#i am having major archie feelings for the first time in

[riverdale-retread]

Who is the least lucky to successfully make Archie cum?

This is a trick question, right? Right? Because Grundy, Veronica, Betty, Valerie, Josie, then in S7 the self-au-reboot, Reggie, Twyla Twist, Cheryl all have to be included in this list, and uhhh not a single one of these people is lucky.

OH wait. Maybe I'm reading the question too literally. Do you mean who is least likely to successfully make Archie cum?

Oh. Uh.

I think I'm going to get yelled at by the Archie cptsd understanders for the crudeness of this response, but um, I feel like Archie would probably cum regardless. Isn't that sort of the tragedy of Archie? He doesn't think about Does This Make Me Feel Good Overall or Is This Good For Me about a lot of things - he just does them. He then goes on this whole binge of self hatred afterwards, where he agrees to do physically punishing things to make up for how bad he feels.

[phantomoftheorpheum]

y'all, I wrote this ridiculously long analysis of the first 2 eps of PLL: OS (Summer School), but it was too long so this is what you get instead.

*Spoilers for 1x01, 1x02, and the "Weeks Ahead" trailer

I see a lot of people suspicious that Christian may be related to (or good friends) with Chip, and I do understand where those theories are coming from. I personally think it's more likely that Christian will be an early suspect of the season. I think the girls will discover that Christian made the "Bloody Rose" mask/costume, and believe he is involved, but that we will find out that it was a commissioned work and he doesn't know the identity of the person who bought it (they might even use this to have him describe a character who came to pick up the mask/outfit, but intentionally make us think of someone else- like describing an older white lady and the show points us at Chip's mom, or Kelly's mom, or Dr. Sullivan, etc. depending on who they don't want us to suspect). Obviously this is conjecture and I could be totally off base, but that's my read on Christian. This is also not to suggest that I think he's 100% above board (I have some other theories about him), but this is where I am with him at this moment.

Female rage has always been a major theme of this reboot, and it feels particularly relevant, considering "Rose" is our scary person in a mask, so personally I really do hope the main person responsible (even if there are multiple people involved) this season is a woman. I think it just fits the theme of the show really well. That being said, I could be talked around to alternatives.

I can't stop considering how the Our Mother of Holy Grace church comes into play here. So, here's where that takes my brain. This church is led by Pastor Malachi. Interesting choice of names- Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. It focuses on criticizing those who are not committed/faithful enough, and also criticizes those who question God's justice. We know that Rose Waters (the real Rose Waters) was incredibly religious, and that she wielded religion as a tool in her abuse of Angela and Archie. "Bloody Rose" wears a crown of thorns, an incredibly famous bit of religious imagery. The actual Rose Waters walked the path of "religious woman who failed her children (was abusive towards them & did not protect Angela from her "friends") and lost one to violence, then became violent with those she blamed for this." We have another character who could easily walk that same path- Mrs. Beasley is a religious woman who failed her children (Karen, dead. Kelly isolated & traumatized, neither protected from this sequence of events) and lost one to violence, then became violent with those she blamed for this (stabbed her husband). But there could be a lot more people than Tom Beasley on her "blame" list. Particularly if her feelings/grief around Karen have become tangled up in her religious devotion. That is to say that, so far, everyone who has died in this season (though the first few kills were Archie's) could easily be considered a "sinner" ("the guilty" from season 1, the teens in the cabin, Sandy "tempting" Greg), and "Bloody Rose" may see herself as meting out God's justice. But then... why the girls? Well, it sounds like they are getting "tests" this year, which, similar to last season, makes me think they are not kill targets (yet), that "Rose" is still deciding about them. Anyway, again, all conjecture/interpretation and I could be completely off base.

I think people are gonna hate to hear it, but- I think we might be getting a lot of Faran & Greg this season (I don't mean this romantically, though I don't think that's 100% out of the question, either). Greg's actor got his billing upgraded between seasons, which implies he'll have more screen time. I don't think the Henry/Faran relationship is long for this world (she's lying to him, he seems resentful that he chose to stay behind with her, she told Kelly she doesn't know what they have in common outside of dance, he ignored her when she asked him to let her handle things, they just aren't clicking), and I think Faran & Greg may end up (unwillingly) teamed up trying to figure out what's going on with Kelly & the church.

Random, but I think we might get a "secluded cabin in the woods" episode this season, since that's a big summer slasher trope and they reminded us right away that Imogen's dad has one of those.

I have 3 categories for characters (not including the main 5 girls), "actual suspects," "suspicious by default, but could go either way," and "keeping my eye on you." Here they are-

Actual Suspects - Mrs. Beasley, Mrs Beasley + Kelly, Mrs. Beasley + Pastor Malachi, Any combination of people from the church, Chip's Mom, Dr. Sullivan.

Suspicious By Default, But Could Go Either Way - Jen, Christian, Johnny, Coach Rhodes, Imogen's dad.

Keeping My Eye On You - Wes, Shawn, Ash, Henry

I think that's it for now. I'm sure I'm wrong about a lot of stuff, but it's the guessing that makes it fun imo.

[westeroswisdom]

Lord Oscar Tully scores major rizz at Harrenhal. He even maneuvers Daemon Targaryen into executing a Riverlord for essentially carrying out Daemon's own wishes – thereby dousing a smouldering issue.

Tywin Lannister was reputedly astute when very young. But Oscar Tully, with fewer resources, has demonstrated superior guile – at least so far.

Lord Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) isn’t vying for the Iron Throne like many of the young dragonlords shaping the Dance of the Dragons. The newly appointed Lord of Riverrun is just a young kid who happened to inherit his elderly grandfather’s seat. In his first appearance (Episode 4), he seemed to recoil at Daemon Targaryen’s (Matt Smith) suggestion that he speed up his inheritance by mercy-killing his grandsire, Lord Grover Tully, the elderly lord who had the nerve to take his sweet time dying. Oscar is a young man of honor who upholds his oaths. While he might not like Daemon—adding to the hostile animosity held by the Riverlords—he seemed willing to placate Daemon’s more temperamental nature in public while voicing any concerns or snide remarks in private. He would support Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), planned to call his banners to arms, and called Daemon his “king consort.” But then Oscar Tully met with the rest of the Riverlords in Harrenhal’s godswood and the mask came off, revealing Oscar as a tactile politician. Daemon was now demoted to “prince” as Oscar promptly handed Daemon his ass. His loyalty is, first and foremost, to his fellow men, not Daemon. And like his namesake, Oscar Tully refused to suffer fools. In a matter of minutes, Oscar pulled off a young lord liege master class. He listened to his men’s concerns about his age, his judgment over declaring for the Blacks when Daemon sanctioned brutal violence against the Brackens, and acknowledged the faults of his greenness. The longer Oscar spoke, the more Daemon slowly realized that he didn’t get the upper hand on Oscar—in fact, it was the opposite. At every opportune moment, Oscar reminded Daemon that he was a terrible person, that nobody liked him (least of all himself), and that he was unworthy of anything the Riverlands had to offer him because of how he acted while staying there. Daemon’s only saving grace is that Oscar and the Rivermen had enough integrity to uphold oaths sworn by a different lord more than 20 years ago. And Daemon had to stand there and take it because the alternative was losing the support of every house in the Riverlands, who would’ve absolutely walked away if Oscar ordered it. “I take to heart your words, Lord Piper, and I agree, I am young,” Oscar said. “And I have no love for Daemon Targaryen. He has dishonored himself and the crown with his comportment here. Nevertheless, having so little experience to guide me, my best course is to defer to the oath my grandsire swore to King Viserys when he named Rhaenyra his heir. I see no reason to cast aside loyalty no matter how loathsome I may find her representative the prince.” Seeing Oscar’s words as the threat that it was, Daemon allowed the insults to stand. But then Oscar took it a step further by making Daemon atone for the savagery he allowed to be unleashed by executing Willem Blackwood (Jack Parry-Jones). It was an act that might’ve satisfied the Riverlords but made Daemon feel uneasy.

It's a great scene. Oscar unleashes various microaggressions at Daemon, some not so micro, and gets away with them because he knows exactly how far he can go. Oscar has something that Daemon needs and the latter understands that he can't just bully his way to getting it.

Just about everything about this scene rules. It features a teen the adults in the room are almost eager to underestimate and take advantage of. Oscar looks like he’s way in over his head and approaches the scene gingerly, but he slowly becomes more confident the further he pushes in the scene. He pulls one over on Daemon, someone who could end him with a dragon, and forces his hand. And Barnes can easily hold his own in a scene against Smith and Simon Russell Beale (Ser Simon Strong, who we mostly see in reaction shots).

Just as Cregan Stark is the ancestor of Ned and his siblings, Oscar Tully may be the ancestor of members of House Tully we see in GoT. Seeing Cregan and Oscar interact at some future point would be one big Easter egg.

[lostintransist]

Okay HELLO! I just red the entire Liaison series in a few hours and good lord I am actually just on the verge of tears. I screenshotted multiple paragraphs of your writing it was so beautiful. Truly I have never read something that has affected me like that. Your main character was so likable, powerful, emotional, and deep. Most writers, even professionals, struggle to portray that level of humanity. I was in tears when Gaz died I COMPLETELY skipped over the major character death tag so I wasn’t even expecting it. I have never read a truly poly (that’s the closest word I could think of to describe mc and the boys’ relationship) story before and it awoke something in me. The way that the word “love” was mentioned only a handful of times but this entire story lived off of that concept and what it truly meant was so touching. Archie’s character really resonated with me because I feel like we’ve all been that little boy who just needed “someone in their corner” as you said. I am just so emotional after reading this masterpiece I am just reeling. The scene of all the remaining 141 men giving her the option to kill them? SO symbolic. I also particularly loved the relationship she had with Roach. He has a special place in my heart and watching the mc’s relationship with him flourish was truly special. Him being selectively mute to only occasionally talking to her spoke volumes of the character development you had created. As someone who struggles with being sometimes nonverbal, I really enjoyed reading about Roach. I have so much more to say lol I’m just forgetting. OH and also how you made the mc absolutely shameless about her sex life and who she was? Incredible. Reading about a genuinely powerful and intelligent woman with men (AND WOMEN) wrapped around her finger was lovely. Anyways sorry for the rant I just really wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your work. Congrats on your masters degree! I know it’s very belated but that is very special. College is not for the weak lol.

Okay I will be answering everything in order so I don't miss anything.

As a person I am sorry that I almost made you cry, but as a writer?? My words, the one I fight with nearly daily, made you feel that mUCH? That is wild to me.

Screenshots??? I am beyond words. Like..what? I can't think of anything I wrote worth that. Except maybe killing Gaz, I was pretty pleased with how those words worked out.

Characterization is so HARD, I have found that the small things really make or break it. Liaison likes to bake and responds to threats with sass, those things for me make her feel real.

Okay, on the Gaz note. I am so so so so sorry you missed that tag. That probably hurt even worse than it did for someone who caught the tag. But, you know, no one was expecting it. That was a little bit of the point. 😅

OOH the polyam (I am told by my friends that it should be noted like that because being Poly is typically in reference to being from the Polynesian islands.) I have a couple friends who are poly and they were so kind to always answer my random ass, off the wall, it's three am why are you awake questions.

I, in life and in writing, struggle with the monolithic word of love. Other languages have different words for the different kinds of love and I felt, especially with this story, that the word didn't have enough heft for what I needed to say. The couple times I can remember writing it was so purposeful, to make you think about the fact the first time you see it is from John and Liaison is instantly wary of it.

I love Archie! I had to assure my in-person friends so often that he would be okay, though I feel like I kinda forgot him at the end... I should go fix that...

I can't remember what I call that chapter but it was one of the first I wrote for the fic. Gaz was originally in it when I wrote it. I had to find a way for them to show, because words hold so little value to these versions of the characters, that they were truly sorry. More than sorry, they were willing to lay their lives in her hands because they tried to take hers without listening. They labeled her a traitor, to steal a line from Full Metal Alchemist, it was a 'law of equivelent exchange.' It was the only way I could feel satisfied with her forgiving them, anything less would have felt disengenous to me.

Gary "Roach" Sanderson is an underrated character and I will slay on this hill. So, so many fics I read leave him out but he is my FAVORITE. (Do I have a thing for quiet people? That is literally not the point) One thing I feel really helps characters feel real is the variety of relationships. They are best friends. She dragged him from a blown up BUILDING and he cried for her when he thought she had betrayed them. Beyond Gaz dying that scene hurt me the most emotionally. Yes, romantic love is great and all but have you ever lost a best friend???

Ah, Liaison being just so honest? About her sex life was refreshing to read and write about. A lot of those converstaions happened off page but I love being able to show growth through time jumps. I didn't actually start out with the idea of her being poly, it just kinda developed? The end goal originally was for her to end up with Simon.

Okay on that note my friend likes to point out I started writing Liaison to fix how I left Tears From Dreams and Memories (In case you don't check the tags, everyone dies or wishes they were dead, this is hard core dead dove: do not eat levels) and likes to joke that I made it worse not better. 😅 She's still mad I killed Gaz and lied to her face repeatedly about Kate being the betrayer.

I will accept your congrats in advance because I am still mid master's degree. If I didn't need it for licensure I wouldn't be doing it!

Also rant away? I love hearing that people like my words. I write for me but it is so much fun to know that other people like it too. And if you ranted I must be raving so enjoy? I guess?

I don't know how to end this...

[candied-cae]

S2E2 Ed's plot my beloved-

I ADORE THIS EPISODE IN HOW IT PORTRAYS ED'S MENTAL HEALTH!!!

TW, this post is going to discuss Ed's suicidal behavior and attempt in depth. It will not be heartwarming, I am agonizing over the details. Please don't open if that reading is going to be damaging at all to you. Protect yourself first, y'all! Anyway...

Every little detail from his time on screen is spent sending hints to the viewer that it's Ed's last day alive.

The first time we see him that morning, he looks refreshed. He's decidedly sober and cleaning up his cabin and he's joking and almost... bright again. He's talkative and seems so calm. And it's because he's finally decided to kill himself.

It's been a long observed point for folks with suicidal thoughts/actions that once they've decided on doing it, there's a certain kind of peace that comes with that. Because it's going to be over soon, you know you'll be able to rest. There's an expiry approaching, and there's a comfort in knowing you've almost reached the end, like getting close to the end of a long work shift.

And so he's cleaning up, so he'd doesn't leave as much of a mess behind (Also something that is well documented from people who attempt). At least, assumably that was the idea, like he hadn't originally planned to take the whole ship down with him, it seems like he was planning to do something smaller for just him as of that morning. So he’s tidying up for the rest of them.

It's both a gesture of kindness to make sure they aren't left with as much of a "hassle" once they find him dead, but it's also a point of "pride" in a way. So when it's all over, they will sweep through a cleaner room and remember him better in that last day, than so much of the mess and stress of the earlier ones.

The second time we see him is when he's figured out Frenchie didn't finish off Izzy. And not only does he offer for Izzy to do it, he tells him that it'd be a good thing for him to do. Like it was a favor, killing him would've been "just what the doctor ordered" to make him feel better.

But Izzy doesn't do it, and he assumes Izzy ends himself after he's left the room.

The third hint is that he's so forgiving with everyone. He doesn't hold a grudge against Frenchie for lying to him and hiding Izzy in the secret room, he doesn't yell at anyone (like Jim or Archie) for conspiring with him, he even tells Frenchie to take the day off and thanks him for the closure.

Again, it's following that motion of peace and contentment, he doesn't have to go into death mad, he can do it calmly. He can let it all go, because soon enough it won't be a problem and he knows he's now decided to take them all down with him. So he might as well let them enjoy their last few hours as much as they can.

And he instead resides to sit at the wheel, turning them sharply right into a dark storm, all the while he wears the softest smile. Because he is calm, he is clear headed, and he is done waiting for something else to kill him. And that's a very common thing for people to want in those last moments. To go clean and sober and content and in peace.

They hit a lot of the MAJOR signs they teach you that someone is about to take their live, the only one I can think of off the top of my head that wasn't explicitly included would've been the giving away of personal possessions.

(But, perhaps even following the idea that originally he was going to go alone, he was going to be leaving everything including the boat to his crew, so maybe that idea was kind of hidden in there. It's just not as direct as personally going to people and handing over things.)

Anyway, I'm sure a lot of these clues were well picked up by the fandom, I'm sure a lot of us have learned about these stages of suicidal action for various reasons ourselves. I just wanted to point out that timeline and how perfectly it seems to fit across the whole episode as this singular, unspoken intent behind every single one of Ed's actions until it comes to a head and the crew on deck can't ignore how drastic everything had turned.

[simplylove101]

2024 Horror Challenge: [86/?]

↳“The solution for a claustrophobic astronaut is to give him more space.” Alien: Romulus (2024) dir. Fede Álvarez

Plot: While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonists come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.

Starring: Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn & Aileen Wu

Okay, I fell asleep as usual before I could type up my reviews for the movies I chose for my Halloween marathon. I settled on three (and then it turned out I had to trade one out because the first option was quickly turning into a dud watch & I just couldn't deal with that on Halloween of all nights They gotta be at least solid. lol) and this was one of them. My co-worker had warned me beforehand that it was just okay in his opinion, which doesn't necessarily mean anything cuz sometimes his taste is basic, but I will admit I don't think he was too far-off by saying that. I think it definitely got stronger in the second half with all the action-packed sequences but it took me a little while to really get invested at all. This isn't even because of bias of the superior Alien/Aliens movies (I appreciate Prometheus for what it is as well) but it doesn't really do enough to make the characters feel real and have their own personalities beyond serving the plot, besides the sister-foster brother/android relationship between Rain & Andy. The acting with them felt like a major highlight (Priscilla/Civil War fans will recognize the talented Cailee Spaeny & David Jonsson was in the very underrated Rye Lane last year) along with Isabela Merced showing her skills as a promising scream queen (I mean that quite literally btw by giving one of the best screams in horror imo) I knew she wouldn't be but spoiler alert, she should have been a final girl. welp lol Anyway, the rest of the cast is good with what they had to work with but as I said the script only gave them so much. The effects were really good tho and I appreciate Fede was trying to make sure he stayed as true as he could to the original movie since this takes place after it. I'm one of the people split on the usage of Ian Holm's likeness since Fede has been very open about the fact that he did it for the sake of the story but then Idk if that transparency makes it any better tbh since it's still a form of AI, is it not? And the man is dead. :/ Either way, there was too much of his character anyway so that doesn't help. It did feel like it relied a little too much on typical Alien tropes but then that's the trouble with some sequels/prequels sometimes. Not every trick is gonna hit every time since it'll feel repetitive. That said, I say this as someone who hasn't seen every Alien movie so I won't pretend to speak on true mega fans' behalf. Anyway, as I said, it took a minute to get me on board, but at least the finale was strong enough to be entertaining. Still, gotta say out of the three major Fede Álvarez movies, this was probably my least fave (but then I really like both Evil Dead & Don't Breathe which I own so lol) I am curious if I would have preferred this in the theater tho, because I feel like I might have with how epic they were trying to go with it. Crazy they were gonna just dump this on Hulu as if it wouldn't make a ton of money (spoiler alert: It made a lot) So, yeah, wanted to like it more but it wasn't all bad. Which is all I went in expecting so it was fine.

[theramblingsofadork]

✩‧₊˚⋆ Hey there! Welcome to my blog! ✩‧₊˚⋆

I’m a writer/artist who’s recently gotten back into Sonic through the IDW comics! I don’t know all the nuances or history of Archie or the games, so please bear with me being dumb! 💖

This blog mainly revolves around my OCs and Dr. Starline, but my other favorite characters include Surge, Silver, Blaze, and Espio.

I have a redemption AU for Starline and my OCs in the works, and am slowly building the pieces up to a full story. If you’re interested at all, the masterpost for all the related events lies below.

I usually post on Thursdays and Fridays.

As for me, I’m always up for a chat or questions, and enjoy hearing about others OCs, so feel free to shoot anything my way! :)

—

⭐️ Starpoint Squad AU Timeline ⭐️

(This masterpost will be updated reguarly with all the lore related art and writing, in the order that they happen in.🚨 There will be spoilers for the IDW comics ahead as well! 🚨)

Go ahead and hit Read More, and happy diving! ✨

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v

Notes:

Major spoiler posts will be in green.

Major AU plot points will be highlighted in pink. (If not already green from spoilers)

EVERYTHING IN THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND IS NOT SET IN LORE STONE, so to speak. It’s my first time attempting a grand scale story so I’m changing things on the go.

Character Introductions :

🌟 The Starpoint Squad: Starline the Platypus | Rivet the Cat | Charge the Cat | Hex the Rat | Cello the Firefly | Lug the Bulldog

🌪️ Team ???: Stormy the Skunk | Skara the Mink

🏴‍☠️ Villains: Professor Yew | Zeroth the Destroyer

📗 Side Characters: Hero Mania Creator

— The World:

🎖️ Aethos City/The Atmos Corporation

The Competition Arc

— Act 1: Friendly Competition

~~ Act 1 Synopsis ~~

Art/Text/Fanfic: Starline Encourages Hex

Art: Starline and Rivet’s Dynamic

Art: Starline and Cello’s Dynamic

Art: Starline and Hex’s Dynamic

Art: Hex and Lug’s Dynamic

Art: Starpoint Duties Part 1

Text: Hex’s Motivation for Joining the Competition

Comic: Starline and Cello’s Arguements

Art/Fanfic: A Slice of Humble Pie (Hold the Pie)

Art/Fanfic: Deciding on a Team Name

Art: Late Nights In the Lab

Art/Writing: Dance With Me

— Act 2: The Plot

~~~Act 2 Synopsis~~~

The Downfall Arc (IDW)

— Act 1: Gain and Loss (Henchman Era)

Art: Grief

Writing Prompt: Exhaustion

Fanfic: A Bitter Reunion

— Act 2: Awakening (Metal Virus Era)

Fanfic: Giving Up Grievances

— Act 3: Vengence (Surge and Kit Era)

Text: Operation: Remaster, and Surge and Kit’s role

The Restoration Arc (Post IDW Issue #50)

— Act 1: Forgiveness

Art: Why Did You Save Me?

Art: Hesitation and Acceptance

— Act 2: Restoration

Text Post: Messing With the Broadcast

Joke Comic: Like Adopted Mother like Daughter

Art/Fanfic: Teaching Surge and Kit about Gear Riding

— Act 3: Happy Endings (Rivetline and beyond)

Text: Hex Getting a Cameo

Art: Two Dorks in Love

Ask: Confession?

Art: Worthy

Art/Text: Tech Craze

Art: Trying on His Clothes

Art: Enjoying the Gala

Art: Lemon Meringue to his Chocolate Soufflé

Text: Starline Being Sick

Ficlet: How Much Time Has Passed

Text/HC: Nightmares

Text: Hypothetical Wedding

— Other Lore Related Stuff:

🎶 Character Themes

✨ Starpoint Squad Headcanons

💪 The Strengths of the Starpoint Squad

❓How the Squad Handles Sudden Plan Changes

👨‍👧‍👦 OC Parental Relationships

🌸 Rivetline Dynamics

❤️Art/Headcanon: Nose Boops and Nose Kisses

More Info about the Squad

More Info about the Squad 2

More info 3

More info 4

More info 5 (maybe i should get a new page for these lol)

[sevenredrobes]

genuinely, episode 8 was terrible. and like yeah, it's in part because of the slashed run time and max almost certainly behind the scenes saying that a s3 would need a hail mary but oh myyyy gooood

where was the development for zheng/jim/olu/archie?? why did auntie suddenly give her blessing to olu?? what changed her mind about softness?? where was the change except for the watsonian explanation that auntie and izzy mirror each other in their roles to their captains??

why did they fucking kill izzy - a disabled, elder queer man with a visible scar from a past suicide attempt?? and then it being to "free" ed from blackbeard!! but he had already let go of blackbeard. he was already offering support to ed to choose what made him happy just last episode!! it was ed who chose to return to the blackbeard leathers and it was completely independent of izzy!

(and god, the optics of killing off a suicide attempt survivor just to further another character's arc!!! and also that he's a queer man off who'd already survived suicide!!! killing off a disabled man to further the arc of the able bodied man that directly led to the disability!!! what the fuck!!)

(and that one shot implying izzy couldn't pivot to avoid getting a deadly belly shot because his leg limited his mobility. the implication that a disabled character died via his disability is just!!! it sucks man)

and also izzy saying ed's got a family and then it ends with just ed and stede alone while everyone sails off into the sunset? ok, and did the family promise to stay in touch? or do we not know that because the show chose to rush shit instead of just trying to make a more open but better paced ending work?

and god ed and stede's relationship was so rushed! ed reads a love letter from stede, they fight some brits, and suddenly their very real relationship problems are solved? what about their mutual issues around responsibility? what about their mutual issues around violence? what about ed being upset at stede for rushing things between them and becoming a bit of a fame monster? how am i supposed to believe that theyre emotionally ready to deal with each other's traumas?

neither of them have even remotely begun to learn how to support each other and learn to disagree healthily! nothing about their latest break up was resolved! stede still moved too fast, ignored ed's wishes about killing ned, and still was a fame monster! and ed still had issues with loving himself and viewing himself as someone beyond blackbeard! they've had some major disagreements and issues and those issues havent been properly explored or resolved!!

and god, ed's character arc!! where is he at the end of the season? has he been magically fixed by one of his oldest companions dying in his arms? he was on the first steps to healing and where is the rest? is the rest going to be fixed by stede's magic dick a la a fanfic? is it going to be fixed by completely divorcing himself from his time as blackbeard and so completely denying a part of his identity and years of his life?

and don't even get me started on how stede and ed's reunion run on the beach was juxtaposed with stede's s2ep1 dream spot of ed in a full beard and not talking in his real voice, in a dream sequence imo that clearly showed that stede was himself also not seeing ed fully for himself and instead for a different version of him!!

honestly, the only things i'm happy about are that lucius and pete are married (despite the jarring and tonally deaf tone change of all that) and that spanish jackie and the swede are chilling and scheming. otherwise everything feels bad and i hate it here

[crusherthedoctor]

So am I crazy for thinking that sonic fans aren’t real. And that the “fans” hate sonic and only want it to become something it’s not? That’s how I feel every time I look up something sonic related, with people clamoring about how ian flynn “understands” sonic. Or how the “fans” constantly make eggman a soft guy, or praise character portrayals like lanolin and thorn. I just feel like there are no true sonic fans, that love the games. And that the majority of “fans” hate sonic for what it is.

It feels that way sometimes, given how often IDW/Archie/SatAM is considered the True Sonic Spirit despite them being mostly awful or mediocre, and the weight they give to people who hate the franchise overall but conveniently just so happen to like Frontiers. There's a very real sense of wanting Sonic to be taken """seriously""", like a blue hedgehog and his colorful world is just too cartoony and cringe, so it must become something else. The irony of Frontiers being praised for how proud it is of itself, when it feels like a calculated effort to make it as non-Sonic as possible bar the bare minimum requirements, is not lost on me.

But despite the vocal crowds' attempts to act like we all unanimously love Frontiers, IDW, Prime, etc, in reality there are more out there than they'd be willing to acknowledge who aren't so keen on them. I remember seeing reactions to Superstars when it was first revealed, and I was surprised by how many times I would see comments like "I hope this is better than Frontiers, cause Frontiers was a big load of shite". (That's not a comedic exaggeration: I actually saw one with that kind of phrasing lol.) I'm also aware that the DLC has caused some fans to have second thoughts on the game.

So for the time being, I think it'll be interesting to see what happens after Superstars comes out. And whether it affects Frontiers' popularity or not, the latter's status as a 3D game means that inevitably, sooner or later, people will start doing a 180 on it either way, just as they did with every other 3D Sonic.

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

So, RAS Nightmare Child gave EW this first glimpse into Rvd’s next season and, yes, it’s exactly what you expected!

In season 5, when Riverdale implemented a seven-year time jump, there was talk of tearing down the series' high school sets. "It didn't feel right," showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa tells EW. Cut to season 7, and suddenly, those sets are back in play in a major way.

And by ‘suddenly’ we mean that they were the main sets for the whole of s5, when everybody became a high school teacher and very important in s6, when the school’s newspaper became the town’s main news outlet.

“Every season we explore the tropes of a specific genre, be it supernatural, be it pulp, be it crime. This year our genre is the 1950s, so we’re in dialogue with the American myth of what the 1950s were versus the reality.”

You heard it here first, folks! The 1950s are *a genre*. Hey, older relative! Did you know you used to live in a genre? When did real life start? Are you even real now? Am I real?

Although Aguirre-Sacasa says the "essence" of each character is the same, there will be some big differences. For starters, Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) is not a New Yorker. "In season 1, Veronica arrived from New York, and in the 1950s, she's arrived from Los Angeles" […] She's still an outsider and a socialite, very different from everyone else."

Yeah, this is completely, absolutely, totally different from s1!Veronica! Ah! These “fresh” stories! So many s5!Ted vibes ...  Will a nostalgic tear roll down my cheek? Sadly, no.

And Archie isn’t quite the same teenager who once went toe-to-toe with a bear. “Archie feels much more innocent than we’ve ever depicted him on Riverdale,” Aguirre-Sacasa says. “When we meet Archie here, he is a clean cut, 1950s teen.”

Yeah, you guessed it! Archie will be even more obnoxious than before! If s1!Archie was GOOD™, s7!Archie will be THE BEST™! It wasn’t easy to surpass his s5 post-war hero status or his s6 literal man-of-steel godliness but we, the writers’ team, succeeded! Cheers!

“It’s been a great way to get back to basics, which is the kids in high school discovering themselves, the kids having their first times. We can discover these moments or revisit moments that we’ve explored in the past in a completely different context.”

Which is another thing we have never done before. Certainly not in the beginning of s5 (7y time jump). Absolutely not in the end of s5 (Hiram’s bomb). Definitely not when the universes merged in s6b (and the Devil visited Riverdale). This is unquestionably the very. first. time. we are revisiting pivotal moments in a different context. #PleaseWatchTheShow!

And then there’s Jughead, the only character aware that something has gone very, very wrong. “The first episode is Jughead’s story,” Aguirre-Sacasa says. “It’s him asking, ‘What do I do with the fact that I’m the only one who remembers our lives before the comet hit?’ And that gets resolved at the end of episode 1.

Ep1!Jughead is the narrator. Got it!

"Something very, very dark happens at the end of episode 2," he teases.

Dark?! In Riverdale?! No shit! Nobody is expecting that! (1 Riverdollar says the lighting is going to by abysmal too …)

“The biggest struggle is our characters trying to live authentic individualistic lives during a time period where that was really hard to do.”

Unlike our previous seasons, where extreme poverty/homelessness, marginalization, a bunch of serial killers and the most abusive parents imaginable (often the same people as the serial killers) allowed our characters to flourish.

… does that mean Riverdale's final season might be its most tame? Perhaps "tame" is the wrong word. "It's probably, weirdly, our most grounded season," Aguirre-Sacasa says.

I think that’s code for low(er) budget but -hey!- I might be wrong!

But no matter what time period Riverdale exists in, viewers can expect there to be music.

…

…

…

You must be fucking kidding me. 🫠🫠🫠

[kozykricket]

incomprehensible mc thoughtdump

work on the post(s) about minecraft updates has officially commenced with an actual plan, but i CANNOT HOLD IN speaking about two things in particular so fuck it we ball, im talking about how themed updates were a phenomenal thing for the game, its really when minecraft got big, and perhaps more marketable/corporate some could say, but no one can deny the quality of updates from 1.13 up to caves and cliffs

i just think… theres a lot of severe misunderstandings of the way mojang prioritizes things. they DO INDEED THINK! believe it or not, these developers want the best for the game.

and i think 1.20 is exactly whats best for the game. 1.19 showed exactly the flaws with continuing to name updates before you're done developing them: expectations

so, we've had MAJOR themed overhauls hitting the worst aged parts of the game for quite some time now. the nether, oceans, villages, and the overworlds generation in general (and uh, bees woo!)

but I think besides the end, we've gotten basically every overhaul we could ask for… but that leaves a lot of other, less prominent old things… standing out as less quality. because as stated, mojang cares about quality

something i might also get into in the series of posts is how a lot of the vocal playerbase on twitter/reddit/youtube tend to hate on ANY change to old things - i think 1.9 is probably constantly in the devs' minds, and why they dont do stuff like… update the old swamp, and they just add a new swamp biome

anyways wtf am i on about? im gonna cut to the chase - 1.20 has put way less expectations on the devs to specifically add to a clearly defined aspect of the game. it has no name, and they can go back to the older style of minecraft updates, with an "add what we want to" approach, with some theming rather than letting the theme drive the entirety of the changes they get to update what they want to, and make it quality. a lot of people expected more "wild" related changes in the wild update… and were disappointed. so without a name, theres less disappointment! and without a name, its more surprising and fun! and without a name, it doesnt feel to a player like time is being taken away from an overhaul

anyways, thing #2

i dont think everything new has to be useful in an extrinsic way - people are way too obsessed with Usefulness, in a game about… well, making your own enjoyment? out of what there is?

you can tell the sniffer, archy, and cherry groves are in a somewhat early state, though i imagine the sniffer to be near its final stage considering its a mob vote mob. thats fine, i like the sniffer a lot

this has been incomprehensible, i promise that i will have some slightly more comprehensible posts. the current plan is 4 parts:

Part 1 - Analyzing the first named updates, for context in analyzing newer updates part 2 - Analyzing how 1.13 changed the game, and the step up in quality. "How 1.13 changed the standards of updates" and going into themes more heavily part 3 - Caves, Cliffs, and Cleaning-up a backlog. Further into talking about how the quality of updates was extremely fantastic, talking about the simultaneously grand and extremely awkward "finale" of themed updates. Themed updates turn out to backfire to some degree, and are overall stressful for everyone involved part 4 - A healthy redirection, this post essentially.

[crystalelemental]

We have now concluded the sixth entry in the Villain Arc, and oh man.   Oh man, is this my favorite?  I dunno!  I think I just have to continue coming to terms with the fact I really like Lysandre.

I talked about the first half already, but to recap, I really like the setup.  I like that we get some interesting Malva and Looker dynamics, with Malva actually being threatening and a bit of a problem.  I love Looker, I'm so glad Emma's here, and if you can't focus on the villain team doing their villain thing, then focusing on Looker Fam is a spectacular pivot, and I'm all for this continuing to be a focus in the Alola VA, provided it doesn't detract from Alolan units getting alts.   Though if they wanted to give me Looker fam Sygna Suits with Ultra Beasts...

Anyway, I really like the decision to focus on Looker and his group.  I’m kinda hoping that continues going forward, because to be honest, the Villain Arcs have a lot of issues that mostly center on this whole endeavor being The Giovanni Show, starring Giovanni.  Team Rocket is behind literally everything, because this series cannot get Gen 1′s dick out of its mouth for one goddamned minute.  Even the ones that are still fairly separated wind up involving them to some degree.  And it’s cutting into time that could be spent elsewhere.  I recognize that some antagonists like Lysandre here cannot go full villain again and still stick around.  I don’t begrudge them that.  But I also feel like this VA shows exactly where the problem is.

The protagonists are 100% pointless.  It was like this with Hoenn.  And frankly with Unova.  They don’t matter.  What did Brendan and May actually accomplish in Hoenn?  Nothing.  The story was centered on Maxie and Archie and how they’ve steered away from their villainy, and how Giovanni played everyone with this distraction.  Great, cool.  Unova?  Focused more on N and Hugh, which was cool, but also has literally nothing to do with Hilda or Hilbert, to say nothing of how completely irrelevant Rosa and Nate were.  Calem and Serena continue this trend.  They collectively accomplish jack-all.  It’s amazing how unimportant they are.  And trying to emphasize the protagonists in these stories?  Frankly is dragging them down.

The best part of this, bar nothing, is Malva and Looker’s dynamic in the first half.  The tension is divine, and the development for Malva is really nice.  But the second half, when Looker’s in action, isn’t strictly terrible, but gets a little choppy because it’s interspersed with “And let’s check in on the gang and Lysandre.”  Pick one.  There’s no reason Lysandre can’t be present in the hideout Looker is infiltrating, and strike a deal that way.  There’s no reason Sycamore couldn’t have gone with Looker to find Lysandre, and made this whole segment more cohesive.  The separation of these two bits really doesn’t do anything to help the narrative flow.  Which is a shame, because by separate parts, this rules!

Looker, Anabel, and Emma teaming up to track down and put a stop to Team Rocket, who have been the major masterminds behind the last five catastrophes?  Fantastic.  This is exactly the direction I want that to go, and I live for Looker segments, I am desperately hoping for more with Alola.

Lysandre getting focus as an antagonist that has completely separate views that puts him wildly at odds with the major antagonists?  Great!  I like that!  It’s a way to not have to get into the moral standing of Lysandre broadly, but you can still paint him as an evil dude by having him murder grunts.  Which he does, by the way.  It’s not hard confirmed or anything, but there is no other way to interpret that scene.  Lysandre murdered people, and it’s rad.

But I feel like we’re spending too much time with Lysandre justifying that he’s not actively hostile, and that he hasn’t broken Sycamore’s promise, and that we’re reaffirming that he’s on standby to see if everyone can make a better world, and not enough time on him doing anything.  This could’ve been a lot more dynamic if he were battling against Team Rocket as well, even momentarily to end the battle between Looker Fam and the admins, and getting Looker to let them take the grunts by force rather than the sudden “Surprise, we called dibs!” we get.

The only thing I did like about the gang’s inclusion is that it’s Shauna who sets up Lysandre’s re-affirmation.  I have this whole thing about how Lysandre’s mentality being about “chosen ones” and those who have the right to rule etc etc is basically just another fascist talking point, and that the antithesis of that is your friend group.  They may not be as talented as the central protagonist, but their presence and importance still exists, and keeps you on the ground, recognizing the importance of everyone’s involvement.  I dunno, I just liked how it tied in.

I also admittedly love the clownshoes of Lysandre not being evil, but also going on repeatedly about how Volcanion’s steam bursts can level mountains, and can create a new nation of beauty that he wants.  Like, dude is taking about wild amount of ecological destruction and the displacement of people and Pokemon alike with such a project, and they’re all like “Oh thank god, it’s not genocide again.  We were worried.”  Like it’s so funny.

That said, this whole event is very much setup for the next, and given Lusamine is in a similar boat of “We don’t really want to acknowledge the full extent of their villainy,” I’m willing to bet that this will primarily focus on Looker Fam once again.  Which is great.  I just also hope we can kinda get away from the protagonists needing to be there at all.  Just let Aether Fam and Looker Fam do their thing, which hopefully involves someone punching Giovanni.

[midorikittykun]

Okay I was going to comment but had too many thoughts in response to this.

I'm going to begin by saying I agree that a majority of what wasn't perfect about OFMD S2 lay LARGELY with the lack of episode time. 8 episodes instead of 10 is an HOUR that was cut compared to first season. Given that the finale was only 30 minutes and what they had to cram into it, they could have done a lot with an extra hour.

Now, was Ed abusive in late season 1/early season 2? Yes, of course. He marooned the crew and cut off Izzy's toes and threatened Jim and Archie to fight to the death or he'd kill them all. That being said, I do think a lot of people are glossing over the context of (a) Ed being truly pissed at Izzy for his betrayals and broken trust (note that Izzy is the ONLY one he inflicts direct violence on) and (b) Ed was desperately needling for SOMEONE to put him out of his misery by making sure they had no choice but to put him down because Ed felt both unloveable AND hopeless, the man was seriously suicidal. (I don't have a great explanation for the marooning "getting rid of Stede's (other) playthings"; given show logic, I guess somebody was bound to row by and pick them up eventually?? Interestingly, in s2ep3 Izzy does allude to marooning someone as being merciful, still giving them a chance at survival, as opposed to just killing them directly and being done with it. Ed didn't want the Revenge crew DEAD, he just wanted them gone.) But still, shit was whack (and the show acknowledges that what he did was fucked up). But what I feel like y'all are totally missing here is that Ed WANTED TO LEAVE PIRACY and Izzy FORCED HIM BACK INTO THAT ROLE WHEN HE WAS MOST VULNERABLE. Stede says, in s1ep1 "piracy is a culture of abuse" YES. Stede represents an alternative path, the option of softness no other character perceived before. WITHOUT STEDE and with Izzy needling him, Ed retreats into that culture of abuse status quo because he no longer feels safe and is completely heartbroken and he feels unloveable (as s2 explores). All characters have all that trauma to unpack (and there are SO many callbacks to valuing softness instead of violence, healing over status quo ALL season) and I don't think it was meant to be glossed over that Ed's trauma response was mirroring his dad.

In s2ep1, Ed says "I'm the fucking devil and these are the kids," Ed does throw shit around like his father did which makes Stede flinch (though I don't think that Stede's flinch and Mama Teach's flinch were at all the same), Ed talks about having daddy issues and the shame of killing his father in the Gravy Basket and again after the Ned Low party crash, Ed reflects on the trauma inflicted on him by Hornigold (his other father figure) in the Gravy Basket and how much he hated him and was terrified of him (similar to his real father), Ed has that interaction with Pop-pop getting violent with him and telling him to "if you were ever good at something, go do that" (another father parallel guiding his behavior). These are all very purposeful depictions of Ed's daddy issues (which Stede ALSO has but the only callback to that this season was surrounding him killing Ned Low). When you hate yourself (which is a common side effect of abuse, as the victim tries to rationalize why their abuser was so awful to them "I must have deserved it because I am BAD, so I hate me too"), it makes sense to act like your abuser, someone you hated. It drags you down a spiral of self-hatred that you believe you deserve with concrete evidence of the horrible things you've done to back it up, which Ed's psyche in the Gravy Basket identifies. This is a very interesting exploration of the way that trauma responses manifest that I feel like most shows don't get into in such an explicit manner.

Now, do I think Ed was Abusive to Stede, specifically? No, absolutely not, given the context and how Stede feels. Ed hurt Stede and startled Stede into flinching (I really don't believe Stede was afraid Ed was going to hit HIM, I mostly think he was unhappy that Ed was so upset by learning such a sensitive bit of information with no context), but no I don't think Ed abused Stede and I don't at any point see Stede as being victimized by Ed in any way. These two instances also occur ONLY in s2ep4, which is immediately after Ed wakes from a coma and is half-dead and still furious about Stede leaving and they'd had zero time prior to the Couch Talk at Anne and Mary's to process any of what happened between them. There's no "pattern of abuse" between Ed and Stede anywhere.

And also...yeah, both instances are also part of the comedy and not meant to be taken totally seriously. Stede wakes Ed from a coma with his love, will we get true love's kiss? No, Ed is still mad at Stede obviously so gives him a headbutt instead. Ed finds out in a really inappropriate way with zero context that Stede "left him for Mary," what does he do? He stands up slowly, politely excusing himself from the table, and turns around and breaks a chair and knocks over a vase while Anne and Mary watch in delight at the drama they caused, then flees to other other room to hide under a blanket. And Stede's little "I told you in confidence" line before he goes after Ed to talk it through. That was funny!

Y'all are really forgetting that Stede isn't actually afraid of Ed. Even when Olu is so adamant Ed will kill Stede if he ever sees him again, Stede has absolute faith that Ed wouldn't do that. Stede yells at Ed for headbutting him! But, again, we're given this "pirate culture" context of "well you hurt me, so I wanted to hurt you." Is that healthy? NO! But Stede doesn't let Ed off the hook for that without acknowledging that was shitty.

Gosh, they spend the rest of the season trying to move away from those mechanisms and going back to talking things through and making positive changes instead. There are so many instances in s2 where "talk it through" is attempted but everyone is so emotionally activated/triggered that other, less healthy coping mechanisms (let's have sex about it, I'm leaving) get in the way! Because nobody gets a damn minute to relax and emotionally regulate so they CAN respond in an optimally healthy way! This is what they'll need to work through in s3 to reach that more "mature love" that David Jenkins has teased.

Also would like to point out that Ed is never violent toward anybody (outside of the English soldiers which are well-established as enemies to ALL our characters) or really anything after Stede opens him back up with his love confession during the Couch Talk. The last remnants of Ed's violence died at Anne and Mary's house once Stede acknowledged that he was staying, that Ed is loveable, and that Ed's "safe space" where he could be himself and be soft was back.

Ideally, I would have liked to see Ed make up with each crew member individually and have a bonding moment, if they had the time. I think it made sense to prioritize Lucius, Izzy, and Fang because those three were closest to Ed in various ways. Lucius was the emotional support, Izzy was Ed's first mate, Fang was Ed's oldest original crew member. Interestingly, they all kind of "get even" through violence. Izzy weaponized shame and threat toward Ed to get him to resume the Blackbeard persona and when Ed did EXACTLY WHAT IZZY SAID HE WANTED, Izzy goes "I had it coming" (I ALWAYS think of the "Be careful what you ask your god for, she just might answer" quote from Ed in s1). Fang is very open about feeling like he got even with Ed "after savaging your body with punches and kicks." Lucius recreates his "overboard" scene with the roles reversed (and admittedly needs pep talks from Izzy and then Black Pete) to be able to forgive and move on. Ed meets both Lucius and Fang with sensitivity and apologizes and expresses desire for closure for them both. Ed does not meet Izzy with this same level of sensitivity but does apologize for his actions. Given that IZZY doesn't apologize to Ed AT ALL for sicking the English on him and Stede and then backing Ed into a corner, I don't blame Ed for this lack of sensitivity since Izzy never showed him any either. Ed falls into some amicable banter with Izzy on the docks but they remain very emotionally distant up until they apologize to one another and are finally truly vulnerable with each other as Izzy is dying.

For the rest of the crew, I suppose Calypso's Birthday was their making up with Ed. It's actually pretty accepted in pirate culture to go crazy on someone or double cross them and that be fine?? Look at Calico Jack, Spanish Jackie, Anne/Mary. Stede is very explicit that Ed told him to his face that he was planning on burning his face off and assuming his identity and "I got over that pretty quickly!" The show acknowledges "I've never had anyone apologize to me before so I thought it was great" and "the bar is on the floor" and tries to work with that, meeting the characters where they are. But Ed clearly makes an effort to make amends and his behavior does change for good. STEDE is the characters' ONLY role model for how to behave in a more healthy way and Stede had no positive role models himself, he was just acting with the kindness he thought was right (opposite of his father and how he wanted to be treated), but good lord the man's got his own shit going on too. Frankly, everybody's a mess but they do the best they can, hence Stede's iconic "life is a dick" line, recognizing Ed's trauma responses for what they are.

I don't hate Ed in season 2. I love him. I am literally Stede looking at the front and back wanted poster list of Ed's crimes going "Oh but he's so lovely, he's just hurting so much 🥺😍" Ed's not a perfect person, none of them are. He's done terrible things but he's not a terrible person, he's a complicated and traumatized person who wants to change, and heal, and be better. Ed's an imperfect person who is loveable and deserves to be loved anyway. That is literally what season 2 is all about. I see Season 1 as being focused largely on Stede, Season 2 focuses more on Ed. They're not out of the woods yet at the end of Season 2 and it sets up Season 3 as the setting where Stede and Ed can finally work through their trauma and build a relationship and life together that brings them true happiness.

Renew as a Crew, COME ON SEASON 3!

so here's the thing

i've seen a bunch of people say on twitter and stuff how... ed's behavior is very abusive and his anger is dangerous and he isn't romantic lead material because of it

and i get where they're coming from

but to me the main issue isn't putting ed in the position of a romantic lead, but not crafting the narrative around his characterization so that it allows for a spicy romantic pirates-in-love narrative instead of...whatever this is.

i'm going to try and explain this. idk if i'll do well but i'll try

the way she show presents stede is as an innocent baby who isn't really equipped for pirate life. he goes into a fugue/disassociative state whenever there's any real violence, apparently, and needs protecting by other characters when things get too rough - for example when ed is telling ned lowe not to take the poker to stede.

that's fine! it's honestly adorable to see a masc character being so soft around the edges and being protected by other characters this way.

(i'm not going to touch on stede's... eh... not great characterization this season rn)

then there's izzy, who is shown as a bit violent, a bit rough around the edges. he's more likely to draw a sword or throw a punch or hit someone with a chair or take a punch like a champ. violence is just part of life for him and that's okay, it just Is, from small things like smacking stede on the ass to bigger things like being wall slammed, it's not all that big or bad for violence to happen around and with him, he tends to give as good as he gets (there's some nuance here but i'm talking the macro themes not the micro of what izzy does vs is done to him)

and finally there's ed

ed is presented as violent (stabbing knives at guys, telling fang to use the snail fork etc) and used to a life of violence, and then in season 2 he's presented as really violent, his anger coming out in dangerous and terrifying ways

and frankly, i'd be super into it if he and izzy were the main ship and that twisted dynamic from the first two episodes of s2 was explored and fleshed out into something deeper

friends to enemies to lovers who fight and fuck. angry pirates who lay hands on each other, who break the whole ship with each other in the heat of passion.

except instead, s2 gives us... abuse. it gives us izzy cringing and lowering his head and trying to protect the kids crew from ed's angry outbursts.

so when stede comes back and he's still soft around the edges and ed headbutts him and it's deliberate, it's... not a great look, and the vibes are a bit skewed

if stede fought back, if when ed struck out at him he struck back, if they fought rather than it being one-sided, if it was friends to enemies to lovers and not presented as healthy, but maybe they can work their way there, who knows, maybe even more like anne bonnie and mary read because hey, they were doing something very similar?

except they were both into it. they were both enjoying the fighting and the fucking and the burning down the house.

stede's not enjoying it.

i cannot describe how much i hate this sequence just because of the way stede flinches

anne and mary don't!! mary jumps at the unexpected bang but she doesnt flinch, she doesn't cover her face like she thinks the vase will be coming for her not the wall and anne? looks so into it

and the thing is that in real life, no, you don't want to date someone who throws shit around, or headbutts you

but in fiction when it's two fucked up people doing this shit together like anne and mary?

that can be fun.

but instead what we've been given is stede flinching and apologizing to ed and then all of ed's...what, semi-redemption???? is done away from the other collection of people he abused, and then he spends some time on a fishing boat wearing a dog collar and everything is fine because he's good now and won't be doing anything bad ever again

and it's just... poor writing. the vibes are rancid.

i spent a really big chunk of time between s1 and s2 defending ed. i kept saying how what he did to izzy by making him eat his toe wasn't abuse, it was a one-off and abuse isn't a one-off thing it's a pattern, and then s2 made it a pattern.

explicitly. explicitly a pattern.

not just one toe but three.

jim saying "you're in an unhealthy relationship with blackbeard"

and all ed offered izzy was a "sorry about your leg" which might've been fine if izzy survived and they could work on this more, but instead that's all the apology and closure izzy will ever get

ed threw a chair and a vase and made stede flinch in fear and stede was right to do that. what part of any of this implies this will never happen again? that stede won't press the wrong button at some point and be on the receiving end? none of it

and if we'd been presented with a s2 stede bonnet who could handle himself and stand up for himself and fight back, then maybe i could imagine that turning into a weird sexy fucked up anne/mary like thing and maybe that could be why they put that episode in, but instead it feels like that episode was going, "look, see, ed's violence is fine because these two are fine with it with each other"

but stede isn't

ed and izzy or ed and stede in an unhealthy battle of a relationship could be such a fun, interesting and downright sexy thing to watch unfold on tv, and could honestly end somewhere far more down the chill end of the spectrum, but that's not what we've been given here

i cannot argue that ed isn't an abuser anymore, and not just of izzy but of the whole crew. he terrified frenchie.

it's not good writing to try and lean into the idea that ed and the pirates are violent and live a life of violence, so it's okay that ed's been violent, while simultaneously presenting his violence as traumatic and abusive, and then less than three episodes later saying oh it's fine now, he's just a little meow meow who can do no wrong, see?

especially considering they had him murdering people at the end of the season. and sure, you can say the english are just cannon fodder and they dont 'count', but they did before. ed explicitly did not kill before, and that included the english, or the spanish, or anyone else. so either they count or they don't, but flipping him on a dime makes no sense.

ALSO

having ed be the son of an abusive man who threw plates at his mother and made her cringe and then having ed kill his father to protect his mother and then a season later having ed become the kind of man who throws chairs and vases and makes his love interest cringe is, again, not bloody optimal

i want to say again i dont CARE about tv always presenting healthy relationships or tv always giving us aspirational goals. i want messy fucked up dynamics and terrible people making terrible choices, and still, to this day, i fucking love ed teach. i would honestly love to have seen them continue with ed's darkness and bring stede into it and see where they went with that, to have stede kill ned lowe and not just bury his feelings in ed but get off on it, enjoy the violence, and see where that led, but no

and so instead all we end up with is a protagonist who is being set up for a lifetime of abuse from an intimate partner, and a romantic lead who abuses his love interests (and yes. izzy is a love interest, he is set up like one and positioned like one and treated like one), frightens his love interests with his violence, is erratic and most of all inconsistently written. he was so sorry about scaring fang as though he hadn't been deliberately terrifying the whole crew for fuck knows how long? what?!

the whole fandom has spent so long saying, "no no, i know stede bonnet irl was a slave owner, but ofmd is using the names and not any real piracy, it's more disney piracy, you know? so that kind of stuff doesnt exist!" and then they flipped around and went "blackbeard is blackbeard and so he is evil and does all these horrible things" and i dont know how to rationalize the two sides of that because it feels so out of place

i'm getting rambly, this isnt a particularly well constructed thought process, i just feel like we were robbed both of a toxic, violent relationship that could be fun to see explored on tv and a soft and sweet love story between two middle aged men exploring their first loves in one fell swoop and there's no way for s3 to bring either of those things back because they got utterly torpedoed by making ed a horrible person

ugh

[sapphicvioletssss]

Ooooh. Controversial opinion. Every time I think back on ofmd season 2 I get upset about how badly it was executed.

Like just absolutely obliterating the characters from the previous season (I'm looking at you Jim and Oluwande)

Giving Izzy the most shallow, surface level character growth/redemption that was built on absolutely nothing in-universe and heavily relying on fanon interpretation of his character (legitimately the switch up between the season 1 finale and the first episode of season 2 makes it seem like he's an entirely different character. Obviously things happened off screen but the change is SO drastic, it's just bad writing I fear) like why are they all coddling him immediately in season 2, that man a) was awful to all of them and b) even though they don't know izzy pushed Ed back into his blackbeard persona (nobody could've predicted it would be THAT bad but the point still stands that he did threaten his life), Izzy was still extremely excited at the end of s1 with how things were. AND even if we are just expected to accept that they've all bonded over their circumstance, why is the part of the crew that was away immediately cool with Izzy? Should they not still hate/dislike him? Like they were going to kill him and then he left them for dead. The crew all loving him so much makes no sense. And all of it just to kill him at the end? For what?

Dropping the ball SO. HARD. on Zheng Yi Sao. She's an incredibly intelligent strategist, super powerful, and could have been such a cool and interesting character but they reduced her down to "hehe oluwande <3" and having her entire fleet get defeated because she trusted Ricky?? Why would she do that??

Speaking of Ricky, the fact that he was barelyyy seen, one of the few times being his introduction showing us he's naive and not especially bright, yet we're somehow meant to believe he's a very formidable antagonist? Yes, he ran off to the navy for power but iirc he was the brains behind taking down Zheng'z fleet/the republic of pirates which is not something we were given any inclination he would be capable of given his only other major scene was making a fool of himself and getting got in the RoP/Spanish Jackie'z. Like, sure. It doesn't need to be completely spelled out, but am I missing something here? It's such a major leap and absolutely none of his capabilities are even implied besides "I'm powerful because I'm a minor prince and have the navy behind me"?

I feel like season 1 did sooo much better delving into the psyche of its characters and it did them justice! We understood their conflicts and motivations so well! And then we have season 2 and it's just....eugh. For example: stede had so many issues around violence/killing in season 1 and we see none of that expressed in season 2 except for a tiny bit after he kills Ned Low? Maybe it can be argued he's overcompensating in 2.07? But the conflict is vague at best. Or it's SO on the nose it's just :| (group asking frenchie how he handles the BB crew situation so well, Ed making Jim and Archie fight - not even going to get into how I feel about Jim and Archie being so forced together it's not even funny., half of what Pete yelled at lucius during their 2.05(?) fight) there's just not much depth to the characters' emotional conflicts/motivations in the second season and it makes me sad seeing how much love was given to them in season 1. "I'm angry because you can't get over yourself lucius. Oh it's resolved because you proposed!" / "everyone hates blackbeard, he needs to atone. Oh! He threw a party for us :) maybe he's not so bad!" It's just so flat and lifeless.

All the stuff with Lucius's time away/separated between seasons. Especially the SA "joke".

Despite my love for the episode, having a wlw couple and making one of them sexually harass stede and at their emotional climax having them going for a kiss and then swerve to a hug? I do not understand the point of how that scene was choreographed it was strange and absolutely ripped me out of the moment. If you're going for a hug, go for a hug! Don't make it seem like they'll kiss and then swerve. it just looks so awkward and clunky and it makes me question why we've had all kinds of kisses in the show but we can't have one between two women?? Like legitimately all kinds. mlm, wlm, nblm, nblw, but not a wlw kiss? They have to hug? And from THAT couple? Make it make sense :)

Stede and Ed's ending :( they would NOT settle like that, and I firmly believe that. They both love the sea (Ed hated how infamous BB had become and I think he'd gotten tired of pirating like he had been at the beginning of the season but we've seen how much fun he has) and they hate monotony and a life running an inn on land? Seriously? It doesn't make any sense for them. Literally any other ending would have been better I stg.

I understand there were budget cuts and the season got slashed two episodes but it felt so much like the love and care for the story was tossed away in favor of fan service. There was sooo much I liked about the season and I think it had so much potential but so much of it just felt hollow. Learning that the show runners knew they almost certainly would not get renewed put the whole season in a new light - like they didn't really need to try all that hard because it wouldn't matter anyway, that they could just "give people what they want to see" and the decline in quality would either not be noticed or wouldn't be cared about. We got a mermaid dream sequence to Kate Bush, who cares that Jim's whole character was massacred! Who gives a shit about the vaguely misogynistic undertones to this season, Buttons is canonically a witch!

Idk :) probably super unpopular opinion(s) but I have them. And there is a lot I love about the season, I could probably make an equally long, if not longer, post about those opinions, it just genuinely upsets me sometimes how such an incredible first season was followed up with a mediocre at best second one even though the potential was so obviously there.

[ciaossu-imagines]

Oh man, corny old dubs are some of my favourites. Something about them really just hits different. I genuinely can’t remember what happens later down the line for COTT so I’m very curious to see what questionable writing choices they go with in the second season. Another friend I was discussing this with also mentions they weren’t the happiest with the second season.

I am little bit further in now tho and, man I can say I really slept on Neil as a kid. He’s actually so funny. I really do like the whole main cast, but Neil is slowly making his way up as my favourite, so I agree with you as I love his interactions with the rest of the crew! Also, I really like that his power is luck. it’s genuinely an interesting power I wouldn’t have thought of.

I also love the other bonds you pointed out, like Herry and Odin and Atlanta and Archie. While I can definitely see which characters are gonna go down the romance path, I really just appreciate all the platonic interactions and them bonding as friends first. Really makes it feel less forced. Personally, I really love when we get to see Atlanta and Theresa be pals since I’m so used to these shows pitting the girls against each other so it’s refreshing it hasn’t gone down that route (or as far as I know).

- R

They really do hit different and there's a real nostalgia that makes me happy with those corny old dubs! I mean, even looking back at some of the major childhood shows, like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Sailor Moon, we gotta admit that some of the dialogue in that was corny as hell but they were all such amazing shows! And I'm actually really glad that you're rewatching with having forgotten almost all of it, because it means you'll get to be properly moved, shocked, surprised, interested by the events of the story as things go on. And yeah, I do think it's pretty accepted within fandom that the second season had it's struggles, especially towards the end of it, but still a great show over all.

And oh my god, yes! I feel like I slept on Neil as a kid too and didn't really grow to appreciate him until a couple rewatches. The main one I slept on as a kid though…I really did hate Theresa as a kid, sort of a jealousy sort of hate because she really was canonically really pretty and popular and powerful. But I do end up liking her a lot more as a character as an adult. And yes, so much on liking Neil's power. The idea of luck being a real power and something that can affect so much? It was really well used in the show! I really like all the different character's powers though and trying to figure out where they came from (trying to find the mythological basis's for them) and the different ways they could be used. And you hit it perfect - the friendships the show used, even if you could see the romance path coming, really did make the romances feel less forced when they happened. Oh gosh, I hadn't even considered that though…yeah, I just clued in now that a lot of shows did pit the girls against each other, especially around that time period! Always hated that trend, to be honest, and I'm with you in loving that Atlanta and Theresa were just allowed to be friends and neither of them were really ever shown to have to compete with the other or had to be jealous of the other or anything like that.

[eldritchgriffin]

💖🧡💙💡💫📚👯‍♀️🤖🧍 😳 for the Sonic ask game!

💖 Favorite Character. Of the main cast, I like Shadow and Silver

🧡 Favorite Archie character. The Archie cast is so massive it's hard to pick a single favorite, so I'll list a few. I really like Cassia (and Clove) and Shard for "best characters who should've gotten their plotlines resolved," Antoine gets "best character development," and Nicole and Bunnie are just cool :)

💙 Favorite IDW character. I really like Belle! I just think she's neat :D

💡 Spinoff you’d like to see. Pretty much anything focusing on a character other than Sonic. Sonic's cool, but barring the Frontiers update, it feels like it's been ages since we've had a game include other playable characters and stories. The old method of having several individual stories to play through wasn't perfect, but I wish they hadn't just gotten rid of it. I'd especially like to see something with Silver and maybe Blaze because they get very few major appearances, but something with Shadow and team dark could also be good (assuming they don't just give Shadow the exact same character arc for the fourth time)

💫 Dream Sonic Show/Story. I think it'd be fun to have a slice-of-life type Sonic show. Just a chance for everyone to take a break and for the more minor characters to get some screen time. The low stakes plots would also give room for a lot of character stuff

📚 Pitch for a third storybook game. I'm going to go a bit unconventional here and suggest Wonderland. It's more contemporary than the standard myths and legends, but I think there's a lot of interesting stuff they could do. Imagine Sonic is running, not looking where he's going, when he steps in a hole that goes much farther down than it should. Upon landing he spots either Tails or Cream running, but when he catches up to them they just keep insisting that they're going to be late and can't talk now. Sonic realizes he's not in Kansas his world anymore, and the story begins

👯 Favorite team. It's basic, but Team Dark (although I also love any time they very clearly had a group of two and needed to add in someone random to make a trio. Looking at you, Team Sonic Racing)

🤖 Favorite robot. Since I already mentioned a few, I'll throw out that I'm also a fan of Metal Sonic. I don't even really know why, I just am

🧍Favorite Human Character. I like Merlina. She's an interesting character with a cool story

😳 Hottest Sonic Take. Oooh, boy; time to get cancelled~~. In my opinion, Sonic fans tend to look at older games through rose-colored glasses, insisting that those were the "good old days" and loving to complain about anything and everything new. I think some of the older plots are really good, and there are certainly many issues with some newer games, but it feels like people put things on too high a pedestal sometimes, especially gameplay-wise. Playing through SA2 was a nightmare, and I clipped through the floor to my death multiple times in the first level of SA1. Sure, people hold newer games to higher standards in general, but still. I remember people complaining about Frontiers' gameplay when it first came out, particularly Cyber Space. However, I had just finished SA2, and all I could think was how incredible it felt having functional camera angles