#okAY SO I HAVE MANY MANY CONFLICTING FEELINGS ABOUT S2

[feathercreates]

"Sky, your hair looks just like starlight! It's beautiful." "You think so? So do I!"

my precious astral babies I will love you forever oh my god (Bonus panels under the cut!)

[tepli-mravenci]

I'm gonna be honest, while I did ship Azi and Crowley in a fanon way I didn't actually want them to become a romantic couple, I was clinging onto that aroace platonic relationship with my nails and teeth for the entirety of season 2, but the drama loving bitch in me watched the entire finale with my mouth hanging wide open even after the credits rolled.

Me and my friend were both screaming "No no no no no!!!" when Ineffable bureaucracy was becoming canon, cause neither of us liked that ship (and we thought it was kinda too fast and out of nowhere), and then everything that happened after - we were just holding onto everything we could, barely breathing, praying that it won't actually happen and then THAT happened and we went CRAZY, cause neither of us actually EXPECTED that and then that followed and we were just flabbergasted completely but also we LOVED that it went BAD because we're EVIL

And now I feel like someone Caesar'd me in my own house

[vi-arcanes-left-biceps]

Spoilers for Arcane S2 Finale❗❗

So, i keep thinking about Arcane's last pieces of dialogue and though they sounded kinda funny when I watched the end at the first time (in a 'really? This took 27h to write?' way), the more I think about it, the more I like it.

I think it has a ton of layers to interpret and I'm still missing a few of them.

Please forgive my multiple tangents while I try to gather my thoughts.

First, how Caitlyn finds Vi: no bandages, a glass of alcohol in her hands.

No bandages means many things for Vi: she's vulnerable -both because of what she's going through and beacuse she can allow herself to be vulnerable for the first time in the show, with Caitlyn-, and her fight is over, she doesn't have to fight anymore (Re: Ep7 Powder saying Vi fights because she's scared of losing everyone, and she has lost everyone). (Everyone but Ekko and Caitlyn, who have repeatedly proven they can fend for themselves and are leaders on their own right, I'd love to say Vi is in a point where she's able not to feel responsible for them too, though this is something I'm not so sure about). Bandages were also an important part of her character design, of herself, so this gives a sensation that she's lost a part of her identity too. Who is she, if not the big sister, the protector, the brawler?

Alcohol is another small details that just says she's not okay. We've seen her drink herself senseless for, presumably, months, in Act II, to cope with all that happened in S1 and particularly S2 Act I: accepting the loss of her sister after the attack on the council, becoming an enforcer even though she was completely against it because she still feels responsible for ending Jinx, recognising her sister again for just a glimpse and gaining faith that Powder is still there (with the realisation that she almost killed her sister -not the monster she convinced herself jinx was, her sister) falling in love with Cait and seeing her become a completely different person out of grief.... So after everything that just happened in Act III, where she saw that many people die, either strangers or friends, and where she lost her sister and father AGAIN, of course she's considering getting back to drinking. So much happened to her in the span of few months that she's considering drowning the pain away again.

Caitlyn's question: "Are you still in this fight, Violet?"

The line delivery is incredibly soft and intimate, and Cait calling her Violet is the cherry on top. She's knows Vi is not okay. She's knows she's going through a lot right now.

Caitlyn's question seeing this is really, at least, three questions:

First and clearest is a check-in: "How are you?" "Will you be okay?" "Do you want to talk about this?"

Second is "Are you staying?" Vi could leave to be alone as she did at the beginning of Act II, could go with Ekko to Zaun... I can also see an "Are you staying with me?" After everything that happens, after the little time that they've had to be together and to solve the many things between them, her asking "Are you still in this fight" can mean both "hey, are you holding up" and "Are we still together in this?"

Third would be "So, are you up to face this, solving things between Piltover and Zaun?". I know some people have criticized the lack of resolution in the Zaun/Piltover conflict. I'd argue, as much as I'd love for the class conflict to be expanded, it is not the core of the series, and both the writers and the characters know that a conflict like this cannot be solved in such little time. The series was not going to solve it. What it does is solve it's main plot and character arcs, and leave a space for this theme to have the start of a resolution. Piltover an Zaun joined against Ambessa's army, and the ending gives us a glimpse of the will to change the relationship between topside and bottom (e.g. having Zaunites in the council). It's not a perfect ending nor it is a resolution for Zaun's class struggle -I'm pretty sure that was never the intent, though I would have liked for both cities' relationship to be more comented upon in this season-, it's the opportunity to advance towards a resolution. So Cait is asking Vi if she is willing to deal with that too. "Are you still in this fight?" can also have an implication to mean fighting to make things better. This also means fighting for them to be together.

Then, Vi's answer: "I am the dirt underneath your fingernails, Cupcake. Nothing's gonna clean me out".

Now, I like this because it sums up to Vi saying "I'm not going anywhere" but the line itself and the delivery gives it a few more layers of meaning.

First of all, Vi is clearly not okay. She's very emotionaly scarred and considering an unhealthy coping mechanism. She looks incredibly sad. And she's deflecting with humour to the question because she's probably not ready to talk about it. So her delivery here, plus the strange joke/comparison and calling Caitlyn "Cupcake" (which she's only done when she's teasing her in a flirty or funny way or deflecting the conversation by doing so) is telling Caitlyn that she's not okay right now, but that she isn't going to leave. "

I interpret "Nothing's gonna clean me out" as her basically saying "I'm tough, I'll get through this" to Caitlyn's "How are you?" and saying "You're not getting rid of me" to Caitlyn's "Are you going to stay?"

Furthermore, calling herself "The dirt underneath your fingernails" has an obvious implication about her being a Zaunite and Caitlyn being from Pilotover. I've seen some people saying this is insulting to Vi's character and to Zaun's storyline.... I don't think so at all. Yeah, I can get to see a layer of self-depreciating humor, but for me this is Vi using her humour as well to reinforce herself and her identity as a Zaunite (which arguably she left aside/lost sight of during Act I) while also teasing Caitlyn for being a topsider. I like to interpret this as Vi saying "Yeah, Piltie, I'm sticking with you and I will keep bothering you". The tone and calling Cait "Cupcake" reinforces this as a tease as well. Reinstating her identity as a Zaunite also gives insight on Vi's position on the Zaun-Piltover new relationship: yes, she's willing to help out manage this, always from the position of a kid from the Lanes.

Zaun and Piltover are also stuck together after the ending - they've fought together against a common enemy and that has also forced Piltover's elite to sit and listen to Zaun's demands. For sure Piltover's aristocracy still has to get their heads out of their asses but this is how I like to read the phrase in regards to Zaun-Piltover, layered upon what Vi is saying: I am the dirt underneath you = I (Zaun's state and problems) am a consequence of your (Piltover's) actions and I am not going anywhere. (You will have to listen).

Anyways, lots of rambling and I'll still be missing stuff!

Another thing is, native spanish speakers as I am use the phrase "Nail and flesh" to say that two people are inseparable, and this has enough similarity to that for it to feel like Vi is also saying they are inseparable. So yeah

[our-flag-means-love]

every time i see anyone say the writing in s2 isn't very good overall, i think of one specific line from episode 4. (and no, not "to love the sea as she must be loved requires change," because even though it might be my favorite line in the whole show, i've talked about that one before.)

ed's main internal conflict in episode 3 is that he feels unlovable. he feels like a monster for killing his father and for all the things that he's done in general, and he thinks that because of that, no one could ever love him.

we, of course, know that stede does love him, even knowing about his past. but ed doesn't know that, and even after he wakes up and starts interacting with stede again, he has no reason to think that.

until they sit down on anne and mary's couch and have a proper difficult conversation for the first time in their lives.

even now, ed doesn't think stede could love him without a beard. he says, "i'm sorry if my horrible naked chin disgusts you so much."

and before he can even finish his sentence, stede shoots back, "i love your chin. naked or otherwise."

it's stede's first pushback against the idea that anything about ed is unlovable, or that stede's love for him is conditional.

and what immediately follows is even better, because there are so many things stede could've told ed in that moment.

a simple, "i love you."

ed would've thought, "okay but which parts of me? and what will i end up doing to ruin it?"

"you're not a monster."

ed thinks he is. ed wouldn't have believed him.

"i love you despite your past."

ed would've been left thinking that his past actions were still a permanent stain on him, that it's a major hurdle in the way of him ever being loved by anyone, including stede.

but stede doesn't say any of those things. he says:

and it's perfect. it's exactly what ed needed to hear in that moment. the writers could not have picked a better line.

because ed is lovable, in the present and the past, and nothing he's ever done has detracted from stede's adoration for him, and that was the only thing stede could've said to properly convey it.

[angelflms]

Okay, so I have been thinking so much about this (I have been talking aloud to myself for like ten minutes bc I've invested myself wayyy too deep into this), but I think I know why Miguel bothers me so much despite being my favorite character.

The writers suck.

Now, I know I don't have screenwriting credibility and I'm merely just a girl and I know that perhaps they can't cram all of this shit into the show and make room for literally everyone else, BUT I think the reason why so many people don't like Miguel as a character is because he doesn't have much of a character to work with. So whenever he does something that shows character (the Mexico storyline, the Stanford storyline), no one feels bad for him. I think that maybe if he had definitive arcs for each season, while weaving it better into Robby's arcs (since they're foils and tethered to each other), he would actually be likeable. So I wanted to show you what I feel like I would do to write Miguel's post school fight arc. Feel free to tell me your opinions. (buckle up, this is a long one)

S3a

similar to what we see

but we actually get to be more into Miguel's mental response to the aftermath

I dont' think they went enough into his feelings with everything and that everything went a bit too fast (for Miguel) during the season.

perhaps they could've gone deeper into his PTSD, similar to what they did with Sam.

but instead it preventing him from going to school, it prevented him from doing karate all together.

it was clear early on that karate and Johnny slowly became all that Miguel cared about.

Johnny was sending mixed signals and Kresse's entry into CK was conflicting as their ideals were different.

Johnny made it clear that CK's mottos are a way of life, so Miguel was moving the exact way one would in karate irl.

Karate was his life. And it nearly ended it as well.

I don't believe Miguel would immediately still want to be so gung-ho about joining karate again after nearly dying from it.

Johnny would lose Miguel's trust and would fight for it back. He already lost Robby. He can't lose Miggy too.

Miguel doesn't want to be around him for now, despite feeling bad for pushing him away

S3b

When finding out he was paralyzed, it hurt to find out, but at the same time, with his conflicited feelings about karate, he would feel a bit relieved.

I like to think that when the surgery worked, everyone was happy but Miguel because now people are going to expect him to want to go back to doing karate.

Eventually he and Johnny have a heart to heart and make up, though he's still a little bit hesitant on trusting him

he does reluctantly join Eagle Fang and he tries to make an effort to train again and get past his fear

Though things still feel like what it was like at CK, which isn't something Miguel is enjoying

Plus him being the only shot they have for the All Valley is putting presure on him, mainly due to Johnny

The scene where he tries to kick but fails happens

He falls and flashbacks of the school fight happen

He gives up and says he isn't doing karate anymore

That is until the finale fight when CK comes in and fights the EF/MD kids and Kyler beats him up

he remembers why he started karate in the first place and starts fighting again

He chooses to do karate again

S4

Again similar to what we see (Johnny and Carmen, the intro to Kenny, etc)

I think he still feels weird about being back in the world of karate and latches onto Daniel more as a sensei now with the conjoint dojos situation (he's a lot softer on him knowing his situation)

Which pisses Johnny off and makes him jealous (he just misses his kid ya know?)

He tries to make an effort with Miguel but he grows more distant after hearing Daniel's side of the events during TKK

This season could heavily parallel s2 with Kiaz as they're on the opposite sides of the coin now with Robby being with CK and Miguel learning more Miyagi-Do techniques

This could also bring more tension with Lawrusso because of how they're both treating and training him and how Johnny thinks Daniel is taking Miguel away from him

(maybe a fight scene about this idk)

Perhaps Miguel starts feeling bad about pushing Johnny away as he very much still cares about him and sees him trying

Daniel does talk to Miguel about how Johnny does care about him and how he's beaten up about everything and how he wishes he could change everything

This will make the whole "I love you" "I love you, too Robby" scene a lot worse

Miguel feels lost again

The sprain he gets during the All Valley was the final straw for him as he has a panic attack and in a heap of emotions, he leaves for Mexico, not just to find his dad, but to genuinely run away from everything

Also throughout this season, I really wanted to see more of Robby being guilty for what he did during the fight but pushing it away until he sees what Kenny does to Anthony and realizing that history is already about to repeat itself

Also also we do see Miguel talk about collage but brings up that he wants to become a PT (did I take this from someone who reblogged my other rant, yes) and probably want to go Boston University (they have a PT degree program)

S5

Same as we see for the most part

I was hoping Miguel would bring up the whole "I love you" situation but he never did and I wonder why

I wish we saw bits of the car ride home from Mexico and the awkwardness between the boys (there's a good ao3 fic that does this pretty decently)

Perhaps Robby can tell that something is off with Miguel though and tries to spark conversation but the latter refuses to talk to the former because of the school fight

I think the break up should still happen

Both because with everything going on with him, the breakup would just be another stab in the chest, but also because that fucking scene was so good!! Like idk if Mary and Xolo get their flowers for that scene but I'ma need them to get their flowers for that scene

Now he's just this ball of emotions

Johnny still wants to push for the boys to be close since he's caring for both of them now (and ofc the baby) so like in the actual s5, he still tries to get them to talk

Now I would've preferred a heart to heart reconciliation (similar to samtory s6) but since the dudebros would think that's too soft and this is a fighting show, the balcony scene would be fine

Though I do think in a later scene, Kiaz should have a more emotional talk with each other

Miguel just talks about how hard it has been since the school fight and how everything keeps on changing and everything gets a lot for him

Robby tells him that he gets it and confesses how guilty he feels for being the one to put him in the hospital

And then I feel like the rest of s5 can go the way it did

i don't know. maybe this is too convoluted but I do think that the lack of characterization and constant mischaracterization of miguel diaz is due how poorly the writers went about him post s3a imo. i think they could've done something great with him in a way people felt for robby you know? they always randomly bring things up as a way to say "hey he has trauma too" but it's always at the most inopportune times and it always comes off half-assed instead. i love miguel so much because of his happy-go-lucky energy but he has so much wasted potential which is wild to say when he's the main character.

[kradogsrats]

Okay, so new day; new insane lore history theory.

Looking at the tapestry from ToX again more closely, after my very quick scan this morning, there are actually five distinct types of soldiers shown:

Based on careful examination of the contemporary armor/uniforms used by the Pentarchy armies, I landed on this breakdown:

I could explain in great detail how I made those distinctions, but honestly it doesn't matter and people don't care. Just trust me, I thought hard about it.

Originally I misidentified there as only being three types of soldiers, because the Katolis/Evenere and Neolandia/Del Bar designs are very similar. Also because the tapestry shows three cities:

Katolis is obvious, and I still think the other two are Berylgarten and Neolandia. The map helpfully tells us there are five known cities in the human kingdoms, complete with little pictures:

I've left out Hinterpeak because it's very obvious none of the tapestry cities is Hinterpeak, Hinterpeak is literally inside a mountain. Del Bar's secondary city, Serpentongue, looks like a candidate based on its map drawing, but ToX tells us that Serpentongue actually looks like this, which is... less representative of what the tapestry shows:

We see Berylgarten briefly in s2 during Viren's flashback sections, where it's a sort of tiered city with towers around a central dome:

I think that's closer to the top tapestry city than Serpentongue is, though it's still fairly abstracted. It also makes more sense for the "capital" city of a kingdom to be represented.

Finally, we have Eboreus, which is a bit of a problem child because we have no long-distance views of Eboreus that I can recall... there are depictions of the inside of the city, but nothing that would characterize its silhouette for us. However, ToX does have another piece of "old" artwork, meant to be probably some kind of fresco, depicting the founding of Neolandia and Eboreus:

(This is the latter, Eboreus half, the right half just shows the people migrating from the east and going through a nomadic tent-based civilization period.)

It doesn't help a ton, except that construction of the city wall is given a pretty dramatic place in the visual narrative. I would definitely assume, from this, that Eboreus is a walled city similar to the bottom tapestry city. Combined with the many-spired depiction on the map, I feel okay about that identification.

It's interesting that they geographically represent only three of the five kingdoms, but if the tapestry pre-dates parts of the kingdoms' formations... well, the kingdom that's a swamp infested with magical megagators and the kingdom where they still choose the next monarch by having a literal melee free-for-all are honestly the ones I'd say probably took the longest to establish like... actual government.

However, something to keep in mind is that while I've been talking about this tapestry like it's a super-old historical document within the setting, it may actually not be from all that far in the past. All we really know is that it shows a conflict between humans and elves, divided by the Border, and that's not exactly a historically unique scenario. The main things that suggest it's showing an earlier time than "now" are that it includes only three cities, and that it clearly depicts mages being heavily involved in warfare. If that was something that was expected at series time, a lot of things would be very different. I could, however, see it being a thing as late as, say, the time of the Orphan Queen. I mention all of this because the tapestry is one of several "old"-looking art pieces in Tales of Xadia, but we have to keep in mind that one of those literally depicts Harrow killing Avizandum, so. It could be very old, it could be not-very old. (I mean, 300 years is still pretty old, in the scope of known human history.)

Really, though, what I wanted to talk about is this:

We have our "Katolian" soldier, but the heraldry on their shield is not the Katolis uneven towers, even though that's already a distinguishing feature of the kingdom (as seen in the city depictions). Instead, it's a layered uh... thing. But it's a thing we've seen before:

The guards at Allhaven Hill have their own heraldry, presumably because they're supposed to be neutral regardless of their kingdom of origin... but it's almost exactly the same overlapping geometric design as we see in the tapestry.

We also have Blondie McKatolis, in the flashback scenes during Zubeia's account of Aaravos's imprisonment, strongly implying that we are seeing representatives of the human kingdoms at the time of the Orphan Queen:

We pretty clearly also have Neolandia, Del Bar, and Evenere at this table. Also Duren, I just always get confused by her since they gave her those purple-y pink accents instead of blue. Why? No idea. What is this, Sleeping Beauty?

Anyway, Blondie up there also does not use the modern Katolian uneven-towers heraldry, nor the crown that matches it. Depending on how long the Aaravos bullshit had been going on, it's not surprising that the Orphan Queen would try for a clean slate when taking the throne. Having just averted devastation on both sides of the Border by working together with Xadia, "finding strength in our differences" is a pretty good choice for new logo inspiration. (I don't actually know how you adopt/change heraldry. But I do know logo design and branding strategy!)

Given that all five kingdoms technically appear in the tapestry, the "Pentarchy" heraldry could already be a united human kingdoms symbol... except then why isn't it on any of the other soldiers? Some of them have shields almost exactly the same as the Katolian soldiers, but no heraldry.

So here's a thought: what if it actually is the Katolian heraldry of the time, or a symbol of the kingdoms united under Katolis?

Katolis is one of the older and larger kingdoms, it's implied to have had a larger and more organized military for a long time (holding most of the Border), and Blondie is the one with Aaravos whispering in his ear. It wouldn't be super weird if Katolis at one point held a higher position than the other kingdoms, whether as "first among equals" or an actual system of vassals with a "high king" or whatever. The center, frontmost piece of the overlapping geometry, so to speak.

We have occasionally gotten weird little hints/implications that the current era of peace between the human kingdoms, even the entire concept of the Pentarchy, is fairly recent. What if that's not because they were all squabbling amongst themselves even after the mage wars wound down, but that prior to the Orphan Queen, they were all varying degrees of vassal states to Katolis? If part of what the Orphan Queen did was reset the human kingdoms as equals, doing a "this symbol now belongs to all of us, not just Katolis, and Katolis will adopt new heraldry" could be a nice gesture.

But yeah, that's how my brain has been spinning today.

[crooked-wasteland]

i feel like that clip gets worse the more i think about it. like;

1. why does charlie treat baxter like a replacement for sir pentious? why is she treating one of the only patrons she had a connection to (at least a hell of a lot more of a connection then she has with angel,) as if hes easily replaceable? like, i know its supposed to be funny because they roughly fit the same trope of "wacky evil guy who makes evil stuff", and it IS funny.. when i dont actually think of the implication of how charlie is treating sir pentious in memory through the way she talks about him after he was killed right in front of her. its like they thought about how funny the joke would be before they thought about charlie and sir pentious's relationship in s1, and just went with that so they wouldn't have to write charlie acting any different. which sucks, because charlie legitimately mourning him would be a GREAT conflict for the main character to have in s2. tbh they still might do that so they can have their cake and eat it too, but i dont know if itll feel sincere after that scene with her and baxter.

2. does she know sir pentious is alive in heaven? how could she know? nothing about the way she speaks in the clip makes me think so, but at least if she knew he was actually okay and redeemed, you'd resolve the issue of her trying to replace some guy who died defending HER hotel with his life, and the issue of her having no reason to redeem sinners after learning heaven is corrupt and seemingly wont let in even the sinners in that deserve redemption. because replacing someone in a cast whos technically still living in heaven isnt nearly as bad, and his existence alone would probably be proof enough alone to motivate charlie to keep trying to redeem sinners, which would be especially satisfying after her faith in heaven would understandably be broken after the trial and the extermination coming right to her hotels front door. so knowing that, this is probably whats NOT going to happen

3. why is she specifically even trying to replace sir pentious anyway? is it a coping mechanism after her loss of him? its obviously comedic so we're not supposed to take it seriously, which means the writers probably wanted to make a joke about how obviously baxter is going to be the replacement for sir pentious's role at the hotel, god i wish we had seen them interact together at a voxtech con in a competition like in vivs old post pilot series pitch in 2019 but i'd argue its a joke at the expense of charlies character development. the way she acts in that clip is something i'd expect from s1 charlie, but not s2 after everything that happened to her.

i think s1 had the issue in general of making things funny or fun over making them make sense for the characters in context, so its not surprising to see that issue happen again. it's just slightly more infuriating when you remember hazbin was supposed to be the serious show compared to helluva, but now hazbin has way too many mean spirited or dumb jokes at the expense of its own characters youre supposed to automatically care about, just for comedys sake, and helluva became the soap drama nobody asked for.

Absolutely! I side stepped my own opinions as I genuinely wanted to see what others had to say, and @tommycorriander pretty much hit that nail on the head for my interpretation of the narrative. The biggest issue is how the first season elected to prioritize things happening over their characters and their relationships. We never actually see the cast grow close over the season, we are simply told that's what happened.

But by mixing together Pentious and Baxter, my first inclination was that, yes, outside of superficial characteristics, Charlie cannot connect to sinners. They are all the same to her, and based on her character being so broad and general in her appraisal of Sinners, it definitely feels like she doesn't see them as individuals.

And the travesty is that if the show actually went in that direction, I would eagerly welcome it. I would love to see some self-awareness from the writers and a character with a legitimate flaw of personality; not just "she made a mistake, but her heart is in the right place" contrivances that have riddled all of Medrano's work. I would love to see that story of Charlie being forced to change as a person, and I would probably love Charlie as a character as well if the show went this route. Instead, good characters just do bad things but with good intentions. Instead of good people actually being complicated creatures with some genuine flaws of character that they are always working to mitigate and be better.

Characters who are working to be good people feel like good people. Those that just act good with no effort feel conniving or disconnected and apathetic. They feel fake and vapid. Having it be a genuine effort would do so much in giving Charlie some ounce of depth.

[romanticatheartt]

Do you remember how I said I won't be watching s3? Yes, I'm a lying liar through and through lol my sister said let's watch it and I love watching movies or TV shows with her, and tbh we had a good laugh😭💀

Okay so here are my thoughts:

First of all: KATE AND ANTHONY. Omg they're everything to me!! They were only in one episode but they made that episode theirs. I just love seeing them blissfully happy and living in their own bubble. I'm both sad and glad they were only in one episode. Because I wouldn't put it past the writers to give them some unnecessary drama and conflict. At the same time their screen time was so little... I suppose we can't have it all :')

Francesca. Omg I love her so much. I already loved her from the books but the show? God, she's so cute and beautiful. Hannah played her to perfection and I'm glad she's the new Francesca. Even when you read the books, that's how you imagine Fran's character. Both she and Kate have a special place in my heart.

John... my god John is here. And I'm already too attached to him. I can't- Listen, I know my heart will break when his time comes. The actor was such a good choice for his character and I was on the verge of crying whenever he appeared with Fran. She was always so happy to see him. I never thought two characters/actors could have this much chemistry while sitting in silence. GOD I LOVE THEM and I'm ready for heartbreak :D We still have no Michael but I'll keep hoping for him to appear because my god... Francesca's book is filled with angst I just hope when it's her turn, they do it justice<3

I actually enjoyed Eloise and Cressida. I never thought I'd say this but I did!! I know they made 180 changes about her character in the new season but I don't really care lol I just hope she works it out with Debling so at least she'll be free from her parents.

People keep saying they don't like Eloise this season but she's so much better than me. I would've been so much worse... The first thing I would've done was give Pen's name to the queen but she kept it this whole time and was actually worried about Pen... she was kind enough to a person who ruined her and her family, not once but twice.

There are too many side plots in this season. Like I don't want to be pathetic but we've been saying that since s2 and y'all called us delusional and said to be grateful because it was more than enough. But now that I see even Polin fans have a problem with this season makes me so happy and sad at the same time. Because when this happened to your favs, it's a real issue...

I love LD and QC friendship so much!! And QC & Brimsly. These friendships were more shaped since QC spin-off and I really enjoyed it.

It's obvious to me that they don't know what to do with Ben's plot lol. Because creating these unnecessary original characters is doing a disadvantage to the whole show. I really hope we see Sophie this season. 

Okay I've avoided the inevitable as much as I could lol so let's talk about the main couple:

They have no chemistry. I know some might not agree with me but there's no chemistry for me. It has always been like this since s1. At least I don't feel anything special between them. Nicola is a wonderful actor and is carrying the whole ship on her shoulders and I said what I said. 

Luke wasn't good at portraying Colin at all. He has no charisma and is trying too hard. I'm not talking about his character wanting to be something he's not but talking about the acting in general, so don't come for me with that argument. They really tried to make him like Anthony but failed miserably. Which is sad because even tho I haven't read their book, he in other books was absolutely my favorite side character. Me and my sister were laughing our asses off at some of his actings like sir... pls don't😭 I'm being super mean omg

The pacing of their relationship was weird. When he proposed to her I was so shocked like in episode 4? Already? Then I remembered in s1 we had the same situation but in s1 it felt right. It wasn't weird or felt too soon or too late, it was right. With Polin, everything felt out of order. I think they didn't want to focus much on building it up because they felt they already did in the past 2 seasons but it just felt off in the end. They weren't even together much on screen to feel like it's building up!! There was no arc or if it was, it was too subtle that if you blink you'll miss it.

The other problem with their plot was the similarity between s1 and s3. Simon was trying to help Daphne to find a husband and Colin is doing the same thing. Except s1 main trope was Fake Dating and s3 was Friends to Lover.

Which brings me to another reason why I didn't like s3. Friends to Lovers trope. Honestly, this is a me problem. I've never liked this trope at all. I really tried to change my mind about it, like reading books with this trope but most of the time I'm left unsatisfied or hating the book. Unfortunately, s3 was no different. This trope always comes off as unpassionate for me. Which I think it's the trope. Because it's supposed to be cute and subtle and I'm not sure it's really my thing. So I guess the major reason for my dislike of this season is the trope.

There were 2 fkn scenes of Colin participating in a threesome... That was so fkn bad like I can't believe this just happened. And one of them was after he kissed Penelope... I don't care that he didn't continue but... OUGH it gave the ick so bad, I didn't even watch it,  just fast-forwarded it.

That carriage scene was okay-ish? It didn't leave me breathless like the Kanthony scenes did. Tbh s2 left me in a shamble with how much emotions I felt with those two. But with s3, I had the exact opposite feeling toward the main couple.

Anyway, I think this season, revealing LW's identity was their priority which is why they weren't so focused on the romance (?) idk but I feel like part 2 won't be any different than part 1 and they're gonna throw some sex scenes to make it up for the romance lol

ps: I know I said s4 will be Benedict's and I still think it will be but if they decide to make it Francesca's? Oh, I wouldn't mind at all!! 

[sapphicscholar]

Hacks Episode 3x09 Thoughts

Okay, so back during S2, I wrote up my thoughts about each pair of Hacks episodes as they dropped – partially for sharing but largely as an archive for myself of my own thoughts/feelings to revisit when I watched the episodes later to see how they held up, how it compared to watch them serially vs. as a whole season, etc. Anyway, I was incredibly stressed out and busy for much of this season (after over a year of that being the key set of words to describe my life), but I wanted to throw out my thoughts about the finale before they grow too stale! And maybe I’ll come back and revisit the prior episodes in posts later when I have the time (hopefully in just a couple short weeks!) to enjoy them properly

As always, disjointed bulleted lists are the name of the game, going from the big picture to the detailed:

Overall, this felt like a very solid episode in the vein of season 1 in many ways! It brought us back to the interpersonal as the primary ground of conflict after many episodes (here and in S2) of the new hour, the special, and the Late Night host gig quest being our main plot drivers (which, at many times, made for weaker storytelling for reasons that exceed the scope of this post!). In particular, I felt like this episode hit its stride around the halfway point, and never really faltered after that in impressive ways!

That being said, I had two somewhat significant critiques of the finale (both of which reflect larger trends about strands of the show that continue to leave me a little disappointed)

We should have seen Marcus' conversation with Deborah about the new job. Period. I'll get into what could have been cut in my second critique, but even if there weren't weak spots in the episode, I still would have been deeply disappointed in the show for this oversight, especially since they apparently filmed it. Although Hacks is clearly a show with a leading duo, it once had a core ensemble, but S2 saw them moved more and more to B-plots and bit roles, and now S3 has seen many of the characters we know and love eliminated almost entirely--a point that's particularly galling given that it's almost entirely characters of color (many of them canonically queer) who have been cut in favor of new white characters. Moreover, this scene would have been SO IMPORTANT - I could have seen it going 2 ways: a) Marcus quits after the convo where Deborah tells Ava she's willing to lose her, and Deborah has a reaction that is so utterly outsized because it's the terror of losing the person she's had with her the longest now compounded with the reality setting in that she's also driven away the woman who gave her new life when she most needed it; or b) Marcus shows up to quit, and Deborah immediately launches into a rant about Ava's leaving, which puts Marcus in the awkward spot of adding to that at a pivotal moment in the career of the woman he's spent much of his adult life with or giving up something he needs to do for himself; it could have been a lovely callback to S1 when he shows up with his whole speech prepared but then accepts the promotion without ever telling Deborah how he feels - only this time Marcus would have changed so much, and he'd have the opportunity to showcase that growth by insisting that he needs to do this for him. So many lost opportunities...

re what could have been cut because imo it did NOT work: Kathy Vance's return. Now, I love Hacks in large part because it insists on the complexity of its characters. No one is purely the victim or the hero of the story, and Deborah's "click" moment showcased that better than anything. AND YET the writing here did not work. Back in the Christmas ep, I messaged a friend saying I was glad that they brought Kathy back but seemed not to ask us to side with her - after all, she comes crashing back into Deborah's life, doesn't take ownership over her actions and in fact insists she was in the right because it only happened a few times, because Deborah wasn't sleeping with him (very "you weren't playing with it, so it's mine now" little sister energy that is deeply unappealing in a grown ass adult), and because they were the "better couple" which is, I'm sorry, NEVER the fucking thing to tell someone whose marriage and life you destroyed. I joked then that I'd take back my compliments if her role in the finale suggested that actually we should be on Kathy's side here. And lo and behold... What's a real bummer is that there were ways to do this better! Because you can have sympathy for an imperfect character--this show is a testament to that fact!--but not like this. We as an audience have no reason to side with Kathy when she insists that Deborah will be worse than ever and berates her for cutting their weekend short. Instead, we see a woman with a large sense of entitlement she's done nothing to earn and directorial choices that don't make it a smooth transition. But what could have been lovely is, for instance, treating the Christmas and finale reunions as these deflationary moments of anticipation and disappointment because they are, after this many decades, essentially strangers to one another. Had we seen two women who longed for the deep affective ties of their childhood relationship only to be confronted with the cold hard fact of their estrangement from one anther, it would have been so much more powerful. And here you could ACTUALLY garner sympathy (some) for Kathy by having it be this moment of "I lost my sister" partially through her own actions "to Late Night once, and now, right when I have a chance to try to build something with her again, I feel like I'm going to lose her again before I can even really try to do right by her this go around." THAT could have worked. This was just too much time on something that did almost nothing in the grand scheme of the plot (because we didn't have the emotional connection to feel it as another compounding loss for Deborah in an episode where Ava's "and you're going to die alone" could have landed with even more force)

Okay so it turns out this is getting hella fucking long, so some shorter praise and giddy feelings things:

I LOVE how often Ava got to say the things we've all been squeeing about for years during this episode - especially that the material is good because of their relationship, not the other way around; their dynamic is not incidental to the work, and that's so important to me personally.

I had guessed that Ava would be offered head writer and quit her current job, only to have it taken away because Deborah was too scared to rock the boat, but I did NOT see the end coming! In fact, I kind of thought Ava might end up suing Deborah for intellectual property theft (using material Ava wrote outside of her contractual appointment for the new show because, surprise surprise, the writers who sucked when she was a guest still suck now compared to Ava!) In fact, I sort of thought that end scene might end up being a return to the car scene, and was relishing the thought of Ava's mimicking Deb's "It'll be fun, honey." But the blackmail as a form of love/devotion was soooo much better. Truly chef's kiss.

Also the way this rewrote the S2 finale even as the underlying message remained the same is so special to me - I'll stay with you even when it's bad for me (sacrificing my career -> sacrificing my morals) because it's good for you and more importantly it's good for us and the work. JPL know how to write a finale, and I'd give up a kidney to have that same energy be there throughout a whole season again (not that the eps are bad, but they lack some of the sharpness in writing and emotional depth that JPL do so well with finales and also often with the first couple eps of a season too)

Lastly JPL going on the record that Deborah was turned on by that final scene + Ava's "I would, wouldn't you?" and "Let's begin" - truly some of the hottest TV. We're so back babyyy. No more half naked superheroes with all the eroticism of a desk chair. Give me messy women determined to fling themselves into the air because they know the thrill is worth everything good and safe they're leaving behind, even if they hit the ground with no parachute!

I have many, many thoughts about S3 and what's to come, but I'll save them for another post because phewww this got long as fuck

[melvisik]

OFMD S2 SPOILERS

Warning: This post contains non-explicit, brief implications of sexual assault/harassment and (explicit) invasion of personal space. The subject of consent is delicate and complex and I am no expert, so if any information/opinions in this post are evaluated to be erroneous, seem careless, or cause too much controversy, this post will be deleted and apologies given.

Constructive criticism is welcome.

That goddamn scene in episode 6. There are so many amazing posts that have painstakingly broken it down. So at the risk of another potentially controversial (and definitely extremely long) post, here's a summary of a few favorite observations complied together: The main thing to remember is that these two are still frickin' whim-prone. They don't think things through sometimes, and here especially they didn't let themselves think. One would assume they deliberately didn't stop to question any of this - Stede didn't just throw Ed over the couch for a ravishing, he took time to prepare the room as Ed waited for him.

Gifs credit to @mermaidstede

There was also absolutely something happening here on a more subconscious level, so here's a mixture of suggestions in one proposal: Ed came to comfort Stede, something that possibly no one has ever done for Stede before...

Gifs credit to @mermaidstede

Perhaps without even consciously acknowledging it, Stede is so touched. And he's conflicted and in shock and so filled with love for this man - he is an absolute mess. Stede grabs this wonderful source of love and comfort...

Gif credit to @mermaidstede

...and pushes him up against something solid to brace against. Stede is in something like a free fall, and he needs to feel something or someone is there to catch him before he crashes down...

Gif credit to @gay Ed's subconscious might be catching on to this; after the initial surprise of Stede's literal launch at him, Ed's nigh-supernatural instincts gauge Stede and the state he's in.

Gif credit to @gay Stede needs comfort and support desperately, something to show him that although he's killed someone who was a threat to the people important to him, he's not unlovable. So Ed gives the man he loves warmth...

Gifs credit to @gay

Ed shares in the good shit with him...

Gif credit to @nicostiel And Ed later tries to give him good food, like the marmalade he loves so much...

Screenshot credit to @piratecaptainscaptainpirates Ed is technically stretching his boundaries here, but he isn't unwilling to become physical; as much as he prefers to wait, he wants Stede as much as Stede wants him. Ed’s also in a bit of a vulnerable state at this point; both he and Stede just had their personal space utlra-invaded (to put it mildly), by some creepy bastard who considered Ed scum.

But Stede (who just caused said bastard's death for crimes Ed himself has committed against him - damaging his ship, hurting his crew) loves everything about him. Ed reciprocates. He's wanted Stede for a long while now, missing him like hell when Stede left...

...and Ed almost just lost him again.

Moreover, Stede needs to know in this moment that he is loved, it's going to be ok, and that Ed is there for him. So Ed consents...

Gif credit to @nicostiel He lets his adoring mate collapse against his body, giving him his usual sign of affectionate - a rough slap on his shoulder. That hand quickly slides up to brace around Stede's neck...

Gif credit to @nicostiel

...just like Stede had done to him.

Gif credit to @figmentof

Ed's touch is firm. The arm snapping around Stede's waist is firm as hell, as if Ed's giving Stede a combination of "I want you so much" and "It's okay, love. I've got you"

Gif credit to @bulletsangwich

Stede lets go, melting into his beloved, and is surrounded by the strength of supportive arms. He more than likely snakes his own arm around Ed's waist, bringing his other hand up to gently cup Ed's head and pull this solid source of love and warmth closer. Maybe in some ways, Ed is still trying to protect Stede...

Gifs credit to @izzy-hands ...and in some ways, Stede still needs to be protected. Now switch to (hypothetically) Stede's point of view right before this scene- We all saw it, that bastard did indeed hurt his crew and damaged Stede's ship, but when Ned blatantly disrespects and debases Ed...

Gifs credit to @eddie-redcliffe ...Stede snaps. But then perhaps this is a rage that was building before and not just out of protectiveness. Stede was the one who foiled Ned's plan, and yet it's Blackbeard to whom Ned asks about his punishment. We've all noticed how Stede longs to be respected as The Gentleman Pirate, and yet even when he's victorious he isn't taken seriously. He comments later to his Republic of Pirates fanclub how he and Ed take turns making decisions, and that is exactly what he wants. He wants to be Ed's equal. He's not Ed's pet...

Gif credit to @eddie-redcliffe

...anymore than Ed is Stede's plaything. Stede exacts his revenge, but it was an act from which he can never return. Olu and Jim told him in S1 - once you kill, it changes you forever. Ed's told him you can't come back from it. This is the first time he's intended to kill someone, and it leaves him reeling.

He needs time, he goes to be alone. Then Ed shows up, concerned and worried about him. On the surface, perhaps Stede's brain is overcompensating, making him feel confident rather than devastated. Stede could be feeling like he's on the same level as Blackbeard now. Ed has deferred to him many times, but now others will do it too. And here's Ed/Blackbeard himself, sympathizing with him and just simply being the man Stede loves.

Gifs credit to @mermaidstede

Stede lunges. He anchors them both into a stable place, then switches to being being gentle, waiting to see how Ed will react. Maybe also he's thinking how he and Ed are on equal footing now? They can be true pirates together. Or maybe he's musing about how Ned was so wrong, and Ed is absolutely everything? In any case, he treats Ed tenderly when the permission is given, treasuring their closeness but not really recognizing just what his subconscious could really be seeking.

Gif credit to @moiirasketchup In any case, what we ultimately see this night are a pair of kindred wrecks giving over to passion, spurred on from mutual desire and a deep need to show and receive love and comfort. Of course, there are numerous other ways to express these things to one's partner(s) rather than sexually (though it can be a method for some relationships), but for better or worse that seems the be what's happened here. Ed could have stopped it, pushed Stede away or talked him through it. He chose not to.

Stede could have just not initiated it in the first place. In fact, he probably shouldn’t have, and wouldn’t have in he were in the right headspace.

But the heat of the moment can be a bitch when emotions are running high. These overwhelming feelings are in addition to all their other traumatic baggage (which would take too long to analyze in this already-too-long-post, but for example - 'defiling beautiful things,' the different paths they're on, etc.), and again, these two are still frickin whim-prone. This really seems to be a moment when they're both just like "Fuck it."

So when Ed eventually calms down from basking in the afterglow, perhaps he realizes that yes, that could have been handled differently. He agreed to it, he wanted it, but was that really what Stede (or he) needed, and now what does it mean for their future? Ed panics, and true to his whimsy ways, he runs off to become a fisherman without really knowing anything about it.

Stede on the other hand is still running off a major high - he's destroyed a brief-time nemesis, gained infamy, learned pirating skills from one of the best, pulled off successful raids, reclaimed his ship, protected his crew, and made love to the love of his life. Then it all comes crashing down on him - his beloved leaves him, his crew are moving on to others things, and he gets his ass whooped while trying to separate lovers and pursue danger as if he somehow wants to destroy himself.

To state the obvious - Ed and Stede need each other. To share in fun and happiness, and to be there when the other really needs him.

We see them struggling figure out the best way to handle these trying times, and while some of the regrets and the risks are unavoidable, we all suspect (ie know) the rewards would most certainly outweigh them.

And on that note, to sum it up...

It's just the same old song Nothing cruel, nothing wrong It's just two fools Who know the rules But break them all And grasp at half a chance To play their part In a light romance

-"Light Romance" from Blood Brothers P.S. Ok, there's definitely nothing light about their romance but dammit, there's a unshakable need to add a Blood Brothers reference in an episode where Con O'Neill sings like the goddess he is...

Gif credit to @mozarlin P.P.S. Some other sources/insights can be found here (made a list of 'research material' this time):

A couple of analyses of the 'night in question' and/with 'day after'-

And a wonderful analysis/subtext-translation of episode 7's 'last night was a mistake' conversation-

[karuvapatta]

buckle up, I'm gonna bitch about Arcane season 2 for a while.

disclaimer: the animation and art direction is absolutely stellar, writing and voice acting is mostly solid, music ranges from good to amazing, sound design is great, and it's a great show overall.

HOWEVER:

There were so many interesting subplots and ideas, but not one of them had enough room to breathe or time to develop organically.

(spoilers under cut)

Caitlyn - I love the subplot about her becoming a fascist dictator and Ambessa's pupil, I really do. But then it sort of fizzled? She faced no repercussions for installing a police state and using chemical weaponry against civilians? The last one got to me especially - her mother built this system claiming that "the people of Undercity deserve to breathe" and Caitlyn then turned it against them. Okay, Vi and Jinx both called her out and it left to her rift with Vi, but... she's still in charge at the end, having seemingly learned no lessons?

Vi - uh, she was there. Sort of. Most of the time. Again, she joined the Enforcers, and it led to SOME conflict, but... is she going back to being an Enforcer? how does she feel about that? Who knows - Vi was mostly there for Cait and Jinx's subplots than her own.

Jinx - her subplot with Sevika and Isha was my second favourite thing about this season. The idea of her becoming a symbol and uniting Zaun is great. That little moment in the prison was awesome. But, ultimately - it didn't amount to much. Her sacrificing her life for Vi (or not, I don't know if she actually dies) didn't hit as much because we already knew she was actively suicidal.

Isha - had the potential to be super annoying, but like I said, I ended up really liking her character. Her death rubbed me the wrong way, however - it was very emotional, but the framing was very strange. Were we supposed to find it inspirational? Tragic but beautiful? Proof that Jinx isn't irredeemable?

Sevika - again: loved her, loved her interactions with Jinx and Isha.

Silco - I found it weird how this season consistently framed him as a good guy. Jinx and Sevika remember him fondly, he was the only thing holding Zaun together, there are cute flashbacks / AU versions of him and Vander being happy... he's a complex character and we love him for it, but let's not forget his many, many crimes.

Singed - kinda weird that he got what he wanted with no repercussions.

Mel - all right, her subplot bothered me perhaps most of all. Mel is a joy every time she's on screen, true, but last season she had been established as a savvy politician and businesswoman, motivated by her mommy issues, and a corrupting presence on Jayce. She pushed for progress at all costs to fulfil her own ambitions and prove something to her mother. That's a great setup! But what we got in s2 is... random superpowers out of nowhere. Mel always had power - she was the richest woman in Pilltover and basically ran its Council - but now instead of confronting her with the potential side-effects of Hextech, the consequences of her ambitions, and the futility of proving herself to her abusive warmongering mother, she just gets... more power. Out of nowhere. And validation from Ambessa. It was just weird.

Jayce and Viktor - easily the most compelling part of this season, and my favourite subplot. And STILL - it felt rushed and incoherent. I thought at first that Viktor would become jealous and resentful because Jayce is everything that he isn't, and I am honestly so glad they didn't take that route. But instead, Viktor gets... brainwashed by the Hexcore I guess? Ascends to a higher plane of existence? His Jesus Days and his cults were fascinating, but I didn't get the philosophy behind them at all. I can see why Viktor would want to shed his physical body for a machine that has none of its weakness, and how he might convince others to follow that path, but instead he chose to brainwash his followers and then assimilate the entire human race? What? There were so, so many potential sources of conflict between himself and Jayce - the Hextech weaponry Jayce built, Pilltover's fascist takeover of the Undercity, Jayce reviving him against his will and not destroying the Hexcore, accidentally poisoning Ekko's tree through their irresponsible use of Hextech... but the conflict we got didn't built on any of that. And I don't understand why.

(But I get you, Jayce/Viktor shippers. You won this round.)

[wheelercurse]

byler + subtext

(a rant by me)

I do think byler is still subtext, at least the part of Mike being queer too. But this story started with subtext, even with Will. So I want to share with you my personal experience of watching the show and coming to the conclusion that byler will be endgame.

note: subtext doesn't mean it's not intentional, it's written like that for a reason. I know it's hard to convince others because many people would like to have it spelt out. And of course, their bias will affect them. They wouldn't want to think the ship they like isn't ending up together.

When I finished watching S1, I was sure Will was gay. There were two biggest hints: the homophobic bullies, and his conversation with Jonathan.

You don't present a kid as different, and even his father was homophobic toward him for nothing. But Jonathan telling Will that "he shouldn't like things only because he's supposed it." was the confirmation. That was a queercoded conversation, yes, they were talking about baseball, but there was an underlying meaning to it, the subtext.

I know some part of the general audience considered that Will could be gay for these hints, but it wasn't confirmed.

In s2 he has another queercoded conversation with Jonathan, about how it's okay to be different. Again the conversation wasn't about Will's sexuality, it was about him feeling alienated and outcasted, especially because people called him zombie boy.

But the last scene was the one that reaffirmed that he was gay. The one when he danced with the girl and he looked so uncomfortable. To me, it was obvious he wasn't interested in girls like that. This was more about another rule show, don't tell.

In the original script, the scene was written a bit differently. Will wasn't interested in the girl because he was looking at Mike. That would have confirmed that he waa gay, but also that he liked Mike. And to be honest, I didn't consider that he liked Mike, but some Mike's actions made me think that he liked Will. But still, I thought it wasn't possible because the main couple was "mil*ven" It was another case of two besties having more chemistry than the straight couple.

Then it's season 3, where literally the rain fight confirmed that he was, in fact, gay, homosexual, gay. But now I also highly suspected that he liked Mike too.

The rain fight is my favorite byler scene (my mutuals know this). The reason, it's the perfect example of queer subtext. This season, his queercoded conversation wasn't with Jonathan, but with Mike. At first, I interpreted the line "it's not my fault you don't like girls" in a literal way. I thought that Mike knew that Will was gay, but the creators and actors were still denying that he was. It was still just subtext.

My friends (like some GA) insisted to me that Will wasn't gay and liked Mike, it was only that he didn't want to grow up. And they were half right because, of course, they were arguing about that. The line in context was about Mike complaining that Will wasn't interested in girls, and he just wanted to keep playing d&d (even though it had homophobic undertones).

So, yes, on the surface it was only about growing up, but what was written between the lines? Their inner conflicts about their sexualities and feelings for each other. But, tbh I still thought Mike wasn't gay. Even though, mlven annoyed me this season, and their last kiss felt forced and awkward. I truly believed it was bad acting and bad direction, but I changed my mind in season 4.

David Harbour spoiled in an interview that Will was very interested with someone else (Mike). So I thought maybe he would have a crush on him, and then get over it, but oh boy, he was deeply in love. And not only that, he was suffering for his unrequited love. And every milevn scene was about how much pain it caused to Will. Why would be the reason if he doesn't get what he wants in the end?

BUT, I don't think how they wrote Will's arc this season, it's the only reason why Mike has to be queer. Also, how they wrote Mike and his relationships with both Will and El. Especially because their main conflict was that he couldn't say I love you. The same conflict, that another Wheeler sibling had with her partner.

Anyway at the end of the season, he gave his monologue to El, and for like two days I thought it was truly over, until I realized that the truth about the painting had to come out and that would change everything.

I watched the show again in retrospect. And I noticed Mike's queercoding through the seasons.

His conversation with Karen in s1, is very similar to the one Will had with Jonathan. So, it was intentional that he treated Will differently in s2, and the gay vibes I felt were there. And in s3, the rain fight, he thought growing up meant having girlfriends, yeah, that's so heteronormative. I know what you're dealing with, Mike. And of course, the awkward kiss was intentional, the boy kissed her with wide eyes open perfectly framed next to a closet. That's subtext.

When I read some leaks, I still doubt. Especially, the ones which claim that mlevn is still together, because, to me, it doesn't make any sense for the way it was written. But, maybe they're wrong, or they're going to break up later in the season.

And I also doubt because they haven't leaked anything about byler being romantic. BUT, I remember they leaked that Jamie was playing Vecna and 001, but nothing about Will being in love with Mike, so it's okay. This is their top secret.

This was a rant, not an analysis of the queer subtext in the show, if you want, I could write it one of these days.

Thanks for reading.

[lilacs-stash]

genq cuz I’m confused. why do u think ii15/act 1 made suitcases and baseballs dynamic weird

Okay so in EP14 of s2 they'd already started healing. They talked about stuff and were getting better. It seemed like Baseball really got what happened. “You're here, you're listing. So, thanks.”

But in EP15 for some reason Suitcase is. Mad at BB? For how he handled eliminating Test tube? And they end the episode on worse terms then they started it on.

The way EP15 is written it feels like it completely forgot they already starting talking things through. It's a step back. All they needed to do was talk about how their relationships with Nickel effected their own.

Now characters getting worse before they get better isn't a bad thing just look at Balloon & Nickel last season. The problem is this conflict is incredibly pointless, and feels forced/mildly ooc. What purpose does it serve?

I thought before act 1 maybe it existed so that Baseball and Nickel could learn that they had a toxic relationship at the same time, to avoid heavy conflict with Nickel. That'd make enough sense, his arc is mostly over don't want to give him to many problems.

But no it seems like Nickel knows it already and then he dies 👍 so all that is thrown out.

And you might be thinking "Well Suitcase needed to be upset with Baseball to choose Knife" but no she didn't. Did Balloon need to be mad at Nickel to vote him out in iii17? Nope they literally hugged.

Suitcase could've voted BB out because she didn't want to compete with him, trying to avoid causing problems for their healing relationship. Or maybe because the game was hurting him and she didn't want him to be stuck here anymore. Even a mix of both could work.

And it can't be "Oh they both still needed to have problems in act 1!" cuz fixing your relationship with one person doesn't fix all your life problems. Behold! Balloon post iii16, who despite having a healthy loving relationship with Nickel now still has one million insecurities

EP15 causes conflict between a healing relationship and then act 1 doesn't do anything with that conflict. BB & Suitcase's relationship isn't resolved yet but it's being put on the back burner, which is extremely frustrating. Act 1 would've worked at lot better if BB & Suitcase got closure, then it wouldn't feel like an interruption. Just a natural switch of focus.

[accirax]

initial thoughts on DCAS episode 8

having just rewatched S1 with my sister (and even while genuinely, actually looking at the screen instead of putting the show on in the background while multitasking), it is so wild to see tomjake in this season as opposed to S1. like, Jake is more or less correct here: although Ellie's meddling and Tom's own dumb moments are also to blame, it was mostly his fault that the relationship fizzled out. how far they've come, to where Tom is the rash fool and Jake is the (mostly) rootable victim...

i KNEW homegirl would be idol hunting this episode.

absolutely baller comeback from Tess. i doubt they increased the prize money from $1mil to $3mil just for this exchange, but what a power move if they did.

if anyone (in the audience) truly believes that Tom has a real boyfriend at this point...

this was a weird ass way to phrase it but okay Emily pop off i guess.

ooh, time for Yul's psychological issues? 👀

wait, isn't Emily hired by the show, not Yul? how would Yul be able to fire someone under Kristal's employment? is this just Yul firing her from the unofficial job of watching over his image, or is it a soft confirmation that Emily has been hired directly by Yul('s manager) all along?

i'm so desperate for Fiore and Alec to like each other again that i'll be happy with literally any vaguely positive note they end on, as long as it's not hating each other. i still hope that All Stars will be able to acknowledge and expand upon their relationship a little more in upcoming episodes, but if this is the end, at least we know that Alec was trying to have her back one last time.

forgive me if i'm wrong, but, would going to space really trigger someone's fear of heights? like, the "heights" are on such a high scale and there are so many other things to be worried about that i feel like your brain wouldn't really process it as "gee i'm going really high up." still, it's always interesting to see how Kristal has more of an established relationship with her (S2) campers. it makes sense, but it does seem like she's not afraid to show her bias in that way.

damn, Trevor must get paid a LOT! even if the vehicle didn't actually take them to space, it's still a huge building with many rooms that can actually fly. makes me wonder how much the producers/hosts are getting paid. (i understand this was just a joke line but it is technically canon now)

this line was only mildly funny to me, but Ally's face is great. she really hasn't had to spend any notable time around Gabby before. get ready for it, girl, because you'll probably be on the same merge tribe sooner or later.

oh dang, he's directly asking Kristal out.

this was an interesting response, especially with Kristal's later agreement to go upon hearing that they had a pool table. Kristal could have either been letting him down gently, or have genuinely not realized that this is flirting. i think it's the latter. that leaves the door open for Kristal potentially reciprocating Derek's feelings later down the line... also, where the hell is Oliver?!

Tess proves that she can be the goth gf AND the gamer gf. step aside, Ally.

they've done SUCH a good job of making Yul continuously pay for his actions this season as opposed to S2; it makes me like him way more. the fact that Alec is the one handing out the punishments just makes it all the sweeter.

ALEC DRINKS HIS RESPECT WOMEN JUICE!! (is that an outdated meme/saying at this point?)

while Jake is still mostly at fault for this conflict, i do like how they're making sure that Ally isn't just an innocent victim, too. she's stooping down to Jake's level of childishness instead of being the bigger person and handling things maturely. it makes both of them and their conflict feel more well-rounded, even if it makes them more annoying as well, lol.

Trevor was right; this particular iteration of the space challenge, at least, is bad. the fact that the Cyan team (Aiden by extension) got literally no advantages or head starts from arriving to this room first means that the first half of the challenge didn't matter at all. even if there's the Survivor saying that "it all comes down to the puzzle," the physical challenges beforehand can at least give one team a head start at looking over the pieces. as it turns out, fucking around on the ship was just a waste of time. it diminished my enjoyment of the episode a little :( (sorry for being a downer)

glad we're revisiting Aiden and Riya's relationship a little more, probably in preparation for them reuniting at the merge. given that Jake and Riya both don't like Aiden, i wonder if they could gather their allies (Ashley, Alec, Yul, Grett) to fuel an Aiden elimination soon.

Emily has to be gay right (/j)

this staging is really great at quickly visualizing the dynamics on each team, and may be foreshadowing for future events. the Yellow Team has completely shut Riya out, with Yul not even being visible, but Alec is still smiling at her from inside. not leaving the door open for Riya will actually waste Yellow's time, but they're so eager to win the challenge that they've actually made things harder for themselves. Magenta leaves the door open for Jake, with Ashley's face expectant and unobstructed, while Ally has retreated inside. despite their disagreements, the Cyan team all waits for Aiden outside, not even opening their door until he gets back. the storyboard artists for DC are a talented group!

Jake, too, is making his case for the villains' alliance.

i liked this sort of rationale from Tess; it feels in character with how they're portraying her this season. i also hadn't considered it as a reason why they would be steadily ramping up Ellie's villainy even as a pre-merge boot. but like... she's totally right.

THEY'RE SO CUTE!!!!! thank god the writers didn't decide to destroy gabbellie this season. instead, it seems to be a basis to set up something even greater...

I'M SO GLAD THAT THIS IS THE DIRECTION THEY'RE TAKING GABBY'S CHARACTER!!! i thought it would be a really good idea, but i didn't know if the writers would wind up taking that path. but it looks like we may be getting our true "explosive girl" back now that Ellie is gone, and i couldn't be more excited. i just know it's going to lead to something buckwild.

... wait what do you mean Ellie isn't doing the patreon reads? is she going to be the real returning player?!

for a somewhat disappointing challenge (for the reasons i described earlier), i'm really happy with this elimination and the direction they're taking the season. some sort of merge or tribe swap has to be happening soon, right? that next episode trailer can't come soon enough!

[saltywinteradult]

Rhaenicent predictions for S2? My guess is they’ll have Alicent abandon her family and join Team Black. It’s the only way I can see the ship becoming canon.

Apologies in advance, I meant to keep this brief, but... well, they are my otp.

My view on Rhaenicent is basically this:

Okay. Jokes aside, I’m not predicting that Rhaenicent will ever become canon. They simply have too much bad blood and too many war crimes in the baggage to ever reunite, and we all know there is much more and much worse to come.

Yes, they’re clearly in love and never got over each other, but while I'm fairly sure Rhaenyra, raging bisexual that she is (me too girl lmao) recognises their past situationship for what it was, I'm not sure Alicent ever acknowledged it even to herself. She may be the lesbianest lesbian that Westeros ever saw, but she's also spent years repressing that part of herself and devoting herself to the role of a wife and a mother as well as to her religious convictions. (And yes, it is very telling that in spite of all that, Alicent was ready to jump into bed reconcile with Rhaenyra in episode 8 anyway.)

Most importantly though, there is no way in hell Alicent is going to abandon her children — the children she’s suffered and sacrificed so much for — for Rhaenyra’s sake. That is not happening. Likewise, I have a hard time seeing Rhaenyra forgiving Alicent for, as she sees it, participating in the usurpation of her throne. I would love for them to have hate sex, but at this point I don’t see any possibility for an actual full reconciliation that wouldn’t be a betrayal of either character.

What I AM predicting is boatloads of gay pining and homoerotic fighting, much like in season 1. I’m expecting that, in spite of all that's happened and all the ways they've hurt each other, both Rhaenyra and Alicent will have a lot of conflicting feelings about going to war against each other. One or both of them might even advocate for the other to be spared should their side win. If and when they meet face to face again I expect the romantic tension to be off the damn charts, but I don’t think either of them will acknowledge it, because how could they? They’re enemies now, after all. They both have their own families to protect and their own diametrically opposed ambitions to fight for now. I expect them to homoerotically commit all of the war crimes and hurt each other over and over, because they're at war and they have to, and hate every second of it. They hate each other and miss each other all at once. They want each other and can never have each other. They were forced apart and suffer for it. That's the tragedy I am expecting and hoping to see.

TLDR: I don't think they will ever reconcile, and I'm completely fine with that. The possibility of them becoming canon has never been part of the appeal of Rhaenicent to me. I am simply of the opinion that everything, especially war crimes, is much more fun with homoerotic subtext. I'm just here for the gay tragedy of it all.

[glitteriztical]

arcane 2 thoughts

(as someone who doesn't play league but learned some lore during the hiatus)

• sevika has the biggest potential to be my favorite character this season

• the dynamic i got emotionally attached to is sevika, jinx, and isha so it's a bit disappointing they don't have much screentime

• actually, it feels like zaun hasn't received much focus? although I believe they're saving that for when jinx becomes their "icon"

• the animation is great as expected

• they were cool in moderation back in s1, but i do think some of the action scenes suffered because of the music video style effects they're going for

• i don't have strong opinions on caitvi other than "they're canon" and "good for them" so their scenes kinda felt draggy (not so much their romance but plotwise). the kiss was highly anticipated though

• maddie and the other guards are so gonna die

• honestly vi kinda bore me during these 3 eps but i realized she's suffered this much bc it's a parallel to powder in s1 so okay. her conflict of choosing between cait and her sister should've been elaborated more imo

• caitlyn took me by surprise this season. i understand her grief but the anger was...woah. her becoming a dictator is very interesting

• the politics is the core of this act. i barely care for it (sorry mel)

• why are they giving ambessa and noxus so much power over piltover?

• i thought magic isn't allowed or non-existent here. what is the black rose?

• the grey should've been explained in s1. it felt like a forced convenience in s2

• i really think there are too many plot points this season

• viktor. kinda upset his lore got changed into "getting turned into the hexcore against his will" and not him actively augmenting his body. and i do not even care about jayvik but him leaving jayce after just waking up is ???? hope the hexcore corrupts him a little bit so he'll think augmentation is superior idk

• also don't care what's going on with jayce, ekko, and heimerdinger but their dynamic is cute so i'll give it a pass

• singed, give us warwick already!

• speaking of, how will his daughter even fit into the all these plot points

• is it just me or the songs not as memorable as in s1?

so overall, i think s2 act1 pales in comparison to s1 act1 in terms of pacing and writing. i hope it gets better on act 2.