#he's not going to be a midseason if he talks like that but he can have a tag anyway

[xbuster]

[buckttommy]

I have an idea for a full-season Eddie arc that I want to put into the universe. tim, feel free to plagiarize me yet again (but this time. i want a dm. i know you're around here somewhere come say hi). So. Anyways. Season 8

8x1: Eddie has broken up with Marisol. By the time this episode rolls around, they've already been broken up for a couple weeks/months. As mentioned in 7x5, he's struggling with the idea of Catholic guilt, struggling with the idea of faith in general. He mentions, in casual conversation, to Buck, Chim or Tommy (who is still with Buck on screen *coughs loudly*) that he's thinking about going down to Texas for a while. His grandmother is the most religious person he knows and he's always found comfort being in her space and soaking in her presence, so he wants to talk to her about his feelings. Whoever he's talking to agrees that's a good idea.

8x2 - 8x7: A couple episodes pass with the idea of Eddie taking some time off in the background of the audience's mind. Nothing major, just little throw away lines about getting the truck tuned up before he makes a big road trip, paying bills before he leaves, things like that.

8x8: The 118 responds to a call of a fire in a church. Two people are getting married and their families are in attendance. Eddie doesn't go inside the church but he fights the fire from outside and helps treat the injured. Almost everyone is pulled out safely but the mother of the bride. Her daughter is crying because she and her mother aren't on good terms and she doesn't want it to be too late for them to patch things up. Eddie and the bride get to talking, and the bride mentions she always felt like she wasn't enough for mom, that she found it impossible to live up to her standards. They had an argument before the fire broke out because the bride realized, on-screen, that she didn't actually want to marry the man she was going to marry because she was in love with someone else (that's what started the fire, her making that announcement caused someone to pass out, and blah blah blah). But she was only marrying this man because her mom thought he would be good for her, and the brides makes a comment about always feeling like she was living her life for someone else, in service of a standard she could never reach. Eddie, of course, can relate. The bride's mother passes away and, it's a tragedy and is treated as such, but at the end of the episode during the voiceover (*coughs louder*), we see the bride reuniting with the person she's actually in love with because her mother's death means she's free from having to try to, like, be perfect.

8x10: Eddie's been getting a call from his dad all throughout the episode but he's been ignoring it because [shenanigans]. This is a light-hearted episode and the tone will be important because when he finally answers the phone during the last five minutes of the episode, he's like "Dad, come on, jesus, what is it" and his dad tells him that his grandmother has passed away.

8x11: Midseason premiere, the episode begins with Isabel's funeral, mainly because I want to see Eddie/Ryan in a nice tailored black suit (timothy, i'm sure you can relate). Anyway, the funeral is outside because it's important Eddie doesn't go inside a church yet. When it's finished, he goes back to the reception at Isabel's house. His sisters are there, everyone is there. He offers to help his mother in the kitchen and she tries to make conversation, but Helena Diaz has never actually learned how to relate to her son, so she says the wrong thing. It doesn't go well (but that's something to be circled back to in another season). Eddie looks at the pictures on his grandma's wall / mantle / whatever and sees himself and his sisters and his cousins when they were kids, smiling big at church christenings or whatever, and he's like... "I don't recognize this kid who was so happy to be inside of religion. I didn't know who I was then, and I definitely don't know who I am now because of it". He doesn't say it, but that's the vibe ofc, and Ryan's face is expressive enough that he can pull that off.

8x12: He's back in LA. Everyone is treating him with the utmost care because they are good people and they love him, and one evening, Eddie gets a visitor. He opens the door and it's his sister. (one of them lives in LA, remember?). In my head, that's always been Sophia, so he asks what she's doing here, and she holds up a bottle of wine. They sit on the sofa, they talk and reminisce about their grandmother, make apologies for the fact that they haven't been around for each other much despite living in the same city (but this isn't Eddie's family issues storyline, this is the Catholic guilt storyline. We will circle back to this in S9). So Eddie pitches the idea of faith to her, and asks what it means to her. It's the same question he wanted to ask his grandmother. Sophia says she has faith in the universe, faith that things always happen the way they're meant to, and it's a good answer but it doesn't speak to the core of Eddie's problem, which is that he always feels beholden to something he can't name/place.

8x14: Eddie continues to ask the people around him (Buck, Athena, Tommy, Chim) about faith and what it means to them. They all give him different answers. Athena has faith in purpose. Chim has faith in his family. Buck has faith in the inherent good of humanity. Tommy has faith in himself. It's not very helpful in the sense that no one gives him his answer, but it does reveal to him that faith can, does, and should exist absent of guilt, that maybe he's been doing it (or was taught) all wrong.

8x15: Insert an embarrassingly on the nose call about a kind, nerdy, reserved man who's lived by an unspoken rulebook all his life. He came out to Los Angeles on a whim and suffers from a hiking mishap where he's physically blinded by [something] and subsequently needs to trust that the 118, these people he literally cannot see, will save him. When they pull him to safety, he berates himself for even coming out to Los Angeles in the first place because he's not the kind of guy who does this, he just wanted to do something for him and now he feels stupid. And Eddie (because of course it's Eddie) is just like "no, you didn't do anything wrong. Look, you took a leap of faith (episode title btw). That's more than what most people can say. Maybe it didn't work out in this instance, but who knows how it'll work out tomorrow, or the next day. You don't know the future. None of us do, so maybe stop trying to live according to some giant colossal plan and just... live, and try your best. Isn't that all we can do?" And he watches the guy get airlifted away (thanks Tommy! *coughs even louder*) and it's like his lightbulb moment, like, oh. Yeah. He finally gets it.

8x16: Eddie walks into a church for the first time in years, and for the first time all season. It looks exactly how he remembers; wooden pews, high ceilings, the works. He takes a seat on one of the benches and prays / talks aloud to God and is just like, "I don't really know who you are and I don't know how to be what you want me to be. All my life I've been trying to be what everyone wants me to be to the point where I just don't even know who I am anymore, if I ever knew. So I don't know who you are, but I know I am who you made me to be, and I don't know who that is, but I know that person is enough for me right now. And maybe I'll figure you out along the way, maybe I won't. But, right now, what I know is that i can't be your perfect son because I can't be perfect at all, and I need to let go of the idea that I can and start living my life for me." So he walks out of the church and not much changes, but everything changes. You know?

And, like, obviously the story would need to be flushed out a little more. Obviously, this story centers more of the idea of faith than the idea of explicit guilt, but they're one in the same anyway because you can't have guilt without failed/presumably "failed" expectations. In this case, religious or spiritual expectation. So. I don't know. But there's just something so sexy about the idea of Eddie systematically and intentionally dismantling and releasing himself from all the things that have kept him from growing over the years. Starting with his survivors guilt in S5 and working his way through Catholic guilt in S8, I just love the idea of Eddie being purposeful in his own healing, especially in this post-breakdown era. Plus it'll give him a chance to have a storyline that's not romance-focused cos we've been leaning a bit too heavily into those. 🙃 But anyways. (Next up is his issues with Helena. btw. because we have yet to circle back to his family issues in canon but we certainly need to).

[genericpuff]

The Mishandling of LO's S3 Midseason Hiatus - Part 1

So Lore Olympus' return is right around the corner, and I realize I've never actually talked about the S3 midseason finale. I think I said I was going to, but then I just sorta didn't, probably because I was still reeling in the absolute absurdity of it for weeks afterwards. In hindsight, I should have written about it back when it was still fresh, but I feel like I can do it just as much - if not more - justice writing about them in hindsight, now that they've had time to sit and I've seen what Rachel and WT are clearly planning to do after the comic ends (whether or not they succeed... that's a different story).

CAUTION: THIS IS PART 1 OF A 3 PART SERIES IN WHICH I WILL BE SPOILING MUCH OF EPISODES 251-253. THIS EPISODE CONTAINS DEPICTIONS OF VIOLENCE INVOLVING STRANGULATION. THIS WILL BE A LONG POST. BRACE YOURSELF.

So one of the things that really motivated me to finally talk about this was a conversation that happened recently in the ULO Discord - the realization that there are many readers who still don't know what happened after the free to read finale cliffhanger.

Y'know, the one where Hades gets possessed by Kronos and attempts to choke Persephone-

Now, awful dark jokes aside about how Persephone frankly deserves to have her balloon head popped, this was a wild cliffhanger to leave on for free readers, but the strange thing this time around - unlike with the previous midseason hiatus - is that this is where the cliffhanger has stood for free readers for the past 3 months, and it will be 4 months by the time the series returns.

And frankly... this just highlights a huge problem with LO's writing, because this cliffhanger? Like all the others, it's literally resolved within the next episode. The one that's currently under the FP lock.

Man, isn't it a little fucked up that we only ever get trigger warnings when it's concerning Persephone? Where was the warning for when Minthe got turned into a plant? Where was the warning for the entire episode that depicted Hera's trauma from Kronos and how it's still affecting her in the present? It's always either the Persephone, Hades, or Apollo focused episodes that get the trigger warnings, they couldn't care less about the violence being done onto other people in the story.

Anyways. Episode 251 opens up by reminding us, oh yeah, Kassandra exists!

Remember back in Episode 227 when Psyche stole Apollo's USB drive (and by "stole", I mean she picked it up off the ground where Apollo had conveniently dropped it?) And they found a folder with a picture of Kassandra? Well, Episode 251 opens by reminding us of her... 24 episodes later. SEVEN MONTHS OF REAL LIFE TIME, LITERALLY THE LENGTH OF BOTH THE SEASON 2 AND SEASON 3 MIDSEASON HIATUSES COMBINED-

Anyways, I guess Rachel finally figured out what she was gonna do with Kassandra after all that time, and it's... really stupid.

But wait, don't worry about that yet, because only the comic's opening reminds us of Kassandra, we gotta establish the title first and get back to that cliffhanger from before, the one that free to read users have been waiting 4 months to see.

(pay attention to the episode titles here btw, it's probably one of Rachel's lamest 3 parter title sequences yet)

Turns out Kronos is still intent on getting his hands on Hera, even though we've literally already seen Kronos haunting Hera. Is he just a ghost? A hallucination of her traumatized mind? We don't know, it never really explains itself. So Kronos is still looking for Hera.

(kinda weird that we're getting all these redrawn fullbody angles of Hades-possessed-by-Kronos choking his noodle-bodied wife who is doing literally NOTHING to actually fight back besides yelling at him, but okay.)

Turns out Hades isn't really hyped about this choking game going on between his dad and his niece wife, so he goes full on "release the beast" Naruto mode on his ass.

And that's it. That's literally the conflict resolved. The cliffhanger that free to read users were left with over the 4 month hiatus is resolved literally within a handful of panels and Hades just "believing enough" to save his wife.

And then that's just it, it cuts away, and we get this sorta awkward conversation between Persephone and Hades (now himself again) over the fact that he just choked out his wife.

The scene transitions to Hades waking up in his bed (literally that last shot of him and Persephone was it, it transitions immediately). I'm trying not to use up Tumblr's 30 image posting limit so I'm not posting the 3 fucking copy pasted panels of this that just involves Hades waking up, use your imagination lmao

There's literally no actual conversation here, no amount of Hades asking "what happened", somehow despite his possessed state he remembers everything so succinctly that he jumps right to demanding Persephone to see her neck.

(literally removed the panel of Persephone saying "Hades..." because these types of "let me do the thing" "Hades :(((" "let me do the thing" exchanges are literally just Rachel trying to hit her panel limit, once you start seeing these '3 panel' exchanges that copy paste the same shit over and over again, you can't unsee them and you realize this is why so little happens in the comic as a whole, because it's just constant repetition of dialogue and reaction panels to pad out the episodes).

And then we get what I like to call "guy in a position of power manipulating his more vulnerable partner into pitying him without actually apologizing":

No for real, I didn't cut out a single thing from this exchange aside from a couple copy pasted reaction panels, this is the entire conversation. Hades doesn't apologize, he doesn't ask Persephone if she's okay, he just pulls the "you can leave if you want toooo :(((" baiting Persephone into further trapping herself with this jackass. SHE'S the one who's stuck with HIM.

Like, obviously Hades wasn't the one who choked her, that goes to Kronos, but he doesn't even ask her if she's okay. He just looks at her moldy ass bruises and immediately goes "YOU CAN LEAVE IF YOU WANT TO I'M A MONSTER OH GOD-" and then of course she's having to comfort him which is fine but where's the balance? It's always Persephone having to comfort him and listen to his trauma and we never get Hades doing the same for her - the times we do get Persephone talking about her trauma and struggles with him, he always finds a way to make it about him.

Hades proceeds to talk more about his childhood and more of the shit he's already talked about multiple times before, I don't even need to go over it at this point.

That said, Rachel does remember to bring his stutter back. When's the last time he stuttered? 200 episodes ago ?? (literally I don't remember, it's like when he used to twist his napkins, he doesn't have these character traits consistently anymore).

THERE we go, finally some semblance of an apology. It came after more trauma dumping, but at least it's something-

Oh for fuck's sakes.

This is literally such generic "you've come so far!" motivational jargon. And it's made even worse in LO because what has Hades overcome exactly? Just a reminder, here are the things we've seen in Hades' backstory since he was rescued by his brothers:

He started a business in the Underworld that he's been operating with slave labor and profiting off ever since as a tyrannical oligarch

He entered a multi-century-long affair with his brother's wife, his own sister in law

He cost Demeter - Persephone's own mother - the role of Queen of the Mortal Realm and Persephone still does not know this.

He abused and neglected his adopted son - who was literally abandoned on his doorstep - for hundreds of years and used his role as his adopted father to guilt trip his son for getting "special treatment".

He never took responsibility for the financially dependent relationship he created between himself and a lower class nymph and tried to bribe her out of his life as soon as he fell for a 19 year old intern

HE LITERALLY FELL FOR THE 19 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER OF A WOMAN WHO HE HAD SCREWED OVER AND PRETENDED LIKE THAT WOMAN WAS IN THE WRONG FOR NOT APPROACHING HIM DURING THE EVENTS OF THE ACT OF WRATH, AND THEN HE HAD THE GALL TO PROPOSE TO HER DAUGHTER RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER WHEN SHE BASICALLY HAD NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO SAY YES.

Everything he's legitimately had to overcome involving his trauma has gone completely ignored until pop in comes the pink cinnamon roll girl to solve all his problems and do for him what apparently even a therapist couldn't do (because haha he thinks his therapist is a hack.)

Persephone saying "look at all you've done" should be a reminder of all the crimes Hades has committed against people weaker than him, but instead it's used as a term of endearment, because Persephone literally got with him when she was 19 years old. And apparently the whole "eternally 19" thing applies to more than just her body, because even now, 10 years later, she's still lacking all the smarts and self-awareness and maturity to realize marrying this man was a mistake.

At this point Persephone isn't too naive or stupid to realize what she's gotten herself into, she's just a terrible person who's entirely complacent in Hades' bullshit and frankly, they deserve each other.

They literally keep talking about him for several more panels. Hades literally whines on and on about how much of a failure he is, how he feels like he failed the child who's trapped in Tartarus, and then of course Persephone tells him "no honey, you're the most important being in this process!" and she's LITERALLY STILL JUST TALKING ABOUT HIM, THIS WHOLE EPISODE IS PERSEPHONE TALKING ABOUT HOW WONDERFUL HADES IS, NOTHING ELSE HAPPENS. HAVE YOU NOTICED WE HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN KASSANDRA YET ?? HAVE YOU NOTICED THE COLD OPEN FOR THE EPISODE HASN'T BECOME RELEVANT YET ?? I'VE ALREADY HIT THE 30 IMAGE LIMIT AND I HAVE TO START CUTTING STUFF OUT-

Persephone and Hades talk about how they should name the interloper, but they don't come up with anything before transitioning to Leuce and Thetis.

And y'all, this has gotta be one of Rachel's worst cases of backpedaling in the entire series. You thought how she turned Leuce - Hades' first wife - into a homewrecker was bad? You thought it was absurd the plot tried to turn Leuce into Minthe 2.0?

Remember those text messages that Leuce and Hades sent between each other? The ones we never saw but kept getting alluded to? Well of course we couldn't have Hades actually text Leuce during Persephone's banishment, because then that would mean he isn't 100% loyal to his little pink cinnamon roll "qween", so what was the next best thing? Kronos possessing Hades and texting Leuce like so many people - even fans - assumed? No. It's worse.

The text messages... weren't real.

This literally makes no sense. First of all, it's once again Rachel creating drama out of "haha woman delusional!" much like she did with Minthe. But second, it literally doesn't make sense after what we've seen leading up to this.

Leuce didn't just talk about Hades texting her. She went to his office, intent on seducing him, with the knowledge of these text messages being real. She even TALKS ABOUT THESE MESSAGES WITH HADES.

But of course, they were interrupted before Hades got a chance to respond, so this was convenient enough for Rachel to try and pull off some 'twist' where she could easily absolve Hades of "cheating" on Persephone (again, the girl he only knew for like 1-2 months) but also not have to deal with the weird logic of Kronos possessing Hades just to text some random nymph.

This is absolutely one of the most absurd retcons Rachel has ever tried to pull to get herself out of the corners she writes herself into.

Now the episode is still going and FINALLY, it gets to Kassandra, after teasing her at the beginning of the episode and proceeding to do a whole lot of nothing throughout the entire thing.

This has to be one of the funniest panels in the entire comic, bar none. Rachel's gotten worse at drawing men despite making this comic for 5 years and having plenty of opportunity to improve, and he literally just looks like the fucking Amazing Bulk, haunting this poor mortal woman with his very presence.

So yeah, it turns out that the "curse" Kassandra suffers from in this "retelling" is, rather than having prophecies no one believes (or at least, if she does, we don't see that), she sees Apollo and no one believes her. Again, Rachel takes these weird liberties with the original myths that don't make a whole lot of sense all for the sake of seeming original, but whatever, Rachel hit her panel limit for the week, because that's essentially where the episode ends, with Apollo greeting Kassandra. As quickly as it was shown at the beginning of the episode, the one part of the episode actually featuring Kassandra is wrapped up in literally 7 panels.

THOUGHT VOMIT TIME

So with Episode 251 now summarized and out of the way, I really wanna talk about how this episode operates as the first FP episode after the midseason finale for free readers.

Despite the fact that it was a 4 month break and despite the fact that WT has always still released these episodes for free on schedule - with the idea that every reader will be up to date with the current content and can start fresh with a new set of FP episodes when it returns - this time around Episodes 251-253 have remained locked.

And I say Webtoons specifically because as far as I know, the creators typically don't have control over this type of decision. From what I've heard from other Originals creators, it's often WT who decides shit like coin costs, FP release dates, etc. This is why during hiatuses the numbers on the episode unlocks never actually align with their real return dates, sometimes they completely undershoot and reset, sometimes they overshoot and tell people LO is coming back in January despite the fact it's been confirmed it's coming back in November. This isn't Rachel's doing. It's clearly Webtoons trying to squeeze as much money out of this series as they can so they think the 4 month hiatus will motivate people to pay... but even the newest episode is still only sitting at 17.9k likes, which is just slightly above the average amount the FP episodes normally wind up sitting at by the time they're unlocked after 3 weeks, but this has been after four months. The hiatus of the comic and its communities absolutely put LO out of sight, out of mind.

That said, I don't know what this means for the series' return, if it'll have 6 FP episode unlocks going forward or if it'll just return with one new FP episode and Episode 251 unlocking for free readers, but holy shit, if that's the case, this is gonna be a shitty way to return from 4 months of nothing. The cliffhanger from 250 implies so much more than what it ends up being and it's, again, highlighting a fundamental issue within LO - it operates purely on a week to week basis, producing episodes on the fly, and concerning itself more with filling up its panel quota so that it can get readers from beginning to end when they can drop some new cliffhanger that likely won't lead to anything or will be completely resolved within three swipes of the next episode. Season 3 has been especially egregious with this and it's clear Rachel has run out of track to run on.

There is speculation that perhaps the reason the timing of this cliffhanger is so off is because Rachel didn't know the hiatus was going to happen and WT forced her on it. That said, it's not something anyone can really confirm besides Rachel. I wouldn't blame her for taking the time she did considering she was attending both NYCC and SDCC this past summer, and it's hard enough for her to keep up with any sort of buffer to begin with, so those conventions would have definitely resulted in episodes getting postponed anyways.

What I'm really interested in seeing is the reception when the comic returns. Hiatuses like this are brutal for traffic, it's incredibly difficult to get every single person who you started the hiatus with to return after it's done. It's not uncommon for comics to come back to only a fraction of their readerbase - and that's where the marketing comes in.

S3's return has been incredibly undermarketed. I've talked about it already but I'll mention it again here - they have done nothing to hype up LO's remaining audience for the ending of LO. Not only has the fact that the comic is even entering its final part been mentioned on either Rachel's or WT's social media pages, but the fan groups have been shut down for almost the entirety of this hiatus, shutting fans away from discussing the comic, making predictions, and just participating in their most active and direct part of the fandom. This was an absolutely absurd decision on Rachel's part, I don't know if this was her trying to shield herself from criticism or if she genuinely just doesn't give a shit about her fanbase anymore, but it's not a good thing if the only active groups to be found online during a comic's hiatus - it's final hiatus before the series ends - are the critical ones. Fans of the comic should not have to find out about its ending from me. I know I've got a way with words, but it's not fair to the long-term fans of this comic that they're being shut out by the comic's own creator, simply because she either doesn't care or is just so afraid of the critics that she'd rather hurt her relationship with her fanbase by shutting them out just to maybe shut out any critics who are nearby.

I don't know what the reasoning is and I don't know how it could have been beneficial. But that leads us to the other theory, one that I can see as plausible-

I don't think Lore Olympus was supposed to end here.

We've talked about this theory before, but to reiterate - it's been speculated for a while (prior to the news at NYCC that the comic would be ending) that S3 of LO wasn't going to be the final season as so many people had been assuming based on past info. There was no indication or marketing implying this was the final season - meanwhile webtoons like City of Blank were marketing their final seasons from day 1 of the premiere - and there were loads of new plot threads being established in S3 that we knew couldn't possibly be wrapped up by the end of the season. Case in point, it took Rachel seven months to get back to Kassandra, and while during that time she's rushed plotlines that shouldn't have been rushed (the wedding) other plotlines have proceeded to drag at a snail's pace or been dropped altogether. The speculation that S3 wasn't going to be the final season was plausible.

But now, suddenly, LO is coming to an end, likely within the next 20-30 episodes, and neither Rachel or Webtoons have said a word about it. No announcement post, no hype, no promotional art, no statement from the Webtoons VP of what to be excited for (which he's done before). It seems like they're either intentionally trying to bury it to keep people from panicking while Rachel retreats into the shadows to hide from the crimes she's committed, or they're intentionally keeping the ending of the comic unannounced so they can backpedal on it later to generate hype over it "deciding to stick around". Chances are, it'll be based on how the return of the series goes, and whether or not it's able to get the performance numbers back in the green.

I do not think it will. As I said already, hiatuses are already notorious for destroying built up traffic, especially on Webtoons where people (many of whom are teenagers and children) are conditioned to expect regular content on a schedule. But there's one other thing that's been bugging me - there hasn't been a shred of promotional art. We're currently less than a month away from the return of LO and not only are Rachel and WT being incredibly hush hush about it, but all the art Rachel has put out has been largely on her Blue Sky, where she has the smallest following, and none of it is exactly indicative of being "promotional art", rather just random sketches and doodles that she's doing on her downtime. Everything else has been promos for her books, SDCC/NYCC, of course, Rachel Smythe Presents, her next venture which she has been hyping up more than the actual return or ending of the comic that made her famous in the first place.

At this point, I'm not even fully convinced she's even started working on the next episode yet, let alone any sort of buffer. If anything, she knows that she's coming back to the series with 3 episodes still locked under FastPass, so all she'll need to technically have ready for launch is one new episode. Rachel has never been good at building buffers, not even in the beginning when she apparently started off with 2-3 episodes of buffer. Even when her comic is nearing its end, she's not learning any lessons, she's not setting herself up for success. And I'm not setting myself up for the hope that the series could possibly come back any better than it was when it left - if anything, I think we're about to see Rachel and the comic outdo itself once again on how bad it can possibly be.

And we still have two more episodes to talk about, which includes the cliffhanger for FP readers that we've been waiting four months on. Part 2 and 3 of these FP episode analyses will be going up as soon as I can get them done, ideally I'll have all three parts done before it returns so we can start off fresh with the newest episode.

Buckle up folks. Pour yourself a drink. We're gonna need it.

[bb-olicity]

On An Island Alone

It’s been 3 weeks since Chenford’s breakup and I feel like I’m on an island… alone.  The day after 6x06 aired, I made the decision to walk away from The Rookie. Well, at least until after the finale. I’ll decide if I'm walking away permanently once I check online and see how the season ended.  And before I go any further, to anyone who wants to say I'm not a true Rookie and (most importantly) Chenford fan: I have just as much right to stop watching the show as you do to keep watching it.

So why am I choosing to no longer watch the show?

The main reason I started watching the show in the first place is/was Chenford and I can’t sit there and watch them redo Seasons 4 and 5A and I won’t. Especially considering the fact we already know from Eric’s comments to TVLine they’re not getting back together by the end of the season finale.  I do not see them getting back together until at least the midseason finale next season.  Actually, if I’m being completely honest, I’m not sure they will get back together or if they even should.  I know me saying that will make a lot of people mad, but after reading Melissa and Eric’s post-episode interviews, I got a sense of finality when they were talking about Tim and Lucy’s relationship as a couple and the breakup.  Plus, I honestly don’t see how they can come back from what they did, which leads into the other reason why I’m not watching anymore.

Tim’s whole storyline rubs me the wrong way in so many ways.  They could’ve brought in his military past in so many other ways and still had him struggle without destroying his character in the process.  As it is, the storyline feels extremely forced just to cause drama for the sake of drama and, for me, irredeemably destroyed Tim’s character.  They completely erased 5 ½ seasons of character growth in the matter of only 1 ½ episodes.  And I'll never be able to see Tim the same way again, even if he goes to therapy.  I personally would never be able to trust him again and I honestly don’t see how Lucy could either.  That’s also why part of me feels like they should not get back together. Yes, I know it’s a short season and everything is condensed, but Alexi and the writers should not have done the storyline this late in the season, knowing they would not be able to do it justice with only 4 episodes left and not knowing the show’s fate by the time they finished filming the finale.  Since they were planning to break them up, I feel like they should’ve done it at the end of the premiere or by 6x03. That way there would’ve been time for Tim and Lucy to work through their struggles individually then work them as a couple by the end of the season.

Why do I feel like I’m on an island alone?

After the episode aired, a lot of the fandom was angry and a good number said they were done to show.  However, over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that number dwindling and a lot fans are now justifying the breakup who weren’t before and they have absolutely every right to.  I can see where they’re coming from, to a certain extent.  Tim and Lucy both were hiding things from each other since they started dating and would just gloss over things that needed deep and meaningful conversations to work them out.  That said, I personally will never agree with the breakup or the whole (Tim’s) storyline and will always maintain the breakup was completely unnecessary and they could’ve (and should’ve) stayed together and worked through their struggles as a couple.  So yeah, I’m on an island alone… and that’s okay.

[messyhairdiaz]

Hi I would like to know more about your 911 Barbour thinking thoughts and ideas :3

Hi!!!!!!!!

So, I’m kind of turning all of this over with the idea of maaaaaybe writing a fic but let’s be real. I probably won’t. But, a cut for length

My vision is that at the end of this season we get Eddie breaking up with Marisol and some sort of confirmation to the audience that he has feelings for Buck, has probably known about them for a long time but pushed them down, but now he just can’t anymore. But, because of this recent episode uncapping the well on his Catholic guilt, he decides that he has to sort out a lot more stuff for himself before he could be a good partner for Buck. Maybe Marisol makes a dig about him being a bad boyfriend or something? I don’t know, I just know he’s going to be in a place mentally where he thinks if he tried to be with Buck now—if Buck would even want him back—that he would ruin it.

So we end the season with us the audience knowing where Eddie stands, but Buck does not. The season ends for him with him still together with Tommy and being happy to embark on a new relationship.

Now, season 8 starts, and they’re still together, still happy. We see Eddie working on himself, we see him in therapy, we see him tackling his religion and the way he feels about it and who he is. Ideally, we would finally get some kind of reckoning with Helena.

He’s also still friends with Tommy. And so I think we have this subtle story as well where he and Tommy have actually become very close friends. Maybe Tommy talks about what it was like to be closeted so long with him. I’m undecided if I think Eddie would open up about himself, just because I feel like he thinks if he did he would be so transparent about the person that has finally broken through all his walls to make him want to look at this part of himself and, well. That person is Tommy’s boyfriend. Who Tommy is in love with and who Eddie is beginning to fear loves Tommy back

Because they’ve spent this whole half a season developing a really good, happy relationship. Maybe around midseason finale time they start to talk about the possibility of moving in together. Maybe they’ve dropped the L word.

Midseason finale rolls around. Eddie’s spent the whole season getting right with himself, and comes out to Buck. But only about being queer, because he sees how happy Buck is, how happy Tommy is even! And who is he to tear that apart? But we the audience are left with the impression that Buck is unsettled by this in a way that will be clear to us is because he’s starting to question if what he’s always felt for Eddie is more than what he’d always thought

First or maybe second episode back we get some kind of small disaster that ends in Buck and Eddie being trapped and injured together somewhere they truly believe they have no hope of being rescued from. Think the well, but even more dire, somehow.

And Eddie, even though he’s sworn to himself that he was going to try to get over Buck, is now faced with both going to his grave never having told Buck how he feels, and letting Buck die never knowing that Eddie loves him so much.

And it won’t matter, right? They’re going to die here. You don’t have to be worried about the consequences of your actions when you won’t be alive for them, right?

So he tells Buck he’s in love with him. He tells him he’s been in love with him for years, that he’d lain in the street bleeding out reaching for Buck because he had always been reaching for him and will always be reaching for him.

And Buck’s sobbing, and angry. He’s so so angry. He wants to know why Eddie couldn’t have done this before they’re dying, done this before he has a boyfriend that he’s in love with. Because of fucking course he’s in love with Eddie. He thinks he’s loved him from the moment he set eyes on him and only loved him more every time since so why couldn’t he have done this when it wasn’t too fucking late

And then, before they can really reckon with this knowledge that they’re in love and it doesn’t matter because they’re going to die down here anyway. The impossible happens. They’re rescued. They’re going to survive

But it doesn’t change that Eddie’s too late. It doesn’t change that Buck genuinely loves Tommy, that they’re together, that they’ve been looking at houses

Except that, of course it does. Because Buck loves Tommy but he breathes Eddie

Breaking up with Tommy is probably the worst thing Buck’s ever done. It breaks his heart to do it, but it breaks Tommy’s worse. Tommy tells him he had a plan. Once they’d picked a place, on their first night there he was going to ask Buck to marry him.

Buck cries because there’s this beautiful wonderful man that wanted to give him everything he’s ever wanted, but he’s not Eddie. Buck tells Tommy through his tears that he wishes he’d met him first, before Eddie had grown up inside him like a vine, impossible to remove without tearing out everything else.

Tommy leaves. Buck tells Eddie he needs a little time. That he loves him but he can’t be with Eddie while he can still smell Tommy’s scent in every inch of his apartment. Eddie understands, and the next few episodes just have little moments where Buck takes some time, but then you can see them slowly circling closer until the season finale, when Buck kisses him

Then: 911 Harbour announcement. Lou Ferrigno Jr led spinoff. For me, I would like to see the show starting with Tommy being promoted to captain. We know Lucy moved to air support for more chances at advancement, maybe that’s a goal he wants too and he’s old enough for it. We know he’s jealous of the family that is the 118, so maybe there’s been some shakeups, and so some of his team are people he’s worked with for a while, but he also gets to bring in some new faces. Throughout the first season they form their own found family

I know Arielle has that surf rescue show coming this fall, but for my fun here, who cares? So she’s one of the leads as well, because I would love more Lucy, frankly, but I also think two familiar faces would be good.

I think Tommy’s story would start out with him just being both a pathetic wet rag of a man after having his heart broken by Buck, while simultaneously deciding that if he’s going to be single yet again he’s going to fucking enjoy it, so it’s obvious what he really wants is a forever kind of love, but he insists it’s not

As for that love, hm. I’m waffling on whether I want him to meet someone quickly that maybe he has a bit of a Meredith/Derek sleeping together before the first day at work and oops that’s my coworker kind of thing or maybe actually he falls in love with a dispatcher, and they do kind of what they were doing a bit with Buck and Abby but actually drawn out for a good chunk of time where they don’t meet for a while? Lots of places they could go with that!

Anyway I think they could do two or three crossovers a season where air support comes in to help the 118 with bigger emergencies, but then a few smaller ones per season as well. At some point, maybe during 911 season 9 or 10 and therefore Harbour’s 1st or 2nd, there’s some kind of situation that pulls him back into Buck and Eddie’s orbit, and they can make amends with him.

Anyway those are my ideas. If you read to the end of this, uh. Hi. Sorry I’m sure you weren’t expecting, well, all that

[freefromthecocoon]

Who Is Back?

Okay, is everyone still bouncing off the walls about hearing Carol's voice talking with Daryl via radio? I know I am and it was great to hear Melissa's voice as well! I can't wait to see them both together onscreen again! I have thoughts about who Carol could have been talking about being back. Below the cut as usual, lovelies.

I personally feel Rick or Michonne are too obvious and I think she would have led with them had that been the case. I am not entirely ruling them out, but go with me for a moment.

David Zabel did his first interview with EW since the WGA strike wrapped up.

I have also seen a theory that Ezekiel's cancer would have returned, but I just don't know that they would do this, so we will put that theory WAAYYYYYY down on the list. Not outside the realm of possibility, but why does she wind up in France if that is the case?

My two main theories involve two, possibly three different characters. Morgan... or Dwight and Sherry.

Dwight and Sherry are the lesser of the two possibilities... Zabel said that "who/what came back" is important to Carol, so I am not sure if Dwight and Sherry meet this requirement. But Carol is aware of Daryl's involvement with both Dwight and Sherry and how all that played out back during Seasons 6-8. I feel she would think it's important to know that Dwight was able to find Sherry (over on FearTWD) of course after Daryl showed mercy and released Dwight with the admonishment to "Go find her." They are my third choice and of course Rick and Michonne are my second choice...but I feel Carol would have been more apt to tell him this as soon as she spoke if it were RIck and Michonne.

We know that Morgan's time on FearTWD has come to an end and he and his daughter were headed to Alexandria to try to find Rick at the midseason break for Fear Season 8. Lennie James has swore that his time in the franchise is over, but we know that AMC is spending money on these spinoffs. And Lennie said it would have to be something really great to draw him back. We also know that the actors in the past have said things to keep the audience at bay. We also know that Lennie James ADORES Melissa McBride and I believe he would come back for either her or for Andrew Lincoln. The Commonwealth sets remain intact at the studios in Senoia.

Morgan has been one character who has ALWAYS seen the bond between Carol and Daryl. Revisit Season 7 if you don't believe me. Morgan basically kind of called them both out in his own way about their bond and their feelings for one another. So I think Morgan definitely realizes what the two of them mean to one another. This would most likely not occur onscreen due to time constraints, but I could see an offscreen conversation where Morgan tells Carol about meeting his Grace and that Carol needed to make time count with Daryl. And I could see Morgan helping Zeke and the others to watch over the Grimes kids until Rick and Michonne return as a way of paying Rick back for his faith in believing in Morgan when he did not believe in himself.

So those are my crazy theories...and we can all sit back and laugh when it winds up being Heath that shows up instead of any of the previously mentioned characters

Caryl on everyone!

[bibuckagenda]

Bridgerton season 3 episode 4 rant following:

Oh pen Colin is your soulmate it’s okay he’s getting there I swear

Spill your secrets Colin bridgerton

What kind of midseason hellish cliffhanger are we gonna have

Ben wants to fuck and he GETS to fuck

You read me too well love them

Yes quiet man kilmartin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was wondering if they would set this up so sterling can happen

Colin put the pining away and get your girl because she is charming debling right now

He says and if I left you behind what would you do

Practical???? Practical???? SHE DESERVES LOVE

Pen no I’m gonna fucking screa

COLIN BRIDGERTON

Sequence where he can only think of pen when

Paying for it my dear boy girl kissing

Aaahhh Fran is so flustered I love them stop it

He’s stunned oh no baby girl Fran

Nuanced Cressida

Gross locker talk

He really said fuck you

Oh no is he going to ask did he already ask I’m gonna vomit

Portia I need you to actually be a mother for exactly 1 minutes

Love she could want love Portia I hate you with all my being

Colin you need to do some ruining like compromise your girl

Omg Violet yes tell him TELL HIM LET HIM PREVENT IT

Ballet baby

What is in her hair and how did she do that

Perhaps the play will inspire my lovers

He wrote on her card you guys oh no Colin where ARE YOU

Garden watered

Slow burn get this man to talk to Colin too

Second act you two should fuck

Ah Ben still wants to fuck

Cressida and Eloise kiss wait what

COLIN

Aaaah tell him not to mess with dear Violet oh my god

Kilmartin got rizz

Yea comin go GET HER

Oop rejected

Oh he’s putting it together across the street omg

Chase after her pleas Colin omg

No poor baby girl

Carriage carriage CARRIAGE

Oh Fran is giddy

I’m about to go out of the window if I don’t see Polin kiss one more time before the mid season finale

Omg confession please I’m gonna sob

Omg

Omg

ONG

Omg

Kiss now

Kiss please

YEA YES YEA EYSHAKZJHSHAHSHDHHDXJDJDJDJDJDJDHDHDHDJDJDJDJFJFJFJFJFJJDJDHFHSJSSJJSJDJDJDJDJDJDJDDJDJDJJDJDKDKDKDKDKDKDKFKFKFKFKKCFKKFKDKDKDKFKFKFKDJDHSHSHSHSHSBXBXHHXBXBXBJDIALAJSVSVEJEHXUDH

Oh the way he looks at her I’m blushing FUCK

Shoulder!!!! OH FUCK ME NO FUCK EACHOTHER IM GASPING

Gnawing at the bars to my cage please dear lord

He waited for consent I’m gonna leave the planet

OH

OH UH

Laughing cute in love kissing babies MARRY ME

Say it

OH

AAAHAHAHAHAHAH IM GONNA BARF BO I HAVE TK WAIT SO KONG BOOKII

NO THE OREVIEW RETURN OF ANTAGONISTS EL

[alphinias]

screaming in ur inbox because i had the realization that in every season jj flips out at the group and runs off to like cool down - he did it after robbing barry's place and in season 2 after john b's trial and its like tradition at this point. jj goes lonewolf midseason every season but in s3 he tried that shit in ep 4 when he ran away from kie, had a breakdown at the pier and then proceeded to go to the chateau except this time, kie beat him to it and literally said stop being lame!!! i loved their nonapology to each other like his 'you know how i be' actually cracked me up. anyway just realized kie sprinted from the maybank house to the chateau to continue their fight is so endearing and funny to me

NO BECAUSE IT WAS THE “whatup?” FOR ME

PULLING UP AS IF HE HADNT JUST HAD A COMPLETE MENTAL BREAKDOWN OVER THEIR FIGHT LMAO!! It was so funny that he was trying to run away from her and just circled back around to immediately run into her again because they are so ingrained in each other’s lives he literally can’t escape her since they always end up at the same place anyway.

Also, yes, I ADORE this entire scene because it feels so true to how best friends like them would make up to each other. She knew he didn’t mean it and knew he wasn’t ready to really talk about their feelings yet but she was just like “please don’t say my feelings aren’t valid though” and I just love that. Healthy communication in the best way they can.

[napneeders]

//unorganized rambling about both stuff I loved and hated in s2

ANYWAY!!! Ed and Frenchie so tragic and all the more so because there's never any kind of closure. their dynamic in 1-2 is so masterful because they have a pre-existing personal relationship and that never goes away no matter how much they're both wearing their masks. they could have had a friendship, but after his heartbreak, Ed needs to destroy that chance along with everything else. it's tragic!! he picked probably the two Revenge crew members he could most easily identify with, only to turn them against him.

but imo Frenchie feels for Ed to the end. he's sad for him in the impossible birds scene. he feels good when Ed expresses confidence in him - even in the fraught circumstances of hiding Izzy and not being sure he's fooled Ed - it's better to let himself feel good, live the reality that Ed is setting - because Frenchie knows about making reality himself, but he also knows when to concede that power (that's his defining strength if you ask me, not his ability to scam or please but the ability to assess the situation and choose from his strategies) - the cheerful little musical interval that starts as Ed's talking to Frenchie, continues as Frenchie walks through the ship, and ends abruptly with the overpowering reality of the hidden room is so good to me, a little creepy, a little sad.

and to go from that to the disappointment and hurt of Frenchie escorting Ed off the ship - still the messenger - and Ed lashing at him in such an impersonal way. to Frenchie's unimpressed expression and unenthusiastic clapping (but he still starts clapping when he sees everyone around him but the trauma crew do it - ugh my baby boy) after Ed's apology. it's only a glimpse but it's so raw. but for that to be it? it's not even an unreasonable reading that after a) Ed's horrors (which arguably Frenchie might be happy to put in the box if Ed offered him anything real) & b) Ed's inability to address them in any meaningful way, Frenchie's just done with him - like the crew are as a whole - rebuilding with each other instead - that's a good storyline! but there's also the missed opportunity of revisiting that relationship. not just for its own sake (or to satisfy my particular taste) but because it would be a SORELY needed opportunity for Ed to interact with the crew, and to face some of the themes of the early season - like that paternal role Ed takes on as part of his suicide mission. sure, partly that's addressed in the gravy basket, but the trouble is, no one else was there.

for the midseason in general, I love that they spend so much time on the crew negotiating how to be with each other in the post-horrors era. it's just that any progress in Ed's relationship with the crew is massively glossed over. to the point that I'm not even sure how we're meant to read that relationship in 6-8; cursory suggestions that all is fine now aren't exactly contradicted, iirc, but they're not backed up by anything either. I assume the core problem is trying to do too much in too little time, but it feels like some massive miscalculations were made in regards to what can be left to implication. and then possibly the implications were left to implication.

anyway. I'm well aware not everyone might read as much into Ed and Frenchie's relationship as I do, but that's kind of the point - season 1 managed a balance of text and subtext, including avenues for interpretation, really well, and that continued in the early second season, but then it just kind of fizzles out. even new threads I thought were picked up in the later season - Stede's real pirate arc - are just dropped. it's frustrating.

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: “Path of the Jedi“

Midseason upgrades and freshly-brewed nightmare fuel, let’s go!

Right, I’m just going to go ahead and link to the obligatory “Someone had an annoying rancid take on this episode” post right now and get that out of the way, let’s talk about something more fun instead because this episode has a lot of very very fun narrative things going for it.

A bright and airy rendition of the Main Titles theme to start us off, which almost feels like an apology for the drama they left us hanging on last episode and the stress they’re about to inflict on us in this one.

“We’re sorry about the horrors we made you witness.  It will happen again.  In the meantime enjoy this pleasant non-threatening scene. :)”

Zeb looks so annoyed lol.

Some of the many shots in this episode that look absolutely gorgeous, especially in gifsets or amvs.

(Sometimes you have to slow the footage down just a teeny fraction to fully appreciate how beautiful it is.  Along those notes, have a link to one of my favorite Rebels fanvids.  You’ll thank me.)

“I was with Sabine.”  Yeah I’ll bet you were, lol.

I think a few people in fandom figured out that Ezra had shown Sabine the stolen TIE fighter before the actual reveal but post season finale it’s still retroactively hilarious that we can pinpoint this as probably the exact moment.

Not entirely clear if it was a one time thing or if he’s been hanging out at the TIE fighter watching Sabine paint it a few times now, speculation best relegated for the realm of fanfic.  Of which there are plenty for this particular moment. :)

(Personally I’m fond of the idea that it was a gift/thank you for making his birthday suck marginally less and possibly also a bit of an apology for the whole mess on Anaxes.)

Kanan starts the conversation a bit frustrated, the implication coming across that Ezra’s been avoiding his Jedi training and Kanan is feeling supremely unconfident in both his role as a teacher and whether or not Ezra is actually meant to be a Jedi.  As Ezra points out, he’s not exactly had a traditional Jedi upbringing and everything is a lot more difficult for him.  Kanan’s likely worried that continuing to train Ezra will just lead to more disaster, put him at greater risk of Falling.  So Kanan wants to be absolutely sure that Ezra’s committed to this.

Hey, remember how I talked about how Ezra completely hero-worships Kanan and latched onto him for a parental figure as well as mentor?

“I want to be the Jedi you see in me, the one I don’t always see in myself.”

Yeah.

Ezra desperately wants to be worthy of the potential Kanan sees in him.  It’s kind of understated in the series, but Ezra has a serious self-esteem problem.  He doesn’t think he’s any kind of special, thinks that if not for the efforts of others he would just be an insignificant nobody.  He wants to live up Kanan’s example and expectations.

Maybe that’s why he acts a bit eager-to-please in this scene, departing with a very respectful and formal, “As you say, Master.”

Hera showing complete faith in Kanan to be able to help Ezra. <3333

The music is rather nice, not terribly memorable, but appropriate for the mood and tone here.  It falls away so we can focus on Kanan and Ezra’s conversation, and then comes back in with very sweet female chorals as Ezra taps into the Force in search of Jedi outposts.

I don’t think I ever paid much attention to this cue before, but it is lovely.

Frick there’s mist drifting over the fields here, thisshowissogorgeous.

Right, so you’re gonna be hearing me talk about how pretty this episode is A LOT, I’m guessing.

It’s ridiculously pretty.

Aaaand there’s the Force theme, right on appropriate cue.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: Kanan’s and Ezra’s breath misting as they speak.

Ezra’s theme piping in as he and Kanan harmonize through the Force again.

Egads look at that lighting, look how soft it is askjhaf.

Lots of strings, chimes, and vocals in the score this episode.

I’m sorry, this frame made me laugh.

These are my idiots and I love them.

Ezra seems confident until Kanan tells him he’s going to be doing this on his own.

Kanan falling back on parroting the things he heard, even though he understands how unhelpful they are to Ezra.  It’s all he’s got, though.

The strings turn ominous in the score here, impressing a looming sense of danger on us.

There’s a Force ring right when the vision!Kanan speaks, a very sneaky subtle hint that he’s not actually there.

Also, if I may?  I still cannot believe they brought the little nonsense “Loth-cat, Loth-wolf” rhyme back in the trailers for the fourth season like some kind of ominous portent of doom like for real????

It’s more obvious in the vision back on the Ghost but the Temple has Ezra’s friends saying the things he most fears to hear from them.  In Kanan’s case, it’s that he doesn’t have any actual confidence in Ezra at all.  Ezra questions this less (see aforementioned self-esteem issues) but it still stings, I bet.

The sound design this episode is on point.  *chef kiss*

Love how everything goes stained dark red once the Vision!Inquisitor appears.

Oh yeah, he was absolutely terrifying for me the first time I watched this.  *shudders*

I’M SORRY, THE HORROR THEY PUT IN KIDS CARTOONS GETS TO ME A LOT WORSE THAN ANYTHING IN “ADULT” FARE.

I never really liked how jerky the animation was in the lightsaber fight here, but I think there’s wiggle room to consider that this is Ezra’s vision and he’s never seen a proper lightsaber battle before, doesn’t know how graceful and fluid it’s supposed to be.

Idk it makes me forgive this fight a bit more.

Side note: I haaaaaate Disney+’s anti-epilepsy features I wish I could turn them off.  We have the whole series on DVD but I also don’t have a disc drive on my computer, why does modern technology suck so much?

Bbyyyyyyyy :((((((((

You can see tears glimmering on the edges of his eyes.

Right so, one of Ezra’s fears, obviously, watching his master die in front of him.

Please do not think about “Jedi Night” and that fear coming true.

“So he called himself Kanan, did he?”  Our first hint that that’s not actually his real name.  Which of course Grand would know, given his access to the Jedi records.

Ohhhh wow, in contrast to how easily he pulled Kanan’s saber to him the previous episode, here it takes a slow minute.  Signs of his unbalance perhaps?

Nothing metaphorical in how the saber refuses to ignite and falls apart in his hands tho.  XD

The visions be trippy this episode.

Oh ho man, the meta I could spill about this scene and how it reflects aspects of Ezra’s innermost fears.

I’ll try to be brief.

Vision!Zeb: Dismissive and flippant and considers Ezra an annoyance and a nuisance.  Not far off from the truth, but as of “Fighter Flight” the two did develop a respect and appreciation for each other.  Ezra fears that it’s skin deep and that Zeb still thinks he’s an annoying disposable kid.

Vision!Hera: Only cares about how “useful” Ezra is to “the cause”.  Ezra fears she only values him for the skills he can bring as Rebel soldier, that she’ll cut him loose and abandon him the moment he’s no longer an asset to her.

*shoves this under the noses of certain uncharitable parties*

Vision!Sabine: He’s a weak, scared, pitiable kid, incapable of any true heroism, only worth being sighed at and condescendingly sympathized over.  Ezra fears not being able to protect anyone he cares about, fears Sabine will never take him seriously, fears how she and the others see him, fears being weak and fragile and powerless.

Ezra’s obviously hurt by the false assessment of him, but has enough wits about him to remember that he’s in the Temple and couldn’t just have teleported back to the Ghost... so this must be false.

He’s not able to fully articulate those thoughts before Vision!Inquisitor shows up to be completely horrifying.

Zeb and Hera die pretty quickly in the vision (and the offscreen implications are almost worse than seeing things on onscreen) but Sabine lingers, calling out to him desperately, begging him to help.

OH HI MY NIGHTMARES FOR TONIGHT.

I said, the first time I watched this.

Ezra presses up against Kanan’s door first, and then his own room’s, before frantically pressing at the hallway junction controls.  Even in his vision he’s trying to find places of safety.

He already considers his room on the Ghost somewhere that’s supposed to be “safe” *sobs*

Bbbbbbyyyyyyyyyyy. :((((((((((((

The vision drops him back in the temple and he’s able to quickly parse that what he just saw was an illusion.

He’s briefly overcome by the thought that’s he’s alone and abandoned again before remembering he’s already survived that and come out of it, and he can do it again.

And boy if that isn’t Applicable.

*hurts in very specific and personal RL ways that I will not disclose*

Anyway, Grand shows up again to be terrifying.  I love that he’s even more implacable and menacing than he is in reality, shows the kind of distortion that fear plays on our minds.

Excuse me, do not touch my blueberry, Sir.

Ezra sees through this lie as well, and accurately assesses his own worries and fears, before declaring that they have no hold over him and bravely standing defiant in front of the illusion that is the Grand Inquisitor.

He is such a good Jedi saskjhak.

His unflinching bravery and acceptance dissolves the vision.  Fittingly his theme plays out in unapologetic brass.

Ffkajshkahfs AND THEN YODA’S THEME PIPES IN JUST A FEW SECONDS BEFORE WE HEAR HIS VOICE ENCOURAGING EZRA.

I kind of dig how we just hear voiceover from Ezra, we don’t see him speaking at all due to the camera angles.  Makes it seem uncertain if he’s replying to Yoda mentally or out loud.

My gosh the camera movement in this scene perfectly conveys the slippery effervescent feel a Force Vision is supposed to.

We finally pan back to Kanan and his first concern and worry is for Ezra. <3333

He looks and sounds so astonished to hear Yoda awww.

Love the implication that Yoda just spends his time trying to reach out to other Jedi in the Force, looking for survivors he can help.  Or that Kanan and Ezra coming to the Temple was significant enough that he felt it and was like, “Gotta get me in on this action.”

Kanan immediately adopting the proper reverence and respect once he confirms it’s actually Yoda.

I think I mentioned before but the Force tends to pair Masters and Padawans that affect each other’s personal growth.  Kanan is learning as much from teaching Ezra as Ezra is learning being taught.

On Kanan’s end, he’s having to confront all his doubts and anxieties and fears about his worthiness as a teacher.  Since he never finished his own training he feels inadequate and ill-prepared.  Moreover, since he ran from the Jedi part of himself for so long, ran away from who he was, he feels a deep sense of shame and personal failure, a failure he doesn’t want to pass on to Ezra.

It’s all the classic parental, “Oh god there’s suddenly a young vulnerable whole other human being that I have to be a Responsible Adult for.” worries.

Having kids changes you, man.  Can attest.

This is a really pretty shot.

As is literally all of this my gosh look at it.  Hello World Between Worlds-shadowing!

With Ezra, Yoda mainly nudges him into articulating and defining why he wants to be a Jedi.

Once again I will attempt to be brief and not spill a thousand and a half words of meta sobbing about how much I love him.

“I guess because Kanan believes I can [become a Jedi].”

I repeat myself but...

Kanan inspires Ezra.

Ezra looks up to Kanan.

“He sees something in me that I don’t see in myself and I want to live up to that expectation because I care desperately about what he thinks of me.”

“I’ll become stronger, powerful.”

“I’d make the Empire suffer for everything it did [...] I don’t want to be helpless anymore!”

Ezra does not crave power for power’s sake, but for what it represents: A way to no longer be weak and helpless, like he’s felt almost his whole life, to strike back against the entities that have wronged him.  His visions prior have struck right at the heart of this insecurity of his.  He was helpless to save his parents, helpless to save Kanan, helpless to stop the Inquisitor.

“I don’t want to be helpless anymore.”

Yoda probes Ezra to clarify if he wants revenge.  Ezra denies it, but Yoda rightfully points out he has a lot of fear and anger inside him.

Ezra does not deny that, but corrects himself by telling Yoda:

“I just want to protect myself and my friends!”

“I want to be a Jedi to protect the people I care about.”

And then he expands that.

“And not just them, everyone.  I’ll protect everyone.”

Ezra “Hero Complex“ Bridger folks.

*sobs*

Ezra once again credits Kanan and the others as the reason why he’s becoming more selfless, completely discounting any part he’s played in his own growth (see aforementioned self-esteem issues), but there’s an infectious passion behind his voice this time, and the animators emphasize his eyes with soft little highlights in the irises.

Ezra wants to help people like his friends do, bravely, selflessly, giving everything away.

Because now he feels alive.

This whole exchange is cathartic as hell.

Somehow I made it through all that without mentioning the score, so let’s remedy that.  Yoda’s theme continues to play out sweetly for his first interactions with Kanan, floating in and out as we intercut between him and Ezra.  A couple other hero themes are briefly excerpted.  Some deep bass male vocals start, a low steady single note sound like a meditative chant, emphasizing the mystery and spirituality of the inner chamber of the Temple.

The vocals drop out and calm strings pipe in, in tandem with Ezra’s moment of catharsis.

The Temple fades out partway into the starvoid of the World Between Worlds, and then a single blue glowing light descends from above, softly into Ezra’s hands.

Once again screencaps cannot accurately convey just how pretty this scene is.

The Force has tested him and found him worthy and so he has earned his kyber crystal.

He doesn’t know what it is, but he certainly looks at it the way he looked at Kanan’s lightsaber, with absolute utter awe, the Force theme in clarinet with plinking xylophone chimes like twinkling stars playing in the background.

Kanan’s so ridiculously proud of Ezra fskasjfhkh.  Probably just a little bit consternated that the Force decided Ezra was ready for a full-on lightsaber.  Like his job wasn’t hard enough ha ha.

The Force read the script and was like, “Yeah, uh, you’re gonna need this.“ lol.

“And hopefully it’ll be here long after you and I are gone.“

*CRIES IN SEASON FOUR*

NO BUT HOW FAR BACK EXACTLY DO YOU THINK THEY HAD PLANNED OUT THE WHOLE WORLD BETWEEN WORLDS PLOT BECAUSE TUA’S LINE ABOUT THERE BEING A SECRET REASON WHY THE EMPIRE’S INTERESTED IN LOTHAL WAS CRYPTIC ENOUGH THAT MOST OF US THOUGHT IT WAS JUST MORE DEATH STAR FORESHADOWING.

AND THEN VADER AND THE INQUISITORS FOUND THE TEMPLE LATER IN THAT SEASON AND THERE WAS SPECULATION THAT MAYBE TUA MEANT THAT.

BUT YOU KNOW, WE THOUGHT IT WAS JUST FOR NORMAL KYBER AND DEFILEMENT PURPOSES.

Ooooooone more pretty shot for your enjoyment.

Later in the Ghost, everyone seems to be waiting anxiously for Ezra to finish his saber.  I love that pretty much everyone contributed some parts for it, something about the symbolism of Ezra’s strength being his connection to others, to his family, that he carries them with him into battle.

Kanan turns the hilt over in his hands like, “This is a lightsaber???” Lol.

The Force theme has been creeping in slowly and now it builds and builds until full volume as Ezra ignites the saber.

I’m so proud of him. <3

This is one of my favorite episodes of the show, it’s so pretty and well-animated and has such good material for both Ezra and Kanan and their character development, both separately and together.

It’s a real milestone in their character journeys; they faced and overcame their fears just like the Jedi of old.  There’s more than a bit of similarity to the “The Gathering” episode back in TCW, a focus on acknowledging and conquering one’s personal inner flaws and finding balance.

Aaaaaaah I love it.  I love what this episode does for Kanan and Ezra’s relationship, I love the Jedi aesthetics, I love my precious boy Ezra so much. <333333333

[chelemlem]

please i love the love island AU!!!! some questions if you don't mind: 1) if lando/carlos were the runner's up, who won first place? 2) what was lando's reaction when he realized oscar is helping him 3) was oscar ever jealous watching lando crack on with other folks and what did that look like 4) WHO DID OSCAR FIGHT AAAH

HELLO ANON 🧡 ofc i don't mind !!!!

1. going off irl popularity it was probably maxiel lmao. even tho it's hinted daniel gets kicked i can see him having a midseason ~comeback a lá molly marsh in s10 a lá real life

2. tbh ! i don't think lando is toooo aware exactly how much oscar "helped" him... he's like okay sure oscar has a soft spot for me but also my longevity on the show is prolly bc i'm a good actor (he's not) and the public find my twinkish gremlinisms endearing (they do)... meanwhile oscar is behind the scenes cherrypicking edits to ensure he comes off as likeable and inducing chemistry w his partners via tswift soundtracks

3. WELL in my hc oscar's been working on love island for 2-3 years already and is extremely clear-eyed about the Showmanship Of It All and contestants Faking Sentiments To Secure The Bag but sometimes he'll be watching back footage of lando getting it on in a challenge all [bored professional voice] "yeah it's a good shot keep it in" and some1 (logan) has to be like uhhh m8 you're like. crushing my notes. let go

4. honestly this is up to interpretation lmao! timewise i see it happening right before the finale so it makes sense tensions are running high

THANK U FOR THE ASK <33 i had a lot of fun imagining how the grid would operate in love-island specific scenarios (casa amor homewrecker sharl anyone???) sgndkd i hope some of the subtler details came across (eg. lando "picking" george for the date implying he was an early bombshell vs one of the ogs). i love talking abt this au so feel free to ask as many qs as u want lmao <333

[tiffanyyy-ma]

I know the whole reveal about Damon being Severide’s brother was supposed to be jaw dropping but it was anticlimactic because how many secret siblings does one guy need?

CF has definitely had way better cliffhangers.

^^^^…literally my face during the reveal.

Anyway, I loved Boden’s send off. The whole team has a way with words. I like that Novak and Damon stayed towards the back and let the ones who’ve been around longer be towards the front. I’m going to miss his character so much but I’m glad that he’ll make guest appearances in future episodes. We need regular check ins with the new Deputy Commissioner.

So the Carver crush on Stella was addressed and I’m glad and hoping that’s over. We, as the viewers, weren’t reading into things. All I know is, that father was lucky I wasn’t there when he pushed Stella lol. I was hoping that storyline got some resolution because I want to see them in jail but I get it, time is limited. Whew imagine if Kelly saw…

I’m still processing the whole baby talk between them. We know she wants kids, but we also know it’s going to heavily affect her job (Kelly even acknowledges that partially). I hope they talk about it more and it doesn’t get brushed to the way side because I can see them making the brother storyline Kelly’s main story at least for the first half of the new season. Would it be a conflict of interest for Damon to be on truck under his ‘sister-in-law?’ Next season, they need a pregnancy (midseason finale if I had any say so) because the storylines need a major switch up. I wish they let us submit some rescue ideas because it seems like they’re running low on ideas.

[robbierants]

THE FIRST OFFICAL POST OF ROBBIE RANTS

Todays Rant: Transgender Representation In Modern Anime

Hello Yall! I was reading fanfics pn A03 and that got me thinking about modern representation in anime of Transgender, Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual people. Specifically Trans Rep.

Alright, so I did some research on what everybody else thinks about this topic. A lot of people who were not trans thought that representation in anime was complete bullshit. As a person who identifys under the trans umbrella, I've actually been quite pleased by my representation in media. Everyone knows about Ouran High School Host Club, the story of Haruhi, who goes to a high school for the rich and bored. They (I see them as nonbinary) makes friends and explores their identity, and everyone looks like they were drawn in Ibis Paint, I found the anime amazing and have seen it many times (ive read the manga 5 times in. Row man) . If you want an intro into LGBT in anime though, this is your go to.

Now if we want to talk about something very cerebral and powerful, Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji's Ciel Phantomhive is our guy. I see him personally as nonbinary (He/they respective)

Alot of people see his romp through gender in the first few episodes as a reflection of drag, or an excuse for man-in-drag humor. Well, there's a lot more to it than that. When I was coming out to myself, I was incredibly transphobic (being raised by catholic parents also doesny help) to myself, saying that "I can't be anything but a girl. It's not allowed". This mindset kept me from my own truth, up until a few months ago.

Ciel is very opposed to many things he defines as feminine and un-manly. When he has to infiltrate the party of a perverted count (I love his design tho!) he dresses in a frilly dress and pigtails. We can see how uncomfortable with it he is at first, squirming and complaining. Later in the series however, he comes to embrace parts of it. He wears clothes that could be considered androgynous, embraces a feminine side, and becomes quite the diva (I love Ciel Guys)

I like to think of the first season as a reflection of Ciel's mental state. He lives the first couple episodes blissfully, as a Cisgender male. In episode 4, he "dons an evening gown", and allows the possibility of this other sex.

I remember doing this very briefly when I was 10 with a suit. To be perfectly honest? It freaked me the fuck out. I was terrified of being who I was, so I ripped the idea from my mind. This is exactly what happens to Ciel. The only difference is that when I thought I might be man, I wasn't almost sold on the black market like Ciel.

Later in the season Ciel allows the possibility again, through subtle remarks at his butler, servants, and peers. He realizes that there are deeper levels to his psyche, and without spoiling anything, he confronts his traumatic past in a number of ways. One major piece of evidence is when the theme song changes midseason. Originally, the opening lines of the song say, "The monochrome blows Through our colorless encounter. I shall entrust each of my pains to you." Later in the series, the opening lines change to, "Since then, I've actually come to like the night. In a sea of dependence I forgot even to breath." If that doesn't convince you, nothing will. Ciel is nonbinary (He/They) who likes to wear femanine clothing some times. Don't @ me

Another awesome example of a Trans female in anime is Chihiro Fujisaki of the Danganronpa franchise. This is a slightly more to the point story of Transgender psychology. Chihiro Fujisaki is one of the many students trapped in the hellish prison school of Hope's Peak. Chihiro is "the ultimate programmer", having created game changing software and programs. Chihiro is also biologically male. We don't know this until she turns up dead, and the only reasonable cause of this was someone in the Boy's locker room murdered her. Chihiro got into the locker room using her birth sex as an excuse.

Chihiro is also known for being very socially awkward, depressed, and kind. These are all characteristics very common of teenage Trans females. I know a couple of my trans femme friends fall under these categories. Chihiro is a perfect example of a passable Trans woman flying perfectly under the radar until being looked into further. If you knew how many Trans people would kill for this, you'd realize how truly rare Chihiro is as a character.

Chihiro notably built herself what is known in the programming world as a "Construct".

For those of you unaware, a construct is a direct copy of the users brain, rewritten via computer code. "Alter Ego", as she is called, is a version of Chihiro built to protect and inform the other students.

Now, if only I had an artificial intelligence to answer peoples stupid questions about being Trans!

Of course, on the subject of Trans anime, there's enough transmisogyny to go around. Let me show you some iconic anime clips you may not have known were transphobic;

Naruto's "Sexy Transformation"? Transphobic

Ouran High School Host Club's Over-explanatory Lines? Transphobic.

Black Butler's Pronoun Butchering of Grell? Transphobic.

(CMON BLACK BUTLER!)

I hope this has informed you on the potential of Trans people in anime. I highly suggest you check out shows like Black Butler, Ouran Host Club, and Danganronpa.

[pinkeoni]

Do you have a time-line in mind for how Will possibly becoming a scapegoat or blamed for all things would go? From someone recognizing him to how it could snow ball into something simular with Hellfire? I imagine with 3/4 of the OG party already toeing that line and Ed*ie "missing" some towns people are going to turn their ire towards the remaining members. Will could possibly be pinned with guilt by association too. What are your thoughts?

Oooohh okay I’m glad you asked.

I think initially it would start small. Maybe during the timeskip there would be rumors about Will being into something nefarious, not too different from the usual he would have to endure.

But post-timeskip as the action ramps up, especially as it relates to Will’s connection to Henry, what starts as gossip begins to look like it may have a lot more truth to it. The town suspects that Satanists are involved, and this kid surrounded by strangeness seems to have a connection to what people think is the devil?? I can imagine some supernatural strangeness happening to make people think this— maybe Will begins to hallucinate Henry or begins to hear his voice and people take notice of his strange behavior.

When there’s a Will power reveal this is when things REALLY start to get bad because it shifts from gossip to genuine speculation to outright witch hunting, and Will could likely have the entire town actually out to get him.

Lately I’ve been making a few posts regarding the AIDS allegory in the show, and this would definitely tie into that. Will is, quite literally, seen as the predatory gay man who is spreading disease and causing death. Now, this actually goes hand in hand with the canonization of Byler. Imagine Mike and Will becoming romantically involved, perhaps around midseason, and how this would create even more of a conflict for them getting together than there already is. After the mutual feelings are revealed and the confession is had, the conflict then just becomes how society is going to see them together, which is now just dramatized to the nth degree.

Imagine Will telling Mike that they shouldn't be together because everyone will think that Mike is in on it with him. Mike has been relatively proactive about hiding his queerness, but it's actively falling apart. Meanwhile, Will's queerness has always been perceived by others. I could imagine Will saying something along the lines of, "If they see us together, they will think that you are in on it with me. If they see us together they will kill you." And he's talking about his involvement with the Upside Down, but it serves as a double meaning for their queerness. Will is basically telling Mike, maybe not in these exact words, to continue to hide his queerness and let Will take the fall for both of them.

Of course, it all works out happily in the end. Will won't be the one to destroy the world, he is going to save it. Town perspective will likely shift, although I don't know if they will overwhelmingly love Will so much as just feel a little embarrassed that they placed all the blame onto him. I also don't think that Will saving the day would mean that the town changes it's tune about gay people either 😂 however I do think that both Will and Mike learn by the end that they deserve to live a happy long life together, so they get together even if they can't have the most public relationship. Cue Byler leaving Hawkins together in the epilogue.

[eriexplosion]

We're halfway through season 2 and honestly where did the time go?

But with half of the season behind us, I kind of wanted to group together what I've found out and use them as a jumping off point for theories - this will contain spoilers in the form of discussing leaked plot details and screenshots from those that have seen the screeners, along with a few things pulled from reviews.

So episode by episode...

The Crossing/Retrieval

I'm keeping these two together because from the redditor that's been talking about the screeners (CanCalyx is the username) has said this is a two parter, with the connecting theme being the emotional fallout of Echo leaving. The bit of Omega and Tech talking about being a family from one of the trailers is apparently pulled from The Crossing. Other than this though the plot backdrop is apparently a basic mission structure.

(I would hope that they would also bring up Crosshair here in one of these episodes, at least a mention, but I'm also leaving room for the simple fact that the only one who routinely brings up Feelings is Omega and for obvious reasons she never had the same kind of bond with Crosshair as she did with Echo, so Echo leaving would be much harder for her to process.)

These seem like two pretty important emotionally but less plotty episodes, but I'm looking forward to them because I Crave That Emotional Agony. Make me cry, guys, just do it.

Metamorphosis

Okay so I'll be real, I have heard NOTHING about this episode whatsoever. Not a blip. Which probably means it's either extremely plot relevant and leakers don't want to spoil it or it's extremely episodic. Before the midseason I probably would have said extremely episodic but I admit I'm super curious now if the Metamorphosis is somehow related to our Believer clone and what the hell they're doing with these clones. Clone X, which is apparently what he's officially being called, called Rex 'limited' in some way, so I doubt he's just an exceptionally loyal clone. Something was Done to him to make him... unlimited. So given it's title this would be a very good place to find out a little bit more about the Plot that's going on, especially since the next episode is-

The Outpost

So this is our next planned Crosshair episode. I've heard both a lot about this episode and nothing at all because while everyone seems to agree that it's absolutely fantastic and heartbreaking it seems to be a huge pivotal plot episode. The only thing I know for sure is that it is a Crosshair episode, it seems to be where our scattering of unseen Crosshair shots are from, and it will take him to an emotional breaking point and personal revelation. One of the reviews I've seen floating around mentions Crosshair finding out the horrible purpose clones are perfectly suited for now that they're being decommissioned, which is why I think Metamorphosis could tie into this. We get a little more information and then Crosshair breaks whatever this conspiracy is open and it completely changes his entire outlook. I'm making an assumption that this is going to be the start of his redemption arc and defection from the Empire because that's what I want to have happen but also I don't see people getting so universally pumped about a character arc that ends with him in the same basic place that he started at.

My theory for what shakes him up so bad? I mentioned it in another post but honestly I think that Howzer might have been turned into one of these Believer clones. He's a character with no previous connections other than seeing him in season one, he was purposely left alive, very distinctive in design, and Crosshair has personal experience with him. So I think that his breaking point might be seeing just what the Empire will do to someone he is personally responsible for handing over to them. Crosshair never gives an indication that he truly understands what the chips can do and what having an Enhanced chip even means, so this would be a wake-up call both to what the empire truly is and what the empire has already done to him. He's the only clone we've seen undergo the chip enhancement procedure, he would have been the first test of something like this, and this is what he would have become if the chip hadn't been removed after Bracca.

Anyway I took the day after this episode off work because whatever happens I am certain to be in shambles.

Pabu

The only confirmed info I've seen from this episode is that it 'gives the batch what they think they want' which is exceptionally ominous. Reviewing what they think they want, I believe they've finally found a place off the Empire's radar - possibly an uncharted planet that Phee has given them the coordinates to? - and that Pabu is the name of the planet. Crosshair apparently appears in every episode post The Outpost, so this could switch between them on Pabu and whatever the hell Crosshair is up to as a b plot? (my dream scenario is that if the Howzer thing is correct he's trying to get Howzer's chip out to Fix him but that is very specific and relies on me being right about several other things so I'm not counting on it lol)

Anyway, I think that without the constant concern of missions and the Empire and war, the batch will finally run out of things to distract themselves with and be forced to deal with the fact that their family is incomplete. They spend a lot of time trying to avoid dealing with their feelings and emotions, and their lifestyle makes that pretty easy but take away the constant threats? Yeah they've got nothing. So I think that this is where they have to decide that they do want to join the fight, or at least that they can't just stay here forever.

Tipping Point

So I'm guessing this is our War Mantle of the season, the mission that leads them into the finale. If they've left Pabu at this point then they would probably make their way to Coruscant since that was where they left Echo - possibly Crosshair has also made his way here too? Some kind of strike against the Empire because he decided to go insane in the other direction?

I think the point of this episode is to bring everyone back together and provide the, well, tipping point into the finale. We know that Echo comes back sometime in the first fourteen episodes - interestingly, the leaker on reddit said that Echo didn't come back and is being a little shady when asked about the leaked Echo & Omega hug from twitter, so my guess is that this happens towards the very end of the episode as some kind of surprise The Calvary Has Arrived scenario and they're trying to avoid spoilers. I do think that Crosshair will be brought in with Echo and that Echo & Rex will be the thing that finally puts him back on a collision course with everyone else.

The Summit/Plan 99

THE FINALE! So from the title 'the Summit' I'm assuming we're going to Mount Tantiss finally. I'm also guessing that they won't be alone, Echo and Rex being separated out to continue freeing clones from the Empire could be a lead in for bringing in more clones to assist along with Crosshair, playing a similar role to Sabine staying behind on Mandalore in Rebels.

I'll be honest I don't have a TON of theories on this one because I need to see how the earlier episodes shake out to really figure out what track I'm on and also because no one has seen them and so there's been Zero leaks to go off of. However, I don't think that we're going to be getting any major character deaths in it, because TBB hasn't relied heavily on character death in general. It also feels way too early in the series to do something like that, it's only season two.

Honestly, I'm expecting none of this to be right but I wanted to get all of my theories down in one place now that we're on the back half of the season. I am vibrating to find out what's next.

[larsnicklas]

i will be so so so heartbroken if tj o.shie hangs up the skates midseason like i really don’t think i could take it — for all that i might talk about other capitals more when tj came to the capitals i immediately and fiercely fell in love with the way he played — with tenacity, and sometimes with reckless abandon, but always with every bit of his heart. scrappy and tenacious and just determined in the way that the best players are; the sort of teammate that every guy wants. a quick fan favorite, and that was impressive on a team that already boasted so many stars at the time! he really wears his feelings on his sleeve when he's on the ice, and the fanbase responded to that. (the capitals fanbase is one that has been primed to love players with emotions brimming and spilling over to the surface — just look the captain.) i know he didn’t start here but he’s such a fixture, such a mainstay. i can’t imagine the team without him.

tj plays the game with everything he has and then he gives you more, even when you think it’s impossible. he’s put his body through so much to show up for this team and he’s come through for them time and time again. i think maybe he should be selfish for one time in his life. i don’t actually think it’s selfish at all, but even if he thinks it is i wish he’d put his body and his future wellbeing first. and like! i don’t want him to stop playing. when he’s out there i know he’s going to give his best on every shift, whatever that means from him that day. i know he’s going to keep guys engaged and focused on the bench. i know he’s always going to make me proud to be his fan.

i don’t want to see him have to concede and retire before he wants to. it feels so unfair all the time. but i hope he knows that he’s given this org and the fans more than enough. like we could never repay him for what he’s freely and gladly given. i want him to be able to hit the ice with his kids and not have his back bother him! i hope someone he respects and trusts in the caps org has told him things along these lines. like. if this latest injury is a back thing… i don’t know if it’s worth it. only he can decide but like. i hope he does what’s best for him and his family. and not just what he thinks he should do for the team. :(