#there are multiple new characters this season and all of them prove a point

[jus-let-me-read]

I may ship Ronance but Vickie has absolutely nothing to do with it, and that's probably because she's so irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

[caw4brandon]

The Power of Stop-Motion

Media in today's standard is quick and easy. Rarely is a show more than 2 hours long or 13-epiodes per-season. With that, animated movies are a lot slower than the typical films.

There is a discussion on if animation is suitable for film purposes and while it is often shunned by the Golden Globes or the Oscars or other awards. The very few outliers can prove these awards and the world very wrong.

But that is not what we will be talking about today. Because while animation is popular, there is a dark horse among its sphere. One with a rich history and strong filmography that should be shared. Let's talk about;

- Have I possibly gone daffy? -

Stop-motion is a film making style that compiles multiple still images of an object being physically manipulated in small movements into one whole scene.

Majority of Stop-motion films and videos use [Clay Animation] or [Paper Animation] with several more varieties of new innovations emerging under the umbrella of stop-motion. The most popular of them in the modern era towards kids is [Lego animation] which is the manipulation of Lego models in motion.

The earliest trace of Stop-motion in films is the 1898 short [The Humpty Dumpty Circus] by Albert E. Smith and James Stuart Blackton which is said to be a lost media. To compensate, please watch [A Tribute to Stop Motion]

In its early concept, Stop-motion was used as a method to create impossible things or do practical effects under budget constrains. Such as the iconic King Kong scene at the Empire State building. Since then, Stop-motion has evolved into a full production industry. From Indies; [Righteous Robot] to Juggernauts; [Laika Studios]

- Shimmer a Little at The Edges -

Unconventional media such as stop-motion is often not a style suited for every story. Its a rather expensive type of media that requires worthy innovations top break the niche barrier. Just looking at Laika Studios alone, we see that they've develop a lot of interesting ways to improve visual effects while staying to their stop-motion roots.

One perfect example is seen in < Kubo and the Two Strings > where the animators need to create water in a still image world that feels natural. [A Perfect Storm] one other part of the stop-motion puzzle is the iron-willed discipline it to conceptualize, animate and edit a production that can take about 3 to 5 years to complete. More so of a time frame than a normal film.

This difficult curve lead to budgeted methods such as using models that already exist to tell new stories. Such as; Legos or with crude multi-jointed figures of existing characters. [MOONSHINE]

While I may say its crude, the low budget production is the selling point. Assisted with sound bites taken from gaming sessions or from shows featuring a lot of inside jokes and memes. Also, its hilarious to see a Teletubby turned into a Eldritch monster.

These attempts to make stop-motion productions accessible has captured the attention of other like-minded channels to collaborate and elevate one another. [ERB: Harry Potter vs Luke Skywalker]

- For Better Tomorrows -

With all that is said, what is the power of stop-motion? As a media that is tediously overlapping across processes. What are the better tomorrows for our inanimate subjects?

I like to think, that as filmmaking grows. Stop-motion will continue to remain as a sacred tug against live action films and traditional animation. It can be used to tell complicated stories with concepts that may look strange if its adapted in a live action.

As I have mentioned in [The Beautiful World of Hilda] animation's greatest strength is simplification. Stop-motion takes the opposite side of that philosophy.

Its a higher level of world building of the materials with willingness to accept mistakes and ruggedness that gives them that little flavor of life. As an actual touchable thing, the various cartoonish styles can take on a whole new dimension to heighten the style and give it that detail that is less polished.

Stop-motion shows that filmmaking magic can still exist despite already knowing the tricks. Its a media where every frame shown has a significant purpose that invokes a specific flow. That's the power of stop-motion.

[violentlyfeverish]

what i watched in january '25

a very solid month! i got around to shows that have been high on my watchlist for a while and ultimately found some new favourites.

see your love 看見愛 (tw, 2024)

this is, without a doubt, my favourite bl from this month and has become one of my favourite bls of all time.

i could write paragraphs upon paragraphs expressing the sheer fondness i have for this show and its elements. the complex characters, well-written romance, and themes and conflicts about communication that have satisfying resolutions all make for a very fulfilling and memorable show.

the attention to detail and care put into depicting shao peng's life and feelings, zi xiang's struggles and trauma, their individual growth and change is stellar. i love the way their bond strengthens as they support each other and encourage honest self-expression, creating space to be vulnerable and acknowledged for what others disregarded in the past. i'm in awe. it's beautiful. my most sincere praise and appreciation for the entire cast and crew that worked on this show. i'm gonna go watch the behind-the-scenes and keep an eye out for everyone's future projects <3

we best love: no. 1 for you (tw, 2021)

this show's primary strengths lie in the characters and the cast.

the characters, for one, have a compelling dynamic especially as we learn more about shi de's personality and the fact he's willing to go to great lengths for shu yi even when he outwardly dislikes him. at first the "blackmail" inciting incident felt a little contrived, but i soon came to find the psychology of using your one-sided crush's one-sided rivalry to distract and help him get over his own one-sided crush just... fascinating. shi de knows exactly what that feels like, has been wrestling with it for years at this point, and it's really interesting to think about their earlier years given this insight. shu yi, on the other hand, has spent many of his waking moments trying to beat shi de and it makes me wonder how often he might actually win if he wasn't so fixated on shi de, if he didn't feel so insecure from feeling like he has to work ten times harder to get what comes naturally to shi de.

for the other, the two leads do a wonderful job. in the clinic, for example, the way sam portrays shi de trying his best to suppress his emotions, the hurt and overwhelm from feeling like everything is unravelling. his microexpressions, his physicality in how his eyes are downcast and mannerisms purposely casual as he tries to downplay how he's feeling is so, so good. i was also completely taken by yu's delivery. there were multiple times i rewound specific sentences, especially during the bridge scene where his facial expressions, way he says 'i like you' then throws down his bag in defiance so he can prove he loves shi de are so striking. that whole scene is honestly marvelous, with every possible emotion playing out on shi de's face as he processes shu yi's confession, and then when they kiss and shu yi gets emotional again before says he wants this to count as shi de's first.

too good.

we best love: fighting mr. 2nd (tw, 2021)

i have a lot to say about the second season.

i do have some grievances with the plot and shu yi's dad. for one, the show wanted us to like him and laugh at his silly antics but they keep flashing back to genuinely cruel, abusive things he's done to keep shu yi and shi de apart. mind-boggling and very sloppy. it felt like they wanted a dramatic obstacle keeping them apart but then inexplicably still wanted the dad to be a likeable character? he had potential to be a serious cause of distress, further fleshing out shu yi's childhood, pressures to live up to high expectations, etc. and i'm just gonna imagine that's what we got instead of a shockingly wishy-washy, watered down, and frustrating character.

still, despite a contrived plot point and driving the conflict, i must say the conflict itself is... really, really excellent.

the tension, the desire, the heart-wrenching familiarity and longing after so much time apart... it's no wonder they went with such a premise even when the set-up fell apart and honestly -- despite its faults -- i still love this season. the strengths from the first season continue, especially the lead actors who are at the top of their game, absolutely hit it out of the park. since i knew what to look out for this season, i was able to enjoy their performances even more; shi de's loss of control when it comes to shu yi is fully on display and i love how yu portrays shu yi's barely/rarely-restrained anger.

every bit of energy and effort is poured into making moments truly glitter. it pays off. i wish the plot had received the same treatment towards the end, but i'll take what i can get.

the time of fever (kr, 2024)

i'm... not exactly sure how to word my thoughts on this.

everything from cinematography to dialogue to symbolism and characterisation is so, so carefully and thoughtfully put together. it truly feels like a meditative character study focused on one of my favourite pairs of all time, along with one of my favourite types of dynamics: fraught and fragile, full of uncertainty while at the same time harbouring strong familiarity.

there's technically not much plot, but i really admire how this series lays their foundation. i went back to watch their scenes from unintentional love story and now i keep thinking about what may have happened during those two years. it's crazy how i find musing about even the most mundane moments in their relationship super, super interesting. also, that orange scene changed my life.

yep.

light on me (kr, 2021)

this immediately became one of my favourite kbls/bls set in high school. each character is given time and care to develop, the romances are all fleshed-out, and i was blown away by how well-written the dynamic and interactions between the four friends are. the latter is the best part of the show, in my opinion; i loved seeing all of their unique interactions especially when sohee is no longer an antagonist -- i really liked her and shiwoon's love/hate friendship. shiwoon's entire character is a treat, tbh.

overall, a wholesome show with a love triangle done interestingly, care and consideration for every single character, and a final get-together that's really, really adorable.

to my star* (kr, 2021)

this is one of my favourite easier watches and i can see it becoming a comfort show. it requires some suspension of disbelief, but i adore the main couple and their story, how they grow closer during moments like cooking together. their touches and gestures of affection still feel like a gut-punch -- jiwoo immediately bringing taejoon's thumb to his mouth when he gets a cut, for example -- and my soft spot for loud, confident characters having underlying fragility is definitely indulged.

our dating sim (kr, 2023)

... i can't believe i forgot to include this show. it was one of my favourite shorter series this month and i love thinking about it.

the comedy hits, the characters are interesting and their extensive history is really heart-wrenching especially when we get the revelations that we do during my favourite scene. in it, they're walking around, constantly in motion, telling each other how they feel and what the separation was like on their end. it's lighthearted but grounded. heavy emotions simmer underneath, but come to the surface in moments like ki tae alluding he's loved lee wan for over seven years.

their body language and mannerisms are just really effective, and now i want to rewatch so i can enjoy their unexpected (for lee wan, at least) reunion. highly recommend. cute ensemble cast and very compelling lead dynamic.

the eighth sense* (kr, 2023)

this was the first show i watched this year. as a sucker for fraught, fragile relationships, i think this is a pretty solid drama that delivers on touching moments that feel both grounded and earned.

my love mix-up!* (jp, 2024)

this was my second time watching this show. while i had some mild criticisms about the storyline, i had a lot of fun with moments i'd forgotten about like the two eating lunch on the rooftop and ida defending aoki in front of everyone.

i hear the sunspot (jp, 2024)

this is my most recent watch. i have somewhat mixed feelings on it.

on one hand, i appreciate the attention to specific detail and can commend the attempts to include representation of different deaf and HoH people, though i feel that it could've gone further. and, as someone who's tired of the sole female character being the forced 'villain', i'm at least glad she doesn't fall for kohei and create a love triangle. i liked her brief moment with taichi, them challenging each other's perspectives was really interesting and if it made me wish we got better, more fleshed out friendships as a whole. i would've fine with that being the focus.

and while i did think the romantic resolution felt rushed, i still really liked taichi and kohei's relationship. taichi's efforts to help kohei, their mutual insecurity that they'd be abandoned once they're no longer of use, and the moments where kohei signs he loves taichi and overhears him talking in the film club room are genuinely really sweet. their dynamic taichi's empathy and validation of kohei's feelings that he'd pushed down after constantly feeling pitied, and kohei's encouragement of taichi's perceived 'annoyance' was really heartwarming.

overall, a lot of fond moments to take away from this show :)

a man who defies the world of bl (jp, 2021)

this is less a bl, more a comedic satire of bl tropes and its fans. i'll be honest, i watched this one at my sleepiest and more delirious, but i can still recall several moments i genuinely burst out laughing e.g. the mc yelling to stop the dialogue leading to a meet-cute, his exaggerated facial expressions, and just the absurdity of being in this world where guys are falling in love left and right based on nothing.

the ending is also pretty cute. i liked how we manage to get some development in the relationship, which sweetened the conclusion without feeling like too much of a departure from the original tone.

* indicates a rewatch

[cnwolf-brainrot]

03 Turtles - Greatest Fears

At least, as sourced from season 3, episode 14: The Darkness Within. I rewatched this episode, where the turtles are shown some of their greatest fears through hallucinogenic visions, and I decided to hyper-analyze the scenes to a friend of mine who doesn't watch TMNT so now I'm throwing these thoughts here as well. Simply put, these are the visions the turtles are shown: Leonardo: the death of Master Splinter Donatello: the death of Angel (who they were trying to help on this mission) Michelangelo: Leonardo turning against him Raphael: himself as the Shredder

As for why each of these are extremely important, I analyze them under the cut~

Leonardo: Leo holds Splinter's praise so much higher than his brothers do. Leo is the eldest child, the leader, the good student and the role model. He strives to emulate his father in all that he does. However, Splinter's death isn't some distant fantasy that Leo could never imagine; it's a real, stark, bone-deep terror that Leo carries. He's seen Splinter on the brink of death before. They all thought they lost him for a bit during season one. Leo knows his father isn't invincible, and that is TERRIFYING to him. He's the one who his brothers look to for guidance, and Leo looks to Splinter... without his father, EVERYTHING falls on his shoulders, and is he strong enough to bear that? This is further proved by the fact that in the vision thing Leo sees, Splinter rescues him before he dies; he looks to his father for guidance, security, everything... having to lead alone is his greatest fear.

Donatello: Don gets like twenty seconds of screen time and that makes me mad, but what he gets is important. Out of all of his brothers, his is the only vision that's focused on someone other than direct family. Donatello is a people-focused character; he goes out of his way to help others, and constantly throughout the series we see how empathetic he is. It doesn't matter if the focus of the episode is helping a dear friend or a stranger; Donny is the first in line to help. Moreover, he takes every single life they touch personally. This is seen specifically through how he keeps a bond with the homeless population of New York (seen in multiple episodes), how he witnesses the loss of April's neighbor Kirby, and how he spends months trying to find a cure for people who were experimented on by the Shredder (seen in the Underground episodes) even after his brothers have all but forgotten about them. Don is quick to protect people, and when he does he takes every single failure to heart. Failing someone he pledged to help is his greatest fear.

Michelangelo: Mikey seeing one of his brothers, particularly Leonardo, turn against him shows so much of his relationship with his brothers. Mikey's the annoying one, the goofball, the one the others are always teasing to the point its almost mean... but every single one of them would jump to his side in an INSTANT if he was hurt. This isn't just something Mikey "knows", it's something he SEES. Every time Mikey is in trouble, or -- God forbid -- an enemy makes the mistake of THREATENING Mikey, his brothers come out in full force. I can't even reference specific episodes here because it's throughout the WHOLE SERIES. Mikey knows he's annoying, and he knows he gets on his brothers nerves sometimes. But one thing he never has to doubt is if his brothers would be by his side... that is, until they're not. If there's ever something that would push his brothers far enough that they're not there with him, then what would he be left with? His brothers turning against him is Mikey's greatest fear.

Raphael: Raphael. OHHHHHH Raphael. The second Raph's was reveal was the second I decided I needed to type out this rant. At first his is simple; The Shredder walks out and attacks him. Raph fights back, as he always does, but eventually the helmet is knocked off and the Shredder's face is revealed... only it's Raph's face. And this shows us just what Raph is scared of; HIMSELF. Raphael genuinely struggles with anger issues in the 2003 show in a way that's a bit more prominent than in other iterations (my favorite example of this is probably the "what's wrong with me?" from the episode Lone Raph and Cub). He's angry, he's destructive, and he KNOWS this. It's something he's been told and seen for years. He struggles with controlling his anger, and he's had times before when he's lashed out and nearly hurt his brothers. Most of the time he brushes it off and recovers and makes up for it by throwing himself into danger to make sure his brothers aren't hurt. What makes this so heartbreaking is that this Raphael is an absolute sweetheart. He's all brawn and thick skin on the outside, but he's an utter softie; take his interactions with Tyler from Lone Raph and Cub, Mrs. Morrison from Touch and Go, or Ryan from this episode. And that's not to mention his interactions with his brothers!! This Raphael has a huge heart for others, and he has no idea. He genuinely doesn't seem to understand the fact that he's a caring person because he only is aware of his own faults. The fact that he sees himself as this -- their greatest enemy unmasked to see HIMSELF underneath -- shows just how little he knows about who he truly is. Raphael's greatest fear is himself, and that utterly breaks, my heart. Ok I'm done that's just my turtle overanalysis for the day, thank you for coming to my TED talk

[ankh-morporkianpostalworker]

The Use of Robert Moses as a Foil in The Unsleeping City

For those of you who don’t remember 10th grade English and don’t have a degree in Literature from a state school, a foil is a character who exists to contrast another character in order to highlight the characteristics of both characters. There are many great examples of this not only in literature (Hamlet and Laertes, Tybalt and Benvolio, Adam Trask and Cathy Ames) but also in film (Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, Batman and the Joker), comics (see: Batman and the Joker) and a host of other mediums. With all that said, and those examples given, I posit that Robert Moses is a foil for the Heroes of New York in Dimension 20: The Unsleeping City. 

First and most obviously, he is a reflection of Kingston Brown if Kingston Brown wasn’t a strict adherent to Uncle Ben’s axiom. Moses took every bit of power he could for his own use and, in real life, screwed over the city of New York where Brown uses everything he’s given to make the city better (in a flashback, we find out that the first thing Brown asks the Dragon of Bleeker Street after becoming the Vox Populi is how he can use his power to help other people). 

Second, he’s a version of Kugrash that never learned the importance of caring for others. Throughout season one, Kugrash acts as a protector for the homeless and dispossessed of New York, feeding and clothing and protecting them from harm, a lesson he learned after he was cursed by a powerful spellcaster. The people he protects are those who Robert Moses’s realm would destroy, the people Robert Moses cares nothing for. This service comes not purely from penance, but also from a heartfelt desire to help others to the point that he sacrifices his body to save New York. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is his reaction to the final words of Robert Moses’s phylactery after his (Kugrash’s) sacrifice - greed is good. To quote the man himself -  “ Greed is good, for rat motherfuckers like Robert Moses, but not in our town, not in our fuckin' city!”

Third, Robert Moses is a reflection of Pete if Pete had given in to corruption and temptation and hatred and greed, which he almost does multiple times in the series, the final time being in Showdown at the Stock Exchange, the penultimate fight of season one. This final choice is offered as two options on the Wild Magic Table - embrace the darkness to match Robert Moses in power, or resist temptation and rise above, Pete choosing the later. For this rejection of evil, Pete is killed (I choose to read the game of Eenie Miney Minie Mo as being a theatrically show that Robert Moses put on just to prove how evil he is). 

Fourth, both he and Misty/Rowan feed on the power of the city for their own ends, Robert to control it and Misty to maintain her youth and beauty. The difference lies in the fact that, as Nod points out, Misty/Rowan gives back to the people more than she takes, giving them hope and joy (and using her magic to protect the people), while Robert Moses gives nothing in return. She also cares for the immaterial things in life, like beauty and art and entertainment, while he does not.

Fifth, Ricky’s self-sacrificing nature is in stark contrast to Robert Moses’s. Throughout the series, Ricky puts himself on the line to protect others, a good portion of his magic being used to protect others from harm and the rest (notably his smites) used in defense of the innocent. In the final battle of season one, against Robert Moses’s nightmarish American Dream, he uses an ability that he knows will almost certainly kill him. His words to Kingston Brown moments before the sacrifice - “You got me if you got me” - show that while he would like to come back and knows his friend will do what he can to make that happen, he also knows that there’s a chance that this is the end for him, and he does it anyway, a sacrifice Robert Moses would never accept. 

Finally, there’s Sofia. Sofia was the hardest of these to write about, but eventually I realize that the contrast comes in relation to wealth - Sof rejects her family’s ill-gotten wealth, choosing to live (temporarily) as a monk with little more than the contents of a backpack to her name, while Robert Moses craves wealth so much that his whole plan revolves around creating a new realm in New York city specifically for his own gain. It’s not a lot, but it’s something. 

There’s also the fact that the heroes all love New York while Robert Moses sees it as a tool for his own gain, but that mostly goes without saying. 

I’m about 90% sure that this is the longest post I’ve made on this site but I really enjoyed writing it. I definitely plan on making more like it, analyzing D&D series through a serious literary lens and discussing the uses of literary and narrative techniques, although these won’t be as frequent as my shorter observations. 

If you got all the way through this, thank you and you’re awesome. 

[sagesariadnd]

Unspoken writing advice

A piece of writing advice I've heard in the past is: when you're stuck, as yourself "what's the worst thing that could happen to this character/these characters at this moment?" and write that. And it is solid advice.

But its main strength is that it's a way to start conflict, which is how plot beats happen. And in that vein, I think there's an unspoken sibling to this advice that should also be considered, when figuring out how to resolve conflict: "What's the best thing that could happen at this moment?"

Obviously, you don't want to use this to resolve a conflict instantly, or to turn your story into everything going 100% right for your characters. But it can be a great exercise in tugging at the threads of your story and finding tangles and following the lines to see where they connect the most beautifully.

To give an example of this, I turn, as many people talking about good writing do, to Avatar: The Last Airbender. Spoiler alert as we talk about season 2 episode 8, The Chase.

In The Chase, the gaang have been harried by Azula and her team all night; they've been following the trail left by Appa as he's shedding his coat, and until they figured that part out the gaang has been on the run through the night, trying and failing to sleep multiple times. They're tired, stressed, and cranky. And on top of that, Toph is brand new to the party, and she and Katara have been butting heads, and Toph is particularly sensitive about carrying her own weight and proving she can take care of herself, a button that's been getting pushed all night. It all comes to a boiling point and after an outright shouting match, Toph has had enough and leaves.

Obviously, from a meta perspective, the story needs Toph; she's supposed to be Aang's earth bending teacher, and she's a powerful force and makes up the earth portion of the gaang's bending collection. So the writers have to figure out how to make her go back. What's it going to take to make that happen? How is she going to develop and learn that Katara wasn't trying to patronize her? Maybe someone could talk to her and put things into perspective. Who is the best person she could run into to have such a conversation? Hey, how about Uncle Iroh!

Iroh really is perfect in every way for Toph's problem. He's in the neighborhood, since he's been following Zuko, who's tracking Azula, so the meetup is possible at all. He's friendly and hospitable and loves meeting new people - and let's be real, he could probably use the company himself since Zuko ditched him. He's patient and tranquil, so if Toph reacts badly he's not going to escalate things to the point where it's useless arguing. He sees people as clearly as Toph feels her surroundings, so he knows that she's capable and validates her. And of course, he's a font of flowery wisdom and is always an advocate for family and comradery, so he can talk all day about how to be a good friend to the gaang. One short rest over tea and Toph will hear what she needs to hear, and then all the plot threads can converge; Zuko catches up with Azula in the middle of her fighting Aang, Iroh catches up to Zuko, Toph catches up with the gaang, and they're all together for that encounter with Azula. And as a bonus, now Toph and Iroh know each other so they can get in touch later when they need help!

Sorry kinda-not-sorry for the long ramble, I just love talking about character and story shit so much. But basically my point is; throwing obstacles in your characters' way is good and important, but it's just as important to sometimes give them a hand to help them over some hurdles. Sometimes after deciding what the worst thing is that could happen, you should consider what the best thing to happen next could be.

[seyaryminamoto]

Do you have any particular thoughts on Netflix Avatar Season 1? I haven't watched it myself but I would be curious to hear what you have to say.

I do indeed! I didn't watch it right away, but I have watched it indeed. I think there are merits to certain changes they did, I can see the sense in many of them, that doesn't mean EVERYTHING they changed was good, but it does feel like they were engaging with the original content in a far more creative way than a lot of people are willing to acknowledge or try themselves. No, it isn't a perfect remake of ATLA, but being the critic that I have been of the original show, nobody could ever convince me that the original was perfect, just as this new show isn't perfect.

I want to make a big post on the subject one day and try to get to everything it brought up... once I have more time on my hands, I'll try to do that. But, to give you a bit to chew on... I'll try to do one good vs. one bad on my part, of whatever I can remember right now.

GOOD: I actually do not mind the multiple prologues in the first episode, even though I don't think the changes were handled perfectly. I do believe that showing the genocide is not nearly as bad a choice as a lot of people pretend it is (the way it was portrayed is questionable mostly from a tactical point of view but that's just me being a freak about that... studying basic warfare really fucks up your suspension of disbelief when it comes to war scenes). Mainly, I think it IS important to show it due to the amount of people who are still convinced that Aang didn't suffer nearly as much as most other popular characters did -- that soooo many people have made these claims without a care in the world throughout the twenty years since ATLA first aired proves that the genocide was not treated with the severity it should have been by the OG show. I'm not even sorry to say it. It doesn't feel like a trivialization of violence, it feels like actually setting straight the degree of violence a genocide entails. People asking for a less intense version of genocide basically appear to be asking for the actual gravity of such events to be sanitized so they can chew on them more easily... and that's exactly what leads to it being trivialized, minimized and not taken seriously, if you ask me.

BAD: I don't particularly like the way Fire Lords are so... casual with commoners. Both Ozai and Sozin stood on the same level as a rebel/spy right before setting them on fire, no doubt it's meant to be some sort of flex, but... men of their ideologies and pride would not want to be up close and personal with anyone they consider that far beneath them. Odd choice there, imo.

MOSTLY GOOD: Aang does feel way more serious and has much more dramatic gravitas in everything he does. And this is not a bad choice, in essence. I don't particularly love that they tried to lessen it with occasional "Aang's a silly kid!" verbal reminders that don't actually have any proper visual evidence, because most the silly things he's up for are things the two older kids (Sokka and Katara) are perfectly fine with doing too, hence, he doesn't feel childish at all and it comes off out of place for him to talk about being more childish than he actually is. So... they really didn't need dialogue to try to emphasize his childhood if they weren't going to write him being a goofball. It's fine if he isn't one. He always could be a more serious character, it's only a problem when there's no further substance to him than just brooding (which is what I remember from the Shyamalan movie...).

WEIRD: Aang and Katara both had weird scenes of standing around doing nothing but smiling at their hometowns in episode 1. Maybe it was done as a parallel between them, but it felt a bit... overly theatric? If that makes sense? Like... I know we need to see their daily lives and the context in which they've lived... but it doesn't feel entirely logical for that to happen with them just standing in place and smiling fondly at their world. Most people do not do that in their daily lives...?

GOOD: ... Contrary to what a lot of the fandom seems to think, I actually like the suuuuuper slowburn Kataang here because any potential romantic payoff those two might get isn't nearly as in-your-face as it was in canon. The way their friendship is growing feels far more organic. And some of my favorite character moments in the show were actually between them. Which is not something I'd EVER say about the original show. There's a different sense of maturity for the characters here, and I like that.

BAD: I... do not like Sokka's changes. No, it's not about the sexism. It makes sense to me that this aspect of his character would be changed, updated in a sense: you can even still read him as sexist in some regards! It just isn't as simplistic and straightforward as it was before. But that's... not what bugs me the most. The show genuinely surprised me by taking him far more seriously as a character than I anticipated they would, but they absolutely picked weird choices with him in stuff like his family issues (... the Hakoda changes are just straight-up cringe for me, there's no justification for making him some sort of bitchy soccer mom who congratulates his son but then shits on him behind his back??), his insecurities as a warrior and the frequent remarks about how maybe that's not his path in life even though he does just fine at it, and... his romantic relationships. It's wild, because I actually think they did Sukka a thousand times better than it is in canon, and yet in doing so, they absolutely deadlocked themselves into a whole other problem: Sokka bonding that much with Suki and then hitting on a random Fire Nation soldier like two episodes later?? Then having the romance of his lifetime with Yue by the end of the season?? Ngl, it feels like we're watching one of those sitcoms where characters switch love interests in the blink of an eye. Changing this element of his character this way, when Suki's romance in particular was given new qualities and way more substance... may not have been a great call since it makes him come off insanely shallow, ready to get with any girl he comes across, and frankly, he didn't feel like that in the original show to me. He's also not really funny when he's supposed to be? Part of what made Sokka funny originally was his role as a voice of reason while everyone else ignored him. They occasionally tried to mimic that here... but in ways that didn't really work? Also, the Ron-Weasley-In-HP-Movies brand of comedy of "watch this guy scream, it's soooo funny" is... so trite at this point. Please, don't. Personally, this really feels like a whole other character who isn't Sokka. And some people might think that's great... I'm not one of them. Maybe I'm just experiencing the crisis a lot of people are over Katara with Sokka? But where changes with her do seem to go for things I actually wasn't fond of in her character, I don't really feel like they did better with Sokka in the least.

GOOD: ... "Katara learned waterbending too fast", they say: she did in canon too. A month of training under Pakku is not nearly enough time to justify her being deemed a master in canon. Complaining about how she didn't get that training at all here and still got deemed a master gets a "meh" out of me because I frankly do not see it being remotely as different from what canon did as people want to think it is. Katara was fighting Pakku with way too much power in the OG show for a kid who never got formal training to begin with, and somehow nobody minds that. I don't think someone who was on that level of power in the OG show was nearly as inferior to a seasoned master as a bunch of people want to believe. So... outrage about how they sped up her learning process when we in fact see a LOT more internal growth for Katara, and a lot more depth to her bending source here, makes no sense to me.

Along with that: bending has always been connected with a bender's internal energy, which is related to their peace of mind and internal balance. This show did not invent that. Firebenders are the ones who are most explicitly shown to be connected to their feelings that way, sure, but if you needed ATLA or LOK to non-stop feature characters talking about how a person's chakras had to be cleansed and their hearts clear and their every spiritual thread cleaned up in order to reach their best possible shapes as benders? You probably have bigger problems in analyzing this show than just whining over whatever the liveaction did. A straightforward connection for Katara with her emotions and bending isn't a negative choice in the slightest to me, more so with a character who has constantly been characterized as deeply connected to her emotions: it makes sense that her bending works and evolves the way it does in the liveaction to me. Sorry not sorry.

BAD: Zhao. Uh... I've seen people say they like him here? I felt like I was watching a con artist. It's not the actor's fault, clearly he was given this concept to work with and he did the best he could with it, but the idea of removing Zhao from all prior connection to the Royal Family, making him a total unknown who came out of nowhere and rises to prominence through conniving and scheming feels like they decided to merge him with Long Feng, maybe? And it might even backfire if they DO have Long Feng next season (... they should???) and he has a very similar profile to what they did with Zhao. I didn't enjoy his characterization at all, he was just... weird. So, not a change I was big on.

GOOD: Iroh. My god. I hate the fact that I'm saying this. But I will say it was insanely cathartic to watch that EK soldier beating him up. And that's not all: Iroh actually seems to be struggling actively with right and wrong here, showing hesitation over the war, and most importantly... HAVING A PERSONAL DYNAMIC WITH AANG??!!! I never imagined I would be that happy to see that, but I was. The few moments those two had together were damn solid, some of the best in the show (and the best for Iroh, sorry not sorry, I have never ever been an Iroh-Zuko obsessive fan and I genuinely find myself more intrigued by Iroh's potential bonding with other people, never thought about it with Aang but this show 100% blindsided me with it in a good way). It seriously made me mad that the OG basically never gave them that chance besides... that one scene in the catacombs that was very much just Iroh being a fortune cookie? Aang actually being an element that basically waters the seeds of doubt in Iroh's head is a GREAT change. I said it and I'll stand by it.

BAD: Hahn and not because of the usual reasons: their characterization rework of Hahn was fine. More than fine. The actor they cast was also very pretty! All of which makes it EXTREMELY questionable that Yue somehow has this perfectly decent guy and... uh... chooses the reworked Sokka instead? Like, I know that's how the OG story went, but when you turn Hahn from an opportunistic dick to a perfectly admirable warrior and individual, and feature Yue saying he's great but he's "not the boy of her dreams" (you... dreamt about him ONE TIME?? He's never been in the Spirit World besides that, so wuuuut...??), it makes her choice in romantic interests feel extremely questionable and weird. I'm all for Yue being given more to work with, but this seriously feels like she's... a little crazy. Hahn comes off waaaaaaay too decent for her not to be interested in him... ofc, as long as she's someone attracted to men, which, considering she picked ANOTHER GUY, it's to be assumed that she is?? Ergo nothing makes sense to me. Come to think of it, a lesbian Yue rejecting Hahn is probably the only way her rejection of Hahn would make sense... and it would also not cast such a questionable light on reworked Sokka if he and Yue weren't romantic at all, right after he had that big connection with Suki back when the show began?? So, heh, maybe lesbian Yue is the only thing that would've made sense if Hahn gets reworked for the better like this, sorry not sorry....

GOOD: The full-blown, outright display of Ozai's abuse on Azula rather than subtleties and insinuations. Again, much like in Aang's case with the genocide: PEOPLE DENY AZULA WAS A VICTIM OF ABUSE ALL THE TIME. People pretend Ozai actually loved her on some weird level or that she FELT loved, ergo she was fine and Zuko's the one who was abused. This is not new. We've been dealing with people barking that kind of nonsense since almost twenty years ago. And the backlash from that exact crowd when this show made it evident proves that they refuse to accept Azula as a victim of abuse to this day. Ergo, sorry not sorry: I'm glad they handled it as they did here because it makes it undeniable that Ozai is pushing Azula to extremes and she's pressured to deliver and become the weapon he wants her to be.

BAD: ... the Mother of Faces. That may have been the most egregious offensive and bullshit moments in the entire show. I was so mad when she was brought up at all. It was awful. I hated it. It really must be my most hated moment in the whole thing. UGH.

GOOD: Katara apologized to Sokka once. You know. One time. That, I think, marks the single time in any official Avatar content where she has done that. Call me a salty asshole, but I'm genuinely impressed that they did that, so they get a point for it.

BAD: Bumi. I know some people think the rework for Bumi is great... I could not disagree more. His treatment of Aang is really unacceptable, his behavior is very irresponsible but this time in a vindictive way... I was even reasoning with the fact that he knows Aang is the Avatar, which ALSO happens in the OG, without having known it in the past! The difference? It feels too arbitrary and random that he'd know that here, whereas in the OG show, he IS random and arbitrary, yet somewhere amid so many nonsensical ramblings, he shows insight and intelligence that makes you think there's more to him than meets the eye. I may need to rewatch episode 5 of the OG show in order to confirm this, but I also think that most of the implications there regarding his challenges is that they were actually harmless even if it doesn't look that way all along. Here? They're not harmless at all, he's basically vindictively trying to get Aang to either die for his "sins" or get himself killed through him and neither thing sits well with me at all with this character.

GOOD: Gyatso, expanding on his character and making him a much more straightforward equivalent to Iroh for Aang actually is really helpful, it makes him less of a "stock character" victim to the Fire Nation, it gave him more depth and it makes Aang's bond with him feel much more real. I am very sorry to all OG apologists, but I continue to believe Aang's cheerful behavior was written primarily to appeal to the children demographic that Nickelodeon was aiming for as their audience, which meant he could not be particularly human and truly grieve for everything he had lost. This show doesn't hide that pain at all, and it's particularly good that it does that by showing what a constant presence Gyatso was in Aang's life and by letting them have a manner of final farewell in that episode (... even if I didn't particularly like the episode, but still, it wasn't a bad idea to do that).

BAD: ... call me a consistency freak if you will, but I did not spend all these years obsessively trying to make sense out of the wobbly worldbuilding of the Avatarverse to be told that the entrance to the Cave of Two Lovers is within Omashu and that it leads into the arena within Bumi's Palace. Sorry. I can't accept that. I can't. I legit laughed throughout that whole situation because that's not where the cave of two lovers was, the badgermoles would be causing earthquakes non-stop through the city, and the sewers system would not even work because they'd constantly get fucked up by the creatures (as we know, there's a scene in Book 2 of the kids climbing out of the sewers, so either they won't do the pentapox or they'll forget about the badgermoles conveniently by then...). So. No. Sorry but no. Also, why did they kill Oma??? I know they turned both lovers into women, but... precisely because they did that, why exactly was there any need to change which one died?? Either one you kill is a woman now anyway so... what's the difference? WHY the difference?? Odd.

GOOD: ... Zuko keeps a notebook on his research and investigations into the Avatar. There were many changes to his character but that's the one that stood out the most to me. He actually seems a little bit more methodical, if not smarter, but you know? Kinda smarter anyway for at LEAST thinking that keeping a book with the results of his investigations could help?? Feels like he's actually trying rather than just whining about how rude the world is and how hard he has it. Which, in the end, might ALSO come down to him actually having some hope that Ozai didn't hate him irremediably... which, too, is a good change. I've talked about it before, other people have too: a firstborn firebending male prince has no business being discarded because of incompetence unless he's just THAT pathetic, and even in canon, Zuko wasn't as bad as to justify pushing him out and treating him as shittily as Ozai did without an actual, THOROUGH, exploration of Ozai's motives. You can elaborate, but the show never really did it, and if anything, it offered a bunch of conflictive information about why Zuko thought his father liked him. Here, it makes more sense that he thinks Ozai isn't as much of a bitch as he really is: the Agni Kai is a lot more interesting because they merged both Zuko vs. Zhao and Zuko vs. Ozai into one. The fact that Ozai actually burns Zuko and defeats him BECAUSE he was punishing him for not taking advantage of an enemy's weakness? It's a million times more telling about Zuko's character than what we saw in canon, where he was down to fight an old man out of hybris and then shat himself as soon as his father stepped up instead. So... I don't like this Zuko, which tells you they're doing him right anyway x'DDDD but I find there are a few elements about him that make him at LEAST a little more respectable than he was in the OG show. Among them? He's not constantly ranting about honor but actually lashing out at dishonorable choices out of principle, which makes it sound like he has a WAY better grasp on that concept than he does in canon :'D sue me. This is a Zuko rework too, and fortunately, not ONLY geared towards sanitizing him (even though there IS a fair amount of sanitizing too... which annoys me, but what else could we expect in the era of political correction).

BAD: ... Why the fuck did they decide the way to fix Iroh harassing June was to make her horny for him? Please? Of all things??? All they had to do was just... not make any romantic/sexual implications there. At all. Was that so hard to achieve? This is probably the second worst thing for me in the entire show, ngl. I do not understand the need for it at all. Most of all when they CLEARLY changed it due to knowing Iroh absolutely was a bastard in the OG with his behavior towards her. Isn't it easier to just NOT put any implications of attraction in there? I mean, I should be happy June didn't fully harass Iroh but the way they presented it, it felt like he wasn't even comfortable with it either! This... is not the way you take revenge for a character sexually harassing another one. Bad, bad take, I don't know what made them do this but they absolutely did not "fix" this, they overcorrected it and made it gross as fuck to me anyhow, most of all with the context of knowing that Iroh was the one being inappropriate as fuck back in the OG.

ALRIGHT. I know there's bound to be more, and I probably could think of more soon but I think I'm giving you this for now or else I'll end up making my major post here x'D

All in all, I don't think this show is unwatchable, I absolutely understand people who think it was fun, I also understand people who couldn't get used to the changes and outright dropped it. What I can't understand/accept is either pretending this show is the greatest thing ever (much like I don't think the OG ATLA is...), or pretending that it's the worst one either. This show engaged with a lot of elements in different ways than the original did: not all of it was a miss, not all of it was a hit. And I feel like it's a matter of fundamental, human decency and respect not to go completely berserk taking a ten-ton dump on this show, which to this date is the biggest production in Hollywood with a primarily Asian cast and crew of all time, from what I know, by pretending it has destroyed this franchise completely and that any support for it must come from brainwashed idiots or "not true fans". The gate-keepy attitude comes as absolutely no surprise in this fandom, ofc, but it's still disgusting to see. You CAN be critical of this show with dignity. You CAN do it while respecting other people who enjoyed it completely. It's not too much to ask. I may have learned that lesson the hard way with the ATLA comics, but even then, it wasn't my M.O. to jump into every single comics-positive post to tell people why they sucked and how dumb they were for enjoying them.

That's what I've got for the time being :'D hope it's enough for now.

[saras-almanac]

I’ve seen this idea or comment multiple times: That Tommy has no character. Which is either on its own or in connection to not understanding why anyone likes BuckTommy apart from two hot guys together. I’m not going to get into the second one here, but the idea that Tommy has no character is just false and either a completely failure in media literacy at best or a blatant ignoring of canon at worst.  

Now do we know everything there is to know about Tommy? Absolutely not, and I’m not trying to claim otherwise. But I would also point that question to any of the other characters on screen: Do we know everything about Bobby, about Chimney, about Buck, etc? I would say No, we don’t. I think the one we have the most information about is Buck just purely because the framing of the first season being about his growth and also because Buck is just such an open book about pretty much everything in his life and feelings. But even still, I don’t think we know everything about him. And that’s okay!

But back to Tommy—we actually do know a fair bit about him and have seen him grow and develop a bit. When we met him in “Hen Begins” in season 2, he’s not outright rude but he is very much, “not gonna put a target on my back here” because of Captain Gerrard (and/or perhaps because he had already realized his sexuality or was beginning to uncover it). When we meet him for the first time chronologically in “Chimney Begins,” he’s more rude and pretty dismissive of Chimney’s offer of friendship, even actively avoiding him. Again, this could be because of Gerrard, the environment here where it didn’t feel like anyone was really friends per say, or it could be down to what Eli tells Chimney: That these guys are not going to let just anyone in until they prove themselves, especially not a probie.”

However, the thing that shows the most about who Tommy is and his growth is his time in “Bobby Begins,” where it’s clear he’s got a really solid friendship with Hen and Chimney, making bets about the new Captain, going out for drinks, having those looks in the engine as Bobby gets them lost. It’s clear in the narrative in season 2 that Tommy, for all of being in only 3 episodes, has grown and changed a lot. (Which is why I find it so ironic that so many people criticizing this “retcon” of Tommy’s character always forget to mention Bobby Begins where it’s clear that Tommy’s friends with Hen and Chimney. I get that some fans want a full apology, but to me it reads like that probably already happened, or at least a conversation, a clearing of the air. Not everything needs to be directly spoonfed to you.)

Tommy coming back in season 7 has shown a bit more growth, as well as showing us sides of him we haven’t seen before. His patience and kindness with Buck and the newness of their relationship and Buck’s sexuality. His humor being dry and a little dark—“We’re all gonna die anyways” or even him suggesting to give Buck flying lessons because his fees are competitive. He’s open with his vulnerabilities when he feels safe enough to do so—immediately sharing his own jealousy at the 118 to Buck when Buck’s talking about his jealousy, telling Buck he cut the date short because he didn’t want to pressure Buck. To me, it shows maybe more growth or just another side of him because we only saw him in connection to his friends, where as Buck is a love interest.

Is this a lot of information? I guess it depends on what you want. Do we know his favorite color or his interests or how he romantically woos people or what he likes to do on his days off? I would argue that we do know a decent amount of that—he likes monster trucks, I assume watching romantic comedies as his favorite movie is canonically Love, Actually, he enjoys craft beers, knows and participates in Muay Thai, has a car lift in his garage so must know something about cars or mechanic stuff, is a pilot and firefighter, enjoys flying for fun on his days off, and has a trivia / karaoke thing (I’m still not sure if it’s a karaoke trivia or trivia at a karaoke bar, the wording confused me but whatever). Honestly, that’s more information than we have about any love interest Buck or Eddie have ever had when they were just starting a relationship.  

And that’s also a huge point that I think is being missed by these types of arguments: Buck and Tommy are just starting a relationship, as in they are just getting to really know each other. So there is more to learn and uncover about each other. And honestly, we the audience are probably not going to be privy to a lot of that because it’s an ensemble show. So instead, they’ll likely show us that they’re moving forward and getting more comfortable with each other when they do interact—the kiss in the hospital reads to me as two people who’ve been spending time together and getting to know each other a lot more where they feel more comfortable. Hell, even just Buck’s change from his hesitance in episode 5 to his confidence in episode 6 is supposed to show his growth in accepting his sexuality and comfort being with Tommy.

The whole point is that the show sketches the outlines and maybe fills in some spots, but they sort of expect you to be able to still see the bigger picture of things. We know the outline of Tommy and are waiting to see it all filled in. That’s why he’s such an intriguing character and love interest for Buck—because he’s developed enough as his own person but there’s still enough blank spaces to explore with. He is the most developed love interest that Buck’s ever had, but he’s still just become Buck’s boyfriend so there’s still more to learn about him. That’s what dating and being in relationship with someone is: learning about them, their likes and dislikes, and what they are like in relationships, seeing if you’re compatible. So while there is already a massive head start in characterization than anyone else (except maybe Abby but even she wasn’t a fabulously written character and was honestly a terrible protagonist), there’s still more to learn about him and that’s a good thing. And while I can’t speak for everyone who ships BuckTommy, I can say that for me, it’s so fun to extrapolate on the bare bones of character and see how they develop in canon.

Tl;dr: Tommy does have a character. It's just a lot of showing and not telling and some people can't handle that.

[markantonys]

Seeing a few arguments that while s2 is the stronger season it's also less coherent/cohesive narratively and thematically than s1. In the sense that s1 had a specific goal of them getting from point a to point b, so s2 feels messier for some people cause it was more complex in the amount of plot threads being covered. I do wonder if some people are feeling that way cause they adapted two books rather than one and not enough time to cover everything? I don't necessarily think it's bad that some plot threads aren't resolved though cause that's something that happens in the books too, plots and character arcs spanning multiple books (and it's not like the books are cohesive all the time either so it is on brand for WoT 😂)

people deigning to praise an aspect of s1? now that is a fresh take! i get where they're coming from (it's undeniable that s1 has a much simpler & more straightforward plot structure than s2 because it basically is just 1 plotline for the whole season rather than several different concurrent plotlines). but it's just the nature of WOT, and of many ensemble stories, that we kick off with a small contained story and expand it more and more with each installment. numerous plot threads all over the continent is a hallmark of WOT! so if it's show-onlys making this complaint, fair enough, but if it's readers, they do not have a goddamn leg to stand on because this is literally what WOT is and has always been.

and i think s2 was still pretty cohesive. most of the arcs follow the basic structure of "characters start off dealing with the consequences of s1, learn more about their powers and encounter new threats, and head to falme for their own reasons that ultimately all end up coinciding with each other." rather than "every main character shares the same objective for the season", the story of s2 is instead "every main character has different objectives which all end up intertwining with each other". that's a cohesive story too, just a different format than the one s1 told!

and the vast majority of plot threads were resolved, with only a few left hanging because of course you need to leave some hooks to get viewers to come back next season.

moiraine & lan bond arc: resolved

rand accepting his duty as the dragon reborn: immediate arc resolved, but with a continuation teed up for s3

egwene overcoming impostor syndrome and learning to stand on her own two feet: resolved

perrin hunting for the horn and learning more about his wolf powers: immediate arc resolved, but with a continuation teed up for s3

mat proving to himself that he's a good person and a loyal friend: resolved

nynaeve breaking her block: not resolved, but teed up to be a major focus of s3

maybe the difference is that for a lot of these arcs, the objective is something internal (character undergoing growth) rather than something external like a quest, as was the case in s1. perrin is the only one who's like "i need to accomplish this specific external thing" in 2x01 (retrieving the horn), maybe moiraine too with her research, whereas the others have a series of smaller external goals (for example mat: escape cell -> get to cairhien -> go with rand to help egwene -> escape kidnapping -> help friends) with their overarching season-long goal instead being an internal one (that they aren't aware of; it's the narrative's goal rather than the character's). but, again, that's just a different type of story structure, because either way, the narrative does have coherent season-long goals that it's working towards and ultimately resolves.

but what especially makes s2 feel cohesive to me is the thematic aspect of it! every single storyline deals with at least one of the following themes and many of them more than one: isolation vs. togetherness, power & helplessness, control & leashing, duty & responsibility, and probably a bunch more if i were to think about it for more than 30 seconds (these were just the Top S2 Themes that immediately jumped to mind). there is a very very strong Thematic Cohesion across all the plot threads in s2, so i'm surprised to hear that anyone feels otherwise.

(as for 2 books in a single season, sure, there wouldn't have been time to tell 2 books in 1 season if that's what the show was trying to do, but it isn't. instead of saying "okay the first 4 episodes are TGH and the next 4 are TDR", the show put TGH & TDR in a blender and distilled it down to a single season's worth of story per character, and there WAS enough time to cover that 1 season's worth of story.)

[wakeupthemembersofbylernation]

Just say you hate Eleven don’t beat around the bush with listing all the reasons Will deserves a prize. “deserves the boy he loves” right and where does Mikes feelings coming into that exactly? So far I’ve learned there two sets of fans the ones who fancy finn and want to see him kiss boys as some weird fantasy and the others who adore Will and feel he deserves what he wants without thinking of the other party.

Only in the ST fandom can someone take a reasonable sentence like, “After four seasons of trauma, Will deserves a happy ending” and utterly twist it to mean, “I hate El and want her to be alone and miserable grrr.” It’s also wild how you can glean “Will deserves a prize” from my words when that’s not at all what I said. I don’t see Mike as a “prize” for Will. That’d be ridiculous. I see them as equals- because that’s what they are: lifelong best friends who’ve been through so much, consistently put each other first, and have made multiple beautiful promises to each other.

“But you said, ‘Will has suffered so much and deserves a happy ending with the boy he loves.’ How is that not proving my point?” Yes, I did say that, and I would say it again in a heartbeat. Will has suffered so much. Here’s a refresher on just some of his trauma. Given the context of everything, given the significance of Will’s sexuality to both his coming-of-age journey and the 80s, it would be genuinely cruel to not give him a happy ending. And it’s not Byler shippers on the Internet, but the show itself, that has consistently tied this happy ending to Mike. It’s been reinforced in every season, and the writers and filmmakers doubled-down on it in Season 4 through the van scene and through aggressively inserting Will into every Milkvan scene so that he’s always on your mind. S3 brought up their hypothetical question of the future through the rain fight, and it also had Will very specifically saying, “I’m not gonna fall in love.” This was not placed in the show so he could be proven right in S5 when Mike iNeViTaBlY rejects him. Be serious.

As I said in my post, this has nothing to do with thinking unreciprocated storylines don’t serve a purpose in media. Obviously they do! Stranger Things has given us a few: Dustin and Max, Steve and Robin, and Steve and Nancy (after they broke up). It is also given us another which I will talk about in a second, although this one comes with a twist. Dustin was crushing on the attractive new girl in school, as was Lucas. Max chose Lucas and fell for him. Dustin was sad about it, sure. The Snowball dance emphasized his general sadness as well as his unluckiness with girls at the time. Narratively, dancing with Nancy was the healing moment he needed to move on. It propelled his character to his Season 3 glow up, where he surprises his friends with news that he is dating Suzie. Dustin liked Max, but he wasn’t in love with Max, built upon a lifelong friendship. The situation is just structurally different.

Steve and Robin? Well, you know the story. Steve developed feelings for Robin (after Dustin pushed him in that direction, I might add) over the course of S3. But Robin was like, “Psyche! I’m a lesbian. Let’s be best friends,” and platonic Stobin was born. Notice there was no grief on Steve’s part. Steve was shocked, sure, but he wasn’t heartbroken. He bounced back in a heartbeat and fully accepted her sexuality. And then the season ends with their friendship shenanigans at the video store. Again, this was a crush. And it had a very interesting plot twist at the end of it. And it served a very specific purpose in Steve’s journey.

In terms of Steve and Nancy, there was more heartbreak involved, since they were actually dating. And in S4, it’s clear that Steve has never fully gotten over Nancy, or at least he thinks he hasn’t gotten over her. But narratively, this just serves a fundamentally different purpose than the situation between Mike and Will. Steve believes he needs romantic love to be happy, so his arc is accepting that he doesn’t. Also, as a presumed straight character (even though I love the bi Steve HCs), he doesn’t have the same kind of existential crisis that Will, a sad gay boy in the 80s, does.

The fourth unreciprocated storyline is an interesting one cause it’s not actually unreciprocated at all. It just seems that way. And of course, I’m talking about Robin and Vickie. Robin has feelings for Vickie, but when she sees Vickie with her boyfriend Dan, she assumes all hope is lost. But alas, all hope is not lost! Vickie is queer too and has feelings for Robin as well. You just have to take off your heteronormative glasses to recognize it. Sound similar to something else?

I bring this up because while Byler shares surface-level similarities to these other unrequited storylines, it visually parallels the situation with Robin and Vickie. So don’t be surprised when Mike, like Vickie, turns out not to be straight. And character wise, it’s deeper than all the other examples by miles. Dustin got over Max, Steve got over Robin, Steve is just looking for any girlfriend tbh, and S4 showed Robin getting over Vickie before the plot twist. Will and Mike are lifelong best friends, and a slow-burn rejection arc would not only make no sense, in-universe it would structurally derail Byler’s powerful connection and interrupt key plots already in motion during the apocalypse.

You forget that these aren’t real people. They are characters. In real life, sure, sometimes you don’t get what you want. Sometimes gay kids fall in love with their lifelong straight best friends, get gently rejected, and then life goes on eventually. In real life, saying, “But I have suffered, so you must love me back,” would be insane. And Will agrees. The homewrecker allegations need to stop. In the context of the show, Will doesn’t think that Mike loves him back. He doesn’t think love can be for boys like him. It rips him apart and tears him inside for sure, but all throughout S4 he’s the one trying to repair his bestie’s relationship while being madly in love with him. Will thinks he will be forever alone, and your argument is that he should be proven right?

Of course, I adore Will. He’s my favorite character, and I’m a proud member of the Willuminati. The shoe fits, and I will wear it. But I saw this Tweet today that I had to screenshot, and it applies directly to the subtext of your ask:

No one should find it strange or delusional or creepy that people ship Will with the boy he’s into. Calling it a “weird fantasy” in any context is inherently homophobic and weird behavior. You simply would not say that about any other ship in the show. Admit that you find queerness icky. Don’t hide behind faux concern for El.

Lastly, I must directly respond to your question,“Where do Mike’s feelings come into that exactly? Why do Bylers feel Will deserves what he wants without thinking of the other party?”

What are you even saying? Accusing Bylers of not thinking about Mike is the strangest accusation considering there are 50 essays per day posted on this app diving into the psychology of Mike. Mike’s feelings are powerful. Mike’s feelings are important. I could just as easily have written a post that said, “After everything Mike has been through, he deserves a happy ending with the boy he loves” because Mike clearly loves Will. It is overflowing out of him. If you analyze and “think of the other party” as you put it, it becomes crystal-clear where Mike’s feelings come into play and what his happy ending is. Hint: it’s not with the girl he can’t even write ILY to.

I could have written about Mike, but my post was about Will, who is canonically gay, deeply traumatized, and whose sexuality is not in doubt. Will deserves a happy ending. “But El is also traumatized, and she deserves a happy ending as well.” Agreed, but her happy ending and the overall trajectory of her character arc simply do not center Mike. El’s arc is rooted in her independence, and I could do a deep-dive analysis comparing and contrasting Will and El and explaining why romantic love is central to Will’s endgame but not to El’s. But I’m sure there are fifty of those already on this platform. I want Mike, Will, and El to all have happy endings.

Anyway, Byler endgame.

[backjustforberena]

with the season over and knowing what we know of their characteristics, how do you feel like rhaenys and the hull boys would have gotten along? perhaps it’s wishful thinking on my part, but while it would be incredibly complex and a constant reminder of corlys’ betrayal, i think she would have had a better relationship with them than corlys does at this point. i think both of the brothers would fear her for sure, but alyn, i think he would respect her much more than he does corlys. and not just the respect that a commoner gives their lady, a princess. but that personable respect. and addam… he’s tripping over himself to mean something, and i think he would want to prove himself worthy of laenor’s dragon. of being apart of this fight.

of course, again, this is all basically fanfic lol

YES, LET'S DO THIS!! Okay, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say we broadly follow the plot points that we have in Season 2. Which is to say that the Dragonseed stuff unfolds as it does; Addam claims Seasmoke, Rhaenyra gets a bunch of people from King's Landing, Ulf and Hugh are successful. As well as the Harrenhal stuff, Mysaria's growing influence and the general readying for war. And Alyn being made Corlys's first mate. The only thing I'm leaving a question mark over is if Corlys were to be made Hand because, listen, it just makes sense if Rhaenys is Hand. So she can be Hand in this or not but either way, Corlys can still participate in the council, as he did in Episode 04, it's just without the badge.

Do I think that Rhaenys and the Hull boys would have gotten along? In principle? Absolutely. They're decent lads, there's nothing objectionable in their characters. Alyn is very much like Corlys and we know that Rhaenys is hardly going to fault those traits. He saved her husband's life, he's respectful and well-mannered. Any less-than-desirable traits such as sullenness... they're old hat to her. She'd know how to deal with it. And Addam is just friendly and open and I also think she'd be reminded of Laenor with him, to be honest. So, yes, she has no issue at all with who they are as people.

But, as you say, it would be complex and hurtful. It would be painful. Rhaenys never shirks from putting the political and the right above her personal feelings. This wouldn't be the exception. She has multiple things to deal with now that can only be aided by fostering a relationship between herself and these boys. And promoting them to their father as well. She'd have her guard up, I know that much.

The ironic thing is, I think she'd have more to do with them than Corlys would. With Addam, especially - she'd be required to as a dragon-rider. As the most experienced one as well, and the only one (apart from Rhaenyra, who is naturally busy, and the Keepers who have left) who has actually taught multiple people how to bond and fly with a dragon. She'd be invited to consult, teach, oversee all of that, especially if Rhaenys remains a trusted advisor to Rhaenyra. No doubt she would have been at the dinner that Rhaenyra threw. She can't hide from being in proximity to Addam. There's also possibly a curiosity to know them both even on a pragmatic view (as new assets, as being around her grandchildren, as being around Rhaenyra and Corlys and what that all means).

Even with Alyn, now that they have identified each other (however vaguely), she has reason enough to be down at the docks and now reason enough to seek him out, given his risen position amongst her husband's men and the fact that she is responsible for the safekeeping of his brother. In terms of the role they both play in the war, they would be in one another's orbit.

On a personal note for her, I think they'd need a follow-up to the only scene they have together. I think Rhaenys has answers that she'd want that Corlys wouldn't be in the headspace to provide for her. Corlys is very much in denial. Rhaenys, once a plaster has been ripped off, doesn't like to keep things in the dark. Acknowledging those sons means the door is open to then interact, and she'd rather deal with it and face it and settle it.

Would they like her? Again, I don't see why not. A lot to like. She's not calling for them to be banished or killed which is a great start. I think Addam would put her on a pedestal. I think he'd be a bit in awe. She's Rhaenys Targaryen. And I think he would be striving to prove himself and be polite to her and make an effort. It wouldn't be lost on him that he's her husband's son riding the dragon of her dead son. Everything she teaches him and has done with him, she'll have done with her own boy. The "preferred" boy. There would be fear there, and Rhaenys would be able to give as much or as little as she wants to the relationship - Addam would force nothing.

Alyn would respect Rhaenys more than Corlys because Rhaenys has never done anything against him. It's not her fault that his childhood was the way it was. He doesn't owe her his existence. He's not bound to her in the way he is to Corlys. But if she treats Addam well, then she's on to a winner. I think that's the way to gain Alyn's respect. Treat them well and treat them honestly. Rhaenys is honest. She would be honest.

Even in the matters of being Corlys's service and possible heir, she'd be able to navigate that conversation. She'd be able to do something that Corlys, so far, is unable to do: apologise. That's not to say that she'd overstep. She wouldn't. She and Corlys are a team and she wouldn't suggest something that isn't hers to make real or to give (r.e the succession). But Corlys is dealing with so much, internally, that he can't put away, whereas she's very good at compartmentalizing and removing her emotions from an equation. I can see her pushing for Corlys to bring them forward, if only for their own security.

But I also recognise that Rhaenys would also be very divided over her duties and what other things take her priority and if there is time to address it at all. It could easily be that she and Rhaenyra go to Harrenhal, not Rhaenyra and Addam. It could be that she is having to curb Jace somewhat in his treatment of the Dragonseeds (I can imagine a very curt "Jacaerys" at the top of those steps when Jace gets in Ulf's face... just me?) or patrol the Gullet or deal with training or the council or the Keepers or her own personal feelings on a whole host of issues. This is not her only pressure. Frankly, I can see her wobbling. But hey, maybe that would be enough to make Corlys see the light. Or for her to talk bluntly about it, needing it off of her plate before she can stat to worry about anything else.

[nyacchiiatos]

my issue with littlest pet shop: a world of our own

hi! as you can see i have a bone to pick with this show, but i'm going to be criticizing the overall premise rather than individual episodes (i can't bring myself to watch any). nothing exactly provoked me to post this, it's just something i felt like ranting about because i always found it pretty strange and sort of like a slap in the face towards those who liked the 2012 series. very long post incoming 😭

first of all, the entire concept of AWOOO (im going to refer to it as that because the title is way too annoying to type out each time) in context of lps' brand as a whole doesn't make sense. hasbro refers to it (in a backhanded way to jab at 2012) as "a pet-only world made by pets, for pets." this premise alone is contradictory to the entire lps brand. it's called littlest pet shop, not littlest animal universe. the 2012 show made this work by having an actual pet shop with a daycamp area like you would expect irl. yes, the show had humans which i agree sometimes took over a bit too much, but it's meant to be a city-based slice of life cartoon. the main cast are actual pets, they have owners, they have their own homes, like any pet irl would. that's... why they're called pets. whatever AWOOO was trying to achieve just completely defeats the purpose of a pet shop existing. i have no doubt in my mind that hasbro felt so inclined to sweep 2012 under the rug by rushing this half-assed reboot out as fast as they could to satiate all the "bring back the old lps" commenters. there was literally nowhere online you could view content of the 2012 series in ANY site, without the comments being FLOODED with "bring back the old lps." it got to a point where fans were borderline harassing the hasbro employees, recording themselves calling them on the phone for views and clout, and encouraging others to do the same. and guess what? it worked. instead of continuing working on the show while easily selling toys that fans were more in favor of, hasbro thought it would be a better idea to just completely abandon 2012 as a whole and then proceed to act like it never even existed. there was no good reason for them to not continue producing the show (iirc it had pretty good ratings and was one of the most popular hub shows next to mlp ofc) while also selling toys that would cater to both newer and older fans (granted they probably can't sell multiple generations at a time, but still). so ultimately, they hurried this little reboot to get it out there as fast as they could and passively shit on 2012 while talking about its premise. seriously? "no humans getting in the way anymore! we have a WHOLE NEW lps cast with no big headed humans named blythe or her ugly friends! no more communication barriers, because thats no fun! isnt this show just SO much better than 2012?" they were so ready to just throw the 2012 series and everything related to it in the trash. AWOOO was not made out of love and respect. it was made as a way for hasbro to try and get their fans back by proving just how much better this reboot was in such non-discrete manners. they thought of the quickest and easiest way to regain their audience and ran with it, without ever thinking about how it completely diminishes what all the previous generations stood for.

i was one of the very few people who loved the 2012 lps series since it premiered. being a child on the internet in the early 2010s definitely brought down my happiness when watching the show because of the overwhelming negative feedback it was getting along with the rebrand in general (something im VERY nostalgic for). regardless, i continued to tune in whenever it was on tv and i saw myself growing up with the characters. to say that this show had potential is an understatement. the producers intended to make more seasons and you just knew they wanted to keep it going (this was confirmed btw). they weren't in a hurry to get something better out there, until the "bring back the old lps"ers finally got their way. but honestly? it's not completely unheard of for large companies to eventually cave in to the public opinion if it means they'll make more profit. they were desperate, and it was definitely showing.

one of the things i have the most issues with is how hasbro proceeds to COMPLETELY ignore everything regarding the show nowadays. as some of you know the show's 10th anniversary was last november, which i and many people had participated in a large art collab to celebrate and honor the show's legacy. want to know what hasbro did to celebrate? nothing. absolutely nothing. what's even worse is that michael kopsa, the voice of roger, had passed away very shortly before the shows 10th anniversary. and guess what? complete silence. that's just incredibly disrespectful to be completely honest. someone who brought his best work to your show and others on the same network (if im remembering correctly at least) and was such a joy to be around, and this is how you thank him? not a single piece of acknowledgement, all because you're too scared to ever talk about 2012 again because of the scary older fans that persuaded you to pull the plug on the whole thing? you weren't even willing to make one little post offering your condolences? oh because you just can't ever mention that show ever again, it'll spark those negative comments just like before. and you've made it abundantly clear that you care more about profiting off these people than having some kind of self awareness.

i apologize that this got so heavy, i've always wanted to properly write down my honest thoughts about this whole thing because ive been unhappy with it for years and years now. if you like AWOOO, i don't care. i wont give you a hard time for liking it, because the show itself isnt inherently bad. just what went on behind it is what bothers me so much. the fact that hasbro can completely ignore their own creation for what... 7 years now? is beyond my comprehension. they can keep pretending it never existed, but small groups of people online have been rediscovering this show and remembering how much they loved it when they were younger. you had a good thing going here hasbro, it sucks that you had to completely abandon it. but i think i can speak for a few people that this show has always and will always hold a special place in my heart and my childhood memories. even if we can't get more from it, we shouldn't forget to appreciate and cherish what we did get. and nobody can take that away.

[your-local-uwu-artist]

HELLO

So I have finished both season 10 and just last night season 11 of ninjago!

Season ten I finished at like 1 am staying up late to watch it so that's why I forgor to post about it

So I'll do that first!

Season 10 was a 10/10!!!

Really liked garmadon's characterization. My favorite part was when a random ass guy explained the meaning of life to him. I liked seeing Faith again. I thought the Cole death fakeput was really well done. Specifically how it like, tied into multiple things going on with the story. This shows always been good at that. Like how the grief leads to garmadon character moments and also internal struggle for nya and sense Cole's actually fine now we have to parrelell threads of story to follow and wait to reconnect

SEASON 11

Holy SHIT

-I think I like the new rendering style, it makes the colors look brighter. No real opinion on the added hair texture but I enjoyed the added texture to clothes and stuff. There were some scenes where I was like 'animators having fun' and really that's what I think is most important :3

-Cole's dumbass soda hat my beloved

-loved the episode where they were just like: looking for problems. They are all such silly Billies. Borderline menaces on occasion

-also loved the episode with the paperboys and the news network. I've thought a lot about the citizens of ninjago city and these episodes finnally gave me a proper look into it. Was not dissapointdd!! I am delighted!!!

-jumping ahead here but pixel and Zane's reunion hug was SO fucking cute. My God. There little photo too!!!! My God there always adorable together but it still just ajgfiabduaks my heartttt. Tbh personally I see them as more of a qpr/soulmates kinda thing rather then a conventional romance. Like just, they love each other and that's all that matters <3

-GOD DAMMIT the ice emperor shit goes SO hard. Lots for the fanfics to explore here.

-I fucking LOVED how they had the hand on the scroll all frozen over and whenever he stood up from the throne there was ice breaking just my godddddd

-also I am sorry to admit I did at one point think to my self 'very Elsa core'

-I feel like there was a lot of things this season why I found myself thinking that there's three sides to every story. A lot of stuff where I felt like what we the audience were being shown wasn't quite the reality. I think the episode with the jailbreak proves this. Like with aspheera and wu. I'm sure there's something more there. That ashpeera's retelling of events would be different. Maybe king mamba was actually a huge asshole or smth. Idk. The point is there is something unknown there... CUE THE FANFICTION PLEASE.

-this leads into vex. I'm CERTAIN his story of leaving the formlings and when he came back to give evil speech went down VERY differently then what we were able to see. Not that Vex snt a fucking loser piece of work. He stalked a vulnerable individual and went 'I can manipulate this guy! '. Just that I thing things are a little more complicated then what we saw. Kinda like with nadakhan: still a fucking horrible person, but there was some characterization that showed them as A person. Rather then a stand in for a generic monster. I think that makes them scarier monsters actually

-speaking of monsters Krag was great. Love how Cole really just went 'Krag comes with us, Krag is friend now'

-I loved akita! Fun design!!!! She'd bite people for fun and she's real for that

-god dammit Zane's little goodbye video message was so fucking sad and sweet

-oh yeah the random ass 2d segments! I defiantly enjoyed them! They weren't perfect but who cares. I wonder like: how that happened tho???

-welp that's all from the top of my head.

[spacedlexi]

I totally get your point about the kenny/Jane thing. In my opinion the best outcome is letting Kenny kill Jane (honestly Jane brought that to herself, all of them knew that if he lost someone else he would finally go ballistic and she deliberately put him on that spot to prove "a point") and then staying in Wellington, because Kenny acknowledges that he's not fit enough to care for her and AJ anymore, so he begs Clem to stay. He's aware that he's not right for the job, and he accomplished his mission, he stayed loyal to Lee and left. It also gives the opportunity to speculate whether he finally found peace after all his suffering. (Even if the original idea was him offing himself in the Virginia lake after that)

i always find myself struggling to talk about S2 because i know the writers changed direction (multiple times?) as the season was releasing??? which means character arcs and motivations were altered to fit this new direction and its like painfully obvious sometimes especially when it comes to kenny and jane and luke

i hate when writers cant commit to the bit. and that kind of happens with kenny. which is weird because even tho they decided against him literally being carvers character (which wouldve worked perfectly for a luke v kenny ending), they still try to give him that carver storyline. like.. i could see kenny easily being in carvers position at howes. just like lilly in S4 with the delta. these two characters wanted leadership and never liked any pushback from the people around them. i can also see the kenny we knew from S1 turning into a man like carver in S2 (a dude who has lost a lot and whose methods are becoming more extreme to keep people safe) and i think kenny being carver instead wouldve made carver a much deeper and more interesting antagonist. like carver is fine. he works although his beef with this 11yo is weird. but we dont buy it when bonnie tells us he used to be a cool guy. we've only ever seen carver as a murderer. but if it was kenny in this role then immediately we add a lot of baggage to this character and his relationship with clem and her new relationship with the howes group. like we know kenny and we know what hes capable of but we also understand his motivations and we do believe that deep down kenny does want whats best to keep his people safe. and clem reappearing in the life of THIS kenny wouldve been Huge as he wouldve already begun his descent and clem is the only one who can really get through to him (like they still try to do when all the adults are like "uuuh clem you go talk to the angry man theres no way he'll listen to US"). i think they were afraid of making kenny an outright antagonist though and instead tried to have their cake and eat it too which just kinda...leads to mess... commit to your characters dark spirals and downfalls i hate this wishy washy bullshit. plus having kenny as carver instead wouldve centered clem in the howes discussion more. as it stands she just kinda gets swept up in everyone elses bullshit and just has to go along with it. classic child experience tho

jane pretending that aj was dead to intentionally push kenny over the edge just to "prove" to clem that hes dangerous was SOOOOO unnecessary jane!!! like we know girl!! we know!!! and when he tries to kill her for it its like...i know you saw this coming jane so how did you expect this to end?? was she just hoping she'd win the fight? she even tells clem to stay out of whatever was about to happen (plus she does genuinely put ajs life in real danger by leaving him in that car where they were lucky to hear his cries). but i think this problem stems from them changing it out from being a luke v kenny showdown. i think that ending wouldve culminated more naturally as their beef was slowly building since they first met. disagreement in leadership styles. that silly little middle school "choose who to sit with at dinner" thing felt like foreshadowing of a luke v kenny fight that just never happened. they needed to create a reason for kenny to attack jane as jane doesnt care about leadership she cares about keeping herself safe so the whole aj thing just....feels forced. like... jane why....Why........ where did your self preservation go...its like your whole character...

so...yeah.... i have a lot of conflicting feelings about S2 and its ending. on my recent playthrough i had clem tell kenny that maybe lee Shouldnt have come to save her in S1, trying to be all "boo hoo im so sad i get everyone i love killed boo hoo" and kenny responds by saying he should SMACK her for that???? i was so shocked that i missed taking the screenshot of it. i gasped audibly... turned into a "matter of time" situation for me (even tho things seem fine enough in the S3 flashbacks hes weirdly normal again and still talking about boats). kenny is definitely a broken man hanging on by a Singular Thread by the end of S2 and jane snaps it. this is why i like leaving kenny behind at wellington. clem and aj are definitely the light of his life at this point and he wants whats best for them. leaving them at wellington is really the best thing he can do for them both and its very sad because we know he Needs them. and clem would want to hold onto whoever she has left so its hard for her too. throughout all the seasons clem and aj are seen as the light in the darkness the hope for the future yadda yadda and kenny losing that? yeah i can see why the virginia lake idea was a thing. but thats ALSO why i like the clem shoots kenny ending. this man just wants it to be over he misses his family so much he cant take this shit anymore. staying with kenny into S3 really feels like we're stretching out his character as far as possible. it kinda feels like they hit the reset button on him and hes back to talking about boats. i feel like post S2 they just didnt really know what to do with him or jane. i feel like their endings in S2 are the most narratively fulfilling for their characters and i want clem to enter S3 on her own

[fandomfaeofveryfewf4cks]

Spoilers for Our Flag Means Death finale.

I just needed to talk things through as a crew.

So, I already posted something about how I felt about Izzy's death immediately after watching the finale. Now that I've given myself more time to mull it over though, I'm not quite as satisfied with the ending as I thought. But I think I know why I'm not exactly angry about it either.

I think I just see it as an open ending for next season? Like, I can see how Izzy's death brings parts of the story around full circle. (Mainly in Ed growing out of being Blackbeard who wasn't really Blackbeard without Izzy Hands.) However, after thinking about it some and reading some other people's thoughts about it, it doesn't really work for bringing Izzy's story around full circle, does it? No, really, does it? I'm still not entirely sure.

On the one hand, I've seen people talk about how Izzy represents piracy and piracy is coming to an end, so it makes sense for him to die with piracy. With his talk with Ricky about how they may die, but they'll live on in other ways, it makes sense.

On another hand, I also see people talking about the fact that Izzy survived a suicide attempt (potentially for the reason of protecting the crew) only to end the season saying he wants to die...

This choice just makes me a bit queasy because it invalidates some of the hope I've had building up with every episode I watched, especially in season 2, where Izzy goes through the bulk of what I feel is (at least mostly) such an amazing character arc.

On a third hand, I saw someone saying that Izzy should captain the Revenge while Stede and Ed go off to run their inn. I had thought this was going to happen too until I started seeing the foreshadowing for Izzy's death and started doubting that theory.

Part of the reason this makes so much sense is because, firstly, Izzy runs the ship already. Plus, he's changed his priorities to be about the crew.

Remember in season 1 episode 9, when the crew is planning to mutiny against Izzy and are trying to decide who should be captain next. And Oluwande says,

"It's gotta be someone we can all trust. Someone who's got the whole crew in mind. Not just themselves."

Izzy didn't make a good captain in that episode because he still didn't trust them, they didn't trust him, and he was doing everything for himself.

In season 2, none of that is true anymore.

The crew DOES trust him. He DOES think about the crew first and foremost. And, we even get to see him learn to trust the crew as well. Learn that they see him as not just a part of the crew they have to deal with like in most of season 1, but a crucial part of the crew and a person they all care about.

In short, it really would have made so much sense to make him Captain.

"Okay, but why do you think his death is an open ending? Death is typically a decidedly very closed off ending."

Ah, I see the point I keep losing is back.

How many times has someone been "dead" only to come back later. How many times has IZZY "died" to come back later. Granted, Izzy going through this multiple times is part of what foreshadows the idea that he's going to not come back this time, so it's possibly just false hope to think he'll come back (assuming we get a third season).

But think about it. Izzy has died. Stede gave up his pirating dream, which seems how likely to stick? And Ed thinks he's going to be able to work a customer service job? And both Stede and Ed think they'll be good at running a business they don't know jackshit about? Ed has proved to be lousy at working a "simple" life. Ed's subconscious said so. Pop-pop said so. Even Jackie sees this as a "wish I was a regular dude phase." Also, Stede has proved that he can be a decent pirate. Zheng said so. Spanish Jackie said so. The entire Republic of Pirates said so. The Pirate Queen said so.

I guess I just have a hard time believing the creators of ofmd couldn't bring Izzy back somehow and turn out a new plot for another season if they wanted to.

At the end of season one, Ed and Stede resign themselves to a future that is not ideal for them and Lucius "dies."

At the end of season 2, Ed and Stede decide to try for a future that is arguably also not ideal for them (it's just less angsty than season 1) and Izzy "dies."

I dunno. I guess what I'm saying is, it makes enough sense for an ending, but not this story's ending. And this show actually managed to make me feel things in my mucky rustbucket of a heart and gave me hope like not many things do. I'm just not ready to give up on it yet.

. . . . .

Maybe they didn't want to make Izzy captain because then if/when Stede and/or Ed come back wanting to be Captain, they'd have to decide how to make that work? But that wouldn't be too hard to figure out, right? I mean, they already decided a ship can have two captains. Why not 3?

Here's some of those posts I was talking about:

[tomanyships69]

911, season 1 episode 10: A Whole New You (last part of my series. I will keep watching and might make a post occasionally, but not for every episode.)

I forgot Abby's mom died last episode...

God buck is being so sweet, and I don't have to really like Abby to feel bad for her right now.

Double call and she's British, but let me guess not really

BOOM I was right she's just having a stroke!

I just want Buck to be happy but I really don't think it should be with her, they could have been fine as friends.

Bobby is trying to take a selfie and looks like such a dork (me too)

Tell me it's not a dating app

It is, oh boi

Busting his balls but being supportive too.

It does look like a real estate ad

Hen is a cheater, Chim hasn't had great luck and Buck is a recovering sex addict but some how right about being the best choice.

Wait wtf quick turn around???

Dating theme so far, so I'm assuming the lady got catfished.

Buck is so upset because nobody believes him, poor boy.

For Athena's storyline, I enjoy them trying to do what is right for themselves and the kids. I also like that they still care and show affection to each other for comfort.

Just because it isn't romantic doesn't mean they didn't build a life together.

Okay the show doesn't mind bordering on the more supernatural elements of stuff huh.

God I love carla so much 💜

Poor lyle out here paralyzed in a morgue

Ope, there goes the mortician, down for the count.

This dude goes through something so horrifying multiple times but keeps doing so for the lol's

That poor mortician suffering because this dude is high on life.

I know they are still together because of things I've seen, but I really wish they never did a cheating storyline. I don't even know how or why Karen would forgive her.

Like I don't know who I feel bad for more, Buck or Abby because as much as I'm indifferent/dislike their love story. These bitches cannot catch a break. Always getting interrupted or something going wrong. Literally a relationship doomed from the start.

Poor Buck trying to be honest and nobody believes him. One of the worst feelings in the world.

Dude going through a midlife crisis and the motorcycle employee could not give less of a fuck.

I actually think motorcycles are cool as hell but they are dangerous and I would not get on one if my life depended on it.

Immediately proving my point dude got literally split in two.

Bobby is going through it, but Athena is helping him and he is looking at her so sweetly 🥺

They are praying together, gosh my poor heart.

Gross, this dude looks like he might pop like a balloon. At least Buck is trying to show him some level of courtesy.

This coroner is so annoyed, but he's a little bit of a douche so I don't care.

He did not pop, but this might be worse.

She is planning on leaving for an extended period of time on a journey of self discovery, and did not discuss it with her partner at all. Selfish behavior and bad communication skills (ironic for an operator)

She broke his heart and he still trying to be supportive. It feels like he cares more about her than she does him. Also idk if he has mommy issues but man that age gap is getting to me more.

Bobby is handsome and I hope his date goes well.

OH SHIT HE TOSSED THE BOOK!!!

Good for him!

Karen is home, but no explanation for why yet.

Buck got better with his words, that's the real character growth here.

Bobby got a date with Athena!

Fitting one old fashioned person out of practice for another.

Mostly a great episode, can't wait for the next season!