#I’m not even done with s1 but literally what the fuck is wrong with her

[elliesgaymachete]

Y’know what? Misty Quigley is a poor little meow meow. I don’t use that term often bc i think it should be reserved for the most truly pathetic characters and I think she fits the bill. Like, she’s a friendless loner but is it because she’s “uncool” and teenagers are mean, or because she’s an absolute fucking cunt? She didn’t crash the plane but she destroyed the GPS in the black box, thereby preventing anyone from finding them, just because she felt some sort of fucking power trip on her desperate Need to be useful and liked by her peers. She had a crush on a gay man twice her age. As an adult, she’s a nurse because she’s so pathetic and she needs that power over others once again that she experienced as a traumatized child. She knows her “old friends” can’t fucking stand her but she still tries so hard—not by being nice, just by inserting herself into their lives. She fucks with her friend’s car so it won’t start and they have to spend time together. She installs a hidden camera in her friend’s motel room to spy on her. She follows her friend to a restaurant and watches her on a date because she didn’t want to hang out. She steals medication from her work and uses it to drug and kidnap someone and keep them locked up in her basement, handcuffed to a bed. She snorts 2 lines of coke to try and keep her friend from relapsing. She has a pet bird. Truly the poorest little meow meow

[nightcolorz]

Going to vent to you because this seems like a safe space for Armand sympathizers lol…

LIKE obviously Armand is doing all the wrongs, he didn't have to agree to literally any of this, blah blah etc etc BUT GIRL. if the guy i had been casually dating for two years because he had great benefits one day revealed to me that he was a child sex slave, the thing i would not do is be like 'wow, i guess what you're secretly saying is you want me to turn our relationship into an unnegotiated 24/7 TPE huh'.

And then when he came to me in a panic to tell me his life is falling apart and his employees are plotting to kill him and his protection isn't going to last much longer and i should flee the country for my own safety because he's the most vulnerable he's ever been since the time he was abducted by the crazy torture cult, the thing i absolutely would not do at that moment is surprise him by introducing that dynamic into our relationship completely out of nowhere and then order him to stay right here because I've got a totally cool plan to outmanipulate his enemies and I'll be his master now :)

And then I orchestrate a series of hot public encounters where i blur the lines of being angry and disgusted with him right up against ignoring the boundaries he sets and telling him to do whatever i want wherever i want. and because i never bothered to ask him, i don't know if he's genuinely into it or if it's because i've weaponised his trauma when he's feeling unstable, but like, he's the one who manipulated me into doing this anyway by telling me his sad backstory, so actually i'm the victim here??

AND THEN when I tell him my awesome idea of turning a nazi collaborator into a human eating monster machine and I want him to do it even though he is clearly revulsed by this idea from every angle, I'll berate him endlessly for refusing and be annoyed with him because by saying no he's making me turn her and that's not cool bro, and when he begs me not to do it, or at least not to tell him because it's breaking the rules and he's vulnerable to the machinations of the coven rn, I'll shut him up with my dom routine, and then tell him to come watch because he'll realize he does actually want it after he does it.

and when he asks me whether this is a genuine invitation in this moment or if I'm ordering him to do it and will be upset if he doesn't, I'll be so hurt and angry with him because wow, I can't believe after months of using my nonconsensual game of acting like his childhood master to get him to do things for me, he's acting like I'd use my nonconsensual game of pretending to be his childhood master against him, fuck you for trying to manipulate me right now you worthless piece of shit </3.

like even daniel, the most neutral and ethical judge of whether it's okay to make someone a vampire, can tell the only reason he'd set his one boundary at murdering and cursing another human being for eternity is because it's not hot or convenient, and not because of 500 years of witnessing the most insane vampire maker shenanigans known to Europe.

and then the entire audience claps because honestly i'm just trying so hard and my boyfriend just keeps fucking it all up for me and taking away my choices. literally what else could i have done in this situation :(

AHHHH ANON U ATE THIS UP ‼️🙏 and Yes this is absolutely THE safe place for Armand sympathizers!! I am the Armand sympathizer king and u have just brought me an Armand sympathizer gift lined with gold and jewels and placed it in front of my thrown and I’m knighting u Armand sympathizer general as I bow before u

ur so right and it’s actually so crazy to me that this isn’t a more popular take. it’s insane to me bcus im remembering how seriously this fandom was taking Claudia’s s1 sexual assault and how sensitively it was being discussed and now these same ppl r insisting that it’s unfair to “demonize” Louis for preforming non consensual bdsm with a csa victim without any safe word or prior discussion specifically because he told him about his csa and Louis found a chance to leverage control in this relationship. I saw someone insisting that it’s ridiculous to interpret Louis as sexually exploitative for being a pimp because he was a nice pimp and he was self aware about how pimping was bad and like ??? 😭😭 how do I even argue with that, that is just so absurd I’m lost for words. No guys he was one of the good pimps because he “didnt take advantage of his position” (😭⁉️) and he knew that it was wrong to sexually exploit vulnerable women and just chose to do it anyway so see it wasn’t that bad. And because Louis knows sexual abuse is wrong and chooses to do it anyway despite this he clearly isn’t mirroring the sexual abuse Armand experienced in his non consensual power play dynamic with him because uh yeah he wouldn’t do that ig 😭. It’s not like Louis canonically is capable of using sexual exploitation to manipulate people’s vulnerabilities for his stability and gain. Like guys book Louis also felt guilty for being a slave owner and knew it was wrong 😭😭 am I gonna hear “it’s unfair to say Louis being a slave owner was indicative of his negative traits cuz he felt bad about it” come out of ur mouths 😭⁉️cuz oh my god I hope not 😭 “Louis was only a pimp because pimping was his way of keeping his family afloat and asserting the masculine identity he felt obligated to preform for his safety” and he is doing the same thing with Armand guys obviously??!! He is taking advantage of armand’s history of sexual abuse to keep himself safe from vulnerability with the coven and to assert his masculine identity as a shield like 😭 and that doesn’t stop what he’s doing from being wrong like no fucking shit. He’s a complex character and his actions come from a place of fear and not straight forward evil, but that doesn’t mean u have to defend literal sexual abuse to analyze that and to enjoy Louis as ur favorite character 😭 I keep saying this but louis is a great character and there’s nothing wrong with him being ur fav but it is pretty mf weird to insist that everything he does is ok when things that he do include like, non consent 😭

I feel ur annoyances so hard anon, it’s driving me a lil crazy rn cuz in s2 ep6’s wake i have barely seen anyone discuss the Louis fucking Armand in the coffin scene like it was pretty shitty and abusive and not like, non complexly hot and fun and nothing else. Like, Armand has been panicking for a while and insisting to Louis that he is loosing respect from the coven and therefore his control and he’s in danger because of it, and Louis decides to stroll into Armand’s office unannounced, demand he strip for him immediately, demand again without any room for argument when Armand says he can’t, and then fuck Armand in view and ear shot of the whole coven in a degrading power assertion that Louis knows will put Armand in even more of a vulnerable and compromising position, like ?? I get it read the pages to me while I fuck u was pretty hot but omg can we talk about this with some nuance 😭⁉️ this is possibly the most overt instance of Louis not asking, *demanding* that Armand sexually submit and preform for him specifically as a grab to assert dominance over the coven. And Armand of course won’t say no, he’s been quite literally trained to believe that he has services that people r entitled to take from him at any time because he’s a product to be used. He also believes that saying no is not an option because submitting to the master will keep him safe, and Louis I think knows this to an extent and knows that taking advantage of this will help him stay afloat. I believe that this scene was a significant contributor to Armand deciding to betray Louis, because Louis’s actions *do* put him in danger with the coven and cause him to loose his position of power (Santiago mocking him for getting fucked by Louis cough cough). And Armand at this point is realizing, I can choose to be in a relationship with Louis that is causing my sense of stability and safety to fall apart, or I can choose to regain my position of power by forgoing Louis and getting to retain my safety. When u think about it like that it makes perfect sense for him to do that 😭 and I’m tired of seeing takes treating Armand like he’s a sneaky little snake and not a cornered animal

on the subject of Daniel because u mentioned him at the end there, oh my god it has pissed me off since the beginning how a lot of people act like Daniel is the embodiment of the neutral, unbiased correct word of god figure who is just telling the audience how it really is. Like?? No??? 😭😭 Daniel is a shitty journalist and a shitty person, he’s borderline racist and ignorant, he is not looking to expand his perspective or approach his subjects with any empathy or nuance because he decided going in that he hates them and they r bad, which is like?? Defeats the entire purpose of the affective journalism that he is trying to preform 😭😭 He is NOT the guy u should be getting ur takes from, he is a character like any other, he is not a source for correct analysis or meta or unfiltered truth.

But anyways lol, not to be personal and vulnerable in the gay vampire sex tv show post but it’s rlly disheartening for me to witness this blatant excusing and downplaying of a sexually abusive dynamic as someone who has experienced a very similar type of “but was it technicallyyy non consensual though..?” Sexual abuse. Like guys pls 😭🙏 I thought that “bdsm dynamic that merges with actual, genuine grabs for control and blurs the line between fun sex and real demands or anger” was like considered unambiguously bad? 😭 There asses do NOT have a safe word. In conclusion anon u r everything to me and everyone else um USE UR BRAIN🔥🔥🔥🔥

thank u sm for the ask OMGG ur so well spoken and correct and I enjoyed reading ur ask so so much

[adhd-merlin]

merlin S1 rewatch: episode 9

let’s move on to ep 1x09 because I need to get on. with my life. I already re-watched this ep months ago and I can’t be arsed to do it again so I’m going to use screencaps and perhaps the transcript to refresh my memory.

kilgharrah warning merlin that excalibur MUST NOT be wielded by anyone but arthur, and merlin handing the sword to uther literally the next morning is so funny to me. it's kind of the same thing that happens with the cup of life, when iseldir tells merlin “hey this is important so don’t lose it okay?” and five minutes later we see the cup rolling down a hill. I love consistent characterisation. please don’t give this boy anything important for safekeeping he has enough on his plate already!!

I think Arthur’s coronet looks a bit dumb but still it’s nothing compared to the horrendous Burger King crown he'll wear as king. why did uther get such a prettier crown. why couldn't arthur just wear his father's crown. so many questions

why did they name the undead knight tristan, was he supposed to be the tristan? I think he was. I think their take on tristan and isolde in S4 was so disappointing btw. anyway moving on

Merlin: Gaius have you seen that knight’s crest before? Gaius: No, I don’t think so. I didn’t see it clearly. Actually I’m not even sure I saw a knight. Perhaps it was a trick of the light or a collective hallucination

Sir Owain: I don’t need luck Arthur: oh fuck he’s going to die

Arthur’s face after Uther holds him back and someone else picks up the undead knight’s gauntlet. so much self-sacrificing acts of bravery and NONE of them done by him. wrong and upsetting

S1 Arthur I'm not sure how to tell you this so I'll just say it. your haircut looks dangerously close to a mullet

Merlin: maybe arson can fix this

Nimueh telling Uther she was his friend!!! fuck season 6 I want a Merlin prequel

he’s a precious baby. he’s shmol. only tiny

gwen doing her whole “you know I'd grant you anything merlin… I mean, not anything! haha” meanwhile merlin is too worried about keeping arthur alive to notice. GIRL HE'S BUSY

WHY. who stands like this

he holds this stupid pose the entire time morgana is talking to him. imagine begging someone not to commit suicide while they brood and look out of the window like a sullen byronic hero. I would have pushed him out of the window. drama ass bitch

this is the second nighttime encounter between uther and gaius in this episode. uther saying goodbye to gaius before going to fight in arthur’s place. toxic yaoi. is this anything

YOU KNOW NOTHING YOU STUPID CHILD. I love that Kilgharrah is a hater and a bitch. to be fair to him he spent 20 years in solitary confinement so he's earned it

gaius drugging arthur then gently helping him into his bed is hilarious. he’s so good at lying and drugging people. big fan of gaius using his evil talents for the greater good, or just to have a laugh sometimes which is equally valid

what a fine blade you have there… it would be a shame if something were to happen to it

he’s wearing silver bracelets!! plural!!

[Enter Arthur, visibly furious]

Gaius [gathering his things]: I've just remembered I've left something on the stove. I must go right now immediately

Arthur [while Gaius scurries away]: YOU HAD GAIUS DRUG ME??

arthur and uther little father and son moment was cute ngl

there are a few more scenes until the end but I don't have much to say about them except that I love gaius and merlin's relationship

Gaius: [stares loudly] Merlin: [pretends not to notice]

[thestobingirlie]

i read this post that said robin was written to show steve wasn't homophobic anymore but "that doesn’t mean I’m just going to forget how he implied that Will deserved to die because he’s gay, so what now? Steve is growing and changing but that doesn’t just take away everything he’s said, especially since he has yet to apologize to Jonathan. There’s a reason why Will and Steve have zero scenes together!" like it makes no sense firstly bc robin wasn't even originally written as a lesbian so that just doesn't line up. then steve also never said will deserved to die bc he's gay; he never actually said anything about will's sexuality, his comment about will is about the byers family being full of "screw-ups" which steve actually classified as separate from gay ppl at the start of his mini monologue lol (by saying he thought jonathan was queer but he's actually a screw up like his dad). sometimes i think certain ppl have never actually watched that scene bc they just use it as a Steve Said Bad Things free space where they get to invent what he said. he did apologize to jonathan, it was literally the only reason he was at the byers' house, but it was interrupted which led to steve both saving jonathan's life and buying him a new camera. the thing about will and steve not having scenes together is baffling to me. their storylines just never intersected like s1 will is gone, s2 will is possessed while steve is helping junkyard trio, s3 steve is held captive in an underground russian bunker, and s4 will is literally in a different state on the other side of the country.

yeah, i saw that post lmao, real fucking stupid. it’s just so funny to me that these people accuse us of reducing robin to just being steve’s friend, and then can’t see past her sexuality in regards to her character? they’re the ones making robin just a lesbian bff, not us.

and saying that steve hasn’t had an impact on her character?? rewatch the show! steve’s the reason that robin feels comfortable in who she is, that she rambles and jokes around instead of fronting her stony facade from s3. i honestly think these people only care about robin in regards to a certain character they ship her with. because they seem to know nothing about her.

thank you!!! he never implies will is gay. at all. why would steve know or care about the sexuality of some random 12 year old?

and, 100%, people take that scene and mold it into anything they want just to rag on steve, and it’s super telling, because they’re constantly getting it wrong. some people decided that steve called jonathan a fag, which is the most annoying to me, because at least get the slur right lmao.

steve fucked up, absolutely. but he did apologise, and he did save their lives, and virtually sacrifice his own when he decided to run back into that house. had steve not done that, jonathan and nancy would be dead. just a fact.

and the will and steve sharing scenes thing is especially funny to me, because they’re just part of different plots. they have shared scenes, and will clearly has no problem using steve to get free movies like the rest of the kids, so there’s no animosity there.

[ivysangel]

Omg I’m watching yj rn cuz I haven’t seen the show since maybe 2012 or 2013 so it’s been a while for this girl and I have no one else to talk to about this.

~Mild spoilers ahead for those who haven’t caught up~

But I just have to say that the writers are gonna be fending off more then just these hands for the bloody time skips they did. When s1 ended I was so excited for season 2, and then after a quick recap of the new years scene we get blasted 5 years later!!!?!?!?! uHMMMM HELLO?!?!???? WTF IS THIS ??? I WAS EXPECTING TEAM BEHAVIOUR AND THIS IS SO NOT TEAM BEHAVIOUR!!! I WANTED GROWTH!! I WANTED TO GET TO LIKE THESE CHARACTERS MORE AND UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIPS!! And they hit us with the oop aqualad is now an enemy, yeah Tula joined the team but died, Dick and Zatanna aren’t together but he’s with Barbara now, Barb is also disabled, Jason was a part of the team for a while but of course died, etc etc like it was huh after huh after HUH cuz a lot can happen in 5 years and I’m cheesed we didn’t have season 2 to ride the wave a little longer with the team while they were midteens before we got a switch up and suddenly they’re in their 20s and mentoring, and we got introduced to a new team like 2 or 3 times

And with each time skip I’d just get more and more steamed cuz this feels like when you have a friend that you’ve known for ages but suddenly decides to drop new lore and you’re like 👁️👄👁️ what do you mean you were pregnant at 15 and found out at a Wendy’s bathroom????? Like it felt like being hit with a truck hearing all the things that happened during the time skip cuz as of right now I’m on the latest season and there’s queer relationships that were dropped like a bomb. Don’t get me wrong I’m not mad about it at all but with kal I was like who?when?? And with Lagoonboy I was like aww he looks so happy with her! Wait did she just say husband??? But that’s not….. omg this dude is a home wrecker!!! ohhhhh ok he’s in a poly relationship…. WAIT A MINUTE A POLY RELATIONSHIP??? It was just coming out of nowhere unless I missed hints being dropped in earlier episodes or seasons. Probably the sap in me but I would’ve liked to be introduced to these other characters and see how they caught feelings and got together instead. We’ve had a few episodes about Halo figuring herself out both with sexuality and gender preferences, and her religion as well which does make sense when you were previously a living machine. But nothing for Kaldur or lagoonboy???? I would’ve loved to have seen that unfold instead of some other episodes that were more of a snooze fest for me

hihihi sorry this has been sitting in my inbox for so long, i got this crazy influx of yj related asks that were all so long so i've been spacing out my responses!!

but you are so right, the time jumps are so heinous because half the time we don't even get flashbacks to supplement any of the missing plot. they fully just drop bombs on the viewers and expect everyone to just accept it. it's very jarring to get attached to a team and then see the whole team split up the next season with absolutely no warning.

(also idk why this just came to mind but does anyone else remember when orm was camped out in that house trying to kill everybody at that birthday party???? what the fuck was that about??? was that crucial to the plot...did i miss smth)

BUT YEAH. there's a whole lot of "did i miss something"s floating around for s2-4. i would literally sit in front of a paused screen and try to figure out if any dots connected bc i was so lost.

i also really liked how we got halo's sexuality and gender identity arc but i do wish they had done the same for kaldur since he's such a massive part of the show. i wouldn't be mad at one for lagoon boy either, but his plots generally don't mean as much for me since he was really only there as a piece of the m'gann + conner plot.

[procrastiel]

Good Omens Is (Queer) Therapy

Crowley uses the love he feels for Aziraphale to let it empower himself. He turns it into a strength. He uses it to think outside the box, to figure out their path, together. This makes Aziraphale feel safe and protected.

His fall gave him the freedom to explore and to learn how to love unconditionally, outside of expectations and structures. (he even still loves God, and is in awe of Job being able to speak to her directly)

Aziraphale still has to learn that. His love is very conditional. He wants to break free, but can’t (yet - we’re rooting for you, bud). He uses the love he feels for Crowley to break himself down. He turns it into a weakness, a danger, a threat. Something impossible to be proud of, something that by its nature needs to be hidden and kept secret. Something forbidden, something wrong.

This makes Aziraphale act defensively in moments where it’s about their relationship and where it really counts. For me, the key moments here are The Bandstand (s1 ep3) and The Kiss™ (s2 ep6).

He says what he thinks he should say, what’s appropriate to say, not what he really wants to say. And this, inevitably, makes Crowley feel as if he’s a bad influence, as if there’s something wrong with Crowley. Not good enough, needs to be better. This feeling of lack makes Crowley anxious and worried (he is, by his nature, a very optimistic being).

Moving on, we also have:

When fucking Armageddon was upon them, when it really counted, Aziraphale chose to tell heaven first when he found the real Antichrist, and not Crowley.

That moment was my main reason why (in the book) I understood them more as friends than lovers. Because you don’t need to have a strong obligation to a friend, there is no expectation, but you do to your partner. If you have top secret knowledge than can make or break the entire universe, you’d expect the first person you talk to about that would be your spouse/confidant, regardless whether he’s a demon or an aardvark. But Aziraphale told heaven first (well, Metatron, but you get my point).

Turns out this was in fact a good thing to happen in the story, because they might have fucked it up big time if they had gotten to Adam before the horsemen arrived. Could you imagine an angel and a demon arguing like they did at the bandstand, only now with the Antichrist between them? He would’ve probably blown up the world just to shut them up.

Anyway, this is a major trust break for me, and as a viewer I’m immediately siding with Crowley. But, and that’s the good bit, we’re all capable of change! And I think we might learn a thing or two about love by watching Aziraphale learn, and Crowley leading the way.

All Crowley ever asked of Aziraphale was that he puts him first. Before heaven and hell and all the other BS. And Aziraphale has literally done every single other thing except that. Except the thing that Crowley needs the most.

Be on my side, Crowley asks. But that is too much for Aziraphale. His love is still not free.

And I love this show so much because I think we, as a society, are more like Aziraphale than we’d like to think. We can’t or simply won’t jump over our own shadows for the people we truly love. As soon a things get tough we get triggered, fall into old patterns and get defensive.

For me, this whole series is a therapy session and I am learning about love, communication, trust, connection and what it means to be human.

Here’s to season 3!

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

House of the Dragon Finale/Series thoughts

As someone who finished Fire and Blood a few days ago… oh boy do I have some thoughts.

Obviously spoilers below the cut for all of S1 and for F&B, don’t read if you don’t want spoilers, etc etc.

Oh fucking BOY what a goddamn mess

Let’s get the rant/complaining out of the way first:

Just to be clear, the cast are all amazing, my complaints are NOT directed at them, I love them, they did the best with what they had. The writers, however: 🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻

The writers so wanted to make Team Green as likeable as possible, it’s actually pathetic, and they basically whitewashed every single one of their actions instead of allowing them to do morally bad things - instead, everything was a misunderstanding or an accident.

Like hear me out, the reason Team Green is even interesting to read or watch is BECAUSE of the bad things they do. That’s literally ten times more interesting than “oopsie daisy! Accidentally started a war” and no one actively choosing to do anything

All of the key Team Green players have basically no agency, it’s actually sad: this is especially obvious in regards to Alicent and Aemond

In F&B, Alicent intentionally ignored Viserys’ wishes of putting Rhaenyra on the throne and put her r*pist son on there instead. In HOTD, it’s “Alicent misunderstood the ramblings of a clearly delirious and dying man and is not in the wrong”. Also in F&B, she is much older than Rhaenyra, who is only 10 when Alicent and Viserys marry - which makes it kind of funny because Alicent is literally beefing with a 10 year old. But in HOTD, they aged Rhaenyra up and Alicent down to be the same age, and invented some “they were clearly lesbians” BS for no reason - and no, it’s not me being “homophobic”, the fact is that Rhaenyra and Alicent’s friendship/relationship has constantly reminded me of a toxic friendship that I was in for more than half of my life, so no, I don’t ship that thank you very much

By the way, accusing Daemyra fans of being homophobic because we don’t ship Rhaenicent is so fucking dumb, most of us are gay/lesbian/bisexual/not straight?!? And most of us are mad that they erased Laena/Rhaenyra in favour of some toxic nonsense with Alicent

I don’t even like Alicent but the whole Larys-foot-scene was so unnecessary. What was the point in showing her as a victim even after her husband’s death? What was the point in showing yet another example of abuse? I’m so tired of shows using abuse and violence against women for shock value or plot drama, it’s so gross and it’s never treated seriously or with the sensitivity it deserves. This whole show has basically made the female characters defenceless weak victims and made the men key players

And no, I’m not saying victims of abuse/assault are weak or whatever. I’m saying that the show has gone out of its way to make every single female character a victim instead of showing any of them actively making any decisions/taking any action, and instead of giving them actual character development. And I’m also saying that this show hasn’t dealt with the topic well, it’s been very mishandled.

Basically… Let let women be evil! Let women be fucking unhinged!

Then there’s Aemond: his character defining moment is him becoming a kin-slayer and murdering his teenage nephew in that Storms End moment. He celebrated the fact he did it. But in HOTD, it’s painted as “oops he didn’t mean to! He just couldn’t control his dragon!”�� which is so lame for him as a character, like what makes him and Team Green interesting is that they do awful things. It being reduced to accidents is just so lame.

The fact that people out there are actively stanning Aegon II even after seeing the scene of the maid sobbing after being r*ped AND knowing he’s done it before… y’all are sick. Literally sick. And I also blame Sara Hess for basically saying “yeah he’s a r*pist but we can still redeem him”, like no??? Shut the fuck up and stop trying to say we should like a r*pist?!?!

It’s so painfully obvious that the writers for each episode all disagreed with each other and never tried to work together because characterisation is all over the fucking place

In one episode you’ve got writers like “daemon is evil and I don’t know why people like him”, and then another it’s “he loves his family and he’s got light sides too”… it’s a MESS

Can I just say that Rhaenyra has also been diminished and denied any agency as a character either; we saw some of that fire and fierceness in her when she was younger, but then when older she kind of just became really complacent and lost that fire. And that’s not me blaming Emma, they did great with shitty scripts they had, but it’s a problem.

Like you seriously think that book!Rhaenyra would have just accepted being choked?!? She’d have fucking murdered the man who did that

WHICH BRINGS US TO DAEMON

Matt Smith clearly pissed someone off at HBO because how is it that every single scene that shows Daemon in a remotely positive light is deleted?!? Eg. Hugging his daughters, comforting Rhaenyra after Visenya, etc. Matt Smith HAS to have somehow rubbed someone the wrong way because that poor man has been done so dirty

Matt Smith is quite frankly the ONLY one who fucking understands Daemon at this point, judging by his interviews, even GRRM is getting the side eye from me at this point given how he signed off on this travesty of an adaptation, especially given that he said Daemon is his favourite Targaryen

Daemon would NEVER hurt Rhaenyra is the thing (not unless it was in a kinky way), and anyone who respects the source material knows that. Are they the healthiest couple? No, not in the slightest, but this is the world of ASOIAF, pretty much no couple is 100% healthy in this universe, and they were actually one of the healthier examples quite frankly (as opposed to Aegon/Helaena, Sansa with Joffrey and Ramsey, etc)

“Why are you so surprised he choked Rhaenyra? He killed his first wife” — that’s just it, in F&B he was nowhere NEAR the fucking Vale when Rhea fell. Like the book made it painfully clear that he was not there when she fell and died several days after… but the show had to make him evil somehow, because apparently feminism is now “all men should be evil”.

By the way, you think a little OOC choking is gonna stop me shipping them and writing fanfics for them? Bitch, you wish, I’ve shipped pairings with worse problems than a little tension-charged choking

One thing I will say is that at least the show made their relationship less of a probable “groomer” thing. Although, in the context of the world of ASOIAF, a teenage girl would be considered of age and married off - by modern standards, no, that’s wrong, but that world isn’t running by modern standards so 🤷🏻 but yeah, I felt like the show made it less like Daemon was grooming her at the start and more like they had a chemistry simmering under the surface that they were both playing around with? Idk

Also, no, don’t give a fuck that they’re uncle and niece: incest is quite literally a Targ tradition, literally all of them marry their brothers/sisters/uncles/aunts/cousins etc. In real life? Absolutely agree, in real life that’s gross and I don’t condone that, but this is a FANTASY show. Also, if you’re watching a show about a family that is literally built on incestuous relationships, then don’t complain when there’s incest 🤡

This show has given the show-only fans brain rot because they literally saw Rhaenyra go “I’m not a child, I want you” to Daemon and STILL think he forced her into their marriage, like no sis, girlie was gagging for him and I don’t blame her!

I literally don’t care what the show runners and writers say, they’ve proven they don’t know what the ever-loving fuck they’re talking about: I am going to continue firmly believing that the reason Daemon left suddenly at the brothel is because he didn’t want to fuck her in a dirty brothel because he knew she deserved better than that - that, and he realised that she was still very young and inexperienced, and he didn’t want her to jump into it spur of the moment only to regret it later. If Rhaenicent shippers can believe Alicent and Rhaenyra are in love (lmfao) and that Alicent cut her arm open out of love (🤡) I’m allowed to believe this if I want to!

I will admit that leaving her there with her pants down was a shitty thing to do, but hey, it’s Daemon, he’s morally grey and that’s why we like him! I’m going to theorise that he had to get out of there as soon as possible because he knew if he stayed, he’d do something he’d regret (like taking her against a wall)

The fact that Baela and Rhaena had barely any lines, especially in the last episode, is fucking disgusting. Like truly disgusting. The show had time to show us that disgusting feet scene as well as Aegon wanking out a window but NOT to give those two girls any lines??? Especially since they’re black???

Also, Baela in F&B is described as having cropped her hair as short as a boy's, so it would not whip about her face when she was riding, and as being a tomboy - not just as a child but as an adult too. We saw a little of that when she was younger but they seem to have abandoned that since aging the kids up?!?

By the way, Laena was done SO dirty by the writers; changing her death from childbirth to basically offing herself was… definitely a choice. On the one hand, yes, showing her dying in childbirth five episodes after Aemma dying in childbirth may be repetitive, but guess what? That’s life for women in this universe! And it’s like she decided that it’s more honorable to kill herself than die in childbirth, like the way she talks about not wanting to die giving birth is very… off. It’s like the writers are saying it’s not feminist to die giving birth or some shit???

I do genuinely feel like some of the time skips (especially the one after Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding) were a mistake. I personally didn’t feel connected to most of the characters who died because we didn’t get to actually spend that much time with them or get to know them. Like Harwin??? Laena??? A lot of what happened between time skips was simply told and not shown, which is lazy storytelling quite frankly.

The way that Visenya’s death was handled was so bad, oh my god?!? They didn’t even mention her name, the fact Rhaenyra in E1 had named the baby in Aemma’s stomach Visenya if it was a girl, also the fact that Dark Sister (Daemon’s sword) was wielded by Visenya in the days of Aegon the Conquerer… none of that is there. It just comes and goes like it’s nothing.

Also the fact that Daemon’s grief over the simultaneous deaths of his brother and his daughter are just… brushed over completely. It just really pisses me off because men’s feelings are often brushed aside when it comes to miscarriages/stillbirths, and also for any kind of loss quite frankly; we got two quick shots of him on the beach and that’s it. And we know Matt Smith shot more because there’s photos of him on the beach shooting it, doing all kinds of shit like on his knees in the water etc. It hits especially hard considering a) he already lost Laena and their third baby under similar circumstances, b) he’s also grieving his brother, and c) according to leaks, he was supposed to comfort Rhaenyra after she gave birth to Visenya. They were supposed to have a moment of grief together… and HBO/this show shat all over that.

I’ll write a fic to explore it, I swear-

And now for the bridge scene in E10 because that BULLSHIT deserves its own fucking section

You’re telling me that Rhaenyra is more emotional over a book page she ripped out of a boring old history book twenty fucking years ago than she is about losing her only daughter?!? Than she is about her father’s death?! You can fuck off with that bullshit right now

To me, that’s just more proof of Alicent’s manipulation - it’s a crap attempt but it’s still toxic and manipulative as fuck. “Look, this page from 20 years ago that you ripped out of a boring history book while we were under the tree - we’re friends, remember! Now let my rapist son sit on the throne and we can be friends again 💚”

If I were Rhaenyra, I’d send that page right the fuck back with the words “an eye for an eye, a son for a son” written across it in bold

Like I don’t know how Rhaenicent shippers think that’s a win, that’s literally Riverdale levels of cringey and crap writing, I would be so embarrassed if I shipped that

It does make me laugh that people are ripping that scene apart like literally most of us know how fucking dumb it is - and people are so busy making fun of it that they’re not even that mad about Daemon, so that’s a win in my book

I also need to say something about Rhaenicent shippers in general: yes, maybe there are some Daemyra shippers out there who have been dicks - there are literally shitty people in every fandom. I’m sorry if any Daemyra shippers out there have harassed or bullied Rhaenicent shippers because that’s not okay, most of us don’t condone that. But it’s not like Rhaenicent victims are all innocent because on the Daemyra discord, for nearly two months straight, we’ve had numerous trolls (including Rhaenicent shippers) come into our chats and harass us, saying we’re disgusting and even a few privately messaging me to tell me to end my life over a fucking tv show pairing. Like if you don’t like it, I understand, I truly do - but harassing us over it isn’t okay. Just stick to your corner and we’ll stick to ours.

Anyway, there are some wins out of this whole trash heap:

DAEMYRA 🖤 I’m gonna write the fix it fanfics for you, don’t you worry, it’s my week off this week and I got you

I’m just gonna come out and say it, that brothel scene was hot and you know I’m right, stop booing me

That beach sex scene was beautiful, especially since there’s a copy floating around that’s removed the music and increased the breathing/kissing noises 👀

We got to see Matt Smith’s bare ass, I’m not complaining even if that scene was awkward and uncomfortable as fuck

The acting was phenomenal throughout, I may hate certain characters and also the writers, but I can’t fault how brilliant the actors are

The soundtrack was really top tier the entire show, Ramin Djawadi NEVER misses, every piece of soundtrack absolutely fucking slaps, THANK GOD IT GOT RELEASED TODAY

The Valyrian wedding ceremony was perfect, I just wish we’d seen more of it and heard the words!

DAEMON CROWNING RHAENYRA AND KNEELING TO HER FUCK YEAH

When I say I will defend Caraxes with my life, I mean it, I love that huge boi with his squeaky deviated septum roar

I love the designs of the different dragons and that no two look the same, especially Vhagar - they did not make her pretty and I respect that wholeheartedly

RIP Luke 😭🖤 knew it was coming, still hurts so bad

Kind of shipping Jace and Baela even though I know what’s coming and also that knowing these writers they’ll make him sleep with Sara Snow

And finally…

“I would rather feed my sons to the dragons than have them carry shields and cups for your drunken, usurper cunt of a king.”

Daemon Targaryen, you will always be a fucking iconic legend 👏🏻 it’s also especially fitting given that both of his sons with Rhaenyra become kings!

[huntingpeople-savingsam]

Euphoria

It’s obviously never a competition when it comes to trauma and living through horrible experiences. But there is a point where you have to take a step back and recognize the differences and how some things are just not fucking comparable.

This is not an anti post for C*ssie but I will tag it as such because it’s a criticism which some people take as hating or being an anti of the character. The only character in this situation I’m honestly truly an anti of is motherfucking N*te J*cobs.

But I’m so beyond tired of seeing people defending C*ssie’s actions because of her trauma and how N*te is a manipulative fuck but they attack, belittle, and write off Rue’s ongoing trauma and addiction. Both girls have had terrible past experiences and are currently both going through a lot, and while it’s not a competition for who has it worse because both are obviously struggling, there is an ENORMOUS difference.

Rue has been treating her friends and loved ones badly and lashing out because she is struggling with addiction and that is something that takes over every aspect of your life, that is not an exaggeration. It’s not an excuse, it’s the literal reason for how badly she’s been treating her loved ones. Of course it’s horrible to her loved ones too! But as we continue to see, Rue is remorseful and she doesn’t want to be doing this to the people around her. Opioid addiction is a horrible horrible disease that puts you through so much physical pain that you would do anything to make it stop or to push away anyone who might stop you from getting what you need. It’s horrible and I’m not saying Rue hasn’t hurt people, but this is something that has reached a point that its out of her control.

Now C*ssie is in a situation where she has a history of seeking validation and affection from men because of how terribly her father was. This was exacerbated by her becoming pregnant in S1 and fantasizing about carrying out the pregnancy but ultimately not and then not being supported by the father while she goes through something that’s difficult and painful to go through even when you know it’s the right thing to do.

But the difference here is that I know she’s in a situation where she has made herself believe that N*te was horrible to Maddy but that he actually loves her so it will be different. And she has been doing everything to be with him, cutting herself off from everyone around her. And while N*te is a manipulative fuck and she desperately needs the affection and attention he seems like he’ll give to her, it is not something she will go through literal withdrawal and potential death without.

Is it a horribly difficult and complicated situation for her? Yes! Does she deserve the love and support of those around her to get through her desperate need for love and validation? Yes! But is she still accountable for knowing that she was hurting Maddy and for throwing Rue’s addiction in her face to deflect? YES.

Both girls are struggling immensely this season and need support. But Rue doing what drug addiction forces you to do, and then showing remorse and knowing how she’s been hurting others is a lot different than C*ssie convincing herself that she’s done nothing wrong.

My hope for the end of this season is that C*ssie breaks free from this sack of shit, owns up to her part in hurting Maddy and Rue, and gets support in learning to love herself and be less dependent on male validation. And I hope that Rue is able to get clean but again, that is a constant battle for the rest of her life, it gets easier sometimes and harder other times.

But I’m tired of seeing people trash Rue and call her a dr*g add*ct in such a derogatory way. It’s a disease and it goes along with the problems she’s had with her mental health since she was a child. Writing off someone struggling with addiction is about as vile as it gets. Of course I want C*ssie to get the love and help she deserves too but I’m tired of people saying she has it so much worse than Rue because that’s just a blatant disregard or just ignorance on the horrible beast of addiction.

[castlesbyrs]

OKAY HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS I KNOW IM BIASED AND IM NOT LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE BUT BEAR WITH ME (heads up for spoilers obviously):

-I expected for one hour and forty five minutes to get one Cali gang scene at ep7. What a wasted opportunity aldjajdksjdudsjfhsj they could have done so many more things that were relevant to the plot I just really hope will fucking byers gets what he deserves in vol 2 because he literally knows the upside down and survived to it? Everybody names him all the time and yet he’s been reduced to a lovesick baby boy and that is not even well developed alcjakfkjsjdksbd I’m angry

-For me the season was VERY good tho, glad to see they’re back in shape after the disaster that was s3, but also as a byers family fan ofc I’m not fucking happy.

-Clearly as a Jancy shipper I’m not either akdjskfksj this was so FORCED I hated it so much it didn’t make sense at all and I don’t think people are truly going to enjoy it because it truly feels like the writers needed a last minute resort to add adolescent drama and they found no one else and were like HEY let’s bring stancy back that clearly makes sense doesn’t it? I’m scared af for Jancy tho and honestly to me it doesn’t look good for vol 2 because how are they even going to meet again if Jonathan is still like on the other side of the country, help

-BUT I do have to say this and perhaps I’m crazy but I don’t care: I actually loved every single scene Jonathan had. I KNOW it could have been a hundred more scenes instead of wasting time on the fucking basketball players and their stupid plot???? But I think Charlie did a wonderful job with every scene he got and I actually felt incredibly relieved in the sense that Jonathan’s worries about his family and university and his relationship were actually addressed and he openly confronted them (yeah his conversation with Argyle was by far my favorite scene in the season, sue me) I loved that we got once again to see his personal struggles and god we hadn’t gotten that since s1 so I have to say i enjoyed it very much.

-I wish I could say the same thing about Will. I can’t even begin to unwrap everything that’s wrong and all the wasted opportunities about the way this perfect and beautiful character is treated but… yeah, I’m angry about that.

-I very much ship byler lol and I fucking need one honest scene where I can have Jonathan and will talking about it.

-um excuse me? That dinner scene and the next day Joyce is just gone???????????????????? Are you fucking kidding me? We didn’t even get the goodbye???????????????? I’m so angry aldjdjskfjsfjiscjjdkx FUCK

-I don’t think Jonathan only got the role of comedy relief and I’m incredibly relieved about that.

-I don’t GIVE A SHIT about Stancy kajfakcjsj that will not end well just stop it I’m begging you it was weird

-I LOVE the fact Nancy will play a major role in vol 2. I need it and hopefully that will clear her brain and we’ll get some very desired Jancy angst???? Give it to me now

-Argyle was another wasted opportunity Jesus I’m so angry akgjsjfks

-I won’t talk about Russia but I did cry a lot when Hop and Joyce reunited ❤️ at least there’s hope somewhere. Also that scene of hop in prison? His monologue? I loved it and I’m so glad they learned from that awful treatment of his character in s3

-I literally don’t care about anything else I just need the byers and mike of course to play an important role in vol 2 but there’s only two episodes left so I think it won’t happen and I’m like so tired???????

-anyway aside from that I TRULY enjoyed this season and I think it was a huge leap forward from s3. I enjoyed the overall plot, I think it was better thought out for certain that s3, it will never top the iconicness of s2 and s1 for me but it comes close in a sense.

-i truly don’t have predictions nor theories for vol 2 and honestly I’m done predicting because I’m always wrong. I just expect something… anything… for the Byers.

Anyway… had to put my thoughts somewhere.

[wonderpommey]

Georgia’s comment about Roman not being closeted seems to have rubbed some people the wrong way. 

The point people do have is that Roman's characterisation has obviously evolved from what it was initially going to be (had a kid! Was having irregular sex with Grace! Was bi!) and the writers have had to make that work somehow. It seems a moot point even discussing if the writers know what they’re writing, but imma do it anyway and so here’s why I agree with her.

Read after the cut if you care!

Is Roman projecting romantic relationships that are different from what he really wants for appearance sake? Yes. 

Does he do it knowingly? Not necessarily… He certainly tries to fashion Tabitha into something that would work for him.

Does it prevent him from pursuing other sexual interests his family would deem shameful privately? Absolutely not.

Does he keep up the pretence of those show relationships when he’s found something he’s genuinely into? Not really.

Is his sexuality more complex than “Ooh I’m also attracted to business dads?”. Definitely.

Has he internalised homophobia, I’m not sure. Has he internalised misogyny? Yes, to an extent.

On the boat Logan suggests he’s ok with Roman experimenting with homosexuality, as long as he doesn’t have to see it. But do I think Logan sees his son’s sexuality with any kind of understanding clarity? Not really. In fact, he forces Roman into a corner of somewhat denying what he feels and calls it disgusting directly and indirectly.

Can you see every single emotion Roman feels when he’s feeling it, no matter how “disgusting”? HELL YEAH

The male trainer hand job, the power trip over Grace/waiter, the necrophilia kink, the sub/dom relationship with a MILF. Since S1, Roman has done whatever he wanted, whenever he felt like it, without letting what his family would think be a hindrance or a barrier. In fact, it feels like the less his parents would approve, the more it works for him on a primal level.

I don't think it's being closeted that has him not want to do anything more with the trainer; The newfound COO power being levied against this fitness guy, it doesn’t quite do it for him, but he’ll openly explore it all the same.

Furthermore, Roman uses his fluidity in the way of someone who accepts they have it. I need to flirt with this guy for business? Where Logan would make a show of being disgusted, Roman goes "I’ll flirt with him and it’ll be fun!”. It’s even an open secret with Gerri who never really seems phased by it - or anything he throws at her, “Can you seduce this guy?" “I might fuck Laurie”. With her at least, he plays with that side of him in the way of someone who’s not internally ashamed of it.

Frankly, I also think some people are reading too much in the Mencken interaction. I get why though; It was scripted in the dialog and probably directed to feel flirtatious. However, it’s partly a metaphor for how fascist supporters feel - almost sexually - about their heroes. Roman probably understands Mencken isn’t speaking literally when he says people want to "fuck him or kill him" but still Mencken is saying I want clarity, bluntness, a dose of willingness to flirt with danger and disgusting ideas. That’s Roman's main strength; understanding people, sniffing them out and adapting. 

There’s plenty wrong with Roman, but I totally get what Georgia means when she says he’s not closeted - like say Nate in Euphoria is closeted. He’s not internally ashamed of who he is and he would not turn away from doing something he wanted to do, because of shame. If anything, that’d be a turn on…

Now has he been traumatised by having his desire for connection tarnished/his tender feelings made to be a dirty thing by his family. Yes, definitely

Traumatised by having to project to be someone he’s not, someone in charge, someone who needs to win to gain the love he craves (even though he doesn’t really want to win). Also yes.

Is he looking in his romantic/sexual relationships for a kind of almost parental, nurturing, unconditional love he never got from his parents? Is he looking for someone who can receive the absolute love he wants to give? Absolutely

Does he reject his parents’ notions of love and sexuality through his own? 1000%. That’s also why I’m not sure Logan allowing Roman to do anything will really work for him in the long term tbh...

[frostluvrs]

the hate jules gets is honestly so ridiculous i’m so serious when i say some euphoria stans (especially the ones on tiktok and twitter) need euphoria taken away from them and i cannot wait until this season is done especially after last episode.

the fact that anyone watched that scene of rue speaking to her and PRAISED rue for it is absolutely insane especially bc i promise you that is not what sam levinson wanted you to come out of it thinking that rue was correct. i promise you he does not want you to think for example rue was correct in going off on jules about leaving in s1. jules is NOT RESPONSIBILE for rue’s sobriety and being depended on by her when she shouldn’t have been and rue relapsing is not her fault. she needed to do what was right for her and she literally explained it all in her special episode.

idk how does anyone watched that entire scene in general and wasn’t just incredibly upset and uncomfortable the entire time you were at some point rooting for rue is that scene ? praising her? wtf is wrong with ppl 😭😭

and ppl saying “jules has the audacity to say she loves her after cheating” “she showed up in elliot’s clothes” “she thinks she can snitch on rue after what she did” like you cannot be serious

her cheating does not mean she wants rue to DIE and it doesn’t mean she doesn’t love her either and WHO GAF ABOUT CLOTHES SHE WAS WEARING it was not the time to care about that. like you can’t be serious ????

and ppl shitting on her for telling her mom. what else was she supposed to do? talking to rue about it first would have been a disaster. she did the right thing she’s a literal teenage girl like what else is she suppose to do? let rue overdose? not say anything? what so the same ppl shitting on her for saying something can shit on her for not saying something and blames her for rue overdosing ? bc we all know they would. jules cant win with this fandom. she didn’t want rue to DIE no one cares about cheating or clothing or whether her saying she loves her is truthful or not.

also the fact ppl were hating her for it bc the suitcase could get rue in trouble? SHE DIDNT EVEN KNOW ABOUT THE SUITCASE DO YOU WATCH THE SHOW AT ALL

ppl have now been using jules cheating as an excuse to bash her and comment on every (correct) defense of her with “yea she still cheated though” like i promsie you cheating is not the worst thing someone did on this show and most of y’all’s favs on this show have done just the same amount of bullshit and bad things.

like ppl have BEEN WAITNG for a reason to jump on her and now that it’s finally here they’ll milk it forever. the fact jules haters are always like "we're not transphobic we just hate her/she's annoying" since s1 when they had no reason to hate her as much as they did and now that she cheated so many of them are like “i can finally hate her now publicly” like they’re all so transparent and so many ppl can keep claiming every week they aren’t transphobic and ppl are making a problem where it isn’t but your reactions to her vs every other character that has done just as much bullshit (and more actually) is very telling. especially when so many of them are like “i always hated jules for some reason” or “she’s always annoyed me” like oh i think i can tell you the reason you felt that way but you won’t like hearing it.

the sudden cal sympathizers and stans after his episode? like oh you can understand him but you can’t understand the reasons jules does what does like oh okay! and oh you hate jules but like cal now and think he’s funny bc of that stupid terribly written speech to his family in episode 4? you cant be serious.

it’s just ridiculous and she’s held to such high standards compared to every other character and this one fuck up is going to follow her forever on the show. and ppl are LYING when they say other characters get just as much criticism as her like no they do not especially when jules gets the most unwarranted hate out of every character since s1.

it’s not even just jules either it’s other characters in this show ppl have terrible takes on like rue and rue when it comes to her addiction and addiction in general like a lot of you need to be banned from watching this show.

[nonbinarykai]

Ok since two people asked

Why Lloyd is my least favorite ninja and how I rewrite him

Notes:// you know the rodeo by now, long post so it’s going to be under a read more, and I’m not gonna tag this with Lloyd because of the criticisms I have against his character, if you don’t want to hear Lloyd be critiqued then don’t reas the post

Why I don’t like Lloyd

Maybe it’s because I’m a Kai kinnie or maybe it’s because I have a bias agaisnt the younger sibling but Lloyd has never really been a favorite of mine

He was enjoyable in s1 but after that he kinda lost all personality for me and I stopped enjoying him

I think this is mostly for two reasons:

1. His screen time

2. His “character arcs”

I’ll go ahead and knock out his screentime here because it pretty much speaks for himself

Lloyd takes up so much screentime in the show that it’s actually jarring, he’s the character with the most seasons, having s1-2, s4, s8-11, and finally s14 ((the island special)). Which I think makes lloyds writing flaws all the more noticable

A big reason, albeit a bit of a petty one, for why I don’t like him is because he constant hyjacks other characters plots and makes them about him, this happened with Kai in both s4 and s11

Even if he’s not the main focus of a season, he always has a side plot focusing on him like in s3 and s12

The writers need to include Lloyd in other seasons is making it harder for the other main characters to actually have enough screentime to grow and develop on there own

And as a side effect of this, Lloyd gets to become the most important character in every season he is, taking roles from other characters who needed them

My best example is Cole being leader, he was set up and established as leader in the pilots and s1, and he did pretty good in it! Cole being a leader is a interesting concept that I would have loved to see been developed

But after Lloyd grew up they threw that plot point into the trash so they could have the mystical green ninja be leader even though throughout s1-7 he hardly actually talks to the main cast and him being leader doesn’t add any interesting dynamic like cole and kais rivalry despite Kai being a sort of right hand man to Coles leadership.

And in s1-s7 especially everything literally revolves around Lloyd to the point where his existence is more important than everyone else’s, and everyone’s motivations are to protect him.

Again I understand he is important, he’s the green ninja, but you have to let your other characters grow and develop, Lloyd is not the only main character in your show

Like for fuck sakes I don’t need 3 arcs about Lloyd and his dad, can I finally have another Kai season

Lloyds character arcs honestly kinda suck

Im going to be honest with you

Lloyds kinda an ass

The reason I like jay more then Lloyd even though jay has been way more mean spirited then Lloyd throughout the entire series is because you can atleast make the argument that jay doesn’t know when his jokes can hurt. And the show doesn’t portray jay as in the right, he gets what he deserves for some of the meanier things he says.

The same can’t be said about Lloyd

Lloyd says things to the other ninja that is honestly so mean spirited it’s jarring to hear it from him

Best example being when Lloyd told Kai to get over his shit when Kai was grieving in s4

But what makes it so frustrating is that the show always portrays Lloyd like he’s in the right which is why a lot of his character arcs feel flat or uninteresting

The only time this doesn’t apply is in s2 and in s3, in s2 the show paints Lloyd as being unfair to Misako when he RIGHTFULLY gets mad at her for abandoning him, I’ll get back to this later

The second time in s3 is when he’s traveling with Garmadon and having to be taught to balance his powers, which is actually one part of s3 I really liked, it was nice to see these two bond and have Garmadon teach Lloyd something that wu would other wise not teach him. And it’s a real shame the season cut it short AGAIN

The biggest example of the show making Lloyd seem in the right no matter what is in s4, Lloyds whole arc there was to learn how to view things from a different perspective and appreciate the things others have done for him. And this is would work if the show decided to do the same.

Again back to that scene with Lloyd and Kai in s4, the show treats Lloyd as if he’s in the right and it’s never addressed after this. Even though this is supposed to be the beginning of lloyds arc where he’s supposed to learn to view things from a different perspective

This scene would have worked if

1. The show didn’t paint him in the right for this, either by having Lloyd apologize or having the show acknowledged how it might have hurt Kai

2. If the plot Lloyd has remained a side plot instead of taking up the entire focus

Seriously, s4 could have been the ONE season where you can have a Lloyd side plot thats not forced and yet they fucked it up and made it the entire focus of the season thanks a lot.

To quote what I said in my Nya anayalsis awhile back

“I’m not upset that he has a flaw, just that it’s not recognized as one”

Lloyd would work way better as a character if the show just let him have consequences for his actions

Ever since he grew up and got the green ninja role he’s been treated like he can’t do no wrong which is clearly not true

But since we’re already on this topic

Hurting Lloyd doesn’t make him a good character

I feel like Tommy ((and sometimes the fandom)) really misunderstand what the use of suffering for in a story

There atleast 3 reasons writers make there characters suffer

1. To undergo a arc and realize where they have been wrong or to give a character a lot more depth to expand upon

2. If the story is a fallen hero one and the character suffers because of his Huberius

3. If the story is a tragedy

Ninjago is neither a fallen hero story or a tragedy and his pain doesn’t develop him as a character

A lot of writers don’t understand that suffering isn’t what makes a character good, it’s what pushes them to become good, you can’t just throw a character at the wall and expect them to instantly be a well written fleshed out character

A lot of the suffering Lloyd has to endure is mostly for no reason and it’s really mean spirited because it adds nothing to the plot, it’s just there to hurt him

Let’s bring up s11 as an example, Lloyd didn’t HAVE to fight the ice emperor from a writing standpoint, if anything it should have been kais battle because his lose of power and Zane going evil would have been a perfect reflection of s4 and tie it up after it ended kais character a bit open ended

But no let’s have Lloyd do it instead because haha isn’t trauma COOL and HIP

Now to be clear, I’m not saying that all of your stories have to end on a happy ending or anything like that, if your a writer then your allowed to do whatever you want with your personal writing

What I am saying is that ninjago is an actual SHOW made by PROFESSIONAL writers and they can’t understand the concept of a story structure

And the lack of actually addressing his trauma is really bringing down Lloyd as a character

Because it comes to a point where you understand why Lloyd is sometimes mean or distrustful of other people and it’s frustrating because you know that it’s flaws of him that are never going to be fixed because there writers want there trauma baby

How I would rewrite him

I’ve seen a lot of people suggest Lloyd become a villain in a future season and you know what, I sort of agree

But not in the way you think

I feel like it would be way more compelling if Lloyd was a villain but is still a ninja, instead of Lloyd switching sides, the show is switching perspectives

More or less I want Lloyd to be a reflection of the “true” villain, which is how wu ((and subsequently Lloyd)) put small Victories as more important then the ninjas life, passion, and desire, and how there black and white thinking of good and evil ends up to a lot of problems because there’s a lot of grey area there choosing to ignore

I want Lloyd to start of being loyal to wu’s philosophy and the protagonist, for random example let’s say Kai, sudden turn on these ideas in order to look outside the box to find if there truly is a better way to protect people without harming himself

I want Lloyd to be upset over what he thinks is a turn to the dark side when in reality, it would make his motivations make sense and not make his turn to “villainy” be out of character.

And over the course of the season he starts to realize how wus and subsequently his leadership has hurt the others and himself, and have him reflect on if all the pain they suffer through just to clean up wus mistakes is really worth it like wu says, or if there’s a better way like kai says

As for Lloyds actual character himself, I’d like for his flaws to be more noticeable

Have Lloyd be a gifted kid who gets praise when he doesn’t deserve it but still kinda acts like a brat because he’s still mentally like 10

Have him be a control freak who follows the rules way to strictly and is all serious when they have to do missions

Have his idealization of wu be realized and critiqued because honestly wu sucks ass

Would this make his character less like able? Maybe, but then he’d actually have depth and something to improve on

He can still have his s3 and s4 arcs, it’s just now they’re more important because he’s actually learning to be better

AND BEFORE ANYONE SAYS IM PURPOSEFULLY MAKING LLOYD WORSE SO THAT KAI LOOKS BETTER

ILL HAVE YOU KNOW AWHILE BACK I MADE A POST SAYING THE EXACT SAME THING ABOUT KAI AND HIS FLAWS SO THERE (/hj /lh)

[reflectingiridescent]

Hey! I was just wondering if you could explain what you meant in the tags of that last gifset? What does it mean that Rios is less “shiny” than say, Tom or Harry? Sometimes I have trouble understanding non-literal speech, so I’m sorry if this is very obvious!

But of course. My tags are my own ramblings done literally on the go, so it’s always nice to know someone else is reading them.

All of this is my personal opinion.

Shiny here means…bright, shiny, hopeful. This isn’t to say the Tom and Harry don’t have their moments of doubt or traumas, but while they tend to come away with it with a sense of hope and improvement, Rios just…numbs.

The end of Rios’ season 1 arc, in which he opens himself up to feel again, is him chastising himself for doing that: “I fucking did it again.” He’s not as close to Picard as Raffi and Elnor are; Raffi and Elnor get their own scene where they process personal loss. Seven and Rios get a scene that, unbeknownst to both of them, is about the same thing: letting people get under your skin. Seven draws out their difference: Rios could not have done anything to help his feelings, but Seven acted on hers in a way she has deemed wrong.

Seven and Rios are two people who come off as very free; they seem to not need anyone. We know from experience with Seven on Voyager that this is not true. It’s not true for Rios either. Arguably their entire s2 arc comes out of that end s1 conversation.

“The need for revenge, I understand that,” Rios tells Seven as she prepares to kill Bjayzl and send the others back to La Sirena. He never tells her it’s wrong. Harry definitely would. Tom would (though he would also understand why Seven feels this way). Rios never pushes a value judgment on Seven. (Neither does Raffi.) Instead, he negotiates. Successfully. With Seven of Nine, ex-Borg Fenris Ranger from the Delta Quadrant, who is formidable AF, who he has known for all of maybe an hour. He makes her decision about the safety of everyone, and that’s the only thing that convinces her to go back. For a moment.

It’s not that Seven or Rios don’t believe in Starfleet or its principles. They’ve just been failed by it in ways Tom and Harry haven’t. (And while Tom receives a kind of redemption on Voyager, Seven and Rios not only don’t see redemption in sight but also, given their trauma, do not see it as relevant in the same way. Seven’s pretty sure she’ll be working at it forever, “every damn day” of her life. Rios is, even at this post, still lost in his trauma, lost with his own father figure.

In this way, their relationship becomes very precious (to me, anyway). Because Seven’s Voyager friends are important, but so are people like Rios. He gets her at this point in her life.

[mskatesharma]

I don’t like the speculation that Lady Danbury is “sponsoring” the Sharmas debut at all. I’m praying it’s wrong. And I don’t even see why she’d need to? The Sharmas don’t seem broke on the show, and even if Mary is still socially outcast, she can still technically present Edwina and Kate to the Queen…The only requirement was that that woman have debuted herself, which Mary would have as an Earl’s daughter. I guess unless she eloped before her formal debut?

If Lady Danbury’s only function on the show is to assist the other characters in getting to their HEA, she is very much the “Magical Negro” trope. It made enough sense in S1 since she was Simon’s maternal figure, but has no such relations with the Sharmas. So she’s going to help them out of the goodness of her heart? 🙄 Adjoa was one of the standouts of the cast, the writers should’ve given her a proper side plot of her own instead of using her as a plot device and giving more screentime to yet another white man in Theo Sharpe.

I’m literally only sticking around for S2 and Kate/Anthony and then I am so done with this fucking show lmao

(Related to this ask.)

Do we know where the speculation that Lady Danbury is helping the Sharmas came from? I’m not doubting that it’s there or a possibility, (that she’s in the still with the Sharmas that we got in September hints that she at least knows them), I’m just wondering where it started because I feel like I’ve been hearing about Lady Danbury helping the Sharmas since before we got that still. (I also think that the still of Kate and Edwina (with Newton) is actually them talking to Lady Danbury, rather than Anthony or some other suitor.)

I do feel like they’re sort of...hiding Mary from us? Idk if that’s because Shelley is private/doesn’t post on social media, or if the show is deliberately keeping quiet about her. Tbh I am a little surprised that she wasn’t included in any of the stills last week. Regardless, if the Sharmas are coming from India (and not returning from a holiday, for example), I’m curious as to what reasoning they’re going to give as to why they’ve come to England to find husbands. Even more so because it seems like Mary apparently had to leave England to escape the scandal she was embroiled in, so why would she come back to the place she was escaping to marry her daughters, when surely her scandal could still taint them?

And, I don’t know if Edwina (and possibly Kate) will be presented to the queen anyway, because something in the description about how Anthony’s hunt for a wife is proving fruitless until the Sharmas arrive from India, made me think that perhaps they miss the start of the season, and that they arrive part way through?

I have honestly been thinking about how instead of introducing Theo, they could have delved more into Lady Danbury, so I’m glad you brought that up anon. Plus, if they wanted to explore a working class POV ahead of Sophie, they could have done that through Genevieve, who was already on the show? And she’s not a white man either, so it would be expanding a character of colour’s storyline? The more I think about this Theo character (and the fact that he was announced and got a character description meaning he is somewhat significant), the more annoyed I get at the whole thing.

[thebeautysurrounds]

THIS CONTAINS SLIGHT SPOILERS FOR NEVER HAVE I EVER S2 READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

This is quite long I had a lot to unpack.

Since watching the 2nd season of Never Have I Ever a few things have been bothering me about the way people are reacting to Devi, and the show overall but mostly Devi. First of all she’s what a sophomore in high school? and she’s doing this all while being the only brown girl (up until kinda the middle of S2) and still dealing with grief and having absolutely no idea who she is yet. To me outside of being an honor roll student she is not doing things FOR HER she is doing this to appease her mother. Who while she means well pushing Devi to succeed to certain extremes which if Devi shows the slightest behavior of fucking up her mother makes harsh comments instead of understanding Devi is a literal teenager and needs room for fucking up.

Is Devi hella unreasonable at times? YES does she often times act strictly on impulse without a second thought…YES. But as a girl who virtually has no one outside of her friends who also are staring to drift from her and get into their first relationships themselves and have their own activities she essentially is left to navigate the world and her teenage angst alone. While I will give Nalini credit for all the work and time she has put in to not only being a single mother and navigating her own grief but also being a working mother who is a doctor and quite possibly has her own struggles with being a brown women in that filed. My problem lies with her not being able to balance or even let go of a strong arm parenting style that mostly focuses on Devi’s fuck up more than her accomplishments and makes comments on how her fuck ups that haven’t even happened yet. I’m not sure Nalini even realizes Devi is at the very very top of her class because I truly believe (after S1) even though Nalini apologized to Devi Nalini has a ‘hoping for the best but expecting the worst’ attitude when it comes to Devi and that’s in the for front of her mind so much she doesn’t realize Devi goes above and beyond not only for herself but to make her mother proud of her all for her mother to just not acknowledge that.

Now with Devi’s characterization I get where some people are coming from on saying Devi shouldn’t have been “boy crazy” or that they “ruined her character development” but here’s my problem those critiques while valid and your allowed to have those opinions…It’s just not really realistic and let me tell you why like I stated Devi is what a sophomore in high school and she has made it a abundantly clear her parents forbid her to date cause it’s school and extra curriculars only. Which will lead to a good college which thus will turn into a good career. While that’s all well and good. I don’t think y’all realize the FOMO of being in high school and growing up with very strict parents, and wanting to have your first relationship. Wanting to be an actual teenager and not wanting to think about 3-4 years down the line which most teenagers don’t/can’t visualize cause it’s not the right now. Devi wants to have those experiences and there’s nothing wrong with that does she go about it the right way…not exactly but y’all act like YOU have never been a teenager and said and done awful things out of anger or just pure immature stupidity. For the boy crazy part Devi is literally having her first feelings and experiences with boys she has 0 clue what she is doing outside of probably books, tv, movies and what her friends assume they know (even though they mean well) the only person Devi would remotely trusts is gone, and she can’t ask her mother cause her mother would honestly probably shut her down and make her feel guilty for even wanting to start having her first experiences with boys. Y’all have such a warped view of not only real teenagers and high school aged kids but also fictional ones. Y’all are so use to shows having protagonist being awful or starting off kinda okay but then their character turns awful and remains that way. What some of you fail to realize is actual teenagers and “teenagers” in shows can/are VERY morally grey. 

Should Devi have been honest and possibly communicated to both Ben and Paxton that she has some sort of feelings for them both..possibly but Devi is a teenager do you think she is having a in depth analysis and talk with herself (outside of a pros and cons list) about what infatuation versus lust versus genuine connection versus romantic attraction looks like probably not. Let’s also analyze how she literally goes from being in her eyes forgettable to being noticed and even though it’s not talked about in the show explicitly she honestly probably struggles with self esteem/self image issues. To go from being a girl who to her no one cares about/notices to one who is getting the attention of two boys who are in Devi’s eyes attractive in their own right. She is so consumed with two guys ACTUALLY being interested in her that she fails to realize she is/and will hurt them both, Do I think Paxton is genuinely attracted to Devi…maybe. But I’m still on the fence about their relationship to me in the beginning I felt Paxton felt Devi is just another meaningless high school fling that he will forget about once he gets to college but to Devi here’s this guy who is “popular” very attractive and he pays attention to her is she looking at the semantics of the situation and how Paxton is more than likely just using her and is only engaging with Devi to get a passing grade and to basically give her the superficial experience of a “high school boyfriend” no she’s not she’s looking at it like here’s this guy who is attractive and he wants to be with someone like me. But do I also believe Devi in S1 was using Paxton and then fell for him DEFINITELY but I will give credit to Paxton for trying at a real relationship with Devi and I hope he will try to be more open and honest.

Do I think Ben likes Devi I honestly do, While the insensitive jokes (exchanged between both) should be discussed I think Ben over time started to see Devi as a girl who finally saw him not the rich, annoying, know it all. But in his view Devi and him are on equal playing fields because they are both overly driven smart individuals and when she said yes to going out with him it was probably the first time he felt like a girl saw the real him. While Ben too more than likely struggles with abandonment issues him dating Devi in a way made him feel like this was the first time he could actual be happy about something cause it was something he actually wanted and not something he just did to earn points in others books and impress people he genuinely got something on his own and that he was actually happy not a front he put on. To me Ben’s abandonment issues come out even more than in S1 when he tells Devi why he’s so hurt and it’s the night of the party when she runs after Paxton (who he sees has it all) and Devi doesn’t “choose him” Do I think Ben and Devi should date cause they share some form of the same trauma no. But again Devi is not use and doesn’t even know what to do with the attention of two people. Again is Devi looking at the semantics of her relationship with Ben…No. I don’t think Devi even realizes she’s quite literally hurting two people cause we could also discuss how Ben and Paxton probably have had other flings and relationships without a second thought while Devi having no relationship experiences and this is territory for her and she has no idea what she is doing or how to properly navigate this situation.

I’m almost done with this long ass rant I promise but it’s two more things I want to make light of/point out I don’t think anyone really gives Devi credit for still going to therapy, loosing a parent is unbearable especially loosing one as young as Devi did, especially when you feel the only parent that truly understood and supported you is gone. Devi doing things that are impulsive and unreasonable because she quite literally has no guidance her mother is only consumed with Devi not making the family “look bad” Devi’s grief is so heavy and she feels she’s going at it alone because her mother doesn’t take genuine time to talk to her. Now was Devi “stalking” her mother extremely inappropriate yes for sure but do Nalini and her need to communicate better for Devi to understand that her mother wasn’t dating sure even if Nalini was on a date their should have been communication there. Devi will probably never stop grieving her father hell he literally came to her in a dream to tell her she deserves better when it came to “dating” Paxton and Nalini will probably never stop grieving her husband but she deserves happiness too and I believe if Devi and Nalini were both honest with each other her slowly dating again wouldn’t have been a problem. Another point I wanna make connecting Devi, Paxton, and Ben is they all have this view that the grass is greener on the other side and that’s just not the case. Ben is jealous of Paxton cause he feels he has the “Perfect life” but in actuality Paxton is extremely flawed and honestly insecure his own family doesn’t believe in him and he knows people only like him because he is attractive, while Paxton looks at Ben like this, while annoying Ben is smart, rich, and no one ever questions Ben’s intelligence but in actuality Ben is very lonely and has spent most of his life alone or being raised by other people which has caused him to put on a huge front to people and often times overcompensate in his social life, and Devi looks at other girls like they have it all and have 0 struggles or problems (I.e her views on Anissa) but Devi fails to realize thy also struggle, are insecure, is struggling with mental illness, and don’t have themselves figured out, and Devi is looking at this man her mom is “dating” as if he’s taking something away but In actuality he is experiencing his own losses. All in all Never Have I Ever gets teenage angst and messy problematic morally grey teenagers right and the fact that y’all beg for more “flawed or problematic” characters and when you get them you don’t like that they are just that it’s odd to me it seems like y’all only want problematic characters if it’s how you see fit.

TL;DR: Y’all need to stop acting like y’all weren’t gross annoying and had fuck ups as teenagers y’all should really stop pretending like teenagers in real and some of us as teens didn’t have/engage in relationships that weren’t good but we learned from it while this show isn’t real it shows y’all will scream let people fuck up and let them grow but you don’t actually mean it. Devi is a teenager and requires room to grow she even admits she acts out and is impulsive but y’all act like she’s supposed to have the self awareness of a 60 year old.

[why-this-kolaveri-machi]

it’s a fucking metaphor!

Titans 3.08

i’ve finally gathered the mental and emotional resources to do this thing, so let’s go! as always, i’m typing this up as i see the episode.

SPOILERS AHEAD

1. on watching this opening scene, i was thinking back to how gar was in s1, or even the early bits of s2. the way he idolised the others, particularly dick, and his readiness to go along with whatever they said, and the way he practically bled the need for acceptance. and here he is now, openly defying dick, fully open to and aware of the flaws of the people he loves and admires, knowing he is accepted no matter what and extending that generosity elsewhere. it’s a remarkable bit of character growth that’s... sort of blossomed in the background and so rewarding to see and acknowledge. 

1.25. i guess what i really love about this conflict over how to respond to jason--as clumsily as it is sometimes written--is how their histories and individual traumas inform each character’s reaction. dick is torn between his guilt over what’s become of jason and his drive to do what batman had essentially given up on doing: he is motivated to track down red hood at all costs but there’s a sense that he’s not completely sold on the idea that the only way to stop him is to kill him. (he might go the comics route and try to put him in arkham? god, imagine if the season ended with jason in arkham.) kory’s never had much of a connection with jason in the first place, and jason has done one of the worst things he could do in her book: track and kill a member of her newfound family and is threatening to kill more. 

and gar... sure. look. the idea of jason and red hood as separate entities appeals to him; that red hood emerged when jason was drugged to the gills by scarecrow and lost his usual inhibitions. gar’s struggled with what he becomes when he’s pushed to his limits, too--he did rip open that experimenting scientist with his teeth way back in 1.07, after all, and he was brainwashed by cadmus in s2 into becoming a literal monster. he needs to think, to know, there’s a dichotomy, a line that can only be crossed under extreme duress or by outside influence. 

and he says--and we say--that he was accepted back into the titans in spite of what he’d done, but was he really? gar’s always struggled with his footing in this group; relegated to the caretaker, the tech guy, the gatekeeper, and sometimes punching bag even though everybody’s paying lip service to how much of a family they all are. perhaps gar reaching out to jason and offering acceptance is aspirational on his part: perhaps this is the effort he hoped the titans put/or will put into getting gar back, even when it would seem like he’s too far gone.

1.5. anyway my point is that i don’t think it’s worth discussing this in terms of right/wrong decisions because all of their reactions make a lot of sense given their backgrounds/personalities. gar is doing a fine job here of tracking down jason’s friends and trying to find him that way, but we the audience know that jason is ultimately going to end up an anti-hero/eventually-hero character, so with that knowledge in mind we know that gar’s reaction is the right one. it’s knowledge that the other characters don’t have, so to judge them on it is... uh, unfair.

1.8. also, molly is awesome, yay!

2. dick and barbara flirting over the phone is so cute! i love to see this side of dick: lighter, peppier, willing (even if somewhat reluctantly) to put his mission aside to go out on a date with his girlfriend. and i love how easy this makes his dynamic with kory too: it’s all very domestic and utterly delightful. 

(also, re: the water leak in barbara’s office--you’re saying GCPD could afford fancy-schmancy table-wide touch screen computers and evil-lair lighting but needs its frickin’ commissioner to catch leaking water from above her desk with mugs and fishbowls????)

2.2225. this is probably a teeny tiny thing and i’m not sure i want to bring it up at all BUT. the fact that dick feels compelled to lie to barbara about not liking fancy gala food and eating something more substantial before the date? not a terribly great sign, though i wouldn’t call it a red flag per se. 

“this from a man who forced his students to eat cauliflower crust pizza...”

3. so.... conner and kom are a Thing. huh.

in theory i really like the idea of them bonding over an innate alien-ness and longing for a place they could really belong. both of them are alien twice-over: conner a mix of kryptonian and human, practically generated in a test tube, and kom being somebody that was born different and rejected by her own people, now stuck on a planet dominated by an entirely different species. i even like them exploring this bond physically. i guess it’s the sense of... uneasiness around what we do and don’t know about kom that makes this scene land slightly left of centre to me. i think titans, especially through s2, has cultivated in its audience a sense of distrust even until the final episode, just in case somebody vital to the season is suddenly revealed to have had ulterior motives (i’m even low-key suspicious of leslie). i really want to see this kom-conner dynamic play out but the anticipation of watching the other shoe drop is sucking out the enjoyment.

4. for fuck’s sake dick, gar’s not your gatekeeper.

TIIIIIIIIMMMMM \O/

4.5. i love this nod to tim’s origins in the comics, the way he just comes in and lays out all his evidence and makes it clear to dick that he needs tim’s help as robin. the fact that he was there at the flying graysons’ last performance, he was obsessed with their acrobatic moves, and was observant enough to connect those moves with that of robin and later nightwing... all of this came together to put him where he is right now.

(i also love how he can’t contain his giddy excitement when talking about the day dick grayson’s parents died... to dick grayson. even if dick weren’t nightwing, that would be a deeply uncomfortable thing! yet tim can’t help himself, and i love him for it.)

4.8. it’s a testament to how much dick’s caught off-guard that he can’t come up with a better response to tim’s allegations other than “uh... he stole my moves! as you know, no two gymnasts in the world are allowed to do the same moves. now, let me escort you out while pretending poorly that i’m not at all shaken by this...”

4.9. i’ve talked about this before, but i find the logic around secret identities in this universe utterly fascinating. the titans don’t make much effort in keeping their identities secret: everybody seems to know that kory is starfire for instance, or that gar is beast boy. dick grayson is seen hanging out with kory a lot, especially at crime scenes. it won’t take a lot of sleuthing to find out that the titans are currently camped out at wayne manor, and to put two and two together.

my theory was that superheroes and villains have become such an integral part of daily society that it’s almost not worth it to seek out their secret identities, or that it’s just not a big deal anymore. like politicians or diplomats, not everybody bothers to look into who exactly their local politician is, but the people who know just... know. it’s a sort of unspoken social contract.

tim’s broken this contract by confronting dick about his identity, and dick’s not ready to deal with it. not entirely.

look at him! *pinches his cheeks*

5. ngl, it was quite satisfying to see jason knock the scarecrow out like that. 

5.5. i guess... the question of jason’s culpability is always going to be a thorny one and would make for a great courtroom drama spinoff. there are a number of factors to consider: jason’s personality, the rough circumstances under which he grew up, his undoubtedly stressful transition to being robin, bruce wayne being... well, bruce wayne, never feeling accepted by the titans and having most of them turn on him, being roundly defeated and almost killed by deathstroke, alfred’s death, a fuckload of ptsd, his violent death, crane’s manipulations, coming back to life, crane plying him with a drug. but there is no easy line to draw between any of these factors to his actions. i think it would be a disservice to jason’s character to attribute his actions entirely to these things and rather irresponsible to do so. i think jason has to reckon with the fact that when he took crane’s drug, he wasn’t reckless and chaotic like the thugs he gave it to; the planning that went into hank’s death was meticulous and the way hank died--dawn essentially tricked into pulling the trigger that blew her lover into bits--is so drawn out and cruel. 

5.75. it’s occurring to me that crane might have given jason a placebo. maybe jason’s dependence is psychological, and he’s externalised his fears in such a way that he believes crane’s drugs literally wipe them out, however temporarily.

in any case, the boy needs (more) therapy.

6. “he walked like robin...” fuck, tim

“gait recognition sweep” god, this show. i don’t know whether to laugh or cry. hey, once we’re done doing this gait recognition thingy, can we get a goddamn plumber in the house??? or move the commissioner’s desk so that sewage water isn’t dripping on her head or the million dollar touchscreen desk???????

6.5. oh no dick!!!!!! i am delighted that you got hurt but i feel ashamed about it! that looked like it really hurt!

he’s really not having a good time of it, is he. from being shot by a sniper to slamming at full speed into an suv, he’s got to be really fucking battered by now. and that’s just the physical side of it.

“can you believe that just over a week ago i was sitting in san francisco eating cauliflower crust pizza and feeling good about myself for the first time in five years...”

7. kory’s having visions again! now that she’s figured what they are, do you think the show’s just dropped justin? it’s curious that HPG hasn’t been brought up in a while after featuring relatively heavily in the beginning. hmmm.

8. dick’s in hospital but... he looks remarkably whole for someone who took a spill like that. you’d think he’d at least have a bruise to show for it. on the other hand, i love that the first thing he says is ‘i need to call home’. reminds me of season 1 dick and his clumsy attempts to explain away his found family as an ‘alliance of necessity’ or some bullshit. what a long way he’s come!

*gasp* dick’s hallucinating again!!!!!!!!!!!! i’m doing the dick’s hallucinating dance! can you believe that we’re carrying over these huge honking issues unearthed in season 2 onto season 3? can you believe?!!! all that time and effort i spent talking about dick’s mental health from last season has not gone in vain!!

... ahem. anyway. more on this later.

“hold on barbara, i think kory gave me the number to this therapist that she kept calling Hot Psychiatrist Guy...”

9. just an interlude to say that i’m barely halfway through the episode and i’ve already written 2k+ words... ugh. i’m going to try and be more concise.

10. man i fuckin love it when titans goes all out with its weird mindscapes and i’m extra glad that kory’s the focus this time. is that baby kom or maybe a secret sibling that neither of them knew about? was that lady luand’r? and is this place where kory was circling where the secret sibling is? it’s all very intriguing. 

(if justin turned out to be that sibling... we’ve a real luke/leia situation on our hands.)

11. aw, i knew that nice security guard was going to die, but it still hurt to see him go :(

12. this show is so bizarre. like i get the mindscape as a narrative device, but jason using sex workers to try and vocalise his guilt about killing hank was just weird. like. i have to use tamil, sorry: idhulaan yaaru pa room pottu yosikara??? some things just can’t be translated into a second language.

i guess one way to interpret jason’s reckoning with what he did to the titans as a sign of him coming off crane’s drug, but i think it’s more to do with the disillusionment of realising that he was a mere pawn in a more sinister plan, and not, as he thought, a player in control of his destiny, rising to the purpose of liberating gotham of its fears in a way batman never could. along the way, he’s done some truly irreversible damage. it’s a bitter pill to swallow.

13. another hallucination! it’s really intriguing that it’s a young dick(?), younger than we’ve ever seen him, wearing an early-era robin costume from way before he even became robin. (this is also interesting in that it gives credence to the idea that ‘robin’ is an identity that dick created entirely on his own, and as a possible homage to his family.)

“old road, old house... it’s all gone.” i wonder what it all means.

13.5. it’s entirely likely dick’s hallucinating because of a brain injury from the accident, though just hallucinations without any other focal neurological deficit is unusual. he might’ve been microdosed with fear toxin at some point, though i wonder when... did jason do so after dick’s accident? did he get dosed at the factory from last episode? 

it’s also possible it’s a continuing manifestation of dick’s issues from last season--which, if you remember, he never told anyone about and therefore never properly addressed. maybe he was hallucinating bruce wayne in a psychotic episode accompanying an acute stress reaction and maybe that’s what’s happening now. nobody’s denying that he’s under an extraordinary amount of stress right now. another way to look at it is that this is how he externalises conflict that he can’t bear to suppress anymore; if in s2 halluci!bruce manifested his insecurities and self-loathing, then these hallucinations... something to do with his fears, no doubt.

yet ANOTHER way to look at it might be: rachel is reaching out to him through their, well, psychic bond. after all, they were able to use that bond unconsciously last season to get the titans back together; maybe rachel has learned to gain a degree of control over it in themyscira and is sending across warnings? it’s all very intriguing.

anyway:

“i hear you skipped over the discowing suit in your evolution to nightwing... how could you??”

14. can you imagine, gar did all the work of reaching out to jason via molly and jason wants to meet dick? smh.

14.5. “i’m just a regular guy doing regular things” he says, standing at the opening of a secret old tunnel, like a secret person doing secret things, confronting someone who can now officially be called his stalker. neither of you guys are ‘regular’

14.8. ‘my dad was a cop and he taught me how to investigate’ - hmmm. i guess they’re trying to Explain Tim but i don’t think that’s really necessary. so he’s smart and he’s obsessed with batman and robin--that should be enough, imo. 

15. that scene with scarecrow and his mother was... wow. i’m just laughing here helplessly, because what the hell? for a while i thought it was an extended dream sequence and i’m still not entirely sure that it isn’t...

anyway. i still love that titans is happy to throw out its plot in favour of extended character-exploration sessions.

15.5. it seems to me that this scene with crane and his mother (i have no idea if there’s anything in the comics similar to this) serves to move forward this season’s theme of harmful legacies and how parents can damage their children in the name of their mission. in a way it’s been the underlying message of the entire show but we’re really seeing it being reinforced this season. the titans, serving as a foil to scarecrow, are using the damage to rebuild themselves and actually work through their issues together, instead of spiralling further and further into the morass of their issues.

other than that... god, that scene was painful to watch. i can’t say i like this version of scarecrow or how this actor plays him at all.

16. i wonder what’s jason’s play here. i think he’s smart enough to realise that the titans aren’t going to just forgive him and let him be a titan again after what he did, and that dick agreeing to it is just a bid to pin both him and crane down. maybe it’s a ploy to trap them, get back on scarecrow’s good books so that he can have the drug again. who knows.

17. i absolutely felt dick when he said “we’ll bring him in and then re-assess the situation.” what the fuck else is he going to say? the priority is to get him.

so kory and dick are both hallucinating while potentially trying to rehabilitate their murderous siblings. CONFIDE IN EACH OTHER ALREADY

18. TIM NOOOO! you beautiful, reckless fool!

18.25. just to quickly address it here because i know it’s been brought up before: i think it’s perfectly justified to not have conner take tim to the hospital via superspeed because a) i don’t think we’ve seen conner do that with anybody so far and b) it’s probably not a good idea to submit tim’s body to that kind of stress without knowing what it would do to him. the paramedics with actual equipment and experience would be there in a few minutes, so on a risk assessment, i would say dick and conner absolutely made the right call.

18.5. i guess we won’t know what jason really intended to when the titans came to the pump to see him, but this is definitely going to set a big wedge in his relationship with crane. then again, crane got what he wanted--using starfire’s powers to blast through to the underground pipes--so jason can argue that this is exactly what he was working towards, too. 

anyway, mortal peril, hallucinations, murderous family members, creepy visions and robins sprouting left and right. time to get rachel and donna on the scene, i think.