#craig is baffled

[protosymphonette]

?where did boone get arcade's ripper from

[weepylucifer]

i can't fucking hold it in anymore. what is wrong with that tv show's celebrimbor??? WHY DOES HE LOOK LIKE THAT???? give that actor a political dramedy about the rise of sheev palpatine already and leave the fucking elves alone

[troublcmakcrs]

▸   @cflight   ⟶   ❛  'i just don’t understand you’ (for craig)  ❜   ╱   (  random , accepting .  )

   Craig hid his snickers behind his hand, holding the phone a bit away from him so that it wouldn’t pick him up.  When Ekira claimed not to understand him, the grin slipped off his face, and he looked over at them.  He was pretending to place an order to the City Wok restaurant, just to hear the proprietor talk about how ‘shitty’ all their food was.  It was fine to make fun of the voice because it was actually just a white guy putting on an exaggerated Chinese accent—not that the kids in town hadn’t found it hilarious even before they discovered that.

   “No, see, it’s funny,” he insisted.  Of course, literal pissbaby Ekira wouldn’t understand.  “’Cause it sounds like he’s saying ‘shit’—”  Realizing he was explaining the joke and that that stopped it from being funny, Craig sighed and hung up on Lu Kim, who was undoubtedly cursing the little asshole kids in this town for denying him another sale.

   “Obviously, you don’t get it.  You’re boring.”

[gothghostiie]

being friends with someone from a different wealth class is so weird because. why are you genuinely shocked and amazed as you tell me that your weekly grocery cost is just a third of what it used to be now that you're shopping at a discounter without brand names - and why do you expect me to be as shocked and amazed??

anyways this makes me think of graves so much. that fucker grew up wealthy - not even necessarily rich, but very comfortable. upper middle class and above. it has been this way all his life and still is, he earns good money. house is decently big (far too big for one person), he drives a nice, new car, has a new phone, goes on vacations, shops brand names; whether it be clothes or food or god knows what. he doesn't think twice when he needs something, things that break or need replacement out of nowhere wont leave him with no food for the rest of the month. this is normal, his normal. the people around him are the same, so he doesn't know anything else.

that is until he meets you. you didn't grow up nearly as wealthy as he did. you wouldn't necessarily call yourself poor either, but money was always an issue, you never really went on vacations, never had the newest phone, the newest car, trendy clothes or furniture. brand names are out of question unless they're at the thrift shop for cheap, sudden expenses meant a lot of stress, money almost never went into savings and if it did it got taken out rather quick out of necessity. shopping at the thrift, at discounters, couponing, shopping for specials, planning meals after what's on sale this week. you barely got to get treats or anything out of the regular budget really, no matter how little or big it was.

now imagine graves surprised when you start dating and he sees the cracked phone screen on the rather old model, the old car that's not even second hand anymore, more like 4th hand at this point. the small apartment you live in, the furniture you mostly thrifted or took from your childhood room, the very loud washing machine that seems to be at the risk of falling apart if you look at it wrong. the clothes that are thrifted, hand me downs or even handmade, the shoes that have seen better days. he's shocked and genuinely a bit concerned, because what is this? why and how do you live like this? fridge stocked with a bit more than the necessities, panty full of generic food brands. When he goes shopping with you he's surprised by you not pulling into the same stores he frequents, surprised at how you compare prices, how you seem to only get what you wrote on your list, nothing more. his baffled when your total comes out to be not even a third of what he usually pays - and even more when you take off around 25% more by coupons.

it also breaks his heart when you call him crying about how your fridge broke, sobbing into the phone as he's just stunned - what do you mean you can't afford a new fridge? something you need? he's shocked when you tell him that you found a cheap one on Craig's List but that it's still so much, but you need it and it frustrates you badly - he can barely even comfort you because he's so genuinely shocked. it's only then when it sinks in just how differently you live. how wealthy and well off he actually is. and how you didn't even think to ask him to lend you money for a new fridge, almost cussing him out for even suggesting it because there's no way you can ever pay that back.

the delivery men still knock at your door the same afternoon and graves is getting another equally tearful call, being cussed out and thanked over and over again.

[ohnoitstbskyen]

Hey TB! Sorry if you've posted this elsewhere (I wouldn't be surprised if you mentioned it somewhere, but heck if I could find it.); are you planning to do an analysis video on Season 2 Act 3 of Arcane? Or would it be genuinely too frustrating?

Long time LoL fan, game writer, and former animation student myself (long story lol) who recently started watching your content for the FANTASTIC Heartsteel music vid breakdown (I'd be unfathomably hyped for you to ramble about the discord calls, bloopers and other Heartsteel extras btw), and just got done with the Season 2 Acts 1 and 2 vids, and WHOA boy. Talk about a lot to unpack, what with the way Act 3 leaves (and fumbles, in many ways) things. Still, I was looking forward to hearing you dissect it, and put words to some of the more baffling choices it made (+ conversation about how/why season 2 seemed to be done with so much less care towards the story compared to the unexpectedly amazing experience of season 1).

I know you've said you generally finish any given video series once its started/its mostly a matter of having the time, but given how... exhausting Riot and the LoL universe can be (don't we all know it =/), I certainly wouldn't blame you for just writing that vid off to save yourself the frustration.

I have a lot of rather complicated feelings about the end of Arcane, and how Riot has handled the characters of the story, and some very bitter feelings about what Riot is willing to let Arcane mean.

There's a lot of bad feelings and exhaustion mixed in with it brought about by my decade-and-a-half toxic situationship with Riot Games Inc., whose continuous squandering of their employees' amazing efforts are a particularly pestilent wound in my heart. I also must cop to some sore-loser foolishness, in that I projected expectations onto the show that it was neither able nor willing to deliver on.

I did not want to release any videos immediately following Arcane's conclusion, because I thought the negative emotions would take over and color my review and reaction far too much - more than what I would be able to actually stand by in the long term. And once you release something on YouTube, people will hold it against you for fucking ever, which is exhausting and not worth it for a hot take you're going to cool down from anyway.

Craig Ferguson has a bit in one of his comedy specials where he goes "before you say anything, ask yourself three questions:

Does this need to be said?

Does this need to be said by me?

Does this need to be said by me now?

and if the answer to all three of those questions isn't "yes" then don't fucking say it."

I've found that this is... if not universally true, then true often enough that it's good to keep in mind, and while I think there are things that need to be said about Arcane, and they might need to be said by me... they don't need to be said by me now.

I want my own feelings to have settled, and I want to re-watch the show at least a couple of times, and I want the feelings of the Arcane fandom to settle down, before I gather my thoughts and say whatever I think needs to be said.

It might, eventually, turn out that I feel that nothing needs to be said at all. We'll see.

[oldbutchdanielcraig]

so i am watching skyfall, 😁

don’t think i’ll have time to watch skyfall today 😫

[tv-opinion]

i’m seeing a lot of weird projecting onto bella by fans saying bella hated the season, hated the writing and hates craig. like just bc you guys feel that way does not mean bella agrees! bella has only talked about how hard they worked on season 2, but all these ppl do is discredit that work. the whole stunt discussion was strange to me bc bella still did a shitload of stunts in almost every episode; they cut out like one fight from the show and suddenly all of bella’s training was wasted? like what? stunts aren’t only fighting. its kinda baffling to see, also projecting their hatred of craig onto bella like sorry guys but bella does not hate that man and its getting weird and parasocial to act like you know their thoughts. i know a lot of fans have become overprotective but its almost too much and now its starting to be lowkey condescending as if bella needs to be “saved” 😭 tldr idk why people can’t just be normal and praise bella’s talent without projecting lol (and who knows, i could be totally wrong and bella does hate it, but until they say that i’m not gonna assume bc its clear from watching interviews that they really love working on the show)

no i totally agree people are just so parasocial and weird. i feel like this is a big problem in other fandoms too nobody can be normal😭

to me if an actor is consistently saying in interviews that they’ve had a great experience on a show and are clearly passionate about playing a character i’m gonna take their word for it.

everytime i see a comment about how craig is sidelining ellie or writing her in a way that doesn’t showcase bella’s talent my eyes roll to the back of my head. craig was on the podcast all the way back in season 1 saying that bella is basically his second kid like please be serious. craig isn’t immune from criticism but i’ll always respect him for standing behind bella so fiercely in the face of so much unwarranted hate for his casting choice.

also yes to everything about the stunts!! idk why people are acting like since ellie didn’t gun down the entirety of seattle that all of bella’s training went to waste. they’re clearly very dedicated to playing ellie and it shows.

[tryingtofindava]

Kyle and craig with a little sister who is kinda bratty? Like shes grumpy and stuff and “mean” and all that but she has a soft spot like all kids do? Shes got to much attitude for her tiny body😭 love you have a good day:3

──𝐊𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 ‘𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧’! 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫! 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫*ೃ༄

: ̗̀➛Back to Source

╰┈➤ 𝐊𝐲𝐥𝐞

He had a feeling your fiery temper may involve him since he also had mood problems/anger issues.

Beef battles between you and Ike go crazyyy

It baffles him every time you get all soft on him, though he finds it endearing that you feel comfortable enough with him that you take down your walls.

He’s literally gobsmacked, he deadass forgets your like 5 with the attitude problem you have.

And it’s honestly just a total vibe when you’re both in good moods, no talking, fighting, or bickering. Just a comfortable silence (exept for Ike’s obnoxiously loud coco melon playing in the background…)

Though when you get all sassy with him he’s just one of those kinda big brothers that have no problem getting sassy back.

And will make fun of you constantly for being so small but having so much attitude.

But if he’s in a bad mood (*cough* bcs of Cartman *cough*) he WILL snap back at you if you get a little too irritating.

He finds it funny when you grill Cartman.

╰┈➤ 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠

The constant flipping off battles go wild.

He won’t ever admit it out loud, but he definitely accidentally taught you how to flip the bird when you were like a newly born baby.

I feel like he’d also forget your like 5, but he Wouldn’t show that he’s genuinely surprised when your sour attitude turns sweet.

You and Tricia team up on him a lot together, he feels so attacked that his two little sisters go against him all the time.

(If u want to request more South Park x reader I strictly only write platonic stuff<3)

[tweekified]

I just finished reading "Kill all your friends" on ao3, and i just want to say..

what the absolute fuck just happened

OH MY GOSH?!?! IVE BEEN SCREAMING, CRYING, DELIBERATELY BAFFLED.

guys please read it IM BEGGING YOU. It's absolutely a masterpiece it really threw me off. Im not used to reading shit with tags like "Character Death" but that baffled and humbled me as quick as i judged. Not only was Craig an ABSOLUTE romantic help?? But ..yeah just read it guys

Ill hand the link over whoever asks it, there is an animatic about the summary of the fanfic u can watch it on Youtube, ill link it too

[hardpee]

hey man im sorry but i need to get this off my chest back in like ~2020 when i was into s*uth p*rk you followed me on insta and i remember. posting to my story like hi guyz lets talk about creek my favorite Tweek and Craig from that one show and you pmd me about how you used to have a cryde rp account or something completely out of the blue. and i still think about that interaction sometimes and it kind of baffles me to this day. you dont have to answer this obviously its just a really funny memory like did you just trust a random south parkie to keep your secret... well i did ❤️ unless you post this then i didnt ❤️ been a fan of your work for years now hope youre doing good

i am doing good!

[troublcmakcrs]

//i watched post-covid over the weekend, and one of my friends was like, "fair warning, there's some creek in it..." and my friend kyle was like, "omg there's no creek! they stand next to each other and talk a couple times, that's it" and guess which one was right

[halfbaked00q]

admittedly this started off as me thinking of the siiilky silky smooth way Ben Whishaw Q says "007" and thinking about, like, situations where Q gets Bond off on his voice alone

but then this reminded me of the fic where Q records himself reading books for Bond to play as audiobooks to help him fall alseep

and anyway, here is another unsolicited reading assignment for y'all, lmao:

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: James Bond (Craig Movies) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: James Bond/Q, James Bond & Q Characters: James Bond, Q (James Bond) Additional Tags: MI6 Cafe Festive Fanwork Fiesta 2022, Prompt Fill, Pre-Slash, Pre-Relationship, almost (but not quite) domestic, a dash of hurt/comfort Summary: After the events of Skyfall, Bond spends his nights alone and sleepless in his empty new flat. There's simply no way Q can let that stand. A prompt fill for the 2022 MI6 Café Festive Fanwork Fiesta! Written for the prompt, “After Skyfall, Bond gets himself a new flat in London. Q gives him an ugly thrifted yellow desk lamp as a housewarming gift. Bond is baffled, but oddly touched.”

(fr. the Emily Wilson translation of The Odyssey, which hell yeah hell yeah hell yeah excellent selection hell yeah!!!)

[lovelykil]

「 the list 」

kyle x reader older ver.

cw; none

note; hiiiiii I missed him (´＿｀。)ﾞ

it's been years since the list. It was just a silly elementary thing! It means nothing. Well so he thought.

"Have you seen the list? Wendy posted it on her story!"

"The list?"

"Dude send me the list"

"Can't wait to see who made it top 3."

The rumors of 'the list' filled the halls, spreading inside the classrooms and in the bathrooms. News gets out fast with these fast talker teens, so it was no surprise when the ginger found out of this news this morning.

Cartman was the one to discuss it in the group at the bus stop, checking out the list himself, sent from butters who got it from clyde to which clyde got it from craig and craig got it from his boyfriend whom was anxious so he sent it to his lover to talk about.

"the list is.. back?" kyle muttered, turning his head. kenny and eric huddled together to look at the screenshot, gasping to one another. stan was texting wendy about how ridiculous this was, the couple arguing in their messages so stan wasn't much help for kyle.

kyle stood alone, a void surrounding his background. The memories flooded his mind, the memories of insecurities, confusion, anger, and lack of self-esteem burned his into his brain. Suddenly he was 9, taken back by the list stuck on the bathroom wall.

He couldn't move, talk, or think. He was perplexed. It is entirely too young for a boy to be insecure at that age but it hurt him. Ever since that day, he's always been a little insecure about his looks even when the modified version came out for the list. He never looked and just wanted to move on.

kyle felt his head spin, it's just a stupid list! It's just a list. If it's just a list why was he freaking out? Kyle looked down at his hands, they trembled from anxiety, sweat from anxiousness. It was getting to him again. The list. That stupid list.

You got off your phone as you could feel a strong distressed presence just by the side of you, it was kyle. The boy you cherished, loved, and would really do anything for him if he asked or not.

He was panicking, sweating like crazy and shaking. Your eyes widen at the sight.

Shoving your phone into your pocket, you took his arm and walked away from the distracted group. Kyle took realization of his new setting as he was now not with his friends but alone with you.

"kyle are you okay?"

"h-huh?" He questioned. He was confused, his nervous eyes wandered around beginning to feel his esophagus burn. Your brow knit from how worried and confused you were for your boyfriend, you begin to think.

You softly took his hands into yours, holding them separately with your thumb gracing against his knuckles.

"kyle it's okay, calm down I'm right here."

"calm down..?? I don't know.. if.."

"baby—" you pause, hoping that pet name would take his mind off whatever he was thinking. His shocked eyes found their way down at you, suddenly something clicking in that brain of his. You feel yourself grin at this but you quickly fix your face, and interlock your hands with his.

"listen, you are okay. You're fine.." in a gentle tone you reassured, squeezing his hand a little with a small smile of hope. He blinked slowly letting your words sink in, you watched as his demeanor changed. His shoulders went down slowly, his breathing growing calm and collected, and his pupils returning back to its normal size.

he looked at you, baffled but then he shyly smiled. His heart rate only accelerating because of your hands intertwined with his. You returned the shy smile, swaying his hands around slowly.

"you okay now?"

"I think so." You breathed, letting go of his hands to grab ahold of his face.

"never freak like that around me, you kinda scared me." You argued, landing a kiss on his hooked nose. The teen blushed, apologizing shortly after. You landed back on your feet with a sigh.

"well now that's over, what happened ky?" You finally asked, letting go of his hands. He almost didn't want you to let go, reaching out to keep you in his reach but faltered. His fingers curled into his palms, being reminded of why he was even freaking out in the first place.

he looked back at his friend group, eric and kenny still huddled up and stan typing away, furiously. Kyle turned his head back, a defeated sigh escaping through his lips.

you studied his face, taking note of when he turned around, his eyes focused on eric, more specifically his phone. You took a minute before something clicked.

"the list?" You blurted, your eyes met his once again. Kyle paused, his mouth hung open slightly like he was about to say something. He closed it momentarily with just a nod to your question.

you thought again before speaking.

"I heard about it honestly I think they just did that as a joke. I mean, it's kinda silly rating guys and writing it down at our big age you know?" You found yourself snickering at the childish act the girls committed. Kyle seemed to think otherwise, he stayed quiet and rubbed the back of his neck.

your laughing died out shortly, taking notice of his mood. You frowned, taking a closer step toward him. Your hand landed on his chest as your other hand cuffed his face.

"you're worried about that list, huh?" You asked. He hummed in response. His hand landed on yours that was resting on his chest. You awe'd, feeling his face with a sad smile.

"why worry about some list? You're the cutest guy ever you don't need some list to prove that." You explained, leaning in to kiss his cheek softly then land back on the ground. Your hands wrapped around the tall ginger, stuffing your face into his chest.

"why go crazy over what other people think? I love you for you."

just then kyle stood alone again, his heart raced as his head spun but for a moment.. he felt calm. In one specific moment, he felt the warm embrace of someone he loved tell him the words he'd been longing to hear for so long. His freckled face flushed, growing a warm smile. His arms snaked around you, returning the hug.

suddenly he wasn't standing alone anymore.

"thank you."

[greenerteacups]

Hello GT. I hope you're well.

I have such a random question that I was musing over today. If Lionheart!Daphne, Lionheart!Draco, Lionheart!Theo, and Lionheart!Ron went to the pictures what would each of their reactions be? What would their favorite movie be?

Oh! For a second I was baffled and fascinated by the bespoke combination of characters you'd grouped together until I realized... purebloods! The least likely four in the main cast to have ever seen a movie! I've got you. (To make this realistic, I'm limiting their repertoire to movies that came out before 1996.)

Daphne's favorite movie would be Sixteen Candles. She'd be a big fan of rom-coms in general, but that one would get her good. Sabrina and To Catch A Thief would be in her top 4 on letterboxd, but mostly just because she likes the outfits. Also, she would force the girls' dorm to sit through all four hours of Gone with the Wind, and she would sob buckets at the ending.

Draco would find movies interesting, but generally not his cup of tea; his closest reference would be plays, but my headcanon is that wizarding plays probably have sick special effects that make them much closer to movies than muggle plays are. The most interesting element for him would be technical elements like lighting and camerawork, and the shift in acting techniques that happens when you invent stuff like the closeup, etc., etc. I can see him getting really into French cinema circa 1940, especially satires or black comedies. I'm thinking his favorite is La règle du jeu (1939). In the original French, obviously.

Ron would like crime/thriller movies, and smart ones. The Godfather Part II is an obvious pick, as is Pulp Fiction. Deep affection for movies about Guys Who Are Friends Doing Cool Shit. Like, he goes ham for that scene in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly where the two guys are walking through the shootout in the ghost-town. And the three-way standoff at the ending. He would try to get into Bond, but he would get irritated by all the hoity-toity gentleman-spy shit. (He'd love the Craig reboot, though.)

Theo, on the other hand... I'm torn. It would either be some classic psychological war epic like Apocalypse Now or — actually, no, it's Casablanca. He'd never tell you, though.

[knickynoo]

Back to the Future Part III, The Novel by Craig Shaw Gardner: Thoughts, commentary, and general ramblings

Part 3: Maggie and Seamus experience the most confusing evening of their entire lives

previous posts here

• So, last we left dear Martin, he had just tumbled down the cliffside, bonked his head, and was fantasizing about closing his eyes and never having to walk around in the Old West ever again. Very concerning stuff. But no worries! Not even his third serious concussion of the series can keep Marty down for long.

• He wakes up at the McFly Farm with Maggie speaking to him, and there’s this really sweet moment where it says, “Marty let out a sigh of relief. His mother’s voice made everything seem safe and sound.” He is a little confused about the Irish accent, though, but decides, “It probably had something to do with his fever.”

• That’s another thing. There are two mentions in the opening paragraphs noting Marty has a fever, which isn’t something I ever got a sense of in the movie. I always just assumed the cold cloth was because he’d hit his head and it was all she could think to do to try to help him and wake him up. This is an interesting revelation.

• Maggie hands him a steaming cup of some concoction she says will perk him up and bring down his apparent fever. Marty’s happy to accept what he thinks is an old fashioned herbal tea and takes a sip. “It wasn’t tea. He almost gagged. He felt like his eyes were going to leap out of his head. This stuff must be a hundred proof!” As soon as Maggie leaves the room to tend to William, Marty decides he doesn’t have time to get drunk and abandons the drink.

• Maggie hands William to Marty, and Marty is concerned because he doesn’t know how to hold a baby. Which is another interesting tidbit because we know Marty’s got a big family, at least on Lorraine’s side. I’m sure he's got lots of cousins who are much younger, so it's surprising that he wouldn’t be familiar with handling babies. Curious…

• During dinner, Seamus asks Marty what his “trade” is, and Marty has no clue what that word means. I’m going to blame the head injury for this. Seamus goes on to say, “By the condition of your hands, it’s clear that you ain’t a farmer or a lumberman or a miner. I’ve only seen hands like that on a gambler or a baby, and sure’n you ain’t no baby.”

Obsessed with that entire statement. Marty’s got dainty, delicate little hands and Seamus wants ANSWERS. Has he unknowingly taken a gambler into his home??

• Marty replies by saying he’s still in school, which is not the right thing to say since it was super weird back then for someone as old as Marty to still be getting an education (unless you were very wealthy and could afford college). Maggie and Seamus continue to be baffled.

• Marty changes the topic to asking them about Ireland, and Seamus says they’re from “Ballybowhill,” which I cannot find any evidence of being a real place. I found a Ballyhahill and a Ballyboghil and a Ballyboughal. So, I assume this was a typo? Anyone know? It’s cool to have that detail of exactly where they came from, though.

• Marty desperately has to use the bathroom, and he has SUCH A TIME trying to figure out how to ask where it is. Seamus and Maggie just have no clue what this “bathroom” is that this strange young man is talking about, and Marty doesn’t know any of the terms used at the time. (He doesn’t know the word outhouse?? Has this kid never seen an episode of “Little House on the Prairie??”)

• After some difficulty, they get it sorted and Marty scurries outside. The following text sums up how Seamus and Maggie are feeling nicely.

“Oh, dear. This was troublesome. They were good Christian folk and all, but perhaps, this time, their generosity had gone too far.”

• Maggie then says that it’s obvious Marty is “feeble-minded,” which is the old timey term for someone with an intellectual disability. She’s very concerned about the whole situation and how they’re going to handle it.

Seamus—kind, sweet Seamus—agrees that, yes, Marty is a bit off, but he’s got a feeling about the boy. They have to look after and take care of him, and his words put Maggie at ease. She decides that even though Marty is “simple”, he doesn’t seem like the type to cause any harm to them.

• Meanwhile, Marty runs from the outhouse in a state of horror and returns to the farmhouse to ask for directions into town. After some more confusion and blank stares from Seamus and Maggie, who are very concerned that Marty doesn’t seem to understand the concept of nighttime or danger, they convince him to wait until the morning. Seamus tells him it’s only FOURTEEN MILES to town.

Seamus takes him to the railroad tracks, and Marty has 6 miles to walk from there. Average walking speed is 3-4 miles, but keep in mind this is unpaved, gravelly terrain and under the hot sun, so let’s say Marty managed 2 mph. That’d be a 3 hour walk into town. Which is ridiculous and makes me all the more upset that Marty can’t get his ice water when he arrives at the saloon. Kid needs a Gatorade. That’s it for now. Hope things get better for Marty soon!! (They won’t!!)

[perotovar]

agreeeed !!! i love the show and the games but the writing felt like it cane from a fic writer lowkey some of joel’s characterization was off, it felt as if he was replacing ellie with dina which is just BAFFLING but i agree with you!!!! majorly side eyeing craig’s choices so far i hope he makes up for it later

mmm no, this isn't my issue.

joel in pt2 of the game is already pretty soft. like, in general. he's finally loosened up and his life isn't in danger everyday like it used to be.

joel in the show is already, as established in the first season, more emotionally intelligent than game!joel. *points to "i'm failing in my sleep" scene* but also his apology to ellie in ep4. "you shouldn't'a had to". besides, joel in s2e1 is trying to convince himself that he's fine, that he's progressing and that ellie is the "problem". aka when he's like "what did i do?" like bro you know what you did lol joel's characterization is fine imo

my main issue is with the first 10 min.

we shouldn't know who abby and her crew are at all. we shouldn't know they're ex fireflies or what their motivation is. we should be left in the dark just as much as joel and ellie are when 🏌🏻‍♀️ happens.

it's supposed to come tf out of nowhere when abby shoots him in the knee. we should be just as angry as ellie when shit goes down and i don't like that we already got a glimpse.

the structure/pacing of the second game isn't perfect and i'm okay with them lining things up more cohesively to have a more standard story to tell. (we don't see joel pushing seth or ellie yelling at him for it until near the end of the game, for example).

but i feel like there are certain elements that shouldn't have changed? it's just the first episode so we'll see how it goes, i guess.

i'm also just... i'm so attached to game!abby that show!abby isn't really convincing me yet. but mostly because laura bailey (game!abby) was treated terribly for that character. the misogyny was off the fucking charts, she got death and rape threats, her newborn's life was threatened, all because of the role her character plays in relation to joel. she had nothing to do with that except for act it out.

and naughty dog defended their choice to keep abby buff (because there's an actual lore reason/motivation for it so i'm annoyed they didn't keep it) because of the story they were trying to tell. and it feels like they've bent the knee to the evil motherfuckers that sent laura those threats. it's like, oh, so she went through that for nothing?

obv i don't want that to happen to kaitlyn, but it feels like, cheap. idk.

anyway lol sorry i ranted