#r&m meta

[pocketgalaxies]

C1E60 || C3E88

[zeep-xanflorp]

i love how prime's death was brutal. i love how he became fucked up and ugly. i love how rick abandoned all tech to resort to pure basics to show his frustration. i love how each hit really makes you feel the impact every time. i love prime's voice acting. i love how he laughs at our rick and taunts him until the only sounds he can make are increasingly gurgled screams. i love the subtle ringing sound during the scene that makes you feel like you're getting sick. i love how prime's face is reduced to an unrecognised pulp. i love how our rick is as cold as stone through the whole scene. i love how he doesn't celebrate. i love his quiet realisation that his sweet revenge is hollow and unfulfilling. i love how he wears his bloodied, tear streaked face for far too long.

i love how the whole scenario was unsatisfying and unneededly cruel. i love how rick isn't made out to be a hero for this, because he isn't.

[veinsfullofstars]

"Still trying to intimidate me? Cute."

(ID: Kirby series fanart of Meta Knight and Galacta Knight based off of a couple dynamics template by @/ReddsMess on Twitter. Original template and source below the cut, as well as a HAL language variant. Top-left panel - high-angle shot of MK lit from above, standing firm and glaring up through his mask, his wings curled out and breaching the panel in places, subtitled "Well well..." Top-right panel - low-angle shot of GK lit from below, looming in the air and leering down through his mask, his wings curled out and his hands spread wide in challenge, both of which breach the panel in places, subtitled "Look who came to see me..." Bottom panel - MK & GK stand next to each other, the latter leaning towards the former and gently caressing the side of his mask with the back of one hand, grinning smugly and wrapping a wing around the knight, subtitled "My Knightmare." MK stands stiffly with his fists clenched at his sides, blushing vividly and glaring away from the warrior. A little flurry of white hearts emanate from GK, while one small one hovers above MK. END ID.)

Started 03/30/24, finished 04/02/24.

---

HAL language variant:

Original by ReddsMess (template link) NOTE: The artist has marked 16-18+ in their bio, so browse at your own risk!

[thoughts-and-gayers]

so, we can agree that the show is neglecting morty in favor of developing rick and his healing arc, yeah? rick's character progression is becoming the focus of the show, but his primary victim is being left behind.

my solution?

what if we made this diagetic?

rick, trying to better himself, but leaving morty behind. morty, still dealing with the trauma rick gave him, still expecting rick to abuse him, still mistrusting rick. and rick having to come to terms with the fact that he can only heal so much without healing his relationship with the boy he abused.

fingers crossed this is where season 8 goes. i have high hopes for this show, and fear no mort is already a step in the right direction for morty's development.

[noose-lion]

For someone who obviously cared for and loved his now dead wife, Rick sure does talk about how much of a scam marriage is.

[ricksanchezsimpaccount]

actually no, surprise, i have MORE thoughts bc i still have not stopped thinking about this episode

i think there's something to be said about the fact that Rick Prime lost...because he underestimated a Morty. like. OUR Rick was basically dead, he lost. Evil Morty was the reason Rick Prime lost

Also is it just me...or did Rick Prime seem afraid of Evil Morty once Evil Morty had him tied up? He was bargaining with him. Offering him a role as his sidekick because he was rapidly realizing he couldn't wiggle out of this (while still offering him a role as a 'sidekick', not an equal--feels like him scrambling to keep up the facade that he's still in control)

And honestly...Rick Prime kinda felt like he was a little afraid of our Rick too? Once he was tied down and helpless...idk maybe I'm reading too much into it but I heard a quiver in his voice when he says "Buddy, nip this in the bud!", he was desperately trying to get Rick to abandon his goal of killing him to go after Evil Morty instead. trying to posit Evil Morty as the bigger threat here

Like he tries to goad both Evil Morty and our Rick, and I swear I hear a tremor of fear in his voice when he realizes, both times, that they're not responding to it and it's not working

[fandomwe1rd0]

I love how laying a finger on Morty is basically like writing your own death sentence when it comes to Rick

[0rb0t]

ACTUALLY I HAVE MORE TO SAY on that Planetina episode. (Warnings for Rick Sympathizers, I go hard against him in this, even if I love him)

I noticed people were saying that they felt like the writers were more lenient on Planetina because she was a woman, but I don't actually believe that was the case.

The episode is extremely creepy but the thing is, we are seeing it from Morty's perspective. We have spent most of the series seeing stuff from Rick's perspective. This episode was uniquely NOT from Rick's perspective in either plot. It was Morty's or it was Summer's.

Planetina's creepy relationship with Morty was absolutely meant to parallel Rick and Morty's creepy relationship. The episode literally starts with Morty rejecting Rick to be with Planetina-- and not only rejecting Rick, but casting off "immaturity" in order to be with someone he idolizes but also wants to be mature for.

Yes it was mentioned that in the Toxic episode, Morty was with two older women, but you need to think about what that says about Morty at this point. His ideal Healthy was someone who was seen as mature, who wanted to be looked up to, who had confidence. Morty thinks that being a scared kid is toxic and that his ideal healthiness will be a man who has confidence and is mature and will have a mature woman with him. He's literally a middle school boy, this is not abnormal for middle schoolers, and it definitely gets worse when their needs aren't met.

Morty spends the entirety of the Planetina episode falling for this woman he admires, idolizes and thinks it's love, and Planetina takes advantage of that, both by having aspects of the "born sexy yesterday" trope but also because she's really kind to Morty and always says yes to him-- but let's examine that trope for a second here. In this case, Planetina is an adult woman who behaves in a childish manner that is appealing to Morty and makes her seem cute and he wants to do anything for her.

Hm. Rick is literally an adult who behaves in a childish manner that allows him to get on well with teenagers and kids but not so much fellow adults. Rick can also make Morty do almost anything for him, except he's not kind. His kindness is conditional.

TO MY BAD FAITH READERS: STOP RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL SCUM

I'm not saying here that anyone who is an adult that behaves childishly is automatically a predator. Rick and Planetina both are predatory towards Morty because they engage with him in highly inappropriate ways because he is a minor and they are adults. Boundaries are broken and reassured it's okay, there's a lot of "don't tell your parents about this" sometimes in actions and not words but Rick has LITERALLY said that out loud-- It's how you treat others that can make you predatory, and Planetina literally keeps encouraging this out of Morty, too.

In reality this episode is kind of an extension of the Toxic episode, because it shows that side of Morty that craves maturity because he can't connect to ANYONE around him, but also he wants so badly to be wanted, to be accepted, to be told he's good and perfect just the way he is. He wants to be loved so badly. So of course he latches onto the first woman who seems to be saying all those things to him because he HASN'T been taught how to avoid these creeps. And then when Beth finally starts stepping up as a mother for Morty, of course he sees this as betrayal-- because in his experience, his family has NEVER had his back. And the entire time, Jerry is playing a childish game where a little guy throws up everywhere LMAO Like, the writing and direction of this episode is so on point, it's Morty going "everyone around me is immature and they do not understand me and they don't want me to be happy" and Planetina takes advantage of that.

It really does not matter if she was genuine or not-- Morty is 14 and she is an adult who is going for the affections of a little boy HJSDFK LIKE. IF YOU FELT CREEPED OUT BY IT, IT'S BECAUSE IT'S CREEPY and it NEVER SHIED AWAY FROM IT. It just feels extra bad because we're getting it from Morty's perspective.

Morty finally puts his foot down when Planetina turns to outright murder--and she even tries to turn it around "You murdered my kids" EVEN THOUGH SHE BASICALLY TOLD HIM TO? She didn't use the words directly but she did tell Morty, KNOWING he was desperate for validation and love, that she was going to be taken away... Morty goes all out, arming himself to prevent that. As badass as this scene was, this entire episode really shows how middle schoolers (esp boys) are able to be groomed and radicalized by dangerous people they admire.

The original post said that the writers are lenient on women groomers but wouldn't act this way if it were men-- Morty likes girls, idk what to tell you. But also the EPISODE was from Morty's perspective. the Mr Jelly Bean episode was not-- it was horrifying but we were still generally from Rick's perspective. And as great as it was to see Rick kill that guy for trying to sexually assault Morty, Rick has not stepped up in a single way SINCE to help teach Morty how to protect himself, to safeguard himself from predators, etc. In fact, all he really aimed to do was make Morty more dependent on him.

I LOVE THESE CHARACTERS BUT I HAVE NO ISSUE SAYIN THIS SHIT CAUSE IT'S TRUE I'm glad Rick is trying NOW but the boundaries between them have long since eroded. Morty is used to being treated like this, and Rick is used to being able to get away with it.

That's why Evil Morty's finale was so poignant-- "I'm not evil, I'm just sick of him" Literally every single time Morty has pushed away from Rick, we get this perspective that Morty is bad and is being mean to Rick. HECK NO-- Morty is showing agency and trying to protect himself.

This episode is no different, he literally DOES break up with Planetina, and she (despite causing all of these situations and having the power in the relationship) blames Morty and acts like he did this to hurt her and leaves. And Morty wails openly into his mom's embrace, because Beth is there to comfort her son who is BROKEN over it.

And then these parallels are LITERALLY MET in the pre-finale episode where Rick is like I DONT NEED YOU MORTY I CAN REPLACE YOU WITH TWO CROWS--

The Planetina episode is MEANT to be watched with the finale episodes.

I don't think it's fair to blame the writers for something that they were really REALLY smart about writing in these episodes. To say that the writers didn't make it blatant is... frankly untrue... This show does not work as well when they have to look at the camera and go "THING BAD" because the entire show has had Rick grooming Morty into becoming exactly like him and that ends up being more acceptable to a lot of people because a lot of people are biased towards Rick.

And I understand the pull! I love Rick Sanchez! He's very relatable! But he's also quite literally a "do not be me" type of warning character LMAO He's a cautionary tale, at all times.

This show is entertainment first, it's not meant to be watched as education, its primary focus is to tell stories. If you learn something from it, GREAT! But the most bad faith interpretations because you're uncomfortable about how something is shown isn't actually conducive to anyone's learning.

Next time you feel uncomfortable while watching Rick and Morty, ask yourself why, and be prepared that those feelings of discomfort MAY BE MIRRORED IN ASPECTS OF RICK AND HIS GRANDSON'S PORTRAYAL. This is how I learned to stop believing anything Rick had to say about Jerry, because it's usually projection.

[cathedraldecay]

5/19/22 via Alt Press x

[cuddlytogas]

do i know that ed's knee brace is probably gone in s2 purely because it was annoying and inconvenient and they might as well just get rid of it? yes, absolutely

am I still cooking up an essay about s2 literalising symbols to set a more grounded emotional reality with the entry analysis of removing the mad max symbol of trauma and violence that is the knee brace? maybe so

[hesitationmarx]

quick take on some of y'all's takes on Air Force Wong: Rick never told Dr. Wong about Unity, she only knows what was said in front of her in the episode in the context of a national crisis, which admittedly could've been mitigated had Rick checked his voicemail. not saying he shoulda, i wouldn't, but Helen doesn't have the context to know that. lay off her. also how the fuck do u turn down a super interesting mission that might be a date with au knockoff obama? why would she? i doubt rick told her he's in an undefined queer relationship with the president like she really didn;t know abt that boundary existing.

[zeep-xanflorp]

ok i'm just gonna ramble ab unmortricken bc i have exactly ZERO COHERENT THOUGHTS AB IT

evil morty backstory - i rlly like that they just made him some random morty who rose above everything after getting sick of rick's abuse. it makes what he did feel even more earned and weighty. i think his motivation is a bit extreme still but i can't rlly blame him.

it's cool seeing infinity beyond the central finite curve. the jetsons inspired bit was v amusing bc i forgot about them lmao. but otherwise it seems absolutely wild west beyond the curve and i LIVE for that.

i also didnt imagine that we'd be seeing him again. i thought the way he left the show was perfect and if they brought him back it would just feel cheap but it DOESNT in this episode i love his appearance.

i rlly like seeing our morty be supportive of rick. he's literally trying everything to cheer him up and it's very important to me.

the prime decoys confuse me. like do they all share a consciousness? is prime just very very good at fucking with ppl that he's made all the decoys communicate w each other?

evil morty outsmarting rick is a great recurring theme in the episode. "filter for probability stasis" YEAH U TELL HIM LITTLE DUDE. we've never seen a morty like that EXCEPT for him and i think it's wonderful.

the exchange between rick and evil morty. "you're such a narcissist" / "literal glass house" / "you think you're better than me?" / "jesus i HOPE SO" SHITTING

i didnt initially like the decoy trap thing being full of loads of other ricks. it made me feel like our rick wasn't very important to this dude and rick just made an enemy of a guy who didn't know he existed. BUT i don't stand by that anymore. the rest of the episode made me change my mind very quickly with.

the omega device. holy fuck this is the worst reveal to come out of this episode. she wasn't just killed, she was ERASED by prime in every reality. like she is GONE gone. that's why we've never seen her, save in flashbacks and memories. she's gone.

and i'm pretty sure it's our rick's fault that he did that. we see his beth and his diane be killed by a bomb, not wiped from reality like slo mobius is later in the episode. so his family was killed BEFORE all the shit with the omega device. ik correlation ≠ causation, but it rlly explains why our rick in particular is so hungry for revenge. if he was the one that made prime kill diane everywhere then he had to be the one to make prime pay for it.

i like how the multiple monitors seems to be prime's signature move. it happens here and in the s6 premiere.

and oh fuck the parallels. "when i invent something it works, it's called being talented" in story train vs "when i make a weapon in works."

oh man the diane head weapon thing. it's interesting that it was programmed to mock rick sexually, but even on our rick who knows it's a trap, it still affects him seeing her face again. "god i missed that face." and then the blank stare when she asks for a kiss. pretty sweet and fucked up.

rick and evil morty having to work together to get their portals working. the contrast between our morty freaking out and evil morty blank staring.

the bit with the portal closing too soon. i know it happened earlier this season and i think it's so funny lmao.

I CANNOT STRESS TO YOU ENOUGH THAT I WAS SO MADE WHEN I WORKED OUT THAT INSTEAD OF YELLING WHILE GOING THROUGH THE CURVE THING IN THE MIDFLE OF THE EP HE WAS SCREAMING "PRIME" THOSE DIABOLICAL LITTLE BASTARDS AT ADULT SWIM.

prime calling rick the Wife Guy. hilarious. raises questions. makes me gnaw on my cell bars.

AND THEN the second incredible reveal of the episode: "Honestly, Wife Guy, I do miss when it was just us. The only two Ricks who actually invented portal travel." WHAT bestie prime bby girl u need to say that again. you guys were the ONLY ones who invented interdimensional travel, every rick's claim to fame. but no they just got the technology from prime who started a boys club of ricks who wanted to leave their lives behind that our rick refused.

but the reference to a time when they were closer, when it was only them - HELLO?? maybe i'm grasping at straws bc i want them to bang but holy shit.

the confirmation of the fan theory that rick based his AI voice on his wife. 10/10.

and then the fight scene. oh gods the fight scene. rick just screaming that he'll kill prime. prime regenerating constantly, looking unscathed as our rick becomes more and more dishevelled. it's too perfect i CANT. but otherwise they both seem pretty evenly matched w all the implants and stuff so without the regeneration i think rick would've had him. oh well.

rick like literally died during the fight.

the cool grandson/shitty grandpa exchange gives me breath. i LOVE how it's a morty that outsmarts prime. it's what he deserves.

prime still trying to be a smartass to evil morty, growing more and more panicked as it goes on bc he doesn't know what to do with the situation and control for once is not in his hands.

"what are u gonna 'aw geez' me to death?"

evil morty not even explaining his plan, just silently dragging in our rick and reviving him. saying "knock yourself out" with the intended double meaning. prime's almost scared expression as rick gets dragged in.

and then our rick has a choice. he can stop evil morty from keeping the weapon plans or he can kill prime. but that's a choice he made already. it's not even a decision. so his other enemy gets away.

the brutal brutal scene at the end when rick is just hitting prime. no tech, no implants, no gadgets. just fists. and rick beats him literally to a pulp as prime screams and laughs at him and taunts him further. it's meant to be sickening. it's meant to be personal. and it accomplishes that perfectly.

they don't even show prime's body in great detail. it's RIGHT in the background but we heard the sounds of the punches, we saw his nose break and his bloody teeth and haemorrhaging eyes and his brains coming out the side of it head and all we can make out is his fucked up swollen and broken face in the background as he sits still attached to the chair, a river of his blood pouring from the room.

but its not triumphant. they made rick's revenge hollow and bittersweet. its over but it destroyed rick in the process. who is he now that he isn't hunting prime? fucking no one.

then "look on down from the bridge" starts playing. we heard this in season 1 in rick potion #9 after morty had to bury a version of himself. he was struggling with the purpose of his life after switching universes. but he deals with it and overcomes it.

i think that scene is rick, for the first time in the entire show, struggling with his nihilistic philosophy. bc yes, he's shown to be an existentialist in the show (the difference being existentialists are "nothing matters but this matters to me" instead of "nothing matters so i don't have to do anything"). he had a drive. he had ppl he cared about. but now he's reached his goal he just feels empty and hollow. everything's meaningless and he's NOT okay with that. he never has been, but he has to grapple with that finally now he doesn't have a distraction. i don't think he can just bounce back and move past what happened.

ppl are saying this episode felt overstuffed and maybe it was but i'm very pleased with it and want to know where it's going.

i feel we still don't know the full story with prime. i'm predicting a flash back episode in the future explaining what the nature of their relationship was like before the bomb incident.

we also know that evil morty has this weapon that could destroy all ricks. so that is just a ticking bomb.

anyway i can't wait for angsty rick.

i actually watched unforgiven for this episode bc i'm a big fan of westerns anyway. the only real parallels i can see is they both have a group of three (two are already partners and the other one is the call to adventure) and an unsatisfying ending. bc that's the nature of westerns. they should NEVER end happily, and if u think so then ur wrong (/nsrs enjoy media how u want).

some things i haven't mentioned but enjoyed nonetheless

the schematics for the omega device is titled <SCHEMATICS BOOGER-AIDS-V2>

the arm/leg swap best in the fight

the comparison between the song at the end playing here and in season one shows with just visuals how the dynamic of beth and jerry's (and beth's) marriage has evolved since then.

everyone freaking out when indiana jones rick shoots and it ricochets off the wall and evil morty just stands expressionless until it hits his forcefield.

morty going to hug rick covered in blood, realising, hesitating, and then doing it later anyway to try and make rick feel better.

evil morty making a point to say that he doesn't want vengeful summers coming after him for omega devicing rick. not vengeful mortys, vengeful SUMMERS.

just evil morty in this whole episode was an absolute delight i need to see him more.

THE TEAR MARKS AFTER RICK EMERGES FROM BEATING PRIME TO DEATH

slo mobius' wife almost going down the same path our rick did only to find someone she loves and focus on that, saving her. makes me wonder if they're gonna try putting rick in a relationship.

this ended up being way longer than it should have. anyway. very pleased. this season is hitting all the marks for me overall.

also don't be too hard on me i didnt edit this 😭

[mrcspectr]

I wouldn’t say it was explicitly pointed out but one of the emotions that Marc really had to process with Steven was his jealousy.

You got to live a happy, simple, normal life. You understand?

But it was all a lie, wasn’t it?

So what? What does it matter? What, you wanna remember the truth?

Because Marc spent years of his life giving Steven everything he ever wanted, everything he was never given or allowed to have. Marc Spector was content simply vanishing from their consciousness and letting Steven have everything. And to have Steven shun that, to deny its very existence and the love and care that Marc gave to protect him from all his trauma? That conversation is the most raw and honest we’ve ever seen Marc.

But you’ve gotten to live thinking that she loved you, that she was kind, that she’s still alive.

And now I can’t help but think of this in terms of Jake. Jake, the alter they never knew, only saw glimpses of that they didn’t want to accept. Jake and his violence, Jake and the brutality that he took on and saved them from. Marc and Steven have accepted themselves for what they are, have learned to coexist and live as brothers that simply share a body. Jake doesn’t get that. Jake isn’t free from Khonshu, Jake hasn’t been thanked for the part that he played in it. Jake probably hasn’t even been loved.

Can you imagine Jake Lockley’s jealousy? His pain and suffering and he has no one to share that with, no one to help him process it or grieve it. His anger at the unfairness of it all, to be on the sidelines of something he had no choice in. He shares a body with two men that have an unbreakable bond now, one that he has no part of and no claim to. No wonder he throws himself into Khonshu’s work, loses himself in the terror of it. Pain is all he’s ever known, but if he can channel that into something good, even through morally questionable means, why wouldn’t he? What else does he have?

[taichi-x-koushiro]

"We need more complex a UTISTIC c HARACTERs {+in dIGIMO}---"

You guys can't even handle Aut!Koushiro headcanons {and probably still can't, in the year 2k24}

[gyldenguard]

Setting aside the obvious queerness from the scene itself, can we talk about how Luz coming out to her mom after coming back from the Boiling Isles is such a celebration of self love and the queer experience??

Like, we know that Luz has definitely had crushes on girls before/probably knew she was bi before going to the Boiling Isles, but it wasn’t until she left a stifling, conformist environment (the summer camp) and wound up in a place where she could safely explore those feelings (the Boiling Isles) that she actually gained the courage to be true to herself and love herself enough to feel brave enough to come out to her family when she came home, which is an experience that so many queer people either have or expect to experience at some point. One of the key themes of the show is not being ashamed for being different, and that whole moment and when it takes place w/in the narrative just slots into that theme so neatly.

It just gives off such an unapologetically “yeah I’m queer and fuck you for thinking you can make me be ashamed of it” feeling and I absolutely love it <3

[moonsdancer]

At least Yennefer and Geralt have fans from the Witcher games who like them together. Mel and Jayce don't even have that. It's sad that people just piled on on the hate train when it started.

Yeah, for real re: Yen and Geralt. The fandom probably also shows its ass with show!Triss, but I haven't really engaged with it for years.

I'm old enough to remember how swiftly fandom went from loving Mel (she's so pretty, she's so powerful and pretty, so so pretty, prettiest design ever to be designed, truly her only value is in how pretty she is!!!) to variations of hating her / ignoring her / pretending half her scenes didn't exist / reducing her to the most vile and manipulative iteration of herself / villainizing her etc. between Acts 1 and 2. And we all knew it was because of the ship stuff. Even at the end of Act 1, people were already like, X ship is the only acceptable ship for Jayce that exists and that MelJay is nothing but "comphet" foisted on us by the show, therefore it's almost a moral imperative for all of us to hate on it, as a collective.

The pile-on was such that so many of those readings of Mel stuck and they just have become the "widely accepted" canon. Inescapable. Immutable. Immortal. Leave alone readings of MelJay, I mean for a while (and this is still the case), I couldn't even find half their scenes on YouTube, and where there were moments (like Jayce staring after her outside Heimerdinger's office), those were often just edited out or folks acted like it meant nothing.

Anyway, I guess we'll see how things unfold. But I predict one of two scenarios:

Mel dies. Fandom initiates a largescale performative mourning, proclaiming how much they all looooved her and she was their fave (AND SO BEAUTIFUL, FYI, THE BEAUTIFULEST) and swiftly forget her either way.

Mel lives. And the weirdness continues. Only when the show is in its final season or something then people will look back and be like, Wow, that was odd. And swiftly forget about it.