#i'm still so mad we didn't get ANYTHING from his missing memory arc

[ginnyluna]

After reading TLH for the first time, i remember i was really hoping for a Jason Bourne type story arc for Jason, where he only gets his memories in fragmented and blurry flashbacks, and all they show him is violence and fights and more violence, and he absolutely hates it. He hates the person he was before, he was barely human, he was only a weapon -- and even though having all your memories stolen from you sucks, he ends up being grateful for it, because now he gets to be someone new, who knows what love and friendship feels like and doesn't have to use violence all the time.

I honestly wish we got to see Jason with his memories back or even a flashback where we get to see how he acted before he lost them

[archerincombat]

Please elaborate on how the writers have been doing Eddie dirty since the beginning. I'm very intrigued!

Re: this post

Basically—

To preface, I’m not sure that Buddie was supposed to get as big as it did (but like, when you put two people with that much chemistry on screen, what did you expect to happen?). It’s very obvious, and it’s been heavily discussed, that Eddie was supposed to be a foil for Buck. Key word supposed to be.

Okay. So they get there eventually. But a lot of it still remains fanon. I could go on a long chronological rant of every event in order, but the gist of it is this: since S2 Eddie’s character development has inexplicably been tied to someone else at every step of the way. Here’s what I mean—

First it was Shannon. He moved here for Shannon, okay great. It’s a plot device; it makes total sense. Then, when he’s here, he gets tied to Buck, who helps him with all of his problems and asks for nothing in return.

Except if Eddie’s supposed to be Buck’s partner in every way that matters… then why is it always Buck helping Eddie out? I get that it’s in Buck’s nature to step over boundaries when he has people’s best interests at heart, but not once (in my memory) do we see Eddie do anything but rib Buck about Abby. When Buck was there for him about Shannon reappearance? When he listened and brought Eddie the god’s gift to earth that is Carla? You’re honestly going to tell me that Eddie, loyal to a fault, never reached out to see how Buck was feeling? Like you’re really gonna tell me that? Idk.

And then...what? No more character development for Eddie that season, I guess. This is off topic, but Shannon’s entire arc made me SO MAD only because of how chopped it was. That’s his wife. Who just divorced him. And then she immediately dies. That’s (forgive me 911 gods), that’s lazy writing really. You might say, well it came back to bite Eddie in season three—

But then he’s tied to Lena, or defending Bobby over Buck though it’s damn clear to Chim and Hen and Athena why Buck did it. He makes a comment: “Look, I know it sucks, but that's life, right? Whenever stuff didn't work out for me, my dad always told me to brush it off, keep moving forward.”

And Eddie’s fucking stupid when it comes to his own emotions, but he has them. He knows repression is bad. He’s not dumb. He’s what, in his 30s? He better damn well know that’s not how trauma works; he doesn’t treat his own kid like that (and he says as much in therapy later, so those feelings are there no matter how deep-rooted they are); he didn’t tell Shannon to get over it when her mother got sick and she had to take a break.

Continuing with the lawsuit arc, What I’ve yearned for—which, I don’t have a problem with Buck suing the city, I have a problem with how he did it and how everyone responded—is Eddie’s point of view. Both Buddie fights, in the grocery store and that one scene right before they make up, are from Buck’s perspective so obviously the viewer feels sympathetic for him. When Eddie asked if Buck knew how much Chris missed him, it’s said so spittingly that it almost seems disingenuous. We needed an Eddie’s POV without Buck to see how it affected him, and we didn’t get one. We never get anything from Eddie’s isolated perspective unless it’s fundamental.

So then he goes to therapy, except it’s tied to Maddie’s and Hen’s at the same time. Hen gets her retreat; Maddie goes back to where Doug tried to kill her; Eddie gets...the kitchen scene, which is great for Buddie, not so great for Eddie because dude, he needs therapy. Buck’s not a therapist. Buck can’t do what Frank did and he didn’t do what that lady from Hen’s retreat did. Once again, the writers created Eddie for Buck, for Chris, not to be Eddie Diaz, which really sucks.

At the beginning of this post, I wanted to say “let’s cast aside Buddie’s relationship for a moment and look into Eddie’s character development under an isolated lens”, except you literally can’t. Every step of the way Eddie is tied to someone else’s emotions; someone else’s actions. Even in Eddie Begins we’ve gotten Eddie growing into a good father, but we knew that. We could see that in 2x01. The most important thing in Eddie’s life is Christopher. That’s a fact. His parents tried to take him, super shitty, but once again didn’t do much for character development.. yet. Eddie was always going to protect Christopher, that’s not even in question.

(I’m not quite sure how to put Eddie Begins into words, but I did my best. Sorry if it’s not coherent.)

And then we get to S4.

Listen, about Ana, I can’t imagine Eddie going back and dating someone that he snapped at about the skateboard. I just can’t. It’s just so, so out of character. Not to mention Eddie telling Ana that Christopher would get over it and then leaving him to storm off to Buck. Now, I’m not saying that Buck doesn’t basically co-parent Chris at this point but it’s still...it leaves a bad taste in my mouth that the writers needed that conversation between Buck and Chris so badly that they framed Eddie as not noticing that Chris would leave the house; that he would use his phone to call an uber; that his son felt like he couldn’t talk to him after how much Eddie’s emphasized that he can.

My point is this: if you’re going to create a character and give them these stubborn, steadfast, brave and loyal traits, then at least have them stand by them. Eddie should, by this point, be his own character without him having to have drama with Buck or his son; yes he’s Buck’s partner, but he’s also his own person. They make every scene in which Eddie gets injured in the field simultaneously about Buck; where was Eddie’s perspective during the leg injury? During the blood clot? Hell, other than some eye-contact, we didn’t get much of Eddie’s immediate thought process about his son getting swept away in a tsunami.

Hopefully in s5 we see more of what I deem Eddie’s perspective. Also, these are all my opinions and I don’t mean to offend anyone or start drama! I love Eddie and Buck and Chris and Buddie but these are just my thoughts solely from an analytical perspective. Sorry it was so long!

Also, lol, my hottest hottest take is that it should’ve been Eddie and Chris in the tsunami, but that’s just something I’d have thought was cool. No relevance to plot.

tagging @podinaroot and @blutterlie from my post!

[indigopurple]

Basically a review of OP episode 503 ig

Currently rewatching post-war arc (in the dub so I don't have any screenshots for u guys sry) and theres a few things id like to point out.

During a conversation Dadan once had with Garp, they were talking about Roger. Garp said that even if they were facing powerful enemies, he would never run away because he wouldnt dare leaving his comrads behind; it wasnt an option for him. Obviously we see this in Ace. But ALSO, isnt this what he did with Katakuri? It was a little different cuz of the setting mostly, but he separated himself from his crew to fight off katakuri, and lied to them about being okay so they didn't worry (he was already getting his ass kicked by then, so he just made that stupid smile and told them not to worry (or smth like that, I can remember the exact line) (that smile was so gross and fake cuz he fucking sucks at lying). Also he said roger destroyed a buncha soldiers cuz they mouthed off his men. That's what Ace tried to do but instead he died. :(

"The pain he went through just made him hold on tighter to the ones he loved" -Garp, about Roger. "Despite his flaws and his bad reputation, his crew still trusted him completely." -also Garp, about Roger. These both sound a lot like Luffy AND Ace.

When Dogra got home and told everyone about Sabo's ship being shit down and him dying (which we all know didnt happen, thank fuck), (by the way the absolutely lost looks on Ace's and Luffy's faces with the sudden silence hurt like a bitch), Luffy started crying and said "WE SHOULDNT'A LET HIM GO, IT'S ALL OUR FAULT". Which fucking says something about him (thinking of episodes 913-915 when he goes fucking berserk, but before that he learns that Kaido probably killed Tama and he says "I should've escorted them..!" (*ugly cries*)). Ace also reacted pretty similarly-- "Sabo...why didn't we go back into town and bring him back here?! We're so stupid!" And he gets mad and asks where he could find the bastard that killed him (obviously not getting a good answer since it was a fucking celestial dragon ugh). That is what Luffy does, in present time. He results to anger first, not sadness. Not sure when he learned to do that but I'm 99 percent sure it was from Ace. Also the blaming himself thing? High chance thats ALSO from Ace. Who else would teach him that self hating behaviour?!

Dadan pins Ace down to stop him from going after the Celestial Dragon to calm him down, telling him he cant do anything, he's not big or strong enough to do anything and he'll be killed as soon as he tries anything, especially since it was the whole country -the whole WORLD- that killed Sabo. He can't do anything. And then they tied him to a tree outside to let him cool off. Oh yeah then he also told luffy to stop crying like a little girl or else he'll- (and he didn't finish the sentence). ...Ok maybe thats why luffy started being more angry than sad.

This is where things get a little more :( . Ace reads the letter Sabo sent them before he died. As he reads, he walks to the end of the forest, to a cliff overlooking the ocean. And starts fucking bawling (btw the voice actor who had Ace's childhood part did not do a very good job, no where near as in character and real as Coleen Clickenberg did with all of Luffy's crying scenes. She was spot on.) ...do you see where im going with that? He isolated himself before letting himself feel sad. It was all rage and then calm beforehand. Y-you see where im going with that. Dont make me say it.

"How's Luffy doing, is he any better?" "Well...he hasnt been eating much, but he still eats twice as much as we do". Oh look, That's what happened after Ace died too. There's a behavioral pattern that hasnt gone away. Not sure why it wouldve tho.

Luffy is mopeing, lying on the ground in a similar setting ace was at when he cried. Hes thinking about some of the things Sabo said, like how theyre gonna sail the seas together, and he clenches his hands into tight, shaking fists. After Ace shows up and hits him, and talking abt some other stuff I don't feel like relaying, Luffy tightens his grip on the straw hat and tells ace, whimpering, he wants to get stronger (and stronger, and stronger, and stronger and stronger and....) And he wants to be the strongest in the world. "And then, I'll protect everyone. I won't lose anyone I care about". He gets stronger mainly to protect the people he loves. And then he asks ace to promise he won't die. To which he hits Luffy again and tells him he should be more worried about himself dying first. And then the famous line that hurts like a bitch- "I'm NEVER going to DIE!" And then this hopeful music comes on (fucking damnit funimation, u gotta do this? Really??) Also he says he wont die as long as he has a wussy little brother to protect. ...FUCK. Ok, the fist clenching is a thing he does all the fucking time, usually when he gets mad. This was different because he wasnt mad, he was sad. He clenched his fist because thinking about it hurt. Which, huh, sounds a lot like his whole episode after waking up from his 2 week coma on the polar tang. To try and stop the mental pain of those horrendous memories, he resulted to physically pain. He hurt himself. So, He clenches his fists in times like these to fight off the mental pain and the urge to cause himself physical pain. Guys, our boy is bad at emotions, help him. ....ok this paragraph is longer than I anticipated so ill dumb down the rest of it ig. Next part, him asking ace to promise he wont die. The music, the body language, the over change in mood- this comforts him. He stopped hiding his face and silently sobbing after ace said this. OH YEAH! didn't he tell jinbe not to die when they parted ways in Totto Land? And then, hes missing still in Wano and we see Luffy is worried....but convinced Jinbe will show up. Again, this comforts him. Hes nervous cuz someone KOFF KOFF ACE broke that promise once. But jinbe is his crew mate so he trusts him, thank god.

"-But whoever did it, they must be opposed to freedom." The whole freedom thing? That runs through Luffy's blood and spirit.His brothers fought for it, his dad is the man who strives to give everyone freedom basically, and Luffy himself has seen enough of the OPPOSITE of freedom to be so, so much more than just against it. Hence why he of course was so eager to free the slaves in Sabaody, the kids in punk hazard, the toys in dressrosa, the country of Wano from Kaido's tyrany. The apple doesnt fall far from the tree huh.

I dont think Luffy would remember his promise with Shanks if it werent for his brothers putting feul to his dream. It was a stupid bet at first; he just wanted to beat Shanks, right then. But after meeting Sabo and Ace, he found the opposite of freedom and human rights. And then he wanted, REALLY wanted, to become the free-est man in the world; the pirate king.

Last one i promise ok? This one is less connected to whats going on in the episode at this point, but something I noticed (its so obvious everyone has seen this ok) was when luffy cries, his posture is always open. He doesn't curl in on himself like many people would do (I know I would, lol). He doesnt hug himself, protect himself. He's just, opened up to whoever is watching, literally. This has a little more to do with something I haven't talked about much in this post yet; his self-destruction issues. I said he tried to hurt himself when he felt mental pain, which is definitely similar. But he cries and doesnt try to protect or comfort himself, like he doesn't have that programmed into his mind. Reminder that he only wants to live because of his dream, and if he doesnt have his dream, he wants to die. (Whoa.). Ok, so no self preservation mechanism at all rlly. Hes basically ride or die. So, when things hurt so much that he cries, he has no hope left. He just kinda...dies inside. So this was mildly different after sabo died. Yes we saw him just standing there, sobbing. But the next day he's still crying, and instead he's laying on the ground. I saw that and the voice in the back of my head told me he wanted to be a part of that lifeless dirt beneath him. Then, Ace walked over. And his words made him feel the hope that I told you about earlier, and he sat up into a sitting position. And HUGGED HIS LEGS TO HIS CHEST. There's some self preservation! Some hope! Some will to exist, to live! Something we saw none of as he sat in front of his brothers corpse, shutting down. He sat there, open to his enemies, incapable of protecting himself. Practically anyone couldve killed him right then and there. I think he mightve liked that, at that moment. Like thank god he has that stupidly good luck cuz if he didn't I swear someone couldve thrown and axe or FUCKING ANYTHING AT THAT MOMENT and hed be dead becuase he never physically or mentally prepared himself. On purpose.

Our poor boy needs some fucking attention and therapists. (Insert my rant post about how jinbe is on the crew primarily for anger management and therapy, not just being a helmsman.) Ugh, smh ugly cries

Aaaaand thats about the end of the episode. Theres so many little tics and peesonality traits that you notive thru this episode, and I only noticed them cuz im rewatching this part of the show for like the third time. I don't react as much as the first time of course but some things are definitely sadder after knowing what's going on and what will happen later on.

Moral of the story (post)? I think luffy is almost equally as alike -if not, more similar to roger as ace is. Also, high key genuinely think Luffy met like NO ONE but Garp before he met Shanks and his crew. What the fuck was his first like 5 years of being alive like? (He wantd to be a pirate cuz Garp didnt want that. Rebellious baby asshole. And then shanks made things worse, in a good way for luffy. And then ace and sabo made that worse thing worse for a good reason. Luffy lives...for those influences. And that is fucking it. Why.

Oh thanks tumblr for moving my picture to the bottom of the post u fucking idiot