#another reason that I'm mad we didn't get to have s2 is because we didn't get a chance to have it spoon fed to people who

[thesearchforbluejello]

With the popularity of Ted Lasso, I'm genuinely just so glad that we got such a phenomenal show that has made an impact on so many people, and of course now we've also gotten the first season of Shrinking, which also knocked it out of the park.

But I still mourn Whiskey Cavalier every time I watch an episode of either of those.

There hasn't been a whole lot of tv I've actually enjoyed in the past several years, and these three feel like an absolute trifecta, but WC feels like the holy ghost at this point because there is SO MUCH of it in Ted Lasso and Shrinking-- it's so many of the same writers/directors/producers, but they're also just so similar right to their foundations. All three interrogate tv tropes and relationships (of all kinds!!!!!) and mental health through comedy, and Ted Lasso and Whiskey Cavalier actually interrogate an entire genre. I'd say that WC is more on that side than Ted Lasso even is, because although they definitely interrogate some of the tropes of sports fiction (toxic masculinity, anyone?), WC actually parodies spy fiction while playing itself as straight.

It just makes me absolutely feral to think about what more of Whiskey Cav would have looked like. A second season? A third? The development of the show from the original(-ish, one of the drafts) pilot to what was actually filmed shows so much growth and an acknowledgement that they could really work with what they had-- it turned from a show about a guy (hence the name) to a show about an entire team. Frankie took the spot as the second main character with Will once they cast Lauren Cohan (I don't think that happened before she was cast but I may be wrong) and another character was completely rewritten into Jai when Vir Das was cast. They had an entire plan for how to flip the TV trope of the will-they-won't-they relationship to a how-will-they-make-it-work relationship!!!!!! It would have been so good!!!!!! The amount of character development we got in just one season was far above and beyond anything else I've seen besides Ted Lasso and Shrinking, and honestly I think more actually happened specifically because they didn't have the assurance of more seasons (good thing they didn't assume, I guess) to build on things like the Ted Lasso Method™ but they still managed to do it without rushing it.

Honestly I feel like I could make a venn diagram of how all three of these shows all overlap and it would be hilarious. Excellent theme songs by well known artists without it feeling cheap? ✅✅✅ Excellent episodic music by well known artists also without it feeling cheap? ✅✅✅ Really well executed character development for ALL of the characters? ✅✅✅ Interrogation of tv tropes? ✅✅✅ More specifically, hilariously camp villains who still manage to take advantage of tropes to work? ✅✅ Incredibly well developed character relationships OF ALL KINDS that don't all hinge on only one romantic relationship as the centerpoint of everything? ✅✅✅ Queer characters who don't exist for the butt of a joke or solely as token queer characters? ✅✅✅ Every line is delivered with perfect comedic (or dramatic) delivery and timing? ✅✅✅

Anyway, this has been a barely coherent and very meandering way of saying that the fact that ABC put the episodes out of order really screwed things up, but Whiskey Cav really hit its stride there with the second half of season one and absolutely nailed the vibe they'd been working towards with the foundational episodes that came before them, and I just get SO ANGRY when I watch Ted Lasso and Shrinking despite the fact that they're both so good and I enjoy them so much because it makes me think about just how good a second (and third, damn it) season of Whiskey Cavalier would have been.

[brookslostarm]

Regarding the dinostar hate recently, I don't really think Darius did anything wrong. I get why people might think his confession was unhealthy, but put urself in his shoes. He got stranded on an island full of dinos at 12 and had to become the leader of a group of people older than him, a few months after his dad's death. He saw his best friends- Brooklynn and Kenji, get together and was 100 percent fine with it, even happy for them. A few years later, they break up and Brooklynn comes to stay with him for a week or so. He's never had feelings for anyone at this point, but that was because on the island, he never had any time for romance- always focusing on protecting his friends, and even after getting off the island- focusing on his mental health and DPW. But now, his dealt with all that and is at a good place in his life, likely ready for a relationship and focusing more on people he's interested in. Coincidentally, his girl best friend recently became single and stayed at his place for 1 week. It isn't like living on nublar since it's just the two of them. Feelings are bound to develop.

Now, his confession, a lotta people r saying that Darius is putting Brook on a pedestal, because he said something about supporting Brooklynn's work no matter what, but I don't really think that's true. The reason some of the audience is mad is because we know the extent of Brooklynn's obsession with her work, and so does Kenji, but does Darius know? It's not very likely, since Brooklynn doesn't talk much about her work. Also, when u get a crush, that too for the first time, ur gonna wanna impress them- say nice things to them, support them, etc. and that's literally what Darius was doing. He loved her and felt comfortable around her enough to say those things without putting much thought into it.

Another thing I've noticed is people saying that the "if he loved you half as much as I do" line is invalid because he left Brooklynn when she got kidnapped. In my opinion, that's just not true, he didn't want to leave her, he was just following Brooklynn's directions, and knew that if he stayed, him and yaz would also get captured. Also, didn't Kenji betray and lock his friends, including Brooklynn, in a room? I get that it wasn't his fault as he was manipulated by his dad, but I don't think it should be glossed over if we're using the "Darius left Brooklynn, and Kenji went back for her" argument against Dinostar.

As for the "he's dating his best friend's ex!" Thing, I get it goes against bro-code, but Brooklynn isn't just his best friend's ex, Brooklynn is also one of his best friends. They've supported each other through thick and thin and had SO much chemistry in season 2,3 and 5 of cc. Also, Kenji seems to be okay with him having feelings for Brook, based on s2 of ct. He doesn't seem to have any anger or resentment towards Darius and jokes with him like he normally would, even after knowing Darius' feelings. Also, a large portion of the fandom seems to enjoy dinostar more than kenlynn, and dinostar wouldn't be introduced in the first place if it wasn't going to be endgame. I don't think it was introduced just for drama, because if it was, it's gonna make even plantonic dinostar extremely problematic and unlikable, in my opinion.

That being said, I'm honestly fine with whatever route they decide to go through, whether Brooklynn ends up with Kenji, Darius or single, though I would prefer she end up with Darius. To the people who don't agree, I don't mean to cause any drama or anything lol, this is just my opinion. Ig we're gonna have to wait till season 3 to find out what happens😭

Maybe Brooklynn x Soyona tho🤔 their enemies to lovers potential is 📈📈📈

[jendee]

I'm sick of all the hate Sam gets for anything.

Let's start with the people who call him selfish for not wanting that stupid hunter life. Of course, he was selfish because he wanted everything any child wanted, a loving family, friends and being able to study, wow how selfish!

He was later accused of not loving Dean enough just because in the early seasons he wasn't as dependent on his brother as Dean was on him .It seems that those people watched the show with their feet, because when Dean was dying in s1, Sam did everything to not let him die.

We move forward to s4 where he gets ALL the blame for becoming addicted to demon blood and neglecting his brother, when it is clear that Ruby manipulated him. He was mourning the death of her brother and coincidentally the only one who was there supporting him was her, obviously we know why. Without Dean, Sam needed a reason to keep going, and that was revenge.

Then in s8 when he got mad at Dean for letting an angel POSSESS HIM WITHOUT HIS CONSENT, he had every right to be furious and many didn't even try to understand why. In the program it is seen that many times he has lost control of his body, soul and mind.

Starting with Meg, when she possessed him in s2, forcing him to kill another hunter and make him watch the scene (I forgot, Azazel also used him as his puppet).

We already talked about Ruby and how much damage she did to him by manipulating him and trying to turn him against his brother and oh, of course making him addicted to something that was corrupting him.

Do you remember the episode where this guy Gary switches bodies with Sam? Well, you'll remember that he had SEX WITH SAM'S BODY, God I don't know how the writers find that funny.

We must not forget that Lucifer tortured him all those years in the cage and obviously raped him, yet there are stupid people saying that Sam is weak for allowing the wall in his head to break. Dude, seen the show?

We have Gadreel, the icing on the cake, who possessed him and killed Kevin with his body, nothing more.

And so there are many more things for which Sam is accused of being a bad person and brother. Dude???

[dr-spectre]

while i originally didn't think much about s2's story

after seeing your posts about hypno callie i am 100% with ya

fact that it gets misinterpreted so much is agh. painful

Im glad that I was able to inspire you to change your mind!!! I used to not think much of Splatoon 2's story, too, until the autism in my brain whispered, "Callie Cuttlefish...."

(I'm about to get ranty in this post, so get ready.... if you wanna move along and don't wanna see someone get upset over a squid woman then by all means do so!)

I think the main reasons as to why the story of Splatoon 2 gets misinterpreted a lot is because in media circles, people will use the words "brainwashing" and "hypnosis" interchangeably and they genuinely don't know what hypnosis is actually like. Nintendo and the Splatoon devs probably don't know either. Like I don't think in Splatoon 2's rushed development cycle they bothered to look up the definition of hypnosis and they just made up the Hypnoshades to make Callie "evil" in a quick and easy way because "ooooo hypnosis is mind control/brainwashing ooo" WHICH IS FALSE!!!! VERY VERY FALSE!!!!!

Splatoon 2 was most likely rushed and it impacted Callie's storyline. You can clearly see what kind of story Splatoon 2 was going for from the concept art and Squid Sisters Stories prequel series. The tale of two cousins drifting apart and Callie growing resentment in her heart....

While we SORTA got that in the final game, Callie's arc got muffled due to a lack of understanding of what hypnosis actually is and media out of Splatoon continuing to use "brainwashing" as a cheap and lazy way to explain things which most likely had a strong influence in Splatoon 2's development, despite a lot of evidence proving that's not what happened to Callie... and there's not much we can do about it... ugh.

They also hid a lot of important story details behind optional content and social media posts. The sunken scrolls explaining Callie's growing mental issues, the relationship chart which disproves that Callie was kidnapped, etc, etc....

Also people tend to take Marie's perspective very objectively because we follow her as Agent 4. So when she says that Callie was "squidnapped," people believe it. When Marie says Callie was "brainwashed" in the rematch fight, people believe it. Including inkipedia and people who analyse splatoon.... the people who seek out objective information take the overthinking and worried Marie with a lack of knowledge as the well of truth.

Slight tangent but, you know what's kinda funny to me? Inkipedia wants to be very objective on Splatoon yeah? Well on Callie's main page it says, "Callie went to the octarians willingly," yet another parts of the site, it says, "she was kidnapped." Hmm... and of course, them flip-flopping the words "hypnosis" and "brainwashing" despite those words being OBJECTIVELY TWO SEPARATE THINGS THAT CANNOT BE USED INTERCHANGEABLY!!! But they use brainwashing more because Nintendo NoA used it.... oh well, tangent aside...

That's why so many people fuck up and you know what? I don't REALLYYYY blame the common fan over this. I dont! It would be unfair of me to get mad at someone who doesn't know any better because Splatoon 2 did an AWFUL job at properly fleshing out Callie!!!! When people hear what I have to say and either agree or respectfully disagree but still get my points, i get happy, and im glad more people are looking into Callie in a different light! She was treated like TRASHHHH for 7 fucking years!!!

Im only mad at certain parts of a certain wiki, and people who go over the timeline and make 5 hour videos and claim that Callie was KIDNAPPED DESPITE THERE BEING A FREELY AVAILABLE FUCKING RELATIONSHIP CHART THAT LITERALLY DISPROVES IT!!! BUT NO!!! YOU JUST HADDDDD TO READ A SINGLE INKIPEDIA ARTCLE AND YOU DIDNT EVEN BOTHER TO LOOK ANYWHERE ELSE!!!!! Putting in so much effort yet these loud voices in the community drop the fucking ball on Callie because she's silly.... ugh...

If I see another person in 2024 that says that Callie was kidnapped.... I swear to FUCKINGGGGGG god bro....

WHY DO NINTENDO PUSH THAT SHIT THEMSELVES?!?!? WHY DO THEY SAY CALLIE WAS KIDNAPPED?!?! WHY DO YOU WANT THE OCTARIANS TO BE SO FUCKING EVIL AND UNREDEEMABLE?!?!?! YOU GUYS MADE OCTO EXPANSION FOR FUCK SAKE!!! ITS SO ANNOYING!!! IM STILL NOT OVER THIS!!

UGHHHH!!!! When will it end.... I'm gonna keep repeating this stuff until I DIE it seems!!!

I dont wanna seem like I'm above anyone btw. I dont want to be like that. I'm just... really autistic about this sort of shit and I get very very picky about people's word choices and stuff when it comes to this.

I just want a character I love to be treated better... okay? That's all... it is getting better which I'm VERY happy about but... the loudest voices in the community, the people who analyse stuff and make timeline videos and analytical videos, still say the same bullshit since 2017 and I'm getting tired....

[mileenaxyz]

*Spoilers ahead*

I was going to rant about how Season 3 of Industry wasn't Industrying for me. I was going to bitch about the infamous "Season 3 Slump" some shows tend to suffer from. I was going to compare it to The Bear and complain that just like I hadn't gotten enough of Sydney Adamu in S3, I wasn't getting enough of Harper Stern in S3.

I was going to ask if Harper was being phased out in favor of Yasmin and Robert, and I was going to point out that as fond as I am both of those characters, neither one is "enough" to lead this show alongside Eric the way Harper is.

I was also going to call Kit Harington's casting publicity casting and point out that anybody could've been played Henry Muck, because I don't feel like Kit did anything special acting wise.

I was going to do all of that and then...last night's episode dropped.

Y'ALL. Since the end of S2 I've been waiting for Harper to rain fire and blood on PierPoint. I wanted to see how she'd do it and how long she'd draw out the pain and agony. When she started the fund with Petra and became a client of Pierpoint's (and demanded first class service from Eric), I was like, "That's cute and all...but it's not fire and blood."

Watching her scheme with Kenny, Daria, and Jackie, my jaw fell on the floor. I started screaming, "There's my Harper! THERE'S my fucking Harper Stern." And then seeing Eric blow up....

Speaking of Eric, I had no complaints about him this season. Both Ken Leung and the writers did some excellent work; I just felt I needed to see more interactions with Harper (I've dubbed their father/daughter ship Harpsichord). But depriving us worked, because he's been avoiding her all season when she clearly wants his attention, and when he finally confronted her in her office, it was AMAZING! I was soooooo happy when he finally addressed the daddy elephant in the room and she finally pointed out her "monstrous" tendencies stem from him, and PierPoint by and large. Because when we first met Harper, she was too afraid to even pick up the phone.

Eric dragged her kicking and screaming from her shell, tutored her, molded her, and taught her the art of betrayal. He made her a monster and now he's mad...that she's a monster?

And after that, Yasmin's storyline FINALLY paid off, and it was eye-opening.

You have to understand something about me; I'm asexual, so I miss a lot of cues and when it comes to sex on TV, I typically fast forward through that shit because I don't care. I don't think it contributes to the story but this time, it actually did. I now understand why Yasmin feels the impulse to get sexually involved with damn near everybody. Since S1, I found it annoying and thought it was just some dumb thing the writers were throwing in (because so many shows do that shit), but this time, it had an actual point. Yasmin's father weaponized his wealth and status so he could fuck anything with a pulse, so is it any surprise she learned to do the same?

In fact, I think the only reason she blew up at Eric at the restaurant was that she didn't find him attractive. If she did, they would've ended up in that bathroom together. Because wealth and status (and pale skin privilege) taught Yasmin that she can behave in this manner with no consequences (Harper obviously cannot).

Which brings us to the seasonal Harper/Yasmin confrontation. A part of me wants them to be friends, another part a couple, and yet another part thinks they need to permanently split up. Such is the reality of life, and a testament to the writers. Yeah, yeah...Harper's a "monster", but I don't think Yasmin is a "talentless and useless and a fucking whore." Yasmin speaks seven languages, is a deft manipulator, and simply needs to learn that screwing your coworkers, clients, and boss is unprofessional and extremely tacky.

And Harper, honey, sweetie, boo...let that man go. Your little crush should've wrapped up in S1 the minute he chose the spicy white girl who treats him like dirt. I get that Robert's an adorable sweetheart and all, but you're not his preference and you need to get over him. Matter of fact, you've been making bank for a while now - why are you still living with these people?

This is the one part of the story that really works my nerve, but I can't really criticize it because it's real. Harper likes Robert; he's a good guy she has to see everyday at both work and home. The part of her that feels both inferior AND superior to Yasmin desperately wants to "win" him from the spicy white girl who treats him like dirt. That's real. It's as annoying as Yasmin's ill-advised sexcapades, but they're young, insecure women in a cutthroat world, and it's real.

*shrug*

[howtobecomeadragon]

Mike got upset at Hopper in s2 bc Hopper was keeping El hidden... when she could've been helping Will and preventing Will's situation from getting so bad

Obviously there are other reasons too, he was mourning and missed her, it was a shock to see her, etc. I'm just saying I think this is the bigger reason.

This also ties into Mike viewing El as a superhero and how this puts their relationship in a weird space. If someone is a superhero, you're not missing them as a person, you're missing them for their powers and what they can do for you.

Obviously we saw that Mike was missing El in 2x01 and 2x02. But at the end of 2x02, we saw Mike having a new concern about what was going on with Will and that he was seeing something from the UD. Mike is confronted with the reality that he doesn't know much about the UD and doesn't know how to help. He doesn't know if this is real or just visions. He doesn't understand (although he does his best to help), the others wouldn't understand, but Eleven would. She would know, she'd be able to help, she'd know how to stop this.

Because, after all, Mike has said it before: she's a weapon. He viewed her as a way to get Will back before (partly, not claiming this was his only motivation in his relationship with El) and now in s2, Mike is missing her for what she could have done here: helped Will.

Mike does what he can to put positive spins on the situation and he provides that emotional support, which probably helped more than he knew.

But that didn't exactly stop the bad things from happening. Mike still doesn't know how to fix this thing happening to Will. He does everything he can, he comes up with the idea to spy back and to put Will to sleep, but it's still a very upsetting day or two.

When El returns, he greets her happily but as soon as he hears that she's been out there, listening to his calls, his face drops. He wanted to know she was out there. And then very quickly his anger moves to Hopper. El didn't know that Will was in trouble. She stayed away bc Hopper told her to, but she didn't know what was going on. Hopper knew. Hopper knew that El was probably one of the only people who might know enough to help, so he gets mad about Hopper hiding her, when she could've been there, she could've stepped in as soon as Will saw the Mind Flayer the first time.

Moving onto the fight scene:

Mike and Hopper both look and gesture towards this wall a lot (EDIT: credit to @runninguplenorahills for pointing this out, this is also in Will's bedroom, similar to the s3 kiss with El in the finale. just another thing pointing to this being more to do with Will than the GA might thing), and I get that it's probably the direction of where El is in the kitchen, but just like always, Will is there symbolically too. He's there in the drawings that are on the wall between them in the dead center of the shot. It's a symbol of just how bad things got with Will.

Mike looks at the drawings and says he doesn't understand how Hopper let it go on so long with El there but hidden.

Again, looking and gesturing at the walls. And there's this talk of blame here. "Don't blame her, she's already upset." "I don't blame her, I blame you."

Blame El for... just staying hidden? When Mike can tell she wasn't allowed to talk to him? That doesn't really fit perfectly with the word "blame." What Hopper might mean, instead, is for Mike to not blame El for how bad it got with Will. "Don't blame El for not coming to help sooner, don't blame her for everything that has happened the past couple days." And Mike doesn't, he says he's blaming Hopper.

Another couple things from the full fight scene:

"Protecting her?" Mike sees what happened. Hopper chose to protect El over protecting Will this season (in a way, balancing out his actions from s1, selling out El's location to Brenner to save Will).

"So I should be thanking you?" Along that same line: Mike isn't thinking about his or his family's safety. Brenner is gone, and it sounds like Hopper kept El hidden for reasons he doesn't understand or care about at the cost of Will's safety.

"Nothing about this is okay." There's so many things he's upset and overwhelmed and scared about right now. It's multifaceted, just like so many of Mike's scenes. He's not just mad bc he missed El, there's more there.

After the scene with Hopper, Mike and El are standing away from each other. He even seems to be avoiding eye contact with her? Maybe from embarrassment over his outburst, maybe he just feels weird and conflicted already, feeling the strain of having his attention split when he's already so worried about Will. But either way, the shots are framed with Mike and Hopper together and everyone else with El. He didn't rush out from that fight to stick with El, be close, hold her hand, talk with her more.

And the first time he speaks in this scene it feels a lot like another "I'm the only one who cares about Will" moment. He's put the pieces together and was considering Will's part in all of this. He's not voicing concern about El being in danger again or leaving again, his mind is on Will.

And I think this all goes to the goodbye scene between El and Mike. Mike is concerned about losing people close to him. He can't say goodbye to Will, but he says goodbye to El. She tries to kiss him, he leaves his eyes open and doesn't move closer at all. A car with Will drives away and a car with El drives away, both headed towards danger. He stares after both, scared.

GA viewers assume he's just focused on El as he watches the cars drive away, but he spent most of the season just focused on Will. GA viewers assume Mike's outburst just has to do with loving El, but he spent most of the season trying to help Will, just like s1, except this time he didn't have El, his helpful link to the UD, to make the supernatural mysteries a little bit easier.

[finnskeeper]

05x15: "The Long Goodbye Job"

Thoughts under the cut. I'm not sure how long this is going to be.

The Opening

"What was your mistake?" The cuts and bruises on Nate's face. The shaking. The barely held back tears. I knew this episode was going to be a doozy, but I didn't expect to be hit by a truck right out of the gate.

The Client

Here's where it gets interesting. There is no client. But Nate had to come up with one for the story he sells to Interpol over the course of the episode. So what would be so damn important that he'd risk everything? Making sure another parent doesn't have to go through what he did with Sam.

The Plan

Watching it a second time, it's definitely fun to try to pick out which points are fact and which are part of Nate's story. We know the rundown went a little differently (Eliot and Parker were at the briefing for the black book, not doing recon on the building) but there are likely elements that are real (Hardison's hesitation at the Sterenko, for example). The rooftop scene with Nate and Parker isn't real (because they didn't go in on the roof, they came in with the coroner's van) and that hurts my heart just a little. It was a great little moment for them, a passing of the torch in a way. It is possible that he took her up there and did all that math to calculate the water balloon shot, but honestly that kind of math is all doable from home base, since they would have access to building heights and distances, and doesn't need to be as accurate.

The Middle

"You said you made a mistake. How did your friends die?"

Aaaaaand there it is. Nate's face here wrecked me. The tears, the shock, the pain...given that he actually crashed the van into the river and took those injuries, do you think there was a small, tiny moment when he thought what she was saying was true? Did he forget, even for a second, that this was also part of the con and he was actually being interrogated about the death of his family?

The Job

Remember Nate is the narrator here, and we see him in the theater basement watching (though later we know he was, in fact, the responding officer), but there are little hints that something is amiss. A) There's no way Nate would actually miss the fact that radios would still work. Hell, Eliot wouldn't miss it. He grabbed walkies in the "Cross My Heart Job" when they didn't have earbud access. No reason to think they would forget those exist now. And B) "Baker 12" being the cop's designation. Nice, sneaky DW reference.

The Collapse

And here's where it all "goes wrong." These 2 minutes were THE most stressful, and that was me going in knowing the big reveal. Hardison dropping down the elevator shaft was horrible, but then Eliot comes in with a steel chair and the most devastating "Dammit Hardison!" of the entire series.

And then we have the whole back of the van/chase scene...

HOW DID ANYONE WATCH THIS LIVE/UNSPOILED AND NOT IMMEDIATELY THROW UP?

(Also, I firmly believe this is another hint that something is amiss...he went to jail to save these people. 3 of them are "gone," but Sophie is still next to him. IMO, Nate would never [willingly] put Sophie in any danger. It's established canon [in S2 he leaves Tara with some dangerous men, and Sophie calls him on it. He'd never leave her there], and having him drive them off a bridge to their deaths rather than surrender seems farfetched now that I look at it again with a clearer head.)

Nate losing it and just pounding on the table in anger and grief. I legit had to pause and walk away for a moment.

The Real Job

"WHY WOULD I LIE? WHY? I SCREWED UP, I GOT THEM KILLED! I LOST EVERYTHING, THE ONLY THING I EVER HAD! WHY! WHY! WHY WOULD I LIE!?"

And that's on Emmys, baby.

Nate looking right at the camera: "No active cases."

Hello, Sterling.

"You would get them killed for that." Is that a note of anger I detect in your tone, Sterling? Are you mad at Nate for their deaths? I thought you didn't like them...

Ah, yes, the actual target. Honestly, no one explains this better than John Rogers himself in the DVD commentary:

“This is a big ass speech. This is a big ass stop the show, this is the moral framework of the entire five years you’ve seen. Nate Ford justifies 77 episodes of Leverage in this speech, cause you know what? It is the last goddamn episode, you’re gonna know why we made the show. We didn’t make the show cause we thought it was clever or cute or fun. I always say this, no show succeeds unless somebody loves it and you know what, everybody loves this show and to me, what Nate’s saying here is important enough to say out loud. No one should be allowed to cheat and get away with it.”

JUSTICE OR ORDER

The Twist/The REAL Job

"Parker's still in the server room." *insert Thor meme here* Is she though?

Fake bodies! And where are those pesky van drivers?

Sterling figuring it out and letting Nate gloat, just a little.

Sophie being the Sterenko operator AND police dispatch AND the supervisor, acting as the grifter/mastermind behind the scenes.

Nate revealed as the patrol officer.

ELIOT ROLLING HIS EYES AND FALLING INTO THE VAN "DEAD."

The recap of how it actually all went down.

"They'll be mixed in with the audience!" Cut to the OT3 in silly little soldier costumes on stage.

10/10, no notes.

(Hey, do you think Sophie/the team had the live feed of the interrogation room so they could know when to move to the next phase of the plan? Do you think they watched Nate rip his own heart out as he played out his worst imaginable scenario?)

The End

"Justice is always easy." Dammit Sterling! Why do you always make it so hard to hate you?

The Proposal ("You gotta say it.")

The OT3 ("Til my dying day.")

LEVERAGE INTERNATIONAL, HELL YES

The final scene is giving "end of Men in Black" vibes. The swanky suits, Hardison and Eliot in power stances, the callback speech, PARKER MASTERMIND FTW...it's all so good.

Has a show ever ended so perfectly? I don't think so. This is the yardstick upon which all other finales will be measured.

Now it's time to go back and watch S1 in the proper order.

[miimo96]

Thoughts on My Adventures with Superman S2 episode 4

Alright 2 things, 1 I love how General lane Not only set up an entire bunker like fortress in Clark and Jimmy's apartment, but also made them Use a Code word in order for them to Even get in, 2 I Reallly love Clark's reaction to Jimmy's achievement, it really shows how much he cares about his friend and is really happy for him 😊 Also is it me or has the Animation gotten So much Better this Season, they really stepped their Game up since the Spiderman fiasco, especially when it comes to the lighting and faces, I mean just look at Clark's smile here >_<

Bruh I'm calling it right now, by the end of this Season Jimmy is going to lose ALL of his Money, that Money meter keeps going down each episode, if that isn't foreshadowing Idk what is ^^;

Once again I'm really loving the relationship between these 2, the fact that Jimmy wants Clark to come not because he's an Alien but because he's his best friend is really sweet, and it really shows just how much the writers Really know about Superman and his world and want to make it to the best version, also the fact that Clark is LITERALLY deciding which outfit seems more "Hype man" is Really funny to me, especially Jimmy's comeback line after this

Judging how Waller is clearly making another Task force X I wanna say this Blockbuster, but I'm not entirely sure, so far this guy's only appeared in like a few episodes this season, So if they kill him off I Wont entirely be mad, because he serves No purpose other than filling out the Villain slots, and the reason why I'm saying this might be Blockbuster is because I can't recall another Villain with super strength and Built like this in the suicide Squad other than blockbuster, who coincidently died IMMEDIATELY in a Suicide Squad comic run

Even though the episode is clearly about lois and father, it's Super obvious that it was actually focused on the relationship between Clark and Jimmy, and how they feel about 1 another, this scene with Clark telling Jimmy about how he's made him feel was really beautiful and Ngl, I kinda teared up at this point, the relationship between the 2 is some of the best I've seen in a Long time since the animated series back on WB Kids, they really put a lot of effort into fleshing out each character and making us Fall in love with them even more ^w^

The whole Superman Debate Scene was great, I really loved how Lex and Jimmy are basically two polar opposites, 1 supporting superman and his pureness and the other being Superman's biggest Hater, with both literally being incredibly rich rn, and it's kinda funny, while Jimmy is losing money, Lex is Gaining money, gaining everyhing that we know him for; Lex brought up a lot of good points regarding Superman and how "Dangerous" he is, Stuff that I think will Return in Season 3 with people Gunning for Superman or trying to Eliminate him, maybe we might actually see Batman Show up Next season 😏

I find it So CONVENIENT that general lane's Rendezvous point Just so happens to be near the STAR Labs EXPO, almost like if this was planned for this to happen here, So that when Superman shows up he could be made out as the Bad guy *looks intently at Lex*

As Sad as this scene is you're really telling me He DIDN'T HEAR THAT!? I mean the dude has SUPER HEARING for a reason, you're REALLY telling me he Didn't hear that? Ok whatever Sure, I guess super hearing Only works when the Writers Need it huh, even though they made a WHOLE episode about that Last season 😒

🥺🥺🥺 I don't have any words for this scene other than Seeing Clark like this really hurts my soul, seeing him come to the Realization that he's Never gonna truly fit in and that He NEEDS Someone like him to Really understand him just shows how much Clark has repressed these feelings by trying to be Something he's not, which is human, Now he's Finally starting to accept his Alien/Kryptonian half, with the 1st step being to find someone Truly like him

ZOD IS HERE OMG ZOD IS HERE!!

Also I Officially dub these Days "Superman Saturday's" ^^ 🦸‍♂️

[raelynn0606]

JJK ending sucks but what's new

The only ppl who will see this have already heard me complain but I'm gonna do it AGAIN 😈

jjk has always kinda been a mid shonen type thing but I usually like them so I wanted to watch it. I watched the first season when it released and it good but it wasn't good enough to get me reading the manga.

Then s2 came out and I kind of absorbed a lot of content through social media osmosis and it seemed pretty interesting. I only ended up watching it cuz one of my new friends watched it and another one also wanted to watch it so we watched it together in school while the teachers would side eye us 😓

I actually kind of liked it. I genuinely love a lot of the characters, like I think they're interesting in a ton of ways but sadly most of it never got explored. Most of the charas didn't get actual arcs and for the ones that did, it never felt finished or it would just feel so half baked. The plot has an endless amount of loose threads it's not even funny.

More than the actual media itself I enjoyed the process of consuming it. I loved searching up the leaks every Thursday with my friend and the fandom was funny asf too.

The fights were great too, and that's probably the only reason I found s2 to be so entertaining. But I feel like most of that credit goes to the animators and shit instead of Gege himself.

As much as I hate on the aot ending, this ending is WAYY worse. If you ignore the aot ending, the rest of the show can definitely stand on its own. The ending might even be good if you view it through a different perspective.

But jjk doesn't have that. The ending itself isn't bad. It's just that the series feels so incomplete which is what makes it so shit. I haven't seen a single person say it's good so far which rlly says smth. Can't wait for some fans to come along and be like "erm u just didn't understand the story ☝️🤓"

I don't even wanna get into all the details on why the series sucks cuz there's way too many I can list. But the main reason I hate the ending is cuz the series had SO MUCH POTENTIAL.

The characters and themes and plot were pretty good, they just needed to be explored more and it never happened and it sucks so much cuz it could've been so great and actually have smth to say.

Maybe I expected too much from a series called Sorcery Fight because there were indeed sorcerers fighting and that's pretty much it.

I might be wrong for criticizing it so much considering I haven't even read most of the manga. I just started skimming leaks every week after Gojo died like most ppl did and skipped over the previous arcs (although I did look at summaries) so maybe it'll be different if I actually read all of it at once but I doubt it. Maybe the pacing would be slightly better but that's it.

I just get mad whenever I think of what could've been. I genuinely hope someone rewrites it and does it justice even tho I'll prolly never read it.

It's just another case of "this piece of media would've been so good if it was actually good."

[sezez]

So.... I just finished watching Hilda Season 3 and I absolutely loved it all!

But... There was one thing I was disappointed about...

Okay, for a long time ever since the Bellkeeper was shown on Hilda S2:Ep 6, I and many others believed that BK (Bell Keeper) is Hilda's dad because:

He has blue hair above his ears

He likes cucumber sandwich

In concept, he is shown to be like a father-figure for Hilda

And his character seems to have a lot of potential and all

But then boom; Hilda's true dad showed up, Anders. He seemed to have abandoned/ran away when Hilda was born or maybe a toddler because he got overwhelmed.

I was surprise and disappointed to know that BK was just a random guy! Like, his character seemed so interesting and mysterious so he has to have a purpose! Right? .. right?

But, no.

I genuinely didn't like that Hilda grandparents are fairies, but it does explain her blue hair and all. But still... I felt like potential was wasted for BK and now the fandom will think he is probably gonna date Anders just because he bumped into him. (I am not the type of person to ship two characters just because they saw each other for 0.002 seconds)

And I'm really sad we never get to see Hilda again. With another season filled with possibilities of Hilda's new life and all. There is still a lot of characters that seemed to have a purpose.

I just.... I feel like the Bell Keeper shouldn't have been perfect! Like, maybe instead of a dad who ran away from being overwhelmed, we see a dad who ran away for a reason!

Anders character kind of feel like he was just used there so people can see what Hilda's dad actually is. But, like we don't know anything else about him, Johanna completely hates him (or more like still is mad at him) and yet we never hear any explanation about what happened between them! Johanna never even said anything to him about him leaving her and Hilda!

It would have been so cool if we see the Bell Keeper confronting Johanna and Hilda finding out that he is her dad! That her dad was literally with her the whole time, that she actually spend a time with him during the Bell Shut Down operation!

As much as I loved this season, BK's potential was wasted and now we are left deciding what happens next in Hilda's life.

But, I still enjoy Season 3. I give it a 20/10 on it's own, but if the Bell Keeper is Hilda's true dad then I give a 100/10.

[fandoomrants]

Ok, tua s4, ep4

Spoilers!

-Omg, we see them as children again but this time they're teenagers!

-Allison and Klaus!!! I actually started rewatching tua with my mom a couple of days ago. And while in s2 we see the two of them reunite and have a bond, and also obviously now, in the beginning of this season, I also noticed some scenes between them in s1. First, their conversation in the first episode where she confronts him but she sounds fond, and also, in a memory where they're getting their tattoos, he's comforting her! Cute! Also, gives even more meaning on him borrowing her skirt!

-Omg. I'm actually not mad for them using Victor's dead name and please, please, please, don't be guys!

-This is a memory! It's the PAST! And Victor has not transitioned then! If they called him "Victor", it could have been a hint that these memories are somehow affected too!

-Usually when they speak about the past they do say "Victor", even if it's pre-transition so that's showing respect. But memories are another thing.

-....Bet they'll open the container.

-Also, so cool! We actually see a whole mission! It's not just a quick and blurred flashback!

-Is that gonna be the squid??

-Ummmm. I have a weird feeling about this.

-The squid didn't.... Come out of Ben, did it?!? Or him, turn into it?!?

-Do Jennifer and Ben have a connection or is this just her powers??

-Oh, nooo!!!! So Reginald is the one who killed him!? And her?

-Oh, so his wife made the marigold?!

-And Jennifer has this other element?

-Is this why she was on the moon??

-So, are there other children with this element?!

-"That thing Klaus got when he came back from Ibiza" 💀💀

-Reginald saying that whatever the other version of him was probably for a good reason, then lager claiming that it was not him who killed Ben, then trying to do it again...

-Ok, kinda love what Allison did.

-Also, forgot to mention this in the prev one but - KLAUS FLOATING!!!!

-"Don't we all"? 💀💀💀

-I'm kinda still waiting for him to see a ghost.

-And he did!

-Not another ghost getting into him 💀💀💀 For that.

-Diego and Lila make me sad.

-So, like, is Ben becoming unhinged because of Jennifer?

-Five treating his family like children. They are.

-I'm pretty sure Diego stole these from a dead guy....

-Oh! I hope Allison rescues Klaus!

-What a weird password...

-Also, 'Reg', could Gene and Jean have sth to do with Reginald?!

-I like how Allison takes care of Klaus but I don't like how she makes it sound like a big burden.

-That thing with Klaus is actually pretty dark.....

-Yeah, something is definitely going on with G&J and Reginald.

-Ok, so lots of people are somewhat connected...

-Ok, that squid was something else entirely....

-I mean, I can see some weird logic in what Ben is saying about the tentacles and the squid...

-I somewhat think that he is bewitched or something, tho.

-Ok, so Klaus seeing stuff, is this some type of a new power?

-What? That's some weird timeline....

-Phoenix Academy?!? Wait, I wanna know more!

-Not Klaus going to dig the money.

-.... And failed once again.

-Or it did?!

-Nope...

-Oh, noo. Coffin!

-Ok, kinda knew there was gonna be such a scene bc of an interview with RS.

-"A meaningless connection" 😬😬😬

-Aw, Victor protecting his family! (Wait. Was it spelled with 'c' or 'k'?!)

-Oh, no, these two are gonna end the world because of sex....

-Ew, what's going on?!

[corporalicent]

when duty becames pleasure

nikolai lantsov x alina starkov

sinopsis: Nikolai Lantsov asked the Sun Summoner to be his wife, but just because that would be a great alliance for Ravka... right? (Inspired by the last scene of episode s2 e3)

rating: explicit (nikolai being a boobs man)

a/n: English isn't my first language, sorry if there's a grammatical error!

I'm so mad because netflix cancelled the show, but at least we got nikolina as endgame??

And sorry for not being here in two months but personal reasons kept me from writing.

Enjoy this one-shot!!

ao3

His words ran through Alina's mind. "Marry me", he said the day prior. "Our marriage is a great alliance to Ravka", at that moment Alina saw Nikolai's potential as King.

His words said one thing but his blue eyes said another. She knew he wanted more out of this marriage, she knew he couldn't say anything in front of Mal. And she knew she felt the same way.

"Please think about it, don't give me an answer right away", he told her. And since that moment, she was thinking about her answer. She had Mal on one side, her childhood and freedom. Her life without being a Grisha, without being the savior everyone is counting on.

And on the other side, she had Nikolai. He was her future. He was her future King. With him, she could be herself without having to compete with her past-self.

Her thoughts kept her up that night as the moonlight was the only source of light in her room. Alina turned and turned on her bed trying to find an answer or her sleep. And she found one of them.

Ravka needed a strong union, and whether she liked it or not, Nikolai became an important person for her the moment they met. They had so much in common, how they became an important figure for each other's people in one night; Alina becoming the Sun Summoner and Nikolai becoming Ravka's King after his brother's death.

With her answer on her mind, she decided to tell him tonight. It was dark, and he would probably be sleeping but she needed to tell him before would regret it.

She stood from her bed and walked towards the door. Her sleepwear wasn't exposed, thus she didn't need something to cover her up.

The hallway to Nikolai's bedroom was full of light as if he was waiting for her that night. With every step she took, her anxiety grew. Her doubts flooded her mind and in any second she was ready to get back to her room.

But her loyalty for Ravka made her go on.

His white bedroom door was in front of her, without even thinking of it, she knocked on his door hoping no one would answer. She heard noise coming from his room and it was getting closer to her.

Alina took a long breath before the door opened, she felt his annoyed face coming just because she woke him up. Instead, she met a surprised face from him as he opened the door. His blond hair was messy, confirming he was in bed. But from his face, it looked like he was sleeping at all, he was waiting for her.

Her eyes went directly to his exposed chest. Her gaze went quickly up to his face, but he noticed her eyes looking at him.

"Alina" he whispered. He didn't have to, his room was far away from everyone else's room. "What are you-" he was starting to ask her, but Alina cut him off with her voice. "I have my answer" her voice came out without any emotion.

"If your answer is as exciting as your tone, maybe I don't want to hear it," he replied jokely. A small laugh came out from Alina's mouth. "I'm just nervous," she said.

He didn't say anything again, he was anxious to know her answer. He wanted her, just her. He used Ravka as an excuse, Nikolai wanted Alina as his Queen.

"I accept, '' she quietly said, as if she was trying to hide her answer. But he heard, he heard clearly. Nikolai couldn't hide his smile, as if his plan was successful.

He gently took Alina's hand and made her come close to him, his gaze was hooked on her lips. And now he was really to taste them. He got his face close to her but before he could kiss her, Alina took a step back. "But no kissing before the wedding" she said firmly.

"Sure," he said as he closed his bedroom door leaving them alone. "As you wish, beautiful". He took Alina's hand and started to leave small kisses on it, "Is this ok?" he innocently asked.

She just nodded at him, thus he started to go up on her arm. "Is this ok?" he asked again, and received a small 'yes' with a laugh. With a smirk on his face, he continued going up to her neck.

He moved her hair before starting kissing it, but this time his kisses weren't quick and goofy but they were more slow and romantic. He took his time with every kiss and placed one in every inch of her neck. "Is this ok?" he asked again. She just nodded, but this time he didn't take that as an answer. "Use your words Alina, I know you can", he said confidently.

She finally said 'yes' with her face as red as Corporalki's keftas. He looked at her with a feeling of victory on his face, both of them knew this was the first time Alina was being touched like that.

He moved from her neck to the cleavage of her nightgown. He played with Alina's pleasure as he got closer to her breasts but stopped to get up to get neck. He loved to see how frustrated she got.

"You're so mean" she breathed out. She wanted his mouth near her breasts. He laughed at her comment, and continued with his game. But everytime he got to her cleavage, her breasts got more exposed to him. To the point where he could kiss one nipple and play with the other with his fingers.

Alina's breaths and moans filled his room as his mouth not only kissed but licked her nipple. With every sound she made, the more excited Nikolai got. He was so full of himself with her reaction, how powerful his mouth is on her body.

"Nikolai" she breathed out, "We shouldn't be doing this". He smiled at her comment. He left her nipple alone to see her face-to-face. "But we're not kissing, that was your only rule", his confident smile made Alina want to punch him and make love to him.

[loveislandthegame]

Babe if you can't complete Kassam route before the deadline, someone called Sound something covered every single scene of his route. Anyway, congrats on getting the 🦄 I tried it but alas.

yes, SoundNo3485 on reddit ! i have mad respect for their dedication in covering so many different routes. especially with the bugginess of the OG app (and all the damn ads, because the airplane mode trick doesn't work. that's the only thing i like about the new app) they've posted scenes i've never come across before, it rlly amazes me how detailed season 2 was.

kassam was my LI while s2 was airing, so i managed to unlock him back in 2019 ! (time flies, doesn't it?) after that, i couldn't get it to open again , i've always just dragged him back to the villa. so i'm like, ridiculously happy i unlocked his route again lol

if you (or anyone reading this) want to unlock kassam's route: there is a guaranteed method of getting him . unfortunately it's extremely time consuming (FB is so trifling for only giving us two weeks notice) the game is glitched out so the "actual" way of getting him (being a shy/chill MC) is pretty much impossible, but we can use those glitches to our advantage. what matters is the casa guys' heart scores, nothing else. hearts from previous playthroughs get stored in the game's cache, so:

before casa amor, play however you want, seriously, you can do anything. (if you're wondering what i did, i was with rocco until he gets dumped, then i was with henrik. unlocked marisol's route, fixed all the drama, didn't participate in operation nope)

once you're in CA, wear the free outfits to prevent getting hearts from arjun and felix . pick all the mean options for them too, you'll need to get a bunch of frowns (when it comes to carl, i think he always likes MC ? at least in my playthroughs he does, but i pied him off as well just to be careful)

flirt with kassam and elijah at every opportunity. yes, both . their routes are connected for some reason. more importantly, elijah has to be your bed partner if kassam's route isn't unlocked. if kassam rejects you, you'll most likely be stuck with arjun or felix, whichever casa guy has been hounding you the most. it's way easier to get on elijah's route, even if he doesn't say your name. as long as you pick all his heart options, his route will open during the speed date . (i like elijah too, he's such an underrated LI)

pie off elijah when he eventually starts talking about bringing him to the villa (sorry luv) choose kassam for brunch and then drag him to the villa, keep increasing his heart score for a few days. another important thing, if you care about scenes being out of order, don't kiss, don't do bits, don't take gem scenes for alone time. blah blah blah. his first kiss is where he reads your palm. his first alone time scene (on the swing) he talks about taking in the moment/meditating (imma be real, idk what the steamy scenes look like cus i don't pick them lmaooo🖤🩶🤍💜)

the unfortunate and time consuming part, you have to hit the "restart show" button. one time! no more than that. some people on the LITG subreddit have had luck with just restarting to day 14, i'm not one of them . you can try it ofc, but it's very finicky. restarting the show works 100%

again, play however you want. (i pretty much did the same stuff as my 1st playthrough, except i was with lucas after rocco leaves) while you're at it, check for signs that heart scores carried over. one immediate way i was able to tell is: in my completely brand new playthrough, i picked the shy and neutral options, so bobby didn't step forward for my MC. second time around, with thee same exact choices, he did.

once you're in casa, kassam and elijah will be the ones that say your name ! yay ! wooo. i cheered when it was elijah staring at MC instead of felix . there's a funny scene during the speed date when you're on their route. elijah lingers after the buzzer goes off, kassam walks up to yall and tells him to move. anyways, ask kassam to share a bed and he'll say yes . unicorn acquired

[inkedkoi]

Connections: Part Four

Continuation of "Hold On To “What If”: Overanalyzing and Rewriting Sonic Prime" essay

[Once Again, spoilers for Sonic Prime, all media here belong to their respective creators.]

✨//🌻//✨

Boscage Maze

Boscage Maze is a "test" of trust. Before Sonic came along, the Boscage Gang lived together in harmony. That was until the Scavengers took more than what they needed, damaging the forest. It left Amy's look-alike, Thorn, no choice but to fight back.

Transcript:

Amy: “The forest is the most beautiful place on earth”

[S1 EP1]

Thorn's purpose is to protect the jungle as it is their home, and she does in fact see the beauty of it. But in doing so, it created a rift between the two groups. Always at each other's throats due to miscommunication.

For Sonic, his "test" actually had two parts he needed to complete. The first was to help rebuild the trust that was once broken. If they put a stop to it, they would be heading to their own demise, harming both themselves and the forest.

Transcript:

Thorn: "We used to be... friends."

[S1 EP4]

The second was Sonic giving them the courage to fight for what's right, much like what I would be talking about in the No Place part.

Transcript:

“Hey, I may be the one who can bring everyone together, but there’s only one hedgehog they would follow into battle.”

[S1 EP1]

When the Council brought in the Egg Forcers to find the shard, Thorn (the strongest of all of them) urged everyone to protect the jungle, but the gang wasn’t convinced - wanting to give the Shard up. It wasn’t until Sonic says,

Transcript:

Sonic: “You wanna sit on the sidelines and watch your world get trashed, be my guest. Me? I'm off to help Thorn.”

This was the final push for them to consider joining the battle. Because of Sonic, they are beginning to trust each other again. So with what Sonic just told them, they know that it isn't a lie, knowing they have to do something, or else their home would be destroyed once again. This time, in someone else's hands.

When Sonic figured out where Thorn had hidden the Shard, he said exactly what I said,

Transcript:

Thorn: "Why didn't you say anything?" Sonic: "Because I wanted you to trust me."

[S2 EP2]

No Place

No Place is a "test" of loyalty. A pirate crew looks after one another, treats each other as equals, and most importantly, looks to the Captain for guidance. Well, except for Knuckles' look-alike, Dread.

Transcript:

Knuckles: “I don’t need the details, just tell me who to smash.”

[S1 EP1]

Similar to Rebel, Dread’s purpose is to go against anyone whom he believes is the enemy. As for this "test", he was failing miserably. When he had his old crew searching for the Shard, they practically begged him to turn around, he didn't care.

When the same older crew came back for revenge, he hid instead of leading his crew into battle, he didn't care. When Rusty sinks the ship and his crew when they need him most, he didn't care.

Transcript:

Sonic: "Wait, where are you going?" [...] Sonic: "I need you, your crew needs you."

The only reason he even came back at all was for his reputation. His legacy.

Transcript:

Sonic (offscreen): "The legendary Knuckles The Dread. [...] Dread: "I may be back, but it ain't for me crew."

[S1 EP8]

Later on in S2, Dread' goes mad with power and turns the whole crew against Sonic, all for the Shard's gone fully insane. He goes against the Council for stealing the Shard, goes against Sonic who just needs the Shard to fix everything, and abandons his crew for the Shard’s power. He doesn’t care who it is or if they need him, it’s not going to stop him from achieving his goal.

Transcript:

Dread: "He hung us out to dry." Sonic: "But, Dread, we had a plan."

[S2 EP3]

Black Rose: "Dread is abandoning ship?"

[S2 EP4]

As for Sonic's part of the "test", he attempts to show his loyalty to the crew, even if it takes them a while to be convinced. As much as they had their moments of doubt, Sonic never left their side and led them into battle against the Council. While Dread may have come back to the crew for the Shard, Sonic came back to help them.

Transcript:

Sonic: "Dread! Is this who you really are?" Dread: "A captain makes sacrifices!"

[S2 EP4]

To be continued...

Previous Part || Next Part || Masterpost

[peacerisendove]

Big Ethel Energy S2 Episode 25 and 26

The best thing this comic has done so far is focus on Veronica and her blooming love life because I love to see it. It's interesting , it gets away from our annoying protagonist, it gives this comic life that doesn't seem insular.

And honestly that's what you want in a comic that is about life! You want to see the surrounding environment and what's going on because when the focus is solely on your protagonist and their problems it does get tedious especially when that protagonist appears self centered, never recognizes their own faults/wrongs, and bad mouths the people around her amongst other things.

For once something that feels extraneous and separate to Ethel and her main character life! And that is a good thing as I've mentioned!

I love something that has absolutely nothing to do with her. Ronnie is out living her life and getting interested in another man. It's very cute and wholesome how she's very into this guy without him even realizing. They're very different and it's super cute. Especially with how she genuinely wants to learn more about being more eco-friendly and not wasting.

I feel like these bit are trying to maker Veronica come off as rude, but I don't see it that way. She feels professional and focused, even though she really wants to get to know more about Gilbert.

Aaaaaand back to Big Ethel Drama we are.

Honestly, Betty's reaction is exaggerated. Someone else has a crush on the guy you like and said guy said no to you before? You deal with that kind of thing.

You don't own Seth.

Ethel is in a relationship and isn't going after Seth. She has a crush, but she's not going to currently act on it.

The only person Betty can be reasonably upset with is either Seth for rejecting (because it always hurts when the guy you like doesn't like you back) or herself. It's unreasonably to be mad at Ethel for something she can't control, but also isn't even a thing. She's making a mountain out of molehill and her response is exaggerated.

Though honestly, lets look at the comic, Betty has had a lot of time to be upset over Seth not liking her back, so her being mad even now is ridiculous in my opinion. She is rejected by Seth in S1 Episode Episode 50. I'm assuming it is around fall because Ethel states she was away on Holiday at the start of Season 2, so I think Betty's had more than a few months to process. The last time we heard about her opinion of Seth was S2 Episode 15, where she said: "I'm not angry at him anymore for not wanting to date me, but I'm still hurting a bit from his rejection".

Above Image: Season 2 Episode 15

SO which is it Betty? Why do you feel so goddamn attached and possessive of a man who has no interest in dating you and who we barely see you interacting with??

And even if it's just the rejection hurting her, that gives you not right or reason to bite your friend's head off for JUST HAVING A CRUSH when she is ALREADY IN A RELATIONSHIP AND PROBABLY WON'T ACT ON IT. Betty is fueling her own fears and anxieties and that's her own fault. It's honestly just ridiculous to watch as well.

This little reaction makes her seem really entitled and childish overall, which are aspects I don't associate with the general idea of Betty's character in the Archie Universe (essentially the concept of Betty over all as someone who's read the old comics).

-sigh- Man, I know this misunderstanding is going to blow up in Ethel's face and I genuinely feel bad for her in this instance.

Episode 26

OKAY NOW I CAN GET INTO THIS.

GIRL NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT YOU. YOU'VE HAD SO LONG TO PROCESS YOUR FEELINGS. This is only your issue no one else's. It's truly so embarrassing and ridiculous to watch this go down.

Why is almost everyone in in this comic is so terrible? It's not even a reasonable sort of terrible you know? Yeah people get angry but it feels like drama for drama's sake.

NO YOU FUCKING DIDN'T DUMBASS. I HAVE THE RECEIPTS. FUCKING SETH POINTED THAT OUT TO YOU, YOU CALLED IT MANSPLAINING AFTER HE REJECTED YOU.

Above: Season 1 Episode 50 (read left to right)

Betty: "I'm sure he knew."

GIRL. Do not put the blame on him. Even if he knew. He also clearly knew it was inappropriate, so he politely ignored or dissuaded you from it. This is not about feelings. It's about what is proper. He didn't want to take advantage of you and so he didn't.

UGH SHE'S BEING BITCHY AND SHALLOW AND POKING AT ETHEL'S RELATIONSHIP, WHICH SHE KNOWS AS HE FRIEND IS A GENERAL SORE POINT, BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T HAVE ONE. How shallow can you get? Even as a friend I wouldn't do that.

I'm rolling my eyes ya'll. The pettiness. The idiocy of her reaction. Please go read a better comic than this.

Why do we keep blaming people who don't deserve it? First it's Jughead now it's Seth. When and where will it end? Also crying? Seriously? How are you not pissed the fuck off? I'm pissed the fuck off and I barely like you as a protagonist. Where are the actual fights in these friendships??? All it is is crying and yelling.

Seth didn't drive a wedge between you two. You continue to not want to take responsibility or accountability, and honestly neither does Betty now that I think about it. That and what drove a wedge between you two is Betty's stupid reaction to something should have dealt with months ago. It's probably been a whole season! It's spring right now I think! Get over it! He doesn't like you!

Goddammit. We almost have a voice of reason. He's right on the first part. It's not her fault, but we really need to stop propping up Ethel on a goddam pedestal. It's infuriating.

She's not right!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD.

YOU CAN SETH'S NAME A THOUSAND TIMES BUT IT'S LITERALLY NOT HIS FAULT. I am begging the author to get an editor or something. I'm begging. This is ridiculous.

(I am so upset that I hit the image limit of 30 I want you guys to see my upset Jughead reactions.)

Me too Seth. Me too. I know she's over correcting and being so FUCKING STUPID.

...

WHAT THE UTTER FUCK!!!!! YOU'RE SO FUCKING STUPID. I HATE YOU. YOU LITERALLY DID THIS WITH JUGHEAD!

GROW THE FUCK UP.

TAKE SOME GODDAMN ACCOUNTABILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS IN YOU GODDAMN LIFE.

YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL. YOU DO NOT DESERVE TO BE ON A PEDESTAL. YOU DO NOT DESERVE TO BE A FUCKING PROTAGONIST OF A SERIES WITH THIS KIND OF WRITING.

SETH DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG. YOU'RE MAD!!!

[obsessivelollipoplalala]

I remember fics booming during long Sherlock hiatuses back in the day.

True, but tumblr was still extremely popular at this point. Not saying it's dead now, but the porn ban definitely had an impact. I also think the outrage at the writers (insane and idiotic as it was) kept it in the mainstream. Back in the 2010s my mom knew about the drama surrounding Moffatt/Gatiss and the queerbaiting allegations. She didn't even watch the show, she heard about it on Pinterest of all things. Hell, the only reason I watched the show was bc I saw a thread here in like 2013.

We have a few people who are mad at the ending of go2, but it's nothing compared to the hubbub around things like Sherlock or SPN. The internet thrives on discourse, so it's not as interesting to others outside the fandom.

There's also the matter of internet etiquette and how, over the years, fans have come to expect consistent content and pay authors little to no mind. But that is a whole 'nother can of worms. I expect the go2 fics will become more popular over time, and I hope the lack of engagement isn't too discouraging bc I do really enjoy what I've read so far.

Hmmm. Yeah, this reminds me of what I talked about like last week or so with all of the tumblr polls I've seen asking how long people have been on here saying that the vast majority of users have been here for at least a decade. Sherlock's prime definitely lined up with tumblr's prime (I only watched it because an irl friend was blogging about it on here lol). I didn't come here until 2013 and was pretty blissfully unaware of the discourse for about a year, but I have heard from other fans that the online fan situation around that show started to get nuts right after s2 in 2012. Outrage does drive engagement, whatever that may look like. I think the ending of Sherlock s2 was perfect material for fanfiction with everyone wanting to know how Sherlock survived the Fall and how John would react upon his return, too. There were soooo many Post-Reichenbach fics, it was an entire genre. And then with s3, there was a flood of fix-it fics with people's anger over Mary, and exploration of her villainy.

You're right, gomens s2 doesn't have that same effect because it's pretty obvious that this is being written like a classic love story and everything is going to be resolved in the third act. There's no mainstream backlash. The only people who are angry about it, from what I've seen, are people who apparently don't know how basic storytelling works and are really pissed at Aziraphale (that's another reason why people might not be reading fics tbh), and those big mad over the kiss because, "it's ruins ace rep" and blah blah blah. But those people are in the clear minority. Some people may not feel the need to read fic because they trust all will be well in the next season and they just have to wait. Basically, the source material satisfies them enough that they're not seeking out fic in the same way they were after s1's homoerotic ambiguity.

You're totally right that fans have gotten worse to content creators in recent years. They want a constant stream of free fic and art without having to, god forbid, hit a heart button or kudos button. I've been in fandom spaces for a long time and that's definitely worsened over time, although I'm lucky that some fans have been nice enough about my gomens fics to make art/translations/etc. But that's for my s1 stuff and I know that's certainly not the case for everyone's fics. I hope the lack of engagement isn't too discouraging, too, but I completely understand if it is for some people.