even during The Event with maggie he is still in his work clothes, even though he just got suspended and has been drinking for hours.

There are very few exceptions of him wearing something different. If we ignore crash, prior to 2012 we see him out of his work clothes exactly twice.

First time is when he talks to maggie at the diner. He’s wearing a blue flannel in this scene, and I was like, this shirt looks familiar. Then I had me a closer looksie, and lo and behold, i found this.

Again, for a second I was sure it was the same damn shirt. It isn't, but it's close. Both of them wear a blue flannel when they go to talk to maggie, which is very interesting to me. Additionally, since we've established that rusty doesn't own any casual clothes, I think it is fair to assume the flannel he is wearing at the diner is actually marty’s. This isn't so far fetched, since at the time marty is staying at rust’s house, so they probably have a shared laundry pile.

The other time we see rust wear a flannel is during the parking lot fight. I don't think marty wears anything similar at any point (but if I'm wrong please come let me know), but it is definitely something he would wear.

The parking lot fight takes place the morning after The Event, we know that rust is not in the best of mindsets. 

(I actually think he came over to the station that day precisely because of what happened the night before. I don't think he came to pick up his things, since we know he had all the files at his apartment, and I don't believe him to be the kind of man that keeps personal belongings at his desk. No, I think he went there to punish himself. He knew that marty would react badly, and he knew he would probably attempt to beat him up. This could be why rust doesn't really fight back, and lets marty tackle him and land a few good punches.) 

The shirt he wears could be something that marty left behind. I think he might have worn it as a kind of armor, something with positive emotions attached to it. He knows that marty and him are done, no going back, so he wraps himself in the comfort of their friendship. 

If you have any other observations, please let me know! I’ll have another look at the clothes during my next rewatch, but I’m sure I'll miss something anyways, this show is so jam packed with detail. Thank you again for sending me this ask!

Let me leave you with this, though.

Why is rusty’s ass wet in carcosa? If he was just sweaty, wouldn't his shirt be wet too? Did he piss himself? What is going on. 

Love you bestie xx

[skydoescrime]

i really really hated season 2 and specifically the season 2 finale for OFMD

the first few episodes were great. we got to see how ed was fully affected by stede's 'rejection' and how he was acting like a complete and total asshole and terrible person over it. very very cool i loved that, and i enjoyed the. izzy hands torture a bit more than a normal person would. seeing stede also grapple with his love for ed and his obliviousness juxtaposed with eds anger and angst was. phenomenal. i liked the pirate queen, cool new character. i did however not like how they offhandedly mentioned ivans death. I'm not sure if the actor dropped, but even then, he wasn't a big part of season 1, so why was he even. Written in the first place. on another note i do think some of the pairings made clear in the first 3 episodes with jim and. other cool pirate person was silly ig but also we. knew nothing about them??? there was no arc they were just introduced as a character, no defining traits just awesome pirate person and they expected us to be like. oh okay so they're together now and jim and olu's whole relationship which was built throughout all of season 1 is completely gone just cause we introduced new people and we wanna spice it up a bit. um lesbian murder couple was awesome. i do think the whole turning into a bird thing was a cool metaphor i DO think the rent free line was kind of crazy and just pure fan service. like i understand that its just a goofy pirate show but. come on they just stole that from the internet and snuck it in so we would be squealing about it. also! the red coat was just snuck in there for like one episode and it. did nothing. like it was just for one day. ig stede became more piraty after that but. nothing was cursed. they could have done so much more with it and it was kind of just placed down and then never touched on ever again. also there's the. ed apology that sucks which everyone is fine with even though he doesn't say I'm sorry? at all? and everyone is okay with him now? like. okay. i did LOVE the parallels between the you wear fine things well scenes. i also liked the boundaries set between them.

episode 6 and 7. everything goes to complete shit here. i liked ned lowe i think he was an awesome character i feel like it was the worst decision ever to just kill him off. i think the party scene is strange because ed is like. something is wrong and then he just goes along with everything and its never elaborated on ever again. the singing part is nice but. like the izzy arc feels so rushed considering how like 3 episodes ago bro was fully going through it. i do like him getting more integrated into the family though that's nice. stede killing someone was awesome. i do like the implication that ed is slowly backing away from his pirate life while his partner goes deeper into it, the juxtaposition between their morals in season 1 and this season are pretty cool. I DID NOT HOWEVER like how stede is just horny after his kill and they have sex even though! ed established boundaries. it feels super ooc for stede even if he's going through his "villain arc" or whatever he still wouldn't. do that and i don't like how its done just to show how stede has changed and is a bad person now when this is just stede acting out of character just so people know he's fucked up for killing someone and becoming more pirate like. i don't think his morals and affections towards ed can change that fast. i do think they could have done something with how izzy reacted to stede and eds relationship because. like there is no arc with that. he's completely in love with ed one day and the next he's totally fine with them fucking and dating like. what even was that confession then when it did basically nothing but just provide fan service. also later on when izzy just sits stede down and talks about ed is so. strange because sure izzy was super fucking traumatized after everything and shit but like. i don't think his character changed that much considering the fact that a few episodes prior he was still shitting on stede. like. it feels rushed just for the sake of having a heart to heart with stede and izzy. the explosion also feels rushed considering how we only saw zheng in like 3 episodes. and like how there was basically no set up for it. i feel like. there's a pattern with shit being rushed just to be rushed. like explosion in the same episode where stede completely becomes a brand new person in like 2 hours, ed leaves and izzy suddenly cares about stede. its kind of very obvious that they didn't get as many episodes as they wanted but i don't think that justifies the shit writing.

now the season finale SUCKED. so ed comes back after like 2 seconds and they reunite like they didn't just have a massive argument. everyone escapes somehow and then its like. they dress up in costumes come up with a half assed plan and go into battle. and then fucking izzy gets shot and its. not even like. a scene where he's just getting shot its masked behind things so its super confusing if he got shot or not and then he just. dies. no fanfare he just dies and its super quick and unexpected and it feels like it was just done so that he could. yk have a semi redemption (even though no bonding other than the. boat drag celebration and the hoof gifting was shown on screen at all) where everyone loved him even after he was a pos for like all of season 1. he dies randomly not even in an epic battle he just gets fucking shot. and I've seen a lot of people compare this episode to the season finale of good omens season 2 and they are so fucking wrong for that because. there's so much set up with good omens season 2. like we all knew it was coming. of course someday aziraphale was going to leave. he was never as keen as crowley on saying fuck you to heaven and hell. and its so wonderfully set up because all of season 1 and 2 set up their. relationship dynamics. how they felt about their bosses and higherups. and it SUCKED because all of us were expecting it but it still hit hard as fuck because. it makes so much sense. there's no way around it. and instead in the season finale of ofmd season 2 they just kill off izzy just to make us feel bad and because he has no purpose anymore? he feels like a throwaway character when his character had just fully come to light. there's also the thing about his leg being used as his gravestone which i have heard was kind of insensitive because it was a part of his body prosthetic or not? and then right after he dies everyone is super duper happy and joyous like an insanely important character didn't just die and then they have the wedding and it feels horrible because you're reeling from a very important character death which wasn't neccisary and completely unexpected and confusing to a wedding and having ed and stede end up living together in a small island running an inn? and its like. how do you expect me to be happy when two seconds ago you just killed off a character completely rushed their death completely rushed another characters wedding and made a happy ending happen just because you were scared of season 3 not happening? like i would have rathered a more well thought out episode which ended on a cliffhanger than whatever rushed mess of garbage this was. this finale genuinely has made me not want a season 3 because. there's nothing left for me. the villain of the story is this stupid rich guy who hates pirates (wow no way) who has no flavour and is just annoying. the character who had a whole entire character arc who definitely was killed off for shock value is dead and the otp of the show is together forever.