#+ them being referred to as a married couple this ep too

[confoodles]

Every single interaction Charles and Oliver had this episode was so unrequited romance coded and I will not be taking criticism !!

[marsnolias]

Probably the worst take on earthspark s2 I've ever seen is that they "erased the queer representation from s1 with Robby's weird forced crush" and that "Dot and Alex being straight takes away from said queer rep" and boy do I have some things to say to that.

Namely, 1: Nightshade is still there! They didn't get a spotlight in the 10 eps that came out, no, but it's not like they got killed off. They don't get referred to by pronouns either, but...

2: what WOULD be queer erasure is if Nightshade went "You know, I just went by they/them because I was confused, but now that I've come to know myself, I'm actually cis". THAT would have catastrophic queer erasure.

3: a straight relationship existing doesn't mean the showrunners are queerphobic??? Like there's nothing problematic about Dot and Alex? Never mind they fact that they seem to be a loving couple and an interracial one.

4: speaking of interracial couples, I feel people do not realize how important interracial rep is, and how little mainstream rep seems to be? There are only two (2) interracial Disney royal couples I'm aware of: Pocahontas and John Smith (which has a boatload of problems in and of itself) and Milo Thatch and Kida from Atlantis — a movie barely recognized by Disney and, might I add, a couple that has never kissed on-screen.

5: still on the subject, Robby and Izzy's mutual crush shows up in one (1) episode. And guess what else —

Im 90% sure this is also an interracial relationship? I don't know what race Izzy is, but I kind of doubt she's either black or Filipino.

5: queer rep is important, but again, I gotta reiterate that interracial rep is also important, and just because you don't have one doesn't mean you have to completely ignore the other. "Love is love" was historically used by both interracial and gay couples, and interracial marriage wasn't legal in every U.S state until 1967, so it's kind of important!

To get personal, my white mother nearly got disowned by her family after she announced she was marrying a black man. This was in America, in the 90s, too! Her sister never spoke to her again after she (my mom) got married. When I was younger and more white-passing, most people didn't believe my dad was my bio dad, or that we were even related.

[twig-tea]

Collection of Be My Favorite Meta after Ep 11 pre Ep 12

[I will try to come back and update this too so please tag me if you see good stuff not mentioned!]

Sorry if me organizing things this way offends anyone, this is mostly for myself to be able to refer back to specific thoughts from everyone's meta so I've grouped posts by points being made which means some posts get linked a bunch of times and a some points in each post may not be represented below because my brain can only hold so much. Please feel free to let me know if you hate it!:

Episode 11 didn't give us the resolution we wanted re: the lie in ep 10: @lurkingshan was right out of the gate with this take.

Maybe Episode 12 will fill the communication gap in ep 10 like we all wanted by giving Pisaeng a chance to say what was left unsaid: @bengiyo put this in his original thoughts and I am still thinking about it! @incandescentflower wrote a really great post on some of the ways Pisaeng leaves things unsaid

Pisaeng time travelling puts Pisaeng and Kawi on equal footing: @bengiyo wrote the definitive piece on this and credit to @grapejuicegay for making a similar point and expanding on it; @he-is-lightning-in-a-bottle made this point too.

There was something off about the montage in ep 11: @bengiyo made this point; @waitmyturtles added some notes about why and @visualtaehyun added a couple notes on this too; @jjsanguine posited an interesting wrinkle about the stasis of time travel and whether that could be what needs to be fixed

[on the other side of this with me is the "the montage was satisfying" crowd: @thegalwhorants wrote this; @incandescentflower I think your post counts too; gonna link myself here too]

The ep 11 scene with Pisaeng and the doctor is extremely important and painful: @heretherebedork wrote a beautiful post about this; @nemesis-21 did too; @marbles290 did too; @visualtaehyun put this in the current Thai political context; @snidgetwrites added the Indian political context

They might go back to decide to fight for equal rights: @rocketturtle4 said this really well

They might go back and decide to use the system to their advantage and get Kawi and Pear to marry: @grapejuicegay laid this one out

They might go abroad to be able to get married like Pisaeng's mom wanted: @marbles2900 wrote about this

Kawi's death may be unavoidable: @williamrikers summarized this nicely here; @shortpplfedup seems to be hinting at thinking the same?, @thegalwhorants posited this too; so did @knighthacker here; also theorized this in my ep 11 reaction post; @minorista wrote great angst about this and @neonsbian added the twist of them riding the time loop to stay together

The point may be that time travel isn't the answer/can't solve everything, and love takes work: @waitmyturtles made this point, and I love it; @stuffnonsenseandotherthings also made this point here (sorry I missed it earlier!)

Pisaeng may try to break up with Kawi in the past: @rebel0777 laid out options for how this would play out; @tinycowboybro noted Pisaeng foreshadowed this; @zzh3 added that maybe Kawi goes to find him on the same beach

Has Pisaeng already been time-travelling?: @waitmyturtles added this wild theory that the montage was time travel Pisaeng's perspective

(Counter to this, @pandasmagorica points out that because of the mechanisms of time travel in this show Pisaeng cannot do a perpetual time loop.) [NEW]

This means the timeline we saw has been erased: @ellaspore wrote this very eloquently; some folks have chimed in to say they're ok with this (@rocketturtle4 and @bengiyo)

BUT WHERE IS THE CAT: @sparklyeyedhimbo made possibly my favourite observation thus far

For anyone confused, here's how the time travel mechanism works in this show: @telomeke wrote a great explainer out, and @benkaaoi makes an important point about why it matters, @jjsanguine laid this out too (I'm going to be selfish and link my reblog thread because I built on this a little in my reply)

[ADDED:]

I tried my hand at figuring out the timeline for the show here.

@stuffnonsenseandotherthings makes the point that by shifting from Kawi to Pisaeng as the protagonist, this show is queering the narrative

@grapejuicegay added some thoughts about the timeline mechanics and how it affects the consciousness of Kawi and Pisaeng.

[updated 4pm EDT Aug 7]

[animaddie-live]

Yuri on Ice final thoughts

So there we have it, I have finished watching my first ever anime! And I LOVED IT!!!!!! Yuri on Ice is now one of my top 5 favourite shows of all time. I think my favourite episodes were 6, 9, and 2. My favourite character was definitely Christophe Giacometti. He was what made me watch this show in the first place.

I've never laughed so much watching a show before. So many audible reactions came from this. Will certainly be rewatching this for years to come. It was a nice story, I always love a good gay fluff pieces. But there were also so many side characters that I was also invested in. I grew to really like Yurio as well, his sass and anger was very amusing.

Now Viktor, Viktor makes me question so many things about myself. I get such gender envy from him. And loved seeing him explore his feminine side in his programs. Why can't I be a twink on ice. Also I found myself weirdly attracted to him. Idk I'm gay don't do this to me. But Viktor Nikiforov and Chris own my heart.

Yuri had fantastic character growth, I was so proud to see him find his confidence. He also grew the most as a skater, I can't believe he beat Viktor's record. And Yurio also beating the record. I was actually happy to see him win the world cup, it was well deserved.

I was left wondering. Were Viktor and Yuri ever confirmed to be in a relationship? Throughout the series I was always confused on whether it was canon or not. We never saw an on screen kiss. (There was that off screen speculated kiss at the end of ep7). I know I probably sound crazy for even questioning it, but it didn't seem like they had a conventional thing going on. I think it was all still in the flirtatious stage and they at no point were together together.

Similarly, when Yuri talks about "mine and Viktor's love" is this referring to romantic love? Or is it the bond between student and coach, or both? He often publicly talks about his love for Viktor, so is this them being out as a gay couple, or do people think it means something else? I was disappointed to see there was no outright decleration/acknowledgement of their relationship status. But maybe that is me just being fucking blind and unable to pick up on subtext. I shouldn't be so shallow. But overall, it could have been gayer.

Now the whole engagement thing, I did not understand why they did that. If they were dating it seemed farrrrrrrrr too premature to even be considering engagement. And to base the whole 'we will get married when he wins gold' seems so immature. I definitely felt like the first half of the show was significantly better than the second half. I didn't really like how things were left. It started so strong, but disappointed me in the end.

I wanted so badly to believe that they were soulmates, but we were just shown time after time again the immaturities/ incompatibilities. But I will continue to be delusional and jump on the Vikturi train because I am desperate lesbian who is very much alone.

If I may embody Chris for a second: in regards to Vikturi it felt like we were edged all series and denied a happy ending. It just felt like there was a lot of build up, but their relationship ultimately didn't progress that much in the end. I will be poking my head into the YOI fanart and fanfics because I am invested in these characters and need to see more of them.

All in all, I was disappointed and dissatisfied with how the show wrapped up. But that won't ruin it for me, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Quotes from my live blogging that sum up my experience:

ep2: "this is like some fever dream self insert fanfic written by a gay 13 year old"

ep6: "why are we the audience being edged so hard whilst they go off and make this many innuendos aaaaaah"

ep6: "is he also down bad, why am I being forced to watch the strangest foreplay ever play out"

ep 9: "that caught me so incredibly off guard, I haven't laughed that loudly in ages"

take a shot everytime I said something caught me off guard, or I said that I cackled. <- I feel like that encapsulates my experience perfectly

[abbyholmes]

I needed a couple of hours to sort through my thoughts about 7x04 - because I was busy screaming, crying, kicking my feet giggling - but now I just gotta say, before I dive into any details: I AM SO INCREDIBLY HAPPY.

As a bisexual myself who realized she‘s always been bi at the ripe age of 30 and after already being very married to the very male love of her life (which wasn’t at all changed by the realization), seeing bi characters having their ‚oh‘ moment later in life than in their teens is SO VALIDATING.

I love how yes, there have always been hints and it makes sense for the character but they actually gave Buck the space to find out this new thing about himself. They showed an adult man figuring this important part of his identity out when he was ready for it. Without it being induced by trauma or relationship troubles. That is so so so meaningful and so so so beautiful at the same time. I legit CRIED LIKE A BABY watching Buck‘s face go ‚oh I see‘ after the kiss. He just landed in his body as the penny of truth dropped and he seemed so content it made me squeek. I love seeing our golden retriever carving his place out in the world and discovering how to fully embrace all of himself.

And I love he gets to do it with Tommy.

Yes, I am a buddie shipper and that hasn‘t changed. However, whichever way the show moves now, bi Buck means the world to me. And the way they are telling the story with Tommy in a gentle, realistic way, I hope we get more of that. Hell I even really like their vibe together. Tommy seems like he‘ll be okay holding the hand of a baby queer and help him dip his toe into the water. Wherever that leads, it was a genius decision to introduce him to Buck‘s story.

Now for the details:

This episode wasn‘t only beautiful, it was also hilarious. THE TOP GUN REFERENCE HAD ME HOLLERING. At that point I knew some queerness was gonna happen because you don’t make the queerest reference in movie history without reason. Also absolutely loved the sewer conversation (hooray for Ravi by the way, I missed that little dude) and the emotions Buck goes through during the conversation.

Buck‘s jealousy is as stupid as it is adorable and I have to say I did find Eddie the slightest bit unfair. He knows Buck has abandonment issues and still doesn‘t register that he might need some reassurance. Yes okay, I get he wanted a little payback for the Nathalia ‚she sees me‘ bs, but come on, Eds, cut the poor man some slack.

The acting in the episode? Chef‘s kiss. Oliver was amazing, but I don‘t see Lou getting enough credit. He already planted his visible interest in Buck in 7x03 nicely in that one tiny interaction at the end and he really delivered on the flirty banter in this episode. Oliver, meanwhile, has done such a great job at showing the gradual change in Buck and the nervousness and the curiosity and hopefulness it tugged on all of my heartstrings. Deserving of an Emmy-nom. Great Job, loved every second.

Maddy and Chim very also amazing in the ep, especially Chim clocking immediately why Buck really brought him to basketball. It‘s gonna be interesting to see their reaction to Buck‘s truth - if he‘s ready to share it yet.

The only thing that bugged me was that Athena‘s storyline felt very rushed. I liked the theme and I think it hinted at important conversations, but it resolved the conflict too fast and too easy - making said issues seem smaller than they are. I struggle to believe that they would let a POC kid off the hook that easily. I wish this was realistic, but I doubt it is.

Bachelor call was great, loved gossipy Josh (by god, I want more Josh, I love that goofball) and Chim going full fanboy.

Can‘t wait for next week and hope we get more Hen and Bobby there! I missed them this ep.

I am so excited to see where Buck‘s story arch will go next. I‘ll explode with happiness if it slowly drifts towards buddie, but I won’t be mad if it doesn‘t happen or if it does happen and the show takes its time to get there. A slow buildup for this would be chef‘s kiss and I have a lot of trust in ABC and the writers that this is how they will do it, if Buddie happens.

All in all: Favorite episode of all the series for me, worthy 100th episode, will watch a billion times, made me all warm and fuzzy and giggly.

[sirsnortsalot]

YOUR TAGS ON THEEEE TOM LOOKING AT GREG ACROSS THE AISLE POST I DSDJKSDJSKJDJKS we shake hands that ep is my entire life for so many reasons i hhhhhhhhhhh. tom's suit being called a gregory. the two of them dressed in black and white when greg says "i do" true to marriage tradition. the fact that when tom sits down in front of greg he literally looks like he's getting on one knee. the way their knees are touching. the way they are sitting so close. the way the two waiters in the background are playfully smacking each other on the ass with towels and both greg and tom look at them wistfully before talking like god i wish that were us. the way greg teases tom a little with the well... keeping him hanging on a little bit. the way greg says "of course". the way their conversation [in that connor asks willa if she really wants this, bc she's kind of giving up her soul wrt money and she says yes i am and i do like the security and wealth but she also likes connor for himself, and connor talks about the age gap!!! and discrepancy in their positions and how they met and came to be and how everyone is always making fun of him/their relationship but she takes him serious and confirms she does want it and then they giggle and laugh it off just like a certain other couple] and body position mirrors connor and willa as well as the cinematography/shots who do actually get married in 4x03 [alone. without the siblings there. almost like a secret ish wedding. hmmm]. the way that nb said 'they wish they were getting married' and the way these mfs act you Know that's actually true and real. the way tom drops the "sporus". the way that after they shake hands, greg's arms twitch out as if to hug tom but then he decides against it bc he's not sure if tom would like that and he doesn't want to ruin this, because everybody else shrinks away from his touch or is disgusted by him but tom opens his arms and greg leaps at the chance, taking tom's shoulders and pulling him in slightly and hugging him tightly, tom literally jostled by the force of the hug.

i Think about the "come with me, sporus" scene a lot.

Oh my god y e s just that one scene felt like peak tomgreg in like 1000 ways 

ESPECIALLY because it’s right after shiv calls tom and tells him about her plan and his IMMEDIATE reaction being “okay, this is my chance to finally hit her where it hurts after her ‘death-by-1000-cuts’-ing me for years, but first i need to make sure greg is safe and on my side” like BEFORE anything else (just checked the script books and greg walks over to him RIGHT after he gets off the phone with shiv, no time to think about anything else) AND THEN ”SPORUS” AND THEN THE MOST ROMANTIC SCENE THAT HAPPENS IN THE (WEDDING) EPISODE AND THEN TOM ‘KILLING’ HIS WIFE I JUST. AUGH THE NERO & SPORUS SHIT MAKES ME GO BATSHIT ISTG HFSKJGHDFKJGHJDFKGHDRKJHY (also while I was in the script books I saw that the hug was unscripted??? It was meant to be just the handshake??? Just like the forehead kiss was unscripted too??? Matthew Mcfadyen is an absolute GODSEND (& nb I guess but yknow) for just ADDING those in UNPROMPTED he’s such a tg truther oml) 

Also can you IMAGINE how greg must've felt at the beginning of the tomshivorce, seeing him and tom going out together to hook up w random models or whatever (i think they were playing it up quite a bit and just wanted to spend time with each other but yknow)  and having the realisation somewhere that “do you wanna come with me, sporus” AND THEN THIS could have been referring to tom wanting to be with greg? Like we know greg knows the story, and we know he knows that tom betrayed shiv and he knows that the tomshivorce is resulting in tom getting a lot closer with him very quickly and he’s not stupid, he can put 2 and 2 together and see himself getting remodelled into the romantic partner for tom that shiv isn’t anymore for him, AND HE DOESN’T SHY AWAY FROM IT! LIKE LOOK AT 4X01, IS THAT THE BODY LANGUAGE AND BEHAVIOURS OF SOMEONE WHO IS AVOIDING THE PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL PRESENCE OF TOM WAMBSGANS FBSKJGHDFJGDFKJY

(i will never shut up about the timeskip <3)

👏 HEART 👏 EYES

[redbullgivesyouwingedkuriboh]

GX Rewatch: Ep 1-5 (Dub)

Before we get into it, I have to say that obviously this is spoilers for ep 1-5, but also the entirety of the show since I reference things that are foreshadowed in the first few episodes. you’ve been warned

k let’s go

Episode 1

how is Crowler not fired yet?

Crowler was nonbinary before it was cool (aka before season 3)

jaden says bastion is the second best duelist there (him being the best) but Zane is literally 50 feet away

“legendary rare monster” it’s $0.79 on Amazon. Cyber Dragon cost me more.

Zane doesn’t give two shits about Jaden’s ego. A piece of paper is worth more. Baby Zane was such an ass <3 /affectionate /icanfixhim

Alexis saying Jaden’s really good and Zane just turning and walking away. what an icon. girlboss. he’s already planning how to kick jaden’s ass.

Episode 2

not much to say here.

Jaden sticks up for colorblind people? sort of?

forgot how much of a prick Baby Chazz was

Alexis says that there’s no off-hours arena duels allowed and that Chazz should’ve told Jaden that— why didn’t she tell him when she got there?

jaden refusing to leave the duel arena is SO FUNNY, like he could literally get expelled and he’s just like nah cards

Episode 3

Syrus can’t read, canon

Crowler is the definition of right formula wrong answer

YOU ARE A TEACHER, REPORT HIM FOR SOME SHIT.

at least abuse your power properly smh

Alexis being obsessed with Jaden from the get-go is def because he acts exactly like Atticus

also: alexis doesn’t talk about Atticus until ep 5. you’d think there’d be some residual trauma since he disappeared at this school, but she doesn’t say shit

Episode 4

crowler stealing the rare cards and pulling a Clark Kent when everyone gets there is such a drama queen move, I see where Atticus learned it from

seriously crowler could have just left

also Jaden is canonically ripped, he pushed a truck up a hill

he also says something like “now I don’t need to go to the gym” which means DA canonically has a gym that JADEN goes to

Syrus praying to Slifer is so fucking funny oml

actually now that I think about it it would make a lot of sense for characters to actually worship Egyptian gods considering. y’know. they’re real.

probably not Syrus’s motivation but either way

Chumley trying to rig the exams by letting Jaden get his beauty rest

Bastion. everything about Bastion in this episode gives me life. I love him. He was the only one who stayed back to wake up Jaden and Syrus, which (though misguided, he didn’t do it for their sake) was really cute

Baby Bastion in general is just a vibe

Episode 5

really wacky when you realize Jaden’s scary story about hearing card voices isn’t just about his normal cards, it’s about Yubel too

“kids went missing from the abandoned dorm” oH gEe professor banner, whO kidnAppEd tHem?

Pharaoh is my homie

on the topic of the stories Syrus’s actually scared the shit out of me until he was flailing around in the water

CROWLER JUMPSCARE JESUS CHRIST

Millenium items and all what the heck

oh yeah i forgot about the fake millennium puzzle

love how a guy canonically got a call from Crowler being like yo can you come scare the absolute fuck outta these actual children and he was like yea no problem that’s actually my favorite activity

lmao where’d this fuck get a fog machine

Crowler knows how to teleport?????

“Well alright if you insist” crowler I stg I need you to save some sass for the rest of us

“you could just say we’ve found a couple places where it’s not” JADEN YOU’RE SO FUNNY OMFG I forgot how silly Jaden is

“oh, hi Alexis” YOU’RE EVERYTHING TO ME JADEN

“well that’s not very intelligent” marry me alexis

“why are you here” “I have my reasons, that’s why!” weird way to propose alexis but I accept

the reaction shot on Alexis’s reveal of her brother is the least dramatic in the show and yet it’s the one that makes me cringe the most

jaden, having just heard that some kid literally disappeared here, with actual evidence from Alexis: fuck that i’m not a pussy let’s go in

OH NO A GIRL SCREAM TO INDICATE DANGER

ATTICUS JUMPSCARE OH MY GOD was not prepared to see that

REACTION SHOT TM

“That sounded like Alexis” syrus how many girls have you heard scream to know exactly what Alexis sounds like screaming

episode five and Jaden is already done with Villain of the Week tm

love jaden’s commitment to the catchphrase even though he’s seeing his first real threat

Jaden canonically pays enough attention in class to know about Archfiend effects, he’s truly not as dumb as people think

oh S3 Jaden totally got flashbacks to this duel during his battle with Bronn

“you flunked math, chumley.” “no, I got a 54” HELP THEY’RE EVERYTHING

“hey, my arm” YOUR ARM IS GONE AND THAT’S YOUR FREAKIN REACTION JADEN I STG I LOVE YOU

“we got blackout curtains” weird way to propose but yes

POT OF GREED MENTIONED RAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

the music in this series is epic as hell

“this is totally anti-lishus” chumley i miss you so much come back to us

TO BE CONTINUED ARE YOU KIDDING ME

okay spose this is TBC then

[sodiumlamp]

Picard

Picard Season 3 is ten episodes long, and as advertised, it reunites the cast of TNG .......... .................................... ........................................................................................................... .............................................................................................................. ................................................................... ........................................................... ..................................................................................................................................ei.........................ght.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ep...............................................................................i............................................................s..............................................................................................................o.................................................................des..............................................in.

As I expected, this episode sees the good guys retake the ship from Vadic. Jack Crusher creates a diversion, Worf and Raffi rescue Riker and Troi from the Shrike, and Geordi reconnects Data to the ship so he can lock out Vadic's control of the ship's systems.

The good: Data's final showdown with Lore was satisfying, in that there was literally no way for anyone else to interfere or get in the way. Data had to defeat him on his own, and he did it by being the man he is, which sort of revealed the empty life Lore lived. In essence, Data and Lore have combined together, but in the final analysis, Lore doesn't contribute very much at all.

The good: Riker and Troi had a nice conversation in their holding cell on the Shrike. I was confused about how their Season 3 dynamic aligned with their appearance in Season 1, and this filled in the gaps. Riker was just as miserable in S1 as he was at the start of S3, but Troi was using her powers to alleviate his grief, which is why he was so chipper. He saw this as a crutch and wanted to sort things out on his own, and he did. They argue over whether Troi should have done what she did, but in the end she acknowledges that you can't skip to the end when it comes to healing. It works. It's the sort of conflict and resolution you'd expect to see from a couple that's been married for this long. As well as they get on, they still have things to work out sometimes.

The good: Vadic's dead and the Shrike is destroyed. This is satisfying, because it's long overdue. Better late than never. Vadic gets sucked out into space, where she freezes solid and shatters against the hull of the Shrike. I'm not 100% sure that would be enough to kill a Changeling, but the Shrike explosion would probably finish the job. Vadic freezing in space is a nice Jojo Reference, however unintentional. It might have been nice to have her float in space forever, give her the full Kars treatment, but that would never stick in Star Trek. Someone would thaw her out for another run in Star Trek: Discovery Season 47.

The bad: This episode took forever. At least half of this turkey must have been taken up with Vadic reveling in her victory from the Titan's bridge. The point is self-evident. "I won, you lost, and now that I control your ship, I'll start killing you one by one until Jack Crusher surrenders himself." This point is repeated at least three times, and none of them are quick. It's the same dilemma from Episode 2, with Titan in an even weaker position. And Vadic gave rambling speeches then, too.

She talked about why her ship is named Shrike, and how she likes to torment and chip away at her prey, just like the bird the ship is named for. That's just standard supervillain rhetoric. DC Comics has spent decades explaining why "The Penguin" is supposed to be a badass name. But it feels like Vadic's entire raison d'être is to drag out the story. I found out last night that the actress who plays Vadic, Amanda Plummer, is the daughter of Christopher Plummer, who played General Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. That probably explains why she spins in her chair and talks so irreverently to her enemies. Except Chang's scenes were mercifully brief. He'd quote Shakespeare at you, do a couple of spins, make some nonverbal commands to his crew, then die to one torpedo. Nobody needed 35 minutes of Chang's routine. A little went a long way.

The bad: Throughout this episode, the Shrike just.... sits there? It made sense in Episode 7, because Vadic led a boarding party onto the Titan. Shrike couldn't do anything without risking their commander or the man they came to get. But somehow Worf was able to sneak on board without anyone noticing, and then he shuttles back to the Titan with no trouble at all. Then, when things really start to go badly for Vadic, the Shrike continues to just sit there. It sits there while Vadic shatters against its hull, it sits there while Titan opens fire on it.

It's like there was no one left on board to man the ship's controls? Except Worf's group left in a hurry because the guards were coming, so there would have been a few people left to run things. You'd think at least one guy would be on duty to raise the shields, or teleport Vadic back aboard, or at least pick off Worf's shuttle.

And if there was anyone on the bridge, it's weird how Titan took out the Shrike so easily, considering how powerful the ship was reported to be in Episode 2. Maybe that asteroid Riker threw at it did more damage than we realized? I don't know, it just seems very anticlimactic. Who built the Shrike, and how did Vadic get it? Why is she commanding it, when her allies have so much of Starfleet at their disposal?

The bad: This season is 80% done before we get all seven TNG characters in the same room together. I didn't expect that moment to happen early. They had to bring Data back from the dead for one thing. But throughout this season, I've found it strange how little we've seen Deanna Troi. That appears to be for plot-related reasons, because the second she's on board the Titan she can sense something eerie about Jack Crusher. If they met too soon, that might short-circuit the story (Don't threaten me with a good time.). It's the same way they had to hold off on Data so he could be the one to reveal that the Changelings stole Picard's corpse.

To be fair, maybe this is the right call, because withholding Troi makes you want to see her that much more, so they held her back until it was most effective. Once she's on the scene, she starts to get to the bottom of things, much like Worf did when he finally showed up.

Still, there's only six TNG characters to be re-introduced here. Picard's the title character, so he's already there. Even if we bring the others in one episode at a time and save Troi for last, that should still bring her in by Episode 6, not 8. Seven's had a bigger presence in this show and she's a Voyager guy. Shaw's had a bigger presence in this show and he's just some dipshit from Chicago.

It's also possible that some of this was done at the actors' request. Maybe Marina Sirtis was like "Hey, I want to be a part of this, but I've got other things going on, so I'd like a smaller role." And that's why she had those isolated cameos because they were easier to film.

But I feel like this could have been handled differently. Just do a shorter season. Six episodes instead of ten. Or write more story for criminy's sake! I feel like a supercut of Vadic's ramblings would fill a whole episode all by itself. No one needed that!

[launching-a-thousand-ships]

Kurt Glee Rewatch: Home

Burt and Carol are such a wholesome couple. Prob the healthiest on the show lol.

These two are iconic. I also love how Kurt adds the armband bc even in a uniform, he needs to personalize it somehow.

He’s so supportive of Mercedes here... sadly not as much rest of the ep.

But also his expression at being told he has hips like a pear... awe. He’s so tiny though.

Cowboy wallpaper... *Kurt shudders*

Also, seems like ages since the Finn crush was a plot. And wow, Kurt going strong. 

Can I just say how happy I am they’ve started styling his hair? The bangs were cute, but like. This looks much better.

And yikes, Kurt... Mercedes is doing the right thing here, she’s having a very healthy lunch! And Kurt took the criticism so seriously like omg can he please eat real food. I get that he’s happy to not be bullied for once but like. Babe pls.

All Kurtcedes fights are in the cafeteria, apparently.

“Act as translator” Kurt, I thought you were doing well in your classes.

I love how protective he is of Burt. He really stepped into the caretaker role and even when their relationship was more strained, they both love each other and protect each other and I love it.

“Fate brought them together” gee Kurt, when did you change your name. I find it hilarious that this was all his scheme but it resulted in Burt and Carol being so besotted with each other. Who knew they could bond beyond just having dead spouses?

I am curious wtf Kurt’s plan was here. Like, did he think he’d get to spend more time with Finn but then Burt and Carol would break up? Was he hoping they’d get married?? This is such dumb teen boy logic. And I’m really not having the whole ‘predatory gay’ stereotype bc we don’t need to see that

He is very intense here. Like Kurt. Finn is clearly not comfortable here. and omg when he refers to Burt and Carol as ‘Mom and Dad’ like sweetie. No.

Again, Kurt is way too much here but omg the way he looks at Finn and then Puck mouths ‘Are you gay’ and I can’t stop laughing. 

But I do like how he sings the song, much smoother than Defying Gravity. ANd Mercedes is smiling at him and Brittana cuddle bc they like the song too, v sweet.

Not my fav Kurt song? But it’s nice. And I do like Kurt’s singing better than Finn’s. I find in general Finn does well at the upbeat/rock songs, but not a fan of the more ballad style.

Kurt’s crying at the end, he’s legit so in love. It’s also probably hard that he has just... no one to really talk to about it? We never see him discuss it with anyone. His dad is not ready for that kind of talk. And with the girls him being gay is fun for them bc he can talk about fashion etc, but lowkey him being gay is rarely about him liking boys? I mean, everyone knew bc of his clothes etc, he has never shown interest in an actual boy before. Him having feelings might break the illusion of the girls seeing him more as an accessory. 

I do wish he could talk about it with Mercedes though. She’d be a good voice of reason, and him having some sort of outlet could be helpful so he might be less intense around Finn.

I do appreciate that as soon as Finn is a threat to his dad, crush is on the backburner bc *Danger Danger Danger*

And you know it’s not intended as an insult, but how Burt brushes Kurt off and is so excited to talk sports. And you can see it on Carol’s face, that she spots it too and has sympathy for Kurt, while also happy for finn to have a fatherly presence. Ugh, this whole family dynamic, all 4 of them, best writing in the show.

Every Kurt and Burt scene is just a masterpiece. Kurt being passive aggressive, but Burt will call him out, try to talk it out.

And I love how you can see here that Burt is still in his beginning phases. ugh when he says “guy talk” and Kurt is just “I’m a guy” my heartt. Bc he is a guy but he’s a different type of guy and bc of that everyone treats him differently and just.

Burt is trying so hard, but he still makes these mistakes. And even though he accepts his son, he still has that ‘let’s just each do our own thing’ mentality.

But I am glad he does call Kurt out, asks why he fixed him out with Carol. Bc Kurt was being selfish about it, setting them up to get close to Finn, and now backtracking bc he feels like he’s losing his dad.

Bc his dad always comes first and just. Kurt s1 is so flawed bc he’s such an angsty/dumb teen and it makes him such a real character and fascinating to watch. Plus, his heart stays int he right place

Crush aside, s1 had some of the best Finn and Kurt interactions. I love how Finn knew right away that Kurt was hurt by Finn bonding with Burt. And Kurt isn’t even offended here by Finn not wanting to live with him bc right now his dad is his priority.

I’m so glad the whole ‘let’s break up our parents’ didn’t turn into a drawn out scheme. They quickly see how happy their parents are and accept that they’re together.

Bc different eps focus on different characters, I like how a lot of plots are wrapped up within the ep. The show has character arcs etc throughout, but I find I’m not a fan of certain plotlines going on for way too long. Like the fake baby, or Puck being the father, ugh or the student election. Those all had me like ‘just get on with it’ whereas character arcs, like kurt and his dad, the mercedes/troubletones, etc are much more interesting.

Aww I love them. And Kurt immediately says “I was wrong” and owns up to his mistake, yay.

So glad Mercedes got another song, but oof I want more of both of them performing with the cheerios! Only a few eps left of them on the team... And!! Apparently they cut a song from the ep?? Kurtcedes and the Cheerios were supposed to do Fergalicious (there are some pics of behind the scenes) and the fact that we missed out on that actively angers me.

K but first off, they’re at Finn’s house? Why was Kurt there? Was he visiting Carol? Did he just walk by?? I need answers bc it’s lowkey creepy lol

At least Finn has learned how Burt is legit the best dad and is happy to hang with him. And it’s well done, how Finn’s part is pretty wrapped up, but there’s still Kurt on the outside, bc it’s not all perfect yet.

I’ll say it every time. The best Glee writing went to this family dynamic. Mainly Burt and Kurt, but really the 4 of them together. I love it.

[simslegacy5083]

NSB (Straud Legacy) Gen 8 Ep. 69: Harvestfest Party Time

The reception dinner after Paul and Nikita’s wedding was served outside under the stars. The newlyweds had a small table all to themselves and they couldn’t stop smiling as they made small talk about the day and their upcoming honeymoon vacation trip.

Nikita got a little too excited about being a rebel agent while cutting the cake. Her fancy “sword” trick became a painful lesson on being careful with knives, but no lasting harm was done. The couple proceeded to pose playfully for their photographer as they shared the first piece.

---------------------------------------------

After the meal, the younger folks planned to party all night upstairs in the treehouse and most of the elders said their goodbyes and headed home.

Steven playfully reminded his own boys that he wasn’t getting any younger – they’d better get a move on, or he wouldn’t be there to put his top-notch officiant skills to use for their weddings!

Neither of them felt ready to get married, but promised their dad he’d be the first to know if those happy circumstances came to pass.

---------------------------------------------

One young couple planned to party the night away but were forced to leave early. Gonzalo’s wife Dina thought she had plenty of time left until delivery, but it seemed her babies had other plans. The new parents-to-be panicked, feeling completely unprepared so far from home or the hospital.

The parties’ veteran public servants, quite used to dealing with such emergencies, stepped in to save the day. Peachy took his old friend in hand, lightening the mood with some of his best baby jokes, while Jack escorted the mother-to-be to the exit and wondered if someday he’d be attending the birth of his own child. Hopefully, he mused, it would be in slightly better circumstances than the couple before them found themselves in now!

---------------------------------------------

Heading upstairs after seeing their friends safely away Peachy made a beeline for the microphone.

He’d prepared a special wedding skit for his two housemates, liberally sprinkled with references to the show they had decided to base their happy day around. Paul found himself practically in tears from laughter as Peachy regaled the crowd with his silly take on the couple’s favorite fictional universe.

When his nephew was finished warming up the room it was Spencer’s turn. The party animal had sent Hope off to bed but chosen to remain and enjoy the fun with the young’uns. Not to be outdone by his twin’s speech at the alter, Paul’s dad gave a beautiful toast, citing how glad he was that the pair before him had found each other and wishing them as much love and happiness as he’d found with his own beautiful bride.

---------------------------------------------

A few rounds of Sabbacc and some dance floor fun rounded out the evening.

It had been a wonderful day of celebrating the love shared by two Sims near and dear to the hearts of all in attendance, and everyone hoped for many more joyous days ahead for the happy couple in the future.

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Want To See More? View The Full Story of My Not So Berry Challenge Here

[matan4il]

Buddie 607 meta

I thought Felisa’s introduction was an interesting one. She’ll be closely associated with Eddie throughout the ep and by the end of it, we’ll see more layers to her, but the intro still presents her life as being to a great degree fake and shallow, very much revolving around putting on a show for her audience. Not to mention, Athena letting us know that Felisa at one point acted in such a violent and even life-endangering manner isn’t there for nothing. I found it an interesting choice to clue the audience in from the get go that this is not someone who is greatly compatible with Eddie, but even more so, that she’s not exactly someone who has room in her life to co-parent a kid with CP. And once again, it hit me hard, how in comparison, from 201 already we saw how similar Buck and Eddie are, and from 202 how much Buck would adore this kid,care about him, be a good co-parent and make all the room for Chris in his life.

~~ We saw in previous eps that when something is up with Buck, Eddie always notices it. So it came as no surprise he was the first to raise an eyebrow at Buck’s diet change. However, I had to scream a little about the shot that reveals this (and had to gif it). They could have focused on Buck’s glass after he was seated, they could have filmed him torso up. But no, they let Buck sit down as the camera follows him, and more than that, they had him sit down in profile, which emphasizes the crotch area way more than if he were to sit down normally and we’d get a frontal shot. This is intentional as all heck, and the framing expressions on Eddie’s face as he watches him, making it seem like Buck’s crotch is what he’s noticing, it’s too much to all be coincidental. ~~

But back to Eddie being THE team member with Buck senses that tingle, this ep showed us that it’s not just us thinking their bond is unique. The fact that we get a zoom in on Bobby looking at Eddie with an inquiring expression and gesture with Athena also turning his attention to him to get his reaction, and that Eddie without even a pause says he doesn’t know what’s up with Buck, it once again demonstrates that the trope of “everyone sees it” is true for Buddie. Everyone around them is completely aware that these two are married. ~~

Okay, regarding Buck’s sperm donation, the universe was CLEARLY screaming at him that this shouldn’t happen. In an ep that directly references back to 406, where Buck first tells Eddie that, and in doing so reveals himself to be someone who believes in listening to signs, and who reaffirms that this hasn’t changed because when his secret comes out he mutters to himself, “Stupid bracelet curse,” it’s very interesting that he ignores it all and goes ahead with the donation (at least for now). I do assume that the point is whatever he chooses, it will be his choice. He’s not being superstitious, or latching onto excuses, he's choosing his own path, and that will play into the rest of this storyline in terms of his growth as a person. ~~

Small side note from a gay person who knows a lot of gay couples that had to use sperm donations: men have to abstain from masturbation to do a sperm count, it’s not a personal choice, and the period of time to abstain is 2-7 days. Anything above that makes the sample worse in terms of sperm quality. My point is, Buck was trying to make things better, but he actually made them worse. I trust the writers did their basic research and they know this fact. ~~

The oblivious Eddie vibes were strong in this ep. While we got the background story for his disbelief in the supernatural, it also generally demonstrated that Eddie doesn’t tend to believe in that which he can’t see with his own eyes. He needs palpable proof, and neither emotions nor their significance can be proven that way, which might explain why he keeps missing the signs regarding what he and Buck really have. ~~

Something that got to me (and can also be counted in the “oblivious Eddie” column) was Felisa telling him that Alexis is all she has. As Eddie suspects this assistant of wrongdoing, he will later in the ep tell Felisa he knows Alexis is the only one she feels she can count on. It was just really loud to me, Eddie can try and talk to Felisa about what this means because he knows exactly what it’s like to have someone like that, Buck. So the subtext parallels Alexis with Buck, which means I was watching with interest to see what will we discover about this assistant? Even though everything seemed to point to her being guilty, if she was subtly paralleled with Buck, I was pretty convinced it would turn out she wasn’t the one hurting Felisa. I loved finding out that this ended up being the case. And I also thought it was interesting that in this context, Eddie brings up the tsunami in the ep’s last scene. The only way he thinks he can turn this woman’s POV around is to give Chris as an example. And that is exactly what he was doing for Buck as well, in 301. Not to mention, Buck embraced the insight Eddie was offering him during his chat with Chris in 302. Even in terms of the character’s name (yes, the name geek is about to strike again), Felisa comes from the Spanish version of the Roman name Felix, which means “lucky,” but also “happy” (for example, ‘felix finis’ means “happy ending” in Latin), and who do we know who’s been on a quest to find his happiness this season? This ep might not have been Buddie heavy in the text itself, but Buck was there, between the lines of Eddie’s storyline, the whole time.

(apologies for my own inferior gifs for this one section of the post) ~~

And that can also be seen in the moment when Eddie expresses his notion that he’s starting to think he might be the one who’s cursed. It’s the dramatic turn point in that arc and, despite Hen and Chim being the ones more closely associated for most of the ep with the whole thing (the ones who talk to Eddie about it, expresses their fear and superstition, trying to keep a distance from the bracelet), it’s Buck that Eddie says those words to. That’s the show telling us it recognizes that everything has more potency when it’s between those two. Plus, it’s also a reminder that even in the middle of his own trouble with his sperm donation, Buck will always check in on Eddie. ‘Coz that’s just how soulmates roll.

~~ Thank you to anyone reblogging! Y’all give me life. And for any show of support. I also wanna thank wholeheartedly @whosoldherout​, who not only produced fabulous gifs for this meta as always, she did so while dealing with some stuff, and I just want you to know you’re a hero! xoxox

[morgen92]

A (probably wrong) theory about Matthew’s sister

So, I recently developed this odd and far-fetched theory after watching the season 3 premier. It’s a real stretch, but I thought I’d unleash it on y’all for funsies. (Sorry for how LONG the post ended up.) 

(Slight spoilers for first two episodes of season 3)

I’m really hoping we see more of her (as is everyone, no doubt). While I loved the scenes between Matthew and his parents in 3:02, I was also a bit disappointed that she didn’t appear or even get mentioned. The only references to her so far are a brief glimpse in ep 1:02 and a couple lines in 1:07. Even the novelization doesn’t really shed much more light on the character. 

In any other show, I’d assume she’d been retconned, but The Chosen is too well-planned in advance for them to give Matthew a sibling and then just act like she never existed. So where is she? She clearly doesn’t live with their parents at this point. 

The most probable explanation is that she’s married, and maybe her husband's trade involves him being out of town for days at a time to explain his absence.

The main problem with this theory is the extreme repercussions Matthew’s career brought on the whole family. In such a strict honor/shame society where the full approval of one’s parents were required for marriage, it would be extremally difficult to find a family willing to let their son marry the sister of a tax collector. 

It almost seems like the writers are keeping most things about her a secret. But if so, why? Is it something that will come into play later? 

So the gears have been turning, and I thought of these two lines  

Obviously the expected question one would ask of a relative they haven’t seen in a long while, and it’s probably just so Matthew can tell Elisheva that he was there earlier. 

And yet, it’s almost put forward in a way implying the sister would have reason to not be well.

And that made me think of another character in need of healing, who’s face and identity have been a closely-guarded secret. 

COULD THEY BE THE SAME PERSON??

Of course this brings up questions, for which I might have possible answers. 

The purity laws (as they were originally written) wouldn’t forbid her from being in her parents’ house and eating the Shabbat meal with them, just as long as they didn’t touch her or her chair (she doesn’t appear to be sharing a seat with anyone). Women being kept entirely secluded from everyone during times of impurity wasn’t really a thing practiced outside the households of priests, religious leaders, or the wealthy.

The bleeding woman’s age is never mentioned in the gospels, only that her condition lasted 12 years. It could’ve started in her teens or early 20′s, and it’s not yet stated which sibling’s the eldest, leaving some wiggle room. 

I can’t really come up with any definitive reason why the family makes no inference to something so important. It feels like the writers would have them maybe hint at it by now. Perhaps they do later in the season, now that Matthew’s staying with their parents when the group’s in Capernaum. Maybe she’s hidden from them just how bad it’s gotten, or has times when it’s a little better.

Again, it seems unlikely. You’d think it would be mentioned in the scriptures if she was a sister of an apostle, since the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law is written. Then again, some historians and scholars believe Jesus and the Sons of Zebedee might’ve been cousins, despite it never being explicitly mentioned. Her relation to Matthew could’ve been omitted for various reasons. 

For one thing, disability or chronic illness was usually seen in that culture as a sign of God’s anger. It’s possible she moved out of the family home partly for practical reasons (staying in a crowded house made it easier to accidentally break purity law), so she wouldn’t trouble them, and to distance her long-suffering parents from the gossip and shame that would accompany her condition. 

If it is her, then anyone who knew about it would probably assume God was punishing the family for Matthew’s betrayal. Especially since it would’ve began just 2-4 years after he became a tax collector (The novel says he’s in his late 20′s at the story’s onset). It’s very possible Matthew partly believes this himself, and guilt’s kept him from asking Jesus to heal her.

As a theory it doesn’t hold much weight. There could be any number of reasons the Bleeding Woman’s appearance has been kept a secret and not much is revealed about Matthew’s sister. She may be someone else farther down the line, perhaps even the Woman Caught in Adultery (the fact John’s is the only gospel that mentions that incident may be significant. Matthew didn’t want to write about such a painful moment for her but trusted John with it, maybe?) 

I’m probably reading way too much into things and making huge leaps in reasoning, but I thought it would be fun to share.

Thoughts?

[chaoticornot]

This is my thoughts about our flag means death. This is just my brain while I watched this show, enjoy.

I adore this episode. Stede was a bad husband. Not Blackbeard sitting on Stede's bedside or in bed. They are so cute. Absolute idiots but adorable. He is not going to betray Stede. They had a picnic, for fuck sake. I am going to love the exchange of teaching each other their ways. I am also loving the Jim and Oluwande friendship/ possible relationship. To be honest, Blackbeard and Stede are the equivalents of the girl next door and the rebel in all famous high school au's. Plus, enemies to lovers who are catching feelings. Ep 4

What do you think the real reason is that Blackbeard wanted to go? Do you think it has to do with never being able to go as a kid? Or that he just wanted to forget himself for one night? Lucius and Black Pete is not the combo I was expecting, but I am here for it. Plus a daddy kink and a bit of voyeurism. What do you think Izzy's face looked like when he saw Blackbeard with bows in his beard? I love that they went in with no plan. The prince, an accountant with bows in his beard, is fantastic. Yes, Lucius calls him out and put him in his place. I love the confidence. That was so romantic. First defending him, then reassuring him, and then staring at each other under the moonlight, walking away, stopping, glancing, shy smiles, walking further, aww. Ep 5

He is seduced by that imbecile. Yes, do start stripping and show off your belly. Haha, this is just a clothed sex scene, Izzy thinks the same. Aww,  why is he so cute? The poor thing. He hid in the bathtub. Look at them comforting each other and being honest. I thought I said fuck a lot, Jesus. You have to win Stede. Concerned boyfriend check. Lucius and Pete are so cute. He made him a finger, aww. The kiss is adorable. Yeah, I get someone for that, hilarious. Of course, he goes to snitch. Ep 6

I love Olu immediately adopting nana, coming nana. Lucius's face, he is third-wheeling. Look at them banter like a fucking married couple. This whole exchange is hilarious. Lucius is like the meddling friend, but he is right. The fondness in his eyes and it was sweet. Stede you couldn't wait 2 seconds before barging in, they were about to kiss. OMG. That is such a husband thing to say. I hope to god that we get a reunion somewhere because I need to know about Jim's adventures and their relationship. Btw, Jim's story plus the oranges remind me of the book, the priory of the orange tree. I love the nana and Olu moment. Co-captains, more like husbands. They are so cute. Oh no Stede, now you have it. This is a problem. "Done something to your boss's brain" is more like your boss has a big fat crush. Ep 7

Stede is jealous, and I don't even know how to refer to Edward's state of mind. He just reverted to a teenager. The hand between his shoulder blades. God Jack is an asshole. I love this truce/ friendship moment between Jim and Jackie. Goof for Stede for standing up as a captain. Not the divorce ark. Sir, you are not allowed to leave. This is hurting me. Unacceptable. Ouch. I am going to guess that Stede cried himself to sleep that night. Not the take care, mate. The look back, those always hurt the most because you can see it is also breaking his heart. This is the I am missing my partner club. I love Julius. The acknowledgement that it is a breakup. Julius is the best friend. The bird speaks. I hate Jack even more now. Edward should apologise when he gets back to the ship. Karma is a bitch. The foot. The look. Awwwwwww. What is going to happen now? Ep 8

Oh no. Stede is a terrible liar. Really, Frenchie? Oh no. Fanfiction, I love that, and fanfiction and the fact that it exists in this world. Edward, you are such a sweetheart and so casual too. Izzy? Wise words but not the crying. This is so awkward. Thank you, Ed, he deserved that. The desperation in his eyes. Two acts of Grace, please. Why does it sound like he is ordering food? Haha. Sassy husbands. I love the horror about the beard being gone. Got to say, I have to get used to it. Stede is so concerned, and Ed is just pretending to be fine and ignoring the fact that Stede is concerned about him. The crew really got the short stick huh. Doing what makes Ed happy huh. So doing Stede, I am sorry, haha, I had to. The kissssss, awwwwww. This is so romantic. I am so afraid Stede is going to say no. Oh thank fuck, he said yes. aw, Olu as captain, I love that. Thye is so supportive. Oh, fuck no. Edward is going to think Stede abandoned him, isn't it? fuck. shit, I told you so. The shock on everyone's faces, I did not expect that one. Lucius do your job and hammer some sense into them. How long has he been away from home? Tell me she is going to knock some sense into him, please. I need a happy ending. Edward's sad face is horrible, someone do something. Ep 9

Yess Mary, girl boss. I love these ladies. Kick him out of bed, if he can't keep to his side. I love her. The kid is savage. Under the weather more like moping. Jimmmmmmmmmmmmm. That is one hell of a kiss, and I am here for it. Oh, blanket fort. He really is not doing well, is he? Seeing him cry breaks my heart, and that entire conversation felt like being stabbed, repeatedly, oh baby, you poor thing. Now Stede has to apoligise. Now he is talking to an orange. These broken-hearted fools, someone do something about it. You voyeur, you are not allowed to be mad though. You tell him, girl. Haha, I love that for them. I love how they are all freaked out by Edward singing a sad song. They are such dorks, a talent show, I love it and how excited they all are. Don't tell me you are now shit-talking your husband over something he is insecure about while he is moping and singing sad songs because you broke up. Btw, I love Ed in that robe. Love Ed for defending them, especially against Izzy, but babe you deserve a little at the moment. Stede don't you dare to ruin Mary's exhibition because I will kill you. And you have drunk. Well, at least he realises that she is allowed to hate him. First of all, I love the murder conversation. Second, Is this Stede realising that he is in love with Edward and doing something about it? Just your husband casually coming out when you're talking about love, and as the awesome human being, you are you hug him. This is tugging at my heartstrings. Oh fuck, he put his walls up again and became Blackbeard, shit. Btw, that was unnecessary. Lucius didn't deserve that, hope he gets back up. Izzy deserved that. This is breaking my heart. I love that Doug and Stede could come to an agreement/ plan. Or fake Stede's dead. They are abandoning them. Not breaking my ships, horrible people you are. That is all three now. Stede hurry the fuck up. Aww, that is so cute.  I have 6 minutes to go, and this is not going to fix itself. I love the whole play, fantastic. Aww, babe. Every time he cries my heart breaks a little. Not the windowsill/ bed. This hurts. A bit too late Stede, at least no one else from the crew is dead yet. I am believing that Lucius is not dead so everyone is alive but not well. And Eds is dying of heartbreak. Fuck, this hurts. I need a season 2 asap.

This show is so good and now I am invested. Why does that always happen to me? I was so happy to find out that Jim is non-binary. Gay pirates are the best thing ever. I was hoping for humour and a love story. We got 3 love stories, humour, and angst. So much angst. And we were heading in the right direction but then crash. Also, I live for the casual stabbing and violence. Bamf characters, whoop. Also, this show made me realise I may have a type. Gray/ salt and pepper long hair with a sword and in leather. Dammit, also in love with their newly made, a bit annoying best friend. I think I have a crush on Jim and maybe a little gender envy.

[commenter2]

Ozzie’s episode review (spoilers)

An episode at the ring of lust on Halloween, lets see what happens.

It is confirmed that Moxxie and Millie have been married for one year. That’s shorter then I thought, but it would explain that scene in ep. 5 of Millie re introducing him to her parents.

Millie seems to know how to make Moxxie feel that tingling sensation in his “tail” XD and yes that is a Jak and Daxter reference !

What is with all the eye imagery at the elevator terminal ?

Speaking of which thanks to a few screenshots that show the rings being color coated we now seem to have a decent map of Hell. In my opinion Hell seems to be mapped like this

Pride (red)

Wrath (orange)

Gluttony (yellow)

Greed (green)

Lust (blue)

Envy (purple)

Sloth (pink)

Even the call for the lust ring is sexual XD

Happy Hotel pic.

I feel like the rain is suppose to represent something. We do see a lot of aquatic demons here so maybe there is an ocean in the Lust Ring ?

A couple’s only restaurant in the ring of lust. Interesting, I wonder if my headcanon of Asmodeous being a romantic is true ?

Sad Stolas. I wonder where the rest of his family is ?

Hell-a Novella also I’m surprised the name Gabriella isn’t illegal in Hell given it sounds like Gabriel as in the archangel.

Hooting ringtone.

For a minute I thought Stella was going to pop out and confront Stolas about the “date”.

The only thing missing from the scene of Stolas coming out of the portal is George Michael’s Flawless playing XD

Stolas being home along and his reaction to Ozzie’s backs up my “he is a bored royal” theory.

Damn Stolas’s butler is a love magnet ! He deserves it after dealing with the Goetias all day.

Aww the two guys in Verosika’s crew are on a date.

Looks like Stolas is going to realize Blitzo will never love him but I bet this is when Blitzo truly starts to.

Though it seems like she was just being mean, I think maybe Verosika turned down that drink cause she got out of rehab and doesn’t want any bad press !

Totally called that LuLu Land being destroyed would result in making people more money.

“Moxxie playing a song” plot point confirmed !

It was kind of hard to hear but did Moxxie’s song confirm that Beelzebub is female ?

Asmodeous is NOT a romantic.

Aw man now Hell is going to know about Blitzo and Stolas. I really hoped this wouldn’t happen in this episode/season. Oh well, I’m not gonna get mad at Vivzie and the others for doing what they want on there show.

Looks like Asmodeous and Fizz are a thing, I guess there disgust of love is what makes them attractive to each other. Wait if Fizz is an imp and Asmodeous likes him (kind of) why are they giving Stolas a hard time ? Probably cause no one is brave enough to call him, a 7 deadly sins, out on it, but still.

Moxxie and Millie are so perfect ! :)

Though short you can see that the other heads of Asmodeous didn’t move/repeat what the center one said, meaning the center one IS the dominant head/personality as I headcanoned.

Why didn’t Stolas portal them home ?

“Octavia’s with her mother this weekend” meaning though married they live apart. I wonder if this is a callback to ep. 2 as along with how we saw that the two did live with each other when Octavia was younger she does say in that episode that she doesn’t want to see him after hooking up with Blitzo. That’s probably when she moved out as I bet having a separate house is common for someone so rich.

This is an emotional scene as even when Stolas does try to be romantic to Blitzo without trying to sleep with him, Blitzo is too hurt because of his previous flirting to even try and get close to Stolas on a emotional level.

Blitzo’s apartment ! Also its nice to know Tex kept his promise to invite Loona to a party.

Blitzo has some interesting apps on his phone, along the obvious references there are some references to the 7 deadly sins like Bee eats, sleepy pill z (a reference to Belphegor) and an apple/snake app that obviously references Lucifer which makes me wonder what that app does ? The most interesting one to me though is one called NV, obviously references Leviathan but I’m more focus on the image of the masked figures as we saw someone similar in the pilot of Hazbin Hotel among the Overlords. Maybe the two are connected somehow ?

The pics on Blitzo’s phone are cool and they seem to give us a timeline. Among stuff we already know we see what looks to be Blitzo and Moxxie starting I.M.P. before Moxxie met Millie, Blitzo and Verosika pre breakup, Blitzo and Fizz dating (confirming Fizz is an imp) and showing they were old friends, and finally a pic of Blitzo and his sisters which makes him sad.

If you look closer Tilla is wearing that neck thing Blitzo wears meaning she could be dead ?

Poor Blitzo. He needs a hug.

Huh no offense but I though the episode was going to have a bigger cliffhanger as we are close to the finale. I mean imagine if Striker attacked Stolas at the end ?

So that was an interesting episode and as always we got a lot of new info and plot points.  We got to learn more about Hell, its inhabitants, AND we got how Hell is (likely) mapped. It was nice to see fan favorite characters return, and we learned more about the main characters. We also see what seems to be the “2nd act breakup” trope with Blitzo and Stolas which only means that they will get together later on, likely in the finale but who knows. Plus for me personally, it’s always nice to see some of my headcanons come true.

However the episode is not without its flaws like with Verosika, though she is a good character, her being there felt a bit forced as she didn’t do much. I also don’t like how it seems Hell might finally learn of Blitzo and Stolas as again I feel like that plot point might have been better at a later time cause now its possible that the show might end earlier then expected, and personally I’m hoping the series gets 3 seasons. Also still no Stella time ! She has gotten roughly a minute’s worth of screen time and we still don’t know anything about her, especially her and Stolas. Every other character got screen time this season that allowed us to learn bits about them and there thoughts on other characters so I feel like when she does get screen time in the finale it will be a bit rushed. Hopefully if and when HB gets a season 2 she can get some serious development among the main characters, especially Millie :)

What were your thoughts on the episode ? Was there anything I missed ? Do you think the season finale will come out before the end of 2021 ? My vote is yes but I like to hear your thoughts ! Also I might do something going over predictions for the season finale so stay tune for more Helluva Boss content.

[bensonnstabler]

okay so i came across a buzzfeed article from like three years ago about tv couples that never got together but who fans wanted to which had the audacity to leave out elliot and olivia. thankfully one of the top comments underneath made buzzfeed’s pop-culture faux par very clear and it soothed my soul briefly. BRIEFLY.

(if this was a podcast i'd insert at this point that abby lee miller audio about who i assume was kathy from candy apples disturbing the peace. yes the irony is sending me)

one person, however, decided to comment the following

“Um, no. And it's gross that fans think they've been pining away for each other even though he was married to Kathy. And just because Kathy is dead now I don't think Olivia would be that disrespectful to his kids.”

and since it was over three years ago and i cbf making a buzzfeed account thought i’d subject y’all to my reply

firstly, calling any harmless fandom opinion “gross” is what is truly gross here. did i vomit in my mouth a little when i saw one of the entries being barney and lily from himym? yes. do i think the people who do ship those two are gross? absolutely not. i thought we left ship-shaming in the TLJC and destiel cesspools tyvm.

secondly, i am the first in line to get mad at the fact kathy just straight up died. it’s a waste of a perfectly good character (letter notwithstanding) and sends the message once again female characters on primetime are ten times more dispensable than their male counterparts. also i'm willing to give partial credit for it being said that it would be ooc for olivia to want to get together and that it brings up relevant issues of elliot never truly “choosing” olivia. but they have imo jumped over that hurdle (and some) and after an actual decent conversation i think with the way liv is now (can we hear a little commotion for the boundaries chat in the trial of richard wheatly ep) it would be perfectly within her arc to allow herself to fall romantically for elliot.

am i concerned that its dragged on too long? yes

am i fucking frustrated at the lack of momentum from s23 to s24? also yes

but i think we need to accept that what we have is a product of circumstance. both good (extensive evidence of one of the most chemistry-laden tv partnerships on and off-screen) and bad (CM leaving suddenly and WL jumping in to reinvent the wheel with so much force it might as well have been that scene from Cars)

with the latter we were always going to get the bare minimum of stabler references. under different creative influences yet the same chris circumstance – i totally think there could have been some like “he’s deep UC” or “last i heard he’s in rome and unable to communicate” moments which would have made the no contact one hundred percent more digestible

which puts me back on my kathy bs; i am wholeheartedly on team  “they should have split up in rome and had to come back to NYC at the same time” or at least team “if you must kill her off at least have them separate them first". thus either way, i guarantee we still would have gotten the same grief dynamics and the initial (and current - let’s be honest) hesitancy we did in ROTPS (...and almost every moment thereafter)

TLDR; lets all be friends but if eo doesn't become canon i will sue

[projectjasper]

me: im going to about thinking about bad buddy bc it makes me upset now

also me: cannot stop thinking about bad buddy ifkdjd

no but like i keep thinking about the red shirts they wear in the last ep bc i know theyre work shirts or whatever but im just.. thinking about the symbolism </3 like hear me out, pats family seem to be thai chinese (i think thats the right name?) since pa and pat both refer to pat as hia (which is like p’ but used for when the older person in question is of chinese descent?). continuing the assumption that pats family is of chinese descent, red is traditionally worn by chinese couples when they get married because its auspicious. additionally, pran buttons pats shirt for him, which is kinda like exchanging rings (like, how you do it for the other person) and then they hold hands while they look at each other and talk almost like theyre saying their vows :(((( its like, i know im analyzing things too much but it just reminds me of the whole “were both going to die so lets get married before we do” trope (like elizabeth and will from pirates of the caribbean, if youve seen that) (OH ALSO this is in the episode where they keep talking about it being their honeymoon and after they make several nods towards getting married the episode before!!!!) im just thinking about how this is maybe them making a commitment to each other even if they know they may not be able to be together (which is STUPID) and if you take the scene like that its also cool bc its them making the biggest commitment they can make, they legally cant get married so they make do with what theyre given. its like both them doing the closest thing they can to getting married as a gay couple in thailand and the closest thing they can do to making a commitment to each other while being pushed apart by their parents </3 idk if this makes any sense but im just feeling a lot of feelings about this scene djdjdjdjdjfj

…now im wondering what the person who does the costuming analysis would think of this but i dont remember their @ lol

-lost anon

heyyy, lost anon!! even more wedding imagery for us, i suppose. no addressing how they can't actually get married though. so much for realism. either way though, a pretty nice thought! (can't remember the url either - sorry).