#oh also i've seen people calling him steven and i thing that's a funny name

[zalrb]

The Summer I turned Pretty 1x02 Review -- Steven and Jere are boyfriends

idk steven watching jere make those eggs had a vibe. that would've been way more interesting even though steven is insufferable.

like that's flirting.

conrad go upstairs. ok there's just gonna be a few times when i call conrad connor. i can't keep backspacing.

that ass slap and that "ooh!" make them boyfriends.

they are ALL so unnatural. "this sounds expensive" "don't worry, laur, it's on me. it was my idea after all." like if they were friends, best friends, it shouldn't sound so stilted and formal like she's just getting to know someone.

Belly hasn't done anything for all of the cracks about how she needs etiquette, like I know she's "pretty" now but she can still have semblances of that, like in Love and Basketball, Monica is a baller and a tomboy who her sister dresses up for prom

but she forgets that she's in a dress so she sits the way she always does and has to quickly self-correct

I haven't seen anything like this.

Even their change room montage lacks chemistry, I wouldn't have thought that was possible, I thought they could at least fudge that but it doesn't have the spontaneity a sequence like that usually has, it's contained. The whole point of trying on different outfits in a show is to show bonding but they all still act like they don't know each other.

Gigi you've been in that pool long enough to know Jeremiah was there. Why wouldn't they just have her walk to the pool and have this conversation? DETAILS.

"Totally, yeah. I would, uh, love to take you surfing sometime." He's the charmer? I've seen charmers in action, even if they aren't interested they're charming, that's why charmers are dangerous. This is BAD.

"Take it in Steven, this is all ours." It's a pool with mostly children, Jere.

I hooked up with her, with him, with her, with him. A perfect pattern.

I just like to kiss and be cozy with people

mmhmm ok.

i would've 1000% preferred this over a love triangle and then belly can get mad that steven is stealing her thunder.

"Go get that bread." Never again. No AAVE on this show please.

"Oh my God, Belly, uh, I didn't even recognize you" she looks exactly the same, but you thought a guy's name was Cam Cameron, Jeremiah, so.

Even when he sneaks in to grab a sandwich, it's supposed to be he's such a charming kid I can't stay mad at him like he's basically supposed to be Aladdin

but he doesn't execute. Jeremiah is supposed to be like this guy I worked with at a hotel where like management ALWAYS put him as a greeter at the doors because he was charming and smiley and flirty and they would also make him do room service, which is just A LOT but anyway. Actor doesn't have the ease and the effortlessness to pull that off.

Why wouldn't Susannah cover up Belly's bruise? So this scene could happen, Zal.

"Dude, that's Belly's brother" was the most organic delivery out of that entire exchange.

Why would they start pouring the alcohol into their tea when Paige is right by their table making a speech.

Also doing it in a flask?

"A drive in movie" You can just say the drive in. Oh my god.

As a writer, Laurel's character annoys me so much.

"Daaaamn you look hot." She looks cute.

"Hey hey, stop flirting with my sister." Sound jealous there, Steven.

Sabrina. How on the nose.

So I have made up my mind that Jere and Steven are boyfriends.

Brooklyn hipsters don't sail?

Belly, why do you like Conrad?

This is supposed to be a hot and heavy kiss and it's not. They should've just stuck to the awkward cute kiss.

It's funny when shows now do things that are supposed to show how risque these characters are acting because it's all so clearly staged because she's straddling Steven on the beach but is very still and the framing is supposed to be OMG STRADDLING ON THE BEACH but it's clear that's what it's supposed to be instead of me feeling like these are just characters interacting, like it should really be something like this

LOL I'm not saying Conrad wasn't doing what Belly was saying he was doing, which he clearly was meant to be doing, but I'm also saying on the first night, Belly, you crashed a bonfire no one invited you to and then started antagonizing Conrad and Nicole and called him an asshole before storming off so going like WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST LET ME HAVE THIS ONE THING is a little rich. ALSO Conrad has been sullen and drinking since you got here but he hasn't actively impeded you from anything except for tonight when he showed up at the drive in and because we haven't seen your relationship before this I don't see any time where you wanted to do something and Conrad stopped you from doing it because he wanted you all to himself or he wanted you crushing on him so this confrontation just feels like projection, which would be fine if we spent more time with Belly and from her perspective Conrad keeps letting her down -- which I know is what the flashback scene was meant to be in season 2 where he brings her to the boardwalk so he can talk to a girl but that should actually be a flashback we see here. If anything, when Conrad has his Taylor Swift entrance that's when we could have "the first time my heart was ever broken", go to that flashback to establish her history with him and that dynamic and then do things throughout the episode to build upon that flashback.

"Why don't you go smoke some more pot" lmao the anti-drinking, anti-drug messaging is hilarious.

"Why don't you go look in the mirror some more?" Man, it's not like he said you're just a virgin who can't drive.

He could've been harsher if the whole point is that this is supposed to SO gut-wrenching.

"I wonder if this is how all crushes ended" I don't CARE about your crush Belly because the show has given me no reason to be invested in you two, it has given me no indication of why you would like him, what you two were like before this summer, what's so great and dreamy about him to you. The only REAL conversations you've had this summer is with Cam Cameron.

*SIGH*

[ridiculous-lazybug]

uhhh i'm not okay after v8 chapter 2 so !!! here are my thoughts and theories about the Hound and then i won't post anything related to the scariest moments of the episode for the next week.

so regarding the "identity" of the Hound, we have 4 possibilities imo :

thanks to doctor Oobleck we know that Grimm grow smarter and more dangerous the longer they're around, so it's possible that this is just a very very old Grimm that's been on Remnant for millenia, and gained the intelligence needed to wait for the right time, have an actual fighting strategy and even a sort of speech

we also saw Salem adding wings to the monkey Grimms (were they Beringel ? i can't remember) at the end of volume 6, so why wouldn't she able to give Grimm a kind of... brain ? (and vocal chords obviously) and since Oz gave the Branwen twins the ability to transform into birds, she could also have given a small part of her magic to let him mute/transform. so in this case the Hound would just be a Grimm that was very enhanced by Salem

the focus on the... black goo ? with a drop falling on oscar worries me a lot. can someone actually be "contaminated" or "Grimmified" over time like this against their will ? and if it's not the black goo thing that makes Grimm spawn in volume 3 and in the dark pools, there's also Cinder's arm that's been progressively taking more and more of her arm over the volumes, so the Hound could be a random former associate or prisoner of Salem

and finally, if 3. is possible then we can't deny it could actually be Summer turned into a Grimm. like plenty of people have already pointed it out but the absence of eyes (Summer's eyes would definitely have been removed by Salem if she kept her "alive"), the fact that Salem met Summer, Yang mentioning she "went on a mission and never came back" and never saying she died (also the no body, no death anime rule), also do y'all remember Qrow's nightmare in volume 4 ? he said "tai, she isn't coming back" so... maybe he actually saw something when he was spying as a crow.

so yeah i have no clue about which option it could be (or is it even one of these ??)

also i would like to add that

remember in the intro, we see a grimm hand with five fingers and i know some of us assumed it was Cinder's hand but maybe it could actually be the Hound's hand ?? which also has five fingers so... i don't know, there's still a lot that can happen this volume

anyway those were my thoughts, i don't usually write a lot of theory stuff so if you have anything to add please do !!

[scatterpatter]

"Where's the essay OP" Said no one, and yet here I am

Lampy isn't stupid, he's neruodivergent: a rushed-together masterpost

Disclaimer: I'm not a liscened medical professional but I'm neurodivergent who's close to many neurodivergent people so I know when certain traits strike me as very familiar... Also tblt is my comfort movie I've seen it probably over 100 times, not exaggerating, so if anyone here's an expert on it, it's me.

I'm only going by the first movie because while To The Rescue and Goes To Mars probably have evidence to back me up, I don't feel like sitting down to watch them as I don't have them as memorized as the original

Point #1: Lampy is arguably the most intelligent appliance in the movie

Honestly it apalls me that so many are convinced that Lampy is an idiot when he displays some of the most intelligent traits in the movie. I'll just list off some of the most important scenes that show this

1: When discussing a way to get to the city, Lampy comes up with plans that end up failing, true. But we should also consider that not only did Radio and Toaster come up with bad plans before deciding on the swivel chair, but 2/3 of Lampy's ideas involved the same mechanic: on something with wheels(yes the mattress had wheels for some reason) being powered by Kirby

2: "From here you can see the really big lamp!" This scene is simply due to the appliances being sheltered from the outside world. Lampy displays the same level of naive-ness as everyone else: Radio seems earnest in calling the sun a "really big lamp", and Kirby calls the grass "shag carpet". Lampy is not at a lower intelligence in this scene, he's exactly at the same level as everyone else

3: The scene with the storm really sells his intelligence. The appliances have a rudimentary understanding of electricity, most likely from being appliances, but Lampy displays an excelled level of understanding by sacrificing himself for the battery. He understands that batteries are powered by electricity, lightning is electricity, and by using himself as a lightning rod, he acts as the conductive metal to easily transfer this energy from the bolt to the battery. Technically this should have overcharged and fried the battery but we'll suspend disbelief for the sake of this movie.

4: He knew that stacking the appliances to roughly human height, creating a dark environment with ominous sounds, and putting Toaster at eye-level to scare the human with his own reflection... Again, this is an intelligent understanding of how to scare a human

5: It's unclear on whose idea it was to look up Rob in a phone book, however this shows that not only can Lampy read(most likely picked up from being Rob's reading light), ESPECIALLY when Toaster struggles to read, but also has an understanding of phone books, addresses, and finding humans based on family names. I cannot stress how intelligent this is for a sentient desk lamp

There's a few more minor examples, but these are the biggest cases. Lampy is intelligent.

Point #2: Lampy struggles with social cues and doesn't empathize as easily as others

My biggest point here is when people think neruodivergents are "dumb" for having trouble picking up on things like sarcasm when that just... isn't the case. A few notable examples include:

1: When Air Conditioner says "You're a real bright little lamp", Lampy doesn't pick up the sarcasm and thinks he's being complimented. Though he definitely shows a level of emotional intelligence because he looks to Toaster to confirm "hey I was complimented", sees they're still looking angry, and gets the hint that he was insulted without someone needing to explicitly tell him that, to which he then responds with "Heyyy >:("

2: Sometimes he's able to read the room and pick up on tones, but other times he shows a level of emotional density. Legitimately not knowing if Rob had returned even when seeing Blanky disappointed to the point of near tears... But then knowing "brains wouldnt hurt either" was a jab at their intelligence and reacting with appropriate annoyance... But also when Radio says "Things could be worse!", doesn't realize he's just saying that to make Toaster feel better and asks "How could they be worse?"

3: He bullies Blanky alongside Radio and the others, unclear if he's actually being a jerk or just "oh this is what everyone else is doing so this is the normal way to act", but he's legitimately confused when Toaster tries to explain why they're suddenly being nice to him. He doesn't get the "now I feel better" argument because his argument was "Well you were never this nice to him before". Even when Toaster tries to explain why it feels nice, it just doesn't click... until Toaster finds a way to explain that connects personally to Lampy's own emotional state. He has trouble empathizing until realizing "oh this is like this thing that I feel sometimes"

4: Something I've noticed when gathering evidence is that more than once, Lampy goes "Wow..." After someone gloats about themself(Twice with Radio, once with the Computer). It's clear by the third time, when Radio goes "What does that mean?" And Lampy responds "I don't know. [To Computer] What does that mean?" That he doesn't even know what's being gloated about, let alone why he should be impressed. He has the emotional intelligence to recognize when someone's gloating and the "appropriate" response of amazement, but it seems like it never comes from a place of earnest. (While Neurotypicals can and do engage in "performative" behavior, I tend to notice this way more commonly with neurodivergents)

Also the "wow..." Performative thing is VERY reminiscent of Peridot from Steven Universe(a characters who many autistic fans see themselves in and the creator herself saying she doesn't consider Peridot or any of the gems to be neurotypical) going "wow thanks" as her default "this is how I've been taught to show gratitude" response

Point #3: Miscellaneous traits that could be neurodivergent

These traits COULD be interpreted as neurodivergent, but I will admit they could also be interpreted as something else so like take these with a grain of salt

1: Lampy appears to have sensory needs. When sleeping, he needs to tap a rock a few times(presumably to make sure it's "right") before clonking his head on it. It's interesting because rocks aren't a very "lamp" thing whatsoever, and none of the other appliances look for pillow-ish objects to rest on, so this could be a sensory thing.

2: Lampy has an interesting vocal quirk: repetition of phrases at the beginning and end of a sentence. Instances include "How exactly do you propose we do that, exactly?" "All of a sudden you're being so darn nice to him all of a sudden" "The fact is there's just not enough facts" The third one is a bit of a stretch but the first two seem to indicate a possible pattern of speech. Part of me wants to say this could be a verbal tic or some type of verbal stimming, but I've never met anyone who has a tic or stim like this so I can't say it's a neurodivergent thing with confidence, but I wanted to mention this quirk regardless.

3: Physically saying how he feels. Two instances where multiple characters are laughing, Lampy speaks while laughing "That's funny - I'm dying!" "I'm aching with joy!". It's just interesting that no one else speaks while laughing and for whatever reason, Lampy needs to verbalize "Yes I find this very funny" as if simply laughing along isn't enough. I've seen somewhat similar stuff in neurodivergents who have issues expressing emotions implicitly so they state them explicitly instead.

4: I've noticed Lampy isn't touchy... except with Radio. Some neurodivergent people can have issues with physical contact, which could explain that. But I've also noticed that Radio also gives me huge neurodivergent vibes... But more importantly Radio is extremely touchy with everyone, Lampy included, hence them often getting into physical fights but also just- tapping them or wrapping a cord around the other and pulling him close(they're so in love but that's a post on its own). A possible explanation is Lampy having issues with touching others, but either feels comfortable being touchy with Radio(due to emotional bonds and trust) or simply recognizes "Radio likes being touchy so I should be touchy back". A stretch of an argument, I'll admit, but I think the interpretation is there and valid.

In conclusion

I mean idk if Lampy was written to be neurodivergent or if the writers just wanted him to be "quirky" and accidentally gave him a lot of neurodivergent traits, but he reads as very neurodivergent to me(probably autistic or adhd but I'm not a professional and can't diagnose him). But while I can chalk up neruodivergency being one of many possible interpretations of his character, I WILL argue that he's not "stupid" given the evidence we see throughout the movie

Tl;Dr: Lampy is evidently intelligent, but sometimes struggles with social cues, empathy, and overall shows numerous traits of neurodivergency